My Weight Loss Journey

Ok...I am getting real in this post! Holding NOTHING back. This is accountability!

I admit, I had not wore a pair of pants without an elastic waistband in years. Jeans were just out of the question. I never found a pair I liked and I never liked the way they fit. At least not at the size I was. I am talking 18 plus. Last summer when traveling to Nevada to visit my sister and her family, I had stopped at a Target and went in to look for a couple pairs of capris. I had to look in the plus sizes to find anything that looked remotely decent on me and that really bothered me.

Fast forward to fall of 2014. When I seen this picture of Tate and I, this was my Ah-Ha moment! This was IT! This was the picture that made me look at myself and say I need to make some changes. I went in the the doctor for a follow up from my vehicle accident and I weighed 238 pounds. I could not believe it. That was just a couple days before this picture was taken. BUT...seeing this picture really put it in perspective for me. One more thing...The day before I delivered Shaelee (who is now 9 and is my second oldest), at 39 weeks, I weighed 242 pounds.

So, in January I joined the gym. I decided I was going to start going 4 to 5 days a week. With Tad being gone the only time I could go was early morning. My alarm was set for 3:40 and I made it happen. It kicked my butt. I could feel my body becoming more toned and my clothes fitting a little different. 

I went on for 3 months. Then I seen a couple friends on Facebook posting before and after pics of themselves after completing this 6 week program. I thought they looked great, but thought nothing more. By this time I was down 10 pounds. A dear friend of mine then told me about this program she was going to start. She told me briefly about it. I was kind of interested but thought "I have no time to watch or worry about what I am eating". I had it in my head that as long as I am excising daily, then I can eat whatever I want.

Bad weather hit, I was stuck at home and not able to go to the gym for a week and gained 2 pounds. I was so bummed out! Then a couple weeks later, another storm hit and I missed another week at the gym. Another pound gained. All my hard work going down the drain...FAST!!! 

So, my friend who was now 3+ weeks into this program was showing serious results. Weight loss, inches loss, loads of energy and feeling great. I decided I needed to go in for a FREE consultation. I went into The Becking Clinic and met with Dr. Becking March 27th. It was about a 45 minute consult and I was so ready to get started. I did just that...I got started the VERY NEXT DAY! 

I was concerned that I would have to let my gym membership go to waste during the 6 weeks, but nope. I only went for 30 minutes a day every other day...sometimes more. 

This is no diet!! This is simply a life style change! It is a Dr. Approved, Dr. Supervised Weight Loss Program. Clean eating for 42 days and amazing results. When I went in for my 3 week measurements I had lost 17 pounds and 13.5". I was so ecstatic!! 

BUT THEN...When I went in for my 6 week measurements, I was literally in tears!!

26 pounds and 23 inches GONE, just like that! By week 7, I was down another 4 pounds making it 30 pounds since I started the ChiroThin Program.

I have broke into 199.4 pounds! It has been years since I have been in the 100's! I am down 30 pounds and 4 dress sizes. I am not stopping now. Now that I am eating a little more and at a higher calorie intake I am back to working out more, harder and loving it. Such an amazing stress relief! I still have 25 pounds to go and I will get there.

TRUTH - Had I not started the ChiroThin program I am pretty sure I would have given up on the gym and weight loss all together. I will never go back to that person I was before! NEVER! 

If I can do this....Anyone can do this!! 

More Moats' Craziness...

I seriously cannot keep up! To all those moms out there whom can keep up on their blogs, homes, everyday lives, etc...kudos!! You are AMAZING!! And if you are a mom who does not blog and still stay at home with your kiddos...KUDOS!! It is a tough job!!

So, I am going to take this back a ways...Back to November. Tad went to Wisconsin for a job interview. Some may recall that he had been to Wisconsin several times before we ventured to Utah. Well, this was right back up there pretty darn close to the same area, however...this is in the frac sand with is in oil industry and his has always been in aggregate which is construction. Anywho. He was there for just a couple short days. While he was gone I was flying solo to a couple basketball games, out chili super at our school and a pretty good car accident. Thankfully everyone was ok, just some major whiplash and vehicle damage.

He was back by late Friday night and by mid day Monday He had a job offer in his hand. THAT WAS QUICK...and one of those that once again "was too good to be true"! It was decided that Tad would go ahead and go up and begin working in Wisconsin January 2nd, 2015 and I was going to stick it out in Missouri til the end of the school year.

Tad really wanted us all to uproot and go up right after Christmas, but I just could not do that. I really did not want to move my kids in the middle of the school year.

It has been a CRAZY 5 months...nearing 6 months! The first 4 months I felt like superwoman. Right about now, I feel like I have lost my cape and all my super powers. With him leaving New Years Eve I was left to keep things going. Tate was finishing up his last year of basketball at NHS. So there was a tournament that was 2 weekends in January. Back in November I decided I was going to coach a girls 3rd/4th grade city league basketball team. Games started in January. Then There was Soccer and gymnastics. It was literally CRAZY!

Tad came home over Presidents Day weekend only to have to leave early because the snow storm that was going to hit. He did not want to be snowed in and not able to get back to work. Then he was able to come back home and take the girls to the 1st annual NHS Father Daughter Dance. He took Shaelee, Emilee, Kaylee and Natalee. They were so excited and pretty :) We also had TJ's birthday party that weekend since daddy was home.

Then the kids and I finally made our FIRST trip to Wisconsin a few weeks ago to look at the house that Tad had found for us. It is just PERFECT!! Literally...PERFECT!!

It is an old farm house that was built in the 30's but well maintained. It has 5 bedrooms. Could be 6 but I have decided since 5 months out of the year that I am going to be stuck inside I am going to have me a craft room. I DESERVE IT!!! 2 bathrooms. YES!! We have been with one bathroom for 3 years! Cannot wait to have 2 bathrooms to use. This house sits on 40 acres...Yes! Has 2 ponds, a GREAT garden area, a huge shop, a 3 car garage, and a barn. A BARN and 40 acres, which means room for animals. Horses are in our VERY near future! The boys are looking forward to having a shop to work in and not having to work outside.

The school is PreK - 12. Elementary is PreK - 6 and High School is 7-12...all in one building which is nice. No more than 3 teachers per grade level in the elementary school and class sizes do not exceed 18 students. When I toured the school, no class had more than 13 students in it. Huge plus! Another HUGE PLUS...The TWINS will go to PreK in the fall. Yes...They will go to a half day of PreK and ride the bus to and from school. It is only 4 hours a day but I am so excited...and so are they!

The town is a VERY small town. Only 1400 people. The closest large town is about 35 minutes away and that is a large city....800,000 people. We will even have to travel 45 minutes to get to church. Closest temple is in Minneapolis.

I leave Cape Girardeau June 22nd. That will put me here just over 3 years. I am finally to the point to where I really wanted to stay here. I really fought this choice to move. I have shed many tears about this move....Mainly for my children. I hate having to uproot them...AgAiN! Everyone who knows me knows that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our school. We have been in a lot of schools and none of them hold a candle to this one. Each one of my children have amazing friends....especially Tate. I can honestly say, I think highly of each of his friends. That's saying a lot when it comes to teenage boys. I myself have met several neat ladies and I am going to miss them so much. When I shed these tease, I just keep telling myself these tears are for my kids, to get them closer to their dad. I know it has been very hard on them without him and they really do miss him.

With that said...I know there are still many more tears to come in the next 4 weeks. Shortly after getting to Wisconsin, my mom and sister will be making their trip up there to stay a couple weeks. That is what I am looking forward to most about this move. Seeing them!!

10 Years....and COUNTING!!

Yesterday we celebrated Shaelee's 9th birthday. Today we celebrate our marriage of 10 years!! It has been a crazy 10 years but well worth the ride.
*8 Addresses
*4 States
*8 Children
....Those are just a few!! So many great things have happened in these 10 years, and I could not imagine them any other way. 10 years seems so long ago, but not so long ago. Here is to another 10 years ...and then some :) Tad is always trying to make things better for our family and I am so blessed to be able to be a stay at home mom and raise our kids. Obviously I have lost time for blogging, but the memories I make with my children will be what I cherish most!

To think...it all started when I asked Tad out on a date...the rest is history (or I call it OUR LOVE STORY)!!  Our Story is ALWAYS my FAVORITE!!

9 Years and Counting...

Today my awesome husband and I are celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary. I cannot believe it has been 9 years. Since last year... (8 years and counting...) not too much has happened. We are are still in Cape, still in the little house, still drive the big ole 15 passenger van, and the kids continue to grow and grow and grow. However, we have added one more precious girl, and she will be 3 months old tomorrow.

I still believe our wedding day to be the best ever and would do it all over again :) "Mr. and Mrs. Moats...Our Wedding Day"

 

Happy Anniversary to the Greatest Man I have ever known. I am looking forward to the next 9 years...and many more after that!!

Cape Girardeau...

Yesterday marked one year since Tad and I made our first visit (together) to Cape Girardeau. It was a great 4 days...certainly unforgetable. Here are the details from our trip....and announcement :) Tad's one year anniversary is coming up very quickly! Crazy!!

Cape Girardeau has been very good to us. We have enjoyed it quite a bit. It certainly has it's set backs...

- NO COSTCO :(
- BUGS, BUGS, and more BUGS :(
- HUMIDITY :(
- TORNADO WATCHES AND WARNINGS :(
- SO FAR AWAY FROM FAMILY :(

But it certainly has it's perks too...

- Our kids attend an AWESOME school :)
- The winter was amazing, much different from Utah (with the exception of the Ice Storms)
- An amazing ward family!
- Beautiful GREEN everywhere!

With Moats baby number 8 on the way VERY soon...I would LOVE to have some family near by. Give me much more peace of mind, but we are looking forward to some family visiting this summer.

Oh yes...I am now 38 weeks and 4 days. Induction is set for Monday, May 13th. We are so excited that she is FINALLY going to be making her appearance. I cannot wait to hold her and for her to meet her brothers and sister. BUT...another girl to wrap daddy around her little finger...oh the beautiful blessings that one little miracle can bring.

Back to Cape Girardeau...we are certainly liking it here. Will it be our forever home? I am not sure about that. Time will tell.

Pregnancy Countdown...

When we first found out that we were expecting baby number 8 we were VERY excited!! Now that we are nearing the end...WE are still all VERY excited :) My doctor informed me since I delivered the twins before the 38 week (full term for twins) mark that they were still concidered pre-term and the chances of this one coming earlier than my expected delivery date was A LOT Greater!

Round 33 (and a day or two) I went in for my routine check and my blood pressure was 142/91. Crazy high!! So we did blood work and lots of urine test and a mild case of preeclampsia, which I always develop in all my pregnancies, just not this early on. It is always around the 37 + week mark. My weekly appointments started that week. We have had several other appointments in between regular scheduled appointments because of high blood pressure, or lack of baby movement. The lack of baby movement has scared me.

Well, today we are 36 and 4 days. Making lots of progress with dialation and effacing. We are so anxious to meet her and hold her - we are on the countdown!!

Busy Bee's...

Really!! My last post was in NOVEMBER!! I have no idea how to get the time in to get these posts more frequently. So much has happened since my last post.

Of course we had Thanksgiving. It was a nice quiet day with our family. Then there was Christmas. Oh yes...the day Tate was supposed to catch his plane to Vegas for Christmas break, he tested positive for the flu. That was fun! We were able to get his flight delayed by a 3 days and got him there in time for Christmas.

Before Christmas we celebrated Kaylee's 3rth Birthday! In my opinion, she picked out the ugliest Sponge Bob cupcakes ever!! But they were good :) And she was a happy camper!!

The school kids had thier Christmas recitals. They were great! Right before Christmas break, the girls (Shaelee and Emilee) took part in a spirit dance during the half time of a basketball game at the school. It was GREAT and they had a really fun time!

The Friday before Christmas, December 21st...we were able to go in and find out the gender of our newest addition...Everyone at the hospital could not believe thier eyes when they seen our family ALL going to find out the exciting news!! It was quite a day. SO...our big news that day was...Moats baby number 8 is a...

Yep...that's right! Another girl :) Bringing our count to 5 girls and 3 boys! The boys were not happy at first...they really wanted to even out the numbers...BUT when I took them all to Target afterwards to go shoping for her...they changed thier minds really quickly! So they all picked out an outfit (or two). It was the Friday before Christmas and it was a ZOO!!! Never doing that again!! But, none the less - it was fun! We are excited to be brining another baby girl into our family. Her name will be Jubilee Mae :)

Christmas was good. Christmas night was even funner ;) we recieved a lot of snow that night and the next day! The snow kept the kids busy, busy and they enjoyed getting all thier layers on to enjoy the white fluffy stuff. I enjoyed it too :)

New Years - Well, we are a bunch of party poopers around here. I think Tad was in bed by 8:30 and I was not far behind at 10:30. I made it further than I thought I would. Tate was home a few days later and it was back to the daily grind...mornings starting at 5:30. Showered and ready to go by 6 am, breakfast and lunches packed by 6:45 am. Kids ready to go by 7:30 am. OH HOW I MISSED THAT WINTER BREAK!!

January 14th we (Tad and I) celebrated our 9 year anniversary. WELL, that date marked 9 years ago that we went on our first date :) That is a day I will NEVER forget. My heart throb had me all googly, and pulled out all the stops when trying to impress me. Picked me up in a white ford truck. Got to the Rio...Vallet was FULL, so he flashed the Vallet driver $40 and of course, it was no longer full. Took me to this amazing steak house! Dinner was akward, as we were both VERY quiet! But after dinner we headed to Pen & Teller and It was AWESOME! Front Row and Center and even got to take part in an act. Yes, that was our first date! The night ended with a hug good-bye and the rest is history. Now look at us! Ha, there has only been one day in these 9 years that we have not spoken, even through all the traveling and what not. NO, we were not fighting...But Tate and I had flown to Texas and Tad was on his way to Tennessee for business and we just never could get connected that day. Oh...FUN TIMES!!

I never thought I would be so happy the day our Van got loaded up onto the back of a tow truck and taken in to get the transmission done. It has been a VERY long 6 months without it, BUT even better was the day that Tad pulled up into the driveway in it. I was doing the happy dance! Never, ever did I think I would be doing a happy dance over the van...but today I appreciate it MORE than ever. It is so nice to be able to go places as a family in one vehicle!!

The lovely flu hit our family HARD!! William came down with it first, then 2 days later Tad, then 2 days later, Emilee, TJ, Kaylee, Natalee and myself. It was a VERY brutal 10 days! I never want to go through that again! Having a house full of sickies and only 2 that were not was not fun at all!

As of today...well, I am almost 26 weeks. 25 weeks and 5 days to be exact. Our mornings are still as crazy as ever!! This morning felt like a Monday. My apple fritters did not turn out. Not sure what happened there. The tooth fairy forgot to come for the 3rd night in a row :( Shaelee was mad at the world because she did not like how I did her hair. Let me just say...I am so glad it is FRIDAY!

Finally Updating!!

My goodness, it seems my posts are getting fewer and fewer and farther in between. Something about having a house full of kiddos to add to my daily plate sure does take away from things....like this blog ;)

SO....NEWS FLASH (for those of you who do not already know)...

Yep, that's right! We are expecting. NO, not May 8th, 2013 - BUT baby number 8. Due date is May 19th! We are so excited!! All the kids (whom can talk) are rooting for a boy, with the exception of Shaelee. She is wanting a girl. She wants to make sure us girls continue to rule the roost :)

Today Tad finally got the camera out and decided to take some pics of my vastly growing baby bump. So, I had to go and compare to the twins and holly crud-o-la!! Yes, I look HUGE compared to my 15 week pic with the twins!! I cannot believe it! Just in case you don't remember me when I was 15 weeks prego with the twins...click HERE to check those days out :)

Today starts off my second trimester, so...Hoping that I get some major burst of energy SOON, and not so tired! Boy, what would that feel like. We will find out right before Christmas what the gender is. And...I already have names picked out!

Once again, I will be starting over from scratch with baby stuff. As the twins outgrew stuff I got rid of it because I was certain I was done. Well, I thought...and my thought was WRONG!!

We know that this baby is going to be the prefect addition to our family. He or she will certainly be welcomed into a home filled with LOTS and LOTS of love!!

8 years and counting...

I guess I should blog about something :) Today mark mine and Tad's 8 year wedding anniversary. The years seem to go by faster than ever! He is still my amazing man, an incredible father, and the hardest working man I have ever known.

Since my post....7 Years and Counting, Not too much has happened. Lets see, we moved - AGAIN- to Missouri. A little out of our comfort zone at first but we really are loving it here. The twins have turned 1 since we have been here...which does not even seem possible. And school starts this week. EEK!

Only thing with this move, we DOWN Sized, A LOT! Not the little 900 sqft house like Elko, NV, but is just under 1500 sqft. We still drive the big ole 15 passenger white Ford van around. And our kiddo count is still at 7 (for now) :) We are making things work in our smaller home...it is quite cozy but we have a nice size yard which is perfect for all my little busy bodies :)

Happy Anniversary Mr. Tad :) You are rock, my best friend and the greatest husband a gal could ask for!!

The Twins Turn 1!!

I have no idea where the year has went to!! I cannot believe my babies are a year old already. Is is 28 days shy of my announcing the birth of my precious bundles on this blog....(wanna recap...take a look right HERE).

They share a few of the same characteristics, but they have so many of their own traits. They are perfect in every which way! Having them in our family is such a blessing. They bring so much to everyone in our home.

Happy 1st Birthday Bubba and Peek-a-Boo!! 

P.S.
I think they enjoyed their cupcake and ice cream :)

The Move is On....

Geeze, I really wanted to get this post done like 2 weeks ago, but trying to get settled has been a little crazy!! My last post I announced we were moving to Cape Girardeau, MO. Well, we are now HERE and loving it!!

Tad left to Cape Girardeau on Saturday, May 19th. That left me and my 7 kiddos to oversee all the moving. Now that was a fun filled 3 days! The packers packed our 3600+ sqft house on June 7th and 8th. Then on the 9th they came and loaded a semi and it was all done with just like that!! It was CRAZY!! I have to admit, a little part of me was saddened to see my house all in boxes...

Packing Day 1

When they gave us the quote they had specified the number of boxes we would need. By the end of day one they decided they needed to double the count. The next day they came back with the same amount of boxes as the first day.

Packers Truck...used only to carry all the packing supplies in.

Food Storage (part one)

Tate's Room

There were so many boxes. It was a little overwhelming to see so much stuff packed up! There was no turning back when the semi left the house with our stuff on the 9th.

The kids and I left Eagle Mountain on the Sunday, June 10th. We headed to Evanston, WY to stay a night and spend a little bit of time with a few nieces and nephews, sister, and sister-in-law. It was a fun night of swimming :) 

KK and McKenli

Next we were off to Cheyenne, WY to spend a night with our GREAT friends, The Gundersen's. It was a fun night. It was so nice to see all 12 of our kids together. The plan was to stay 2 nights, but very eager to see daddy, we decided to get on the road the next day (13th). 

Before reaching our next planned stop, Lincoln, Nebraska, we pulled off the interstate to get a bite to eat. It was then that I realized that my transmission was acting up. At that time we were in Grand Island, NE, which is about an hour and 20 minutes away from Lincoln. After talking to Tad, he assured me I would be fine to get to Lincoln and he was pretty sure I would be able to make it Cape Girardeau. That night we finally got to Lincoln, NE (our next planned stop). I was so relieved!! 

The next morning we got up, packed our stuff back up and loaded it all back in the van. As we got ready to leave the hotel, the transmission was acting up even more so than the night before. So, I called my hubby and told him everything that was going on. His response to me..."Go back to the hotel, get a room for tonight. I am on my way." Yep...He was coming to rescue us :) At about 2 in the morning my Knight and Shining Armor showed up in a big red ford truck (who needs a white horse) :) :) :) So sexy! 

He brought a trailer along with him to haul it to Cape Girardeau on if need be. When Tate had seen that Tad brought a trailer with him he thought for sure that Tad would be driving the truck and trailer to Cape, but when he (Tate) found out that I was driving the truck and trailer and Tad was driving the van, He (Tate) was worried! He looked at me and said, "You know how to pull a trailer?" He obviously has no idea how many horses I pulled around in my younger years. He was amazed that I was pulling that trailer. And then when he seen me back it up with no problem...he was in complete Ahhh! That's right...I impressed my boy! 

The trailer was not needed though. Tad had no problem driving  van to Cape. I was scared to death to drive it, but he knew what he was doing and how to make it work or how to fix it if something went wrong. All else fails, we would have loaded it up on to the trailer and I would have had to get a rental car to get all of our kiddos to Cape. 

We finally arrived to Cape at midnight on the 14th. We headed straight to Tad's hotel room which had 2 queen beds and a FULL kitchen. NICE!! That is where we slept until our stuff finally got to Cape. It was a bit tight, but we survived!! 

On the 16th we went to this really cool place where we could over look the river, The Mississippi River. We seen barge heading up the river. The kids could not believe how big the barge was. After checking out the river we went to this small lake and set out to play in lots of mud to catch some little frogs. It was so much fun...I had not played in the mud like that in YEARS!! 

The semi arrived on the 18th with all of our stuff. Now came the fun part...trying to figure out where to put all our stuff. Coming from 3600+ sqft to barely 1500 sqft does certainly have it's challenges! My oh my...coming from 5 bedrooms to 4 was not the challenge. BUT coming from 2.5 baths to only 1...oh, it has been a challenge. 

Move In Day!

So, all my craft room is still in boxes in the basement (which is driving me CRAZY), my food storage in partially unpacked, and there are NO boxes left to unpack upstairs. There are still a ton of boxes that I have no idea what to do with, but I am sure in time I will figure it all out, hopefully!

So, we are loving Cape Girardeau. It is so green, lots of creeks and lakes around our house. We have a really big yard, and only 1 neighbor. Tad is really happy with his job and keeps assuring me everyday that this small house will work just fine. I am so glad he sees something I don't. Although there are lots of bugs and other critters, I am so happy this is OURS! Something that we never thought we would do, we have now done. I am looking forward to a very long future here in Cape Girardeau, Missouri :) 

Some Catching Up To Do...And a BIG Announcement...

It certainly has been awhile and long over due! Life has been crazy busy...

I am sure somewhere along the line, I have mentioned that I started a Girl Scout Daisy troop in January. At my very first meeting I had 7 girls, 2 of which were my own. By the end of January I had 18 daisies, need I mind you that daisies are kindergarten and 1st graders??? Oh, but there is more...By the end of March was up to 20 girls! It sure is a lot of fun but A LOT of work too! Thank goodness for amazing co-leaders.

Things started getting even more hectic in our everyday lives early on in February. Tad quit his job... YES, quit his job! Nothing brewing on the back burner, things had just gone way too far with his, at the time, employer. So, he had enough and decided it was time to look for something new.

In search for something close to home (where we are now), we also started searching out of state. Nothing was panning out and of course things started getting very stressful. March 11th Tad headed out on a red-eye flight to Elmira, New York. We were not sure if this would be a permanent thing or something to keep us a float until something else came along. I stayed behind with our 7 kiddos and kept plowing forward with our everyday lives. Things were hectic here and for Tad too. Thank goodness for Skype! That first trip to New York kept him away for just 2 days shy of 5 weeks. 5 WEEKS! It was the longest 5 weeks of my life, and the hardest 5 weeks of his life. The kids were such troopers, but we knew that daddy was doing what he had to do to support his family.

After the almost 5 weeks, Tad returned home for 9 whole days. It was so nice!! And then he departed once again for another 3 weeks. That 3 weeks was not nearly at long or as enduring as the first 5 weeks. However, we knew that this could not be a long term deal. Even though he was away from home he was still doing A LOT of traveling back East and was not happy at all.

During his 9 days home we did some extensive job searching...again! I distinctly remember applying for a job in Missouri with a company by the name of "Delta Companies". I never thought any more of it until one day while Tad was in New York (during the 3 week stretch) and he called me to tell me he had a phone interview with a company out of Cape Girardeau, Missouri. My first response was..."Cape What?!?!"...and this it was "You have got to be kidding me!!!"

The phone interview then led to an on site interview. Tad felt that the interview went GREAT and on his way back to catch his plane out of St. Louis, back to Georgia, he received a phone call from the regional manager. He had informed Tad that the job was his if he was willing to accept it and relocate. Then he proceeded to tell  Tad that Delta Companies would like to fly us BOTH (Tad and I) out to Cape Girardeau for a few days to see if I liked to area and be sure that I would be willing to make that move.

So, Tad flew home on Friday, May 4th. Home from his 3 weeks away. Then on Monday, May 7th we (Tad and I) boarded a plane bound for St. Louis for a 4 day all expense paid trip, This was something major for us. The two of us together had never been away from our kids, except to spend a night or 2 in a hospital to have another (or two :). I was certainly looking forward to this trip, just for the pleasure! Tad, however, had his focus directly on the job.

I am so grateful to my mom who was more than willing to come to Eagle Mountain to stay with all 7 kids and tackle the everyday hustle and bustle of getting the older two to school. Oh, and baseball, T-ball, Dance, Scouts and shuttling us to and from the airport.

The entire 4 days was GREAT! Cape Girardeau was awesome! I loved it! We loved it! GREAT, GREAT, GREAT!! Our first night there we ate "Gator" and "Frog Legs"...REALLY! I did not mind the gator but one bite of the frog legs was good enough for me :)

I might as well get this out of the way right now...

It is official - WE ARE MOVING TO CAPE GIRARDEAU, MISSOURI!!!

The job offer seems to good to be true! So we are not going to pass this one up by no means! Tad will leave next Saturday to head to Missouri to start his new job, and the kids and I will stay behind until school is out. Then we will all be Missouri bound...and our family will be TOGETHER!!!! I am very excited about this new chapter in our life!

The stress level for Tad is going to be next to nothing. He will only have 1 quarry, not 3-6 at a time, to manage. Salary is great, and amazing benefits too! Delta Companies a division of Collas Companies, which is the 3rd largest construction company in the world.

We have already found a home that hopefully we will hear back on this coming week. It is quite a bit smaller than what we are used to but it is on 6 acres of land with LOTS, LOTS, LOTS of trees. It will be GREAT!!

There is never a dull moment for the Moats family... and I would not want to trade one day of it either!! 

Another January...

...has come and gone! WOW! This year we had A LOT to remember about the January we had last year. Our HUGE, but AMAZING news...January 10th we found out we were expecting twins. Bringing our family of 7 to 9 in just a few short minutes. It was so overwhelming but such wonderful news.

Since we were outgrowing our Excursion, which seated 8, we had to upgrade (not sure if that's the proper term for that one) to a 15 passenger van! Still not too thrilled about it, but it does fit our entire family! CRAZY!!

And this year on January 14th marked 8 years since Tad and I went on our first date! January, every year, will be a memorable month.

So many changes, but such wonderful blessings :)

Looking into the coming months...
I still have to take a double take every morning when I get the twins out of their cribs. I guess just to reasure myself that there really is 2 of them. Everyday is a challenging day, balancing being mommy to so many little ones, a wife, sorta keeping a house all intact, girl scouts, and me time (me time really is non existant)! I wouldn't change it though! Every day my kids teach me something new! My husband teaches me a thing or two, too :)

6 Months

How is it possible that the twins are already 6 months old? Time just goes by WAY TO FAST! Slow them down so I can enjoy them (or maybe I need to slow down, hmmm...)!!!

William is very, very, energetic...he is so hard to keep still....

...and Natalee, she LOVES her toes! Trying to get a picture of her without her toes in her hands was impossible!!

As I look back on the past 6 months since they have blessed our lives, it makes my heart feel full. They have been such a blessing to us and they are so loved! I wouuld not want to give up those sleepless nights for anything and the days when I feel like I have gotten nothing accomplished except for babies fed, lots of diapers changed, endless bottle making and lots of spit up cleaned up (and I smell by the end of the day)...those are the days that I know I am doing my job well.

Nothing says it better than the lyrics of this song...I absolutley love this and listen to it daily (for real :)!!

This fits my life, exactly where my life is right now!!

Lately...

It has been 2-1/2 months since my last post! I tell ya, it seems there is not much time for the computer anymore. Life has been crazy busy. I forgot how much work one baby was then when there is two of them....wowza!! There is no routine, everyday is flying by the seat of my own britches!! It is a blast!

As the Christmas holiday is vastly approaching, I decided it would be an amazing accomplishment if I could read, start to finish, the BOM. I started my challenge on Wednesday, December 14th, which means I need to read atleast 21 pages a day to get it done before January 1st. So Far, So GOOD!!

Thanksgiving came and went...we spent that holiday in Starr Valley, NV at my Brother-in-Law and sisters ranch. It was wonderful. Having all the kids together with thier cousins, being with family. Could not ask for a better holiday!

I am spent pretty much my entire day trying to get my bowtique blog updated. Before I started my BOM challenge I found myself making bows at night....now I have my nose stuck in a book. But, I am planning on doing a give-away on Monday so...the blog REALLY needed to time and attention.

I have to include a few random pics that I LOVE!! I love nearly all of them but these are some favorites and of course I must share...