This is truly what made me want to come back.  I heard stories from these lovely ladies.  Stories about their drug addictions, alcohol addictions and even food addictions.  I felt humbled and nervous.  I felt silly sitting there with my “minor struggles” with sleeping too much, depression and my addiction to food and especially sweets.  Again Satan and I had the same conversation but again I shooed him away knowing he was so very wrong.

Are all sins the same?  Humans most certainly don’t act like it.  Many people, unfortunately, accept some sins while turning their noses up at others or, worse, persecuting others for their struggles.  Does God not say that we ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? (Romans 3:23-24)

²² This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

“There is no difference”, it says.  So why have humans learned to accept gluttony, smoking, and even “minor” alcoholism but persecute those who struggle other things.  I submit that perhaps the “other sins” are considered not only private – such as pornography – but also more negative.  Some people, I think, believe these sins are more harmful to the sinner as well as those around them.  But lets look at one of my struggles – obesity.  Those of you who have seen me recently might laugh or chuckle or whatever because with all those clothes on I don’t look obese.  But I do struggle with over eating and have been 220 lbs. at my largest, which is obese for my height and age.

Any way… I digress… how does obesity harm me?  Well being obese, according to reliable studies, causes heart disease, arthritis, and a shorter life, among many other things.  So it is very harmful to my body to over eat to the point of obesity.

How does my gluttony and obesity harm those around me? Well when I eat unhealthy I feel tired, so I sleep more and neglect my daily duties like doing the laundry, the dishes and keeping a clean house; which hardly teaches my children to keep their things clean.  When I become obese or overweight I cannot perform as well as a mom.  I don’t play actively with my kids.  They want to play outside but I don’t “feel” like it because I truly feel ill.

So a “simple” sin like gluttony, which is easily and openly accepted in church groups (notice POT LUCKS) does harm not only the sinner but also those who love them.

Now let me distinguish here since I thought of it.  I don’t believe it is being obese that is the sin.  Some people struggle with losing weight or gaining weight and I understand that.  The sin is gluttony – over eating and eating unhealthy foods, knowing that is it making you obese and unhealthy.  When we know something is bad for us we should not do it.  On the contrary, when we know something is good for us we should do it.

What is my point?  I love Celebrate recovery because they allow you to share openly and honestly about your addictions without judgment or gossip.  This is how I believe we as Christians should be.  The Bible is very clear about this issue – sharing our sins without judgment, gossip or persecution. Note James 2:12-13

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³ because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

And

Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

There are many other verses I could site here but I will just leave you with this: have more patience and love toward one another and recognize that your struggles are not any better or worse than your friends, co-workers, loved ones and even strangers.  We are all equal in the eyes of God.  The only difference between you and someone else is possibly salvation, which is meant to be shared!  So start lovin and start sharin!

Loads of love to y’all.  I’ve missed blogging.  My wordpress connection with facebook was screwed up but YAY I fixed it this morning.  Praise God!!

So look forward to more of my ranting, raving and loving y’all!

*LOVE and HUGS*

Super Mom

If you are new please read my bio.  I am super because Christ makes me more than I am.  I do not proclaim to be super on my own.  Thanks!

This is truly what made me want to come back.  I heard stories from these lovely ladies.  Stories about their drug addictions, alcohol addictions and even food addictions.  I felt humbled and nervous.  I felt silly sitting there with my “minor struggles” with sleeping too much, depression and my addiction to food and especially sweets.  Again Satan and I had the same conversation but again I shooed him away knowing he was so very wrong.

Are all sins the same?  Humans most certainly don’t act like it.  Many people, unfortunately, accept some sins while turning their noses up at others or, worse, persecuting others for their struggles.  Does God not say that we ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? (Romans 3:23-24)

²² This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

“There is no difference”, it says.  So why have humans learned to accept gluttony, smoking, and even “minor” alcoholism but persecute those who struggle other things.  I submit that perhaps the “other sins” are considered not only private – such as pornography – but also more negative.  Some people, I think, believe these sins are more harmful to the sinner as well as those around them.  But lets look at one of my struggles – obesity.  Those of you who have seen me recently might laugh or chuckle or whatever because with all those clothes on I don’t look obese.  But I do struggle with over eating and have been 220 lbs. at my largest, which is obese for my height and age.

Any way… I digress… how does obesity harm me?  Well being obese, according to reliable studies, causes heart disease, arthritis, and a shorter life, among many other things.  So it is very harmful to my body to over eat to the point of obesity.

How does my gluttony and obesity harm those around me? Well when I eat unhealthy I feel tired, so I sleep more and neglect my daily duties like doing the laundry, the dishes and keeping a clean house; which hardly teaches my children to keep their things clean.  When I become obese or overweight I cannot perform as well as a mom.  I don’t play actively with my kids.  They want to play outside but I don’t “feel” like it because I truly feel ill.

So a “simple” sin like gluttony, which is easily and openly accepted in church groups (notice POT LUCKS) does harm not only the sinner but also those who love them.

Now let me distinguish here since I thought of it.  I don’t believe it is being obese that is the sin.  Some people struggle with losing weight or gaining weight and I understand that.  The sin is gluttony – over eating and eating unhealthy foods, knowing that is it making you obese and unhealthy.  When we know something is bad for us we should not do it.  On the contrary, when we know something is good for us we should do it.

What is my point?  I love Celebrate recovery because they allow you to share openly and honestly about your addictions without judgment or gossip.  This is how I believe we as Christians should be.  The Bible is very clear about this issue – sharing our sins without judgment, gossip or persecution. Note James 2:12-13

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, ¹³ because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

And

Ephesians 4:2
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

There are many other verses I could site here but I will just leave you with this: have more patience and love toward one another and recognize that your struggles are not any better or worse than your friends, co-workers, loved ones and even strangers.  We are all equal in the eyes of God.  The only difference between you and someone else is possibly salvation, which is meant to be shared!  So start lovin and start sharin!

Loads of love to y’all.  I’ve missed blogging.  My wordpress connection with facebook was screwed up but YAY I fixed it this morning.  Praise God!!

So look forward to more of my ranting, raving and loving y’all!

*LOVE and HUGS*

Super Mom

If you are new please read my bio.  I am super because Christ makes me more than I am.  I do not proclaim to be super on my own.  Thanks!

Exercise Regularly
There are two forms of exercise.  Generally people think of the first form: scheduled work out sessions on a regular basis (either anaerobic or aerobic exercise).  While it is important to work up to frequently scheduled workout sessions, there is another important form of exercise: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis or NEAT.  NEAT is made up of all the movements your body makes outside of planned exercise.  This is movements such as walking, talking, toe tapping, guitar playing, dancing, singing, shopping, gum chewing, fidgeting and pretty much any movement not specifically intended to improve fitness.  One way to add exercise to our lives without jumping into the gym is by increasing our NEAT points. 
There are many easy ways to do this.

• Have an elevator you frequent?  Try taking the stairs instead, at least for floor or two.
• Usually look for the perfect parking spot right near the front door?  Park farther away from the entrance and work towards parking “way out there”.
• Do you have a seated job? Perhaps stand up occasionally to work, or pace your work space while you work.  A good headset can enable you to move while you talk on the phone.
• Think of some other ways you could improve your daily movement and prevent your day from being most sedentary.  A lack of movement is a perfect environment for obesity!

Consider if you have weight to lose and work specifically on weight loss before beginning a rigorous exercise plan.

Support
Research shows that people who begin a weight loss plan without support are more likely to either quit their weight loss program or regain the weight quickly.  Have you ever tried to start walking consistently and found yourself forgetting or lacking motivation?  Perhaps you then asked a friend to be your walking partner, asking them to remind and encourage you to walk and you would do the same for them. It is likely you then found it much easier to walk consistently.  This is precisely what I am referring to.  Without support it is difficult for most people to stick with a weight loss plan and even more importantly avoid regaining weight.  It is vital to have friends and family who actively support your health goals.  If you find yourself frustrated by a particular friend or family member who is unsupportive, address the issue with them and explain your plan and purpose for your health changes.  Most of the time our friends and family love us and just want what is best for us and discussing it will solve the support issue.

Find at least one partner who you tag as your support buddy and fully explain your intentions, reasons and plans with them and ask them to hold you accountable.  Knowing that someone is going to ask, “are you making wise choices” can make a big difference in the choices you make.

Low-fat snacks every three hours
It is common for Americans to eat three large meals a day, likely far apart from each other and filled with over-sized portions and unhealthy foods.  I found that, before my health changes, not only was I overeating but I was also making very poor choices on a regular basis.  So overeating unhealthy foods!

Change not only what you eat, but also how much and how often.  Research shows that eating several smaller “meals” a day is much healthier.  Make certain these meals include healthy choices such as carrot sticks, celery, or yogurt.  I have many healthy snack ideas if you are interested.

It is best to eat 2 1/2 to three hours apart.  This sounds like a lot but consider that most of these “meals” are more like snacks rather than a huge meal you cook.  It is still important to consume three larger meals a day but not the traditional definition of large.

Individual Plan
It is important to formulate your health goals around your activities and life-style.  Get a notebook and every evening jot down what you did that day.  Do this every day for at least a week and then look back at where you had dead spaces – gaps of time you were doing little or nothing – or wasted time, time where you did something that could be replaced with something more constructive.  A “soccer mom” for example who is very busy would use this to determine when she can fit in an exercise plan.

Take the same or a different note book and keep track of every morsel of food you put in your mouth for at least a week.  Some people are heavy snackers.  A cookie here and a handful of chips there adds up to a heaping dose of bad calories and eventually an unhealthy, overweight body.  Keeping a food journal will help you determine the poor health habits you need to eliminate.

Monitor
It is essential to monitor  your weight and health to insure you are on a path to long-term health.  Without looking at the signs on the road how can you be certain you are still going the correct direction?

Set up a regular schedule for weighing a measuring your body.  Women tend to fluctuate more in inches rather than pounds and it is important to keep track of that fluctuation.

A good pair of “skinny jeans” is a great way to tell if you are gaining or losing weight.  Notice how tight or loose your clothes are.  If you find your clothes getting too tight perhaps you need to check the other areas I’ve mentioned to determine why your clothes are tight, rather than replacing your clothes!

In Conclusion
It is extremely important to live a life conscious of my health.  Ignore it and it will go away!  Changing things in these areas is certain to improve your health!

All information taken from Dr. A’s Habits of Health by Dr. Wayne Andersen

Lately my life has felt a little shook up.  I feel like I am living in a snow globe that has been turned upside down in slow motion.  Our life has been one small trial after another, then the large difficulty of losing Presten’s father to the hands of God at the early age of 60.  It was as if our lives slowly turned up-side-down then crashed on the floor and rolled around a bit.  We aren’t quite sure where it will stop and stay!

If anyone ever told you life is easy they were wrong!

Life is never easy – neither for the sinner nor the redeemed but PRAISE GOD the life of a Christian is a life unburdened.  Nope, its still not easy! However when trials come our way – as they most definitely will – we have the luxury of asking someone else to carry those burdens for us.  The difficulty lies in letting those burdens go and shaking off the feelings the trials cause.  Feeling and extending Forgiveness, feeling unashamed, guilt-free and even confident in our forgiveness is something that can be very difficult to do.

Praise God that He is a patient and loving Father.  He never gives up on us, even when we play tug-of-war with our burdens.  “Take them God!” and we throw them at Him, only to pull them back and carry them around for a while.

So here I stand, again saying “Take it God!”, hoping that I will have the strength to fully let things go and trust Him.  I pray and pray and pray some more, “God lead us and bear our burden.”

Nothing is more important than having Faith in God.  Without faith, our baptism and possible salvation are nothing.  How can you be saved by someone you don’t believe in?  Without faith our words of “Take it away!” mean nothing because we will only hold on to it, believing He wont really bear our burdens.  Without Faith all prayers are empty words spoken to the walls. How can our prayers move our hearts let alone a mountain without faith?

Have faith.  Take heart.  Trust that God is listening, He is working and He really does know what He is doing. (This is a bit of self-reassurance of course!)

At times like this I remind myself that God is not just a friend but He is our Father.  Sometimes I do things my kids do not like.  I say “no” to requests for ice cream before bed time or another stuffed toy they don’t need from the store.  I don’t give them everything they want.  I discipline them when they deliberately do things wrong and I teach them when they make a mistake.  I continually guide my children down the path of life, never letting up on what I believe is best for them.  God is no different.  If you read the Bible there are many verses that describe God as our Father.

So I am going to trust my Father do take good care of me and direct me in the right path.

Hope your day is blessed!

Super Mom

But once you are the “proper weight” and have the best possible muscles to fat ratio are you then healthy? Possibly not.  Being healthy is not just about how much fat you have, either.  I have known unhealthy lean people who you might look at and say they don’t have a pound to loose and you would, in fact, be correct.  This is because your health is much like many other things in life: it is a complete compilation of many factors. 

The factors that most strongly affect your health include:

• How much water you drink (that is WATER, not liquid!)
• How much and how often you move your body (not just exercise but literally MOVE IT!)
• What foods you eat on a regular basis and the amount of NUTRITION therein (Let’s face it; it is not healthy to eat chocolate cake and drink soda for every meal every day!)
• How much rest you get on a regular basis (Nope. Those 4 hours of sleep were NOT enough!)
• The quality of air you breathe
• The quality of your thought processes

Now that last one may have you going “huh”!?  Haven’t you ever known someone who was negative and they pulled you down?  When I worked at Wal-mart there was this lady who was always in a funk.  No matter how happy I was when I went to work she would inevitably bring me down.  Try as I may to remain positive, her negative attitude was no good for me and frequently got the best of me in the end.  Your thoughts are no different.  If your thoughts are negative – focusing on the glass being half-empty instead of half-full, for example – then they will inevitably bring you down.  God says it better in Philippians 4:4-9 (my personal favorite verse):

⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

So according to that if we let our anxiety go, give it to God in prayer and think happy thoughts then we will have peace.

So my whole scatter-brained point is this: Health cannot be judged by the number on the scale or how lean your body may appear to be.  We must work on our whole-body health – mind included – before we can honestly claim to be completely healthy.

May God bless your health endeavors.  Let me know if I can help!

X <3 X

Super Mom

Philippians 4:4-9
⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

I know, it is much easier said than done.  We have all been in a situation where someone wronged us and did not know or perhaps did not care and it really hurt.  What do we do with that? Sometimes we bottle it up and just feel upset forever; even the mention of their name makes us relive all those emotions of the painful situation.  But God calls us to be people of forgiveness.  He charges us to forgive as he has forgiven us.  What has God forgiven you of? We have all sinned and have much to be forgiven for; so extend forgiveness as you were forgiven.

Of course letting the feelings go, even after telling yourself you forgive them, can be difficult.  I find the best solution is to focus on the good of the situation.  What did you learn?  How did your relationship with God grow because of the difficult situation?  How have you become wiser or stronger?  And it also helps to think of the good within the person or people involved.  Though it can be tough sometimes to find the good in someone, there is good in everyone’s heart somewhere (I believe) and you just have to find it.  Focus on that good.

Most importantly always remember in every situation – both good and bad – to turn to God.  God wants to hear our joys and appreciates a simple thank you.  He also wants us to share our struggles with him.  Hey, he already knows your sins even before you commit them! So why not talk to him about those too!

He is the greatest friend you could ever hope for.  Not just because He is a good listener but also because more than any other friend God actually has the POWER to DO SOMETHING about your struggle!   Just because he does not instantaneously remove our pain when we tell him about it does not mean he is not present and working in our life.  His mighty hand is there and he is working the situation our for ultimate good.

May you feel the blessings of the Lord in your life today!

xox
Maggie

One thing he discussed was the Law of Action vs. the Law of Transcendence.  The Law of Action states that you are where you are and who you are because of your past choices and actions.  Whereas the Law of Transcendence says that Anything and Everything can change at ANY time!  How inspiring!

99% of those who read this will be over the age of 25.  Once you are past a certain age you can no longer blame your tough situation on your parents, grandparents, friends, colleges, your boss or any other adult around you or in your past.  You are who you made yourself at this point.  Sure, circumstances happen beyond our control; however we are always in control of how we react to these circumstances.

So I am beginning again.  I have spent so much time blaming my life on my parents, my circumstance, my husbands job, my lack of “free time”.  I am so done with blame.  I put all my sour feelings and disappointments in a proverbial box and shoved it in the back of that closet – you know, the one that NEVER gets cleaned – and I am never opening it again.  Instead I choose a better life and will focus on not where I was, am, or how bad it makes me feel but instead on who and where I want to be.  I am seizing my dreams and giving my life all I’ve got.

We have one chance at the life and I don’t want to screw my chance up!  There is this great song by Switchfoot that says, “This is your life.  Are you who you want to be??”  NO!  I am not!  So what am I gonna do about that? Whine?  Cry?  Pout?  Sit in a pool of depression and invite all my friends to my pity party?? NO!  Y’all don’t wanna come to a pity party!  You want to join me in CELEBRATION!?  Which one is more fun?  A funeral with sorrow and tears?  Or a PARTY with music, laughter, dancing and joy!?  I choose the second choice.  My funeral will come when God chooses but until then I choose to live a life worth celebrating!

This is YOUR life.  Are YOU who YOU want to be??

*Love and HUGS*
Maggie

So health and weight aside Life is pretty sweet.  Cassie started kindergarten (already??) and is loving it.  Meanwhile back at the castle the little princess and I are really enjoying some one-on-one time, when she’s not throwing tantrums.  Her tantrums have gotten much better though, mainly I think because not only am I with her alone more to work on it but also that Mommy’s temper has gotten better.

Presten and me are taking a marriage class at church on Sunday nights.  Its a good one and we’ve both improved in important areas.  I wont say much more than that.

As some might know I am now a health coach.  I’m finding it much harder to locate people who would like my help working on their health than I anticipated.  Presten is my first client and he is seeing a lot of improvement.  I have a couple of leads and I’m excited about the prospect.  I just want to help people achieve the success in their health that I have seen so many others achieve! I’ll just keep praying and searching!

Other than that life is pretty busy!  We moved across the street from the congregation we attend and are loving it – despite all the jokes.   We have saved a huge bundle on gas, which is good because my car is great except on gas mileage! Its nice to be involved at our congregation so much.  I am really enjoying getting to know people.  It seems like we have something going on almost every day which is both good and bad.  It does lead to late evenings and by the time we get the kids in bed we are beat and just want to relax.

The biggest thing my mind keeps coming back to is how much peace I feel this year.  As some of you are aware it is October – the saddest month of the year for me – and in past years have found it hard to make it through the month without cake, ice cream and several good movies.  This year, however, I am finding myself feeling much more at peace with the death of my sister.  Its not that I dont miss her or feel sad she left before me, but its more that I just feel at peace.  I must attribute it all to my daily bible reading – or should I say listening – because before then I did feel the ache in my heart and often found myself crying in sorrow.  Almost 3 weeks ago I realized that I was letting life happen to me, rather than taking control of my choices and living life with intention, up to and including my relationship with God — reactionally praying when I felt a need rather than reaching out to Him by choice.  One of the steps I knew were necessary to get my life back on track was daily Bible reading.  I have never read the whole Bible through and have never been an avid reader, and that needed to change.  I committed to reading one chapter of Proverbs every weekday until finished just so I could get used to reading.  I downloaded an application to my phone so it would read the Bible to me.  Every morning when I take Cassie to school I listen to the Bible in the car. It only takes about 5 minutes or less but I am learning so much! I have also noticed that I feel happier every day overall.

If you arent reading your Bible every day consider downloading an app to your smart phone if you have one.  Go to www.bible.is for the one I use.  Its free! It isnt fancy but it works and I like that it can read the Bible to me when Im in the car.

Keep striving to be Super.

• Several pizzas – usually half a large pizza by myself
• nearly half a DQ ice cream sheet cake by myself
• nearly no veggies
• an amazingly disgusting amount of sweets
• rarely any breakfast and certainly not 6 meals a day

So as you can see it would be tough for anyone to keep the weight off if they abused their body like that.  I wasn’t really trying to keep the weight off.  At first I was just trying to keep food down and ate almost nothing for nearly two weeks! It was terrible!  Then once I felt better my birthday was only 2 days away and I didn’t see the point in beginning my diet so close to my birthday.  I enjoyed eating out and having cake.  I suppose it was worth the 10 lbs… maybe.

The point is once I lose all the weight I intend to lose then I will take care of myself.  I wont buy a huge ice cream cake and eat nearly half of it myself.  I wont overeat.  I wont eat half a large pizza – just a slice or two.  I will watch what I eat.  I will enjoy food and even eat sweets sometimes but I wont abuse myself with food.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying good food but food can be like anything else: abused.  “Too much of a good thing” is debatable, but when it comes to something that can hurt you too much is a bad thing.  Think of alcohol, or illegal drugs – too much of those can kill you.  Food is no different.  Too much unhealthy food – fried, sweet, or fattening – will kill you!  Numerous studies have proven that true.  An obese person lives a shorter life.  You might say, “Well you have to die of something.” or “Its better to enjoy life and die young than to not have any fun.”  While you will “die of something” and perhaps even have fun obese people tend to die a slow painful death.

I don’t say these things to hurt or offend anyone.  I was facing a choice: continue eating tasty, rich foods or stop and work on my health.  Many of us face this choice but choose to ignore our health.  Why?  Is good food really worth your life?  Having a husband and kids that I love and having hope that I will eventually enjoy grandkids makes me say a resounding “NO!  Food is not worth my life or my health!”.  So despite the past week or two of stupidity that would say otherwise, I do care about my health and I do want it to improve further.

I already feel better than I did at 200 lbs.  But since I jumped off the diet I have felt horrible.  I’m sure it has to do with the poor quality of the food I have been consuming!!  I am eager to lose the rest of my weight.

Current weight: 170
Target weight: roughly 145
Amount left to lose: 25 lbs

I am aiming for a size more than a weight.  Weight is so relative and not really my relative!!  My goal is really to work off these flabby thighs and tighten my derrière!  Once my body is more firm and much less flabby I will be happy no matter what weight I am.  Frankly if I were the size and tone I wanted to be I wouldn’t care if I weighed 175 lbs!! I just don’t want to feel awful anymore or be flabby.

How I will feel when I am healthy!!
I wake up early in the morning and spring out of bed. I feel energetic, alert and excited about starting my day. As the day progresses, my energy stays constant as I run about and do my chores, take care of my kiddos and even get out in the fresh air and enjoy the day. I am physically active: I take walks, go hiking, and even occasionally mountain climb and I FEEL GREAT while I do these things. My emotional state is contented and when troubles arise I handle them with grace and peace, and when troubled I return to emotional contentedness quickly and easily.

My life is filled with fun, pleasure, sunshine, order and organization. I look around and am pleased with my actions and achievements. I feel GREAT!

Keep me and my goals in your prayers.  Thanks!

X <3 X
Super Mom

Friday was my 27th birthday.  That may not seem like a big deal to some, but “Big birthdays” are all about perception.  Some may want a big bash for their 21st, others their 30th, me it was my 27th.  I am big on numbers and, in the Bible, 2 is often associated with “complete” and 7 is usually associated with “perfect” – therefore is stands to reason that the mixture of 2 and 7 is completely perfect, right?  Not that this year makes me completely perfect (so far from it!) but that I hope the events this year will be brighter, happier and more pleasant, especially compared to the year my sister died, I had an emergency c-sec and several other horrible events happened!! Yeah that was the worst year of my life!! Here’s to prayin’ for a better year this 27th!

My wonderful husband went all out this year.  Last year we weren’t able to do anything at all and he promised to make it up to me. I told him I wanted 27 to be awesome! Well he sure delivered.

Friday morning I woke up about 7 a.m., sat up to look at the clock and noticed Presten sneaking through the room in jeans and a collared shirt.  Feeling rather groggy I said to him, “Why are you wearing jeans to work?”  (He always wears slacks, a collared shirt and a tie.)  He got a funny look on is face and sat beside me on the bed. “Well, I took the day off.  I was going to let you sleep in but I cant find clothes for the kids.  The plan was for me to get up, take the kids to Colleen’s house, come home, put my pajamas back on and slip in bed without you knowing it.  Surprise!”  That would have been funny.  I told him I didn’t mind helping him with the kids.

He further explained the weekend while I got the kids ready to go and got dressed.  “Well Colleen is taking both kids this morning and then Cassie is going to Diana’s house and Serenity is going to Heather’s house.  Then tomorrow afternoon Marlene will take Serenity.”  What??
“So they are spending the night?” I was surprised!
“Yep.  Happy birthday, honey!!”  I was really excited.  More than 24 hours with peace and quiet… What a gift!  “So what are we going to do while they are gone?” I wondered if he had it all planned out.
“Well that is up to you.  I wasn’t sure what you would want to do and I wasn’t sure about the weather.  I looked into a bed and breakfast or a hotel but they are all so expensive we couldn’t really afford it.”  He sounded disappointed he couldn’t give me more.
“Well, honey, if the kids are going to be gone then there is no reason to pay for a bed somewhere else!! It will be great to sleep in our own bed without the kids!” I reassured him.  I was super excited!!

We dropped the kiddos off at Colleens house around 8 a.m.  I thanked her profusely but didn’t feel like I thanked her enough.  I was so thrilled!  After sitting in the car brainstorming for a bit we decided to go to Starbucks and use up a gift card I have.  Man, their frappachinos are really just milkshakes, but they are good.  Then we went home and watched a TV show on Netflix without the kiddos needing us.  So nice.  Such a quiet house…  Then we went out to lunch at Buster’s BBQ, using another gift card we had.  After lunch we went to block buster and rented 3 movies – “Its complicated”, “Pirate Radio” and “Sherlock Holmes”.  We considered seeing a movie in theater after lunch but decided against it since there weren’t a whole lot of movies we wanted to see. Instead we watched some more TV at home and then went to dinner out.  After dinner we went to Alice in Wonderland in 3D.  It was very good but I think I wouldn’t have paid so much for the 3D had I known better.  Don’t bother.  You aren’t missing anything. We went home, watched a movie together and went to bed.

Saturday morning we didn’t wake up until 8:30 which was rather nice.  We decided to go ahead and get up, but enjoyed taking our time.  It was nice to not have to rush or worry about anyone except ourselves.  (I did really miss my kiddos, though.)  We sat and talked for a long time and then finally made it around to eating lunch at Sweet Tomatoes.  After lunch we drove out past Vancouver, WA to a historical lilac farm.  It was so beautiful and they smell so awesome!! Down the road from there was a tulip festival; we drove by there and took some pictures.  Then we planned to pick up the kids, pizza, and ice cream cake (from DQ of course!) and watch a family movie while we eat.  Everyone was fine with keeping the kids longer but I missed them and figured they missed me.  I also didn’t want the kids to wear out their welcome.  It would be nice to have a break more than once a year and the best way to do so is to keep the sitters happy.

It would be great, once we move and have a nice house with more space, to plan a group of people who take turns watching kids for each other to have a break.  EVERY parent deserves a break now and then.  When was the last time you had a job that was 24/7 without a single day off, coffee break, or other bit of peace?  So it is with parenting if you have no one to help with the kiddos.  We don’t have any family here so its not like the kids go to Grandma’s house sometimes. If we don’t find friends to help with the kids then we don’t get a break.  That is why this gift was so huge.  I really needed a break.  It was very renewing and regenerating.  Not to mention that there we so many times Presten and I were just quietly riding in the car together – we didn’t talk and neither did the kids.  So peaceful!!

Thank you so much to all the lovely people who made this weekend possible:
Colleen Stofan and family, Diana Danielson, Heather Gamotis and Marlene and Gary Kelly.   The kids had a great time with all y’all and I really, really, appreciate you helping out! It was AWESOME!  Colleen, Diana and Heather: I hope you’ll let me take your kids sometime for a break!

What an awesome 27th birthday!! May the whole year be blessed by God. IJNA!

x <3 x
Super Mom
Feelin’ even more SUPER now!