Kathryne's Musings

And he just keeps growing.

2011-12-12T12:53:00.000-06:00

Nathaniel is growing so fast. His smile has been melting my heart almost since he was born and the way he would turn his head when he heard my voice would make anyone feel special. He is moving into 0-3 mths clothing now and is already in size 1 diapers. He lifts and holds his head and chest up really well now and loves to look around at everything. He is already starting to bounce using his own leg strength but it doesn't last for very long. His new thing this week has been him trying to push up using his arms. He make the sweetest noises and it's almost as if he's trying to carry on a conversation. It always amazes me how quickly babies grow and learn. He is truly miraculous and such a blessing to me.

pregnancy weightloss

2011-05-20T17:20:00.000-05:00

Joshua hugged me today and said that he can reach further around me. Matt came home from work today and hugged me and said that I feel and look thinner. It seems like every part of me is still shrinking except my belly. It must be the weights and swimming because I eat almost twice the amount that I used too. I am still losing weight but not losing as much as I have been. This last week I only lost .9 pounds. I had been losing from 1.5 to 2 pounds a week. So maybe the baby is starting to catch up with me. My belly is definitely starting to come out more. My regular pant are getting uncomfortable for sitting in. Even my favorite pair that stretch a little at the waist. I've been warned not to wear them to long or they will get stretched all out of whack. So I am heeding her advice and probably wont be wearing them for much longer.

I don't want any of you to think that I am trying to lose weight because I am most certainly not. That would be a stupid thing to do. I'm just continuing on my healthy eating and exercise which I plan to do throughout my entire pregnancy until I can't fit in the machines anymore or it becomes uncomfortable. I figure I will probably be able to swim the whole time. I'll be the big buoy in the water. lol

It will be fun to see my doctors reaction when I go to my next appointment which is June 5 and still haven't gained any weight. She will most likely be fine with it. I'm just going with the flow. We will see what the future brings.

My First Trimester in a Nutshell

2011-05-10T08:35:00.000-05:00

On the last day of my first trimester I have decided to blog. My son got on to me yesterday because I haven't written a post in a while. So here I am. It will be difficult to write about an entire trimester but I will do my best to without boring you too much. Of course if you end up getting bored you can always just stop reading and that would take care of that problem.

One can not describe the feelings that have been going through my head these past weeks. Feelings of utter elation to thoughts about how crazy I must be to start all over again after having one son practically raised and one half way raised. Alas, here I am and I have come to terms with the fact that I am starting over. Oh but what a journey it will be and what fun times we all will have. The boys are so excited about having a little SISTER or brother that they can hardly stand themselves. Especially Joshua. He keeps coming up to me and hugging and kissing my belly and saying, "I love you Kaydence". Yes he is determined that it is a girl. I keep telling him that it could be a boy and he has even helped me come up with some boy names but he still keeps calling it Kaydence. Then he will throw in "or Nathan or Ethan or Obadiah". Like I said, he has been helping to come up with names. Sean has more of a mellow approach to the whole thing but is still very excited.

As far as how I have been feeling these past few month. Things haven't been too bad. I had a few weeks with some nausea but it all went away and now if it wasn't for my increased appetite and exhaustion I wouldn't even think I was pregnant. Of course I've actually seen the baby and heard it's heartbeat which definitely makes it more real. I did have a couple of scares with some bleeding but there wasn't any cramping and the baby is still in there. The doctor just said that it could have been caused by a number of things and that it isn't anything to worry about. That's nice to know but when you are the person that is pregnant it kind of freaks you out. Everything is fine though and the baby is very healthy and continuing to grow.

As everyone knows, before I got pregnant I was in the process of losing weight. Well of course with being pregnant losing weight kind of falls on the side burner. That's what I thought anyway. I have just continued with eating healthy and exercising as I have been doing with a few minor adjustments. There are a few weight machines that I no longer do because it is uncomfortable. I have lowered my weight resistance a little so I don't strain or pull anything. Two doctors appointments ago after meeting with the doctor we met with this lady who explained to us how I should be eating (LOL) and about exercising. She said that I shouldn't be lifting anything over 25lbs. So at my next work out I tried the whole 25lbs thing and decided that If I was going to be in that gym and only lift 25lbs I might as well not go at all. Can anyone say feather weight? It was like I wasn't lifting anything. Especially my legs. Now my arms were okay with 25 on some of the machines. I understood what she was saying but that was crazy. So I am just being careful and still making sure my muscles don't go to mush during these nine months.

Now, I said that I was not trying to lose weight while pregnant. Never a good thing to do but since I have continued to eat healthy and exercise and I have a little parasite in me eating up every little morsel that I seem to devour(which is a lot) I am still losing weight. Actually at a quicker rate now than I was before I was pregnant. Just since the middle of February I have lost 16lbs and I really don't think that is going to be the end of it. I eat and eat but it never seems to matter. The weight keeps going down. The doctor is actually happy about it. She knows how I've been eating and all the changes that my family has made over the past year and a half. She says as long as I'm eating healthy and the baby is growing than there isn't anything to worry about. So here's to me and getting skinny while being pregnant. Eventually it will all catch up and I will start gaining some baby weight but honestly I am hoping that all it will be is baby weight. I am still overweight and health wise can not afford to put on any extra weight.

Since I am overweight that puts me at higher risk of developing gestational diabetes. So I am being extra careful to keep my sugar intake low. I really don't want to take any chances. I opted out of the first glucose screening which Dr. Rutter was fine with but there is another one sometime towards the end of my second trimester or beginning of my third. I'm not sure she will let me out of that one. I guess we will see how the pregnancy is going then and how much weight I have lost or gained by then. Can't really make any assumption on something that is still a ways off and depends on so many factors that have not come to be yet.

I did forget to mention something. One thing that I found out during this whole thing is that I have failed thyroid. So I am currently on medication because my thyroid doesn't function. This could also play a role in my losing weight. I started taking the medicine around the same time that I found out I was pregnant. Your thyroid function has some impact on your ability to lose weight. As much as I hate taking medication this is one instance where I don't see another alternative. Not something I want to be messing around with while I'm pregnant.

I guess that pretty much sums it all up. Tomorrow is the beginning of my second trimester. May it pass as quickly as the first and be better than the first.

Baby update: Week 7

2011-03-21T13:14:00.000-05:00

I've decided to do away with the weight loss updates and start a baby update. How my baby is growing is much more interesting and more important.

I do continue to lose weight. I believe since I found out I was pregnant I have lost over 5 pounds. I am now at my lowest weight of 194.4 lbs. After I lose that .4 lbs I will have lost a total of 70 lbs all together. I will keep you informed on my weight, which I am sure will start going up eventually. But I like to look at it as the babies weight going up, not mine. With me still being overweight, I will need to watch my weight gain. I have a good feeling though that with me continuing to eat healthy and exercising I will be able to keep the weight gain to a minimum.

Now, due to the crazy growing that the baby and my uterus has been going through, I have been experiencing abdominal cramping(growing pains). More than I ever did with the boys. Matter of fact, I don't remember having any with the boys. This week it seems to have increased quite a bit.

I was just reading an article about it this morning. It said and I quote, "Women whose abdominal muscles are tightest will experience these cramps with more frequency than women with more supple abdominals." I think that's a nice way of saying squishy abdominals, which is what I had when I was pregnant with the boys. That explains a lot. So basically, the more abdominal muscles you have the more often and worse your cramps could be because of the stretching of the muscles. Great! So all those crunches and ab work I've been doing just set me up for cramping? Well at least they will also help me shrink back down.

The nausea that I was experiencing last week seems to have subsided. I guess it was traded for growing pains. I seem to find myself wanting to eat a little more often than usual and the bathroom is visited quite often still. I know that will continue throughout the entire pregnancy. We wont go into what my chest feels like on a regular basis(TMI).

All things are normal on the baby front except that a lot of what I am experiencing I did not experience with either of the boys. I had no nausea, no cramping, no breast soreness(sorry men). Who knows why I am with this one. Could be cause I am healthier now and my body is doing what it is suppose to be doing for a change. Could be cause it is a girl! Maybe!=) Or all of the above.

We will see what new adventures this week will bring.

Weight loss update

2011-03-07T06:30:00.002-06:00

Yeah, I am below 200. I weighed in at 199.7 this morning. I have just been on this gradual slide these past couple of weeks. Could be cause I'm pregnant or it could be because my body just kicked back in gear. I remember when I was pregnant with Joshua and was exercising the first few month I lost weight. Maybe this one will be the same way. I'm certainly not trying to. My goal now is not to lose weight but to just keep my focus on eating healthy, exercising and to do all I can to have a healthy baby. If I happen to lose more weight, well, I wont turn down that gift either.

Weight Loss Update: Week 59 1/2

2011-03-05T08:10:00.000-06:00

This week has been a constant loss for me except for one little hick-up of a .4 gain one day. Other than that it has been all down hill. I think this is one time when down hill is a good thing. I wont keep you in suspense any longer though.

I have again reached my lowest weight of 200.4. Not much more and I will be below 200. If I can keep myself from eating too much pasta at the Teachers Appreciation Dinner tonight then I might actually make it this weekend. How exciting that will be to weigh under 200 lbs.

There could be a slight catch to my weight loss journey. Something that will eventually slow it down for a while. I found our recently that I am pregnant. Yes you read it right. I am going to have a BABY! So you see why I say that eventually my weight loss will stop. Who know when though. I am not worried about it at all. I figure I'll just keep eating healthy like I've been doing and exercising the same until it gets uncomfortable then I will have to do some adjustments.

I don't think I will have to make many changes when it comes to my exercise. I already made one change by starting to swim. That is something that I should be able to continue through out the pregnancy.

I am super excited about the whole thing and look forward to seeing how this will effect my weight loss. Who knows, I may come out of this whole thing weighing less than I did going in. You never know, it could happen. With my second pregnancy(Joshua) I lost weight in the first few months and wasn't eating nearly as healthy as I am now. I did do water aerobic for the first few months but then I had to stop because I no longer had access to the class.

Since I am overweight I am not suppose to gain as much weight as if I was normal weight. I believe it's somewhere between 15-25lbs. So I am going to keep doing what I'm doing. I know one thing. If people start telling me that I need to eat more because I'm eating for two or being pregnant is an excuse to eat whatever I want. I think I might scream.

I've been there done that and all it got me was a fat me and big babies. I want my pregnancy to be healthy. I am so glad that I started this health journey a year ago. I feel like this past year has been preparing me for the moment. I am so thankful for that. I thank God for this wonderful blessing.

Now a new journey begins.

For My Big Brother

2011-02-28T16:23:00.000-06:00

Today is a very special day. My big brother was born 41 years ago today. He must have been a pretty good big brother. Either that or I have blocked out a lot of the bad stuff. It's been a long time since the days of growing up on the farm in Bentonville, AR but I can honestly say that was the best place on earth for us kids to grow up. What fun and special times we had there. From romping in the woods to playing in the creek and catching crawdads. Oh and don't forget about the bouncy bridge.

Now we are grown and David is a missionary in Africa. He recently finished an 11 year mission to Togo, West Africa and is now preparing to return to Africa to do a new mission work with the people of Rwanda. I am so proud of my brother and the man that he has become. He is a wonderful Christian, a good husband to his wife Becky, and father to his 4 kids, Hannah, Elijah, Gabriel, and Caleb.

My prayer for him today is that he will continue to grow and serve the Lord in what ever way he is called. That he will continue to be a good husband and father. May the Lord bless him in all areas of his life and my he find peace in such a hectic and hurried world.

“The LORD bless you

and keep you;

the LORD make his face shine upon you

and be gracious to you;

the LORD turn his face toward you

and give you peace.”

Number 6:24-26

Fun With School, Ending Studies and New Adventures

2011-02-24T11:21:00.000-06:00

I take it as a good sign when you give your kids an oral quiz over the past three lesson in science and the pretty much remember everything they studied. Especially considering that each lesson takes two weeks to cover. So that means they were remembering stuff from over a month ago. That either means that I am a really good teacher or the curriculum presents the material in a way that is fun and easy to assimilate. I think it's all of the above.

We have had a lot of fun learning about plants. But alas that is soon to come to an end. Our study of Botany only has two more lessons in left and they are mostly wrap up stuff. I am in the process of planning a couple of field trips to end our study with. One, I want to take the boys to a botanical garden with an indoor conservatory(due to the season) and two, I am wanting to take them on a nature walk with a field guide to look at and study the trees. I think these two things would be a lot of fun and would tie up nicely all that we have learned.

They are also getting close to finishing their study of U.S. Geography and I will soon be looking for a new curriculum. Not sure exactly where we will go from here but where every it is I know it will be a journey.

This is the boys last week of there Bible study of Revelation. They have really enjoyed it and had lots of fun learning about all the seals, the horsemen and the woman and the beast etc... They probably know more about Revelation than most kids, maybe even adults now. We have picked out and ordered our next Bible study. It is the same curriculum study, Discover 4 Yourself but it is titled Amazing Adventures with God. It is a study on Issac, Jacob and Esau. It should be very good and we are looking forward to it.

They are continuing on with their language arts and math. It is a full year curriculum and will be done with it sometime in May. Then we will probably continue with the curriculum we have been using. The kids really like it and it is very easy to use and teach with.

Joshua has really been enjoying his Art class and we will definitely continue that for him. Sean is about to complete his season of basketball. What started out as me just signing him up even though he was very adamant about the whole idea. Needless to say he is now in love with the sport and we will be looking for another way for him to play because the Y only offers it during the winter. Joshua will be starting soccer at the end of March and is not too excited about it. He would rather play kick ball but I haven't been able to find a kids kickball league. You can find adult leagues but not kids. Maybe I should mention starting one at the Y.

The only thing left to talk about is their PE class. It is two days a week on Monday and Wednesdays stating at 7:30am which gets us all up at 6:00 on those days. They have really enjoyed their PE class and will not be very happy when it ends the end of May. It follows the public school schedule so when public school is over, it will be too. I will have to plan something else for them over the summer because we pretty much continue school through the summer with a little more flexible schedule.

Well, I think that covers all that is going on with the kids school right now. This next year will bring about many changes as Sean enters 7th grade and I have to start keeping more permanent records of his grades and school work. Should be interesting for me. I'm really not looking forward to that part and am not sure were to start. I am sure I will figure it out.

That's it. I hope this has not bored you too much. Just my teacher ramblings.

DIFFERENT DRUG PROBLEM

2011-02-22T18:18:00.000-06:00

The other day, someone at a store in our town

read that a meth lab had been found in an old farm

house and he asked me a rhetorical question,

"Why didn't we have a drug problem when you and I

were growing up?"

I replied, I had a drug problem when I was young:

I was drug to church on Sunday morning. I was drug

to church for weddings and funerals. I was drug

to family reunions and community socials no matter

the weather.

I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful

to adults. I was also drug to the woodshed when I

disobeyed my parents, told a lie, brought home

a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke

ill of the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't

put forth my best effort in everything that was

asked of me.

I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth

washed out with soap if I uttered profanity. I was

drug out to pull weed in mom's garden and flower

beds and cockleburs out of dad's fields. I was drug

to the homes of family, friends and neighbors to

help out some poor soul who had no one to mow the

yard, repair the clothesline, or chop some firewood,

and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single

dime as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug

me back to the woodshed.

Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect

my behavior in everything I do,say, or think. They

are stronger than cocaine, crack, or heroin; and,

If today's children had this kind of drug problem,

America would be a better place.

GOD BLESS THE PARENTS WHO DRUGGED US.

This article was sent to me by my Aunt Susie. It did not have a name attached to it as to who wrote it. I agree with it. Just wanted to share.

Weight loss update: Week 56

2011-02-21T08:12:00.003-06:00

Last week was not a good week for me. I'm not sure what the reason was but last week I gained 1.6 lbs. I was at my lowest of 203 and that put me back up to 204.6. This weight gain could have occurred for a number of reasons. Could have been from all the chocolate I ate and the delicious dinner we had for Valentines day. Or it could have been from my increase in weights at the gym and my body was just slapping on some more muscle. Whatever the reason I gained weight.

Here's the kicker though. My last weigh in was Friday and then this morning I weighed and now again I am at my lowest weight of 202.4. So that means that over the weekend I lost 2.4 lbs which is more than I gained last week. So there you have it. I was afraid that I had ruined my chances of reaching my end of the month goal of getting below 200. Now I have only 2.5 lbs to lose by the end of the month which only gives me 1 week. Not sure if I will make it but I am going to give my best shot.

I am going to start swimming laps today at the gym for my cardio instead of the bike. Just to change things up and see if that will help me along the way. I have always liked to swim so it should be enjoyable. I always tell everyone to pick an exercise that they enjoy otherwise they will end up quiting. That is what I have done over the past year and it seems to work for me. Plus it is nice to change things up a bit from time to time just to make things more interesting and not get bored with it all.

Not to mention that if you keep doing the same thing over and over again your body will get use to it. That is why walking is really not the best exercise for losing weight because it is something that most people do on a regular basis. Now if you are at a point where walking is the only exercise you can do and if that is where you are than that is what you need to do to start off plus some weights of course.

You have to do weights. Building muscle is one of the best ways to get your metabolism started up and keep it going. I do more weights than I do cardio. The lbs may come of slower but you will find the inches come off quickly because you will be exchanging fat for muscle. I have said this before but pound for pound muscle weighs the same as fat but muscle takes up less space. So you will have a constant loss of inches with bursts of weight loss.

Slow and steady wins the race.

The Right Stuff

2011-02-10T13:01:00.002-06:00

My sick boy wanted chicken broth for lunch. He's not very hungry right now. I thought I would make it quick so I grabbed my emergency ration of store bought organic free range chicken broth off the shelf. The real stuff was frozen in the freezer. I got it all warmed up in the pan. Then I decided to taste it. Yuck! It tasted like water. Literally. I called Sean in to taste it. I asked him what it tasted like. He said, "Water!".

We looked at the ingredients. It read, Organic chicken broth....Okay so the first ingredient is actually chicken broth. Or is it? We went to read the rest of the ingredients. After the "first" ingredient in parentheses it read (filtered water, organic chicken)....Now I know in order to make chicken broth you have to use water but I guarantee there was more water in there than chicken. To make it worse, this was the low sodium kind so there wasn't even enough salt in it to even make it taste better.

Needless to say, I got in the freezer and now the frozen homemade broth is sitting in a sink full of hot water thawing out. I am not feeding my sick boy that... It has no flavor what so ever plus I don't know what I was thinking anyway. The homemade stuff is much better for him.

Now for a little cooking lesson:

It is so easy to make your own healthy chicken broth. All you do its take the left over carcases of two chickens or one whole organic chicken. Add three quarts of water, onion, 2 carrots, celery, 2 Tbls. of apple cider vinegar. Let it set for 30 min to an hour. Then bring it to a boil. Lower to simmer for 6-12 hours. The longer it simmers the better the broth. As it simmers at first remove any scum that comes to the top. When it is done strain it into a bowl and refrigerate it until it cools and the fat comes to the top, then you just scoop the fat of, put the broth in glass jars and freeze it. Best tasting broth you will ever have. Oh I almost forgot. If you use a whole chicken, don't forget to pick all the chicken out of the bones.

Nothing goes to waste either. I have figured out that from cooking so long all the bones from the chicken have gotten so soft that you can squish them. So I take all the scraps(bones, skin, veggies) that were strained out and put them in my Vitamix and puree them into what we have affectionately come to call, "puppy pate'". We save this back and add it to our dogs dried dog food for extra nutrients. She loves it.

That's it. I hope you all enjoy making your own broth and stop buying that horrible store bought stuff.

Plan to Succeed

2011-02-05T21:40:00.001-06:00

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

I don't know who said that quote first but it is so true. I don't know about you but there are so many times in my life that I have failed at something because I didn't have a plan. I can think of a couple of biggies right off the top of my head.

Our family failed with our finances because we didn't have a plan. We just went day to day spending our money until it was gone and then once it was gone we would turn to our credit cards. We were spending almost $1000 a month eating out all because I didn't have a plan at home for fixing dinner. If I did have a "plan" we wouldn't always stick to it. We ended up $75000 in debt with no idea how to get out. We had planned to fail because we didn't make a plan to succeed.

Finally we did make a plan to succeed in our finances. We started planning where our money was going to go. We made a budget and stuck to it. We made a plan to get out of debt and spent 2 1/2 years paying that debt off. We are now debt free all because we made a plan. All because we made a plan to succeed.

Another area in my life that I failed to make a plan was with my health. I reached a maximum weight of 279lbs all because I didn't make a plan to succeed. I went day by day eating whatever I felt like eating. If it sounded good I ate it. Sure I did the watch your fat, watch your calories, watch your salt etc...and I just ended up fatter. I tried exercising but never really stuck to anything. I had planned to fail because I didn't make a plan to succeed.

It wasn't until I made a plan to take charge of my own health and stop listening to all the stupid low fat diets and start studying about and learning about health and nutrition did I started to lose weight. I made a plan to workout when my kids went to PE at the YMCA. I was there. Might as well, right? Now I can't imagine not working out. I plan out our menu for eating at home instead of dining out all the time because most restaurants aren't very healthy. Over the past year I have lost 60lbs all because I made a plan to succeed with my health.

These are two areas in my life that I was weak at and now I am strong. Satan took advantage of those weaknesses. He used our lack of planning with our finances to cause strife in our marriage because we had so much debt because we wouldn't control our spending. He used my lack of planning when it came to what I put in my body to get me to a point where I was obese and unhealthy.

Satan uses these things to get us down. He wants us to feel helpless. He want us to believe that these are not important areas but they are. Did you know that money fights are the number one cause of divorce in America. Problems with money are tearing our families apart. How much harder is it to serve God and do work for the Lord when you are overweight and tired all the time? I know from experience how much more difficult it makes things. This is what Satan wants. He wants us to not plan.

Now, how many of you have a plan to succeed spiritually?

"If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail."

1# of Fat for 1# of Muscle

2011-02-01T18:44:00.002-06:00

Many of you have heard that muscle weighs more than fat. Well I am pleased to say that that is not true. A pound of muscle weighs the same as a pound of fat. What is true is that muscle takes up less space than fat. Think about it. Muscle clings to your bones and fat hangs out. It just does. Also the more muscle you build the more fat you burn because your metabolism increases. So as you build muscle you may not necessarily lose any weight but you will lose inches because you are burning fat. So basically you are swapping fat for muscle. Not a bad trade off if you ask me.

So it is very important if you want to be nice and toned after all that fat goes away to work your muscles on a daily basis. Also, if you are not building muscle while you are losing weight, you could be losing muscle too along with the fat and that isn't good at all.

In nutshell. If you want to lose weight and keep your body toned as you go along, you have got to hit the weights. Lifting weights has become one of my favorite things to do. Give it a try.

My Mother

2011-02-01T18:06:00.000-06:00

Today is a special day. A day to celebrate someone who has been a part of my life since the beginning of it. Without this person I would not be who I am today. I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for her. My mother is strong, beautiful, committed, loving and supportive.

My mother taught me to love unconditionally. She showed me what it meant to be committed and to always lean on God in every circumstance. I am so grateful that she chose to stay home and be a mother to me and my brother and sisters. She has always been such a great example to me in so many ways.

If it wasn't for my mom, I would not be the person I am today. Thank you Mom for being so selfless and for loving me unconditionally. Thank you for teaching me what it means to be a mom. I appreciate you so much. I love you.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Being Responsible

2011-01-29T21:24:00.002-06:00

Matt and I had the opportunity to go out shopping and to dinner tonight without our children. This is not a new thing, our kids staying home alone. We started letting them stay home alone quit a while back. Tonight was different though for one reason and one reason only.

We had a nice late afternoon of shopping at the Outlet Mall. Matt found two new pair of tennis shoes. One for working out/running and one for everyday wear. I found a cute casual pair of sketchers that I had been wanting to get that just slip on with a strap across the top. Matt also found a pair of casual pants that he really needed because his pants are starting to fall off. Wouldn't want that to happen now would we?

After shopping we went to a place called the Cool Mint Cafe but they were full so we ended up at this new Thai place. I forget the name. When we finally finished dinner we headed home. Now, when we left the house we had told the boys to be in bed by 8:00. We do this every time we go out but they never seem to make it. Matter of fact they are usually late by an hour. So we were expecting to show up at home at 8:45 and find them still up. We didn't stay out very late because of church the next day.

So here we come driving up to the house and it's dark inside. No lights at all except for a nice glow from Joshua's room from his night light. We go inside and both of the boys are in bed with lights out. I was so proud of them both. But that is not all that happened tonight. While we were at the restaurant eating, I think it was around 7:30 Sean called to ask if they could watch some Star Wars Clone Wars the TV show on the computer. He could have just as easily of just done it but no. He called and asked for permission.

What a night. Our kids are becoming more responsible and I am so proud of them. It is so nice to be able to trust them to do what they are suppose to do when we are away. Way to go boys.

Health Nut

2011-01-29T15:46:00.002-06:00

With all the changes that have come to our family these past three years I believe the most recent has been the most fun. I think I have officially been labelled a health nut. I am by no means perfect nor will I ever be but the physical health of my family has become a priority in my life. Of course their spiritual health will always be at the top but that is not what we are talking about now.

One of the greatest things has recently come about. My oldest son Sean has always dabbled with the idea of liking salad over the past year. He would eat a little here and there. Lately though he has become an all out salad lover. His favorite salad is a mixed up nutty salad. They serve it at Jason's Deli but is easy to create at home. What it has in it is Romaine lettuce, some other mixed greens, grapes, raisins, cranberry's, sliced apple, walnuts, tomatoes, feta cheese and all drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette. We can fix him a huge plate of this salad and he will devour the whole thing. It is rather delicious and Matt and I enjoy it too.

I am really proud of Sean and how he had adopted our new way of healthy living. It just goes to show that even older kids can learn to like healthy foods. If you have young kids start now with the healthy eating so they will learn as they grow and it will just be a normal part of their life when they are older.

Here's to yours and your kids health.

New Role

2011-01-28T22:01:00.003-06:00

I've taken on a new role as speech therapist in our house. Joshua has been having problems with pronouncing the /th/ sound for quite a while. I was hoping it might correct itself over time but it has not. So now on a daily basis we will be having speech therapy.

One of the first things I need to do is determine which sound he is not articulating. The voiced /th/ as in the word the or the unvoiced /th/ sound as in the word thanks. Also, I need to determine if he is having problems with /th/ initial words, /th/ medial words, or /th/ final words.

Now, whether or not I can do this on my own without enlisting the help of a professional is yet to be determined. I remember going to speech therapy in elementary for not being able to pronounce the \r\ sound. So, I know the routine a little and there is tons of information on-line and some great books out there. We will see what happens.

Consistency

2011-01-28T18:07:00.002-06:00

I think one of the hardest things about being a parent is being consistent with your children. I know for me it's like I go through these stages where I'm really consistent for a while and then gradually I slide right back into lazy parenting. Parenting takes work and lots of it. It's not a part time job that you can do sometimes and then other times you just checkout. It is a total mind, body and soul, 24/7 job. Throw into that the rest of your life and it can get pretty hectic.

Not only am I a parent but I have also taken on the role of teacher, among other things. I homeschool our two boys which has turned out to be a true joy and a challenge at times. One of my biggest challenges lately has been getting them to focus on their work and not want to talk to each other constantly about other things, like computer games for example. So this week I have really been trying hard to be consistent with them on their punishment if they don't stay focused. One thing I have done is remind them that school time is school time. When they enter the "classroom" the rest of the world stays outside. If they start talking about, say Starcraft, then they lose Starcraft for the day. Now normally after school is all done and they have completed their daily chores they would get to have one hour of EPT(electronic playtime). So you see how this is a good incentive. This seems to be working well and I am hoping I can stick with it.

When it comes to parenting and teaching it is important to be organized and have a routine. However, the most important part is to be flexible, have a tremendous amount of patience and pray a lot.

Weight loss update: Week 53

2011-01-27T10:07:00.001-06:00

I have been loosing weight now for a year. I have lost a total of 59.2 pounds as of today. There have been times when I wonder if I will ever get to that end point. Not sure exactly what that end point will be yet. I've made small goals to reach and have reached all of them at a fairly good speed.

For the past few months things had slowed quite a bit. Partly because of holidays and partly because I have not been putting as much effort into keeping my self on track as far as eating goes. Not that I have gone back to eating all that processed garbage but have not been eating nearly as many vegetables as I used too.

It is amazing the difference eating vegetable can make when you are trying to lose weight. There is an actual pattern that I can follow. The times when I have been very conscious about eating vegetables, the weight just falls off. There are other times when I notice my vegetable eating has declined and I will either not lose anything or actually gain a little. The funny part is that when I pick back up on the greens I lose it all back plus more.

This week for example what I call an up down week. Lose a little, gain a little, lose a lot gain a little. The past couple of days I have made a really good effort of eating more veggies and today it all paid off with a lose of 1.5 pounds which put me at my lowest weight. I have to say right now that never at any time over the past year have I gained a lot of weight back. Maybe a pound or a few ounces but only to lose it all back plus more. Of course (sorry guys) some of those gains have been during that time of the month. So most likely they were more water gain than anything.

I have noticed also over the year that when I haven't had much weight loss I have still been losing inches. Since last January I have gone from a size 24W (plus size) to a size 16 ladies. I no longer shop for clothes in the Women's (plus size) section. Did you know that some stores don't even carry clothes over a size 16? Just a little added trivia.

I set a goal to be at 199 by new years. I am sad to say that I did not reach that goal. However, I am currently at my lowest weight in I think 10 years. I now way 204.8 pounds and I am hoping to reach that 199lb goal my the end of this month.

That is how things are going in a nutshell. I hope someone finds this encouraging. If you want to know what I am doing to lose weight and become a healthier me, just leave a comment and I will be happy to share that in another post.

Have a good day and God bless you all!

Practice What You Preach

2011-01-25T21:57:00.000-06:00

Something has been bugging me lately. I hear Christians all the time complain about how horrible media is and how it has just infiltrated our homes. They make it sound like they have no say in whether or not those things are in there homes or not. You see the thing is you do have a choice. You could not watch them. Or better yet just cut cable out of your life completely.

So, here's the question. If this is how Christians feel, then why don't they do something about it instead of just continually complaining. Why let your kids watch too much TV or spend too much time on the computer? Why do we as adults come home from work and sit ourselves down in front of the TV and remain there for the rest of the night with the exception of eating? Oh wait. I forgot. We eat in front of the TV too.

When was the last time you ate dinner at the table together as a family? Do you eat dinner in front of the TV more than one night a week? I can understand special Friday night movie nights. But come on. What ever happened to the good old family style meals where the family gathers around the dinner table and shares a meal together? I'll tell you what happened to it. We let the media and the world take it away from us. Did you notice how I said let.

That's right. We let the media fill our homes with all that garbage. We are letting the media take family from us. We are letting media influence us and our children. If you don't like it then do something about it. Everyone has heard the saying, "practice what you preach". In other words if you are going to get on your soap box and gripe and complain about media and how horrible it is, then you better be willing to back those words up and actually take action. Otherwise what you are saying doesn't mean a thing.

My challenge to you all is that if you feel this way about media, then do something about it. Don't just preach about it.

Is God Stupid

2011-01-24T20:29:00.001-06:00

I recently watched a youtube video by Sean Croxton titled Is God Stupid: Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Chicken Skin. Basically the premise of this video was the thought that when God created all this food for us to eat he must have been stupid because the FDA, CDC, and most doctors and nutritionalist tell us to stay away from things that are naturally occurring in some foods, ie. saturated fat. So what they are saying is that they know better than God. He also made a great point when he stated that with all the processed foods, medicines etc. people just keep getting more sick. All the foods that man has created are just making people sicker. The medicines aren't helping people live longer, they are just keeping them alive longer.

Why do we continue listening to these people when what they are telling us to do isn't making things better but making things worse. I encourage you to watch the video and make up your own mind. Is God stupid? Do we really know better than God? Or are we just being fed a bunch of bull to get us to spend more money?

New Blog

2011-01-20T20:23:00.010-06:00

Our church congregation has started a new ladies blog, Unveiled Before Christ that I am really excited about. Right now we have seven writers that write once a month on a Monday or Thursday. Yours truly is one of those writers. We hope to have some guest writers on at some point. Who knows maybe we might even occasionally have a special male guest writer. They'd have to be pretty special though.;)

We have gotten off to a really good start with three wonderful posts that have been very encouraging. I can't wait to see where this will go. It has so much potential to be such an encouragement to so many. I hope that you will all visit us there and leave comments.

That's really all I have to say right now. Keep striving to be the best Christian you can be. Remember that the spirit of the Lord is always with you to guide you if you will let him.

Metamorphosis

2010-05-29T09:59:00.002-05:00

In our family the process of becoming a butterfly has been up close and personnel for a few weeks now. It has really made me start thinking a lot of the process that they go through to become the beautiful butterfly.

It is amazing to me how they start out as a tiny egg no bigger than a mustard seed. They are laid on the plant that they will need to eat when they hatch. This plant is called a host plant and a lot of the butterfly's carry that name with them. Take for example the Pipevine Swallowtail. The plant that they lay their eggs on is called the Pipevine. When they finally hatch from their egg they are very small and immediately begin devouring their host plant. With in days they have gotten fat on their plant and go in search for somewhere to attach themselves and begin their change.

The larvae starts by attaching its bottom with some silk to the place that it has chosen to make its change. Then it proceeds to spin a silken lifeline that is also attached, around the upper portion of its body so that during its process of change it will not fall. After a brief period of rest it begins to wiggle back and forth and sheds the outer layer of skin revealing a chrysalis. Then he waits.

After a couple of weeks the chrysalis splits on the top and the butterfly emerges. He cannot fly when he first comes out. His wing are wet and limp. In his abdomen is a special fluid that pumps into the veins of his wings and hardens. He stretches his wings and begins to flap them so they will dry and stiffen up. Then he fly's away free.

This reminds me of the process that we go through to be free in Christ. When we are told of Christ a tiny little seed is laid in our hearts. Our host is Christ and his word. If we spend the time to devour our host, to study him and read his word we will grow fat in Christ and we will take on His name. As the caterpillar attaches a lifeline, so we must attach a lifeline from our hearts to our father in heaven. If we keep that lifeline intact we will not fall. When we have ourselves connected we will begin the final change.

Just as the caterpillar completely submitted himself to the will of the creator, we too must give ourselves completely up to his will. We must shed the old self and take on the new. As the chrysalis protected so also the filling of our hearts with Him will protect us. There will be no room for Satan. In time we will emerge perfect in Christ, we will be filled with His love and will take to the sky, free.

Happiness

2010-02-24T14:02:00.003-06:00

I've been thinking about happiness a lot lately. What is it to be truly happy? Is it having everything you want or learning to be content with what you have? Is it being served by others or serving others? Is it knowing that God will provide all you need or doing all you do for him?

I have to say yes to all of that. There's nothing wrong with having what you want as long as what you have you are content with. As you serve others, you too are being served. Knowing that God will provide all your needs gives you peace but doing everything you do for him gives you a fulfillment above all else.

My happiness comes from what I said above but also from my family. Spending the day with my kids and watching them grow physically, emotionally, mentally and most importantly spiritually. Listening to them sing bible songs as they to their school work. Gathering around the dinner table for a meal together and doing our Meal Time Moments. They have really gotten involved in that and take turns leading the little Bible talks every night. I really enjoy tucking them in every night and going through our nightly routine of singing the JellyTelly song, saying bedtime prayers and blessing them. HAPPINESS IS BEING A MOTHER!

My happiness also comes from my marriage. Everyday is truly a blessing being married to Matt. I'm not saying that it has always been a bed of roses. We get on each others nerves from time to time. But honestly it just seems to get better every day. I catch myself watching the clock waiting for the time that he will call and say that he is heading home. I am happy just being around him. HAPPINESS IS BEING MARRIED TO MY WONDERFUL HUSBAND!

I am happiest being a wife and a mother. But I know that all of this would be for nothing if I didn't have God. All of this is because of him. All that I have are blessings from him. I have a wonderful husband because he was gracious enough to search the perfect one out just for me. I have two beautiful, sweet, intelligent boys because he knew I needed boys. He was right of course. I am so grateful that he gave me my boys. I pray everyday that I can be the kind of wife and mother that God wants me to be. I know that God will give me the strength, patience, love and time I need to be what I need to be for him.

HAPPINESS IS SERVING GOD IN ALL I DO!

Entering a new stage of living

2010-01-21T21:52:00.002-06:00

Our family a couple weeks ago decided that we need to eat better. We thought we ate pretty good. But pretty good is just not good enough anymore. We started a couple of weeks ago following the Healing diet of Dr. Josh Axe. We've pretty much cut out anything that is not naturally made. We don't buy anything with hormones, additives or preservatives. We've given up all soda and coffee. We try to buy as much organic as we can. We've also replaced our vitamins with high quality whole foods vitamins. It is amazing the difference it has already made. We have more energy and have both lost weight. I personally have lost over 6lbs just this past week.

It's not just Matt and I though. This is a whole family affair. It is more difficult with the boys. It is hard to find them snacks that they like that are healthy. They have been doing great though and I have already noticed a difference in them. I just tonight purchased them higher quality vitamins.

I am so happy that we all finally have the same goal of wanting to be healthier. I can't wait to see how we progress.

Time for bed. God bless you all.

Life happens

2010-01-15T08:42:00.004-06:00

My house is a disaster today(except the kitchen). I have laundry piled up in a chair, the floors need to be swept and vacuumed, the bathrooms need to be cleaned again and I need to dust. Oh and did I mention that I still haven't taken down the Christmas decorations. This has been a crazy week. With Matt being out of town, homeschooling and it being Joshua's birthday many things have been pushed aside. It's amazing how messy a house can get in just a couple of days. Now it is crunch time. Matt will be home tonight and sometime today I have to go grocery shopping. Did I mention that it is raining again today. That is two days in a row. I hate going grocery shopping in the rain. Everything gets all wet, even me. Somehow, I will get it all done.

At least today is only half day of school. The boys are pretty good at sitting and doing their work on their own once I have explained it to them. I check in from time to time to make sure they are completing it correctly. Speaking of school it is time for them to get busy.

As I am sitting here typing, I keep glancing down at my now 7 year old as he plays with his new castle. He can play so quietly sometimes. He's just placing all his little army men strategically around the castle getting ready for a battle. He is such a sweetie. Sean I believe is in his room listening to stories that Grandpa Kerbe read and recorded for him. Here he comes right now. He needs to eat breakfast now. It is time for me to do some more work so I will go for now. As much as I like to blog, I always find it interesting how people complain about not having enough time to do the things that need to be done but have time to sit down and blog or spend time on Facebook for who knows how long. Now I'm stepping on some toes, including my own today. I'll save that for another blog after I get some much needed cleaning done.

Seven Years

2010-01-14T12:13:00.004-06:00

"Wake up mom, it's my birthday". That is how I was woke up this morning with a pounce. My little, curly haired, blue eyed Joshua is seven years old today. Wow! Time sure does go by fast. I remember when he was born and he was so little with red peach fuzz on his head. He was perfect! He has always been so sweet and such a snuggler. He still loves to snuggle. He'll come into bed in the mornings if he wakes up before me and snuggle up with me. He'll still climb up in the chair with me even though he almost doesn't fit anymore. I will never forget those special times. I fear that they will soon come to an end. I am so thankful to God for my Joshua. He's quit a boy. I love that he has such a tender heart. That he is so rowdy and rambunctious. He is very bright and loves to learn knew things. He loves reading to you and to himself. I love it when he says that he loves me more that anything in the world but that he loves God the most. He has a wonderful spirit and a strong will. I pray that I can be the best mother I can to him. I pray that God will help me to guide his spirit and will to become a wonderful Christian man. He has so much potential to be a strong Christian leader in the world. God bless Joshua in this next year. May he grow in strength and knowledge in the Lord.

Focus

2009-09-27T12:53:00.003-05:00

My son Sean came home from church today with a really neat story and visual aid. He got a piece of paper and started telling his story as he folded the paper into the things he mentioned. It started something like this. "There once was a very wealthy man who was unhappy so he decided to buy himself a big boat and go sailing all around the world." Sean proceeded to fold the paper into the shape of a boat (you get the idea). "But the boat did not make the man happy" he said. "So he bought himself a big house, but that didn't make him happy either. So he decided to buy a jet plane. The plane did not make him happy, so he bought himself a rocket." Sean tore parts of the plane off and made a rocket. "The man was still not happy. What will make me happy the man said." Then Sean proceeded to unfold the rocket and it was a cross. He said, "the man realized that only Jesus could make him truly happy".

What a wonderful lesson. Something that we seem to forget so easily these days. With all the stuff available to use it seems like we are always wanting something. Whether it is the big screen TV with surround sound or the nice car. It could be something as small as a Lego Bionicle or as big as a house. What's you weakness? For some it could be electronics, others jewelry. These things don't make us happy. Sure they can make life nicer and I am not saying that it is wrong to have these things. But when we start putting our stuff before what is more important, that is when it becomes a problem. Jesus and only Jesus is what can make us truly happy. The things of this world will pass away. Jesus is there forever. Without him we are lost. At the end of the story there will be no remake, no going back, no second chances. There is no reincarnation. That's it. We live our life right today following Jesus or we spend eternity in a very unhappy place.

It isn't going to be easy and we will all struggle. The key is to keep our eyes fixed on the eternal one, Jesus Christ. It's like in the gospels when we read about Jesus walking on the water during the storm and Peter having faith to step out on the waves. As long as he kept his eyes focused on Jesus he did not falter, he did not sink. But as soon as he took his eyes off Jesus and started looking around at the waves and the world around him he started sinking. That is what happens to us. When we focus on the world and don't keep our eyes on Jesus we start to sink. Let us keep our eyes focused on what will make us truly happy and one day we will live with him in eternal glory.

The Nail in the Coffin

2009-09-04T16:53:00.004-05:00

What do you call it when a homeschool mom talks to herself? A parent/teacher conference.=) I thought you would like that. Has life changed around here. I've always been the kind of parent to find an educational opportunity in whatever my kids were doing at the time so I guess homeschooloing was the next step.

For those of you who don't know, I homeschooled our oldest Sean for half of his 1st grade year and all of his second grade year when we lived in Washington. We decided to do it then because he was bored. He was a very difficult child to homeschool though. To say that I was stressed would be an understatement. Matt would come home and I would be in tears on some days. So then when we moved to Texas we decided to put Sean back in public school. The elementary was in our neighborhood and was the best in the county. Sean got a great teacher for his first year back. Third grade was great. On the state mandated tests Sean scored 100's Then fourth rolled around and my little Joshua went into Kindergarten and got Mrs. Corn who was the best kindergarten teacher. She really tried to understand Joshua and really helped him excel. Joshua loved school and being with all his friends. Sean did well in fourth grade too. Scoring high in all his classes and scoring 100's or high 90's on all the state mandated tests. Do you know how much time they waste in public schools preparing for those state mandated tests? Did you know that they only teach our kids what is necessary for taking those tests. It's absurd and a waste of time.

Sean never did give up on being homeschooled. Usually on a weekly basis he would say something about it. I started thinking more and more about it. Talking to Matt more and more. He wasn't to thrilled with the idea at first because of what had happened last time. And I didn't blame him. I was worried about it too. I didn't want to pull the kids out again and it not work out. So I did what any christian mom would do. I started praying about it. The more I prayed the more I knew that this is what was best for the boys and our family. Matt was still afraid that it would turn out like last time. I didn't press him to much about it. I just sat back and let the public school do it's work.

You see when we started talking about homeschooling again. I mean really talking about it Sean was starting to do all the "testing". I don't know how many times he would come home with no homework. We would ask him what they did at school and the answer would be "we watched a movie" or "we played games". You see when they would finish the testing for the week, instead of continuing with learning they would just watch a movie or play games or have a party the rest of the week. That really started to frustrate Matt and I. We couldn't believe how much educational time was being spent on useless activities. It wasn't just with Sean. Even in Joshua's class they would watch cartoons like Peep for learning. I remember Matt making a comment like "he can watch stuff like that at home". Needless to say Matt came around to the idea.

We decided to let the boys finish out the school year. I started looking for curriculum and getting ready to teach my kids. I was excited and worried at the same time. I wasn't really concerned with being able to teach them. I am an educated women and very capable of teaching them. It was more about it being to much. Would I be able to be a wife, mother, teacher and worker in the church all at the same time. Where on earth would I find the time. Let's just say I had to come up with a plan and get organized. I'm still getting organized. But it is funny. The house stays cleaner now than it did before. I am still involved at church. I'm starting my 5th semester of Sign Language this next week and I even find time for Matt.;)

I've heard it said that we are slaves to time. I don't agree. The key is to make time work for us. You have to tell time what you are going to do with it. We spend so much time wasting our time that we seem to think we don't have enough time. So I just decided to stop wasting so much time. That is one of the reasons I don't blog very often. But it is a good thing to do, from time to time. Especially if you enjoy it. So, those tests were what finally shall we say broke the camels back and were the final nail in the proverbial coffin (public school). Testing was the kicker. At least that is what I think. So what do we do all day now? What makes homeschooling better? In my opinion. I think that is for another time. See you again soon.

Homeschooling

2009-08-17T10:20:00.003-05:00

I have not been on here in forever. I am going to try to make a post on a weekly basis now. Hopefully I will find the time to do this. There just seem to be so many other things that are of greater importance to do than sit down in front of the computer and spend half an hour or longer writing. But I will try. I will start today but not right now. I have to go and get ready to start language arts and math at 10:30. Later.

To Homeschool or Not To Homeschool

2009-02-15T22:28:00.002-06:00

For the past couple of month homeschooling has been on my mind again. I know I've been there done that before. I just can't seem to knock the feeling that it is what I should be doing. Have you ever had that nagging feeling deep down in your gut that you should do something? Well that is what I have been feeling lately. I never could get over the bad feeling of putting the boys in public schools again. Lately that feeling just seems to be getting stronger. The boys are both making great grades in school. Actually they are both at the top of of the kids in there class. So that is not the issue. There are several reasons I am considering homeschooling again. First, I just plain miss them. I admit I have enjoyed having some time to myself but most of the time I just miss having them around. I can't wait for them to get home. I know some of you probably think that is crazy. Second, I miss being involved in there learning. Helping Sean with his homework just doesn't cut it. I want to teach them. Which leads me to reason three. I don't think either of the boys are learning to the best of their abilities. I can't help but think of all they could have learned this past year and a half. I was talking to Joshua's teacher this last week. He is the top reader in his class. He is such a bright child. They are both highly intelligent. With homeschooling I can tailor their schooling to fit their individual learning styles. Public school just aims for that middle ground. Slower kids are not the only ones that get the short end of the stick. The really bright ones do too. Fourth, with homeschooling the schedule is more flexible. We don't have to schedule our vacations around school. I remember that was always nice. Schooling is just more fun. The kids enjoy it more. Which brings me to the fifth reason. Sean still wants to be home schooled. He has not given up on the idea. He brings it up on a regular basis.
Finally, I don't like the influence that public school has on my children. Sean recently came home and asked me what it means to show your middle finger to someone and if it is bad. I know he is going to get that other places but at least I can influence him more when he is with me more.
I recently finished a book called Boys should be boys. I must say that this book is probably one of the major reasons I am seriously considering homeschooling again. It talks in this book about how the most important thing parents can do for their boys is be with them as much as they possibly can. I want to be the major influence in my boys lives. Not a public school teacher who doesn't know my child the way I do or have the same goals and aspiration for them that I do. Not their friends that they have made at school. I want my kids to grow up to become men of integrity, courage, humility, meekness, and kindness. I want my boys to grow up and become men of God. The more time I have with them the better chance they will have to become those kind of men. They are not going to learn that from the public school system. I know that kids grow up and become wonderful christian people that have gone to public schools. All the kids in my family went to public schools. We didn't turn out to bad. But I also know some of the things that I had to be a part of that I just don't want for my boys. And it is worse now than it use to be. Things are changing in the public school system and I don't want to be a part of it. One of these days in the not to distant future more things will be taught that will go against the very fiber of what is to be Christian. There are already enough things for me. I am going to give myself the rest of this year to think on it and pray about it. But I believe that my mind and heart are already together on the matter.

Credit Card First Not the Car

2009-02-15T21:27:00.005-06:00

Those of you that know Matt and I well know that we have been following Dave Ramsey's get out of debt principles. We are finally nearing the end of our battle with debt and will be debt free by the end of the summer. We have two more big debts to pay off. One of them is our fleece on our Toyota Sienna minivan and the other is a chase credit card. They both are within a couple thousand dollars of each other. But the plan states that you pay off least to greatest. So the minivan was next on the list. Notice I said "was". That's right, "was". This next week we were going to pay off our remaining balance of approximately $15,000. I know that is a lot. But recent dirty activities of JPMorgan Chase Bank have changed our plans.

In January Chase decided to start charging a $20 monthly fee to credit card holders that have a fixed low rate of 2.99%-5.99% for the life of the balance on their card. They are also doubling the minimum payment on those cards from 2.5% to 5% of the balance. So far this has not happened to us. But we have decided to go ahead and pay off Chase first just out of principle. We think what Chase is doing is wrong. So, all the money that we have been saving up to pay off our van is now going to Chase. As of next Saturday our last credit card will bite the dust. This will in no way change our busting debt deadline. We will still be out of debt by the end of the summer.

We have also decided to change banks too. Yes, we bank with them too.

Wow, What a Book!

2009-02-15T17:44:00.003-06:00

I just finished a book that I would recommend to anyone that has boys. The book is titled Boys Should Be Boys by Meg Meeker, M.D. But I warn you. This book will get in your face. It speaks to both mothers and fathers on the things we should or shouldn't be doing to get our boys to become the men that we all know they can be. Men of integrity, courage, humility, meekness, and kindness. Men of God.

This book speaks strongly on the impact that media, friends, family and God has on them. How we as parents and God are the most important thing in a boys life. As mother and father we each have a different role to play but each are just as important. This book will make you want to take everything media out of their lives. It will scare you and give you hope at the same time. It will make you laugh, cry and worry. It will make you want to be a better parent. I strongly urge you to ready it.

My new toy

2009-02-11T23:44:00.004-06:00

OK so my last post wasn't long ago. I didn't want to leave my blog with such a sour note. I wanted to tell you about my new toy. Not everything this week has been all bad. Last Thursday Matt took the day off work to spend with me. It was very nice. We went to lunch together and he took me shopping for my valentines gift. Didn't buy anything though, just looking. That night we went online and looked around some more and read some reviews. Finally he ordered it for me. I know you guys are probably thinking I should just tell you already. I will. I'm getting there. So Matt leaves Friday morning early to go to Yuma, AZ and I am left to wait patiently for my gift to arrive. I get a notice via email saying that my shipment has been shipped and that it should arrive Friday sometime before 3. So I stay home waiting. Afraid to go anywhere because I might miss the delivery that I have to sign for. I don't go to curves and I even skip going grocery shopping. Its a good thing to because it would have come when I was at the grocery store. I have been playing with it ever since. Matter of fact I am using it right now to write this blog. Ok I will tell you. My darling husband bought me the new BlackBerry Storm and I love it. So there you have it. Something good did happen this week. Thank you Matt for my new toy.

The worst week

2009-02-11T21:52:00.003-06:00

I think this has been by far the worst week I have had in a long time. Matt being gone is one thing, but then both of my boys getting sick was the icing on the cake. Why do they say that? The icing on the cake is great. At least the icing on my cakes. Maybe I'm using it wrong. Anyhow, this week has really stunk. It all started Saturday with Matt leaving for a week of work in Yuma, AZ. So, I am missing him terribly right. Then Sean gets sick and starts running a fever of 102.3-103.4. So all day Saturday Sean just laid around not wanting to do anything. Not even play Wii. Poor guy.=( Then to top that off Sunday night his fever was replaced with vomiting. Which he continued to do through Tuesday. So Sean starts feeling better and I am very happy about that. Tuesday afternoon I go to pick up Joshua from school. I am talking to his teacher. I had asked her to keep an eye on him since Sean had been sick. He was fine all day she said. We get home and Sean and Joshua played and ran around outside the rest of the afternoon. Both of them seemed to be fine. That night (Tues.) Joshua woke me up coughing like you would not believe. He was having a hard time even getting enough breath. It really scared me. It scared him to because he said "I'm going to die". Really he said that. It was so sad. I think he really thought he was going to die. We got some water and that helped some. His throat was really hurting him. I put the humidifier in his room and he settled back down. I think our dog Lily was worried about him too because she did something that night that she had never done. She slept with him in his room. He woke up several times that night coughing. I finally ended up moving him into bed with me. That was a very long and exhausting night. The next morning (Wed.) I called and made a doctors appointment. It turns out he has a really bad case of the flu and the croup. No school for him the rest of the week and no going anywhere. We made a quick run to the grocery store after the appointment and then back home. I had already missed my Sign language class on Monday night. Now I have to cancel my ladies bible class for this week. Which I am teaching and I had to cancel FPU(financial peace university) for Thursday night. Matt will be back on Saturday and by then I will probably be sick so the next week will probably stink too. But I will still have to function and take care of the boys and the house and Matt and Lily and the Cats. That's what mom's do right. I know this blog probably sound like a big complaint and maybe it is. I think I just needed to vent cause right now I'm just feeling, well...I can't put into words how I am feeling. There are just to many. I hate it when my little ones are sick. I hate it even more when they are both sick back to back and Matt is not here to share in it with me.=( I guess that is all for now.

The Stillness After the Storm

2009-01-06T11:25:00.003-06:00

Well, the holidays are over. Today is the was kids first day back to school after 2 1/2 weeks of winter break. The house is quiet again. I hear some parents are joyful at the return of their kids to school. I work at the school a couple times a week and before break I would hear parents complaining about their kids being home so long. I just don't get it. I loved my two boys being home. I love spending as much time with them as I can. I know that they will not be around forever and I don't want to miss any of it. We had so much fun over the break. Sure we had some arguing at time but we would always make up. We played games, made cookies, wrestled, went for walks and read many stories. I miss them when they are not home. I miss the times that I could be spending with them. I am happiest when they are here. I meant for this to be an update on what we did over Christmas but it turned into something else. To those of you that are reading that have children. Take advantage of every minute that you have with them. Forget the rest of the world. It's not going anywhere but your children are. Spend time with your kids. One day we will wake up and they will be all grown up and we will wonder where all the time went. God bless you all and have a Happy New Year!!!

Where is your heart?

2008-11-10T08:39:00.003-06:00

I have been sitting here at the computer getting our next Financial Peace University class registered online. Then I was putting an announcement in the bulletin for it and it got me thinking. We've been having a hard time getting people from our congregation to want to come to the classes and I have been wondering why. Have you noticed how people don't like to talk about money? Even more so in the church. It's like it's this big no no to talk about it. Seriously though. How often do we here preachers talk about money? When they do talk about it, it is always about giving. Don't get me wrong, I'm all about giving to the church. It just seems to me that we need to start teaching more about money in general. How to be better stewards of it so we can give more. God has blessed all of us so richly and I believe that it is our responsibility to manage what God has given us. Did you know that money is one of the most talked about subjects in the Bible. Why do you think that is? Over 800 scriptures in the Bible talk about money. God must think it is really important if it is in there so often. Scriptures about giving, getting out of debt, investing, saving, spending. The list goes on. Why is it that the only scripture that we can think of is "Money is the root of all evil." Oh wait, is that not how it goes. Because I think that is what we have been taught. That money is EVIL. So we Christians are suppose to just stay poor and let all the bad people of the world have all the money. I see something really wrong with that picture. No where in scripture does it say that money is evil. No where does it say that we can't have a lot of it. I believe what the scripture says in I Tim. 6:10 "For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Did you here that? The LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil. Not money. It's your heart! Money itself is not good or bad. It is the persons heart that determines what the money will do. You can choose to use it for evil or you can choose to use it for good. So we need to start learning more about how to manage what God has given us and give more in return. In our FPU classes we talk about how managing money is 20% head knowledge and 80% behavior. It is one thing knowing what to do with money. It's a whole different ball game actually doing it. If your heart is not in the right place, then your money wont be either.

The Nothingness

2008-11-07T08:33:00.002-06:00

I have not been here in a very long time. I keep forgetting that I have a blog. I am going to try to do this more often. Those of you who know me well know that I always have something to say. At least most of the time. Lately though I haven't really had much to say. I have been taking care of my family that just seems to keep getting sick. Of course when I get sick, who takes care of me? Over the past two weeks Matt has been sick with something. Joshua and Sean both came home from school with really high fevers and very lethargic. Joshua's actually got up to 103.4. They got better and then last week I got sick. This week Matt went away on business. He is coming home today. Yeah!!! Sean stayed home again today with a sick stomach and I am still a little sick. Mine is really bad allergy stuff. I think. I am feeling better now that Matt is coming home. I hate it when he is gone. Sean just told me that he is afraid to eat something cause he might puke. How's that for a lovely picture. Just what I need. To have to clean up puke. He usually makes it to the toilet though. So that is good. I think today I am going to spend the day going around the house and disinfecting everything I can find. Time to germ purge. Gotta go. I will write again later with something a little more interesting.

Childless at home

2008-09-01T16:34:00.002-05:00

It finally happened. The day that I had been dreading for the past six months came and went. Joshua went to kindergarten. It was different with Sean. I had time to adjust to the idea because he did half day preschool and pre-k. Plus his kindergarten was only half day as well. It was still hard though. But with Joshua it was straight to full day kindergarten. Not to mention he's my baby. It didn't make anything easier when my grandpa passed away the Friday before. So then I had to decide whether to go to his funeral and miss my kids fist week of school or the other way around. I decided to go to the funeral. I did get to be here for the first day of school. They were both so excited about school. Joshua pretty much ran all the way. Then just as we got to the school he fell down and skinned his hand and his knee. His first day of school he went to the nurses office. Matt stayed home on monday with me. That was nice. Then I flew out for the funeral on Tuesday and came back on Thursday. Friday was my first quiet day at home without any children. I got all my work done that morning and slept the afternoon away. I had been getting over being sick and just completely exhausted physically and emotionally. Well that was the first week of school in a nutshell.

Knock on wood

2008-04-02T11:02:00.002-05:00

Just last Wednesday in Ladies bible class we were talking about how it feels when we have to take a child to the ER. Of course, I had to say that I have not yet had to take one of my children to the ER. Well, last night all that changed. As I was coming home from my visit to curves, Joshua was coming out of his room with his pillow case over his head to play an April fools prank on daddy. As he rounded the corner he tripped over Lily who was laying across the hallway. Anyhow, as I arrived home around 8:05pm I stopped outside to look at the new flowers that our landlord is graciously getting put in our very boring flower beds. As I was looking and admiring the beauty of the flowers, Matt sticks his head out of the front door and says in a very serious tone, "I need you inside right now". I look through the window and all I see is our precious little curly headed boy laying flat on the living room floor with blood all over his chest,arms and legs. Let's just say that a panic went through me that I had not felt since the time Sean chocked on that pretzel on a plane. Needless to say I quickly calmed myself and went inside to see what the damage was. Matt filled me in on what happened and that he had cut his chin. Matt had put a cloth on his chin to stop the bleeding. As I took it away to look, at first it didn't look so bad. Then I got a closer look and could see the flesh underneath. It was actually coming out from under the skin. It was really gross to say the least. I said in a very matter of fact voice, "yep, that's going to need stitches". The bleeding had stopped so we cleaned him up, got him dressed, gave him some Tylenol and I took him to the closest ER in San Marcos. You would think ER's would be quick, but no. We sat there for about an hour. Luckily they had Veggie Tales playing. Finally, we went in to see the triage nurse and then filled out paper work. Then it was back to waiting and watching more Veggie Tales. It didn't take to much longer and we were back to see the doctor. They were really great and had Joshua giggling in no time. The doctor took a look at it, pocked it, squeezed it and the whole time Joshua just giggled. The doctor said that he could use glue, but since he was such an active little fellow it would be better to sew him up. First he had to numb it. This is where it got ugly. He took this long very skinny needle and stuck it in the open wound and started to squeeze the medicine into it. That's when Joshua started crying and he moved a little and the end of the needle poked through his skin. He just kept moving that needle around in that wound putting medicine in until Joshua couldn't feel anything anymore. I could not help but remember the time I had to have stitches in my hand. Not a fun time. Well, Joshua stopped crying and I pocked his chin a few times and asked him if he could feel that and he said it was asleep and started giggling again. The doctor proceeded to clean it and covered Joshua up with a sterile cloth and started stitching. Of course Joshua giggled the whole time. It took five stitches to close up that wound. We finally got home last night a little before 12:00am. What a night. I hope not to have to do that ever again, but knowing Joshua I'm sure it won't be the last. He is doing fine this morning. Acts like nothing ever happened. I hope you all enjoyed my detailed report of our first trip to the ER.

My little giant turned five today.

2008-01-14T08:19:00.000-06:00

It's official. Joshua is now 5 years old. It's amazing how fast they grow. Some faster than others it seems. Joshua is such an amazing kid. He is so loving, kind and lots of fun. Right now I am just trying to enjoy what time I have left before he goes off to school. I can not believe he is going to be in Kindergarten next year. How time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I was looking at this cute little guy for the first time. He was so cute with his perfectly round head and strawberry peach fuzz. Sean was so proud to have a little brother. I remember watching him feed Joshua his first bottle. That was the sweetest things I've ever seen. Children are such a blessing. They teach us so much about who we are and what God wants us to be. It's easy to think of our kids as ours, but they are not. They are a beautiful gift from God for the short time that we have them. We are to love them and train them to serve Him. They are his and one day we will have no control or say in what they do. We must make the best of the short time that we have been given. Teach them what they need to know and help them to find their own faith. Then let them go and pray that they will make the right choices. They will not always. But hopefully they will learn from their mistakes and become better people because of them.
But for now, I am going to cherish every moment that I have with them as if it was my last.

It's a family affair

2007-12-16T22:52:00.000-06:00

This Christmas, Matt and the boys and I will be going to Barry and Kara's for Christmas in Hobbs, NM. It should be quite an experience. There will be 15 people there in one house. Everyone will be there. All of Barry's family will be there and all of the Lee's. I don't know if any of you have noticed this yet, but we are going to be having a lovely Christmas. Get it. Barry's last name is Love and our last name is Lee. LOVELEE!! I thought that was funny. I really do think that we are going to have a lovely Christmas. There's nothing like getting together with family. The last time that all of the Lee's were all together was for Adam and Krista's wedding. Which reminds me, Adam will not be able to make it. He will be missed. The boys really like their Uncle Adam. It will be really nice to catch up and just spend time together as a family. We are all spread out so much now, its times like these that we need to cherish with all our hearts. Life is fleeting and we never know when this day will be our last. Life is to short to be living in the past. So, let's take each day and cherish it like it was our last.

Here I go

2007-12-05T11:13:00.000-06:00

This is the first time that I have done an actual blog. I don't really have anything to say at this moment because I have a four year old telling me that he is starving. So I will have to get back to you later.