School...

It is that time again. I love this time of year. School starts, football games, friends old and new. It even has a different smell to me. Fall is coming and it just gets me excited. To be honest, I love buying school supplies. This year I am teaching all three of my children. My youngest is going to start kindergarten and he is super excited. The exciting thing is as I am preparing to start school with my kids, I am also getting ready to go to my 20 year class reunion. I am looking forward to seeing my friends from High School. It is kind of exciting to see where I have come as a woman, wife, mom and now teacher and to see the hope that I am passing on to my children as not only their mom, but their teacher. This school year is going to be the best one yet as the Lord has allowed me to teach my children again from home!

Change...

Change is a constant thing in our lives, especially with kids. God is really moving in our family and it is exciting and hard. Our daughter is giving us some new challenges as she is developing into a young woman, and they are not easy ones. The cool thing is how God is using this situation to really change our family, in a good way. Through this trying time we have come together and become stronger as a family. Other things we have done is turned the television off and not watched it much at all. It has forced the kids to become even more creative and given us more time to do family things. Well, actually, it has given us more time to pack up our house because it is now for sale. So, in my goal of trying to simplify my life this year I am doing pretty good. I am super excited to see where God is going to take us on this journey and can't wait to see our new home.... where ever it will be!

Simple life

What does that really mean? To live a simple life? How about just getting back to the basics of life. What is the basics of life? For several months now I have been in this purging stage. Just when I think I have gotten rid of enough of my "junk" I realize I still have too much stuff and want to get rid of more. This has been going on for so long now that I think I just want to get rid of everything. I am tired of cleaning around it and having no place to put anything. I realize some of this comes from having 5 people in our house and having a small house, but really, this is because I like things. I want my life to be simple, to get back to the basics. I love the old time movies, where their houses are small and they really don't have anything. Kind of like the Amish today. Eat simple, live simple, enjoy each other and have fun! That is where I want to be. I am on a mission to get rid of more stuff, enjoy my kids way more, and just have more fun! I want to teach my kids that it is not important to have "stuff" but that it is important to be with the people you love and enjoy them and have fun with them. I don't want them to miss out, and I don't want to miss out on them either. So, here is to living a simple life, getting back to the basics, having less stuff, and playing more with my kids!!!!

Week 3

I have done pretty good these past three weeks. We have had some tough things come at us, and through it all I have managed to watch what I eat and not go off my eating plan. I am so proud of myself. This morning when I weighed myself I am down to 222.5 and am super excited. I have lost 10 pounds and am beginning to feel better. I have not been able to walk due to my knees acting up, but am getting that taken care of and hope to be walking by the end of the week. I am excited to see how this is changing my life for the better. So, for now, I am trying to figure out what my desires are and trying to get my life back to the basics. It just has to be easier than this!

Where will you be?

Death. It is a word that really makes you think and evaluate your life. Have you ever watched someone take their last breath? Have you prayed for someone while they were laying in that hospital bed not really sure what to pray but knowing that it may be the last time you get to pray for them or with them? How do you comfort the family who is there and not really walking with the Lord while they watch their loved one die? I am a thinker and I was faced with all of these this past week. Thursday morning we received a called informing us that my husbands step dad went in for emergency surgery for his colon and was okay for the moment, but they were trying to get him stable from the surgery. Thursday evening we got a call telling us that they were not sure if he was going to make it through the night. Friday morning we drove out there to support his mom and brother. We found out that they were waiting on us to take the respirator off and wait and see what happens. He lived for about 20 minutes after that and died at 12:10 on Friday. That is the second time in my life that I have watched someone take their last breath here on earth. The first was my Grandma who had fought for 7 days in hospice before giving in and running into Jesus arms to wait for the rest of us. Friday, seemed completely different to me. Maybe it is because I am in a different place in my walk with the Lord, but it was a tough day for me. Death seems so final. There is no more praying for the person. They have made their choices and are now in eternity somewhere. There is no more encouraging them, loving them, guiding them, praying for them. Now, the only thing left is to love the family that is left behind and pray that somehow through this experience they turn to Christ and change their lives. You never know when you will take your last breath and spend the rest of eternity either in the pits of hell or sitting next to Jesus in heaven. I know that I am living my life to the best of my ability to follow the example of Jesus so that when my body finally goes here on this earth I will have a new one in heaven and spend my days gazing into my Daddy's face! Where will you be for all of eternity?

One week later

Here is a picture of me at 232 pounds. It is the heaviest I have ever been. This was taken last week. I wanted to take a picture of me now so that I remember where I have come from. I have kept to my diet and have been having great success. Today I weighed in at 226. It is more than I expected. Basically, I have watched what I have eaten, high protein and low carbs. I need to drink less diet Pepsi, so that is one goal I have for the future. I drink about four to six glasses of water each day, which is a huge improvement for me! Also, I have worked out each day. Nothing really intense, but got my heart rate up and sweat a lot. I am proud of what I have done! I will continue to post my progress and hope my journey encourages someone to start their weight loss journey too!

Here I go...

Well, my weight loss journey is finally becoming serious to me. This week (Monday) I began a high protein, low carb diet. I have had the help of a dear friend. She took me shopping and hooked me up. She has been giving me support each day as to what I can eat, and what to do if I am hungry. She has been a huge blessing. So, since Monday, I have stuck to the eating plan, I have drank more water, and I have walked each day. I will walk tonight as that is the best time for me right now. I am so excited. I have weighed myself each morning and am looking forward to seeing the pounds start to come off. My goal weight is 150. I am thinking about taking a picture this week so I can see how far I have come. It is hard for me to post things about me personally, but I am trying to be more transparent, so this is a first step for me. When I get my picture up I will post my weight too. I want to document my journey mostly because I want to be able to see with my own eyes where I have come from so I wont go back again. Looking forward to sharing my journey with you!

Miracles...

I have been reading in Genesis and Luke lately. So, today I was reading in Luke 8 which was just packed with some pretty amazing stories. The one that I have been thinking about the most though is the last one, Luke 8:40-56. It begins where a man comes and begs Jesus to come to his daughter who is 12 and dying. As they are walking a woman touches the fringe of his cloak and she is instantly healed. Jesus addresses her, but this is not where I want to focus right now. During His conversation with the woman someone from the mans house came to him and told him that his daughter had died and not to bother Jesus anymore. So they make it to this mans house and Jesus only allows Peter, John and James, the girls mom and dad to go into the house. He told them to stop weeping because she is not dead. Then He took her hand and told her to get up... and she did! Now, Jesus instructed the parents not to tell anyone about this miracle that had just taken place. This is what I have been thinking about all day. They just witnessed a miracle and then told not to say a word about it. I can only imagine how hard that would be. I wonder why Jesus tells some people to run and share the miracle with everyone and others He tells them not to say a word about it to anyone else. Maybe, some miracles are just for the person or persons that are involved. It is still a bit of a mystery to me, but I think it is pretty cool how Jesus is revealing things to me that I have not thought about before. I know this much, I am so thankful that He is still in the healing business and am so excited to see my miracle come about!

The Chase?

Have you ever been told that you should chase after the Lord? Do you chase after him? If you do, what does that mean to you? It is something that I have been pondering and questioning this past week. It is actually something new to me that I have been trying to do in my life. If He is jealous for me, then I should want to chase after Him. One thing I have changed this past week is to give the Lord the best parts of me. I have been dancing with Him, talking with Him, writing love letters to Him and giving Him the best part of my day. It has been amazing to see the transformation in my life by doing these little things, and in my families lives too. Every day, I have set aside time in the early afternoon just to sit at His feet and talk to Him with no agenda of my own. I want to know every part of Him. Have you ever thought about all of His names? There are many, and if He has that many names He must want us to know all about them too. Have you ever wrote Him a love letter, just telling Him how much you are in love with Him? Let me just say, I am more in love with my Jesus today that I ever have been! He is so amazing! Thank You Jesus for loving me!

The scales have been removed...

Wow! So much has happened in the past couple of months. I have changed, my kids have done some pretty amazing things, and I am married to the most amazing husband ever! It is late, and I am tired, but there will be more to come in the future. Hang tight and check back soon because you won't want to miss any of it! All I am going to say is that the scales have been removed and I am seeing things in a new light. The only way to describe it is.... WOW! Thank You Jesus for loving me and not leaving me where I was. For being jealous and wanting to spend time with me. I am so in love with You!

My Daughter!

I am such a blessed woman. God has blessed me with a daughter that is more than I could have ever hoped for. She is so talented. In January she has had two competitions for trampoline and tumbling and she has done a great job. The first one was in Kentucky. She was excited that we had to travel and spend the night in a hotel and that her Grandma was coming with us. What should have been a 3 hour trip ended up being over 5 hours because it decided to snow really heavy when we left. So, the hotel stay was not what she wanted, but turned a great day on Saturday during her competition. She earned a 3rd place on the trampoline and floor and a 1st place on the double mini. This is her posing to take a picture for her Daddy who did not make the trip with us.

Today, she had her second competition and more family was able to make it because it was here in Columbus. She was really nervous, but did a good job. She earned a 3rd place on trampoline and double mini and a 1st place on the floor! It is so exciting to watch her compete. I think as her Mom I am just as nervous as she is. I felt like I was going to compete. It is so cool to see where she has come from in such a short amount of time. She started going to the gym in March of 2010, and not even a year later has had three competitions and two 1st places! What is even more amazing to me is how she learning to God the glory each and every time. I am one proud Momma, and I love watching her grow!