Mind Blank!

I've been starting and stopping so many posts lately, I'm driving myself crazy. I love blogging, and I've really enjoyed doing it, but I'm in a total mind freeze lately. Each time I type something, I get tired of reading my own words...blah! I'll be back soon, I just need some good material! Any suggestions? Anything you're dying to know? Topics you'd like me to tackle for you? Anything? Anyone...anyone...Bueller? Bueller?

The One With All The Running

**The first person to guess how I came up with the name of this post will receive a 5.00 Starbucks gift card**

Do you remember this post I wrote back in May? It was all about how I had started running, I was really enjoying it and it was something I NEVER thought I would do...remember?
Well, this past weekend, I had a chance to prove to myself that 1) I can actually start something and stick to it 2)I can actually make a goal for myself and not only accomplish, but exceed that goal 3)Running is amazing!
On Thursday evening, I left my boys (including the hubby) at home and headed off to Akron, OH to participate in the Akron Marathon. 2 people in our group were running the full marathon; 2 were running the 1/2 marathon, and 5 of us were doing a full marathon-relay style.
My leg of the relay was 6.3 miles, and I was third leg. Might I remind you that 6 months ago, I had started the running thing by running for 30 seconds, walking for 1.5 minutes for 20 minutes. I moved up the running chart and struggled each time I increased the running time and decreased the walking. So, here I was, ready to go at it for 6.3 miles of RUNNING! I had been training and was fairly confident that I would be able to complete the 6.3 miles in 72 minutes.
My friends, I am here to tell you, that not only did I RUN the entire 6.3 miles, I did it in 66.23 minutes!! It was so much fun! The entire weekend was a blast, for too many reasons to list, but accomplishing something I set my mind to was an amazing feeling. I just don't stick to much of anything. (IE College!!)
I'm not sure if I have the tenacity, time, or strength to ever do a full marathon, but I am really hoping and planning to accomplish a 1/2 marathon sometime in the next year....that would be an amazing feat for me!
I could not write all about this weekend without mentioning how amazing the friendships and laughter were. I had the opportunity to bunk with a stranger (although many people knew we would love each other) and as we said good-bye to each other on Saturday evening, we were like "summer camp sisters"...you know, the crying, the promising to write, the clinging to each other...it was something like that! One of the greatest things God gives us is friendship, and that was experienced to the fullest this weekend, it was really, even greater than the running thing!!

*I REALLY wanted to post some pictures, but I can't get them to work*

Why I love fall...part 1

Soup, it's what's for dinner! This is one of the reasons I love fall...
I love soup! To me, it's a great comfort food, and I would eat it a lot more often, if the men in my family felt like it was "manly" enough to constitute a meal..(Insert manly grunting noises here)!
I found this soup recipe at the end of last winter, and loved it, and yesterday's crisply warm-ish, fall-ish day was a perfect day to start my fall soup-fest! The recipe is from the Cooking Light Fresh Food Fast cookbook. I highly suggest you try it soon! (And let me know what you think!!)

Cheese Tortellini and Vegetable Soup

1 (14.5) can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion undrained
1 (11.5oz) can condensed bean with bacon soup (cambell's) undiluted
3 Cups water
1 (16oz) pkg frozen Italian style vegetables
3/4tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp. black pepper
9 oz. pkg fresh cheese tortellini (I use the Buitoni, I have used the whole wheat, but the regular is better)
1/4 Cup grated parmesan cheese

Combine first 6 ingredients in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Add pasta; reduce heat to medium. Cook, partially covered, 7 minutes or until pasta and veggies are tender. Stir in cheese.
6 servings...1 1/3 cups/serving

And in case you're counting...
201 calories; 4 fat grams; 5.4 grams fiber

Enjoy!!

If you have a soup recipe that you love, share it in the comments section!!

It's not even Kindergarten, for Pete's Sake!

Today I woke up with a familiar pit in my stomach. A feeling I remember experiencing so many times as a kid, usually once a year, late August-Early September. The dreaded "first day of school nerves". Only today, instead of for me, the nerves were ever more intense because I was sending my boy off into the wild frontier of ... PRE-school!!
There were a lot of big fears that came with this first day of school...what to wear;will other people talk to me; will I be a cool kid this year; will the teachers like me; will I know anybody...and those were just the things I was worried about FOR ME, not Levi!
Levi's first words upon waking this morning were, "Mommy, are you going to be my driver to school?" "Yes, of course I will" "Will I be in my carseat?" "Yes, of course you will!" "ON THE SCHOOL BUS?" The poor guy, all this hype about school and he doesn't even get to ride the bus!
We arrived at school, Levi's excitement never waned, and started walking up the sidewalk of dread. With Mason on my hip and Levi holding my hand...or rather ME tightly gripping LEVI'S hand, we made our way into the building.
The teacher came out to greet all the parents and children and I totally, completely lost it! The tears just started falling. Levi looked up at me and I turned my head away, can you imagine if he, who was so brave and excited looked up to see me completely falling apart! I made my way into the classroom and helped Levi find his name tag, pin it to his shirt, and he looked at me with a big smile and said, "Can I go play now?" and that was it, he was gone...leaving me and a puddle of tears in his dust! One of the teachers smiled at me and said, "I think you should go now"...uh, yeah, you think? Since I am the only person, children included, with crocodile tears filling my face!
Mason and I left, went to the park to hang out with Lindsay and Ayla, and I was fine. When we went back to pick him up, I was receiving many sympathetic looks from the other parents, and I know they were just waiting for me to lose it again...I bet they had a pool going on over at the "cool parents table", but I didn't.
As soon as the door opened and Levi ran over to us with a huge smile on his face proclaiming, "mama, I didn't cry today!", I welled up again, but held it in! We came home, I gave my boy his favorite lunch, PB&J and we cuddled up on the couch for a bit, and suddenly, with my big boy in arms so proud of all he accomplished on his first day out of my nest, all was right with the world again.

A long letter from my mind...

Dear Summer 2009,
You Rocked my socks off...and that wasn't necessarily a good thing...
You kept your hotter than hades temperatures far from us, and we enjoyed such pleasant weather all summer long, for that we are certainly grateful! Our days were filled with hanging out with so many of our great friends...

...eating lots and LOTS of ice cream, sometimes a little too fast...

...many days of silliness, laughter and smiles came along with you sweet summer of 2009...


...two lovely vacations; one to Mackinac in early July (click the link to read and see pictures about that), and a recent family get-away to Pappa Mike's in Cinncinnati and then the 4 of us went to Traverse City for a few days...

Yes, Summer of 2009, you were very, VERY good to us! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go crawl under my covers and avoid tomorrow like the plague...because, tomorrow this boy...
is leaving my little nest and heading off to pre-school, and frankly, I just don't want him to!

Sincerely,
The clingy, crying mother I never thought I'd be!

5 years!

5 years ago today...

...I woke up with my 5 bridesmaids (my sister, 2 sister-in-laws (well, they weren't officially sister in laws until later that day), and 2 of my longest, closest friends)
...We went to Visions salon in Novi to get our hair done
...I danced in the bridal room with my Mother in law (to be)
...I clung to my dad's arm as he walked me toward my love
...I cried through most of the ceremony and did not want to let go of Chris' hand (I think I was still afraid he would change his mind)
...we rode in an old car with the top down through Brighton wearing sunglasses, and listening to strangers cheer for us
...we danced the night away at Crystal Gardens with 130 friends and family members
...we had a chauffered car take us to an airport hotel where two young boys offered to take our luggage to our room for us, since we were "just married"
...we declined
...was one of the best days of my life!!!

In the past 5 years we have...

...added 2 boys and a dog to our family
...been on 2 cruises
...upgraded cars 3 times
...painted 4 rooms
...gone to 2 different churches
...parasailed in St. Thomas
...made new friends
...lost some old friends
...fought
...made up
...laughed...laughed a lot

...played 677 documented games of cribbage
...learned to be parents
...battled through post-partum depression together

In the next 5 years we...

...will laugh...a lot...it's what we do
...will fight some more
...will make up some more
...might be able to move into a bigger house with a Yard!
...will keep figuring out this parenting thing
...hope to travel more
...will play more cribbage (and maybe, just maybe, I'll take the lead!)
...might, maybe, possibly, who knows...add to our family...maybe?
...will challenge each other to walk closer to God
...will keep falling in love...(awwwww)

Happy Anniversary, Chris! I look forward to what lies ahead for us! I love you (more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow...) :D

It's the little things...

...A full tank of gas after he drives my car...

\

...bringing me unexpected ice cold glasses of Coke Zero.....

....Taking the boys outside to give me a few moments peace...

...that make me love this man truly, madly deeply!

Dream Dinner

Obviously, I'm a foodie. I don't think I need to expand on that any further, but just for re-iteration...I love me some food!!! Last night I was preparing for our girls night out pool party, looking for some questions to have handy, just in case the conversation ended up lagging...fyi: whenever there is a group of women together... lag of conversations...not so much!
ANYWAY, I came across this question and thought it would be fun to throw out to you all and get your answers...

You are selected as guest of honor at a dinner, and are allowed to invite 4 famous people to attend your dinner and guaranteed their participation, who do you invite?

A note especially for my mother-in-law, as I'm already hearing her answer in my head...You can't say "my family is all I need for a dream dinner"...Love you MIL, but I'm on to you and your ways!!
So, here are my 4...
Ashtan Kutcher- He could "tweet" to his 3million followers that he's at dinner with Tonya Gray and 3million people would google me, find my blog, and then I'D be famous...plus I'm sure he'd provide some comic relief
George W. Bush - For so many reasons...I would love to hear all that he has to say about life outside the White House; inside the White House; His proudest moments; etc..I think he'd be very interesting to listen to
Will Smith - Eye Candy...need I say more?
Billy Grahm - Someone's going to have to pray for this messed up dinner party!! Also, I'd be interested to hear what he thinks about the Church in America today, among many other things.

OK, so there's my 4? Who are yours?

Remembering a Remarkable Woman...

With me on September 4, 2004

On August 5th, 2009, my great-grandma passed away, and I lost a major part of my heritage. I don't know many people lucky enough to have a great-grandmother that they remember, let alone have in their lives for 30+ years.
Since the day she died, I've been writing this post in my head over and over, trying to think of the best words to put together a tribute to someone so special. At her funeral, my dad (her grandson) and 2 of his sisters shared their memories of a grandma who was far beyond just the title "grandma" to her grandchildren. It was said many times over the 2 days of visitation and funeral that she was "the family matriarch...the glue that held our family together".
Most, if not all, of my memories of holidays as a child revolved in someway around Grandma. Many of my Christmas mornings were shared with her, as she usually spent the night with my family and woke up with us Christmas morning.
My grandma was strong...she was not tall or big, but she had strength. She was a widow for over 20 years, and lived alone until the last 5. She kept a remarkably clean home, and even moved her furniture once a week (it was on rollers, of course) to clean under, behind and over it.
She survived breast cancer, the loss of her husband and son, the depression and many life altering changes to her and her family.
Her laughter was contagious...the first thing I thought as I stepped up to her casket for the first time, was how much I will miss her laugh. She had this cackle that just echoed through any room. She loved to be teased and tricked. My sister used to call her every year on April Fool's day and try to sell her windows, siding, roofing or shutters. Sitting on the other end of the phone, I could always hear her say, "Jessie, is that you, I knew you'd be calling today", and then the cackle would come.
She loved her family well. Do your remember this post I wrote about the sixth love language? Not until Grandma passed away, did I realize where I got this passion for food from. Grandma loved to bake and cook for her family. I spent almost every Sunday with my 7 cousins and aunts and uncles at grandma's house. She would prepare homemade noodles and beef; roasts; and a plethora of cookies, cakes or pies...did you get that I said every Sunday. She never complained (that I know of) and loved that all of us were at her house to eat her cooking. I am now convinced, more than ever, that food is the 6th love language, and I'm pretty sure that was Grandmas dominant love language.
There is so much more that I could say about this amazing woman and the ways that she impacted me are too numerous to mention. I realize how lucky I am to not only have had a great-grandmother in my life, but one whom I knew well and loved much. She certainly will be missed!!

Holding Baby Levi, one of her 9 great great grandchildren!

Thankful

Tonight I'm thankful for....

this sweet face...

...and this one

....and this one..

These three boys...errr...2 boys and one man are 3 of my biggest answered prayers. I was one of those girls that just wanted to be a "wife and a mom", and sometimes it just baffles me that God not only answered my prayers but he did so in a way that exceeded my biggest dreams and hopes for a family.
I have a wonderful husband, truly wonderful. He is faithful, compassionate, aware of my needs, a provider, protector, encourager and my lover...wooo, is it getting warm in here or is it just me???
With all my heart I wanted to be a mom, and God saw fit to bless us with Levi in a much earlier time frame than we would have planned, but as always, His timing was perfect. Levi is healthy, funny, playful, physical (we're trying to turn that one into a positive trait), a prayer who loves to talk to Jesus, a thinker and quite the storyteller.
Mason came along and when we thought there was no way we could have MORE love to give than what we were giving Levi, Mason's arrival proved us wrong. Mason is healthy, sensitive, a cuddler, emotionally expressive, funny, obsessed with his big brother and equally obsessed with cars (toy cars, cars that drive by, his daddy's car).
I know life can be tough, trust me, I've been there and I'm sure I'll be there again. But man, is it also so sweet! I don't know where you are in your life right now, but if you're struggling with something, feeling like life sucks or just plain down, I encourage you to look at what's good in your life. Maybe your spouse and kids are bringing you down (Hey, been there, too) or maybe you're feeling lonely and wishing for someone to appreciate you. Go find something that makes you realize how sweet life is. Go to a park and take in the beauty that's just there; call your mom, dad, brother, sister just because; pray and ask God to show you a glimpse of HIS love, I can pretty much promise, if you ask Him and you're looking, He will show you!!
If you are feeling down and/or struggling with something, I would love to pray for you. You can e-mail me at tonyagray813@gmail.com, and/ or leave a comment here and I promise to pray for you!

Oh Yes I Did....

Go to the store in flip-flops and tool around in our our neighborhood pool and never even realize that my feet looked like this...






I remember thinking I badly needed to fix my toes last night and starting the process (by the way, I despise giving myself pedicures, which should be obvious) while watching Real Housewives-Atlanta, and then getting really tired, I do NOT remember stopping half-way through and going to sleep. Maybe I should check Chris' feet to see if I continued on with him...???

Today...

Today I am..

...out of Coke Zero

...really wanting a Coke Zero

...going to Costco to buy Coke Zero (and other things)

...wishing Coke Zero would pay me for advertising!!

...longing for sunshine

...planning to attend the Beth Moore Simulcast in August with church friends

...looking forward to the Beth Moore Simulcast

...wishing Beth Moore would pay me for advertising!!

...feeling great after running 5 miles (on the treadmill)

...thinking running on a treadmill may be easier than running outside, but I push myself so much more on the treadmill than I do outside

...Struggling to grasp the thought that tomorrow I'm taking Levi to pre-school open house

...reading this blog and praying for this baby mycharmingkids.net

...thankful for my own two healthy boys

...trying to redesign my blog

...thinking I'll be much better at redesigning my blog once I get some Coke Zero in my system!

...what are YOU doing today?

Letters from my mind

Dear Lady at the Mall Play area:
Are you aware that most of the moms in the play structure spend 90% of their time telling their children to STOP TATTLING! What then, makes you think it's a good idea to tell me 10 minutes after my oldest child pushes my youngest down (something that happens 1.2billion times a DAY), that "your baby was crying (10 minutes ago, a 2 second cry) because his big brother pushed him down over there". Well, thank you so much, let me just grab that mean big brother and punish him right in front of you so you will feel that justice has been served. By the way your perfect child may not be pushing his sibling down, but he's over there licking all of the climbing toys, you know the ones that all the other kids are running on barefoot, and I think he just put a pre-chewed piece of gum in his mouth!

Sincerely,
Big-brother bully mama!!

Dear Lady @ Target,
Listen carefully, there are TWO, TWO photo centers here, right next to each other. While I have 2 patient children in my cart, who are quickly losing their patience, could you please BUZZ OFF! I don't need you standing over my shoulder commenting on my vacation pictures, reminding me that I'm using your favorite photo center. By the way, when you say you'll go away for a moment, so I don't feel rushed...I didn't think you literally meant ONE moment, so I don't know why you were surprised that I wasn't finished when you returned from your "moment". Also, even though I apologized, I really wasn't sorry that Levi kept bumping into you while you were trying to use said photo center, since it was still our turn, and he was trying to get our pictures as they were printing out! Finally, my vacation pictures were way better than yours!!!

Sincerely,
The one with nicer pictures


Dear Coke Zero,
Did you hear that I got rid of facebook once I realized I was facing an addiction to it? Aren't you worried that I might axe you out of my life? In all of your fizzy goodness, I'm downing more cans of you than I should, and I'm starting to take notice...what's that? Oh, right, you heard that I went crawling back to facebook so you're not afraid? Nice...

Sincerely,
The one with no will power

Visions...

I'm fairly certain this is what he had in mind both times he heard the words: "It's a boy!"

No need for any safety lectures...the car was safely parked in the garage, and note that the emergency break is engaged, and this is the ONLY time the boys have ever been in the car...never unsupervised!! This is a recording..

Lions and Tigers and Bears.

...except NOT! (because they were all sleeping and not visible enough for a 3 and 1 year old to see!!)
I took the boys to the Detroit Zoo on a whim today. We didn't really have anything planned and I decided it would be a quick and fun way to spend the morning/early afternoon. (It's about 1/2 hour to the zoo, nice and quick!) The weather was great, the crowds weren't too bad and the boys were a blast! They both actually noticed and enjoyed the animals, a first for sure. While I really enjoy spending days with friends, it's always nice to do some outings with just my boys...it was a great day!

This picture is blurry, but he rarely looks at the camera and smiles! (The french fry in his hand isn't hurting either)

Watching4 painted turtles swim in front of them

The closest thing to a monkey I saw all day!

You weren't expecting pictures of animals, were you!?!

Vacation oh lovely vacation!

Here's a look at our vacation. It was so great to get away and just be our own little family for a week. Enjoy...

This is mostly what we did... Hung out on beaches at different parks and threw rocks! I love this picture of Mason and me (and Levi!)

Mason didn't get the memo that this was NOT a nude beach!!

I see this picture and realize how full and rich and blessed I am!

This is possibly the best picture of the boys we have... I LOVE IT!

The 4 of us!

My 3 favorite guys on Mackinac Island!

Mason and the bumblebee!

Levi's "favorite food"...s'mores!!

My random, crazy, busy wonderful life-in blog form!

Phew! I can't even catch my breath, we've been going about 100 miles/hour around here, and I feel like I just blinked and we went from April to JULY!?!?
I had intentions to write a nice father's day post in honor of Chris, the best baby daddy I got...and then father's day came and went, and I thought I would write a nice birthday post in honor of Chris' 32nd birthday...and then his birthday came and went! What on earth is keeping us so busy, you ask? I have no idea...
Last week, the weather around here was sunny, hot and clear blue skies, it was gorgeous. We were out and about every day. Swimming with friends in our pool, swimming with friends at a beach, and swimming with friends in their pool, lots of swimming fun! It was so nice to get up in the morning and be gone, drag home 2 tired little swimmers and have a few hours of nap time quietness.
The end of the week brought our Chicago family into town (Chris' sister Rachel, husband Joel and their 2 kids, Payton (3) and Evan (1). We spent most of Friday and most of Sunday with them, while Saturday we had 5 parties to attend, but only managed to squeeze in 3 of them (Sorry, Pat and Adam).
This week has been filled with rain and cold weather...yielding 2 caged up crazy boy animals, which yields one crazy caged up had enough mama!!
We are celebrating the 4th of July with my extended family and then on Sunday Chris, the boys and I are OUTTA HERE! We are going on a vacation, just the 4 of us, camping in Mackinac and doing all the fun up-north stuff there is to do! I'm a little overwhelmed with the packing and planning part, but I'm really looking forward to introducing the boys to my favorite spot in Michigan!
Happy 4th of July!!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!!

On Friday night, Chris' company hosted a summer outing at Comerica Park. We decided to bring Levi along for his first Major League ballgame "among the general folk", he's actually been to Comerica one other time for one of our friends' 1st birthday party, but that was high class...in a suite...parking in the Tigers Garage...private elevators, and it was 2 years ago, so he was just about 18 months, too far away for his memory!! I digress...
Anyway, we got to the ball park, made our way to our seats and sat down with our hot dogs, chips and pop ready for a fun night and watching our firstborn get ALL the attention of mom and dad, and experience something that his mom and dad love so much...baseball! We got through 3 innings and decided to take Levi down to the ferris wheel, made our way back and just as we reached our seats, the rain started to fall...and fall..and fall...I'll let the pictures tell the Rest of the Story!!

He was so excited about the game that he conked out as soon as we headed to the park!!
Inside the Ferris Wheel, the cars are all baseball shaped, it's right in the park...pretty cool!



We knew this was a bad sign...and also, not something you want to read when you have your 3 year old in a packed stadiumbut really, Levi and I needed a chance to wear our blue rain parkas, so I was glad for the opportunity!
We left the stadium and took Levi for dessert at Ram's Horn...remember when we were there last??
I don't think he was too upset about leaving the game early...he finished off MOST of the strawberry shortcake and a lot of my hot fudge cake!!
Although, things didn't go as we planned, it was a really fun night and it felt really special to have Levi get both of our attention for the evening. Especially because we knew Mason was having fun with some great friends of ours from church at his own special sleepover!