TheBomb.com_Fitness Mom

09/06/2026

Since I last updated this page five months ago, so much has happened.

I finished my spring classes—Interpersonal Communication and Intercultural Communication—and loved both. After a short break, I walked in my June commencement. My brother Judah was among those who came to watch me. Two weeks later, my oldest son, Dayton, graduated from high school as I began accelerated Biology and Geography. That first week, we held his graduation party. I didn’t know it would be the last time we would see my baby brother, Judah.

On June 20, three weeks into summer classes, I completed my first sprint triathlon. I was the last swimmer out of the water but kept going, placing 8th out of 10 in my age division. Judah called during the final segment—a memory I treasure now.

We stayed close through calls and texts, and I sang “Happy Birthday” to him on his 32nd birthday.

Two days after finishing summer classes, on July 28, Dayton was rushed to the ER with a collapsed lung. It took three frightening attempts to place his chest tube, and we stayed overnight. On July 29, he was transferred by ambulance to another hospital. As I followed, Judah called to comfort me and check on Dayton. It would be our last conversation.

Dayton came home July 30—his 18th birthday. Early the next morning, Judah died—just five days after his 32nd birthday. I’m deeply grateful our final conversation was filled with his love and concern and that I feel nothing important was left unsaid.

We laid Judah to rest August 8. The next week, we flew to Utah and moved Dayton into his college dorm. Dayton began college, and Ezra started school about two weeks later. During all this, Ezra’s dad moved from Florida back to the Black Hills. It has been an adjustment, but I’m grateful that visits will no longer require us to fly to Florida.

I never imagined I would carry so much change and heartbreak at once.

Since Judah died, I’ve barely exercised. Today I worked out in my basement, and it felt amazing. It didn’t take away my grief, but I’m grateful for the release it gave my mind and body.

I’m not pressuring myself to “bounce back.” I’m finding my way back—one day, one breath, one workout at a time. ❤️‍🩹

04/05/2026

Tonight I worked out really hard.
I’ve been trying to be consistent at the gym, but I haven’t been doing a lot of cardio. Tonight I decided I would only do cardio & I would really push myself.

As you can see, I got really sweaty. Not only from doing 30+ minutes of running, but from sitting in the sauna for around 30 minutes as well.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, & first & foremost, I want to say thank you to my Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ for dying on the cross for our sins🥹♥️

I am really looking forward to spending time with my family, even though my two oldest boys, Dayton & Ezra, will not be with us. We will sure miss them, but know they will be enjoying their time in Florida with their dads!

I am so blessed to have my sister, Esther, who is always preparing holiday meals for our family & inviting us over for fellowship. It’s especially helpful during this time in my life because I decided to go back to school this past fall & balancing everything is quite tricky!

But classes are going really well, & I should already be done by the end of July. I will be graduating with an associate’s degree in communication studies & I couldn’t be happier with my choice as far as what degree I finally decided on.

I started college back in 2009, & even though a lot has happened in my life since, I always knew I would finish because I felt I had come too far not to & attaining a college degree has always been very important to me.

However, I could never fully decide on exactly what degree to get & because of this, I really took my time.
And I mean really. Lol. When I look back on my early college years, I remember pushing through some really hard classes, (like Algebra), & thinking if I could do that, then nothing could hold me back!

And what makes this all so bittersweet is that my son will be graduating from high school this year too. I had always told myself that I wanted to finish college before he finished high school, & although I won’t quite make it, it will be close enough for me, as he finishes at the end of May & I will finish at the end of July.

Life has sure had its ups & downs, but God has been faithful & I am so grateful🙏🏼

Happy Easter to ALL! ✝️

11/14/2025

This particular minestrone soup is so yummy! It is also given an “excellent” score of 90/100 on “Yuka”, an app I use to identify toxic ingredients in the foods that I purchase. This soup is such a healthy option if you are looking for something fast!💯

is a free app that is so great for helping one to identify the healthiest options available for you and/or your family. I highly recommend you check it out, if you haven’t already, as well as this soup!🤗

06/23/2025

Finishing a 5k, (3.11 mile), Race — June 2024, (6 1/2 weeks postpartum), vs June 2025, (13 1/2 weeks postpartum).
My finishing time improved by 1 minute & 40 seconds. I’m happy with that, especially considering it was extremely hot outside!!😅

Next June, (2026), I plan to complete my very first sprint triathlon! Sounds exciting, right?! 🥰 We will see!!!🙏🏼

02/03/2025

08/04/2024

07/14/2024

06/30/2024

8 weeks postpartum already & we couldn’t be happier with our baby boy, Kai Daniel! He has brought so much joy into our lives!🥹🙌🏼 We are so incredibly blessed🩵
Although I have been trying to stay active with running, as well as running & walking with Kai & Ezra, today was my first time actually working out at the gym postpartum & it felt so good! It’s amazing what our bodies can do🫶🏼
Really looking forward to my fitness journey after giving birth to baby #3 & getting my strength back! I’m sure it won’t be as easy as when I was in my 20’s, but I’m up for the challenge!!💪🏼

03/17/2024

33 weeks pregnant today!🤰🏻💕 (Surprise to anyone who didn’t know)!🥳
I saw someone had posted a cute bump picture the other day, months after their baby was born & it got me thinking — I need to update my fitness page!
Well, the truth is, I’ve been kind of neglecting my fitness in general & so on top of being pregnant, I really haven’t felt very good in my body for a while now!😩
Making a baby has not been easy, especially now that I’m well into my 30’s, but even though it’s been rough, God has truly blessed us!🥹💙
I had been running up until about 19 weeks, until my doctor told me I would need to stop due to a rare, but possible complication called “vasa previa”.
Vasa previa is a complication that occurs during pregnancy when the blood vessels that connect the umbilical cord to the placenta lie over or near the entrance to the birth canal, leaving them exposed. When the membranes around the baby rupture, these blood vessels can rupture too. This can cause baby to lose a lot of blood🩸
With this specific complication, the chances of baby surviving range from 97%-100%, so I didn’t feel the need to worry too much, however, a C-section would’ve been absolutely necessary if this would’ve been the case.
We drove to a specialty clinic in the cities to get a second opinion & when they ruled this specific complication out, of course I was incredibly relieved!😭
After a couple weeks, we had to do yet another ultrasound to check on a second, but much more common complication called “placenta previa”, that we became aware of during the same visit we were told of the potential previa vasa.
At this time, we were told that this problem had completely resolved itself & that they were also seeing a healthy decrease in amniotic fluid!🙌🏼
Everything was then deemed normal & I was cleared to start running again, however, I have only ran about twice since. My mental health just hasn’t been great, but I won’t give up!💪🏼
I also started seeing an endocrinologist to help balance my thyroid hormone, as I was previously diagnosed with hashimoto’s thyroiditis, (which I had talked about in a previous post) & so I remain hopeful!🙏🏼
Only 7 weeks left to go🫶🏼

03/12/2024

💪🏼❤️