Sunday, February 14, 2010

Lots O' Love

We love you...but we dont love the snow. See Asher's face for details.
Happy Valentines Day!
xoxoxoxo
















Thursday, February 11, 2010

Joyschool Valentines Party

The boys love Joyschool. Here are a few pictures of the kids, eating their cookies that they frosted and decorated. Definately a fun little group of friends.





































Monday, February 8, 2010

Nor'easter

We had a huge snow storm on Friday night and Saturday morning. Here are some pictures. The Hershey area got about 18 inches, in 24 hours. South of us had alot more. We had a fun time playing in all the snow. Asher was drowning in it, so he didnt go out much. Here are some of the rest of us.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Guess who's FIVE?


Today is Zachary and Tanners 5th Birthday! I cant believe how big they are. I still remember the day they were born. It was full of excitment and fear. They were born prematurely, when I was 32 weeks along. Zachary Welker weighed just 3 lbs 6oz. Tanner Michael was a tiny 3 lbs 13 oz I was so happy to finally be a mommy! They were so little and required so much attention! As they grew they have been able to play with eachother and bond with eachother in a way I may never fully understand. They are BEST FRIENDS!

The years have flown by, and now I have these two healthy, happy, smart little guys. They are the light of my life. They truely bring such joy to our lives. We are so blessed to have them both. We celebrated their birthday early over the weekend. We drove to Easton, PA to visit the Crayola Factory. They are at the perfect age and had the perfect attention span for such a cool, busy place. We loved the demonstration of how they make crayons. Zach like that the orange crayon was renamed MAC 'N CHEESE.








We also went to the National Canal Museum. I know what you are thinking, "a canal museum?" It was on the top level of the crayola factory. I thought it was cool. They had 90 feet of "canal" and locks that you could play with. The boys loved it! It was facinating to learn about the canals, and locks. We even got to play on a pretend boat and mule.

There was a pizza party and we dinned on cake and ice cream with Grandma and Grandpa Chamberlain. Grandma made the boys each a special cake. Tanner wanted a green one. Zach wanted Orange. So these are what she created. A tiger and a dinosaur. The kids loved them. Thanks so much Grandma! div>



The singing is horrible, I know. I was a bit distracted.

Happy Birthday my sweethearts. I love you both!

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Things that Matter Most

As you may have guessed, Zumba is something I adore. I love the music, the history behind the basic steps, the people who attend, and the good vibes I feel when working out. It really has become something I am passionate about. I started teaching at a small local gym. The class is small (compared to the 104 people they had Wednesday night at Golds Gym) but, I enjoy every second of it.

Zachary asked me today "Mom, where does Zumba live?"
ME: "What do you mean Zach? Zumba doesnt live anywhere."
Zach: "When you go with Zumba to the gym, does she go home with you?"
ME: "No, Zumba is not a person. Zumba is a class I go to at the gym."
Zach:"Oh. Its not a girl?"
ME: "Nope"
Poor kid. I think he thought I was going with someone named Zumba all the time to the gym. It made me feel bad because he thought I was spending all this time on Zumba, and he wanted to know who I was sharing my time with. Maybe he was feeling like I was with someone more than him. It worried me a little. Dont get me wrong, heaven knows I need some time to myself. To refuel myself and "fill my well". I just dont ever want to have something like a gym class become a distraction from my real love...My family.
Its hard to find balance in the world. Its hard to wear so many different hats as mother, wife, sister, friend, a human being and not feel disconnected to some of the responsibilities of daily life. I am trying to maintain that balance. Sometimes I do better than others. Its a challenge to all women to balance their desires, needs, wants and expectations with everyday responsibilities and realities.

In light of these feelings, I went back and read a Confrence Talk from Oct 2009 .

I'll put a few excerpts of it to make my point. It gave me some much needed guidance.
"On a dark December night 36 years ago, a Lockheed 1011 jumbo jet crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing over 100 people. This terrible accident was one of the deadliest crashes in the history of the United States.
A curious thing about this accident is that all vital parts and systems of the airplane were functioning perfectly—the plane could have easily landed safely at its destination in Miami, only 20 miles (32km) away.
During the final approach, however, the crew noticed that one green light had failed to illuminate—a light that indicates whether or not the nose landing gear has extended successfully. The pilots discontinued the approach, set the aircraft into a circling holding pattern over the pitch-black Everglades, and turned their attention toward investigating the problem.
They became so preoccupied with their search that they failed to realize the plane was gradually descending closer and closer toward the dark swamp below. By the time someone noticed what was happening, it was too late to avoid the disaster.
After the accident, investigators tried to determine the cause. The landing gear had indeed lowered properly. The plane was in perfect mechanical condition. Everything was working properly—all except one thing: a single burned-out lightbulb. That tiny bulb—worth about 20 cents—started the chain of events that ultimately led to the tragic death of over 100 people.
Of course, the malfunctioning lightbulb didn’t cause the accident; it happened because the crew placed its focus on something that seemed to matter at the moment while losing sight of what mattered most.The tendency to focus on the insignificant at the expense of the profound happens not only to pilots but to everyone. We are all at risk.
Sometimes the things that distract us are not bad in and of themselves; often they even make us feel good.It is possible to take even good things to excess. One example can be seen in a father or grandfather who spends hours upon hours searching for his ancestors or creating a blog while neglecting or avoiding quality or meaningful time with his own children and grandchildren. Another example could be a gardener who spends his days pulling weeds from the soil while ignoring the spiritual weeds that threaten to choke his soul.
we must not lose focus on the things that matter most.

I need to write this down. Read it often. And put it into practice everyday.

Haiti

The Earthquake in Haiti has been unreal. I cannot imagine the devastation. It only concerns me even more about an earthquake here in the US. Its only a matter of time. I wonder if I am prepared. I wonder how to prepare. Im glad I left the fault line in Farmington, Utah...:)- Seriously though...I cannot begin to comprehend what they must be going through. I saw a few of the performances that Hollywood stars put together to raise money. Most were fine. A song preformed by Justin Timberlake touched me the most. It was very sweet. I love the song. Thought I would share it, if you didnt see it.

<a href="http://www.mtv.com/news/" target="_blank">Justin Timberlake Performs Live! Hope For Haiti</a>

RMH Fundraiser


I recently participated in a fundraiser for our local Ronald McDonald House. It was really fun! 75 women donated money to come Zumba for charity. What great people! I got to teach a couple songs and shake it for a good cause. What a fun idea,eh?

Michelle Weber who is a Zumba instructor at the Hershey Golds Gym was in charge of the event. She did a great job. If I havent told you, she is the best Zumba instructor I have seen. She is amazing. She is my muse. Im fortunate to have been mentored by the best.-:)
Anyway, here are some pictures from the event. Thought I would share.


Veronica, Meridith, Michelle- Zumbalicious instructors.