What a Christmas!!!

My apologies for being so absent from the blogging world for a few days, but my oh my was it busy!  It hasn't helped that my hubby is doing much of his studying from home these days so he uses the computer much more than I.  Regardless, I just have to share our Christmas blessings!!!!

Dan and I were literally dreading this Christmas due to our financial situation.  We simply did not know how we were going to do anything.  We both made it a matter of prayer.  We always seek to be cautious to be sure the kids understand what Christmas was truly about.  We were very honest with them for months that they should not expect much materialistically.  The kids handled it all so well, and it was been such a lesson for us all in how commercialized our ideas can be.

We set up the tree, and we did all of our normal holiday traditions.  They are all so much fun.

As December 1st came about, we began to see God do some amazing things in our family!  It really started before that with Abby, our oldest daughter.  She so wanted a pair of boots for her birthday.  She knew that our cash flow was low, and she wanted to use as much of her money as possible.  She was so excited to be just over $50 short.  She didn't want us to just assume the remainder.  She began to pray.  In two days time, she received $45 more for her boots.  What a great lesson in faith for her and all of us!

The first Sunday of December, Dan was greeting folks as they were leaving church.  A couple in our church handed him some cash for our family to have for Christmas.  Another couple came through and gave him a card.  This happened every Sunday throughout December!  We were able to pay some looming bills and buy presents for our kids all without spending any of our money!

Our fear was an empty Christmas tree.  Instead we got some excellent deals, and our kids were so blessed. 

 

It was amazing! What a true lesson that God will always provide.  It was an incredible lesson in giving for our kids to see.  I remember one of my kids asking, "That person really wanted to give us that much money and be happy about it!"  It was truly what Christmas is all about! 

Here are a few pictures of the kids favorite expressions while opening their gifts!

Cast Free!

On Tuesday, we all got a taste of freedom.  Of course for Sarah it was the most rewarding.  For the past four weeks, she has been so limited in her activities, but she has made lemonade of her lemons.  She simply learned to find new ways to do things, and often, we had to limit her resourcefulness!  We were all relieved to finally have simplicity at shower times, and Sarah was super excited to hit the water for swim team practice. 

Needless to say, Sarah was definitely willing to pose for a few pictures!

Christmas Time

We LOVE to decorate for Christmas.  This year has been a new adventure with our cat, Sophie.  We have heard so many stories of cats with trees.  Some are so funny, but all made us a little leery of how Sophie would do.  As we unpacked the tree and began to place the branches this is what we got.

Our tradition is always to decorate the weekend of Thanksgiving.  The kids always remind us.  They love being a part of it.  It is great as they have grown since our tree is quite tall.  They all have a blast attaching the branches and making the tree look beautiful.

 

I always grew up with a real tree.  When Dan and I married, money did not allow for a real tree.  Someone gave us some money to buy a tree.  We were able to buy this artificial blue spruce for $28.  It was on a killer sale at Walmart.  We bought the last one the they had the day before Christmas, but I love it because it really does have a real look to it.  It has lasted us for 13 years!  I dread the day that we will have to retire it.

We really enjoy decorating with our Christmas village, lit garland on the mantle (our bass really loves the highlight colors he gets), and of course the piano top.  I love evenings with it all lit up and glowing.  We just purchased some lit garland for our deck too.  I can’t wait til the hubby gets home to help me string it up.

Really?!

There in moments in life when we see something take place, and our only reaction is to scratch our head and wonder what truly that one was thinking. 

We seldom ever enter the world of McDonald’s anymore.  I have to say that I truly don’t miss the place, but after swim practice, the girls begged and begged.  Dollar menu it was.  We met Dan at a local McD’s, and we planned to have an enjoyable meal.

We had begun eating our lunch when we watched a guy come to the counter with his empty fry box.  It was odd to me that his fry box was empty.  I know that there are free refills, but I thought that was limited to only drinks.  He spoke to an attendant, and she took the box.  I was quite intrigued.  Was she really going to give him more fries?  Then, the manager approached.  She asked the man again what was wrong with the fries.  He complained that the fries tasted funny and seemed to be burnt.  The manager smirked and told the man that she would like to help him, but since his fry box was empty, she couldn’t find anything wrong with the fries.  He huffed and started to complain but decided to just drop it.  I watched him walk back to his seat with his family of small children and wife (I assume).  The wife asked him, “How’d that go?”  He shrugged, and he began to eat the fries he had dumped out in an attempt to get more.  Based on the way he was shoving them in, I would see no reason to complain.

Really, to go to that extreme for free fries!  I mean we are talking fast food, drenched in grease, not really a potato fry!  That deserves a Monday Football, “C’MON MAN.”

I forgot…How horrible is that!

My kids absolutely love homeschool activities.  We have a great homeschool group that does skating, bowling, and swimming every month.  It has been a ton of fun.

My kids are always at the pool. My three are a part of a swimming team, and they practice two days a week. They are always begging to go to the pool to just swim for fun. I get tickled when they beg because I know that shortly after they enter the pool they will begin to challenge each other to races in the swimming lanes. I love it that they love it! They beg to go back for more!

Yesterday was our first homeschool swim.    So needless to say that when I announced we would be homeschool swimming, mass celebration erupted by all three. 

I left the dining room table feeling that wonderful feeling of awesomeness as a homeschool mom.  As I sat on the couch to talk to my husband, Sarah arrived at my side complete distraught and in mass tears.  I looked at her and asked her, “What is wrong?  What happened?”  In the most broken words, she said, “I can’t swim.” Without thinking I asked, “Why not?” All she did was hold up that little broken hand!!! Oh man, I felt so very horrible.  In that moment of excitement, we had all forgotten. 

Poor Sarah is such a trooper!  She got DSi privileges from her big sissy’s, and that seemed to alleviate all of the traumatic effect I had caused!  Daddy even let her put her feet in the water.  She asked me numerous times, and I was the bad guy who said no.  I just had this vision of her falling in with cast dripping.. UGH!  I had the perfect plan.  I would just have her text Daddy and let him agree with Mommy, right?  It would have worked if Daddy wouldn’t have said yes!  Oh what fun!  She did well, and after a little dip with the feet, she was perfectly content the rest of the afternoon.  December 6th cannot get here fast enough.

Skateland USA

My kids and I love homeschool event days.  This week we chose to go roller skating.  The kids love to skate, and due to the cost, we definitely do not go often.  This was a great deal.  For five bucks we all got to skate, eat as many hot dogs or pizza slices we wanted, and drink as much soda as we wanted for three hours! Wow!

As I took to the floor, I was quickly reminded why I do not skate often, and it is for this reason that no cell phone or camera pictures were allowed.  I was thankful that Dan could not join us for this trip as it took me a while to get my skating legs.

It was so much fun.  The kids are all great and daring skaters, but me... I like to cling to the wall a little bit more.  I did eventually get the hang of it, and I was able to be in the throes of everyone and feel confident.

My girls were quick to see that I had ventured from the wall and came right over to express their pride at my feat.  I was feeling good.  In the whole time, we were there I had not fallen.  We only had twenty minutes left of skating.  Sarah and I were zooming around the rink, and it happened.  I managed to hit a small piece of plastic that some one had dropped.  It stopped my front skate dead! I struggled to get my center of balance, and then plop, right on my bottom I went.  I must say I was very careful to not place any hands out to break my fall.  We already have one broken bone in the family at the moment.  The nice staffer who patrols the kids skating came to my aid.  I was even glad when he believed me that I had run over something.  My kids had all rushed to my aid.  "Mom, are you ok?" "Mom, you scared me!" "Mom, is anything broken?"  I assured them I was fine, and the nice gentlement helped me up.  Off we went skating again.  My kids barrage of questions simply reminded me that I was thirty -five and no longer able to bounce as well as I once used to!  UGH! 

I was so pleased when the staff man who assisted me found me to let me know he too had rolled over the plastic, and it had removed.  It was so very apologetic.  I felt like asking, "Do I look that old?"

I was truly thankful that all that working out paid off, and I am not even the least bit sore today.  I just have a little wounded pride, but there were only a handful of us parents out there.  Celebrate the little victories.

Homeschool skating was a success, and we are all looking forward to next month!

Oh the Joy!

Here we go again. This morning Sarah Joy and I made a visit to the ER. She had a major bike wreck Friday night. It was one of those crashes one witnesses and then is afraid to go see the damage. I was scared to look. I am not squeamish when it comes to many things, but when it is one of my own, I tend to get sick.

As I assisted Sarah to her feet, I noticed the way she manuevered her left hand. We were all getting ready to meet Dan at church. I think my words were, "Get in the car. We are going to ER." Well, after having Dan check her out, she seemed ok. We let it go and thought to watch her. When she didn't use it much yesterday and she couldn't do simple things like pick up a brush, it was time.

So here is my bundle of joy, she is not enjoying the life of a broken bone. Thankfully we got in and out of the ER without incident. The doctor was so nice. Since he only used the word fracture as he splinted her, Sarah had no clue. After we were discharged, Sarah says to me on way to car, "See it wasn't a broken arm just a splinted one!"

We go tomorrow to see the orthopedist. The nurse made her day when she told her that she could get a cast in any color. We shall see. She is such a cutie pie.

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Our Not So New Family Member

For the past few years, Abby has begged, pleaded, cried, and begged some more for a cat.  Shockingly to me, my dear hubby didn’t seem to mind having a cat in the house.  It was four on one.  For many many months I was able to hold out.  The kids did research and asked questions of so many others who had cats to help change my mind, but I WAS NOT budging…. UNTIL..Abby’s dear friend got a cat.
Oh the drama!  Here was my daughter all broken up over her friend’s ability to have a cat.  It was earth shattering news, and Abby was really struggling.  She had been praying for a cat for forever.  It was all she talked about, and now one of her closest friends had one. 
Hence this spawned much conversation between me and the hubby.  You see I just hated cats.  I have never gotten along with a cat period!  So my hubby came up with an idea, let’s visit the local humane society and just look at cats.  No problem for the non cat lover!!!
We prepared the girls that we were going to visit the pound, ask questions, and look at the different types of kittens available.  You know, the explore all our options and see if one would work for mean old mommy who was holding the family back.  The girls were so excited.  I think we held all the kittens in the place, and we even got the right idea of the one for our family…I mean if somehow one should melt my cold heart and I relent.
It was pretty much decided after we left that day that we were going to get a cat.  We even told the kids.  Camp was the following week, and so we promised them that upon their return from camp we would kitten hunt.  They were so excited, and now, I became the hero!
Dan and I decided we better go survey the options before they came home from camp.  Somehow we even decided that if we found one we liked we should go ahead and get her.  You know, that way she could be adjusted to life in our home before the kids bombarded her with hugs and kisses and loads of attention!  As we looked through all the kittens, I began to grow discouraged.  I just couldn’t find one I really wanted us to have.  Then, we got to see the kittens that had just had their spaying surgeries.  There she was.  So cute..so lovable..so cuddly.
We brought her home, and we only got the necessary items.  We decided to surprise the girls.  We would tell them we needed to unload the car and do a few things at home before we went kitten shopping.  I will never forget the look on the kids face when we got home, and they began to realize there was a litter pan and bag of litter.  We told them that we were just getting ready to pick out our kitten. Then, out from behind the chair came the cat.  Rebekah and Sarah raced for her, and Abby, well my dear drama queen, just stood there in shock!
We just love our little Sophie!  She isn’t quite so little anymore!

My Favorite Gym Moments!

I proudly bear the title of “Gym Rat.” I love going to the gym.  I love the feeling of accomplishment I get, and I so love having negative calories when I am done.  I am so excited to have finally passed over the thirty pound hurdle.  Woo hoo!  I still have a long way to go, but it is so much fun to focus on small success. 

One of my favorite things has been meeting new people.  Gym rats are usually people of routine.  We all are consistently there together, and it is a neat accountability system too.  One of my favorite people is Bob.  He is a former Methodist pastor of 40 years, and he is currently filling in for a small church as interim.  He is really neat, and it is great to have someone to share spiritual blessings with as well. 

Throughout the months at the gym, I have seen and heard some interesting things.  It has been comical to watch different people as they work out.  So here are just a few of some of my favorite moments at the gym.

One of my favorites by far was with the hip adduction/abduction machine.  We have a real funny guy that is older, and he is always cutting up with people.  A lady was trying out the machine for the first time.  I was on a nearby machine, and Ralph was on the machine beside her.  She was asking me how the machine was supposed to work.  Before I could answer Ralph chimed in and asked if she wanted the automatic setting or manual.  She looked puzzled.  Ralph told her to stand up a sec and he would show her.  I was rolling!!!!  She was actually thinking there was an automatic setting.  Ralph sat down and tapped the yellow weight insignia, and acted as though the machine was working for him.  Then he tapped the button again, and he acted as though the weights were some how heavier.  The lady looked at me, and she said, “Wow!”  I couldn’t let her believe him, and thankfully, Ralph quickly added that he was just having some fun.  We all had a great chuckle!

 

My next favorite moment comes from this same machine.  I was working on the machine beside the hip abduction/adduction machine, and a teen girl that works out regularly sat down to work out.  I was the only other person working out at that time.  As she went to adjust the machine to her desired weight, she looked at the setting and then at me, with eyes wide she asked, “Is this YOU?”.  I happily replied that yes it was.  She then responded with Wow!  Ha Ha.  I loved it.  It totally made my day!

My last favorite moment is a conglomeration of the many of the same comments I have gotten.  I work out with many of the same people on a daily basis.  Over  and over again, people have come up to me and said, “What kind of diet are you on?  You are really losing some weight.”  I have to scratch my head cause I am not really on a diet, but rather I am burning the calories that I consume.  So when I tell them I am counting my calories, many ask, “So, is the gym thing helping?” LOL!  No not at all it is just why I am here everyday!  When I respond with a yes, the next question is always how long do you work out.  Then it gets interesting when I respond with an hour and a half each weekday.  It is always varied, but usually along the lines of, “I could never do that much or boy, your dedicated or more power to you.”  Too funny!  I cannot imagine going to the gym everyday and not seeing results.

Monuments, Memorials, and More…

We started off our tour of Washington in style.  Our first stop was the Lincoln Memorial.  It has to be one of my favorites, but I have decided I have lots of those.  You might just hear that frequently!  It was neat that Uncle Dale had a name we could find on the Vietnam Wall, and I love how the reflection was captured in the photo too.  We also walked past the Washington Monument.  Boo, that it was closed for repairs due the recent earthquake.  I am saving pictures of our trip to the World War II Memorial for the day we went at night.  We also saw the Jefferson Memorial and the FDR Memorial.  There was so much information to glean at all these locations.  I loved reading all the old quotes from some of these very great men who were so instrumental in our nation being so successful.  One of my favorites is from Thomas Jefferson: “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, then it expects what never was and what never will be.” Wow! That is quite a statement, and it truly historically applies. So here are just a few, and I do mean few, pictures of our memorial visit.

We took a slight break and visited the Smithsonian of American History.  I got so tickled as to the decision as to which side to visit.  The museum has an east and west side.  What my dear hubby did not know was that the girls had already been informed that the west side had all the famous dresses and inaugural gowns from many of our first ladies. Dan went so dutifully to read the the map to see which side we should tackle.  He came back and to tell us the east side was the most practical.. you know all the war stuff and such.  The girls had already decided we should see the west! He he! He just loves having a houseful of women.  Here are a few pics of our wonderful exploration through this amazing museum.

There was an awesome hands on science center.  The kids really enjoyed trying out several new ideas.  We all had a blast, and I highly recommend the American History museum.  There is truly something for everyone.  The inaugural dresses were truly amazing.  I loved the red one (bottom rt. corner) that belonged to Laura Bush, and the one above was a Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush.  These ladies truly arrived in style.

To Mayberry and Beyond…..

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I have to say that I am a huge Andy Griffith fan.  I remember as a kid we all crowded around the TV to watch the show together.  I remember when the Return to Mayberry movies came out, and we got to stay up late to watch them.  Oh the memories.
Well, what does that have to do with vacation? As we were driving up Interstate 77 on our way to Virginia, we say this sign for Mt. Airy.  We had time, and we decided it was worth a stop.  We had a blast as we visited the museum.  I had no idea how many movies Andy G has starred in.  It was like reliving my childhood as we saw the old Matlock office stage and the Mayberry jail stage.  We oo’ed and aw’ed over all sorts of memorabilia.  We got to see Andy as a baby, a teenager, and then the actor.  I was so sad we couldn’t take any pictures inside the museum, but I did manage to capture a few outside…

Then, we began to tour Mt. Airy itself.  We started by visiting the birthplace of Andy.  It was such a modest little home.  His parents bought the home for $600 in the 1930’s, and they sold it for $6,000 in the 1960’s when they moved out to live near Andy in California.  It is now available to rent.

We then moved on to the Mt. Airy jail and the little Mayberry community that has been recreated there.  I got so tickled since it even had the home of the Darling family located there.  I think the thing that made it the best fun is that my kids are all huge fans of the Andy Griffith Show!  I just love it!!!!  We even got to eat lunch at the Barney café!  It was just a quick pit stop with some great memories.

Home safe and sound!

We made it home safe and sound midnight on Friday!  Phew! What a full week of sight seeing we had.  It was a wonderful trip, and I have to give a huge shout out to our Uncle Dale who made this trip possible.  He heard Dan and I talking about wanting to go, and he made it all possible.  Here he is in our photo from our trip to Mt. Vernon. 

I will be posting here on many of our activities and thoughts.  We saw so much, and we learned so much. It was so humbling to walk and stand in the same places that some of the greatest men ever have been.  I was totally in awe!

Washington, DC Bound!

We are on our way to DC. We have all been counting down for this trip. We were all loaded and ready to head out by 8:00 am. Can you tell we are prepared for travel and vacationing with kids?

We took a little travel break in Mt. Airy, NC. It was neat to see sights that were all popularized on the Andy Griffith Show. We chose to dine in at Barney's Cafe, and we visited the remake of the jail from the set of the show. We all had a blast.

Hhhmmm..it is time to hit the road again. Next stop, who knows! I have even been sent to the back of the car for this trip. I am trying to keep my backseat driving in check :)

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My Journey: Part 2

There is so much that goes into being successful at weight loss.  For me the recognition of just how far out of hand the situation had become was a necessity.  I had many excuses. Of course, no one ever wants to say, “Yes, you really do need to lose weight.” Naturally, there is never a good time to begin weight loss. 

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For me, I truly had to recognize what carrying around all this extra weight was doing for me.  That was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I was so miserable that I could not truly enjoy life.  In the spring, we went hiking to Table Rock, and I literally had to will to make it up the mountain.  Wow! It was a real taste of truly how out of shape I was. It was so embarrassing.  My kids were miles ahead of me.  I was constantly bringing up the rear, and I didn’t enjoy that.  I knew I had to do something.

It is amazing to me how much like a different person I already feel.  In June, we went hiking at South Mountain, and this time I was hardly winded.  It was a great hike, and I was able to enjoy it all.  I am dying to go hiking again.  It is so great to feel in shape, and I still have soooo far to go.

I also had to recognize how this affected my family.  How was I as a mom to teach proper diet to my children?  How could I tell them they needed to watch what they ate as I kept adding pounds year after year?

The affect my weight loss has had on my family has been so positive. We are all eating better, and my kids understand that it is a choice.  It doesn’t mean they can never have cookies or chips.  It just means that our choices have to be balanced.  It is great to see them contemplate what to eat, and I love for them to ask me how many calories something has.

I still have sooo very far to go in this journey, but it has been a fun ride.  My first few weeks, I didn’t seem to be losing the weight, but I never calculated the loss in measurements.  It was unreal when I began to realize that I had lost inches.  Losing the first ten pounds felt like I had lost thirty!

I remember the devastation I felt when  I one day decided to just measure my waist!  I was in shock, and the only image I could see was the little girl who turned into the blueberry in Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory!  Wow!  It feels so good to fit into skirts and such that I haven’t worn in years, and the best part is that they are beginning to feel quite roomy!

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If you know someone who is struggling and working to lose weight, please please be an encouragement!

My Journey, Part 1

Phew! I have never been a skinny little chick.  Oh, I have had lots of friends that were, but I was always the one who never had to worry because I had big bones or Dad’s broad shoulders or the frame to handle more weight.  Those don’t really help with self confidence issues.  Until recently, I was facing a subtle but consistent weight gain per year. I would try to watch what I ate, but with the crazy schedule of being wife and secretary to the administrator of a small Christian school and pastor, I never had the time to exercise consistently, and the stress was only adding to my weight gain.  This summer, I became inspired by a dear friend who began to rave about a program called loseit.  She was having all this success, and I kept thinking it would be so nice to feel the same. It was summer, and I had the time.  My thoughts were to just begin a consistent workout that I could do Monday through Friday at the gym. Once I became consistent, I could work on the time frame I would need to prepare for my day once school began. So I began after our vacation to the Cincinnati area and the Creation Science Museum. Here are a couple of pictures of me during that trip.

I love this picture and the moment Sarah and I were having, but I look at it and so hate what I had become weight wise.

This is our family at the museum. It is so funny because that shirt was one of my faves as it was so comfy.  Now it is a little too comfy! LOL.

I began working out faithfully, and I have now become a gym rat! I love it! I have all my little gym buddies that work out the same time I do, and it is so encouraging.  Probably the best part of it all though is that I have lost almost 30 pounds since June 1. It has been a huge process of reprogramming, and I really do have to rave on Loseit.  I began charting everything I ate on it, and boy! it didn’t take long for me to really understand I needed a life style change. 

Dan and I had talked frequently about my desire to lose weight.  He is very negative about the whole diet thing.  Partly because we all see some one diet to lose a bunch of weight only to gain it back more quickly than they lost it.  He just didn’t want that to happen with me.  So, I didn’t diet, and I can say honestly that I haven’t given up one thing I love to eat.  I just learned when I could! It is amazing to think that I have lost 28 pounds to date, and I still eat ice cream, drink sweat tea, and enjoy these delicious chocolate tortes I make with a dear friends help.  It is also amazing how it has affected the meals and family as well.  We have all become a little more healthier due to my changes. 

It is a journey, and it is truly one I have only recently begun. I cannot begin to express how the loss of not only weight but also inches from my waist and arms make me feel so much more in control, energized, and free.

I even let my hubby take some pics this past weekend. So here are Sarah and I again!