Flashback Friday

Time sure flies. I wanted to take a minute and share some pics of those that I have lost. These pictures were both taken in 2003, with two that I lost in 2007. I was pregnant with Lauren in both of these photos. So much has changed since these were taken but not a day goes by that I don't think about them both!

This is me and Matt's mom, Suzanne. I was so lucky to have a Mother-In-Law like her. She was so kind, and loving and wonderful to have around. Family was everything to her, and she was everything to us.
This is me and our dog Dixie. She was so fun and energetic, she had so much personality..and that dang dog was always causing trouble. We will never have another dog like her, and our daily lives still feel a little bit emptier without her around:

Professional Pic Time

When Lauren was born I swore that whatever I did for kid #1 would be what I did for kid #2, especially when it came to pictures. With Lauren I went at 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, and then once a year after that. Every trip was so enjoyable because she was so well-behaved and photogenic. I have kept up the tradition with Jamie, only I DREAD EVERY SESSION! He is a nightmare! (different kind of photo nightmare than yours, Amber Holbrook).....He won't sit still, he cries, he throws huge fits and I am embarassed and stressed every time. The sweet girl at Kiddie Kandids was so patient and wonderful. So...after nearly 2 hours of begging, crying, and a big feather duster...we have 2 decent shots of my littlest monkey. I wanted a picture of the two of them together, but Jamie was having NO part of that. Lauren was such a trooper, I got one shot of her as a reward. After looking at Jamie's one year photos, he sure has changed in six months, he is looking more and more like a "boy" instead of a "baby". BUT just don't let the sweet smile fool you...

James Mathew Lovato at 18 months:
Like father, like son...the boy LOVES any kind of vehicle!:
Sweet, sweet Lauren SuzAnne:

COOLPIX!

SOO....some exciting things happened this week. First of all, my mom is back from Louisiana! She has been there for three weeks and I have missed her (and my dad) SOOO much! Second of all, we had a contest running all month at work for the managers and I took second place...and my prize was this NIKON COOLPIX DIGITAL CAMERA!!! I have never had a digital camera, I still use the old film camera and I ALWAYS have my camera at every family party and get together. Lately I have been using Matt's digital camera for this blog. But I am so excited to have my OWN! I even figured out how to download all the pics myself. The camera can do so many cool things! Lastly, my house is coming along nicely still. Now the stucco is on, and the rocks just got put on today. I am IN LOVE with this house and I LOVE the colors that we picked. We should be closing on the house in approximately 35 days.....yipeeee!!
Inside the house, they are texturing the walls and ceiling:
I had Lauren pose for the camera! She is so stinkin' cute!
Here are my two babies, now this is what life is all about!

Holy Sheet!

Rock that is! Our builders are amazing! They sheetrocked the entire house in less than three days! It is actually starting to look and feel like a house! We are so excited! 42 days left until closing! Enjoy the latest pics!

Matt really wanted me to make sure I got one of these pictures in, he is standing where the lake will be, and wanted you to see it in perspective:
This is the garage:
This is looking into our bathroom:
This is the ceiling in our bedrom, "coffered" I think they call it:
The entryway from the gargage, this is the kitchen, and you can see the stairs:
MY FAVORITE picture: A view of the loft, doesn't it look like a tower?

Upstairs, The doors are; Jamie's room, the kids' bathroom, and my crap, I mean craft room.
Under the porch, I can't wait to have can lighting EVERYWHERE:
The big windows in the great room, and the fireplace, a first for me!!
This was yesterday, they are getting ready to stucco and they are putting the board and batten under the eaves!

Matt is such a good dad, he has taken the kids twice now to go see the witches at Gardner Village, here is a picture from their most recent excursion. This is Lauren checking out the ducks:

Lauren and Jamie came across a cat, and they were totally intrigued:
Lauren was brave enough this year to sit right next to the witch, this is happy Lauren:
And not so happy Jamie (this is how he is at church...imagine that):

Diet Update:

Well. Immediately after my last diet post, I almost had a nervous breakdown. I cried uncontrollably most of that day. I don't know why. I was super stressed at work and I guess that I had had enough of the new diet thing, yup, after only one week. Although it worked great, I just couldn't gulp down that food anymore. It isn't horrible, it just isn't good..and it all smells the same...ugh. I tried just to watch what I ate this week, and I kept the 5 pounds that I lost the week before off. I need a new strategy. Don't hate the quitter.....

House Updates:

Here are the updates as promised. We got news yesterday that instead of our house being done on December 10th, it will now be done on November 19th! I am so excited!! Since the construction market has slowed, they are cruising on their existing projects, as you can see:

We now have our front door, the hardware will be different, I only wish you could see how beautiful it is under all the wrapping:
The kids tub is in upstairs:

We also now have a driveway:
Before they put insullation in, they let Matt come and insulate the garage! I am sure proud of how handy he is! It looks so professional! I am sure this is something we will later be glad that we did, er he did:
He also pulled all the wire throughout the entire house for our alarm:
This is the roof and other side of the garage that he did. He did this while I was having the garage sale, I am proud to say that I made $400 at my garage sale, and I successfully got rid of all of the baby stuff (carseat, stroller, bouncer, walker, and playpen) and many other items around the house that I was ready to part with: What a good weekend!
They are also moving quite nicely on the lake:

Later on during the week, they began putting their own insullation in, this is in the basement:
This is the kitchen, all the electric is done:
The upstairs' insullation:
And..this is the most recent, they have the scaffolding set up to begin to do the stucco! WOW!
Stay tuned for more updates....

Diet Update: Week One

So, I have now completed one week on the new diet. The results.... I LOST 5 POUNDS. I am not going to lie to ya, it has been hard. BUT I feel good about taking action on something that has bothered me for so long. The suprising thing is that I am not very hungry, I eat the food and it keeps me satisfied. It is my BRAIN that craves the crap!!!

As for the house updates, we need to download the pictures and I will post them, so stay tuned. Yesterday they set up the scaffolding to start stuccoing the house! We now have insullation, and a driveway! It is getting closer.....