April 26

I can not believe that its already April 26. And by that statement I mean that it feels like we just celebrated Christmas, but I am also thrilled that there are 20 something-ish days left of school. My teacher's heart is jumping for joy.

This spring has been a whirlwind of ballgames and sicknesses for us. There has been a lot of clean eating experiementing and a lot of fun, junk eating too. There has been a lot of family dinners and sweet conversations with friends. There has been lots of fat baby kissing and chasing down to lay kisses on my ever growing Foremans. Life has been sweet and full. Especially as we look back at the past year of tearful goodbyes and sweet hellos.

I have never cherished my husband more. I stand back and am amazed at his leadership, love and servants heart for me at home. It also thrills my heart to see him lead and thrive in ministry... what a sweet privilege I have to witness both.

This spring has been a reflective one. A reminder that I deserve none of God's goodness to me yet he continues to pour it on layer upon layer.

Chicago

April 6-9 was spent in Chicago. What a fun getaway this was. Julie and I left the boys at home and went to tag along on Papa John's business trip.

I had an excellent plane buddy. She shared her snacks and was quiet while I napped.

Our first stop was for some good Chicago pizza. Gino's east did not disappoint.

We also ate some other delicious food...

Cheesecake Factory

 Garrett's Popcorn... one of Oprah's favorite things. Their caramel is the best.



RPM- Guiliana and Bill's restaurant

 

 

 American Girl Tea Room

We also visited lots of fun places:

Navy Pier

 

 John Hancock building

American Girl

 

Louis Vuitton
This little gem was $4,000.

 

 Walking in stores we could never really shop in was quite fun.

Through all the eating and shopping, we even fit in a few naps. One afternoon I couldn't figure out why I was so uncomfortable. Then I realized it was because I had a Hallie Claire in my back.

 

As we were riding up the escalator one day, I couldn't get over how big these 2 are.

 

That Mags... with her purse full of who knows what, wanting to wear make-up and do what the big girls do... and taking duck face pictures of herself. 

 I mean where did that cute little, scrawny baby in that awful leopard swimsuit that aunt candy bought her go?

And then there's Miss Independent, Lily Grace, who is opinionated and knows what she wants.

I couldn't believe I was looking at an almost 8 and 6 year old... well almost 8 and 6 but going on 18 and 16.

I always have such a great time getting away for a few days,but making sweet memories with these kiddos is what makes these trips fun.

7 Day Challenge

I have a love/hate relationship with Allie Johnson. She has been my running/workout buddy for the last 2 years. And by hate... I mean she pushes me... hard... and sometimes I don't like it at first, but am always grateful for the way she challenges me. Last Wednesday was no different when she sent me a text talking about this 7 day challenge she was doing. I of course couldn't let her do it alone so began the "hate" part...7 days of:

400 jumping jacks
300 squats
200 sit ups
100 push ups

Everyday.

I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I have enjoyed this workout. I love how its a great whole body workout plus we're getting in cardio and strength. It becomes a little monotonous at times, but overall is a great workout. We broke it down into 4 sets and adjusted from there. We found we were actually adding more exercises than what was expected but enjoying it too much not to. For example, here is one set:

100 jumping jacks
100 squats
100 sit ups (we do a variety of crunches)
30 push ups

If we were to repeat this 4 times we'd def get in the 400 required jumping jacks, but also have increased the squat, sit ups, and push ups... score.

I will say I have noticed, as I did when we were running  longer distances, how much we are affected by the food we eat. After eating all of our Easter family dinners on Sunday... which were all delicious but not necessarily nutritious, I found our workout on Monday to be much more difficult. I love though that our bodies tell us when we're eating crap. It challenges me to be more mindful of what I eat.... because I do not want to see it again.

An added bonus is we've seen a difference in strength, stamina and our bodies these past 6 days. With just one more day of the challenge, I was getting kind of bummed... that is until she started sending me new challenge ideas and then I remembered why I have a love/hate relationship with her.