YAY!!!

We had our ultra sound appointment today and things went GREAT! We saw the healthy, growing baby and it's strong heartbeat. Then the best part, we got to hear the heartbeat. Which was music to our ears!

After the exciting appointment it was off to meet my cousin and his wife and their handsome son. I will post those pics tomorrow!

All in all, it was a FANTASTIC day!!

While I have been sitting at the desk checking emails, I have seen two bunnies chasing each other around the yard and a bird feeding another bird!

The crazy thing is, the bird that is being fed looks like it is big enough to feed itself. Especially the seeds are on the ground where I sprinkled them!

I'm glad I actually captured the action shot of him feeding though. It's pretty cool.

The joys of summer....

One thing I love about our house is how many bunnies and frogs we have. I had not seen our little bunny friends in a while but today I have had the pleasure of seeing them twice.

Earlier today, he used our little deck as a bypass to get from one side to the other (he must be feeling lazy and not want to have to go around!). And, right now he is sitting in the shade of a pine tree nibbling on our nice, green grass.

I really enjoy that they prefer to be in the back yard. It makes it nice for me to sit at the computer and watch the birds and bunnies.

Not feeling so well....

I am so bummed that I have already started feeling a little morning sickness already. I haven't been able to go to boot camp since my tummy has not agreed with me. I try to get a little work out in when my body feels up to it but for the most part it has been the elliptical machine and some muscle training (squats, lunges, push-ups, etc.). Nothing to strenuous but enough to get my heart rate up a little. I hope I can keep the weight gain to a minimum but I'm just thankful to be pregnant and healthy!!

I know that the morning sickness and yucky feeling is all worth it though.

My crazy bruise...

Due to my history with ectopic pregnancy, my doctor likes to keep up with my hcg levels by having me have my blood drawn nearly every other day.

Last Wednesday (the day before my ultrasound), I went in to get my blood drawn again. Mind you, I have very tricky veins. They do not easily give up the blood they are carrying. With this in mind, I pointed out to the girl where they had luck in the last few days but she said she felt a good vein in my bicep. That was a first. Not really in the "middle" of my bicep but closer to my bicep then what I am use to.

As she pulled the needle out, she said, "oh, that is going to bruise", I didn't see anything so I thought it would be a small one (I've had a few of those!). Oh no, it is big and VERY colorful! Thankfully the stick didn't hurt and the bruise doesn't hurt. But I wonder what people think when I'm out with Rusty.

I spoke with my doctor's nurse and I go back in on Tuesday!! I really hope and pray that we see and hear a little strong heartbeat!

Happy Father's Day

I just want to say a special happy father's day to my amazing, wonderful, loving, caring and handsome husband. He is the best husband and father I know.

We have had a year of many losses, but the one that hurt the most was losing Abigayl. He has been my shoulder to cry on and an absolute support for me. I just hope that on this father's day he can be filled with wonderful memories of her and love for the baby that is to grace us some time in February.

Right now I am 6 weeks pregnant. We went to an ultra sound appointment on Thursday and though we were not able to make out much, we were able to see a little flutter that the nurse thought was a heart beat. We were not able to hear anything since the baby was much to small but we will go back in two weeks for another ultra sound!

We are very excited and very certain that this time God is ready for us to be parents to another wonderful child. We just ask that you keep us in your prayers as we wait out the next two weeks. Our faith is 100% in the the Lord and that he will always do what is best for us.

So, today is filled with joy but also sorrow for my wonderful husband. He is the greatest man I know and I hope that your prayers are with him and all of the other fathers out there that have to go through this same pain on a day like today.

Project WET

I spent my evening Friday (2-9) and my day Saturday (9-5) at a class/seminar entitled Project WET (water education for teachers). I took the class because I am in the process of trying to achieve alternative certification so that I can become a teacher.

I already have a BS in Biology but I did not work in that field of study after graduation. So, I needed post bachelor work to get around that prerequisite. I took this class at my Alma Mater NSU-BA but from what I gather you can complete this in a 6 hour seminar for non-credit in other places, I'm just not sure where.

I am so glad that this is the class I chose to take. I had so much fun and it goes along well with what I want to do in the classroom. In this book there are tons of ways (in all subject areas, not just science and all grades) to teach kids important lessons about water and its importance.

So, if you are a teacher, home school teacher, youth leader or a parent that wants neat ways to interact with your kids, I suggest you look in to one of these seminars. They not only have water education but they have others like: project learning tree (forestry), project wild (animals and their surroundings), project wild aquatic (aquatic animals and their surroundings) and I think there are many others.

You ready for sore legs?!

Today there were 7 cones set up. There were 4 in a square (about 15-20 feet apart) and the other 3 were in the center of the square.

We did each cone/station for one minute, 2 times through the stations.
1. frog jump (squat, touch the ground and jump forward then turn around)
2. side frog jump (squat, touch the ground, jump to the side) each direction
3. frog jump
4. side frog jump
(on 1-4 we did each movement to the cone in front of us then turned around and came back to our start cone. We repeated this for the full 1 minute.)
5 and 6 were led by 7 (the resting cone/station). Things we did in 5 and 6 were: jumping jacks, left and right shuffle, high knees, butt kickers, mountain climbers, etc. (basically anything cardio!).

After that we worked some abs: 20 crunches w/ knees in the air, 10 full sit-ups, 45 second flutter kicks (shoulders and feet off the ground and kick legs), 20 toe touches (legs straight in air and crunch up to touch toes).

I hear tomorrow we are doing A LOT of running! woo hoo.

4 Years...

Four years ago today Rusty and I were married at the Victoria Inn Bed and Breakfast in Laffitte, Louisiana (about 20 minutes from New Orleans).

On that day, the only stress I had was the huge storm that had blown in! There were no life losses and roller coaster rides that I had to deal with. Just the pure bliss of knowing I was becoming Mrs. Stamper! Thankfully, that storm blew through and we were still able to wed outside surrounded by the beautiful gardens.

In our four years, we have definitely been on a roller coaster. Marriage isn't always easy but if you make the choice to choose love and happiness and work through the hard times... the end result is pure love and admiration for one another.

I love my husband so much. I am thankful every day that God put him in my life as my husband. I am the lucky one.

ready to go!

handsome groom!

making my way to the man of my dreams

Mr. and Mrs. Stamper

strike a pose

There was a pesky fly....

That continuously landed on Rusty's face.....

It just couldn't take the hint that we were busy!! But, it was pretty darn funny.

Rusty surprised me by giving me a wedding band. We had planned on using my ring as the engagement and wedding ring since it had so many diamonds. But, when he slipped the ring on my finger it was a beautiful diamond wedding band!!! It was pretty great.

The food was AMAZING!! I would go do it all over again for the food....

and the cake! The cake was out of this world delicious.

So in love (and still are... maybe even more now!)

I am so proud to be Mrs. Rusty Stamper.

Rusty has made my dreams come true. He has given me his love and patients and one of the best things he has given me is my beautiful daughter. I am looking forward to many more years and children with him.

I love you honey. You are my everything and I am so thankful that you are my soul mate.

Welcome baby Jude

I just wanted to congratulate my friend Carrie on the birth of her BEAUTIFUL son Jude. He was born last night at 11pm and is so precious.

Check out Carrie's blog here and the memorial site for their sweet angel, Lila, here.

This is a very exciting time for the Bower family and I just ask that you keep them in your prayers as they start a new chapter in their lives.

Stations

Today was similar to June 10th work out except it included arms, legs, abs and cardio.

Once again there were stations set up and we were at each station for 1 minute. Once we went through each station once, we went through again this time for 30 seconds per station.

The stations looked like this:

1. superman
2. jump rope
3. boat
4. jump rope
5. aquaman
6. mountain climbers
7. right plank
8. squat/jump
9. left plank
10. jump rope
11. deep squat
12. plies squat
13. lunges
14. push ups
15. t-push up (push up then go into side plank; switch off sides)
16. tricep dippers
17. fire hydrant (hands and knees; lift leg like peeing)
18. fire hydrant kicks (hands and knees; lift leg and keep lifted while you kick out 10x per side then do it again)
19. butt burners (hands and knees; lift bent leg off ground and pulse behind you)

Make sure you warm up and stretch before and after the work out!

Skipper II

I went to bed late last night and felt like getting up at 4:50am just wasn't in the cards. So, instead I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical machine this morning and I am planning on doing some push-ups, squats, lunges and other full body work in the evening.

Although I didn't go to boot camp I still managed to get a good, sweaty workout in!


**edit**
I ended up going on a 30 minute bike ride (that included some hills) instead of push-ups, lunges, etc. So, I put in 1 hour of cardio... I think that is pretty sufficient!

Game Day

I love Friday at boot camp. It is what they call "game day" and I really enjoy the games we play. Today, we played a game similar to last Friday except we played poker with the cards. There were 5 stations set up with 6-7 cards at each station. The stations were spaced out 30-40 feet from each other and the point was to jog to each station and pick the card that you though would give your group the best hand.

Unlike before, this time regardless of the number on the card you did 10 reps and if it required one limb at a time you did 10 per side.

First up, butt:

hearts= hydrant kicks (on hands and knees, leg up like peeing on a hydrant and kick out)
diamonds= cross over lunges (cross right leg in front of left and lower or vice versa)
spades= butt burner (on hands and knees, lift bent leg in air behind you)
clubs= squat back kick

Second, arms:

hearts= wide push ups
diamonds= shoulder press push ups (my personal fav!)
spades= close body push up (hands/arms are against body)
clubs= tricep dips

Last, legs:

hearts= squat and jump
diamonds= jump lunges (lunge and jump into lunge with other leg)
spades= squat front kick
clubs= frog jump (squat and touch ground then jump up in air)

All done! Now it is time for abs...

Hold each pose for 30 seconds and do 2 sets:
superman (on tummy arms and legs up off the ground)
banana/boat (opposite of superman, arms and legs 6-10 inches off the ground)
6 inch hold (just legs off the ground)
plank
right plank
left plank

Good job! Now go be sore for a couple of day!! Woo Hoo.

Can you feel yourself getting skinnier? I can see results in my arms. I think I need to work my butt more though.

French Pear Pie.... yummy!

I was cleaning out my fridge today when I discovered 3 VERY ripe pears. They were not the prettiest pieces of fruit but I hated to throw them out.

Thankfully I had printed out a recipe from betty crocker a while back for an "impossibly easy french apple pie", at the end of the directions it said you could sub in 3 pears for the 3 apples. PERFECT!

I got straight to baking and crossed my fingers that it wouldn't turn out yucky since I was using such ripe pears.

Here you have it after cooling for about an hour.

I had to taste it first to make sure it was good. Well, it was delicious!!

The pears are perfect and I love it! On the plus side, I don't think it is to fattening since there are only 3 tablespoons of butter and I used non-fat milk instead of regular milk.

Filling:

3 cups sliced pears (3 pears)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup bisquick mix

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup milk (I used non-fat)

1 tablespoon butter, softened

2 eggs

Streusel:

1/2 cup bisquick mix

1/4 cup chopped nuts (I probably used a little less then 1/2 cup)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (I didn't have brown sugar so I subbed in granulated sugar and used a little over 1/4 cup)

2 tablespoons firm butter

Execution:

1. Heat oven to 325. Grease a 9-inch pie plate. In medium bowl, mix pears, cinnamon and nutmeg: place in pie plate.

2. In medium bowl (I used the same one as the pears), stir remaining filling ingredients until blended. Pour over pear mixture in pie plate. In small bowl, mix streusel ingredients until crumbly; sprinkle over filling.

3. Bake 40-45 minutes or until knife inserted come out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Store in refrigerator.

Get ready for deliciousness! I was pleasantly surprised and happy about the turn out.

YEAH!!

Ready for the arms to hurt!

Today we did an all arm workout. Grab some bands and do:

2 sets of 20:
bicep curls
standing rows (bent at waist and squeeze shoulder blades together)
arms straight out to the side
tricep extensions
shoulder press

In between each moves (i.e bicep curls and standing rows) do some sort of cardio (high knees, butt kickers, run in place, etc.).

Then do 2 sets of 10 for all of the above.

When I got home I added in 2 sets of 20 push ups and shoulder push ups (bent at waist with hands on floor and go down like a push up but your booty is sticking up in the air).

Yeah for sore arms... but maybe they will be toned some day soon!

Boot Camp...

Tuesday was an ab day at boot camp. Here was the drill.

Warm up with high knees, butt kickers and jumping jacks.

There were stations set up that went like this:
1. superman (on tummy like flying)
2. jump rope
3. boat (on back hands and feet off the ground at a 45 degree angle)
4. jump rope
5. swimmers (just like super man except now you kick your legs and move your arms like your swimming)
6. jump rope
7. lay on back and bring knees to chest then straight out about 6 inches of the ground
8. jump rope
9. right side plank
10. jump rope
11. left side plank
12. on hands and knees, lift right arm and left leg straight out in front then switch
13. standing, lift right knee to left elbow then switch
14. stand with feet shoulder width apart then bend at waist and put hands on floor. Walk hands out until you can go into push up form. Walk hands back then stand up straight again.
15. crunches
16. reverse crunches (lay on tummy hands behind head and lift)

We did it one time for 1 minute per station then when through a second time 30 seconds per station.

Today was a cardio day!

We ran a lot but in between running we did 30 lunges, 10 wide arm push ups, 4 count crunches (go up in stages 1,2,3,4. When you hit four it should be as high up as you can get in your crunch), 30 knee to chest, 1 minute plank. We repeated all of this twice.

Basically it was a lot of running with a little muscle work during our "break".

Balloon Release Pictures

For Abigayl's birthday we had a small BBQ with some friends where we released 130 balloons to represent her 130 days she blessed us on this Earth.

I blogged her birthday celebration here along with the beautiful decorations at her memorial site.

Our friend, Shaun, was wonderful enough to take all the pictures of the balloon release. Prepare for a lot of pictures! He has done a beautiful job and I am so pleased to be able to share them with all of you. What I put in the blog is only a fraction of the pictures he took during the balloon release.

Parker enjoying the yummy cookies that his mom, Katie, and our friend Jill brought over for Abigayl's birthday. They were beautiful butterfly cookies and there were 12 of them. I'm not sure if it was intentional or unintentional, but Rusty pointed out to me that there were 12 cookies, and that there are 12 months in a year, and that Abigayl was 1 year old. I thought that was pretty neat.

Here is Issac enjoying his butterfly cookie.

And here is Kayla.

All 130 balloons... ready to launch.

It was quite windy that day. All of the strings got tangled when we took them out in a bunch like this. So......

We took them back in the garage and untangled all the strings with the help and patients of our lovely friends.

Can you believe how many? They were so beautiful. (ignore the messy garage)

Releasing a few to see which way the wind was blowing and where they would fly to. After the first few were released we decided to move to the back yard for the rest since there are so many trees in the front.

It was beautiful watching them float up to her.

Jill, Kayla, Katie, Chandler, Tom, Parker, Rusty and I all letting our balloons go.

Tom, Parker and Chandler.

I love this shot. Katie releasing balloons.

Chandler turned 1 a week and a half before Abigayl. It was really neat to get to watch him participate and see his reactions. That way, I know how Abigayl is feeling in Heaven watching all her balloons float up to her. Chandler really enjoyed letting his balloons go.

For a lot of these next shots it would probably be better to click on them to enlarge the pictures so you can have the full effect. I think they are magnificent. In some of them you feel like your actually floating in the clouds with them.

I really love this one.

Isn't she so adorable?!

Jill and Parker

I love how much fun the kids had. Kayla even told me this was the best birthday party ever!

(Parker, Kayla, Issac and Chandler)

Even though it was a really hard day, it was nice to be able to celebrate with people we care about and are so grateful to have in our lives. It was nice to be able to smile during such a hard day. We miss Abigayl so much and we love to celebrate her every day. It was fantastic to get to do something special for her and her special day.