Old Yard Sale Wreath into One of a Kind Treasure!

Here is how I transformed an old and ugly $2 wreath I found at a yard sale!  

When I picked this up to buy it my mom and sisters all gave me funny looks because they couldn't understand why I would buy something so ugly! Little did they know, I had great plans running through my head before I even paid for it! 

Hope you enjoy! 

There ya have it!  

Until Next Time.....

Fat Girl Problems: My Journey from Fat Girl to Runner

If you have followed me from the beginning you will know that I am of the 'chubby' body type....well....more like 'Fat' and obese, but chubby sounds better! I have always been the 'Fat girl' and up until now I can honestly say I was kind of ok with that.  I have learned to just accept myself as being overweight and being known as the fat girl.  I often made jokes about it and I basically just dealt with it.  I figured that I met the love of my life while I was fat and he loves me just the way I am so it didn't really matter to me.  And, some how I had managed to keep myself pretty healthy internally!  I even shocked my Dr when she did all kinds of blood tests and everything came back normal and fine and not life threatening at all so I didn't really think it mattered what weight I was at.  Well, the time has come where I need to make some changes, like 100lbs worth of changes....  I need to do this not only for myself but for my kids and for Leif.  I don't want to be that fat girl anymore.  I want to be able to do things that other moms can physically that I can't. And more importantly with Cady getting older and going into Kindergarten where I plan on volunteering and getting involved in her school, I don't want to be an embarrassment to her.  I don't want her to not want to introduce me to her friends or the other moms because she is embarrassed of how I look.  I want to be accepted and not have to make jokes about my weight just to make myself feel better and sugar coat the fact that I am fat.  


With that being said, I have officially started the Couch25K program!


I have pretty much led a sedentary life with little to no physical activity other than chasing my kids around or shopping for hours (which can be tiring!) so this has been a shock to my system!  I have slowly started walking at the high school track down the road from my house, I started with about a mile and quickly moved onto 2 miles a couple times a week but I needed more.  I knew in my heart I could do more so after some research and reading some inspirational stories from other runners (That's you Jen!) :-)  I decided to take the plunge! 


The first day my sister and I got to the track ready to start things off with a bang!  We thought, jogging for 60 seconds, Hell, that's nothing!  BOY were we wrong!  She did better than I did because she is much for active than I am but I was pretty sure I was going to die after the first 30 seconds into the first jog!  I don't know how I finished it, but I did.  I will admit that I walked some of the time I was supposed to be jogging but I am proud of myself for actually getting through it and not quitting.  I came home that night and took the coldest shower I have ever taken and laid on the couch the rest of the night until I drug myself upstairs to bed!  The next day I was pretty sure that I broke my knee!  This girl could barely walk after all that jogging! (Fat Girl Problems!)  Well, I took a few days off to get my knee back in shape and guess what?!  Tonight I finished day 2! Again, I barely made it and was pretty sure that I was going to die more than once, BUT I DID!  And I lived to write this blog about it!  


I am going to continue to share my journey if you guys will help hold me accountable!  I have not done much to change my eating habits yet, but I have started drinking WAY more water than my bladder can handle so that will come in time!  Right now I just need you guys to help me keep on going.  I need you to remind me that there is light at the end of this fat girl tunnel and that I hopefully will come out being a little bit lighter on the scale and hopefully running my first 5k by the time I'm 30!  


Thank you all in advance! 


Until Next Time....

Keep Calm.....

I need to trust him more than anything tonight....I have so many things going through my head and not enough ambition to write it all down.....

so tonight I will just

Until Next Time......

CadyMayDesigns Grab Bag Event!

CadyMayDesigns is doing a Grab Bag Event to clear out old inventory to make room for new! 

Receive 5 bows/flowers for just $15.00! That's just $3.00 a piece!! 

If you are not in Three Rivers comment with your Paypal email and I will send you an invoice and ship it out to you on Monday (or as soon as payment is recieved). 

Be sure to get them while they last!

I'm hurting because Their hurting

I'm hurting tonight....but not for myself....I'm hurting for my sisters.  Two of my sisters are going through some relationship issues and it hurts me to see them broken and know that there isn't much I can do to make them better.  I just want them to be the same little sisters that I envision when I think of all my siblings.  I want them to both know that they are beautiful and talented and worth so much more in the world.  I want them to know that I am always there to lend an ear, listen, scream with them or just sit in silence with them even if I don't know much about what they are going through.  I also want them to know that I Love them with all my heart and I will always be there for them and that I just want them back. But something just still doesn't seem right with me...I'm not going to go into detail about what they are going through but I just need to let some things out.  

I feel like a failure as an older/the oldest sibling.  I feel like I haven't given them a good enough role model to follow.  I haven't given the best advice, I haven't always been there when they need something, and I have made mistakes that they have seen and I feel like I could have done better throughout the years.  There are so many things that I have said that I wish I never said, so many opinions I have put out there that I wish would have stayed in my head....

For those of you that follow my blog know that I am the oldest of 6 children.  There are 5 girls and 1 boy.  And let me tell you, I am a PROUD big sister!  I tried to make it to all of their sporting/school events.  I helped plan open houses and parties, etc.  I have the most beautiful and talented sisters and brother.  They are all doing great things in their life and getting older (Bonnie, please stop getting older!)  But there is still a feeling that I have let them down and I can't shake it.  I just started to feel this way I don't really know....I feel like when they make a mistake in their lives that some of it is because of me.  Because I didn't do a good enough job showing them a good path to take.  I don't know....I have so many things going through my head right now.  

....I should probably stop thinking and rambling and try to go to sleep....

I'll just end by saying I'm sorry if I haven't always been the greatest sister but I do truly love you and I will be there for any of you whenever you need it.

Until Next Time.... 

Insta-Friday

I am a Lover of all things Android.  I was SO jealous when I came across Instagram on my Ipod but realized that I couldn't get in on my Android phone....so naturally once I heard that they had an App available for Android I hopped right on it!  Since then I have basically taken all of my pictures using that App.

So, you can guess how excited I was to find a Friday meme called Insta-Friday at Life Rearranged!

I present to you, The my week via Instagram!

I cherish the times my sweet boy lets me sing him to sleep.  He was so exhausted that he climbed up on my lap and fell asleep after one song! 

Sister had her first field trip last week.  This was taken on the way to the zoo......which I might add was an hour and a half away on a school buss....We spent the day at Potowatomi Zoo in South Bend.

This is what she picked out at the zoo......kinda freaky....I know...

The next day Hubby was off from work so, because I'm some what crazy, we headed North to another zoo!  This time we spent the day at Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek.

 

And we met this guy!

Towards the end of our day someone started getting a little silly!

 

These two love each other so much.  It makes me smile when I see them hugging and laying with each other.  Because Nate is getting older and rarely sits still anymore it doesn't happen much so when it does I try and capture every moment!

Well, there ya have it!  My first Insta-Friday!  If you want to join me in this fun meme then head on over to  Life Rearranged and join in! If you want to find me on Instagram look me up at Steph8084.

Until Next Time.....

Ten years gone

Our 10 year class reunion is this year....

Naturally once I started to hear talk about it I pulled out my Senior Memory book and Year book ( yes, I still know where they are!).
I came across this page in the back of my memory book. My dreams and hopes of where I will be in 2012, 10 years after I graduated. They got me thinking.....
Did I accomplish these dreams? Not even close!

Did I graduate college and have a teaching degree? No
Do I have a job as an elementary teacher? No
Am I married? Yes! Happily for 7 years!
Do I live in a big house in a big city? We own a good sized house, but its not what I was envisioning as BIG and I know 10 years ago I didn't see myself still in Three Rivers!
Am I driving my dream car, a 1998 Silver Eclipse? HAH! Talk about total opposite! Maroon 'Soccer Mom' van!

Am I happy? Absolutely!

So I guess my reasoning for this post tonight is to remind myself and others that just because what we originally set in our minds as hopes and dreams may not always come out the way we wanted them to doesn't mean we have failed. I may not have accomplished what I wrote in my book 10 years ago, but I have accomplished much much more than I thought I would have! I am not a teacher that gets paid in money, I am a teacher to two awesome children who pay me with their smiles and kisses everyday! I may not live in a BIG house in a BIG city, but I am blessed to own a home big enough for our family in a small town that I love! And I may not be driving in my dream car, but I know in the future I will have my NEW dream car.....a Luxury Mini Van! :-)

Hebrews tells us to be content with what we have. Well, I can finally say that I am content!

Until next time.....
Steph

I Love Giveaways....Even if I never win....lol

A Daily Dose of Davis is having a Giveaway that ends tomorrow night!  


And, even though I would rather not tell anyone so that I can win I've decided that today will be the day that I share the good news! :-) Hop on over there to see what she is giving away and then put in a good word for your friend Steph!  Hope you are having a Happy Wednesday (Well, I guess its actually Thursday now) and a great week!

Enjoy your Holiday Weekend 

and 

Thank a Veteran and/or a Solider! 

Until Next Time....

7 years.

Its taken me all day to find the words to express how much I love Leif Hightree. April 30th marked our 7 year Wedding Anniversary. But it feels like eternity.

I remember when I first met him. We both worked at Kmart in 2002. I was 17 and in my Senior year of High School, he was 21 and going to school at KVCC. Ill admit, I didn't really like him at first. I kind of thought he was weird, and he was older and not really "my type"....as if I really had a "type".....

I didn't really talk to him much until I got transferred to the dreaded K Cafe where he worked. I remember always getting mad at him because every time I would come into work there would be dishes to wash. He would claim he didn't have time to do them, I would think he just didn't want to do them and would make me!

We started developing a friendship after working together daily. He would sing oldies songs, I would complain to him about my boyfriend. We would joke around about the current movie Kmart was playing on the big screen. We even hung out after work sometimes. ( Totally platonic because I had a boyfriend at the time!) We went to see the movie Collateral Damage one evening after work. I remember thinking Leif wasn't so weird after all. Well, except for the fact that his name was Leif Hightree, but that's another story! The next day my boyfriend and I broke up......totally unrelated! But after I told Leif, he for sure thought he had a part in it!

I remember after a few months I started to feel like I kind of "liked" Leif. But I had never really pursued a guy before. My past boyfriends both asked me out so I wasn't really sure what to do! So, naturally I started strategically going to Kmart at the same time he was working. Checking his schedule and trying to get mine changed to work the same time as him.....I even skipped a class one day at school to go say hi to him at work. (Sorry Mom!) Finally I had come up with the master plan of asking him to go with me to my Prom. However, I couldn't actually ask him myself.....I wanted him to ask me!

So, since I knew when he would be at work....now that I think about it I was kind of borderline stalkerish.....I went into Kmart one day and found him and started giving him a sob story about how every girl in my school had a date to Prom but me....I believe my exact words were " I swear every girl in my school has a date to Prom except me!" Not really sure what his reaction would be I was very surprised when he pulled this next sentence out....."Is this where I become your Knight in Shining Armour and take you to Prom?" I know....corny..... But what this story has led up to is sharing why I Love Leif Hightree. That line sums it up.

He rescued me.

Yes, he may be corny but he is MY corny! I have loved him since the day we started dating. I love everything about him, even his faults and his corny little lines! He is my soul mate. He holds the other half of my heart. He is my partner in life. He is the love of my life. I know I can be difficult but he has stuck by me through thick and thin and I know I never have to question whether or not he will be there. He is an awesome father, a wonderful husband and my "baby-waby".

I am so blessed to have been with him for 10 years and married for 7 and look forward to the next 7 years!

Leif, I Love you with all my heart. Happy 7 Year Anniversary.

"Poohie-Whoohie"

My name is Steph Hightree and I Am Second

Wow.....how amazing is this video! 

Everything that Jason said has touched my heart in ways that I never imagined! I'm 27 yrs old and have been a Christian for as long as I can remember but I haven't always lived the life of a Christian. After accepting Christ into my heart I kinda fell into the world living my life like I wanted and doing this the way I felt they should be done, instead of living the life God wants for me. I don't totally understand what it is to be a servant of God, I am still learning and growing. Coming across this video has brought me one step closer to being the servant that he wishes me to be.  One day I hope to be an inspiration to others in this same way.

I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I have!  If not, I hope you still watch it and that God touches you in some way. :-)