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. 

Via

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!

Sarah just lost her first tooth! She was so excited.

Our New to Us Suburban

Our New Suburban (new to us!)

A few months ago we learned our van was going to die.  It wasn't a matter of if but of when.  I truly didn't want the "when" to take place when I had the van.  So we parked the van, and we all squished everywhere and anywhere in our little Honda Civic.  We are so thankful to only have one child in a booster seat still!  We prayed for the Lord to open the right doors for us in the car search endeavor.  We made some contacts to some Christian car dealers we knew, and we waited.  Just before our school graduation, the Lord gave us the opportunity to purchase our suburban.  We are so pleased.  Dan and I had both desired to buy one, and we had discussed it numerous times, but the market for them here doesn't work for this pastor's family income.  The Lord provide far and above what we ever thought we would be able to afford.  The girls are so excited to have room to stretch out and be comfortable, and it makes for much happier kids as we travel more than the ten miles back and forth to church.  I am so pleased to not have to squish all my Sam's Club purchases in the back of our Honda. LOL..

I wanted to be sure to share this special blessing along.  Truly, God will give us the desires of our heart!  I am so thankful to serve an amazing God!