The Reynolds Nation

 This is my favorite picture ever....Kayaking big family style...This was us on Sunday afternoon. It was so beautiful out. The weather was about 75 degrees (I know, it is January) and we were out with all the kids in the kayaks. We saw dolphins galore ( a few jumped by the kids kayak, only about 4 feet away)...and we went down the river for a few miles. It was such a glorious afternoon. We could not have had a better day.  A few minutes together while the kids played on the island in the middle of the river. Love this man!  Yes, our kids are crazy. The water was so COLD!!!! But they were in the water, swimming like crazy. Not me, that's for sure. I stayed on the island and snapped pictures. Even so, it was so much fun. We are looking forward to warmer weather (and warmer water) when we can take a picnic lunch out to the islands and swim for hours at a time. And last, but certainly not least, our little Roo had her cast taken off this week...after almost 2...

I had to post about the above picture. I posted it on Facebook on Saturday after some thoughts with God. I was having a really rough week with my self-image. Not feeling up to par, I guess is where I was at. Not feeling any thinner...feeling like the round ball that I was. Crazy. I must admit that this weight loss journey is such a mental game. It's so hard because you feel you look one way, but you really look another way. Obviously I don't feel as big as I did last year at this time...but I just can't seem to know how big I am. I am not used to this skin I am currently in. And the hard part is that it changes all the time. I have lost 112 pounds..in 11.5 months...I am constantly changing. I can't describe my feelings really well...it's so weird. Anyway, so I was thinking about it and I felt like God wanted me to take a picture of myself. I was alone in the house (that rarely happens) and I don't think I have EVER taken a picture of myself. Headshots, yes....

  I know, when I saw the words "virtual 5k" I thought it was kind of weird too. I had images of me just running in my mind, not actually running. Running on the computer? Well, over at my favorite blog, www.Runsforcookies.com , Katie was going to celebrate her 31st birthday. And what way would you want to celebrate your 31st birthday? Running a 5k of course...3.1 miles for 31 years...with almost a 1000 of your closest friends spread all over the globe. Lol. Everyone signed up and and agreed to run/walk 3.1 miles in honor of her birthday. She even made the cutest bibs to print out and wear...which William and I proudly did. Today we headed out in nice weather (about 50 degrees) and ran our miles. And it was a good run...it felt good. And it felt even better knowing that so many other people were out there running too. What a great way to celebrate the day! It felt great! Happy birthday Katie...thanks for being such an inspiration!!!       ...

So, Monday. Hello. How are you? Haven't seen you in awhile...about 7 days to be exact. Yes, I wasn't really looking forward to you. But that's okay. Now that you are here you are being quite pleasant to me. Thanks, I appreciate it. The kids are on the porch already playing with their legos. Making a new house to go on the table there. They are usually very specific. With lots of furniture, people and all the extras you expect in a house. We had an easy school day. Lots of reading (and of course all the other stuff too...like math, phonics, science). We are in the age of Elizabeth I...lots of Shakespeare, Catholicism and Queens. We have been reading Shakespeare for weeks now...the kids have got a kick out of it. Laughing at the silly stories...and being very confused at times because of the story lines. Today was "A Midsummer Night's Dream." A very confusing story...that seemed very silly in the end. The kids looked at me with weird faces. Oh well, they will ...

I am finally posting pictures from our race 2 weeks ago. My little man and me. I still can't believe that he ran the race. And since then has continued running with me 3 days a week. He is amazing! The picture with me in it still shocks me...I can't believe that I am that small. Enjoy!

Ok, so I don't know what is going on with blogspot. Haven't figured it out yet...but for some reason it won't let me upload pictures. So, an update anyway... William and I ran our first 5k together last Sunday. Oh, what a blast. And what a great feeling to see your kids wanting to be fit and healthy. It was so awesome. He ran the whole way, which was his goal. And really when he finished he didn't look tired at all. To be that young again.  I was so proud of him. He trained for 7 weeks to complete the task, a big deal for a little kid. He ran faster than me...which I had expected. What a great moment for us. All the family came out to see him and his success. What a beautiful day for us. We just finished our first full school week after the holidays. It is always a bit rough, but we made it through. Back to the grind of all our work with thoughts already on spring break. We are having a great year and am loving our 11th year of homeschooling. Gosh, what else has been...

Hey Folks...I haven't disappeared. Something is up with the site where it won't let me load my pictures. I have some great ones to put up. I am trying to figure out what's going on. So keep checking back!

Despite the protests from the kids, we headed back to school today. It was also Matt's first day back to work so it worked out perfectly. The kids would have had too much time on their hands if we didn't have anything to occupy our time...so they hit the books. I am ready too...I need my routine back. Are you back to the school routine or enjoying the holidays still? And by the way, didn't the holidays just breeze right by???