So I've struggled with weight almost all of my life. When I was in eight grade, I weighed just over 200 pounds. Yeah.. not pretty.. My mom's church was participating in something called the Weigh Down Workshop where you learn to listen to your body to find out when you're actually hungry (not just wanting to munch) and when you're full. I lost 60 pounds in less than 6 months. It was awesome!!!
Now, four kids later, I'm back to where I was in middle school... :( After having my oldest, while I gained 50 pounds during pregnancy, I was able to easily lose 35 pounds of it and was ok with that weight/size. Then came babies number 2 and 3. Amazingly, I had no problems losing all of their baby weight as well, keeping me at 15 pounds more than I was before I got pregnant. But still comfortable at that weight.
The 9 months before I got pregnant with number 4, I gained 30 pounds.. yes.. 30 pounds.. and I didn't really realize it until I got pregnant and weight the EXACT SAME AMOUNT beginning that pregnancy as when I DELIVERED baby number four.. Yes, that's just crazy!
Thankfully, I was able to lose all of the last pregnancy weight, but my weight was still where it was when I delivered #3. Then came the losing of my father and oops -- I've gained 10 pounds...
So, that brings me to today. For the first time in my life, I'm actually purposefully trying to lose weight, and now that I'm closer to 30 - it's actually kind of hard!
I've started excercising at the office by walking around our 'circle' (which is one mile) at least 3 times a week. For Christmas, my mom bought me Zumba for the Wii - so I've been trying to do that as well.
As far as eating goes, I'm TRYING to not go back for seconds, and to be mindful of my body (when am I really hungry vs. being snacky). I've realized that the afternoons are the hard part for me. It's my sluggish time of the day and I feel the desire to munch. To combat this, I've scheduled my walking breaks during this time. It's helped a lot! I have a lot more energy than usual and hopefully it's helping me get to a more healthy weight.
So far I've lost 2 pounds. I have small stepping goals that lead to a larger goal. First goal was to lose 12 pounds, so I have 10 pounds to go. After that my goals are 10 pound incriments.
While I'd love to see this weight off NOW, I know that realistically I've got to make this a lasting change, so if it takes 6 months or 12 months to lose it, then that's what it will take.
I'm hoping that in my posting this here, I'll keep myself accountable and honest.. We'll see how this goes!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Bittersweet Christmas
This Christmas can be summed up in one word: change. A lot of change occurred this Christmas: I became a coffee drinker after years of only liking the smell of coffee (thanks to the wonderfully flavored coffees in the Keurig my hubby bought me), my mom joined us at my in-laws for Christmas lunch (was awesome!), I've entered the world of J-Lo earings (big hoop earnings that is), and we celebrated the first Christmas without my father.
Thinking back to the morning of October 17th when I got that call from my mother still produces a pain likened to being stabbed through the heart. Although a bit less severe, it's still just as raw as it was that dark morning.
But aside from that, we had a very good Christmas. Spent lots of time with family, relaxed, stayed up late, ate too many sweets, baked too many sweets, took lots of pictures. One day I'll share them on here, I promise.
Another interesting thing that occurred over Christmas brea is that the house we're renting is being sold. Long story short, we have amazing landlords - the best ones we've had yet, but somehow the mortgage stipulated our landlord had to reside in the house in order for it to be valid. Once she got married and moved out, she voided the terms of her mortgage. Never had a late payment, never a missed payment, but none the less after months of going back and forth with lawyers, the bank is forcing her to sell. They'll be getting about $20K less than what is still owed, but if that's how the bank wants to be fine.
We've prayerfully considered our options and feel we're being lead to move back in with my mom. We're in the process of helping her clean things out and spruce things up. The house is looking beautiful again. My only reservation is that our kids don't have any friends in that neighborhood. But, we'll just have to put ourselves out there and meet some of the neighbors (something we neglected the 7 years we lived there). There certainly are plenty of kids around.
We're getting caught back up on our home school studies, which is a huge relief for me. Math and writing fell a few weeks behind while science fell a month behind. We're mostly caught up with math and writing and are starting back into science again. It's been crazy, but the Lord has been gracious in allowing us precious time needed to refocus back on school.
Also, I finally completed my AA degree (after 11 years!). It was never easy, never a dull moment, but I'm very glad I finished it - just wish I'd finished it earlier. I'd like to get my BA degree, but only God knows what the future has in store for my life.
Hope and pray you're all doing well.
-M
Thinking back to the morning of October 17th when I got that call from my mother still produces a pain likened to being stabbed through the heart. Although a bit less severe, it's still just as raw as it was that dark morning.
But aside from that, we had a very good Christmas. Spent lots of time with family, relaxed, stayed up late, ate too many sweets, baked too many sweets, took lots of pictures. One day I'll share them on here, I promise.
Another interesting thing that occurred over Christmas brea is that the house we're renting is being sold. Long story short, we have amazing landlords - the best ones we've had yet, but somehow the mortgage stipulated our landlord had to reside in the house in order for it to be valid. Once she got married and moved out, she voided the terms of her mortgage. Never had a late payment, never a missed payment, but none the less after months of going back and forth with lawyers, the bank is forcing her to sell. They'll be getting about $20K less than what is still owed, but if that's how the bank wants to be fine.
We've prayerfully considered our options and feel we're being lead to move back in with my mom. We're in the process of helping her clean things out and spruce things up. The house is looking beautiful again. My only reservation is that our kids don't have any friends in that neighborhood. But, we'll just have to put ourselves out there and meet some of the neighbors (something we neglected the 7 years we lived there). There certainly are plenty of kids around.
We're getting caught back up on our home school studies, which is a huge relief for me. Math and writing fell a few weeks behind while science fell a month behind. We're mostly caught up with math and writing and are starting back into science again. It's been crazy, but the Lord has been gracious in allowing us precious time needed to refocus back on school.
Also, I finally completed my AA degree (after 11 years!). It was never easy, never a dull moment, but I'm very glad I finished it - just wish I'd finished it earlier. I'd like to get my BA degree, but only God knows what the future has in store for my life.
Hope and pray you're all doing well.
-M
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
"Gingerbread" Houses
When I was a little girl, either 6 or 7, I was sleeping over at my mom's best friend's house. She made some amazing gingerbread cookies, complete with icing and candy. Later that night I came down with a stomach bug and well, let's just say my love for gingerbread was short lived.
Last night we made our own gingerbread houses - but we used graham crackers (still can't be around real gingerbread... bleh!), icing, and leftover Halloween candy. The kids had SOOO much fun! Here's a picture of Doodle Bug beginning her construction.
Here's a picture of Little Man's contsruction.
Here is Lulu's construction.
And here are the final products:
Buddy Boy
Lulu's flat top design:
Doodle Bug's house kept caving in, so she made a collapsed gingerbread house.
Finally is Little Man's house, complete with a river and some rocks.
We have enough graham crackers and frosting left over to make at least two more sets of houses, so I'm sure we'll be doing this again in the next few weeks. :) Who knows, maybe I'll have them work together to make a giant gingerbread house (that'll be interesting).
Last night we made our own gingerbread houses - but we used graham crackers (still can't be around real gingerbread... bleh!), icing, and leftover Halloween candy. The kids had SOOO much fun! Here's a picture of Doodle Bug beginning her construction.
Here's a picture of Little Man's contsruction.
Here is Lulu's construction.
And here are the final products:
Buddy Boy
Lulu's flat top design:
Doodle Bug's house kept caving in, so she made a collapsed gingerbread house.
Finally is Little Man's house, complete with a river and some rocks.
We have enough graham crackers and frosting left over to make at least two more sets of houses, so I'm sure we'll be doing this again in the next few weeks. :) Who knows, maybe I'll have them work together to make a giant gingerbread house (that'll be interesting).
Friday, November 18, 2011
Life changes in a moment
My life changed in a moment on October 17th when I got a call from my mom with some bad news. My father passed away during the night - not expectedly.
He suffered a series of strokes in 2007 and had surgery to clear up his artery just before Christmas. During the surgery it appears that some plaque was dislodged and caused a more severe stroke. He woke up unable to speak or to move his arms and legs. After a few months of rehab, he was able to come home (just in time for Lulu's birthday trip to Disney World). His mobility steadily increased, but never fully returned. He was, however, able to return to his beloved golf. He no longer scored under 90 on his favorite courses, but still did amazingly at around 100.
He grew slightly more fragile as the years went on, but that comes with age and with not fully recovering from the strokes.
The weekend of October 8th, I was suffering from a bad cold, so a planned one night sleepover turned into a two night event with all four of my children. They had the BEST time. The following Wednesday, we found out my dad had the flu. He wasn't feeling all that well, so I called to check in on him a few times.
He missed Lulu's soccer game that next Saturday and was feeling a little worse. Sunday night I spoke with my mom, she was going to take Dad back into the doctor to see how they can help him feel better. Around 11:00 that night, he took a turn for the worse and my mom was in for a traumatic night. He passed away, at home, around 12:15 Monday morning, about 15 minutes before the paramedics arrived.
It doesn't sting quite as severly as it did that first week, but I stil miss him dearly. Wishing I could hug him one more time, tell him I love him one more time, or watch him smile and laugh at my silly children one more time.
I try to hold onto the many wonderful memories I have of him - as a father, a man, and as an amazing grandfather. My children talk of him often, remembering all the fun things they were able to do with him. We still cry, and it still hurts. But I'm glad to have these memories to hold on to.
If you're dad, or mom, are still around. Give them an extra hug tonight. Tell them how much you love. Enjoy each day God gives you with them.
He suffered a series of strokes in 2007 and had surgery to clear up his artery just before Christmas. During the surgery it appears that some plaque was dislodged and caused a more severe stroke. He woke up unable to speak or to move his arms and legs. After a few months of rehab, he was able to come home (just in time for Lulu's birthday trip to Disney World). His mobility steadily increased, but never fully returned. He was, however, able to return to his beloved golf. He no longer scored under 90 on his favorite courses, but still did amazingly at around 100.
He grew slightly more fragile as the years went on, but that comes with age and with not fully recovering from the strokes.
The weekend of October 8th, I was suffering from a bad cold, so a planned one night sleepover turned into a two night event with all four of my children. They had the BEST time. The following Wednesday, we found out my dad had the flu. He wasn't feeling all that well, so I called to check in on him a few times.
He missed Lulu's soccer game that next Saturday and was feeling a little worse. Sunday night I spoke with my mom, she was going to take Dad back into the doctor to see how they can help him feel better. Around 11:00 that night, he took a turn for the worse and my mom was in for a traumatic night. He passed away, at home, around 12:15 Monday morning, about 15 minutes before the paramedics arrived.
It doesn't sting quite as severly as it did that first week, but I stil miss him dearly. Wishing I could hug him one more time, tell him I love him one more time, or watch him smile and laugh at my silly children one more time.
I try to hold onto the many wonderful memories I have of him - as a father, a man, and as an amazing grandfather. My children talk of him often, remembering all the fun things they were able to do with him. We still cry, and it still hurts. But I'm glad to have these memories to hold on to.
If you're dad, or mom, are still around. Give them an extra hug tonight. Tell them how much you love. Enjoy each day God gives you with them.
I'm now officially a soccer mom
I really try to update this more than once a month, but life's been busy (as usual) so here's an update.
The school year has started and I've found two amazing math worksheet sites that I wish I knew about years ago. They are Smiley Face math and using our zoned schools website - they have math worksheets up for each grade and they're fantastic! The kids have smiley face and star (for the zoned school worksheets) charts where we plot out how many smileys or stars they earn for their worksheets. They've LOVING it! Little Man is actually almost finished with his kindergarten math book. He breezes through pages and pages each day and even asks to do more. Thanks to having two older sisters, he learned most of this math when he was 4 - the only thing he's really getting out of his math book now is how to properly write the numbers. So we'll be purchasing the 1st grade math book for him next month - I'm so proud of him!
Doodle is doing MUCH better in her math as well - I think it's mostly do to the smiley face and other worksheets we've found. I raced her in addition problems the other day and she only missed one problem (out of 20+) - and that was only because she forgot to regroup. The only thing we really need to focus on now is memorizing her multiplication facts. She already knows TONS of them, but struggles with the 6s, 7s, and 8s - so she has this mental block. I realized that our School House Rock DVD has multiplication songs, so we've been trying to watch those a few times a week. The other kids are actually learning their tables as well and go around the house singing "8 times 8 is 64" all the time :)
Lulu has decided to play soccer this year. Well actually, my mother and aunt decided she SHOULD play soccer after visiting Mississippi last Christmas and showing some excellent skills on the field. Her first game was on Saturday and she did a decent job. It's much more fast paced than soccer - so no time to chase butterflies or pick flowers. She got to kick the ball in a few times and during the second half of the game, actually went after the ball a few times. Now, there were two occassions when the ball game directly at her and she threw up her arms for protection - but hey, she's learning :) She also made a friend at the very first practice - her name is Ava and the two of them are just precious. Only down side is, the first two quarters they played together and were more concerned about talking on the field than playing the game - silly girls - no idea where they got that from :)
Buddy Boy is now three years old and is learning his letters. Yesterday at church we were walking into the sanctuary (it's labeled 'auditorium' above the door) and he looked up and said "Mama! An A, an A!" So far he's loving it. This week we're working on B and Little Man is having fun teaching him all the things that begin with B. It's so nice to have all of these little helpers.
The school year has started and I've found two amazing math worksheet sites that I wish I knew about years ago. They are Smiley Face math and using our zoned schools website - they have math worksheets up for each grade and they're fantastic! The kids have smiley face and star (for the zoned school worksheets) charts where we plot out how many smileys or stars they earn for their worksheets. They've LOVING it! Little Man is actually almost finished with his kindergarten math book. He breezes through pages and pages each day and even asks to do more. Thanks to having two older sisters, he learned most of this math when he was 4 - the only thing he's really getting out of his math book now is how to properly write the numbers. So we'll be purchasing the 1st grade math book for him next month - I'm so proud of him!
Doodle is doing MUCH better in her math as well - I think it's mostly do to the smiley face and other worksheets we've found. I raced her in addition problems the other day and she only missed one problem (out of 20+) - and that was only because she forgot to regroup. The only thing we really need to focus on now is memorizing her multiplication facts. She already knows TONS of them, but struggles with the 6s, 7s, and 8s - so she has this mental block. I realized that our School House Rock DVD has multiplication songs, so we've been trying to watch those a few times a week. The other kids are actually learning their tables as well and go around the house singing "8 times 8 is 64" all the time :)
Lulu has decided to play soccer this year. Well actually, my mother and aunt decided she SHOULD play soccer after visiting Mississippi last Christmas and showing some excellent skills on the field. Her first game was on Saturday and she did a decent job. It's much more fast paced than soccer - so no time to chase butterflies or pick flowers. She got to kick the ball in a few times and during the second half of the game, actually went after the ball a few times. Now, there were two occassions when the ball game directly at her and she threw up her arms for protection - but hey, she's learning :) She also made a friend at the very first practice - her name is Ava and the two of them are just precious. Only down side is, the first two quarters they played together and were more concerned about talking on the field than playing the game - silly girls - no idea where they got that from :)
Buddy Boy is now three years old and is learning his letters. Yesterday at church we were walking into the sanctuary (it's labeled 'auditorium' above the door) and he looked up and said "Mama! An A, an A!" So far he's loving it. This week we're working on B and Little Man is having fun teaching him all the things that begin with B. It's so nice to have all of these little helpers.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Our fifth year
This is our fifth year of official homeschooling - I cannot believe it! What a way we've come. We've learned so much about each other, about our teaching methods, about our children's methods, about how to work even better together. It has been SUCH a beautiful journey.
As with any journey, we have our ups and downs. Some weeks are just wonderful - everyone is in a good mood, the lessons go well, we have lots of fun with our special units and crafts, the house is clean (mostly), we aren't exhausted - I LOVE those weeks. Then we have those nasty little weeks that creep in where someone's not feeling well, or we're unusually tired, or school becomes more of a chore than a joy. I do not love those weeks. But hey, they make the better weeks even more sweet don't they? Plus, it's through those 'blah' weeks where we become refined, refocused, and redisciplined. Count it all joy when you encounter various trials. Count it all joy.
We're beginning the 7 weeks of 4 birthdays this weekend. Doodle turns 9!! I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday I was holding my beautiful, cheesy baby girl and seeing her eyes just bore into my soul. It's been such a joy to watch her grow up. I thank the Lord for the years we've had and pray we have many more to come.
Buddy turns 3 the following week. A few weeks ago I was mentally going over my pregancy with him - all of the ups and all of the very many downs. From April 1 to his birthday, September 4, we had many emotional struggles - almost every appointment in fact. It started with my blood work coming back abnormally and having to be rushed into the doctor - they were afraid either he had died, there were two of him, we were much further along, or I had gestational diabetes. After a tearfilled ultra sound it was confirmed he was alive, there was just one, and the due date was fine - but he wasn't large enough to rule out down syndrome or spina bifida (two other things that could result in the abnormal blood work). I would have to have monthly ultra sounds to determine if there were any errors. After the sixth month of pregnancy, we were 90% sure he would be fine. There was an appointment where they couldn't find his heartbeat and I just laid on the table, with little five year old Lulu at my side, and just prayed and prayed. After an exhausting five minutes, they found it. Then at 7 months they discovered a cyst on his brain. These cysts usually disolve without any complications (in fact Lulu had the vary same cyst on her brain at 7 months). At about this same time I started measuring very large. Turns out I had too much amniotic fluid, which puts the baby at risk for cord strangulation, heart problems, and lung problems. Great, just bring it on - I'm emotionally exhausted at this point. This now requires ultrasounds every two weeks. This continues to be monitored until I deliver the little guy. When I just entered my final month of pregnancy, an ultra sound revealed a very lethargic baby - no movement, not much activity. I had to be hooked up to a monitor for over an hour in an attempt to pick up some activity. The doctor was VERY concerned. Which completely freaked me out. I was also alone at the appiontment - Ryan at home with our brood, my parents away in Hawaii (it was actually my mom's birthday). The doctor said that if he doesn't start moving in five minutes, he's sending me over to the hospital (right next door) for monitoring and possible delivery. Then he left the room and I prayed/cried and voila - he started moving!! But, this brought on even more constant monitoring. I was now prescribed soda before every appointment and ultra sound - yes.. The doctor actually prescribed me a can or two of soda to drink before every appointment (which were weekly and twice/weekly now.. I'm not a soda person - so this wasn't exactly pleasant).
Ok, wow.. LONG story short - four weeks and many ultra sounds later, he was delivered via c-section and weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces. They thought he'd be 10-12 pounds - he fooled us all! I had complciations from the delivery and guess what I was prescribed - caffeine, in the form of soda. So my affair with soda didn't end until he was a few weeks old. Boy was I glad to finish drinking those things! Now I'm exhausted from writing all of that out - wow! But it's amazingly theraputic.
Now he's a vibrant, normal, and typical almost three-year-old boy and he brings SUCH joy to our chaotic family.
So school has started, the birthday extravaganza begins, and we're ready for whatever comes our way (I think..).
As with any journey, we have our ups and downs. Some weeks are just wonderful - everyone is in a good mood, the lessons go well, we have lots of fun with our special units and crafts, the house is clean (mostly), we aren't exhausted - I LOVE those weeks. Then we have those nasty little weeks that creep in where someone's not feeling well, or we're unusually tired, or school becomes more of a chore than a joy. I do not love those weeks. But hey, they make the better weeks even more sweet don't they? Plus, it's through those 'blah' weeks where we become refined, refocused, and redisciplined. Count it all joy when you encounter various trials. Count it all joy.
We're beginning the 7 weeks of 4 birthdays this weekend. Doodle turns 9!! I can't believe it! It seems like just yesterday I was holding my beautiful, cheesy baby girl and seeing her eyes just bore into my soul. It's been such a joy to watch her grow up. I thank the Lord for the years we've had and pray we have many more to come.
Buddy turns 3 the following week. A few weeks ago I was mentally going over my pregancy with him - all of the ups and all of the very many downs. From April 1 to his birthday, September 4, we had many emotional struggles - almost every appointment in fact. It started with my blood work coming back abnormally and having to be rushed into the doctor - they were afraid either he had died, there were two of him, we were much further along, or I had gestational diabetes. After a tearfilled ultra sound it was confirmed he was alive, there was just one, and the due date was fine - but he wasn't large enough to rule out down syndrome or spina bifida (two other things that could result in the abnormal blood work). I would have to have monthly ultra sounds to determine if there were any errors. After the sixth month of pregnancy, we were 90% sure he would be fine. There was an appointment where they couldn't find his heartbeat and I just laid on the table, with little five year old Lulu at my side, and just prayed and prayed. After an exhausting five minutes, they found it. Then at 7 months they discovered a cyst on his brain. These cysts usually disolve without any complications (in fact Lulu had the vary same cyst on her brain at 7 months). At about this same time I started measuring very large. Turns out I had too much amniotic fluid, which puts the baby at risk for cord strangulation, heart problems, and lung problems. Great, just bring it on - I'm emotionally exhausted at this point. This now requires ultrasounds every two weeks. This continues to be monitored until I deliver the little guy. When I just entered my final month of pregnancy, an ultra sound revealed a very lethargic baby - no movement, not much activity. I had to be hooked up to a monitor for over an hour in an attempt to pick up some activity. The doctor was VERY concerned. Which completely freaked me out. I was also alone at the appiontment - Ryan at home with our brood, my parents away in Hawaii (it was actually my mom's birthday). The doctor said that if he doesn't start moving in five minutes, he's sending me over to the hospital (right next door) for monitoring and possible delivery. Then he left the room and I prayed/cried and voila - he started moving!! But, this brought on even more constant monitoring. I was now prescribed soda before every appointment and ultra sound - yes.. The doctor actually prescribed me a can or two of soda to drink before every appointment (which were weekly and twice/weekly now.. I'm not a soda person - so this wasn't exactly pleasant).
Ok, wow.. LONG story short - four weeks and many ultra sounds later, he was delivered via c-section and weighed 8 pounds, 13 ounces. They thought he'd be 10-12 pounds - he fooled us all! I had complciations from the delivery and guess what I was prescribed - caffeine, in the form of soda. So my affair with soda didn't end until he was a few weeks old. Boy was I glad to finish drinking those things! Now I'm exhausted from writing all of that out - wow! But it's amazingly theraputic.
Now he's a vibrant, normal, and typical almost three-year-old boy and he brings SUCH joy to our chaotic family.
So school has started, the birthday extravaganza begins, and we're ready for whatever comes our way (I think..).
Friday, July 29, 2011
Summer is almost over
Wow - I can't believe it's been 2 1/2 months since I updated this blog. Needless to say, we've been quite busy.
We moved (three houses down the street) at the end of June and are LOVING our new home. It's 600 square feet bigger, has a fantastic yard, and we have some amazing landlords. We were not actively looking for a new home, but knew our residency in our current home would be coming to an end soon. While outside playing with the kids one Sunday evening our neighbors walked by and asked if we go to Calvary Chapel. Turns out they did too. In fact, our neighbors fiancee took pictures for our directory (small world - small town). About a month later she came by the house and asked us if we'd be interested in renting her house when she moves out to get married. After a brief discussion and much prayer, we said "Yes!" A few weeks later we moved in and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids like the fact that they kept their same friends and say our new home feels more like a 'resort.'
We also finished up the homeschool year and I'm happy to report that both girls completed their grades. They both excel at reading but Doodle Bug has still been struggling with math. She's had this "I can't do it! I hate it!" attitude for the past two years- well this school year she worked REALLY hard and her attitude improved dramatically. Unfortunately, she is not up to grade level on math yet - we found out this was mainly due to the curriculum we used. So, with lots of feedback from her evaluator, we're making preparations for next school year and making sure we bring Doodle back up to par with her math.
This will be Little Man's first official year of school and he is SO excited! Ryan even has a Bible class for just the two of them planned out. They're going to learn about the book of Acts first. I'm not sure who's more excited, Little Man or Ryan. :)
It's also Buddy Boy's turn at some more structured schooling as he turns 3 in September. The wonderful thing with him, is that because of his birthday - he'll be turning 6 just weeks after starting Kindergarten (unless we feel the need to put him in early - which as of now, we don't) which means we'll be able to give him three full years of 'structuring' with him before his official education begins. I just LOVE the preschool and early elementary years!
My school has also ended for the summer and I have one class remaining to complete my AA (I hope!). I am WAY excited to finish this long chapter in my life and anxious to see where God leads me after this December.
Ryan and I have been making a point to have more people over to the house, whether it's family or friends. So far we've had four 'entertainings' and are already scheduling more for next month. There's just something wonderful about opening your home to family or friends, breaking bread with them or just talking and watching the kids play. Cherished times.
One thing I am SUPER excited about is how we have been working on being better stewards with the money the Lord has blessed us with. Since March our food bill has been reduced by an average of $76 a week. Our July food and gas averages were reduced by $100 and $25 respecitvely from March. It's wonderful! We've accomplished this savings by better utilzing coupons, sales, and comparison pricing. We've also been reviewing our food purchases and not buying foods that have little or no nutritional value. We still buy the occassional bag of chips, but instad of two or three bags a week, we've reduced it to it will be two or three bags a month. Really helps keep costs down! It has not, however, helped to bring our weights down. But that's another story...
We moved (three houses down the street) at the end of June and are LOVING our new home. It's 600 square feet bigger, has a fantastic yard, and we have some amazing landlords. We were not actively looking for a new home, but knew our residency in our current home would be coming to an end soon. While outside playing with the kids one Sunday evening our neighbors walked by and asked if we go to Calvary Chapel. Turns out they did too. In fact, our neighbors fiancee took pictures for our directory (small world - small town). About a month later she came by the house and asked us if we'd be interested in renting her house when she moves out to get married. After a brief discussion and much prayer, we said "Yes!" A few weeks later we moved in and have thoroughly enjoyed it. The kids like the fact that they kept their same friends and say our new home feels more like a 'resort.'
We also finished up the homeschool year and I'm happy to report that both girls completed their grades. They both excel at reading but Doodle Bug has still been struggling with math. She's had this "I can't do it! I hate it!" attitude for the past two years- well this school year she worked REALLY hard and her attitude improved dramatically. Unfortunately, she is not up to grade level on math yet - we found out this was mainly due to the curriculum we used. So, with lots of feedback from her evaluator, we're making preparations for next school year and making sure we bring Doodle back up to par with her math.
This will be Little Man's first official year of school and he is SO excited! Ryan even has a Bible class for just the two of them planned out. They're going to learn about the book of Acts first. I'm not sure who's more excited, Little Man or Ryan. :)
It's also Buddy Boy's turn at some more structured schooling as he turns 3 in September. The wonderful thing with him, is that because of his birthday - he'll be turning 6 just weeks after starting Kindergarten (unless we feel the need to put him in early - which as of now, we don't) which means we'll be able to give him three full years of 'structuring' with him before his official education begins. I just LOVE the preschool and early elementary years!
My school has also ended for the summer and I have one class remaining to complete my AA (I hope!). I am WAY excited to finish this long chapter in my life and anxious to see where God leads me after this December.
Ryan and I have been making a point to have more people over to the house, whether it's family or friends. So far we've had four 'entertainings' and are already scheduling more for next month. There's just something wonderful about opening your home to family or friends, breaking bread with them or just talking and watching the kids play. Cherished times.
One thing I am SUPER excited about is how we have been working on being better stewards with the money the Lord has blessed us with. Since March our food bill has been reduced by an average of $76 a week. Our July food and gas averages were reduced by $100 and $25 respecitvely from March. It's wonderful! We've accomplished this savings by better utilzing coupons, sales, and comparison pricing. We've also been reviewing our food purchases and not buying foods that have little or no nutritional value. We still buy the occassional bag of chips, but instad of two or three bags a week, we've reduced it to it will be two or three bags a month. Really helps keep costs down! It has not, however, helped to bring our weights down. But that's another story...
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