Sneaky

Our new house has a lot more space than we are used to. So rather than have a formal living room the kids have a play room. This is the ONLY room they are allowed to have their toys. As you can see it is a big room with plenty to do. But alas.. as I was making beds this morning someone snuck toys to their room last night. Check out the booty I found under J's pillow..

Such a girl! I love it!

Good Stuff

"And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.

And the LORD will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail."

Isaiah 58:10-11

Bored - Time to Work Out

Meet my new sweetie! I love her. I'm gonna name her Hot Bunz ;). When those cold winter days get lonely while hubs is away, and since I live a quadrillion miles from civilization - I have a way to burn up some energy.

Truth be told I never thought I would be the type of person who looked forward to working out. As I've mentioned before in 2004 I had gastric bypass surgery. I weighed in at 253 lbs the day of surgery. I was lethargic and depressed and had tried many other unsuccessful ways to lose weight. For me this was the solution - and it radically changed my life. I decision I never regret.

Initially I lost 100lbs. Then I had two more kids and popped back up to 165-170 where I stayed for nearly three years. Last year after looking at some pictures of myself on Valentine's day I determined that I needed to lose some weight and MORE importantly take care of my body and not abuse this second chance for a healthy life. So I started dieting and got down to 161, but felt disappointed. Being obese, losing over 100lbs and having 3 kids had taken a toll on my skin. No matter what I wasn't going to be able to do anything about my extra skin on my belly (and it was a lot!)

So... last April I had a tummy tuck (and I had a couple other parts put back where they go). I was so excited to feel NORMAL. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone else. But I had lost weight to feel normal and be healthy and while I was healthier I still didn't feel normal. My result, a flat tummy - BUT THE SAME PANT SIZE!!! I was so frustrated. I thought having my belly tightened would have made it so I lost weight and had smaller pants but nope!

So after waiting 6 months for the majority of my swelling to go down and only going down one pants size I decided I needed to step up and change somethings. This also coincided with Jeff's going to OTS. I became a woman possessed. Partly because I needed to burn off steam and have some me time (since I had the kids around the clock with no hubby), and also because I had a deadline and I wanted to lose 20lbs in 3 months. I wanted to knock Jeff's socks off when he saw me again after 3 months.

So I changed my eating. Lots of protein, water, not too many carbs, lots of veggies and room for mistakes :). I started exercising everyday. Starting with huffing and puffing a 1/4 mile up to 2 miles a day EVERY DAY! Me 2 miles a day - wow! I felt great and by the time I went to see Jeff I was down to 146 (-15lbs) and went from a size 14 to a size 8. Who knew 15lbs would make that big of a difference? I think it was just a totally reshaping and I built muscle too.

I loved working out for two reasons. One - it made me feel great physically and two - it restored me spiritually. On my runs I would listen to Christian pod casts by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I have to say it was the best I felt EVER!! Since moving here I haven't worked out in 6 weeks and I miss it.

So back to the beginning. My new buddy Hot Bunz. I am so excited to have her and so surprised by that at the same time. I hope she helps me continue on my new healthy lifestyle and that she helps me stay physically and spiritually well. :)

Too Big Too Fast

Baby L
Big Bro and Baby J

Big Bro, Big Sis, and Baby M

Sigh

So Many Changes

Well I suppose it is time for an update After nearly 4 months of staying with family we arrived in Colorado on J's 4th Birthday. We signed for our house and went out to dinner - it was a wonder we could get the kids back into the car after 2 days of driving.

Over the next two weeks we went furniture shopping and waited for the movers to arrive with the rest of our stuff. Fortunately, with the furniture we needed to buy and the stuff we took with us to my mom's, we had enough to make our empty house livable :).

Before our things came the kids had a blast running through the empty house playing. L started school, which has been a huge COMPLETELY UNEXPECTED transition for everyone. Jeff has been given busy work until he leaves (in 2 weeks), so unfortunately he does have to be at work everyday. J and M get along surprising well while brother is at school. It is odd only having 2 children in the house - it is a completely different dynamic that I have to adjust to. Definitely a much slower pace. Before our days were spent homeschooling and now we have hours to play. It is weird, but fun!

Currently 2 of the 3 of them are sick. Little M constantly asks to 'Go Home Now'. The house is only 1/2 unpacked and we are trying to familiarize ourselves with the area. Hopefully I don't get cabin fever being so isolated from the city and not knowing anyone yet. There is plenty to do to keep busy for now with unpacking and organizing.

We haven't had the opportunity to look for a church yet, I am praying the Lord will guide us to a home where we can serve. Sure do miss Lighthouse and Calvary Hills. It is amazing how much my spirit needs fellowship and church to feel refreshed. The Lord meets me in quite times, but it is obvious that my soul needs the accountability/interaction of other believers, without it I easily become spiritually lazy.

Please continue to pray for my brother DEAN who is Iraq for the next 11 1/2 months and for his wife HEATHER who is due ANY DAY! YAY!

TROUBLE with a capital T

Homeschooling Hiatus

As much as I LOVE homeschooling we enrolled L in kindergarten this week.

Long story short, after much prayer and discussion Jeff and I decided it would benefit L more to be in school at this point than at home. The reason - we live in the middle of nowhere with very few neighbors. It is a 25 minute drive into town and nothing in between. We live on a tiny base that has maybe (MAYBE) 75 occupied homes. With these two factors we didn't see a way for him to be involved in many extra curricular activities in order for him to make friends and have play time. So we went down to the local school and enrolled him. Currently there are only 2 streets that have occupied homes here and it was -18 this morning, which makes things difficult for going out to play and make friends in our neighborhood.

My heart is sad, but happy for him at the same time. He was so thrilled to go to school. He just completed his first week. He is gone all day from 7:15 to 4:30 M-Th and has Fridays off. It is a huge adjustment for all of us, but I know the Lord is good and has a perfect plan. I miss my boy with an aching heart during the day, but it makes my time at home with him that much more treasured.