Another busy...but fun...day

Well, today was the last day of VBS, and so I'm done with my week of baby holding...except for Conner of course. It was a lot of fun to see people I know from other churches and from Stepping Stones. I wanted to go back tonight, but we had to get our adjustment at our chiropractor's, and I needed to be popped back into place for sure after all of that baby holding.

I did a lot of work around the house that I haven't had time for this past week today, and I finished up my laundry. I was planning to walk to Starbucks to meet my friend Cynthia, but it was too hot to walk, so housework has to count as my exercise today. I plan on walking in the morning and doing another session with my Firm DVDs.
I'm weighing tomorrow too, so I'll let you know how I do. Thanks for all of the encouragement. I really appreciate the emails and accountability!

It's probably a vulture.....

I'm not in a great mood tonight. I get anxious when Don starts believing business opportunity letters we get in the mail. Since he doesn't go online, he doesn't see the dozens of those kinds of emails I delete every day. Don, most of the time, believes that if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and promises lots of ducks, it's a duck. I believe if it looks like a duck.....it's probably a vulture. We're a good mix, but getting to common ground about these things takes work. The good quality that makes Don believe letters like that is that he also believes things like someday I'll be a successful writer and he can retire and be my manager.
:)

VBS is winding down. Conner came with me today, and he was hilarious! He hasn't been around babies very much, and he thought he needed to taste a few of them. He hasn't been around toddlers pushing things with wheels on them, and Conner loves to spin wheels. I ran a lot of interference. He also had never seen me holding a lot of babies, while Conner is on the floor, NOT being held. He did not like that at all. But he got over it. It was lots of fun, and we both came home and had a nap!
I am a grandmother, after all.

We're all getting excited about the wedding now....especially Don and Elise. I can't wait to have Elise in our family. It's been so fun watching Don and Elise kind of grow up together. They started dating their junior year of high school and both of them were each other's first serious boy/girl friend. They have both matured and brought out the best in each other in every way. I'm excited about them starting their life together in Sept. and about having Elise in our family!

In my devotional time this morning, I was focusing on letting God heal the things in me that need healing. I find myself trying to do things "for God"....instead of just letting Him work on me. I know I have the responsibility to obey God, study, pray etc., but the real changes come from the Holy Spirit renewing my mind daily and filling me with the fruits of the Spirit...so that I can never boast.

Busy Day

This morning I walked and ended up getting two phone calls while I was rushing to get ready for VBS on time. Tomorrow I'm going out earlier.

Lately I've been thinking about what it is that I treasure, since Jesus said where our treasure is there our heart will be also. I've decided to make sure that I live my days to show what it is I truly treasure in this life. If I treasure my life here on this earth, I won't be building up treasures in Heaven. So, although it's important to keep track of what I'm eating and exercise every day, it isn't okay to turn my weight loss efforts into the center of my "free time". I need to focus on letting the Holy Spirit transform my thinking about weight/food issues. I have noticed that when I'm doing well with my program, I usually don't think about food/dieting/weight as much, but when I'm not doing what I know I should be doing, I think about it all of the time. That tells me that there is a spiritual aspect to my weight loss efforts--actually everything we do is spiritual.

Well, I'm cutting this short, because I am REALLY tired. Holding multiple babies all morning at VBS wore out this Grandma. Tomorrow I get to take Little Man with me.

If It Walks Like a Duck Part 2

Same ducks, same birds, same bunnies,same squirrels, same dead bat on the sidewalk (ugh!), same sweet Hispanic woman going to her bustop, same old Indian man taking his morning walk and rotating his shoulders, same middle aged lady walking her two really old dogs....same four miles, but faster today! Yay! More later...have to go to VBS. Sorry for all of the sentence fragments.

If it walks like a duck....

This morning I got up at 6, since it's the Lord's day, and went out to walk my four miles. I saw 2 bunnies, several doves, some robins a number of sparrows, two squirrels and two fat white ducks. The ducks were the same ones who started following me in V formation one day when Don and I walked by. I guess I must not be waddling as much as I was right after my knee replacement...and I must smell better (that day I had sat on under a tree that had been mulched and fertilized), because they paid no attention to me! I also met a lot of happy moring people who jogged by me or met me walking. One man walked by me with an attitude, so I said, "Good morning!" to him...at the same time he said, "Good morning!" So he must not have heard me, because he said again loudly, "GOOD MORNING!" I said, "GOOD MORNING!" back. Boy! Anyway, I did the four miles and have eaten 230 calories so far...I'll be back later.

Checking in....

I started off my day by walking four miles. It was deceptively cool, because there was a breeze this morning. I got about 2 miles from home and started back, and realized I was really starting to get dehydrated, but I was on a schedule, so I just walked home instead of doing the sensible thing and stopping for water. When I got home all of my boys were meeting to play basketball, and Chris was coming to drop off Little Man. They got me water and saved my life. Well, that wore me out, and then Conner and I hung out for a while while the boys played basketball. Don got home while the boys were taking showers and we hung out with Conner, and then I took my shower and we took a nap. That has been my whole day so far. I made myself a yogurt and frozen peaches smoothie and had a cup of cottage cheese and a piece of chicken all day. Now we are getting ready to eat out somewhere and see a movie. I'm writing this part of my blog now to hold myself accountable for what I do while we are out. My plan is a salad at Applebees and no popcorn. Let's see if I do that.

I ate a salad at Applebees, we skipped the movie, Don ate homemade popcorn, but I had water! :)

Recommitted

One of the things I would like to ask God when I go to Heaven, if it even matters to me once I see Him face to face, is if, when I pray for answers and one occurs to me, if that is God telling my heart the answer. I happen to believe that is true, but I'm so afraid of writing my own answers in my heart, that I question everything. When I question Him and the same answer pops in my heart, then I take that to be God answering my prayer.

That happened to me yesterday when I was praying. I haven't been working on myself lately. Nathan moved back home for a month, because the union hasn't had any jobs lately, due to the bad economy, so I've been helping him do the job search thing, encouraging him and spending more time with him and Don (Jr.) lately. Of course, I don't pay as much attention to my own needs, and I use that as an excuse not to sleep as much and not to eat right and not exercise. And, of course, my blood sugar has gone up. As an alarming side bar, Don's coworker's wife, who is about my age, died in her sleep night before last. So Don is more concerned than he should be about me, because I've been irresponsible about my own health. So I'm not taking good care of my husband either. I was praying and asking for forgiveness as well as strenghth and focus yesterday, when the answer in my heart was: You take care of everyone else except yourself. You're the one you should be worried about! Well, as true as that was, I questioned whether it was God's "voice" in my heart or my own, or perhaps my mom's. Then this morning when I asked God to help me, that admonition came into my heart again. So I got up at 6 this morning and went out for my three mile walk. I made myself an egg white omlet with veggies for breakfast and recommitted myself to Spark people, which really helps me. Again, I am posting my calories and exercise minutes here, so if you'd like to encourage me, I appreciate it. Also, I am posting the picture above for my second "before" picture. On the 25th of every month I am going to post a picture with me and Little Man for you to compare. Hopefully, he will get bigger and I will get smaller. Pray for me friends. My life here on earth depends on my sanity, strength and discipline in this area. The self control will come from the Holy Spirit, I am certain. Thank you in advance for your prayers, admonition, and encouragement!

10 months of JOY--Thank You, God, for Conner!

Whatcha doin' Uncle Steve?

What's up, Uncle Don?

Smile, Grandad!

I love my Grandad!

I love my Ernie, too!

Where is Uncle Nathan, Grandma?
Today our precious Little Man Conner is 10 months old--well, technically it was yesterday, but I'm STILL up! He is a little sweetheart with A MIND OF HIS OWN! Today he took the spoon from me as I was feeding him breakfast. I let him feed himself that bite, but I wouldn't relinquish the bowl. Conner hollered at me for a minute until he realized I wasn't impressed, and then he smiled at me with his little baby cereal face. I took off his shirt, reloaded his spoon and let him feed himself another bite....when I took back the spoon to load it again....he hollered at me...Grandma was STILL unimpressed....we played that game until he was done with breakfast. Another cute thing he did. Cameron was waving bye bye and saying, "I love you!!!" to Little Man, and I was waving and saying, "Bye!Bye! Mommy!" Then Conner looked at his hand and waved bye bye to himself....with a really intent look on his face! Baby Genius, our Little Man! Happy Birthday to everyone's special boy!

That which I do not want to do I find myself doing...

Okay...now about my promise to get back on track....I did REALLY well at Camp WAMAVA. Not only was I up and down the hills every day, I worked out in the pool AND I did not eat even one thing from the cantine all week long. I brought Kashi granola bars with me to camp, and I had one every day at cantine time. I did drink diet sodas, and we all went to Jalisco's for Mexican food on Thurs. afternoon. I didn't have dessert there either. My weight was down and my muscles were up when I got home!

BUT...I haven't done well since I've been back. I could make excuses about being sick, having to put Charlie to sleep, catching up on laundry, the moon being in the wrong phase for weight loss, but....I know, "that which I do not want to do, I find myself doing and that that I want to do I do not do".....(Romans 7, which Bruce talked about in class last night.) Wretched woman that I am, who is going to set me free from this body of sin and death? Well, Jesus will, but it may be at my own demise if this continues. My morning blood sugars are back to being ridiculous! So, beginning tomorrow (I already ate a chicken pot pie with my neighbor, Lisa, at a
French bakery today, after I took her to a doctor's appt.)--beginning, tomorrow! (for sure!) I am writing down my calories and exercise for all 2 or 3 of you who keep up with my blog! (I may have lost you guys due to inconsistent posting....)
I spent too much money buying The Firm, not to use it, and I have a wedding coming up in the next couple of months. No one will be looking at the mother of the groom--except the father of the groom, but he counts! Most important, I want to be here as long as I can be. Pray for me to straighten up and "do what I would do"....because I agree that the the law of (calories in/calories out) is GOOD!

Goodbye to an Old Good Friend

Today I guess is the day I've been dreading for a couple of months. Don just left to take Charlie to the vet to put him to sleep. I'm glad it didn't happen while I was gone, because Don is upset, and I can be here for him. We thought Charlie's sores were healing, but they just spread and his other eye is going blind now. If it happened as quickly as the first one, he would have been completely blind in a matter of days. The decision making moment was last night. Don thought his face was healing, and then he touched his neck and it started bleeding. He is obviously in pain, and he keeps following me all over the house looking at me, his eyes pleading with me to do something. I didn't want to watch them put Charlie to sleep, but I wanted to go to the vet with Don so he didn't have to be alone, but he said he could do it on his own. I'm sure me being upset wouldn't make it easier for Don. I still feel like I should have been there....I always want to be there for the hard stuff, but only if I make things better.

We've been through a lot, Charlie and our family. He has been such a great dog. Everyone who comes to our house has commented on Charlie's personality, especially our sons' friends. Charlie just fit. I'm not sure if any other dog would do.
When I was recovering from knee surgery both times, Charlie just curled up next to me without ever even trying to get into my lap. He also loved for me to scratch him behind the ears, and would run up to me and put his head down for me to do that for him. He also used to get out once in a while and run up to children and wait for them to go crazy over him. Once he followed some little girls home and we thought we had lost him for good. His family had bought him a new leash, a collar, had done their own vaccinations and then they saw one of our flyers posted and called us on Christmas Eve. They returned him, and the little girls cried and cried. We would have probably just given him to them, except our kids were so happy to have him back, even though they were all teens and older. Once he got out of the backyard and was gone for over a month again, and we found out another family had taken him in and named him "Angel" in Spanish. That time, I prayed that he would come home on Nathan's birthday to prove to Nathan that God answers prayer. Charlie barked at the back door at 11:30PM on Nathan's birthday! Isn't that great? Anyway, I don't feel like writing about anything else. I hope dogs go to Heaven.