WW update

Last night was weigh in again. I was nervous about it since we were in Jackson, MS last weekend visiting Jonathan and eating at some really good restaurants. I tried to be cautious as to what I ordered and it seemed to pay off. I lost 3.6 lbs. this week. This brings my total to 25.2 lbs.

I am leaving for the beach today so it will be 2 weeks before I get to weigh again. In my mind, I am set to do really good on my trip, but I know that with food I am just like an alcoholic and I can fall off the wagon in a matter of minutes. There is something about being on vacation and wanting to eat. I also know that it will be a challenge to exercise since all of the girls going are carrying small children with us.

Until I update from sunny Florida with pictures........................

WW update

Well, last night was my regular weigh in. I had lost 2.2 lbs. this week. I am very happy with this, and I know this is the best way to do weight loss, but my goal seems so far off. This brings my total to 23.2 lbs. since Jan. 23. I will be very happy if I can average 2 lbs. a week, but I know realistically that this will not happen every week. I got some really good tips last night, like trying to confuse your body by eating different amount of points on some days and then go back to your allotted points. Also, to try and confuse your body by mixing your exercise up. I know I need to do some strength training, but I hate it. Oh well, maybe I will try to work on this. I can just do one change at a time.

Mike on the other hand lost 7.5 lbs. this past week. He weighs on Mondays and he was so fired up. He looks really good and is loving it.

I am off to do some housework. I know this will for sure confuse my body. Housework has not been a priority lately.

Looking forward to spending a weekend with all our kids and grandkids. Now that makes Lolli one happy gal.

WW update

Well, I weighed in on Thursday night, but I decided to wait to today to post because Mike weighs on Monday morning. My weight loss was 1.4 lbs. but Mike lost 7 lbs. this week. This is his first week to exercise and I think it really paid off. Why do men loose so much faster than women. Oh well, I am ok with my loss. That brings me to a total of 21 lbs. since I started on Jan 24. I hope to be down 40 lbs. by the time school is out.

Friday night Mike went to the men's seminar at church so I met Amanda and Jay at Davis Kidd bookstore for a book signing by the Pioneer Woman. I have made several of her recipes and they are all delicious. She is like a modern day Paula Deen. She loves to use lots of butter and heavy cream. Needless to say, I will not be eating any of this any time soon. But after 4 hours of waiting for our time to see her, I have a signed cookbook. Her husband was also there and he is so down to earth just like her. Check out her recipes online at Pioneerwoman.com.

Today is our newest dil's birthday. Jenna, we love you and couldn't be prouder of you. You are the answer to a lifetime of prayers from Mike and I. Happy Birthday! We love you.

How is this so difficult?

Why is it so difficult for me to keep up with my blog? I wish I had the answer. My daughter does it so beautifully, but obviously she doesn't get it from me. Once again, this is my attempt to capture our days in a blog.

What have Pop and I been up to? Being really hungry!!! Not really. We are both doing weight watchers and we feel like we are being deprived, but the truth is that we are not at all. I have done ww in the past and decided to go back to it because it is the one program that is tried and true. I am loving the new point system, because you can have all the fresh fruit and vegetables that you want and they have no point value. To me, this is big. It has been my saving grace. I am actually going to ww and weighing in, but Pop is just following the program and weighing at home. The first week I lost 13.2 lbs. This was a great boost to keep me motivated. The second week I lost only 1.2 lbs. but it was a loss. The third week I lost 5.2 lbs. This makes a total of 19.6 lbs. gone. I weight in tonight, so we will see. It is very hard to have a feeling about what I have done. I just have to wait and see. I'll post tonight my results. I am not transparent to post my beginning weight just yet. Maybe when I get to where I want to be I will be confident to post my beginning weight, but not yet. So I am sure you can guess that it is bad. So ridiculous to let my weight get so out of hand. To all my younger friends, I would say to get a handle on it now. Once you are 50, it is so much harder. I am exercising on the elliptical every weekday at 5:30. Not very happy about this. There's something wrong with going to sleep in the dark and waking up in the dark. Just shouldn't be!!!

Last night we had the privilege of attending our son-in-law's ordination service. We love Jay so much and are so proud of how he leads his family according to God's Word. Our daughter and grandchildren are surely blessed by having him. We love you Jay.

I have accountability at my house today at 11;30. I have met with these women for the past 6 years on a consistent basis. I love these women more than I can tell you. I know that I can call anyone of them anytime of day and they will be there for me. Recently, during Life Action Summit at our church one of the speakers said accountability is only as good as what you are willing to put on the table. This describes our group so well. We know that we can trust each other with whatever is going on in our lives. I love these women.

Guess who's packing?

This has been Jonathan and Jenna's humble abode for the past 8 months, but we are in the process of packing them up. God has called Jonathan to Crossgates Baptist Church in Brandon, MS and they will be packing up today and leaving tomorrow. We are so excited for this opportunity for them, but I have to say it is somewhat bittersweet. Please don't misunderstand me, there is no place I'd rather my children be than in the complete middle of God's will, but he is my baby and I will miss getting to see them all the time. He is going on staff to serve as the middle school pastor. This is an incredible opportunity for both of them and we are so grateful to our Lord for working in their lives.

We have spent several hours packing all these tubs. They have only been married since April, but they had alot to pack up. We are not going down with them for the move, but I will be going down next weekend to help.

I just want to say to both Jonathan and Jenna that I love you and am so very proud of you. I love watching your love for the Lord and how it plays out in your lives. God has great plans for you and I think I am thankful that for this move it is only across state lines and not oceans. I love my baby boy.

weekend fun with our babies

This past Saturday we had planned to take the kids to the Bartlett Christmas parade because the weather was so nice and the parade was to begin at 4:00. We thought this would be plenty of time to go to the parade before the cold front came through. Wrong. We took the kids to the mall first and we left at 3:00 to go to the parade. When we left it was very nice outside. By the time the parade started we were freezing. We had lots of covers, but it still was not enough. Lucy did not move the whole time. She was freezing.

Below is a picture of K, B, and some of their friends enjoying the parade. They did not seem to be bothered by the cold.

Before we went to the parade we met my friend Karen and my niece Amy at the mall with their children and godchildren. We ate, jumped on the spider jump, rode the carousel and played at the playground. A great time was had by all, except Pop who wears out pretty early and took Lucy home to give her a nap before the parade.

On Friday night we took the kids to Paint a Piece to paint their own ornaments. We did Lucy's handprints first and Pop took her on home while I stayed with the big kids to finish theirs. They loved doing it. Karis chose to do a Christmas tree and Brayden chose to do a dog bone in honor of their former dog Jackson. Go figure! Gotta love him.

We are so thankful for this Christmas season and that they are close enough for us to get to enjoy all the festivities of the season with them. We know not to take any time we have with them for granted. We are thankful for the time God is giving us. My mom use to refer to her time with my children as making memories and that is what I like to think we are doing everytime we are with them. I love them so.

Remembering a Gentle Man

Two days ago on December l, this sweet man, better known as Papa would have been 85 years old. It's been 4 years since he died suddenly of a massive stroke. Sometimes it seems like only yesterday since I watched him enjoying his grandchildren and then sometimes it seems like years ago that I heard him say "I was just calling to check on you".

My dad was as much of a gentleman as anyone I have ever known. He took care of my mom as if she was his princess. He loved my brother and I in the same way. Then came his grandchildren and great children. Oh how he loved them. He loved nothing more than having the grandchildren at his house.

I got my love for children from my Dad. I can't remember him ever seeing a baby and not holding it. He had a real love for babies and children. He loved everyone of our foster babies as if they were his. I even remember seeing his heart break a few times when a baby would leave our home that he had become especially attached to. I hated this for him because my parents didn't sign up to put their hearts on the edge like we did. They stood by us none the less and shared in the joy of each new placement that we got.

If you have your parents still with you this Christmas season, give them an extra hug and never fail to thank them for what they've done for you and what they mean to you. Both of my parents were here one minute and gone the next without any warning. I still miss them terribly and would give anything for them to see Mike and I enjoying grandparenthood as much as they did.