The Bobay's

2 Month's Old

2011-05-26T08:18:00.001-05:00

2 Month Stats:
Weight: 11 pounds 15 ounces (37%)
Height: 22 1/4 inches (10%)
Head Circumference: 15 3/4 inches (35%)

Tyboat is growing nicely :) Staying in his curve which is what they like to see. On his list of accomplishments the past two months we have: holding head up, smile, laugh, bicep flex :), roll over from stomach to back (only a few times), coo and talk, and unbelievably LOUD farts!

Ty Pictures

2011-05-26T08:10:00.000-05:00

Over the past 2 months I have had an overwhelming experience in developing a love for something deeper than I could have ever imagined. Never in a million years could I have even began to truly understand the love of a parent until I became one. The thing that really overwhelms me is that my Heavenly Father loves me even deeper than the love I have for Ty, and as much as I love Ty God loves him with an intensity that is far greater than I am humanly capable of. This line from one of Chris Tomlin's song, "Oh, how He loves us all" has taken on such a greater meaning. I am truly humbled, grateful, and blessed for the mercy of our Father. Because of his gracious mercy and sacrifice of his only son, we can experience this love that He has for us!!!!!! AMAZING...so here are some pictures of my new love

Ty right after he was born, all squishy and swollen

Going home from the hospital

3 days after Ty was born taken by the beautiful Mary

Sweet boy

Ty LOVES his bath time

One of my favorite faces (he hasn't been doing it to much anymore)

My first Mother's Day!!!!

Love his sweet smile

Ty loves his honey

1 month old picture

My Birth Story

2011-05-25T13:09:00.002-05:00

Well it happened...2 months ago
Ty came into this world fast and fierce. He was definitely not messing around when it came to his entrance! Let me preface this story by saying this: From everything I had read and what EVERYONE had told me I was planning for my first birth to take about 12-18 hours of labor perhaps even longer. I had planned to stay at home for at least the first 6-7 hours to do all my pre labor work, and not head to the hospital till it was serious. This is how most all of my friends first births were, and my pregnancy had been pretty routine...

Short version: I had Ty on March 10th, 2011 he weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 19 1/2 in long. I did an all natural delivery and couldn't have done it without my doula Jenni, husband Cody, and mom Lecia. My labor was 5 1/2 hours and pushing was 11 minutes.

Now here is the long story from beginning to end (yes it is long and detailed):

So remember how I was complaining about getting check and it just gets your hopes up and yada yada? Well I still feel that way, but when I went in at 39 wks and 5 days I decided to go ahead and see if I had progressed any from my previous visit. I started that Wednesday morning by going to Body Pump at the YMCA (Weight lifting class). I was hoping the squats and lunges might send me into labor that morning, but no such luck. That afternoon I went to my appt with my midwife. She went ahead and checked me again. I was 3 cm dilated 80% effaced and Ty's head was in between a 0 and +1 station! Things were looking very good :) Dawn went over what to do when I go into labor, and let me know that she would be on starting Thursday morning at 7:00 AM and from Friday at 12:00 through Sunday. I was thinking that for sure she would get to deliver Ty. She had told me that she thought I might have a fast delivery due to all the working out I did while pregnant and the shape my body was in. She even told Barb the Midwife on call that night, that she might be seeing the Bobay's. When I got home I prepared the car for an emergency car birth (trash bags, pillows, and blankets). My Doula, Jennifer Elder, had talked with her sister who is also a doula and a prior labor and delivery nurse, and she felt since I was so dilated and effaced without even being in labor that we should be prepared just in case.

Later that evening Cody and I went and spoke at Shartel Church of God for the last night in our series of "Soul Control". When we got home we did the deed as we were told this helps induce labor ;) Then we went to bed. I woke up at 12:00 AM with what I thought were contractions, but I wasn't sure. They felt like an intense menstrual cramp, starting from my back and spreading to the front of my belly. I decided to get up and go into the living room. When I got in the living room, I started texting my mom. I wanted her to be here for the birth. We were trying to figure out if I was really having contractions. She told me to start timing them. So I did the best I could determining when they started and ended. They were coming about 4 minutes apart and lasting about 50 seconds. My mom called and we decided she should go ahead and wake my dad up and get on the road. She kept saying, "I don't want to miss it!" I assured her that even if I did have a fast labor it would still be like 7-9 hrs right?

I went ahead and called Jenni and let her know how my contractions were. She decided to take a shower and head on over. I made the call to let Cody stay asleep. These contractions weren't that bad and I could definitely handle them on my own. In fact I thought man if this is pre labor I could do this for hours. I walked around, but would have to stop and brace on a wall to relax through the contractions. They started to intensify extremely quickly. At about 2:00 AM Jenni got to the house, and I decided to sit on my birthing ball and lean on the kitchen table. She got me some tea and looked at my contraction chart. She told me that I should probably wake up Cody. I went in and got him up. When he came out he was totally unaware of what was going on, but quickly realized I was in the middle of labor when he looked at my chart. At this point I am feeling like I am dilated to about a 6. The contractions are about a minute long and coming more like 3 minutes apart. Jenni decided that it would probably be good for me to go lay down in the Bradley position (birthing method) in bed, and work on really relaxing deep through the contractions. We turned on some worship music (I made a worship birth CD) and I continued to labor. At this point I can't talk or focus on anything but my breathing. I was focusing on working with my contractions. They were really starting to intensify, but I did not focus on the pain, but rather working through them. If I thought about the pain I would lose my concentration and feel out of control so that was just not an option! My right leg would involuntarily shake, and it was so sweet cause the only person that could get it to relax the entire time during labor was Cody. Jenni and Cody would switch between coaching me. About 4 songs in after a contraction I looked at Jenni and said, "We need to go" just as she was saying to me, "I think it's time to go". It's funny because every book I read said that you will know when it is time to go, and I definitely knew. At that point my contractions were a minute and a half long and 2-3 minutes apart. Although this may sound like it had been a long time, it had only been an hour. At 3:00 AM we headed for the car...as we were getting in the car I hit transition. Trust me I KNEW it was transition. Jenni hurried Cody along, told him not to worry about grabbing anything else that we needed to leave right now.

The car was miserable, but I was so thankful I had prepared for a car birth. I had blankets and pillows to get comfortable with (and by comfortable, I mean as comfortable as you can possibly be while in extreme and intense pain). Now it was really difficult to focus. I was laying in the back by myself. Jenni was turned around from the front seat coaching me. We had a 25 minute drive to the hospital. The sign that let me know FOR SURE I was in transition, was that I all the sudden had the urge to throw up. Thankfully I did not!

When we got to the hospital it was about 3:30 at this point. Jenni helped walk me in through the emergency exit. It took us quite awhile to walk to the elevators as I had to stop every 2 minutes to work through a contraction. I would lean on Jenni and just try and relax and sag my whole body through the contraction. We also had to make a bathroom stop on the way to the elevators. This is how Cody found us! He could hear me moaning through my contractions. Being vocal definitely helped me to relax. I was not loud and screaming by any means, but just slightly moaning through the contractions helped me release that extra tension. When we got up to triage, they actually asked, "So is she having contractions!" There were many choice words that I wanted to use at this point, but held my tongue as I knew it would not help in any way for me to stay relaxed. Jenni let it be known that I was pretty far along, and that they should hurry up. I walked back to a room and got on the table. The nurse tried to ask me all these questions, and finally quit asking me and started asking Cody as I couldn't speak or really think! We suggested that she check me, but she wanted to do blood work and get the monitors on first. When she finally checked me she said, "Oh my, you are dilated to about an 8! I think I will go ahead and call the midwife". At this point it is about 4:30 AM. They ask if I would like to be wheeled into the Delivery room or take a wheel chair. At this point the pain is so severe and intense I can't really imagine moving, so I ask them to wheel me in the bed.

When we got in the room we met our L&D nurse. We gave them my birth plan and told them we wanted no IV's or medication of any kind. I got up to go to the bathroom and tried to walk a little bit. My nurse was eager to check me but I just told her I wanted to hold off. I had asked for intermittent monitoring, but they kept them on cause they were having a hard time getting a good heart beat for Ty. The monitors totally gave me back labor...I continued to politely ask if they could be removed, but they said not yet. I continued to lay in the bed on my side and labor through these contractions. At 2 different points I looked at Jenni and said, "I can't do this". I had no intention of trying to get any medicine, and I remember thinking I should say this so that she will reassure me that I CAN do this. The reassurance gave me another boost to hang in there and keep working. My contractions were about a minute and a half to a minute forty-five and about a minute apart. Cody would come and coach me and amazingly my leg would stop shaking (hehe I love that!). Eventually they placed the monitors low enough to get a good heart beat, and then they were removed. My mom arrived at 5:00 AM. She walked in the room, and I thought I spoke to her, but later found out I just looked at her and then rolled over and continued to focus. The funny thing is I distinctly remember EVERYTHING she said. I could hear her saying, "I am so proud of her." "Look at the way she is so focused." "I can't believe how calm she is." All these things just encouraged me to hang in there. At this point I felt a little urge to push so I let the nurse check me. I was a 9. Jenni started to count me through the hard part of the contractions. This was a life saver...it gave me an end goal and gave me something to focus on. I focused on getting to a specific number on each contraction. The nurse suggested I switch off slow deep breathing to a little bit shorter quicker breaths like blowing out a candle (not quite as intense or fast as Lamaze). This technique REALLY helped! For the next 45 minutes my contractions were about 2 minutes + long and every 20 seconds.

Jenni heavily and firmly suggested that I get up and get on the birthing ball (This was key in what happened next). As I walked to the birthing ball my body started pushing. Barb, the midwife on call, was in the room at the time, and asked me to get back in the bed to check me. She said I was a 10 and Ty was at +2-+3 station. My water had not broke at this point. At first I was on my back at a 45 degree angle with my mom, Cody, and Jenni pulling my legs back almost making me upright. This position was not good for me! I felt out of control, and up until this point I had been in control through the entire labor. I asked if I could get in the squatting position. Once I was there Barb said she felt like it wasn't the best angle for her to catch the baby, so Jenni suggested hands and knees turned to face the bed. So I flipped myself around and grabbed the top of the bed. This position was AWESOME! At this point, my water had not broke on it's own so they asked if I wanted them to break it. I decided it was time. When they broke the water there was meconium. This meant that I would not get Ty right after I delivered b/c they would suction him and then hand him off to the pediatrician and her nurses to suction him more and make sure he didn't aspirate any of the meconium. After they popped the water...things got out of control. My body all the sudden started violently pushing. Every muscle in my body started flexing, and bearing down. My mom and Jenni told me after that my entire back started flexing and my veins were popping out. At this point I couldn't help but moan EXTREMELY loudly on the verge of yelling. It was crazy! The contractions were one on top of the other. Through the pushing I only remember one brief pause of about 15-20 seconds where I said, "I can't do this" then my body started pushing again and never stopped. I couldn't feel any tearing down, but I could feel myself tearing up...that was a bummer. After 11 minutes of this Ty was out at 6:06 AM!!! I had to look over my shoulder to see him! He was so beautiful. The pediatrician and her team had been in the room ever since they broke my water so they took Ty right away while Barb sewed me up. I had a grade 2 tear down and a grade 1 up. I then got to hold Ty after that :)

So that is my story. My total labor from beginning to end was 5 1/2 hours. Short, but not necessarily easy. I did things a little backwards. Instead of pre labor being my longest part of labor, transition was. I had read and been told by most that from a 7-10 generally takes 30 minutes-1 hour and 1/2. That was my longest part of labor taking 3 hours. Not at all what I had expected or had been told to expect! I guess that's the crazy thing about labor it's pretty unpredictable. To be honest the pushing was pretty violent. Jenni came up later that evening to talk though some things with me and give me a little counseling. The best way to describe my pushing experience was that my body suddenly assaulted me, took control picked me up and threw me on the ground. I know you are probably thinking this is extreme, and I thought maybe I was just being a big baby, but the nurse and Jenni both assured me that it had been very far from normal. The nurse told Cody afterwards that she hadn't ever seen contractions that intense or severe. Jenni assured me that out of all the deliveries she had seen she had never seen pushing that was quite that violent. Even if it wasn't that badand I am being dramatic, this made me feel better :)

So the question I have been asked by many. Will you do natural delivery again...my answer is YES! I loved being able to be in control and walk around, sit on the toilet, flip into different positions for pushing. I can honestly say without my friend Jenni I wouldn't have made it. Her coaching and snapping me into focus was crucial though the entire delivery. Anytime she could see me slipping out of control she would get firm and fierce, just what I needed!!!! I will never be able to thank her enough. Cody was an INCREDABLE coach, and was able to clam me in a way no one else could. I know that next time he will be able to guide me through the entire labor. My moms encouraging words resounded in my head and pushed me to the end!

Mary took this Wednesday the day before I had Ty

This was during pre labor, right before Jenni got there. I was probably dilated to a 4-5

This was after the birth the first time I got to hold Ty

Jenni and I right after the birth! Thank you SO much Jenni for your AMAZING coaching!

The whole family a few hours after birth! Cody was amazing and SO helpful coaching me through it all!

At my post appointment with Dawn I asked how long my next labor should be. She said generally labor #2 is half the time of the first! Looks like I will need to get to the hospital a little sooner with baby #2 :) (and no I am NOT pregnant)

Checked...Schmecked

2011-03-04T06:04:00.000-06:00

So things are moving along well with Mr. Ty Bo. He is one active little guy, and has a secret obsession with my right rib. Even my midwife noticed and commented on the fact how he is always jammed up under there. All in all this pregnancy has been easy and routine. Don't get me wrong, I've had my moments of complete insanity. There are mornings I wake up and I am the most irritable person ever. However, when I wake up feeling this way I just avoid people :) Cody has learned that it has nothing to do with him, there is no need for us to try and "talk it out", and I am aware of how irrational I am. He'll ask, "Is there anything I've done? Are you ok?" and I'll respond with, "It's not you at all...it's just that everything you do and say is absolutely annoying and irritating the piss out of me. Hence, it's me, b/c EVERYTHING you do and say can't be that annoying!" :) Then I'll go to the gym and workout...that helps. On those days I avoid phone calls or run in's with friends, b/c I know it is just me being crazy, and I am just extremely irritable. Good news is it generally wears off by the time I work out, and doesn't reappear until 9:00 pm. I have only had about 3 days like this, but boy am I glad when they are over!

So on to the title of this blog. I avoided being checked at my appointments for so long, b/c I didn't want to get my hopes up over nothing or be devastated if nothing was happening. My body will go into labor when it is supposed to go into labor regardless of my "Check"...and yet I caved at 3 days before 39 wks I had my first check. The good news is I was 2 cm dilated, 60% effaced, and Ty is at a station 0. Bad news is, I got excited. I keep saying things like, "Well it's just good to know that my body is working, and he'll come when he comes." or "It could be weeks, just because I have progress doesn't mean I am going to go into labor anytime soon." Now every contraction I have I think, is this it? Am I going into labor? I am having to work at staying chill and not get overly anxious, cause when did that every help anyone go into labor?

I guess I probably would have had to have been checked eventually anyway, but next time I think I'll wait till 40 wks. My midwife said with first babies she doesn't like to check till 39 or 40, I am glad I took her advice and at least waited till I was almost 39.

As far as being miserably uncomfortable...I'm not. I am very blessed and thankful that I am carrying my baby so far into my back. This makes it much less cumbersome and awkward. It's not like I chose this it's just a sweet blessing from the Lord. I don't stick out that far so things that I hear pregnant women complain about just don't bother me. In the past week I have been getting super nauseous if I eat to much. So my portion sizes have decreased slightly. The only physical activity that it is practically impossible for me to do anymore is lunges :) You should have seen me in body pump last week. I can't lunge to save my life. I think it is because the hips are squared forward where as with squats I can open the hips to drop my butt back. Oh bending over to put on shoes is a little difficult too :)

Can't wait to meet our little man...

Lesson Learned

2011-02-01T10:45:00.000-06:00

These past few weeks have been quite a whirlwind of events. It all started with my first baby shower in Dallas. My original plan was to drive down the Thursday before and spend the morning/afternoon with my precious nephews, sister-in-law, and brother. However, the Tuesday before I was supposed to leave we found out that there was going to be some ice and sleet that Thursday morning, so we figured it would be better for me to leave on Wednesday night. I had my maternity pictures Wednesday night, so right after they were finished I loaded up the car and headed to my brothers house. I had a wonderful evening catching up with my sister-in-law and watching delightfully entertaining yet disturbing shows such as "Addicted" and "Toddlers and Tiara's". The next morning I hung out with the 2 coolest little boys around, and when they headed out for school and my sister to mommies group, I had the opportunity to hang out with my brother ALL afternoon! This may not sound like a big deal, but to be honest I can't remember the last time I had the chance to be with just Grant for an entire afternoon. I had so much fun, just catching up and sharing about life. We ended up having to make 3 trips through IKEA which was quite comical especially when Grant found a short cut that he was convinced we could squeeze through till he looked down at my belly...So he ended up pushing the wall (it was on rollers) open just a tad more so Ty could fit through too!!! It brought back so many memories of my freshman year, when Grant was a senior and we would go for jeep rides up to 7-11 to get slurpees!

After my time at Grant and Sarah's I headed on to my Grandma's. My Aunt Denise was already there shopping for market, and my precious cousin Alissa was coming up the next day to attend my baby shower. I stayed up late every night chatting with my cousin Alissa. She is someone who is near and dear to my heart in every way. This was such a refreshing time!

When we got to the shower Saturday morning, I was so blessed by 6 wonderful girls (my 3 sisters and my friends Parris, Suzanne, and Hillary) who had gone above and beyond to make this shower truly special. Everything was so beautifully decorated and the food was delicious! I had a great time catching up with family and friends. I was blessed with so many wonderful gifts for Ty! Everything was perfect and fun...an ideal shower!

However, once I got back to my grandma's I learned a very valuable lesson that I will carry with me from now till the day I am put in a grave...

DOING THE SPREAD EAGLE WITH YOUR LEGS WHILE OPENING PRESENTS WITH ALL EYES ON YOU IS NOT AN ATTRACTIVE LOOK!!!!

I was mortified...every picture my legs are completely spread. No one should have to look at that for an entire session of present opening. Now I wish I could blame it on the bump. If I could I would lie and say, "My belly made me do it, its impossible to cross my legs!" But then you would scroll through the remaining pictures to find...

I am 100% capable!

Hopefully my story will save many from this humiliation :)

New Season

2011-01-14T08:05:00.000-06:00

Well, much has happened since September of 2009 and I have no intention of posting on all the events! However there is one BIG event that has brought me back to my blog. Cody and I conceived Ty James Bobay in June of 2010. He will be making his debut on or around March 11, 2011. With this little addition on the way I wanted to make sure and document all his milestones, not only with pictures but also in writing. My sister in law Sarah has done such a great job keeping up with her blog and updates on her 3 boys (my brother included). She shared with me that you can even have your blog printed into some kind of book so you can keep these memories forever. So thank you Sarah for motivating me back to my blog and also for helping me learn how to have mommy "chats" on the phone...I feel I am getting much better at this and will even greater value it when Ty arrives :)

I have thoroughly enjoyed being pregnant, however, my mom and husband might not think so! I always seem to have my break downs with them :) The truth is even though it has whacked out my hormones and I have obviously gained weight (I know this is a DUH with pregnancy, but I aint gonna lie...it is hard!), I am truly thankful and grateful that God has allowed me the gift and blessing of carrying a life inside me.

The next couple of weeks hold so many exciting things. This coming week I am going to be taking my maternity pictures, which will be followed by a baby shower in Dallas that Saturday. The following week my mom is going to be staying with me in Oklahoma City, while Cody is in Hawaii for his brother, Casey's wedding. I have 2 feelings on this; I am sad that I can not be at the wedding but I am grateful that my mom has the ability to come and be with me during week 35 of my pregnancy. Hopefully we will finish up the nursery and get most of that in order before my first Oklahoma City Shower on January 29th. The following weekend will be a mini girls retreat with the ladies in our Christ Family Church Family group followed by my second Oklahoma City shower on February 12th. Then to top it all off Teleflora (Cody's company) will be hosting a come and go shower for us on February 17th.

I will have much to post about...until then the only news I have is Ty is head down and his feet seem to be permanently lodge in my ribs :)

Glad to be back...

$60 Fair Day...A Heart Attack Waiting to Happen

2009-09-28T23:09:00.000-05:00

I have been traveling a lot for work recently. When I go on a weekend recruiting trip I get a comp day during the week. When I got home from my trip to Tennessee Cody and I decided to spend a day together at the fair. We went on a Tuesday in the morning right after it had rained so there was no one there. It was GREAT! The day started by us walking up to the entrance where we were pleasantly surprised to read that this was "The Greatest Carnival in the World"...Who knew???? So we tried to take some pictures of the sign

Cody was taking a picture of just the sign but I literally jumped in the picture :)

We had a really good time walking around and just enjoying each other but there was one common theme...

EVERYTHING WAS FRIED!!!!!!!

But the good news is they were selling these INCREDABLE work out machines. The sales lady told us that 15 minutes on one of these bad boys was equivalent to an hour on the treadmill!!!! Not to mention that the NFL, NBA, and Collegiate teams have been using these for YEARS and they have just been released to the public. The wonderful thing is you just stand on them and the vibrations they release cause your muscles to contract, and we all know that contracting muscles = fat and weight loss right?!?! Here it is and it can be all yours for $2,500

I wanted to tell the lady that the only thing that worked on that dumb machine was the bands, and you would have to be crazy to spend $2,500 for a bicep curl machine! What's crazy is people were actually buying them!!!! Which brings me to our next discovery

I almost peed my pants upon reading this sign!

The rest of the time was really fun. We ate some interesting stuff. Cody had a MASSIVE burrito, and I had a chicken breast and some sweet potato fries. We finished it off with a fried oreo. We both agreed that we liked the oreo, but not the fried stuff around it (kinda defeats the point!)

It was so great to spend so much time together. I feel truly blessed to have such an amazing best friend for my husband. He is so much fun, and I am so thankful that I get to spend every day with him!

4 things

2009-09-13T19:38:00.000-05:00

Four things you don't want to see when you get to your hotel:
4. Doors on the outside
3. 8 layers of paint on the exterior
2. Crap on your floor because it wasn't vacuumed
AND BY FAR the #1 thing you don't want to see...
1. 5-6 black curly hairs in the bath room/tub!!!! YUCK

La Quinta on 41st in Tulsa...you failed miserably. Thank you hotwire for a beautiful suite at embassy suites in Tulsa...you saved the day and my gag reflux

I am in Tulsa for 2 different college fairs. The people in my office told me not to expect a ton of reply cards (cards the students fill out with their info) since we are one of the smaller schools and this was the biggest college fair we go to. Well I am proud to announce we had 22 reply cards! We were only expecting like 5-8. So all in all it was a really successful day. Now I am just relaxing in the clean no hair in the bathroom hotel room while my student worker and friend Tacie is working on some homework. I am excited for tomorrow. I really feel like I am in my element. This job just comes naturally, and I am so thankful that the Lord has given me this opportunity!

Happenings

2009-09-01T11:53:00.002-05:00

Well, not to much has been happening here in the Okie, but Cody and I are doing well and both enjoying our jobs.

My job has started a new cycle and it is hectic but fun! I have started to build relationships with my students for 2010 while really get to know my students from 2009! I have a small group of 8 girls that will be meeting once a week. Our first meeting went really well, and I feel like it is going to be a great community!

Cody had some exciting news last week! There is a lot of equipment in the gym that is not being utilized so he suggested that they sell some of it, and buy some different things that they don't have that they need. He had scheduled 2 meetings to talk to some of the VP's about it, and before he even had the meetings he got a call from the head of the financial department that let him know that they made room in this fiscal years budget to give him $11,000 for equipment!!!!! I just really felt like this was a great sign that they really believe in his program and trust him , b/c they are cutting finances EVERYWHERE except with him! YEAH!

I am really content here in Oklahoma...and content in a good way. For awhile I was so frustrated that God had told us to stay here, but to be honest He has really shown both Cody and I exactly why he wants us here. I know for me I finally feel like I am really able to be an example of Christ's love and evangelize in my job. I have never really had that before. Cody is really following the leading of the Holy Spirit in his job, and it is so awesome to see the impact that Jesus is having in his work place!

Thanks for reading even with no pictures!!!

I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!!!

2009-08-25T09:16:00.006-05:00

Seriously I feel like I am the lead character from the movie "Baby Mama". Everywhere I turn I see this

Or better yet my favorite which I refer to as the "Look what I am holding...haha and you can't have one" belly hold!

Then after seeing a few of these bellies these start staring me in the face....

you get the drift...baby fever, and right now I think I should be admitted to the hospital for how intense and high the fever has gotten! I have tried everything I know to do as far as begging, pleading, and crying goes...but so far now is not the time! I can't lie after receiving an invitation to the birth of my soon to be 3rd niece/nephew, I contemplated poking holes in all the protective devices that create a barrier from my becoming pregnant (haha in your face Trojan)...but I figured God would frown upon that idea, and Cody would too. So all that to say if you see me go into a Babies "R" Us don't believe me when I say it is to "shop for a friend" take me by the back of my shirt and drag me back to my car which might delusionally be parked in the "Expecting Mom" space!

Hong Kong

2009-07-30T08:37:00.003-05:00

This is what you get when you order a mouse from Hong Kong (The pink one was from Hong Kong)

My Office and then some...

2009-07-28T09:01:00.007-05:00

So I decided when I got a cubicle that I didn't want it to be just any cubicle. I wanted it to be a home away from home (is that possible?!?!) I found out that during the fall there will be many days that I will stay late to make phone calls, so I thought might as well make it a bright and cheerful place to be! I got material and ribbon for the cabinets, and then got everything else pretty much at Ross. It was so fun to make it so girly!

Me and Cody's 3 year anniversary is this Wed. We decided that this year we were going to make a joint purchase for our anniversary. As you walk through our kitchen you are in a bliss of stainless steel and fake looking granite counter tops, but then all the sudden you come to a screeching halt and are face to face with a giant white monstrosity....our fridge! Ok so our fridge is actually wonderful, it is very big and has never failed us, but it is very very white. So we decided to upgrade to stainless steel so all our appliances would match. Here is the fridge we are considering

We are excited about having an ice and water machine too, ours doesn't work on our current fridge. Well that's not totally true, it works but doesn't have a filter and you will probably die if you drink Newcastle tap water!

Last week I had two different and fun outings with friends. My friend Jenna and I went to this thing called Slam Poetry. One of my student workers is going to Nationals for Slam Poetry, and I wanted to go and support her in what she does. Jenna is awesome and came with me! We had a good time and to be honest I am glad I got to experience slam poetry with a fellow thespian! The other outing was with Melissa. My friend Melissa has lost over 40 pounds and is one hot mama! Her husband was taking her out for their anniversary and I had the honors of helping her shop. We got her a swanky little dress with sexy animal print heels and clutch. I had so much fun getting to see her so happy and confident! Here are pictures from both events...

Hanging out before the fun began

"Slam Poetry is the bomb.com!"

On our way to go shopping, no this isn't Melissa...this is her daughter. I don't know many other kids that will sit in their stroller the whole time we are shopping and look at their mother in every dress and say, "Oh MOM! you look so Bootiful!"

That's the update for now! Things are good here in Okie. Cody and I are adjusting to our new schedules and jobs. It hasn't really been a smooth adjustment at all, but at least we are adjusting and not digging in our heels right?!?!?! We had a 6 1/2 hour drive to Midland and another 6 1/2 hour drive home this weekend and we got to hash out our feelings and yada yada so now we are adjusted! YEAH! I will post pics soon from our Midland trip!

Scavenger Hunt

2009-07-22T08:40:00.010-05:00

Cody just had a birthday on July 12th, and our anniversary is on July 29th. So I decided this year to surprise him with a little scavenger hunt, and a night at a bed and breakfast to kind of celebrate both. The scavenger hunt started at the house with a note telling him how much I love him. Then it had the first clue

Clue #1: TINEY office, TINEY person, big chair

This took him to my office where my office manager TINEY had clue #2

Clue #2: Smells like Java, Tastes like a million calories, and word on the street is they used to have a singing barista

This took him to the starbucks where I used to work. There Rahi had the next clue

Clue #3: It took us forever to date, but our first date was great! Go to the restaurant

This clue took him to the Olive Garden where we had our first date. There the hostesses had clue #4

Clue #4: Follow the map (inside was a map to the bed and breakfast, but it didn't say what it was on the map so he had no clue to him it looked like it was taking him from olive garden to a random address) Clue # 5 is in your glove box

Clue #5: Go inside and the man at the front will tell you where to go

At this point the guy at the front desk had a second set of keys to our bedroom (pictured above)and he sent Cody up. We had a time of 'worship' and then opened presents

Cody loves steak so after he opened his presents I told him I was taking him to Cattleman's Steakhouse. We had never been there but had heard that it was AMAZING.

Then we went and got ice cream and hung out in our room. The next morning we got coffee and sat on the porch. They had a wonderful breakfast and we enjoyed every bit of it. The travel channel actually came while we were there. It was pretty cool

He was totally surprised! He thought maybe the clues were taking him to a resturant or something. All my presents went over really well. I got him a pair of puma's, a gator shirt (pictured above) and an awesome mosaic globe. He loved all of them but we discovered the globe was weighted wrong so the south pole kept flipping to the top leaving every country upside down! We returned it and he got some work out clothes instead! All in all a GREAT weekend

When you steal from me...

2009-07-10T13:45:00.003-05:00

I foil you! So this is what happens when you jack with my candy and then go to camp for a week to recruit...Don't mess with me b/c I can play hardball (Tiney and I did it together! The girls in the office rule!!!)

Let the prank war begin!

The Office...

2009-07-07T14:38:00.002-05:00

So it is very strange for me to have a 'normal' 8-5 desk job. My employment history thus far includes:
1. Christian Family Guest Ranch
2. Nanny
3. Singer/dancer for six flags
4. AAA Baseball promotional intern
5. Aeropostale
6. Apartment RA
7. Starbucks
8. Nanny again
9. Aerobics Instructor
10. Personal Trainer

So sitting at a desk in a chair typing and calling is not the norm for me...in fact this is a first! I decided to go ahead and rejoin the YMCA because it is literally across the street, and I know that if the gym aint close you won't see me there! So far so good I have been going in the mornings before work. I leave the house about 5:30-5:45. I like it better this way b/c then I have the whole evening for Cody! I think office jobs can be very hazardous to the health and here's why....

Hazards of an office job:
1. Candy on my desk...bad idea
2. Sitting all day...doesn't that cause blood clots or something
3. The need to feed....namely snacking (it's so easy!)
4. Excessive Facebook stalking...this is never good. You should never know that your friends aunts sons neighbors niece just got diagnosed with IBS
5. Excessive Urination- I am drinking so many more liquids and thus have to use the potty every 5 seconds...Is this healthy? Can you drown yourself by drinking so much at your desk and never sweating any of it?

It's been an adjustment, but I am figuring out how to become a pro at being a cubicler! Any tips would be much appreciated!

Flowers....For me?

2009-07-06T15:55:00.004-05:00

I have the best husband EVER!!!! So today I got to work, and the escapade of the missing candy is really really getting old! First someone stole all my starbursts but one...my favorite color. Eventually I saw one of them eating starbursts and retrieved the rest. Well I thought I would just hide my candy in this drawer and surely they would be safe over the weekend...NOPE...jellybean jar GONE! Oh well it will turn up eventually. So I text Cody and let him know of Candy Theft Report #2 and then a little bit later I get a text telling me to go look in my car when I get a minute. When I walked outside and looked in my drivers seat I was shocked to find these beautiful purple lilies and 2 bags of Jellybeans!!!!! What a sweetie. I wish I had a way to take a picture of the flowers but I don't have my camera here. They look like this...

Except their in a vase and not on a tree! My love tank is full :)

Hawaii Trip

2009-07-02T15:02:00.007-05:00

Cody and I recently went to Hawaii, and we had a blast! It was absolutely beautiful. We went to Waikiki Beach b/c that is where the military resort is, and to be honest when we first got there I was a little disappointed. In my head I was saying, "WOW...Hawaii is really not what it is all cracked up to be!" But then over the next couple of days we went hiking, snorkeling, and to the north shore and I really got to see what Hawaii was like. It was nice to have that time with Cody now that we are done with the NAVY. We could sponsor one other room to come with us and my mom and dad came too. They got there a day after us, and we just thoroughly enjoyed our time with them!

Now that is what it was like in Hawaii beautiful water, beautiful fish, beautiful mountains, beautiful hotel room...all great right?!?!?! Now let's talk about the HELL trying to get to Hawaii! So we decided to try and fly standby to save money...brilliant. I learned what Cody meant when he said, " I really don't think we should fly standby b/c there is the chance we could get stuck. It makes for a long day and can be really stressful." But did I listen...oh no!...of course not I am always all about saving a buck (oh the irony). So we get to the airport at like 6:00 AM to go to Denver, and then we were trying to catch a flight from Denver to Hawaii. I am all bouncy and energetic like wahoo this will be an adventure HA! We didn't make it on the first flight...suck. Then we decide, screw trying to get to Colorado, lets try and make it to LA b/c there are more flights to Hawaii from there. So like 7 hours later we are in LAX (we did get to fly first class...pretty cool) So we try to get on the first flight to Hawaii. When we walk up to the gate I see a big screen with a standby list. In my head I am thinking, "Oh how convenient, we can just see WHEN we will get on the flight right here!" Little did I know that later i would want to rip the screen off the wall and throw it at every United worker (even though it wasn't their fault!) the list comes up...1-20...no Bobay....20-40....no Bobay...40-60....no Bobay....yup 68th and 69th. By the grace of the sweet Lord profanities did not come flying out my mouth, but turtle chex mix sure went into it to heal my hurt! So ok...we will try the next flight. I'll save you the misery and just tell you that we were 112th and 113th on that list, promising right?? So we finally decided to just buy a freakin ticket to Hawaii so we wouldn't have to deal with all this crap. So after a horrible 14 hr. experience of being in an airport, a GIANT price tag, and continually being slapped with disappointment I have resigned to NEVER fly standby again!

Here are some pics from the trip

Here we have plane tickets, and we KNOW we are getting to Hawaii!

We landed!

View from our balcony

First day on the beach!

Diamond Head hike! Half way up

At the top!

Father's Day Breakfast!

Dinner Cruise for Fathers Day

sunset kiss ;)

Beach Day

Polynesian Cultural Center and Luau

WOW....Where Have I Been?!?!?

2009-06-29T16:46:00.004-05:00

That is the question isn't it?!?! I know many of you have ridden me off and probably don't even click on my link anymore, and those of you that do are so disappointed with my lazy non-blogging self I am surprised you are still even my friend! So here is the deal...things have been SUPER busy and Super changey!!!!

The good news is that God is faithful and will always guide you where he wants you...it just may take you awhile to listen :) So the Lord spoke to me and Cody about staying in Oklahoma, and I was the most resistant little terd you have ever met. I was just flat out ugly toward God, and thankfully He has forgive me for my sassy behavior. Eventually, I just gave in and said fine you win...and fine my husband won't budge (actually he did budge cause I threw SUCH a fit, and that turned out a disaster!) Any who...I started applying for jobs hoping to find something that suited me and I suited it and we could all be one big happy family. My big happy family is now MACU. I am the new admissions counselor for Mid-America Christian University (MACU). I absolutely LOVE it! I am starting to build relationships with my fellow staffers and also future students...it's GREAT!

In other news Cody got a job as a corporate personal trainer. This was really an answer to prayer. We really started to discover that in the health and fitness field there are a lot of LIARS!!!!! They try and play on peoples emotions and steal from them...snakes....so we were a little discouraged. He applied for this corporate fitness job even though it required a 4 year degree, and they chose him for his experience even though he doesn't have his bachelors yet! YEAH!!! It is starting out part time 15-20 hrs. but they want to take it full time in 6mo. to a year. Cody is going to go through the adult program at the school where I work. Basically he will take 1 class every 5 weeks (since he already has associates it will take him 1 1/2 years to finish) the adult program is year round.

God has really blessed us, and we are excited about staying here in Oklahoma. I am really excited for some of the relationships that I have been able to build. I have always known a lot of people and had "friends", but I really feel like I've been invested in as well as been able to invest in several girls here, and I am excited about continuing with those friendships (true, deep, real friendships) instead of having to say goodbye! I am missing my family...can't lie...I wore a necklace Melissa gave me today just cause I was missing her. I think about My Parents, Grant, Sarah, the boys, Jerry, Lauren, Melissa, and Jamey all the time and my heart aches that I don't live closer to ANY of them...but I have to focus on what God has for me, and hope that in time I will get to be near them and share more of life with them!

I will be blogging much more now that I am in the office all day :)

One Step Forward Two Steps Back

2009-04-11T11:15:00.003-05:00

Oh man isn't it funny how when God gives you a step many times we begin to run with it. I just wanted to post a blog asking anyone who feels led to pray for Cody and I to please do so. We are really trying to seek the Lord and what he has for us, and it seems that he is revealing it to us literally one step at a time. I know for me sometimes I feel a pressure to have answers and an explanation, which I know is just a pressure that I put on myself. So for now we are going to continue to ask the Lord for direction and believe me we are totally open to WHATEVER He wants. As far as details go I have decided not to post anything until God works it out in us. Thank you for your prayers!

Fun Photo Shoot

2009-04-09T19:02:00.008-05:00

If you have a facebook and have seen my most recent pics you can ignore this post. So a lot of people have been asking me, "Why are you doing all these photo shoots?" Well I have decided to try my hand at a little modeling. I don't know if it will work out, but it is SUPER fun in the process, and even if I only get a few gigs the extra money would be nice. Right now I am just trying to build my portfolio. This shoot was a Couture Birdal Shoot. I had two fabulous women to do my hair and make up and they were super fun, and then Benita is the photographer that did the shoot. Let me just tell you a little about Benita. She is AWESOME. With a precious spirit and heart she is married to a man in the air force and has 3 kids 2 of which I know are adorable (haha cause they are the only ones I met I am sure her older daughter is just as cute!) She was very encouraging during the shoot and gave me some coaching which was helpful. The wind was seriously wipping at what felt like 25 MPH and the high that day was 50. So even though there were tears and snot she still got some good shots! The dress is about a size to big but it was the only wedding dress I had! :) If you are wondering...yes I do have false eyelashes on :)

Major Life Change

2009-04-07T09:09:00.005-05:00

Ok so I don't really know where to or how to begin this post, so I am just going to dive in and go from start to finish...if you want kind of the abridged version here it is

We are no longer moving to huntsville and we feel called to Christ For the Nations

now here is all that God did to show us this...

So in January I had kinda had this feeling in my spirit/gut that we weren't supposed to move to huntsville, but I chalked it up to me, and just kind of ignored it. I figured, "Hey my relationship with God isn't all that great anyway so what makes me think that I am actually hearing from him." Then instead of praying about if I had heard from him or not I chose to ignore it and just keep to the plan. There were probably 2-3 more times that I got that same feeling when I would talk about our move to Huntsville. I just felt like I was being ridiculous and that if we weren't supposed to go God would have shown Cody. Well the past 2 weeks Cody and I have really been in a new place spiritually, both for us personally and as a married couple. This past winter I had really struggled with questions like, "Is this really all worth it?" "Is this even real?" but in the past two weeks God has been so gracious in revealing Himself to me, and showing me that he has NEVER let me go. That He hasn't stopped speaking to me, and he wants more for me. Cody was going through something similar and it just overjoyed my heart. I noticed he was getting up before me and spending about an hour in prayer every morning. I saw him seeking God in a way I have missed the past 2 years. We had also had a talk about our spiritual unity as a couple and it was AMAZING it lasted probably like 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I won't go into all the details but God is unifying us, and it is hard...but wonderful! So last week I noticed that Cody was fasting but I didn't say anything cause I figured he would tell me what he was fasting for and about if he wanted to. So Friday night rolls around and we are supposed to go out on a date night, and I realize that I am going to be the only one eating...I was sad, but trying to be OK with not knowing what was going on. When we were standing in line at Pei Wei I just told him how hard it was not knowing what was going on and he explained to me that he felt like God had shown him something, but he didn't want to talk to me about it, until he knew for sure b/c he has been back and forth on a few things and I have expressed how hard that is on me. As we were standing in line I was thinking, "I bet this is about Huntsville, you should just say something"...my stomach was just churning cause I just knew. I knew that God had revealed to Cody the same thing he had revealed to me. As we sat down he started to tell me what it was kind of about. A few days before that he had gotten a call from his mom and she had told him that she had felt like God had given her the scripture Luke 14 and Matthew 10 for him. She didn't say anything else just told him she couldn't get it off her heart so she thought she would just tell him and if it was for him great if not great told him to have a great day and click. At that point Cody read the scriptures and started studying them. He just asked God to speak to him about his life, my life, and our lives and what we were called to do! When he got to this part in his story I blurted out, "I've had this sick feeling in my spirit about moving to Huntsville" At that point Cody breathed a big sigh of relief. He was afraid I was going to be mad and tell him I was going even if he didn't. The cool thing is God had been preparing me for months before all of this. Now I can't lie there was MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR disappointment about not moving to Huntsville, but the joy and the peace that God put in my heart at that moment was sooo over powering. The more we talked the more we realized how in sync God had made us. We were both feeling like we were at the point in our lives where we could choose complacency and being comfortable with God or we could really seek and pursue and allow Him to spur us on in our passions and what he has called us to do. We both still feel very passionately about health and fitness, and want to pursue that, and to be totally honest we don't really understand why CFNI (Christ For the Nations) we don't really get how it fits into the "picture" So there are many unknowns going into all this, but it's very exciting all at the same time. I forgot to add that during his fast Cody felt like CFNI kept on popping into his head and he didn't really know why so he asked God to just show him if he was trying to tell him something. Cody turned on the radio and right when he did the announcer said, "and here is our new single from Kari Jobe" (she was the worship leader at CFNI for a long time) At this point Cody really felt like God was speaking to him about CFNI and he continued to pray about it. The GI Bill is accepted at CFNI so it will cover everything and if we decide to live on campus there will be enough money from the GI Bill for me to go to school as well. This is one thing I really need prayer for. I don't know what God wants me to do with this. I keep thinking about my dream in high school to be able to lead worship in different countries in their languages. CFNI has a worship program that looks awesome so I'm prayerfully considering it. cody and I would go to school from 8-12 and then I would probably teach night zumba classes while he did personal training.

I do think it is pretty hilarious that I had told Cody, "I will move anywhere in the world, but the one place I don't want to move back to is Dallas" HAHA God must have been ROLLING over that one! It's not that I don't think Dallas is a great place it is...and the best thing about it is my family that lives there. I was just ready to explore a new place, with less traffic, less status, and less heat...

We are def. looking forward to and are super excited about being near all my siblings and my grandmom. We are also excited to be moving closer to Suzanne and Dan it's so nice to know we already have a couples friend there, but we are sad that we won't be next to my mom and dad. It truly is all bittersweet.

So that's that! Please be in prayer for us during this time we are just taking it one step at a time while we seek what God has for us....thank you :)

Bridal Shoot

2009-04-05T02:34:00.002-05:00

Hey guys well I have chosen 20 of the pictures from my swimsuit/fitness shoot for the photographer to edit, so hopefully soon I can post a few of those! Cody and I have a lot happening right now and I really need to update everyone on, but we just had girls night and it is after 2 AM so I decided to wait on the post b/c it is going to be very long, but I will provide an abridged version for those that don't really want the details.

There is this website online called www.modelmayhem.com I plan on making a portfolio for it once I gather all my shots. I went on there to their sections called "Casting" This is where local photographers can post if they are looking for a model for a certain shoot or if it is a newer photographer looking to get some pictures for their portfolio. Typically you do PT which stands for "Prints for time" This basically means everyone does everything for free and everyone benefits from the pics. On Monday I did a shoot with a very cool photographer named Christan Lane. She had made a post saying she needed some bridal shots, and so I thought "Hey that could work perfect b/c I could use a few of those for more commercial work" We had a really great time together and it was SUPER fast like...20 min! I knew she was good, but when I saw the pics I was even more impressed. She is truly talented. Here is a link to her blog where some pictures from my shoot are posted and you can check out her website too!
http://christanlanephotography.blogspot.com/

Goodbye Stella

2009-03-28T11:42:00.002-05:00

So yesterday was my last day with my little Stella Bean. It was really hard and I cried twice on my way into work, but then when Dusty, Katy, and I exchanged gifts it was easier. They talked about having us over for dinner before we leave. They also mentioned having me babysit and maybe having us out to the lake. I think knowing that I would see them again and they weren't cutting me off made it SO MUCH EASIER!!! I know that I will always be welcome to be a part of Stella's life and that made all the hard stuff so much better. I made stella a photo album of pictures of us, and I also wrote her a little Rhyme to remember me by....

Dear Stella,
I decided to write you a little rhyme to remind you of all the fun things we did together. I had so much fun this year spending time with you, and I am pretty sure you did too…

You love it when I snort real loud and chase you up the stairs
You love it when I tackle you with your giant teddy bear

I love it when you grin real big showing teeth from ear to ear
I love it that you bounce your knees when it’s a good beat that you hear

You love it when I dance around and act all crazy too
You love it when I fall of the couch, play dead, and then yell “Boo!”

I love it when you get all sweet and lay your head on me
I love it that your face lights up when it’s me that you see

You love it when I pick you up and spin you round and round
You love it when I sing to you when its time for you to go down

I love it when you honk my nose and then kiss me on the face
I love it that you get excited to explore every new place

You love it when we go outside and play on the playground
You love it when we hide your toys so they can once again be found

I love it that your clap for yourself in everything you do
I love it how for a while there every animal said “moo”

I love so many things about you and you love things about me too. That’s why its so hard to say goodbye but it’s time to start something new. You will be with me always in my prayers and close to my heart beat. I will love you always my little monster, peanut, munchkin, punkin always and for keeps

Pictures

2009-03-20T08:38:00.003-05:00

Ok here are the pics....sorry I haven't updated, I caught a bug a nasty nasty bug...these are only my sneak peeks so there will be more to come. I am eager to see the rest!
http://tomorrowsmemoriesphotography.blogspot.com/2009/03/model-shoot-ymca.html

Day 7 Project Cut

2009-03-15T05:17:00.002-05:00

First of all I want to begin this blog by apologizing if I have an any way shape or form offended anyone or given anyone the sense that I am bragging. I had had a friend on facebook go through 90 days of crossfit and she had kept diary entries every day of her progress and the process. She had a goal and used the blogs to help her stay on track to achieve it. That is where I came up with the idea in the first place. It has been so encouraging to have friends keeping me accountable for my goals and pushing me towards them. So if I have come off as arrogant or prideful I totally appologize that was not the point or the goal! Here is a recap from yesterday

Coffee in the morning
celery throughout the day
no H2O
Photo shoot at 5:45 with Mary at the YMCA
Nuts/chicken about 7-8 sips of water

So the YMCA was having a little tissy about us being there, but Mary rocks the house and we played it by ear. We couldn't get into the pool so we took some swimsuit shots in the locker room with the tile and brick. I was really nervous at first, but Mary made me feel really comfortable about it all and we had a really good time! We are going back today right before the YMCA opens to hopefully get some pool shots and workout room shots. The only really bad thing about the diet is that I am constantly waking up at 3,4, or 5 in the morning. Today i couldn't even just lay in bed so I decided to get up and blog!

Today is the last day....I'll let you know how it goes ;)

Day 6 Project Cut

2009-03-14T08:33:00.002-05:00

Believe it or not it finally got easier! I don't know why but for some reason yesterday (day 6) was not difficult at all. I was in a good mood pretty much all day! I was able to do zumba and still have energy to worship with Cody :) all in all it was a GREAT day! So here is the recap

1 hr. of weight training (14-18 reps light weight full body)
Meal 1: 4 egg white omlette with spinach leaves
Meal 2: half chicken breast
Meal 3: 1 full chicken breast (this was at about 2:00 and this was my last bottle of water)
Meal 4: petite spinach salad with a little bit of olive oil/vinegar and almonds 1cup decaf coffee
1 hr. of zumba
Meal 5: tilapia (2 1/2 to be exact...they are kinda small)
At this point it had been since 2:00 since I had had water. After zumba it was hard not to have water, but more difficult to not have any with my meal. I never realized how much liquid I drink during a meal! I ended up having about 4-5 sips of water
I was out by about 10!

I am writing today about yesterday...so techincally it is the morning of day 7 and I have to say I feel awesome! I thought I was going to be cranky and depressed, but I guess my body has adjusted and I feel great. Plus I met my goal!!!! For the first time in my life I woke up this morning looked in the mirror exhaled my air and there they were...my abs...cody started jumping up and down and hugging me and we jumped together. I have always had this dream to have my abs show, but just don't really have a body type that lends itself to that naturally so this was a big day. During this time I have realized how much determination and will power God gave us. He intends for us to pursue the things of him with focus and determination, and he has already granted those two things to us. It is our job to call upon them. This experience has been awesome and I am so thankful that God blessed me with Cody to help me through it all! Tomorrow I will blog my final stats...some pics...and the end of it all. I am actually adding an extra shoot tonight that my friend Mary so graciously offered to do. I am going to get some shots for my fitness/swimsuit portfolio we are going to the YMCA and we are gonna have a blast she rawks!

Day 5 Project Cut

2009-03-13T09:55:00.004-05:00

So I have realized that on this little diet/project I get really really fussy at night! Cody has been such a trouper through it all. So supportive, making me chicken and letting me be exhausted! Here is the recap from yesterday

30 min. cardio intervals on Elliptical/ 12 min. of sprinting intervals on treadmill

Meal 1: 4 egg white omlette with spinach leaves

1 cup of coffee

Meal 2: Protein shake

Meal 3: Chicken breast

30 min. of cario intervals on elliptical

Meal 4: Almonds/ spinach leaves with half chicken breast and a little olive oil and vinegar

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I couldn't wait to weigh myself...shoot...I started Sunday morning at 133 and today I was 128 we shall see by Sunday! I am slowly starting to strip my water...it's making me pissy...no pun intended

Day 4 Project Cut

2009-03-12T10:07:00.002-05:00

Ok so yesterday went much better! I got some really good news too. 2 different gyms are going to let me start co-teaching for zumba. Fit for her and the YMCA. I can't wait to get started with that. Cody's surgery got put off till next Tuesday so that is kind of nice that we have this weekend together pain free! Here is the recap for yesterday

30 min. cardio intervals on elliptical
Meal 1: rolled oats with water
*coffee with a little bit of non dairy creamer
Meal 2: (I forgot to bring it with me when I took stella out so it kinda got missed...dang it!)
Meal 3: Chicken breast and protein shake
30 min. of zumba (but it was EXTREMELY low intensity so I left the class) finished with 30 min. of full body weights
Meal 4: Almonds, tilapia, and broccoli
I had some sugar-free apple cider cause it has only like 30 mg. of sodium and I needed something a little sweet

all in all a really good day. It wasn't to bad. I have to admit that the hardest part is at night. I find myself just wanting to go to sleep so I don't have to think about how boring my diet is right now :) Tomorrow (witch is actually today) I am starting to cut all carbs I have slowly done this by at first having oatmeal in the morning and rice in the afternoon. I have cut the rice out, and next is the oatmeal. Thanks for all your support it really helps having a place to write all this. I like the accountability! Hope you have a great day!

Day 3 of Project Cut

2009-03-11T14:08:00.002-05:00

Ok so I am writing this after the fact....yesterday was hard...real hard. I was able to do pretty well, but it def. wasn't a perfect day. I never realized how much my eating is effected by my emotions. This is such a great learning experience b/c it is helping me realize how much I emphasize food and how I plan events around food and what my day is like around food...I live to eat I don't eat to live but so many times I live the opposite way. Anyway just some of my own personal reflection....
Recap for day 3

30 min. cardio on the elliptical in intervals
Meal 1: rolled oats with water
Meal 2: 3/4 cup brown rice with half a chicken breast
Meal 3: 4 egg whites, green tea, and protein shake
Meal 4: Almonds, a Chicken breast
Meal 5: (here's where I slipped a little!) 10-12 unsalted crackers, a bowl of strawberries with some splenda on top (the part that was slipping was the carbs at night), some more almonds

My hubby was sick so I stayed home and took care of him. He had had a rough day so we just laid on the couch and talked it was very nice :)

I can't wait till Sunday...I'm going to eat a cookie...or 2...or 3...:)

Day 2 of Project Cut

2009-03-09T06:59:00.003-05:00

So It is the morning 7:00 AM to be exact. The good news is I don't feel hungry so thats nice. I woke up and had a little bit of coffee black (1/2 cup) and now I am going to head up to the gym to do my first round of cardio. I know you reap the most benefits from doing cardio first thing in morning before you eat breakfast so I am attempting to implement that this week.

Side Note: There is a common misconception that I wake up every day with a smile on my face and I roll over to Cody and I say, "I just can't wait to work out today! I love working out it is my favorite. There is nothing I would rather do except go to the gym and sweat!" I seriously have people tell me all the time...."Yeah but you love working out!" Truth is I don't love working out in fact probably 60-65% of the time I battle just putting it off and going home, but I love the way I feel after I work out, and I enjoy the mental, physical, and emotional benefits. Some weeks are better than others and I can go to the gym with ease. Some weeks it takes everything with in me to get myself there.
So, so far so good although i guess I have only had about 30 min. to even try and screw things up!
9:18 PM
And here is the recap for the day:
30 min. of cardio intervals on the elliptical
Meal 1: Rolled oats with water
Meal 2: half chicken breast and about 3/4 cup brown rice
20 min. elliptical intervals 20 min. treadmill at 7.0, ab work
(I missed meal 3 due to my work out.....BAD IDEA!!!!! I have to eat every 3 hours)
Meal 4: I was sick from not eating meal three so I didn't feel like eating I made a 4 egg white omlette with spinach leaves and onions...I ate about 1/4 of it and then had a handful of almonds and a protein shake (lactose free!)
Meal 5: 1/4 chicken breast and a handful of almonds with some sleepy time tea

I managed to drink 3 nalgene bottles worth of water (about 3L). I learned a hard lesson today...I must eat every three hours or I will feel sick!
Till tomorrow...

Photo Shoot Diet

2009-03-08T16:50:00.003-05:00

Ok so here is the deal. I am doing a photo shoot thing with my photographer friend in a week from today. I have been working out pretty hard core and been watching what I eat, and ultimately decided to cut the week before the shoot. The truth behind those ripped abs and cut arms in fitness magazines is that the models will typically "cut" 1-2 weeks out from the shoot ("cut"-decrease body fat) They typically stay at a healthy body fat 12-14% regularly and cut down for the photo sessions ranging anywhere from 8-12%. I have talked to some professional fitness models to get their advice on how to do this for my shoot and here is what I will be doing for the next week:

1. Increasing my cardio to at least 1 a day and if possible twice using an interval type training

2. Cutting dairy out of my diet

3. Cutting salt out of my diet

4. Drinking 3-4 Liters of water a day leading up to the shoot

5. Day before the shoot eliminating water as much as possible

6. The day of the shoot only sipping water if absolutely necessary

I am sure some of you will have your opinions on this, but I have put a lot of research into it and have talked to many health and fitness professionals to make sure that I am doing it correctly. So to help me stay on track and reach my goal I am going to keep a diary every day that way I will have to be accountable to someone!

So today was the first day...SUCK!

Breakfast: Rolled Oats (oatmeal the unflavored stuff) with water/ coffee black

Lunch: Brown rice/Chicken (seasoned with Ms. Dash...these seasonings have no sodium)

Snack: Tall SFCaramel Soy Latte (This did have some sodium but only about 4% of your daily value so not to bad for the first day), 1 cup of brown rice and a few walnuts/almonds dry and unsalted

Dinner: Tilapia with broccoli

So I can't lie this is REALLY difficult, but hopefully it will pay off in the end. Before I started I was at 14% body fat and about 130-133 lbs. I plan on taking my measurements and weight again in a week to see how much "cutting" really affects my body. Till next time...

We have curb appeal!

2009-02-19T10:23:00.004-06:00

Ok so we did it! We put our house on the market, and we are well on our way of getting out of Oklahoma!!!! Before we put our house on the market it had many things that needed to be done. We had to complete the fence, steam clean the carpets, organize all the closets, take down crosses and photos, touch up paint, and most importantly give our house some curb appeal!!!!!! We knew we needed some desperately so we brought on a friend that is good with gardening and flower beds and we got er done. I seriously wish we would have taken a before picture b/c it was like a mass of dirt with dead weeds all through out, two dweeby/dead shrubs in front of our two giant Windows, a rose bush on the side of the house whose arms would attack and eat you on your way into our house, and a front door that had a wreath on it from fall!!!!! All that to say our house looked something a kin to this....

Ok so maybe it wasn't that bad, but it pretty much felt like it! So the boys got to work on the flower beds adding mulch and shrubs, and I took it upon myself to decorate the entry way and add a planter and some flowers to the garden, and wallah.....

By the way the cat in the pictures is not a stone cat that I put in my garden, it is the neighbors cat that got in my pictures!

That's all for now, but my realtor took some pictures, and we are actually going to put our house on the website www.openhouseok.com I will let you know once we get on there. The guy is coming out on Saturday to take pictures for the website. We are also having our first open house on Sunday! YEAH! I am so excited....and a little nervous

Tiearra's Shower

2009-01-28T08:54:00.005-06:00

This past weekend I had one of my final baby showers for a long time (and by long time I mean until April) :( Unless anyone has a little surprise they are not telling me about. For all the girls in my small group that were pregnant I made their cakes as part of their shower gift. This was a fun one to make. I tried to get creative and change things up some. The entire cake is buttercream with no fondant. I do have to say that I WAS injured in the making. That is the last picture that you will see here. I love these girls so much. I am so proud of my friend Melissa she has been working so hard at losing weight, and it is totally paying off, she looked ADORABLE at the Shower! Cody comes home in a week and I can't wait to see his cute face (and hot body ;))

Me with the mommy to be (well she already is but now she will be of 3)

Me, Tiearra, Celeah, and Melissa

Some of the small group girls (many had left this was the end of the shower)

Touching the Belly...Hi Daegon!

I love my Mel, she and I have gotten really close

I don't even want to think about leaving :(

Beware the freaking Butter Knife....thats right a butter knife!!!! Ridiculous

Fun with friends

2009-01-19T13:22:00.005-06:00

I thought it was about time I posted and gave yall some updates on our lives! Cody and I have recently had some fun weekends filled with friends and fellowship. It is going to make leaving Oklahoma even harder. I am really excited about our move, and yet at the same time it is bitter sweet b/c I Have made such wonderful friends here. Life long friendships that I don't want to leave :( Here are some recent things that have been going on
1. We found out that Cody will be getting out of the NAVY on June 11 rather than August 11. This means we will be moving in June

2. We will be putting our house on the market by mid February (SCARY)

3. One of my best friends from D-Town came up to visit with her boyfriend (we love you su and dan)

4. One of my best friends here is Oklahoma turned 30 and our sweet friend Mary coordinated a wonderful surprise party for her. I got to make the cake...so fun!

5. My best friend Summer and Cody's best friend Nate got engaged and will be getting married on May 16th. I am going to be a bridesmaid how fun! So far there have only been 3 weddings this year... it's looking better than the 12 last year!

Thats about it. I can't wait to move to huntsville and be near my parents. I feel like it has been so long since I have been able to just run over and say HI! to my mom. please be in prayer for us as we go to sell the house and have a big move for the first time...we're all grown up. Here are some pictures from the past month

Su, Dan, Me, and Cody went to this cool place called POPS on Route 66

I went out with Melissa, Tiearra, and Celeah to celebrate their birthdays

we had mexican food and I got to share some of Melissa's yummy strawberry daiquiri :)

Here is the table all set up for MEl's surprise party

Close up of the cake. It was all butter cream except the polka dots and red band
All the girls who came and celebrated with us from left to right

Top: Jessica, Rae, Janna, Jenna
Bottom: Mary, Melissa, Sandy, Me, Maggie

That's all folks!

Stella's Birthday

2009-01-05T11:34:00.004-06:00

Stella turned 1 on December 18. It was so crazy to think that I had watched her grow for 9 months! Cody and I had so much fun picking out her birthday present. It was a big hit. I got my nephew a stuffed animal for his first birthday as well...also a big hit. Stuffed animal for 1st birthday= jackpot present! I was so thankful to be invited to her party and get to be a part of her first cupcake/present opening experience. Here are some pictures from the event

First cupcake...and really sugar for that matter

I love my stella bean

The first time she laid eyes on her bear

JACKPOT!!! Katy leaned over and smiled at me she knew how

excited I was about giving Stella that! Giving a 1 yr. old a present for your satisfaction...pathetic :)

It is so sweet how Cody loves Stella he calls her "little monster" b/c she reminds him of

the little girl that dresses up as a monster on the movie Monsters Inc.

Christmas Survey

2008-12-18T13:20:00.002-06:00

So my mom sent out this email with a Christmas survey and I thought it would be fun to post it on the blog, so please copy and paste and answer the questions on your blog!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? If I am lazy a bag (not even a Christmas one sometimes!) but for the fam I typically try and do wrapping paper with my moms recycled ribbon

2. Real tree or Artificial? Artificial...for sure less mess, less work, and the lights are already on... (I am seeing a pattern with the laziness)

3. When do you put up the tree? sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas...again depends on the lazy factor

4. When do you take the tree down? hahaha thats funny last year I think it was like mid january

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes with nutmeg

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Probably my porcelain dolls...but as my mother and I were reminiscing on this I remembered how much I loved them and how devastated I was when I broke them pretty much the same day I got them

7. Hardest person to buy for? Cody's Dad

8. Easiest person to buy for? My Mom

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yeah we have two b/c we are super holy and never want to forget the real meaning of CHRISTmas

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail and we do the super cheap ones from Wal-mart

11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? not saying b/c I don't want to hurt any ones feelings...but mom it was never one you gave me

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Um...I haven't yet so thats not looking to promising

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Absolutely especially the dirty santa gifts (not this year though I got Vanilla Bean hand soap and lotion set!!!!! Thanks melissa for letting me steal from you!)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? All the sides and my moms sugar cookies out of the freezer

16. Lights on the tree? Yes (all white)

17. Favorite Christmas song? Carpenters Christmas Album

18.Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel to be with family which feels like home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? you betcha....donner, blitzen, cupid, comet, danser, pranser, john, matt, jaclyn, katy, your mom, and rudolph

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Not a tree topper kind of girl, and I actually got a star this year trying to make myself a tree topper kind of girl and when I put it on it was so heavy it bent the top half of my tree over and fell off

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? For sure Morning, I don't get the whole opening on Christmas eve thing

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? That everyone is so merry and jolly...haha just kidding...probably that people freak out when there are long lines...it's the same thing as like when you are driving home at 5:30 and so put out that there is traffic...its called rush hour...this is the holiday season therefor = long lines

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? sentimental ornaments that have meaning

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? World peace....and some clothes

Fun Weekend

2008-12-15T14:08:00.003-06:00

This weekend was a blast! It started off with our Small Group Christmas party. Our small group in and of itself is a party, but then when you add food and I ping pong table it gets super fun :) The only sad part was our goodbyes to our two new friends Michael and Kim. Michael and Kim were an answer to prayer for both Cody and I. They are missionaries in East Asia and were back for about 3 months. During that time they invested in me and Cody as well as us in them. It was so refreshing to get to hear about their passion, fire, and zeal for Christ not to mention how much fun they are. Cody really felt a spiritual bond with Michael as I did with Kim. We were so blessed by these two and were super sad to see them leave, and yet excited for them as they embark together on the journey the Lord has set before them. On Sunday Cody and I took a trip to Tulsa. Remember the post about the tickets to Cirque de sole (I have no idea how to spell it!) well it was this Sunday. Let me just say that the show was worth EVERY single penny that we spent. It was absolutely incredible!!!!! Cody and I also went to a neat little coffee shop in Tulsa called The Coffee Shop on Cherry Street. It was such a fun weekend. The whole way there we dreamed about the future of health and fitness and what God had in store for us and on the way home we played the name game and 20 questions! It was such a sweet time:)

This is us with Michael and Kim

This is us in our seats right before the show started

My extra dry cappuccino

my super cute hubby

our little nook

Cody's Promotion

2008-12-08T10:04:00.003-06:00

So last Thursday I got a phone call from Cody in the middle of the day informing me that we had to go to his squadron's Christmas party. At first I was all like...."Wah! I just got you home and I don't want to go!", but eventually I softened up to the idea. When we got there it was your usual eat, drink, and mingle kind of Christmas party. Early on in the evening Cody was called up to the front where he was recognized and promoted from an E4 to an E5. Then to top off the night we won a raffle that will give him a free 3 day weekend for whenever he wants. So all in all it was a good night!

I love my new dresser

2008-11-24T23:01:00.005-06:00

Well first of all I need to begin this post by giving a huge THANK YOU to Aunt Molly and Uncle Bill. Back when I was pregnant I started to look for a dresser that I could redo in an antique white type finish. I thought it would make the perfect changing table, and I have always been a huge fan of that look. Even after the miscarriage I had become so fond of the idea that I searched craigs list every day looking for the PERFECT dresser. When Aunt Molly and Uncle Bill were moving, she called me and asked me if I would like one of their old dressers. She described it to me, and it sounded perfect. I had no idea how perfect until I saw it. With family coming in town for Thanksgiving, I decided that I wanted to start and finish this project before everyone got here. Now I have to say that it is not perfect. I am sure that you can find many flaws in my painting and antiquing, but I LOVE it. I love it b/c it is mine. I love it b/c I put a lot of hard work into it, and achieved something I NEVER thought I could do. I have never thought of myself as being "crafty" or "handy" (when you have a brother and sister like Grant and Sarah who can install walls, crown molding, and create tables out of thin air all in like 2 days...it's not that hard to not feel to crafty/handy... They truly are the two most TALENTED people ever with that stuff!!!) In fact I can't wait for Sarah to look at this b/c I know she will be proud :) So thats it...I am so excited about it...I DID IT!!!!

This is the dresser before

Here is the after!!! I am still working on the hardware for the bottom

two drawers...so that is what those holes are for, the handles.

So now you need to come over and see it in person :)

Stella

2008-11-24T09:12:00.003-06:00

So I haven't posted a pic of Stella in awhile. Here she is in all her glory! She is starting to walk more consistently, and her babbling gets more and more understandable every day. She is so much fun to dress, and I love it when I get to work and she is still in her jammies...that means I get to dress her. There is no doubt in my mind that telling her goodbye in August will be heart breaking. I love this little girl, and it is crazy to think that there will come a time when I won't see her everyday...

My husband....is amazing

2008-11-18T14:14:00.004-06:00

So it is a sad day in the Bobay house hold. Cody got deployed this morning and had to be at the squadron at 5:30 AM. So he woke up this morning at around 3:45...I opted to say my coherent goodbye's last night. Cody knew this was going to be a tough deployment on me. He has been home the past month (actually a little over a month) due to a shoulder injury, and I haven't had him to myself that long in....I don't even know it's seems like never in our marriage. I cried just talking about it with anyone. So when I woke up this morning I found a not on the kitchen counter telling me how much he would miss me and what not. Then at the end it told me to go look in the guest bathroom for a surprise. There were new light bulbs in the guest bathroom and he acted like that was his surprise on his note, but then at the end told me he was kidding and to go look in the guest bedroom. When I went in I found these

There was another note telling me to look in the dresser and I would find a surprise that we could look forward to doing together when he got home...in there I found these

I am so excited!!!!! I have always wanted to go and see Cirque!!!!!! We are going to go up to Tulsa and make a day out of it...I can't believe he did this :) He knew this was going to be hard, and he wanted to give me something to look forward to. I am so blessed...God truly did give me more than I could have ever asked or imagined!

Belly Cake

2008-11-18T13:59:00.004-06:00

Well my business has officially started. I have had 2 paid gigs, and actually got asked to do a 3rd one, but it was on the same day as one of my other ones and alas I could not handle the big orders. I still don't have the pictures from the first paid cake that I did, but as soon as I get them I will post them on here. This was a very fun cake to do. I got some new tools, and am starting to feel more and more creative and confident with fondant. I was asked to do a polka dot dress, but during the process felt it looked a little cheesy so with my clients approval I took polka dots and made them super chic. I wanted the dress to look like something I would want to wear if I was pregnant. This was a big shower so I also did 2 cupcake trees (one chocolate and the other my irish/vanilla cake) Here are pictures of the final cake and cupcake trees.

Here is a close up so you can see the detailing on ribbon and bust

If you didn't vote....

2008-11-05T13:39:00.002-06:00

No worries...I won't yell at you and tell you that you are a horrible American citizen. I also won't make you feel shame and guilt for not making it to the poll. I will completely understand your not voting status and will not past judgement on you in any form or fashion. Why might you ask is Hayley so passionate about this, b/c she once was not a voter. She once was a 19 year old sophomore at Oklahoma City University. Hayley didn't understand what an absentee ballot meant or even how to get one. She didn't care for either candidate running, and she had no clue how to register since she technically had a home address in Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma!!!!! So she chose not to vote. On election day when approached by die hard "Your vote counts" politically knowledgeable college peers she was asked, "Have you voted today" in which she answered openly and honestly "No". Then the verbal fists were in full fight. Dodging comments left and right, being asked how she could even look in the mirror and call herself an American. So what did Hayley choose to do?!?! She chose to lie. From that point forward she had absolutely voted no question about it, I think she might have even stolen an "I Voted" sticker to avoid the questioning all together. So if you didn't vote...you don't have to lie to me I will love you either way!
*I chose to vote this time...much simpler since I am married and own a house in Oklahoma!

First Job, Shower cake, and Ball

2008-10-19T11:06:00.005-05:00

Well I got my first official job. One of the girls in my small group is throwing a shower for one of her friends and wants me to make the cake :) YEAH! Here is my most recent cake. My friend Lindsey is having a little girl named Sadie. Lindsey likes simple things...hence the simple cake :)

Last night Cody and I had the honor of attending the NAVY ball. It was a really nice time, but definitely a military event :) Good food none the less, plus I got a pretty dress out of it. Here are some pics from the evening, oh and I forgot the best part. Cody got the free tickets because he won "Blue Jacket of the Year" Basically it means that out of all the men in his squadron that are his pay grade they selected him as the best....I am super oober proud

Embrace my weirdness

Huddy's Birthday Weekend

2008-10-15T13:20:00.009-05:00

Cody and I headed out for our nephews birthday party in Ft. Worth. It is a rare occasion that we are both home with no prior obligations...so we jumped on the opportunity to spend time with our nephews and Grant and Sarah. We had such a wonderful weekend. The party was so fun, and then we got some great bonding time with the boys in the jump house. That night Sarah and I sat on the couch talking about life, plastic surgery, and laughing at the ridiculous pose's that so many have for their senior pictures (you know the one hand lightly brushing the cheek with the head tilt)Grant and Cody got some good male bonding time. Then we all four hung out comparing our bodily abnormalities! On Sunday we got to stop by Bill and Molly's and see there new home. It is absolutely wonderful. We loved getting to visit and catch up like always. They even got us Tupperware so we could take home leftovers....can you say selfless?!?! So sweet. Here are some pics from the weekend.

View Album

Get your own

Huddy's Car Cake

2008-10-10T20:27:00.005-05:00

Well my nephew is turning 1, and when Cody and I decided to go down for his party I thought to myself that it would be so fun if I could make his birthday cake. When I was emailing my sister Sarah about the party she said something along the lines of "I wish you lived closer so you could make the cake" I promptly emailed her back telling her that I have boxes and the cakes transport well! I was so excited to get to do this for Huddy. After I got some gift ideas for huddy I decided to make the cake centered around something he loves...Matchbox cars. Sarah told me he loves cars so I thought what better cake than a car cake. After getting some ideas from the Internet I came up with this design. The cake is a vanilla/Italian cream cake...all of the icing is buttercream (let me tell you how difficult it was to get it all smooth!!! Fondant would have been the easier way to go, but it wouldn't have tasted as good) I used candies to decorate the rest of it, and then I put matchbox cars on the cake. I had a blast doing it. I hope huddy loves it, but since he is 1 my expectations of his reaction aren't that high :) Enjoy the pics!
If you need a cake for anything let me know :)

Back in Business

2008-09-30T10:18:00.003-05:00

After much begging and pleading from some persistent friends, I have decided to start a minor side business. I started making cakes as a fun side hobby, but now it has turned into something I truly enjoy spending my time doing. Recently at a friends baby shower a guest asked my pregnant friend if she thought I would be willing to make a cake for her baby shower. Thus the idea developed in my head to start a fun side business. Because this will be a new business, my prices are extremely affordable. I am interested in trying new things and developing my skills as a cake decorator. So if you know of anyone who is interested in a cake for a birthday party or a shower, send them my way. I have a vanilla/Italian cream cake and a cinnamon chocolate cake, and am able to do both butter cream and marshmallow fondant. With the fondant I always layer with butter cream first so the consumer has the choice of eating the fondant or removing it. Here are some various cakes I have done for baby showers, wedding showers, and even thank you presents!

My Race!!!!

2008-09-29T13:55:00.003-05:00

Yes I know I am crazy b/c I actually enjoy the act of running, so lets just go ahead and get that out there. It's annoying and abnormal, and a lot of people think I am insane, but it's so fun! I ran a 5k race this weekend with my best friend in OKC. Summer hated running before we met, but I made her like it :) Now she thoroughly enjoys a good run and after this weekend she can officially say that she completed her first race!!! She did amazing. On her first 5k ever she finished 4th in our age group (20-25) and 20th overall!!!! She is going to train with me for a half marathon in December. Many people have asked me if I finished in my goal time of 22:30. Unfortunately I didn't, but I wasn't to disappointed. I ended up placing 1st in my age group and 2nd female overall. My final time was 23:06. It was nice to hear that others thought the course was pretty hilly and a little rough. All in all it was so fun and exhilarating. I love the thrill of sprinting for the end and crossing the finish line. It really helps you to understand Hebrews 12:1-2. I always write that on my running bib before I race. It reminds me of who gave me the ability to run and what this race in life is all about. Enjoy the pics

Me and Summer before the race warming up

I am on the far right rounding the first corner

This is the home stretch towards the finish line

At this point I am pretty much in a dead sprint trying to catch the girl in first place.

Summer and I after the race!

My hubby is such a great supporter! He took pictures and cheered me on

It is so great to finally have him home again!!!!

This is me receiving my medal

It was such a fun weekend, and I can't wait for the next race!!!!

My favorite cake so far!

2008-09-19T22:19:00.004-05:00

Well, I am having yet another shower at my house! I am super excited about the cake that I made for this shower. I got online and got some ideas and then made an Italian cream cake with butter cream icing and then topped with marshmallow fondant for a smooth surface. It was so fun! Actually that is a little bit of a lie...the marshmallow fondant is a PAIN in the butt, but the outcome is fun to look at :) Here is the cake in the process and the final product

The Ball Game

2008-09-16T23:11:00.007-05:00

Well the Triple A baseball championship game was played in OKC tonight. I was very blessed when they asked me to sing the national anthem. My rehearsal did not go very well at all, so I was really excited when I felt like the performance at the game went better. 4 of my friends came to watch me and we had a good time. I had a few splats here and there, but over all I finished feeling good about it. The mic was SUPER SUPER Hot that is why you can hear my breaths so loud :)

Me and Janna at the game!

Summer!

Pictures and more

2008-09-07T12:08:00.005-05:00

Hello all!

It has been awhile since I have blogged. I'm sorry. Now moving on...Cody is getting deployed tomorrow. It seems like he has been gone a majority of the summer. The good news is that we only only 11 months left of this insanity! I am done with my weddings from the summer and will now continue in the world of baby showers. I have posted some pictures from various events in the last few weeks (In chronological order!)

This is in the most beautiful place on EARTH!!! The family I nanny for took me with them to Vail. It was just stunning. Everything was so beautiful and the place we stayed was immaculate.

My brother Casey came up to Vail while I was there and took me for a hiking trip during the day. This is at hanging lake

Date night with my hubby

This is the cake I made for my friend Sara's bridal shower.
Sara and I at her bridal shower
Over labor day the family all gathered in Dallas. We had such a great time hanging out and being together. The first day we went over to Grant and Sarah's and hung out. We went to the water park that afternoon with Rhett.

That night Jamey's band was playing at the Granada in Dallas. So we all went out to eat and headed to the concert

This weekend two of the families from small group and me and Cody got a chance to hang out. We went bowling and then headed over to the Hall's for some AMAZING fun!

I can't promise that I will be more faithful to post, but I hope you have enjoyed the pictures!!!

For My Mom

2008-08-01T09:46:00.003-05:00

Well my mom has wanted to see new pics of Stella so I got some the other day and decided to post them. Stella is now 7 months old. She is crawling (everywhere), pulling up on everything, and cutting her 3rd tooth. It is so cute when I go in to her room after her nap, she will be standing up holding onto the railing and laughing and smiling at me :) Here she is...

We enjoy laying and staring at each other :)

This is her eating her first frozen fruit! Blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries

Crafty and mommy practice

2008-07-30T23:47:00.003-05:00

That is about as Witty of a title as I could come up with for this entry. I have a dear friend whose name is Melissa. She is the one I made the cake for. Well she happens to be way more "Craftsy" than myself. She makes her daughters bows, and I thought it would be fun to make Stella some. She invited me over and here are the bows I made. Now I can buy ribbon that will specifically match some of Stella's outfits and make her some bows :)

This is my sweet friend Karla's little boy Tyler. The guys were up at the alert facility for one day so she came up with her 3 kids and I came up with well...myself. I got to hold Tyler and he fell asleep on my shoulder :) Great Practice for the future

That's all

Cake #2

2008-07-27T23:10:00.003-05:00

Ok so I have some of the sweetest friends ever. One of the couples in our small group took us to the airport and picked us up when we went to Colorado. They really enjoyed the baby shower cake I made so I decided to make them a thank you cake. Now if I am being perfectly honest...and I am...I kinda rushed on this one a little bit, b/c I just wanted to go to sleep :) However I still think it turned out pretty cute! Melissa here is your cake! I will call you tomorrow about delivering maybe tomorrow night and hanging out some....THANK YOU!!!!

I really just did that

2008-07-23T20:54:00.002-05:00

So I was coming into the office to look at my blog and I opened the curtains to gaze outside. As I went to sit in the chair it rolled away from me, and I fumbled backwards desperately trying to grab anything that was stationary. Unable to do so I fell fast to the ground and banged my arm on the piano bench next to me. Do I worry about my swelling arm? No, first thing I do in my state of vanity is check and make sure no one is looking in the window to see this "Hayley moment" Thankfully the cost was clear!

2 things

2008-07-14T13:09:00.003-05:00

I would like to begin this post by stating that I often run into glass doors, trip on carpets, and miss steps that have signs posted above them saying, "Please Watch Your Step"...with that in mind I would like to share with you what happened to me this morning. I got to see Stella for the first time in over a week, basically fireworks flew and she started screaming "Nanny...Nanny", or that is what she would have said had she not been speechless over her excitement of my return. Anyway, I am on the floor cooing and ooing over her and lifting her up and flipping her around when suddenly I go to sit up and my entire neck stiffens and sends shooting pains up towards my ears. I literally have to stop mid sit up due to the pain the weird sensation from my neck up continues until I identify it's source. It was coming from some muscles right underneath my chin. I then precede to go ask Katy if you can pull a muscle under your chin...her first response is laughter due to the odd questions which makes me adore her even more b/c that is exactly how Cody would respond. If I asked my mom that question she would probably say, "No way I pulled the same muscle last week!" So anyway realizing I was actually serious she said you definitely can b/c there are a lot of muscles underneath there, but you are probably just having a cramp and it will subside. Well the pain has subsided, however when I swallow or tilt my head backwards it is still painful like a muscle strain. You know I work out and run so you would think pulling a hamstring, quad, or even my back would make more sense. I could see breaking an arm or spraining a toe, but when my husband asks me why I am not working out today I am going to have to respond with a whopping, "Because Dear I pulled a muscle underneath my chin while sitting up!"

In other news... STELLA IS CRAWLING!!!!! I would like to think that Stella is crawling a little early due to the crawling exercises that I do with her daily (Dusty calls it baby aerobics). Katy also works on her crawling and does the exercises with her. I also demonstrated on a daily basis proper crawling techniques...if there is a nanny cam Dusty and Katy had a bawl watching that one! I got some great video of her crawling today and no that is not "Party Favorites" music going on in the background...

Colorado Trip

2008-07-13T22:40:00.011-05:00

Cody and I just took a trip this past week to Colorado to visit some family. Here are some pictures from the trip...I hope you enjoy

Getting the trip started off right with a cup of coffee!

I got gangsta with Casey's hat

We went to a baseball game with the parents

hahaha I made Cody chubby!

Casey owns a petty cab business and he took us for a ride

Yes ladies he is single and available...

Date night!

Look out water world here we come!

Me catchin a wave on my boogie board

and holding on to my bottoms for DEAR LIFE!!! they even had a draw string!

I like to spontaneously break out into dance

Me with the hubby and the bro

Still at water world...

after 7 hrs at water world one might fall sound asleep while driving home

Stop and insert laugh.....HERE

Catchin some rays at the pool

These are some of Cody's old highschool friends...not to imply that they are old or no longer his friends for that matter

I am such a big deal that people name ice cream shops in other states after me!
Up in Estes Park

These are some of my friends from the wonderful world of Six Flags....hooray for hollywood

I decided to get my nose re-pierced on a whim!

Right before

Right after

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Until next time...

Running across a memory

2008-07-02T13:22:00.004-05:00

Ok...I would like to just go ahead and put this out there that most of you that are reading my blogs are avid blog stalkers. There is no use in denying it and there should be no shame in admitting it. Most of you get bored at work and so you get onto your little blogger and you just start clicking, and before you know it you have been through all your links...all your friends links...and your friends, friends links...You jump for joy when someone posts great news and then when you go to tell your husband/significant other about the news and they ask, "Who the heck is Jane Doe?" You suddenly realize that you have a sick obsession.

So...while I was blog stalking today :) I came across a blog of a friend from a long time ago. I knew her as Annie Majors, but she has since gotten married and is now a Hunt. When I came across her page I was all the sudden filled with a vivid memory of my senior year at Youth Camp. (at least I think it was my senior year...the memory was vivid the time period...not so much) I had come down at the end of service and was completely distraught and emotional (as most youth are at camp) Annie came up and got me and pulled me out to the back to talk and pray. I remember opening up to her about my body image and some problems I was having with throwing up my food. Without a moments hesitation she poured into me. She didn't state me my rights and my wrongs...she didn't give me the "8 simple steps to a better you"... She didn't immediately lay hands on me and start spewing off religious flowery jargon. She sat there and told me her story. She shared her struggles with me and then she prayed with me. She was such a faithful little servant to our youth group and she probably touched so many lives, but God chose her to touch mine. He chose Annie Majors to stand in the gap for me at that moment. I know I probably never said anything to her about it...nor did I think to terribly much about it at that time, but I tell you what as I am journeying on in my walk with the Lord it is such a precious gift when He reminds us of the people he used to bring us where we are today. So Annie if you read this THANK YOU! This reminded me today to NEVER underestimate the power and impact we can have in one's life!

Here are some pics of me and baby Stella (the baby I nanny for those of you that are currently blog stalking I thought I would clarify) going for a walk today

Stephanie's Baby Shower

2008-06-28T12:32:00.012-05:00

So my sweet mentor/friend/sisterly figure is having a baby in August, and we (the girls in my small group) threw her a baby shower this weekend. We ended up having it at my house since I was making the cake. First of all can I just say that the girls in my small group are AMAZING...Tierra showed up super early and helped me get things on platters and kept me company even though she is having morning sickness. Lindsey got there early as well and helped me tie up all the lose ends with the platters and getting everything on the table. Then sweet Mary, Gina, Lindsey, Tierra, Jessica, Melissa and so many others washed everything and picked up all the trash! Can I just say that it made my heart sing to watch the body of Christ come together to bless our dear sister in Christ Stephanie. Once everyone left I was overwhelmed with joy for all these wonderful and beautiful girls in my life. I had a blast making the cake. It was quite a process, but I enjoyed every minuet of it :)

Cody is deployed and I am missing him a ton. We got some good news about the GI Bill :) They increased the amount we will receive for him to go to school with, and it will cover EVERYTHING!!!!! That is such a blessing :) It almost makes up for the fact that in 2 years of marriage I have had my husband home for about 10 months! We feel so blessed and thankful for this new bill that was passed! YEAH!

God is revealing so many things to me in my life. I went through a period of complacency, and I just got tired of it. I have so much passion and vision for the woman of God that I desire to be. I told God that I was ready for him to put that vision into reality. hahaha be careful what you ask for. In the past week I have had 3 particular situations that have tried my faith and obedience to Christ. I wish I could say that I passed with flying colors :) It was almost humorous b/c the first time I absolutely said no, and then the Holy Spirit just kept on and kept on until I obeyed...after that it got much easier. Which brings me to something else that I feel like God has been revealing to me. I am realizing more and more that by our acts of obedience God is able to trust us more with His work. I am realizing how many opportunities to do the Lord's work that I have missed out on do to my disobedience. By saying yes and obeying the Holy Spirit the Lord then preceded to give me 2 more opportunities in the following days to exercise my faith and the power of the cross. I am so thankful He did! The power of the name of Jesus and the Power of the Blood of the Lamb is SO REAL, and so many times I have spoke that with my words and not believed it in the core of my being. Sometimes I get caught up in predestination and free will, but the bottom line is I had a choice and we have a choice. Our emotions influence our choices which in turn continue to influence our emotions and thus a vicious cycle. So...I feel tired and worn out and skip out on spending time with the Lord when He has asked me to I then feel shame and guilt causing emotions of complacency and almost like I don't measure up. Those emotions then influence all my choices causing more emotions that influence more choices. So how do we get out of this cycle?!?!?! The word tells us in Phill. 4:8 to think on whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is fair, whatever is pure, whatever is acceptable, whatever is commendable, if there is anything of excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy. So all of these things are truth. These things are not waved by whether or not I have spent time with the Lord. So by the power or the Lord and through his strength I am trying to chose truth in all things. For someone who is emotional this is difficult, but I am realizing more and more how much my emotions perpetuate complacency in my relationships. Ok...that is enough on that topic

Here are pics from this weekend! ENJOY :)

This is were the powdered sugar monster came in my kitchen

and threw up!

This is the cake! It is a little lopsided. My cake leveling skills are

not quite up to par, but practice makes perfect!

The whole cake is made from scratch. The top and bottom layer

where a vanilla irish cream and the middle layer was a chocolate

cinnamon. The icing was a vanilla buttercream, and I have like

4 tupperware containers full in my freezer!

The "p" is for Pruitt. That is the babies last name
they don't have a first name yet so I thought this would do

The ribbon is from walmart! Super cute

The flower arrangements I made

This was the food table. All the girls brought stuff and helped me put it out on the table

This is Tierra's super cute diaper cake! She is so craftsy and extremely good at it! I have always wanted to be craftsy like that, but it's just not in my blood :) love you mom

Me with the mommy to be!

Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

2008-06-26T13:09:00.002-05:00

I know it has been forever since I have posted. I have seriously drafted a couple of posts, but never published them. I am in a blogging funk, but I thought this was cool. I have been told multiple times that I look like brittany Murphy, and then someone sent me this to do. I thought it was pretty cool.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Family tree software - Family history

Chainey's Photography Business

2008-06-10T07:22:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone! My friend Chainey is starting her photography business and needed some "model's" for an engagement/couple's session. Cody and I had a blast doing this photo session. Chainey is so sweet, and just enjoys taking pictures of people! She is starting her business as a side business and will be available on weekends. Here is a preview of her work, and a link to the rest of our pictures! http://picasaweb.google.com/CHAINEY.BEKENDAM/CodyAndHaley?authkey=ByNHlblzSuk

Weddings...weddings...weddings

2008-06-02T21:53:00.002-05:00

This weekend Cody and I had a "double header" as he likes to call it. We had two weddings in Dallas. One at 1 pm and one at 6 pm. I can not tell a lie...I do enjoy being social, but I was exhausted, and then upon our arrival in OKC on Sunday we had small group at our house! The best part of the weekend was the wonderful brunch we shared with Aunt Molly and Uncle Bill. Molly made a wonderful breakfast and we just sat around and talked the morning/afternoon away...literally we were running late b/c we lost track of time! The first pic is of us on a date after our friend took some pictures of us...the rest are of wedding events

Update

2008-05-30T09:59:00.002-05:00

Cody and I had a very fun weekend. We went to one of our closest couple's friends wedding. We had so much fun helping them get ready for it, and it was great to just enjoy it with them. It was also so wonderful for me to have my husband home! This week one of my dear friends in Oklahoma City got Engaged!!!! They are getting married Aug. 29th so she is busily getting everything ready. This will be our 8th wedding for the summer and my second wedding to be in! So much fun....we love that all our friends are getting married so we have more couples friends! Tonight we are doing a photo session with one of my friends Chaney. She is starting a side photography business and asked if Cody and I would do a couples session (kind of like an engagement session) so she can use the pics for her website....we were like HECK YEAH!!!! We have two weddings this weekend one at 1pm and one at 6pm both in Dallas...funny how that worked out! Cody is home for 2-3 weeks, and then gone again until July 4th. That's about all I got for now. Enjoy some pics from the weekend!

At the Reception

Me and Mrs. Kennedy
Jim and Cody look like their related
YEAH!!!! Sara and I out at breakfast the day after her engagement!

New Hair and Awards

2008-05-09T23:48:00.002-05:00

Well I went back to Stevie, and she did yet another fabulous hair cut! I LOVE IT!!!!! It is shorter than last time, and I can BARELY put it in a pony tail. These are pictures from my awards night at school. I graduated in December, but they don't hand out awards until May. I knew I was getting inducted into the Pi Kappa Lambda Honor Society AKA Musical Academic Nerds! However I did not know I was going to receive the "Most Outstanding Student in Music Education" for 2008 award. In fact I was just waiting to get the DREADED "Most Improved" award. I always get that award and have always hated it...it's like you were really sucky, but now you don't suck as much :) In fact I always got it in Cheerleading EVERY YEAR! haha I guess they just kept seeing potential...either that or they couldn't get rid of me b/c my voice was louder than the whole squad combined. Anyway I was way shocked and honored. I had so much fun with my date Traci. She was my roommate and running partner for 2 yrs.

Before Dinner
Look Mom!
Yeah Pi Kappa Lambda Nerds
This is my advisor and professor for Education
Hope you enjoyed the pictures

Rejoice

2008-05-09T09:07:00.002-05:00

Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS.(Phil. 4:4) I read that this morning and I thought surely God didn't really mean always. That would mean that I was to be rejoicing at all times. I am thinking maybe it means something different in Greek. Like always with the exception of when Hayley Bobay's feelings don't align. or maybe always except for when Hayley Bobay would rather pout and feel sorry for herself. Then I thought to myself...how hilarious...I can make even the simple word ALWAYS be and revolve completely around me! God help our naturally self centered natures! So here is what I am rejoicing in...That God has revealed Himself deeper into the depths of my spirit, soul, and being. I am rejoicing that I have such a Godly husband who loves me so purely (and he's HOT too!) I am rejoicing that I am seeing my family this weekend. I am rejoicing that I have a wonderful job. I am rejoicing that God has placed a Godly mentor in my life that I look up to and respect. I am rejoicing that God restored my voice in spite of my times of pride. Ok I am all joiced out....shoot...that totally defeats the purpose, and thus the cycle begins! I am off to the world of STELLA

STELLA

2008-05-02T10:32:00.003-05:00

I had some fun with my camera and Stella yesterday. We were outside just hanging out so I took the opportunity for a photo shoot. I did try and get artistic in some of the photo's...to my photographer friends (aka Mary...you are the only photographer that looks at my page!) you inspire me to attempt to get creative with photography...Stella is the cutest thing EVER!

Our weekend at the Lake

2008-05-01T10:30:00.003-05:00

This past weekend the wonderful family that I nanny for offered their lake house for Cody and I to enjoy before he deploys. We were celebrating my birthday since he will be gone on May 12th (My birthday...May 12....the day of my birth...just in case you didn't know :)) We had such a wonderful time relaxing and goofing off. Sometimes when you picture a lake house you think about like a cabin type place that's old and worn out....not this place! It was about as nice as my normal house! :) Cody and I really felt like we were on a mini vacation. What a blessing the Boren's have been in our life...and what an example of generosity! Here are some pictures from the weekend

This is me in front of the house!

This is the super cool jeep that Katy surprised Dusty with awhile back. They let us park our car and just drive this every where we went. It was fun b/c Cody used to have a jeep and I never really got to ride with him in it b/c it was when we were "just friends" (and by just friends I mean he called me and email me every day and we hung out non stop!)

Ok so funny story....I was looking at a brochure while we were driving and I saw a resort called Sixshooter....I turned to Cody and said, "Who in the world would name their resort Six's Hooter" That's when Cody oh so sweetly burst into uncontrollable laughter, "Sixshooter babe 'six' 'shooter'!!!!" I then turned to him and said, " You sure would never know I graduated from college with a 3.89 GPA" Later that night I asked if you had to pay for movies off of pay-per-view!!!! Just call me Jessica Simpson

Katy and Dusty got this awesome hammock the weekend before we got there. Thank you Katy and Dusty it was the best nap I have had in a long time!

Before our nap time

I was joking around with Cody after our nap and he snapped this shot. He told me I looked like a little Hindu Woman

We went out for a nice steak dinner for my birthday. It was so great just to be together and spend time talking.

Right before I chowed down on a 14 oz steak!
HAHAHA in true Hayley fashion we had to get ice cream...even if that meant stopping at a gas station and getting the ghetto toll house cookie sandwich The o-so-beautiful Lake Tenkiller. God is a brilliant landscaper, painter, lake putter inner, and sky creatinger

THANK YOU KATY AND DUSTY!!!! and of couse my punk-a-chunk STELLA!

WHY WHY WHY

2008-04-30T07:13:00.004-05:00

I have debated for many weeks whether or not I was going to blog about this. However, I have come to realize that talking about it is one of the best ways for me to heal. I have also come to realize that I am one of countless women that have to go through this, and not only that many don't feel comfortable talking about it. So let me just say this now if you experience the same thing and need to talk...I will talk (better yet the Holy Spirit will talk through me :))

For those of you that don't know (and I think everyone that actually reads my blog knows!) I recently had a miscarriage. This was me and cody's first baby. We weren't actually planning on this pregnancy, but were wonderfully surprised by it's arrival. I found out I was pregnant in February and was trying to keep it a secret until I could announce it to my family. Little did I know that the day after I announced it to my family I would be in the emergency room. I was about 6-7 weeks along at the time, and so stunned and shocked at even seeing blood that I didn't know what to do. During this time Cody was deployed to Hawaii. God was so gracious to give my mother the wonderful idea of bringing me to Alabama for a week while he was gone. I was so thankful that I was at my parents house when all this went down.

A couple of weeks after the miscarriage I was going to be dancing at a women's retreat at Falls Creek. There were two other girls dancing with me...one was pregnant! Our speaker was Jennifer Rothschild. The weekend was about walking by faith and not by sight. Her first talk was about questioning God. I felt like the Lord was speaking straight to me through this woman. She talked about how it is ok to ask God questions, but we are not to question God's character. Then and there I felt such a release. I had been feeling so guilty for asking God Why my baby? Why was Cody gone? Why did I miscarry in a public restroom? Why did I get pregnant in the first place only to lose my baby? WHY WHY WHY?!?!!?

But the never changing always constant truth is....
God is love, God is peace, God is mercy, God is grace, God is holy, God is constant, God is all powerful, God is the creator and sustainer, God is hope, God is faithful, God is just, God is compassion, God is the healer.

That's it He is every inch of all of those words. His character is what sustains me...not the answers to my question. His goodness and mercy are what heal me. And then I think about just how gracious God truly is...
*I was with my parents when it happened

*God placed several women in my life to counsel and guide me through the process

*God created my body to know when something is wrong with my baby

*God gave me the ability to feel and have compassion on women who lose children

*God has revealed more of His character to me and deepened my intimacy with Him through this time of question and hurt

The bottom line is we live in a fallen wretched world, but God takes these things that may not appear to be "good" and uses them to glorify His name. So if you have WHY questions for God...I would encourage you to ask them. It's ok to ask him WHY...and then I would encourage you to ponder on His character. The awesome thing is when you ask him WHY? it opens the door for Him to reveal so much more of Himself to you.

Now don't get me wrong...I still struggle. Every time I see a pregnant woman it stings a little bit. I called my mom and some other women just yesterday crying, but that's ok. God also created me to grieve...and what's even greater than that is God created me to be dependant on Him. That's His grace right there...He knew that without my dependence on Him I would be one hopeless and hurting woman

I got tagged!!!

2008-04-23T10:17:00.004-05:00

OK so Lauren tagged me to write a 6 word memoir, and my mom so graciously reminded me last night that I had still not done it....so here it goes...

1. EMOTIONAL (sometimes a great thing...sometimes my biggest weakness)

And that is all I got...oh wait no...that quality is just so overwhelming sometimes its hard to see the rest of me :) Thank you God for a patient husband

2. Compassionate~ I tend to hurt, cry, and feel for people...even if they haven't asked me to :)

3. Military Wife~ I know this is two words, but God has used this aspect of my life to make me one tough/strong cookie!

4. Athletic~ I love being outside and doing athletic things. There is no sport I will not try...only two I don't enjoy playing (softball and basketball) and I LOVE running and working out

5. Graceful....if you know me you know that was a joke.... Spunky~ I tend to be all over the map full of life and spunk. I have been told I am LOUD and I have learned to embrace this quality and I prefer to call it SPUNK b/c the word loud is somewhat of an emotional wound for me. Along with being spunky comes being somewhat clumsy :) Actually now that I think of it spunky is just a flowery way of calling myself LOUD and Clumsy!

6. Clay~ I am constantly being sculpted and molded into the Woman God has created and intended for me to be! It's such a journey

I tag...Melissa Hall and Dawntoya

National Anthem Video

2008-04-22T09:05:00.003-05:00

Here it is! Keep in mind that it was very windy, rainy and cold...and I went to slow...

The National Anthem

2008-04-18T11:18:00.005-05:00

First of all I just need to say that I feel so BLESSED! I sang the National Anthem last night at a Redhawks game (Oklahoma's very own Triple A Baseball team). It was rainy, windy, and FREEZING, and yet all these people in my life came out to support me. I was blown away. My wonderfully gracious family that I nanny for came out with baby Stella and braved the wind and cold just to hear me sing (and Katy made the most adorable onesie for Stella to wear!), members of my small group were there with lots of cheering power, and Nate and Summer came and saw me even though nate has been out of town for like the last three weeks! I am so blessed. God has granted me the most amazing relationships in my life and he has so mercifully restored my vocal cords! Here are some pics from the night. I have also uploaded the video, mainly for my mother :) I took the Anthem a little to slow...oops...but I guess better to slow than to fast! Enjoy the pics (For some reason I am having trouble getting the video to load so I will try and post it later!)

Katy, Dusty, and Stella

Me and Summer!
The small group, and can I just say that the two women in the middle are pregnant and they still both came with the crappy weather!
Stella's AMAZING onesie that Katy made

King Nebuchadnezzar

2008-04-03T12:48:00.006-05:00

I went to a bible study on Monday night, and we talked about the book of Daniel. The night went a little something like this

First we talked about Daniel and how wonderful his Faithfulness to God was. We talked about because of his unwavering faith God continually poured his favor out on him. Then we preceded to discuss Nebuchadnezzar. I chimed in and gave my two cents, "King Nebuchadnezzar had so many chances to follow God. God was continually revealing His great strength and power to King N. and he would profess how great God was one day and then the next day build a statue of himself made of gold. Yet God continued to reveal himself to King N. in dreams and through the interpretations of Daniel." In my head I was thinky...GEEZ....King Nebby was a flake poor guy wasn't getting the giant wake up call God was sending him! The the Holy Spirit oh so softly whispered in my ear...your looking more and more like King N. I thought "Oh dear Lord....it's true". Sudden conviction came over me. I am king Nebby...go ahead and call me queen Nebuchadnezzara!

The good news is that I now am seeing that God isn't messing around. He doesn't care that I can spew off how faithful Daniel was and how flaky Nebby was. It is taking that story and applying it that He so desperately wants for me in my life. I think he is up in heaven looking down saying Hayley get excited its time to get the nebby out and the danny in. So hopefully in a little while I can blog and tell you that I am starting to look a little bit more like a Danielle rather than a nebuchadnezzara! Oh wait that would be prideful....shoot :) God is good all the time! by the way did I mention I LOVE NANNYING!!!

Stella!

2008-03-30T16:01:00.005-05:00

Here she is!!!! This is the beautiful bundle of joy that I get to play with each day. She is so sweet and adorable. We go for walks, play on her mat, and I also sing to her. This is a pic of her on her mini bobby. The video is of her ridiculously amazing motor skills! :) I started hitting the frog and turning it. She mimicked me perfectly...and then of course I get the camera on her, and she gets a little camera shy, but you can still see her intent in copying me!

NANNYING!!!!

2008-03-24T10:28:00.004-05:00

I LOVE IT!!!!!
This is my first day, and it is fabulous. She is just so precious. When I first got here Katy (the mom) took me through the routine. Stella (baby) woke up while we were roaming through the house. We went into her nursery and it was my dream nursery. Everything is perfect. I gave Stella her morning bottle while her parents were there. That was a little nerve racking! They are truly the coolest laid back couple and awesome employers. After I gave her the bottle the parents left and we had mat play time. I worked with her on rolling over. We would roll from tummy to back over and over again. She started to use her legs and arms to help! Then we did kick time. She used those little legs like it was her job. After that she was pooped and now she is napping. I love it..it's wonderful. In fact I am watching her wake up right now. They have the coolest video monitor so I can watch her and hear her...and now go retrieve her from her slumber :) I just wanted you all to know that I LOVE my job :)

Date Night

2008-03-20T10:14:00.006-05:00

So Cody and I have had a pretty rough week, and my husband being the AMAZING man that he is decided to do something for me to get my mind off of things and to help me heal. He went above and beyond....which is exactly what Christ did for us! So he took me to the nicest restaurant in Oklahoma City (The Mantel) and we just had the best time ever. First of all he bought me the most stunning dress in Hawaii for me to wear on our date. It fit perfect! Then we went out together and got me shoes that matched the dress! When we got to the restaurant there were my favorite flowers on the table! I had a Chocolate Martini and a Key lime Martini...the two best cocktails I have EVER had, Cody had a Chimay and then we both enjoyed a Rack of lamb and then banana foster for dessert. There was an amazing act of generosity that night, but I will share about that in a later blog. Here are some pictures from the night.

This is when we first arrived at the restaurant

These were the wonderful flowers!

This is our waitress making banana foster. I am sure it does not compare to the banana foster that my brother Jerry makes, he has told me several times all about it :)

Kiss Kiss Kiss!

This is the fabulous dress! He did so good!!!!! I LOVE IT

Once we got home we played Yahtzee (one of our favorite games) I do have to say that Cody won, but only because he cheated...and by cheated I mean played completely fair and even gave me extra rolls! Till next time....

I tagged myself!

2008-03-10T18:14:00.003-05:00

I was not tagged, but wanted to be...so I tagged myself!
10 Years Ago...
Well I would have been 12 going on 13! I am pretty sure I was excited about become a teenager, but that was also during 7th grade which was the year from hell. I was made fun of every day, and would eat lunch by myself. When I would go to the bathroom people would take my drink and pour it over my lunch so I couldn't eat. At the end of that year I made the cheerleading squad, and poof...I was liked again. Sad but true!

Things on my to-do list today:
*Work out (done!)
*Meet with my nanny family (done!)
*Eat a braums mix of vanilla yogurt with heath (done...and it is on my list every day! Some times I do this double!)
*Drop off my portfolio at OCU (done!)
*Pack...haven't started

What would i do if i became loaded:
*Give some of it away
*Pay off my house
*Travel
*Get cool work out and hiking gear (northface and padagonia) I always think that stuff is so cool looking but I can't afford it!

Three of my bad habits:
1. Chewing my nails and sometimes the flesh around them
2. Putting the ice tray's back in the freezer empty :) oops
3. Accommodating every one's wants and needs not because I want to, but because I want everyone to like me (This is not always but it does happen often)

Five jobs I've had:
1. Nanny for 3 kids- Loved this job at times, but honestly was a little young to have 3 kids (I was 18)
2. Six flags singer and dancer--this was a great job, but after my last show (#360) I was ready to be done
3. Demo recorder for Silvertree Productions--Best job EVER
4. YMCA kids camp coordinater---I ran from this job as far in the opposite direction as possible
5. Starbucks---LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this job!
Currently about to be a Nanny again! this time one baby girl 3 mo. old!

Five things people don't know about me:
1. I cry a lot....oh wait...EVERYONE knows that!
2. I often feel lonely like I have no friends and that the friends I have don't truly care for me
3. I don't have to wear deodorant! (I know it's crazy but I just don't smell)
4. At night time I get all wound up and hyper (Cody often says, "Who put a nickle in you?")
5.I pierced my belly button with a safety pin when I was in 8th grade

Now I tag...AUNT MOLLY!

My Hair

2008-03-08T09:24:00.002-06:00

Well my friend Stevie is amazing! She put this "lip gloss" (as she calls it) on my hair yesterday, and I love it! I love the color. It makes my hair look so much richer. Anyway, in other news Cody is deployed, and I forgot how hard deployments are. It's so hard to adjust from seeing someone everyday to having to talk on the phone. You would be surprised how many things can affect a phone conversation! I start work in a little over 2 weeks. I think it will be good for me to get back to working. I miss being somewhat busy! Enjoy the pics of my hair....

vulgar plant

2008-03-06T11:27:00.002-06:00

Well I got this plant for Christmas. I was so excited to nurture it and feed it and see it grow! I did exactly as the directions told me, and I waited and waited. It seemed like it took forever, and then finally a bud was coming up from the soil. It grew, and it grew, and it grew....until it affectionately became known as the vulgar plant. Before these beautiful blooms where on it....it only had a pointed tip. Cody and I couldn't stop laughing, and it seemed to grow EVERY day, and still no blooms, until finally...yes we have blooms. My husband left today for 33 days, and I am coping right now, but we shall see in a few days!

Blogging Type

2008-03-03T09:49:00.004-06:00

This weekend I had a wonderful visit in Dallas. I got to spend time with my grandma, Grant and Sarah, and Jerry. I also made a visit out to Arlington to see Rhett and Hudson! While out in Arlington my sister Sarah and I had a conversation about blogging. We were talking about types of blogging and such. I later had a similar conversation with my mom, and I have come to the conclusion that I am an unfaithful blogger! While dwelling on my diagnosis I began to think of possibilities to remedy this situation. Should I shut down my blog completely? Should I make myself blog every day? Looking at these questions I decided that if I made myself blog every day I would then become a legalistic blogger, zapping out the joy that is blogging. I then decided that I didn't want to shut down my blog either....for selfish reasons...so the conclusion that I have come to is that people are going to be continually pissed off every time they visit my blog. When they click on my link and go to my page there will probably be overwhelming disappointment and anguish over the fact that it is STILL the same. So until I get therapy....here are some pictures from this weekend

My friends bridal shower

Me and my life long friend Kitty

Me and my sweet nephew Rhett

Look we have something in common!

Being a little "thrill seeker" with daddy

My New Haircut

2008-02-20T11:08:00.004-06:00

For those of you who know me...you probably know that I have been trying to grow out my hair for about a year now! It was finally getting long when I realized, "My hair looks horrible long. I do not have the kind of hair that should be long. It is to thin and whispy." So I went to one of my dear friends Stevie Lee Schardien, and finally let her do what she thought would look best. She has been trying to tell me for over a year that long hair won't look good! So here is the result....I LOVE IT! We probably cut off 4 inches, and it is my favorite haircut of life! Please excuse the absolutely no make-up :) Next we are going to do some subtle color! I think I may even go just a little shorter next time....living on the edge

Pictures from NYC

2008-02-15T22:58:00.005-06:00

I have been sick with a fever and congestion....so here are some pics for you to snack on until I am well :)

January 2008

2008-01-31T12:28:00.001-06:00

Here are some pics from January 2008. The events included....Cody coming home from Iraq, Date night, Mel and Jamey's rehearsal dinner, and Mel and Jamey's wedding! I hope you guys enjoy the photo's if you want any of them email me hayleycodybobay@gmail.com and I will send them to you!

Sinners or Saints?

2008-01-22T12:07:00.000-06:00

I am reading a new book entitled "Victory Over the Darkness" by Neil T. Anderson. The book was given to me by my counselor in Alabama. This book has opened my eyes to so many new truths, but it has also shed light on so many lies that I have believed for countless years of my life. Before I begin, let me state that I am not in any way thinking or saying I have this thing figured out or that I finally have it all laid out in a pretty little picture, but I do know that something in my spirit is changing, and I feel as though this revelation that Neil Anderson presents through scripture is aligning my spirit in a more vertical position so that I can more fully hear and recieve who I truly am in Christ. My identity has been so scewed over the years.

In one of my counseling sessions I began to talk to Lisa, the counselor, about some of the things I was struggling with at one point I told her, "I get to this place where I am just crying out; I need you Jesus I NEED YOU!!!!!" She looked at me with a smile on her face and said, "You already have Him." This puzzled me. We then took this a step further and looked into my feelings of anxiety, of not measuring up, needing Jesus, and feeling like I am constantly crying out for Him. To summerize, I discovered something alarming. I was putting on a false sense of humility.

Here me out, and take a look at this diagram...

Thinking less -----------------------------------Thinking more
highly of self/----------- PRIDE-----------------highly of self/
False Sense of -----------------------------------Arrogance
Humility

I started to realize that by continually repeating to myself what a horrible, ugly, and wretched sinner I am and by continually confirming that I am so unholy and unworthy I was putting on this false sense of humility. I realized that I was so turned off by arrogance and thinking highly of one's self that I jumped to the entire other end of the spectrum. The bottom line is both ends of the spectrum are completely focused on SELF, and not on the blood of Christ. The truth is I WAS a horrible, ugly, and wretched sinner. I was also unholy and unworthy, but I was saved and washed with the blood of Christ. Through the cross, the blood, and the resurection I am now made beautiful and holy. I was completely missing this. This whole revelation became even more amplified while reading Neil Anderson's book....

So in Vicotry Over the Darkness I got to a section that talked about the difference between a sinner and a saint. The chapter begins by stating, "Have you noticed that one of the most frequently used words of identity for Christians in the New Testament is "saint"? When I read this statement...I had to say to myself "No! In fact I feel like I am constantly being labeled as a sinner not a saint" I then continued to read on. In the next couple of paragraphs it brings up all the references to sinner in the new testament and all the references to saint. In the New Testament when the word "sinner" is used it is refering to UNBELIEVERS. When the word "saint" is used it is refering to BELIEVERS. The chapter puts it much more elequently than I ever could, but basically after reading this I realized that there is a difference between a saint who still has the capacity to sin and ocassionaly sins, and a sinner who is an unbeliever and therefor spiritually dead. At this point a huge light when on in my head. No wonder I always feel like I am crying out, "I need you Jesus" it is becuase I have been viewing myself as a sinner. Sinner's don't have Jesus...therefor I continually felt as though I didn't have Jesus causing me to cry out for Him. The truth is I WAS a sinner, an undeserving mess of a person, and by the grace of God I have been saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, again not becuase of ANYTHING that I did, and now because I am saved I am a Saint, fully and completed connected to God through Christ. Do I still have the capacity to sin? Yes...have I? Yes, but with this new light on who I am in Christ I have been able to identify the authority I have through Jesus over the enemy. So I have stopped reffering to myself as a sinner, b/c I am now a saint who is becoming like Christ, and I have to say by understanding and examining who I am in Christ the attacks of the enemy have subsided, and my relationship with the Lord has deepened. Therefor I now cry out, "Thank you God for Jesus, thank you for the mercy that you have so freely given me and the freedom and authority I have through the cross over the enemy." I am going to close with my favorite paragraph from the book.

"As believers, we are not trying to become saints; we are saints who are becoming like Christ. In no way does this deny the continuous struggle with sin, but it does give the believer some hope for the future. Many Christians are dominated by the flesh and deceived by the devil. However, telling Christians they are sinners and then disciplining them if they don't act like saints seems counterproductive at best and inconsistent with the Bible at worst."

To be on birth control.....or not to be on birth control

2008-01-22T00:34:00.001-06:00

As I lay awake at 12:34 AM....this is truly a delima

So here is the down low...the low down....no doubt:
I had tried 3 different birth controls around a year ago (all spread out between about 10 months) needless to say, none of them worked! I will spare you the details on each, but will provide a brief synopsis to keep you up to speed: on one I was continually using the restroom (not in a good way) and the doctor took me off of it, on another I had a constant yeast infection for 2 months, and on the last one I was just plum CRAZY!!!!! So my hubby and I decided that's it! we're finished with birth control.

During that time I was taking around 23 hrs. at Oklahoma City University, working 12-17hrs at Starbucks, and trying to adjust to the life of a wife who's husband leaves on a deployment every other month. Now that I am finished with school, not working, and more adjusted to the married life...I thought this would be the perfect time to try birth control again. However, I have since learned that maybe God is trying to tell me something.......

YOU'RE BODY CAN NOT HANDLE BIRTH CONTROL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have had ridiculous waves of nausea resulting in many nights spent locked in my bathroom this coupled with a headache and some other really weird symptoms...I have decided: I QUIT!!!!! I am so done with this birth control thing. I really have tried to stick it out, but when you are having to take a suppository just so you can keep some food in...it's time to rethink some things. So that is what I have done, and I have decided to use the basal temperature/calendar method of birth control. I know we run a higher risk of getting pregnant, but I figure we run a higher risk of me ending up in an asylum if I stay on this stuff :)

I quit today and I am already starting to feel better. I just want to enjoy this time off work and school and it was very difficult to do that while being sick!

Confession

2008-01-04T12:13:00.000-06:00

Ok I have a confession to make......

I SUCK AT BLOGGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's true and I wish I had some great excuse to tack on to the end of that horrible statement, but alas I do not. The plain and simple fact of it is....I have been lazy. I know my actions are inexcusable and I take full responsibility for my blogging negligence.

On a lighter note here are some wonderful pictures from the holiday season!

This is my dad and I at my graduation!
YEAH I am a college graduate

This is my mom and I at the Huntsville space and rocket center!
It was so interesting learning about NASA and
the development of the space ship

There was a rock climbing wall....so in true Hayley fashion
I climbed it with a bunch of little kids :)

My friends had a Christmas party, and I went as
their date :) We had a blast getting jiggy with it

These are my cute next door neighbors. I go over
and see them often just to hang out. I was helping them
decorate their tree. Their names are Emma and Grace

This is a HILARIOUS video of Meredith. Meredith is
a very active 1 yr. old who LOVES food. We decided
to decorate the Christmas tree with candy cane's. The
girls were given direct instructions not to EAT the candy
canes. I caught this on film.....please note the chunk of candy
cane on the bottom right side of her lip!

That's all for now. My husband is coming home tonight!!!!!!! YEAH
He is getting to come home 13 days early. Also I would just
like to say that I went to 3 counseling sessions over
Christmas break, and it was wonderful!
Counseling is a beautiful thing, and I feel like
everyone can benefit from it :)

Pics From Iraq

2007-11-29T21:38:00.001-06:00

Here are some pics Cody sent me from over there! oh and great news...he is witnessing to one of the guys on his crew that doesn't know Jesus. He walked by his room the other night and noticed that the guy looked down and sad so he went in and talked to him. Basically the guy told him that his wife is having a hard time with him being gone all the time and might want a divorce. Cody got to just listen to him and be there for him, and then he gave him a Bible :) Next time Cody saw him he was reading Job on his own. YEAH!

Well this is it....Everything is in Portables over there

This is a picture Cody took of the base from his plane!

Feeling lost

2007-11-28T20:55:00.000-06:00

Hey guys,

Well all of the two people that know about my blog :) I am struggling, and I just need to talk...so I am going to type. It is SO hard having Cody gone. I feel so alone, and I know I am not and I know what I am supposed to do and I know all the things that church has taught me to do, but right now I feel so helpless. I want God so fully, but I just feel like I am hurting and I am struggling to hold on with everything in me. Teaching is almost over, and I am thankful for the experience and also thankful that I now know that that is not what God has for me. I miss performing, I think about it everyday. I have thought about auditioning for several things, but UPTAS (I big theatre audition) fell through...it filled up to quickly. I asked God that if he didn't want me to audition that he would close the door, and he did! (I love it when its that clear :) Now I am thinking about sending in some stuff to audition for a Christian film. I think it would be amazing to be working with people that love God and are using their talents to further His kingdom. I have only ever worked in theatre that is the complete oposit, and while it is a ministry...it is a pretty draining one. That is why I got out of musical theater to begin with! Just be praying for me that God opens and shuts doors like he already has been doing, and that I would just follow His leading in my life. There is no other place I would rather be than in Gods will...I just need a clear picture of what that is (hahaha don't we all :) Thanks for listening, and if you made it to the end of this post without quiting I will give you $100!

Be Blessed,
Hayley

Here are some pics from thanksgiving

Me and Baby Hudson

Crazy Family!

CRAZY CRAZY

2007-11-06T22:18:00.000-06:00

Well my life feels crazy right now!
My husband is in Iraq...
I am student teaching and have found out.....I don't want to teach
I am on the brink of graduation...
and...I am pregnant....hahaha just kidding about that one

Things feel so disjunct right now with Cody being gone. He called me today from Iraq, and I can't lie it is so hard. We can only talk for 15 minutes at a time :( so it will just cut him off, and then if no one else needs to use the phone he can call me back! Here are some pics from Halloween and also from our last couple of nights together!

Look no more tonsils!

BOWLING NIGHT!!!!!

Halloween night with my next door neighbors