Weight loss challenge

First off, you have to read this post by Tasha!! Ummm, timely? I think so! It coincides so nicely with my post a couple of weeks ago about joy and depression.

I started a new challenge on Tuesday.
A friend posted a friendly weight-loss competition on facebook.
We all send in our weight each week and at the end of the 4th week, whoever's lost the most percentage of weight will get a $25 gift card from each person competing in the challenge. There are 10 other people in this challenge. That's $250 for those of you who don't want to do the math.
I decided this was a great motivator and just the jumpstart I need. :)

What am I doing to lose weight? Nothing new. It's the same old stuff we know works. I'm exercising and eating healthily. That's it. No new-fangled diet. I know this works, folks. I've done it before and I've seen others do it before and I've seen it work.
Why don't I do it all the time? I will let Paul's words in Romans 7 explain this:
¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.

And that explains that.
I can only live a healthy lifestyle when my eyes are focused on the Lord.

Psalm 121
¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

I might as well just repost this from earlier in the year. Funny how I've come full circle...

If you're looking for ideas on how to lose weight or how to be healthier, I wanted to share some foods I try to incorporate daily for weight loss. I hope this is helpful to you.
Lemon water
Green tea
Oatmeal
Almonds
Green smoothies
Yogurt
Small amounts of bread (some days none at all)
Keep these foods in mind and on hand

As for exercise, I'm pretty boring. I like the treadmill. It's climate-controlled. It's convenient. It's in my home, which is a must right now as getting to a gym takes much more time and work to plan out. I can set up an iPad and watch (or listen) to a TV show. I can push myself as hard as I want and no one's watching me :). Plus I can wear my ratty old workout clothes and no one sees them but me.
At the start of the year my family is getting a YMCA membership. I'm excited about this because I want to start incorporating other types of exercise - group fitness, swim and weight lifting. They have childcare options, so I won't have to worry about what to do with my kiddos. They also have options of classes for my kids at reduced member rates: gymnastics, dance, soccer, basketball, etc.

And let me add this as an aside:
I know I've only been doing this for three days, but I already feel better. My mind is clearer. My body is less sluggish. My heart is happier.

Life change

A lot's been going on this week. But before I delve into all that, let me share this with you.
Check out my friend Rachael's blog. This post was so moving to me. I'm so thankful for her words. They spoke to me today.

I've been hurting lately. Not exactly sure why. But somewhere along the way I've been grieving. A life that I could've had, maybe? Circumstances that might have been different. Time lost in my own selfishness and pride. Time that I'll never have back.

But now is the time to move on. Sure there are things I wish I could change. There are times in my life in which I wish I had done things differently.

So now is the time to do those things differently.

My hope is that I will care less about a clean and orderly house and care more about a clean and orderly spirit.

I will choose to spend more time honoring my husband.

I will spend more time loving my kids.

I will spend more time in the Word.

And more time taking care of me in a way that truly glorifies God.

The series we're doing at church right now is called FREE - take a peek and let me know what you think. It's been life-changing for me, honestly.

And life change? I think I've been in need of some of that for a long time.

Welcome home

I read this post a few weeks ago and I thought to myself how lovely it would be if I could manage to pull off a happy household when David comes home. I tried at first. We moved into the new house and everything was disorganized enough that it felt like an impossible task, but I was determined. So after the house got some sense of order to it and I was feeling up to the challenge, I decided to try it out.
Now I'm a fairly reasonable and realistic person. I know I'm no Martha Stewart. I wasn't going to have a three course meal, all made from scratch, waiting on my husband. The house is never going to be spotless with two little ones running around.
But I thought I could control the environment to some degree.
I lit a candle.
I attempted to have dinner, however humble, on the table when he walked in the door.
I wanted to have the house straightened up so he at least wouldn't trip over toys as he walked in the door.

Do you know what happened?

That particular day both kids were out of sorts, crying and whining all afternoon.
Which meant I had very little time to cook and even less time to clean.
I had good intentions of having a fairly nice dinner, but it ended up being mostly thrown together.
David was 30 minutes late due to an unforeseen project at work.

He walked in the door and I know he was not met with a calm and gentle wife who lovingly greeted him at the door with kisses.
He was more or less greeted before he even got in the door with shrieks and screams. From both kids. And me.

And that has been the scene in our house more often than not lately.
I'm tired of it.
My husband's tired of it.
And whether they know it or not, the kids are tired of it.

I'm learning.

It's okay if I stop what I'm doing and pay attention to my kids. Even if I have to spend the majority of the afternoon playing with legos and pretending to bake a cake in the kids' kitchen. I obviously can't do that all the time. But I'm learning that if I can give the kids some of my attention then they're more satisfied than if I try to get my stuff done first.

Oh, I have so much to learn.

One goal I have that I hope will help is to have a more positive spirit and fill my mind with more Philippians 4:8.

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.

I know this will bring me joy.
And it will bring my family joy, too.

Joy and Depression

I've been depressed over the past few months. There's no way around it. I think I've been hiding it. Not intentionally, really, but I just didn't know what to do with it. Or the why of it. I would love to tell you why I've been depressed, but I just can't. There's not one major life event that happened and "depressed" me. It's a culmination of things really...

We moved in July. With any move comes stress. The whole process was fairly smooth as far as these things go, but it was still stressful. I think anytime you have to pack up a house and move it all, sign away your life through a mountain of paperwork, emails and phone calls, figure out new schedules, new routes, new routines...it takes a toll.

Add to that the stresses of renting out our old house, which has been fairly simple yet we still had a lot of responsibility, phone calls, paperwork, etc. It's been fairly smooth, but I still feel the weight of that responsibility heavily. I like to think that I'm flexible and easygoing, but in reality I like things to stay predictable and uncomplicated. There is nothing uncomplicated about moving or renting out a house.

The new school year started up. I typically love the start of fall and the beginnings of routines and schedules. However, this year I had a hard time figuring it all out. I'll be honest and say I still don't have it figured out and I'm not necessarily sold on the schedule we have. But it's ours for now. David and I have discussed this schedule and will most likely make some changes, either very soon or at least by next year.

I feel that I must include the job of motherhood in this category. Don't get me wrong. I love being a mother and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Most days. (I'm not gonna lie here, there are times that I just might trade it for a cup of coffee and a good book...By.My.Self.)
There are those days when I absolutely have no idea what to do. I don't know how to discipline. I don't know how to create activities. I don't know how to have an imagination. I don't know how to figure out everyone's schedule. I don't know how to love well. And there are some days that I don't know my children at all.

I'm learning. I'm figuring some of this out and on the days that I can't figure it out, I'm allowing God's grace to fill in the gaps, to pour out over me and my children and everything that I don't know or understand.

And that's where joy comes in. It's something I will choose each day. I keep reminding myself that it's new every morning. It's there, I just have to find it.

Psalm 30

² O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
    and you have healed me.
³ O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
    you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.^[a]

⁴ Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
    and give thanks to his holy name.^[b]
5 For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.^[c]
Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

⁶ As for me, I said in my prosperity,
    “I shall never be moved.”
⁷ By your favor, O Lord,
    you made my mountain stand strong;
you hid your face;
    I was dismayed.

⁸ To you, O Lord, I cry,
    and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
⁹ “What profit is there in my death,^[d]
    if I go down to the pit?^[e]
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it tell of your faithfulness?
¹⁰ Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
    O Lord, be my helper!”

¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    you have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
¹² that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Today I choose joy!!

Don't worry

Funnies from the little man - Part 7 + a bonus from baby girl

You can read the most recent funnies here.

(After I cut a windshield and doors into a cardboard box to make a car for him)
X: Mommy, let's play in my box car.
(Technically he's right, but it just struck me as funny.)

One day Xander and I were having a conversation about family members. He said this about my Aunt Karen:
X: I just call her KTG because she's so special.
(KTG stands for Karen the Great...because she is)

(After the floor had been mopped and I had asked him to stay off the floor)
X: Mommy! How can I get to my car? The floor got clean and now I can never get to it again!

(Talking to Grandma on the phone after we went to the pumpkin patch.)
X: My pumpkin is soooo heavy!
Grandma: It is?
X: Yeah, but it's okay because I've got my big man muscles on.

Me: Did you show Mimi and Papa a toy?
X: Yes. I showed them my potato head and it was the best time of their life.

X: Why aren't you snoring?
Me: Why? Do I snore when I lay with you sometimes?
X: Yeah.
(Me laughing.)
X: Nah, I'm just kidding.
(I know he's not!)

(Xander on the phone with Amelia Jayne while she was spending the night with Mimi)
X: Hi baby girl! It's me, Xander! I love you. Oh, you're so sweet. You can't see me because I'm on the phone, but I'll see you tomorrow.

And here's a bonus from the little girl:
(Said to David as he walked in the door from work)
AJ: Hi, my daddy! Hi, baby daddy!
(I'm assuming she said this because she calls herself baby. Funny, nonetheless.)

Here's more cuteness from the baby girl.

Sibling love

My sweet babies :)