'They' whoever they are,say it takes about 30 days to add or get rid of a habit. So in order to spare you the monotonity, this will be my last eating entry unless something in particular strikes me...because this habit of eating healthier should be getting more firmly established and be less exciting by now.
The Unexpected....
Expenses- we knew changing our eating would be more expensive, but I didn't account for some purchases I have had to make lately...kitchen utensils. A 2nd vegetable peeler, strainer, apple corer, and cutting boards...with eating fresher foods and more vegetables I needed seconds of some of these items so they are always handy when preparing meals and snacks. Humm..the melon baller? I've wanted those for some parties we've had recently, and this was a good excuse, plus the kids enjoyed the balls.
Weight Gain-I don't know exactly what to blame it on, it could be Deerhunter's sugar-frenzy of fresh juices and smoothies, my hormones, or just plain ol lack of self control. I fluctuated greatly over one 72 hour period, and am back to 'normal'. I have increased my water intake greatly the past few days to stave off some headaches (dehydration?) and my appetite.
And, ladies and gentlemen, I am praying all this will not be for naught once Deerhunter and I climb aboard the cruise ship in a few days. Not to be a party pooper, but to be wise and have fun without eating ourselves sick and fat and hopefully enjoying some exercise together. My goal is to work on weight loss when we get back, primarily by tweaking what we're already doing, better portion control, and more physical activity...but until then...Cozumel here we come!!!
I can't wait any longer..it has just been ENTIRELY too long since I've posted pics! This is pretty much our summer. But when is it really over? DeerHunter and I leave for our cruise in a few weeks, today we have a great day at the caverns, our very first theme park trip is coming up, and a trip to the beach...so really, for us, summer activities won't be over until late September. Enjoy the pics. Be sure to notice several of our local faves- The White Oaks, Wilby Jones, 'Bob' and the rest of Mater's crew....
We are surviving. Our pantry is slowly being replaced with more nutrient rich, fiber full foods and healthier cooking stuffs. My weight is staying the same, I am not starving. Deerhunter is sending our blood sugar levels into space with fresh juices with his juicer and healthy smoothies. My kids' appetites are increasing. They LOVE the hormone free milk. They are having (besides daddy's concoctions) MAYBE one glass of juice a day, a couple of glasses of milk, and the rest is water...and not complaining (and not complaining about the rainbow assortment of different breads mommy buys, either). I LOVE Costco even more now, but I am having to use restraint. The kids are honing in on labels that read all natural and organic...and are begging for organic chocolate milk. Their appetites are increasing..did I mention that already?...my food bill is increasing. I see an exchange in time spent..more time at the grocery (for now) and some really easy quick meals that are healthy. My PMS symptoms are at about 30% of what they have been the last 3 months...so far, anyway...
The ugly....a trip to the barbecue restaurant for a buddies' bday proves hazardous to the digestive system after all these changes, and a tour of a new local restaurant kitchen provides lovely knowledge that , "all our steaks are cryogenically frozen (yes, like W. Disney's head* that's my internal dialogue here*), so we have to set them out for several hours so that the gas smell can air out of them." Yumm, delicious...
As I sit here at Deerhunter's desk, not-so-patiently waiting on hold for a lovely helpful government employee to pick up the phone so I can let them know that once again they sent me an intent to levy..because I missed a payment, but their computer says I did send it.....gotta love efficiency..first recording said 15 minutes...we'll see..I've checked facebook and all my friends' blogs, and now will write this as I wait...
God has burdened me lately in the area of our eating. About 2 years ago Deerhunter and I lost a combined 50 or 60 pounds using Atkins/low carb. Although we do think about starches and sugars differently, we have had a hard time sticking to it. We've gained some of the weight back. My kids are not eating enough healthy foods, and as a woman in her 30's I am struggling in the area of hormones. all those factors put together have been a matter of concern, and God has laid it on my heart to make some pretty drastic changes. Here are our goals:
-reduce the amount of refined sugar in our diets
-increase the quantity and quality of fruits and vegetables (going organic when possible)
-reduce and possibly eliminate hormones and antibiotics in dairy and meats
-increase whole grains and fiber
This is our second week. I think I will blog weekly on our experiences as to help those of you who are considering similar changes, or who have helpful input.
WEEK ONE-
I came up with a plan of attack. I wanted to immediately change the things we eat the most of. So as we begin making changes, I will continue to have us eat what is in our freezers and pantry. I don't want to waste OR hit our pocketbook so hard that we get discouraged right off. I decided that my weekly mainstays will change..hormone free dairy, whole grain bread...and not buy other things without reading labels first, steering clear of fructose, corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, phosphates, and anything else I can't pronounce, and as condiments or other thigns run out, replace them with healthier options. DH and I had a date night at Whole Foods, just to see what's out there, learn some things, and get sticker shock.
(yeahh! the hold is over..I'll get back to you guys in a minute!..she put me back on hold! ughhh!)
Also we had J's birthday party this week. I wanted to keep the kids aware of the changes we were making, but also reassure them that special occasions are an exception. I am not at a point in my life where I can do the all homemade treats, so I just did J's party well, plenty of sweets, a really cute construction truck cake made using all different sorts of candies. That brings us to week 2!
WEEK 2
The thing I've noticed this week so far is that shopping takes more time, $, and thought. I have to go to 2 grocery stores now (Walmart and Publix), I may have to go more frequently because of using more fresh produce. And because of having to read labels, I have to either go to the store with 1 or no children versus the 3. Deerhunter is going to check out the farmer's market downtown this afternoon to see what is available, organic or otherwise, since he has a recent infatuation with his new gadget, the juicer. My pantry is starting to clear out, as well as my fridge.
(okay, so the wonderful government employee said they are no longer going to levy my belongings, but has left me confused as to whether I am behind or ahead on my payments...can anyone say 'flat tax please??!!!')
So there it is, in the midst of wrapping my brain around the upcoming school year, I've got this project going...I'm beginning to hear from friends that that is how I operate..it's never just one thing, and it's never simple...it's just me, being who God created me to be!..and sometimes driving myself and the people around me crazy, dizzy, or both....
June is always a crazy month for our crew. We have our anniversary, Father's Day, and 4 family birthdays...not to mention being wedding and graduation season. This year we also had our church day camp (where I taught a class), Shelby Crossings VBS, and sports day camps (soccer for M, tumbling for Bonnetgirl). This was also our first year having our own pool. We ended up the month with a bang, opening our house to our dear friends who are celebrating Sweet D's (our sitter- she's in pics from West Virginia and the beach last summer) graduation and upcoming move to Maine to attend Bowdoin College. It was a blast, at least 60 people all over the house, kids squealing in the yard and splashing in the pool...even a little cha-cha slide poolside. So yes, pictures are sure to come. You know me, even a photog. 'furlough' can't be totally setting the camera down for all this fun.
So we've survived June. Comparatively speaking, July looks wide open, which feels nice..but I know it will be busy and gone before we know it!
My husband saw this blog the other day. He checks it all the time, especially if he is out of town for work. As much as he gives me a hard time for the time I've spent on it in the past, he actually shamed me for being 'so behind'. So here goes an update on our crew...
We finished school close to the end of May. I don't think I've ever been so happy to be 'done' for the year. I will post our year in review at the end of this entry. It was a good year, but momma's worn out. So next year, M will be in 3rd, Bonnetgirl will be in first, and J will be whatever he wants to be as his four year old self.
We haven't traveled much as a family. Texas was our last family trip, and other than that, I think we'll slip down to Seagrove for an extended weekend some time in the near future. Deerhunter and I are supposed to be scheduling a cruise and looking ahead to OUR trip to Vietnam in September or October..anybody want 3 homeschooled kids for about 10 days? After that, we may be planning a trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, but don't tell the munchkins.
Deerhunter, however, has traveled quite a bit. He has spent quite a bit of time checking out the Lakeland Healing Revival in Florida. I don't want to go into detail too much about our thoughts, and I don't want to cause a stir among us homeschoolblogger moms, but I will tell you it is nice to get excited about the Lord and consider His ability to do ANYTHING, and use the most unlikely types to do so, especially since Deerhunter and I are some of society's unlikely types.
We have hosted some folks from Texas, and are waiting for more old friends to make the trek.
And, for the most part what my summer looks like is- dump kids off at various sports and church camps/VBS with sack lunches in tow, clean house and run errands, pick up said kids, dump them and myself in the pool, and wait for any number of buddies to come take a dip with us....which reminds me...pool is open at 10 am this Friday to come play....
So, until I pick up my camera again OR deerhunter invests in a cordless/wireless/waterproof laptop..I'll be seeing you when the pool is closed...I wonder how long that will be?
God is so good. I know I've gone on and on about our house and the move and all, but there is yet another aspect of our move that is turning out to be a beautiful blessing...neighbors....
Not just neighbors, but neighbors who introduce themselves eagerly at my front door with, "we have been praying for you, we're SO glad God brought you to us!!". Neighbors who don't care what their house OR my house looks like when we hang. Neighbors who encourage godly character in their children AND mine.
I can't wait to see what will unfold for our two families in this neighborhood together. Already they have challenged us, taken us out of our bubble..and its good. I must say this isn't a typical new neighbor thing. God made sure that we had enough common interests and acquaintances that many of our defenses were melted away. We are used to transparency, but typically moreso within our church family, so this has been a new territory for us (seeing as before we were country folk and all), and I do believe they are a gift to us. May we all grow as 'iron sharpens iron' and we learn from each other and watch our children grow together.
So...Mater & Co....(code name for the neighbors)...thanks already. You don't know how much of a blessing you are and are still becoming in our lives. ( And we are glad you still talk to us after that, well...okay..umm....that hilarious/unfortunate segway into Deerhunter's testimony the other night...I'm still laughing)
Okay, so I'm trying not to take personally that No ONe voted on what blog entry they wanted to see next....and besides, it was so mild outside yesterday morning I decided to go ahead and walk the yard with my camera and give you guys a tour. It has been fun, being the first Spring in the house, to see what all pops up. The rose garden is still taunting me, now with tons of buds all over each plant. The wisteria is a special treat as well. We didn't have very many blooms, but I hear it takes 2-4 years to really get going, so the few we got gave me a special birthday treat last week. I will trim it way back later in the year to hopefully save energy for lots more blooms next spring.
Enjoy the tour...move the mouse over each picture. Its just like how I would walk you through it in person...have fun....
There will be a prize for those of you who can figure out how many tiki torches I decided to put out in the yard, you should be able to see them all.
Okay, so I promised as soon as possible I would share things that are going on around here with us. Deerhunter called in the middle of his trip to Vietnam and shared something with me that was on his heart. There is a special young lady there he would like to bring to the states. Thuy (twee) was about 6 on Deerhunter's first trip to Vietnam...she stole his heart then and he came home saying, "honey, if I had had a way, I would have brought that beautiful smile back with me." She is related to one of the mission team members, and when he went back a couple years later, she fully expected to see Deerhunter as well and was disappointed. As Deerhunter had prepared for this trip one of his hopes was to be able to see her again. Thuy is now 13. When Deerhunter arrived in a nearby relative's home, she came in calling for her American "Ba" (dad). They spent a couple of days together in her little town.
We have done some research on what it would take to get her here. Since she's not an orphan, that changes things a bit. Her family wants her here in order to provide for herself and to help the family as well. She has already been placed in our hearts in a way that only God can do. He has placed internationally adopted children in my kids' lives recently, so when I first mentioned Thuy to them it seemed to them a natural thing for us to want her to be here with us. Bonnetgirl prays every morning for Thuy to be protected and to have a good night's rest, and every evening that she would have a good day. We have bought some bilingual books to send her for her birthday (Dec. 26th).
So where are we now with the process? We have been in contact with an immigration attorney who has requested copies of certain documents from Thuy's family. She says once we look at those, we'll have a better idea where we stand. She said the process could take one to two years, and $5000..which I don't know if that includes all the filing fees...and definitely doesn't cover the cost of our home study and travel.
That's where we are....that's why I began to look at houses again. We are moving forward feeling that this is what God wants us to pursue. If the doors are all closed, then we will do what we can to maintain contact and possibly help her family, but we can't do that until we know for sure we've exhausted our options on bringing her here.
I can't tell you the roller coaster ride of emotions this thing has taken me on. I was only overwhelmed the first 48 hours, and then my good ol' worrying kicked in to planning and research mode. I have even wondered if my hormones have been affected by the excitement and wonder at the possibility of adding to our family. I have learned SO much about adoption and international adoption..I am soaking it up like a sponge. My heart goes out to families who choose to grow their families this way. I never knew how complicated and emotional the whole process could be.
We do appreciate your prayers on this as we seek God's plan for our and Thuy's lives.
I will post a picture soon...the only picture Deerhunter has printed has a long term place of honor on the fridge...or in our Bible...
In the meantime, Happy Adoption Awareness Month.
p.s. My thanksgiving- for God growing our definition of family. That we have a sister in Christ and 'daughter' on the other side of the world. Our God is so big!!!
Okay, so I promised I would let you guys know what was going on with us as soon as I could. I can tell you one piece of the puzzle that is our lives right now. It's a fun piece, but not without stomach twists and turns to go along with it. Click the link below: What may be our new house!
There, I've blabbed. I found this house a couple of weeks ago. We went to the open house a week ago Sunday. We met the owner, who is a homeschool mom of 8 and goes to a church we are familiar with in town. It seemed a good fit, so we started looking into financing and made an offer this weekend. There were offers and counter offers, and then the owner called me herself to let us know that her and her husband (who is in the military and has been moved several states away) had prayed and felt God wanted them to bless us with this house and we talked over remaining issues ourselves, without any agents. An agreement was made and I was so blessed by hearing her heart for her family and to bless ours. Financing is not finalized, and we aren't expecting any surprises with the inspection. If all goes well we will close NOVEMBER 27th..yep, in just a couple of weeks.
I could go on and on about this house. I haven't until today gotten emotionally involved in it, but now as it seems more of a reality, I'm planning paint colors AND how exactly we will use the hot tub. Wow...I can't believe I just said that...God is so good...only a few of you know the road we've been on the last 7 years or so, and you're reading this now, you're staring in disbelief....I am too, but in a few short weeks it could all be very real...and if you live in town...meet us at the old house on the morning of the 29th with your truck and we'll feed you all the pizza we can find if you help us load up!
Okay, so if any of you are either like me and check friend's blogs daily, or got used to me blogging nearly every day...sorry for the lapse in updates on our crew this past week. DeerHunter's trip to Vietnam was very fruitful, and pictures will come soon. There has been a lot on our minds, and not much of it can be written as of yet...believe me, well...those of you who know me know that I can't keep stuff to myself for long, so the past few weeks have been hard for me. God's teaching me to be quiet. I am still alive. My camera is getting a well deserved break after being so busy over the past two months, and the crew is well.
As things unfold for us around here I'm sure you'll get updates...all good stuff...God is good..and full of adventures if you let Him take you there....
DeerHunter returned home from Vietnam yesterday. It will take some readjusting for us all to settle in to him being back. Today he spent a good part of the day taking care of the many things around the house and business that went haywire while he was gone. Although it is crazy, I am so thankful to have someone with skin on who identifies with me and I can share anything with...it was getting pretty rough in that area toward the end. His trip went well. We'll add pictures soon!
Well, we walk in the door from a 15 hour drive home from WV and what do I do? I have got it bad! No, really, I know a few of you must be praying for us and I thought I'd give a quick update.
The kids and I are safely home after our trip to the family wedding in WV. It was good..once again..on a lot of levels...some that I can't even cover in this arena. I will post pictures from that AND ladies' retreat some time this week. I am SSOOO ready to stay home for a while after 3 weekends in a row of traveling.
Deerhunter is well in Vietnam. His palette has been challenged with some of the locals' cuisine, with no side affects (that he's mentioned anyway). I am really beginning to miss him, though. I found myself eyeing motorcycles on our trip and wondering if it was time to go sight in our rifles...must have been the cooler weather reminding me that deer season is upon us any day now.... for those of you who know me, you know I'm too much of a girly girl to be letting my mind go those places very often...I must be missing him.
DeerHunter is having a blast in Vietnam...sounds a little tired when he calls, though. Two good examples of how things are going:
Deerhunter's the caucasin guy on the trip... everyone else has family there. They went to see Huey's family and all of them made decisions for Christ!
Deerhunter says EVERYWHERE they go people are responding to the gospel message. Little children in the villages come running and flock around, many making decisions for Christ!
On our last call, he said they were headed out by canoe, hoping to reach some unreached people groups deep in the country.
All this while I am away with the kiddos and SweetD in WV..catching up with the extended family...all good stuff...thank you Jesus...
After as intense as yesterday's entry was, I thought I'd update those who were concerned about the various things going on. Muffinsgirl's grandfather appears to have had a successful surgery. DeerHunter has called and emailed from Vietnam. Little Pman is home from the hospital and getting better. Our church family has been struck by the sudden death of Omar, but I truly feel that God's divine plan will prevail and we will draw closer to each other, working as a healthy church should. I still feel like the wind has been taken out of my sails, but God is so close, comforting and reminding me of His love for me and others I care about.
I figured since that there are so many people all over the world checking my blog these days that I decided to add a map to show where readers are coming from.....I know there are lurkers out there, right? My site meter keeps going up without any comments on any of my recent entries..oh well...
Well..there it is, the almost finished product. This little bitty house was built in 1938 and has 1 bath and 3 bedrooms (not quite sure about that because our room didn't have a closet). When I meet people from our community, they always say, "Oh, Aunt Lois' place!"..I'm thinking Aunt Lois never had 3 kids..she may never have been married, I don't know. What i do know is we had to maximize storage and a feeling of openness so that our little wonderful family could grow up until God moves us on to a different house (without strangling each other). I think we accomplished our goal, and now it's an ongoing goal with us in every room of the house. Thanks to Handyman Ron and his Beautiful Assistant Brittany!
As far as style goes, I've never been one much for the more modern, but I am learning that sometimes reducing things down and clean lines helps make the place feel more orderly. TGD, i went ahead and bought those stained-glass panels I found at TJMAXX although the greens don't exactly match the walls and tile, the size, shapes, and lines were just what I was looking for...I'll be,OOps..DeerHunter will be hanging those babies up for me when he gets back in town...30 bucks a pop sure beats in excess of 200 for a true antique!
My favorite things about the kitchen-
*room for the kids to help cook
*the old sink we saved for 2 years until we could afford the remodel
*having my books all in one place
I think Aunt Lois would be proud of the results even though we never met...although she may not approve of the thing that was supposed to be a cake that came out my oven this morning!
Once a classroom teacher, now a mom of three...God has laid on our hearts to teach at home. It is a neverending journey, with twists and turns, ups and downs. We aspire to call forth the gifts and talents in each of our children, giving them a unique educational experience that brings out the best in each of them and nurtures them in their walk with God.
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YOU Thuy!!!
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