My kids WILL remember me as being the "fun mom"!

I hope to be one fit chick! Not necessarily a size 6 chick or a chick with chicken legs, but a chick who jumps on the trampoline with her kids, who is willing to run through the sprinklers with her kids; and if they want to run a 5K, I'll be right there with them.

A little intro, I suppose. My name is Jessica, and I'm out of shape :) I'm married to my best friend of almost 10 years. We both grew up in Utah and moved down to the valley of the fiery inferno almost 4 years ago. We have a 6 year old daughter, Riley; a 3 year old son, Gage; and a 4 month old son, Corbin. Life is a bit crazy....okay, a lot bit crazy.

When Karen first asked if I'd like to join the challenge, I was all for it! I have baby weight that is preventing most of my clothes from going on smoothly....Oh, I could get them on if my husband were to liquefy me and pour me in, but thats not the look I was going for. I wanted to be that size 6, to be the one who everyone says, "wow, she just had baby?" But this past week two experiences have changed my objective. The first was the opportunity I had to attend a Body Image class put on by my church. They spoke of what the "world" wants us to look like and the extremes some people go to achieve the pre-pubescent body figure and the lengths magazines go to, to change a woman's appearance (through airbrushing) to make her look "perfect". Then they went back to our two purposes for coming to Earth. (1) To gain a body, and (2) To be tested, then they went on to say, what seems in my mind to be over and over again (probably because its the part I needed to hear most) that our body is NOT the test. What? OUR BODY IS NOT THE TEST! It made sense, it clicked. Do I need to exercise? Yes, to ensure my body is healthy. Do I need to be a size 6? No. Do I need to stress about my rolls and stretch marks? No, they are badges of honor from growing 3 perfect babies inside of me! This body of mine is PERFECT, perfect for what I need to do while I am here!

The second experience happened this past Tuesday night when we received word that my husband's cousin had lost his 2 year old son due to a tragic accident. I looked at my own little ones and then thought about how much time I spend in the presence of my children but absent from what is going on with them. I want to have fun with them, I want to enjoy them, I want to cherish every second of life with them.

So, my goal with this challenge is to get into shape. If the rolls and stretchmarks choose to stay, so be it, but this chick is getting fit, this chick is going to enjoy life!