The Barnes Family

Tonight we met at livefit to run our normal 2 day mile. I like the treadmill for short runs but I have found that my time is much slower. Oh well! I enjoyed it and my knees aren't killing me like they have been. I had some great songs on my ipod and have found that a great song can make all the difference in the world. It can make me want to go faster or slow it down. Any suggestions for some great running songs? Tonight I was proud of myself because instead of just doing our normal 3/1 I pushed myself and did mainly 4 minute runs and then a 1 minute walk and did some 5/1s. It felt great to do another 2 miles and not feel like I am going to die, like I did when we started this! DISTANCE: 2 MILES TIME: 33 minutes

My house is a wreck! That might even be an understatement! Luckily my mom came to the rescue, taking McKinley to her house for a sleepover and keeping her all day tomorrow for me to get some stuff done! So tonight, we had one child! Halfway through dinner Todd and I looked at each other and wondered, "Who is this child and where did Wyatt go?" He was SO well behaved. Sweet, lovable, quiet at dinner, I was amazed. Wyatt normally isn't bad when we go out but as a two year old it's safe to say he has his moments (sometimes many of them!). I have noticed lately that Wyatt and McKinley both push each other’s buttons. He just can't leave her alone and she likes his toys. He just loves her a little too much. I think that every now and then it is nice for Wyatt to just have a chance to have our undivided attention. I think it will be the same for McKinley too when she gets a little older. We had such a great night with our sweet little man. I can tell that Wyatt needs tim

Thursday we went to live fit again for our training and did 2 miles! It felt great! I am not sure what the time was but it doesn't matter at this point. Today we went to the greenway in North Augusta and ran 5 miles. Yes, 5 miles. The first 3 were hard for me and the last 2 were a little better. Both of my knees now hurt but once they get warmed up it's not to bad. I had a great playlist today and three ladies that helped keep me motivated! DISTANCE: 5 miles TIME: 1 hour and 10 minutes

I hate diets! I hate knowing that I have to work hard to loose weight. Even more than all that though, I HATE being overweight and not feeling my best. Therefore I have set some goals! 1. Train and run in a half marathon on April 15th 2. Lose 30 lbs by April 15th. 3. Tone up and get in shape for my cruise in May and summer To get to these big goals I am setting little goals and I am going to use this blog to help me accomplish them! I’m going to lay it all out there in hopes that you will help me through this journey! Starting weight: January 16th: 171.8 (I hate seeing this number but it is what it is!) Today’s weight: January 27th: 167.2 GOAL for February 3rd: 164.0 Here are some guidelines I am setting for myself. 1. If I meet my goal weight by the Friday: Saturday is a cheat day. If not, no cheat day for this lady:( 2. Spin MWF weights on WF and Run T/Th/S. 3. Stick to the diet! Stick to 1200 calories of less- unless it’s a run day. Then try to stick to 1350. 4. Drink 64oz of water

Tuesday and Thursdays are short runs for us, so today we went to livefit and ran 2 miles on the treadmill, hoping to give our joints a little break. After the first mile it's a little easier for me. I could do some 4/1's and even 6/1's. My knee is still hurting but not as bad. I feel like it improves a little each day. It takes me longer on a treadmill but I still love it! DISTANCE: 2 miles TIME: 32 minutes

DAY 6: It was raining so we decided that we would do what we could. I took the opportunity to jump on our elliptical and did 2 miles. I'll be honest it felt great. It was a little easier on my knees, which are still in some pain! DAY 7: Today we decided to take it in doors. The weather was not great yesterday and it wasn't much better today so..... we headed to the treadmill. The first 2 miles....HARD! I got the breathing but my left knee and all around it KILLED ME. I felt like I couldn't put weight on it which makes it hard to run. At 3 miles, it got a little better. I stopped to take a stretch break, got back on and felt great. Normally we do a 3/1. Today I did a 6 minute straight run because I just didn't want to stop. My knee finally felt better and I knew that when I stopped and started back it would hurt again. Made it 4 miles, could barely walk out! We made it though! DISTANCE: 4 MILES TIME: 60 minutes I do need to thank God tonight! My knee has been killing me

I am not one for keeping Wyatt up past bedtime, but when there is something worth staying up for...I'm all in! I saw that the Augusta Futurity was in town and knowing how much my son loves horses, when I saw there was bullriding, well we had to go! Todd and I were supposd to have a date night Saturday but he went out of town instead so Wyatt and I were left to fill date night! I don't like keeping M out that late, so we left her with Kristin and my mom and I took Wyatt out on the town. It started with a haircut! What a cutie he is with a haircut! We then decided to go to Mellow Mushroom downtown, got there right before it got crowed! Wyatt was great. He sat very quietly playing with his four action figures and letting us eat in peace. We then headed down to the James Brown Arena and had to wait for about an hour for it to start. We walked around the whole building in 15 minutes and then headed to our seats, which was right behind the bulls. Wyatt sat for 45 minutes waiting for

Wyatt is a chatter box! He is a nonstop talker and I must say, I LOVE IT! He is constantly asking how things work, where certain people are, why something isn't working, what McKinley is doing, what your eating (more like what's in your mouth), and on and on. He is now playing with toys and talking to them, he plays so quietly some days its amazing! Then he is so sweet and turns to me and says, "Play mommy!" Play man!" Wanting me to join in on his fun and make believe world. I love that when he sees an airplane, he thinks it's daddy. That when he sees me throw my sneakers on, he says I'm going to workout. This really is a sweet age.

I can't keep up!!!! Here it goes.... Day 10: Pray for space. Ask God to provide ways for us to create more seats and more space to facilitate our growth. Day 11: Pray for the children and youth in our church. Pray for our leaders and volunteers who are serving and leading them. Ask God to empower, bless and protect our students. Day 12: Pray for the families in our church. Pray specifically for marriages that are in trouble. Ask God to bring healing and reconciliation.

McKinley has her first cold and its so very sad! The first day she was just very cuddly and wanted to be held (THE ENTIRE DAY!) I was so very thankful that Wyatt was in a good mood for most the day because putting her down without crying was not a option. Today she was a little better in the morning but kinda feel apart in the afternoon. She didn't nap very well and by 4 she would cry, constantly! Holding her didn't make her happy, rocking her didn't make her happy, nothing mad her happy. It was sad! She never had a fever, but just coughed and had a runny nose. She was very cuddly! Sometimes this is a great thing, sometimes its a very hard thing. I am hoping that she wakes up feeling much better! I am ready to have my smiley baby back.

Once again.... I am BEHIND!!! I am not sure if anyone is looking at this, but I like putting it out there! Day 7: Pray for vision: Ask God to expand your vision and to reveal all HE wants you to know. Pray for the courage to carry out that vision. Day 8: Pray for the leaders of our church. Pray for Pastor Marty, our Elders and our staff and ask God to give them wisdom guidance and blessing. Day 9: Pray for growth. Ask God to expand the influence of our church and to reach more people in our community with the love of Jesus.

NEW running shoes!!!! I love them! Today was a short run, but I must say that I did much much better with my breathing and the only problem tonight was my knee. I was afraid to come down on it, thinking it might not be able to support me. Yes, that's how bad it hurts. This time we didn't have to do a half mile walk like we did the first time we ran two miles or a 3 minute cycle walk, like we did the last time we did this run. We did our 3 minute run/1 minute walk and then after the first mile did a 2 minute walk and continued the cycle. It feels good to get a little better each time. DISTANCE: 2 miles TIME: 28 minutes

When I found the outfit she is wearing in her 9 month pictures... I HAD to have it! She had a gown made of the same fabric to wear when she came home, she also wore it for her 3 month pics and I just love it! *18lbs, 13oz *28 inches long *size 9-12 and 12-18 *Pants 6-9 or 9-12 *size 3 diaper during day and 4 at night

Wow! I am constantly amazed at how fast children grow. In a month, I feel like I have a different baby! A baby with much more personality, one all her own. SLEEP: She is a wonderful sleeper. I’m not kidding. 7:00/7:30pm until 6:45/7:30am 9:45/10am Until 10:45/11:30am: 1st nap 1:45/2pm Until 3/3:30pm: 2nd nap sometimes a cat nap if we are out In the morning I give her a bottle then lay her in the crib with her blankie and leave the room. She plays for about 30 minutes and then goes to sleep. On occasion she will fuss and I will change her diaper and then she is asleep. Same with the afternoon. Some days are alittle harder than others and might require me going in and patting her back, never to sleep but just to calm her down. Some days she will play quietly for a solid hour and then go to sleep. At night, piece of cake, bottle, lay her down and she is out until morning. She went through a brief period of liking a paci but the past two months she won’t take it, but does just fine without

Sorry I am behind!!! I want to catch up and get back on this though because it is very important to me!! Pray for guidance. Ask God to give you wisdom and discernment in the decisions that you will be making this year. Pray for influence. Ask God to expand your influence and your ministry. Pray for opportunities to share your faith, give hope and share encouragement. Pray for your family. Ask God's blessing, guidance and provision for your loved ones.

Thursday was my birthday and since we were going out to dinner we just decided to skip the run. I did 20 minutes on the elliptical instead. Today was Day 4 of our training and it was tough and cold!! I am currently icing my knee:(. We met at the canal, a chilly 45 degrees with some wind, did half a mile walking to warm up then started our 3:1 run for 3 miles and then finished with half a mile walk back. The first mile and a half killed me. I just couldn't get the breathing in the cold air. I was ready to go the middle mile and a half and the last half a mile my knee started to kill me. A few years ago I hurt my knee in a skiing accident. Well I hurt both, one skiing in Jackson Hole and one skiing in Big Sky. WEll one of them is killing me today. I can still do this!!!!! Advice needed for my knee. DISTANCE: 3 miles TIME: 42 minutes

Pray for endurance. Ask God to help you fight the temptation to give up. Pray for endurance and perseverance for the 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting, as well as endurance in other areas of your life.

Instead of walking for half a mile this time, we walked one full cycle of 3 minutes but other than that we ran 3 minutes/walked 1. It felt a little better this time. If I could just get my breathing down I think I could do a lot better. It felt great though and I am going to continue to work for my goal!!! I really want to thank my Aunt Jennifer, mom and friend Liz for doing this with me and supporting me through it!!! DISTANCE: 2 miles TIME:28 minutes

Confess your sin. Specifically address those areas of your life that are outside God's will. Repent and ask for forgiveness. Embrace God's grace. What a great day today is going to be!!!! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Our church starts the year with 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting. I didn’t join in last year, I’m not sure why but I didn’t. This year I really feel like it is something that I should take part in. One of my many resolutions was to have a closer relationship with God and this is going to help me get there. Unfortunately our schedule doesn’t allow us to go to the church at 7 am each day and pray and worship with everyone there but we can do it in our home and I plan to! As far as the fasting goes, when Marty (our pastor) mentioned it in church yesterday, he said it didn’t have to be food related. Well right in church, God spoke to me and I knew what I had to give up for 21 days….TELEVISION! I will admit to you that I love my shows. I love just having it on for the background noise, even if I am not watching it. I really think that not having it on for 21 days is going to be good for me and help me get many things accomplished. Each day I will be listing what the prayer focus for the day is

I am NOT a runner! Let me repeat this, NOT a runner. I won't say that I am not in shape because I do spin but I am not in great shape. I have decided that 2012 is the year I am going to run a half marathon. I have already had some doubts but I have cleared those from my head and know that I CAN do it! Saturday was our first training day. My aunt is a runner and is very excited about my mom and I taking part in this. It was actually her idea!!!! I feel the need to put a couple things out there....... 1. Why did I pick a half marathon is NYC? Why NOT? New York City is one of my favorite cities and any reason to go there is a good one! I knew this would highly motivate me! A run through central park, who wouldn't want that! 2. Why am I doing this? I have a goal to loose 30 pounds and this is part of that goal! Runners always seem to have the best bodies and be in the best shape, so I figured why not try it. I also want to push myself to do something I wou

Our Saturdays are normally filled with laid back family fun! I love them because of a few reasons: 1. Todd is home all day with us! 2. I don't have to rush to get ready before both kids get up! I can shower and take my time. 3. 75% of the time we all go to breakfast, if not all of us, Wyatt and daddy go 4. We run errands and get things done. So much can get done when daddy is home to help with kiddos. 5. Naps can be had by all! (we don't often do this but it is nice for days that we really need it!) Yesterday though, there must have been a full moon or something because we were ALL off! Don't tell Todd, but I'm even admitting to being in a mood for part of the day. The morning went well but things took a turn for the worse when we bought Wyatt's new car seat and tried to install them at the store. McKinley was having an off day, teething and wouldn't eat, she didn't have a great nap, and was screaming her head off and Wyatt was getting whining and tired. We

Normally washing Wyatt hair is a hit or miss. You might have a good night with no screaming involved but then again you might get some very loud screaming. We aren't exactly sure why, this kid loves the pool and getting his face wet, but something about the soap. It's Aveeno for cryin out loud! Regardless, you just never know. I always try to come up with something to help it be less torturous, you know look at the ceiling, let's make bubbles in the bath, etc. WEll tonight we were in our shower and I said, "Do you see that Dolphin up there?" he immediately looked up and starting about all the fish he could see, ok I can play along with this! I found Nemo and a dolphin, a small baby sea horse and a really big whale. Then I was finished! He didn't cry once, in fact he kept looking up to find all the sea creatures. I had a hard time getting him out of the shower until I told him that these fish had to go to sleep, but let's go find the ones in your room! He w

I am pretty sure that we have the happiest baby on the block! Wyatt was also a VERY happy baby! The comment I always got from people that interacted with Wyatt was: He is such a happy and content baby! That he was! I honestly didn't think they get much happier than Wyatt, McKinley may just be a tad happier than Wyatt was! We call her smiley because that's what she does... ALL THE TIME! She smiles, giggles, and is just happy and content all the time. That being said, yes she is still a baby and does have her days. Days where she needs a little more cuddle time because a tooth is coming through or she's just tired. Even when she is tired though, she is pretty happy or she just falls asleep. I'm not kidding! What is funny is that I pushed so hard for her to take a paci, and she never did! Turns out she really doesn't need one. I try to push her into a schedule, she just goes with the flow. She really is a good baby. Now, I need to be honest, we have come a long way. M

There are no sick days when you a mom. I can't call in and just stay in bed all day. I did lay on the couch for half the afternoon (I felt VERY LAZY and VERY BAD) but I had to do it. I did the best I could. The house was a total wreck by the end of the day, but the kids were all feed and in good moods so thats all that matters. Their needs were met! I have said 100 times but I am SO thankful to live near family and have the parents that I do! They are so helpful and always help anyway that they can. My mom saved the day last night and today. I can't imagine not having them around. Tuesday morning I woke up with an AWFUL stomach ache. In addition to this lovely wake up at 5:30, McKinley decided that she wanted to eat as well. I didn't know if I would make it through the bottle, but I did before getting sick. I went back to bed hoping she would fall asleep! She did! I was so very thankful that Mimi and Papa had taken Wyatt to spend the night, so I didn't have a 7 am wake

Here we go: 1. Closer relationship with God. 2. More family dinners at HOME!! 3. Lose 30lbs! Yes, I have 30 to lose before our cruise. Please wish me luck. 4. More organized. 5. Blog more. THE PLAN: 1. Wake up and start my day with the one year plan to read through the bible. Really work on my relationship with God and getting to know him better. 2. We are starting with a small goal of 17 days (minus my uncles birthday and my birthday). We eat out way to much. 3. 17 day diet/3 spin classes a week/ 3 days training with Ivan. Let's get it started! 4. Start one room at a time! Organize! Organize! Organize! 5. I love looking back at this blog as a way to remember things. I really want to blog more because I don't want to miss anything!!!! Also, because I love reading and keeping up with people who update their blogs. I LOVE reading through some of my favorite blogs before bed and keeping in touch with friends that I don't get to see very often.

2011 was a wonderful year! Our greatest gift this year, McKinley! She was born on April 12th and our life has been changed ever since. Looking back this past year, I can't believe how much Wyatt has grown. It really is amazing! I will be honest though, January to March was blur, Todd was working late and Wyatt and I were on our own a lot in the evenings, it made for VERY LONG evenings when late in pregnancy. April through July went by fast and are also much of a blur because we were in SURVIVAL mode! Whatever it took to get through the day in one piece. Lots of crying and screaming was had by all (in a good and bad way) this is all part of having a newborn and 20 month old. There were lots of good times too but again with the honesty, it was HARD! It was really tough. I look back and I am truly thankful for my family and all the help they gave us during these times of adjustment. We made it through! July and August were great. I finally had somewhat of a handle on this mother of tw

Christmas morning didn’t turn out quite like I had thought it would, but it was a wonderful morning! When you have two under two, it never turns out like you think it will. Christmas celebrations for us started on Friday the 23rd. When you have three sets of family to visit with, it can take more than one day to fit it all in. Friday, the 23rd, Nancy and Ken (Todd’s mom and stepdad) came over around 5:30 and we opened presents with them and then enjoyed a yummy casserole at home. This allowed for a stress free evening not having to worry about taking the kids out and entertaining them at a restaurant. Wyatt got a InnoTab from vtech. It’s like an ipad for a kid! It really is cool! I haven’t figured all of it out yet but he has already figured out how to play one of the games and how to color pictures on it. His favorite gift was a box of sea animals and wild animals. He played with those for two hours that night! McKinley got the cutest little car walker, she LOVES it. It is so cute to