I wanted to share something funny that Brian said last night. We were playing the Toy Story Memory Game in his room after he got back from his dad's house. I dumped all the pieces out on the rug and explained to him that we were going to find matches. Since he is a beginner at the Memory game, I left all the pieces facing up instead of down so it would be easier for him to see. It didn't take long for him to get the hang of it. He was actually better than I was at finding the matches! After he had about several matches, I picked up a card and said "Brian, can you help me find this match?" Well, apparently he was already looking for one because he sternly pushed the card back towards me and said, "One at a time, Mom."
I laughed so hard. Maybe it was the tone in which he said it. Maybe it was "the look" he gave me when he said it. Or maybe it was just because I am the mommy and he was being bossy.
Whatever it was, it was just too cute.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
He works all things out for my good
Wow, what a weekend I had. I celebrated the 9 month anniversary of our first date with my sweet boyfriend and he surprised me by becoming my sweet fiance! That's right- I AM ENGAGED! After the sweetest proposal ever, the man who God so graciously brought into my life 9 months ago to the day asked me to be his wife. And I have never been more excited! And I noticed something that maybe he doesn't even remember (he was pretty nervous and shaky). But when he was sharing his heart with me, he constantly kept telling me that he loved someone else too- my son. He will never know how much that meant to me. Brian was with his daddy this weekend, so he wasn't a physical part of our engagement but he was definiately part of it at heart! We went to Redrock Canyon Grill and had a wonderful dinner to end the perfect anniversary! And did I mention my ring is BEA-UTIFUL!!?!?
On a serious note, let me say that I give 100% of my happiness to God. I can remember 2 years ago, my life was dramatically different than it is today. I had a beautiful one year old who I adored but I was walking in one of the darkest times of my life. I was facing my first holiday season on my own which was heartbreaking and scary for me. Sure, I had the most amazing family that anyone could ever be blessed with (especially my beautiful mama who was my rock) but I am very family-oriented and facing the holidays alone was tough. I wanted to play Christmas music and decorate the tree and eat Thanksgiving dinner with my son and husband. But I didn't have one anymore. All this babbling gets me to my point- GOD WORKED EVERYTHING OUT FOR MY GOOD. I probably grew more as a person during that time than I ever had before. I became less shy and more self-sufficient. I realized that I could do a lot on my own- work 2 jobs, raise a beautiful boy, make a home. Now all this wasn't without help. I COULD NOT have done it without my family and God helping me everyday. But I can remember leaving my job teaching 4 year olds from 9-3 and going immediately to the office to work until 10 at night and being so tired and so discouraged at times. I was tired, didn't feel like I got to spend enough time with my son, stressed financially, stressed from the worst divorce ever. There were times when I would be driving home and I would wonder if there was someone out there for me who would not only love the Lord, but love me and my son as well.
Life got easier. God worked it out for me to be home with Brian more and not be stretching myself so thin. And I started to get stronger and happier. I knew that my life was better. And so was Brian's. And God worked every negative thing out for my God. I just had to let him instead of trying to control it myself and be mean, bitter, and angry.
And now, 2 years later, God gave me an amazing man that I get to share my life with. I could never say enough about my future husband. He is wonderful. The best of the best. I will forever be thankful for him and for God changing my life over the last nearly 3 years of this life changing journey.
On a serious note, let me say that I give 100% of my happiness to God. I can remember 2 years ago, my life was dramatically different than it is today. I had a beautiful one year old who I adored but I was walking in one of the darkest times of my life. I was facing my first holiday season on my own which was heartbreaking and scary for me. Sure, I had the most amazing family that anyone could ever be blessed with (especially my beautiful mama who was my rock) but I am very family-oriented and facing the holidays alone was tough. I wanted to play Christmas music and decorate the tree and eat Thanksgiving dinner with my son and husband. But I didn't have one anymore. All this babbling gets me to my point- GOD WORKED EVERYTHING OUT FOR MY GOOD. I probably grew more as a person during that time than I ever had before. I became less shy and more self-sufficient. I realized that I could do a lot on my own- work 2 jobs, raise a beautiful boy, make a home. Now all this wasn't without help. I COULD NOT have done it without my family and God helping me everyday. But I can remember leaving my job teaching 4 year olds from 9-3 and going immediately to the office to work until 10 at night and being so tired and so discouraged at times. I was tired, didn't feel like I got to spend enough time with my son, stressed financially, stressed from the worst divorce ever. There were times when I would be driving home and I would wonder if there was someone out there for me who would not only love the Lord, but love me and my son as well.
Life got easier. God worked it out for me to be home with Brian more and not be stretching myself so thin. And I started to get stronger and happier. I knew that my life was better. And so was Brian's. And God worked every negative thing out for my God. I just had to let him instead of trying to control it myself and be mean, bitter, and angry.
And now, 2 years later, God gave me an amazing man that I get to share my life with. I could never say enough about my future husband. He is wonderful. The best of the best. I will forever be thankful for him and for God changing my life over the last nearly 3 years of this life changing journey.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Thankful
Have you ever had a moment in the day where you just have to stop and thank God for everything in your life? That usually happens to me at the most random times. Today, it was as I was driving back to work from my lunch break. I was at a stoplight and just felt the overwhelming need to thank God for all that he has (undeservingly) blessed me with. And I want to share some of them.
1) God's unconditional love for me. Never ceases to amaze me. Thank you, Lord, for sending your son for me.
2) My precious son. I know I say it a million times, but I have never experienced a love like that in my life until the day the doctor laid Brian Joshua in my arms.
3) My beautiful family. He gave me the best. A mother who is the perfect reflection of God's unconditional love and a dad who has always shown me love and support. So many extended family members (and friends who I consider family) that are always there for me. And 9 months ago Saturday, God sent me a man who I never imagined I would find who loves me and my son with all his heart.
I could list about a billion things, but have to say that there is nothing as important as these. I hope everyone takes the time every once in a while to thank God for the blessings in their life and never take those beautiful blessings for granted.
1) God's unconditional love for me. Never ceases to amaze me. Thank you, Lord, for sending your son for me.
2) My precious son. I know I say it a million times, but I have never experienced a love like that in my life until the day the doctor laid Brian Joshua in my arms.
3) My beautiful family. He gave me the best. A mother who is the perfect reflection of God's unconditional love and a dad who has always shown me love and support. So many extended family members (and friends who I consider family) that are always there for me. And 9 months ago Saturday, God sent me a man who I never imagined I would find who loves me and my son with all his heart.
I could list about a billion things, but have to say that there is nothing as important as these. I hope everyone takes the time every once in a while to thank God for the blessings in their life and never take those beautiful blessings for granted.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Not-So-Creative November
I really wish I had something creative to blog about, but I just can't seem to find it in me so far this month. Nothing bad has happened, just been feeling so run down lately. I officially lost 19 pounds on my diet! I wanted to lose 25 but I think my body was telling me otherwise because I just kept hanging onto those last 6 pounds and started feeling AND looking bad. Not a great feeling when people start telling you, "hey, you look so skinny! But you look bad, too!" :) Pale & exhausted just weren't worth it anymore. So I am moving into the stabilization part (phase 3) which means no more HCG drops, and increasing my calorie intake to around 1500-1800 a day. I also get to have dairy and good fats back which I cannot express how happy that makes me. Cheese please!!!!!!! Oh, and NUTS!!! :) The exciting part is that because you are still eating so healthy and low cal, that people often continue to lose a little more weight and inches. Plus I am ready to start working out again. I've missed it and my body has really missed it.
I would have to count this diet as being very successful. It was tough and took a lot of self-discipline and contrrol but I was able to accomplish the 2 things I wanted: losing some weight and reducing my blood pressure medicine (down to a half of a pill now!) and just feeling better in general.
It is Friday afternoon at work and it is so incredibly boring that I have been doing absolutely nothing productive. In fact, after finishing today's blog, I may just take a little nap :)
Have a great weekend!!
I would have to count this diet as being very successful. It was tough and took a lot of self-discipline and contrrol but I was able to accomplish the 2 things I wanted: losing some weight and reducing my blood pressure medicine (down to a half of a pill now!) and just feeling better in general.
It is Friday afternoon at work and it is so incredibly boring that I have been doing absolutely nothing productive. In fact, after finishing today's blog, I may just take a little nap :)
Have a great weekend!!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Apples and Chicken Make Me GAG!!!!!!
Okay, so I am on day 21 of my diet. I have lost 16 pounds in this time. I am only required to go 2 more days on this phase. UGH. I could quit no problem because I have already accomplished what my doctor wanted- I got to reduce my blood pressure medication in half! YAY!! But I knew when I started this that I would get caught up in the excitement of losing so much weight. And I did. And now I would like to lose at least 9 more pounds. BUT the thought of continuing this diet any longer kinda makes me want to gag. Actually, apples and chicken make me want to gag. Because that is what I have been eating a lot of lately. I am not ravenously hungry or craving bad things, I am just bored to tears with this limited food selection that I am allowed to eat. So I am trying to decide what to do. Maybe I will get lucky and lose the 9 pounds in 2 days???? Ha :)
And God bless my son. I am sorry, Brian, for making you eat apples and chicken baby food when you were an infant. Please forgive me.
And God bless my son. I am sorry, Brian, for making you eat apples and chicken baby food when you were an infant. Please forgive me.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Losing it!
As you know, I have struggled with very high blood pressure for the past 7 years. I have been to cardiologists, other doctors and the cause of my HBP still remains a mystery. There is no family history of anyone having it this young (I was 22 when I first began taking medication. And even on medication, over the years there have still been times when it has been very high) and I am not extremely overweight, so diet and exercise really have never played a role in lowering it. Back in March, I joined the Y and decided to go workout everyday on my lunch hour with a co-worker of mine. Kind of an accountability partner to keep me going. I was very faithful in doing this as well as trying to follow a low sodium, low fat and calorie diet of around 1200 cals. I lost a few pounds and a good amount of inches and felt more toned, but I still felt very tired and like I said earlier, it did nothing for my HBP. I was frustrated. Here it is October and I did not feel much better after almost 6 months of intense (500 calorie) workout sessions. It was time for my bi-yearly bloodwork at my doc, so I again pestered him to help me find an answer for more energy. I also really wanted to lose a little bit of weight. At least 10 pounds but would have loved to go out on a limb and lose 20. He tested my blood to see if my iron or B12 levels might be low causing my energy to be so low, but those came back normal. My blood sugar was high though and my cholesterol. WEIRD. Anyway, this leads me to the exciting part of my post :)
My doctor recommended the HCG diet. A lot of times, people with HBP or diabetes can go on this diet and come off their medications completely or reduce them because of the positive effect that it has on the body. I won't bore you with the details but you can read about it here www.hcg4anewyou.com. I had heard about this diet before, but thought it was just a fad diet so I was very interested when my doctor recommended it and also provided the services for it in the office. Well, that was last week. I started on October 10th and today, ten days later, on October 20th, I am down 11.5 pounds! And the BEST part is that I FEEL so good. I have so much more energy and just feel so much better. As excited as I am about losing the weight I wanted to (and I am!!) I am just as excited about feeling like a 29 year old again instead of an 89 year old. The minimum number of days at a time to be on the program is 23 and the maximum time is 40. I will probably only need to do the 23 day program since I am so close to reaching my goal weight. Then I will begin the stabilization part of the program which is the vital part of helping my system regulate. I am excited to see if I am going to be able to reduce my medication! Can't wait for that! Anyway, I was going to document each day I am on the diet with photos and progress and menus, but I was away from work for a week so I got behind. But if anyone wants any info, I would be happy to answer whatever I can. And I will definitely be posting updates as I finish up! Looks like my ending date will be around Halloween. Wish me luck!!
My doctor recommended the HCG diet. A lot of times, people with HBP or diabetes can go on this diet and come off their medications completely or reduce them because of the positive effect that it has on the body. I won't bore you with the details but you can read about it here www.hcg4anewyou.com. I had heard about this diet before, but thought it was just a fad diet so I was very interested when my doctor recommended it and also provided the services for it in the office. Well, that was last week. I started on October 10th and today, ten days later, on October 20th, I am down 11.5 pounds! And the BEST part is that I FEEL so good. I have so much more energy and just feel so much better. As excited as I am about losing the weight I wanted to (and I am!!) I am just as excited about feeling like a 29 year old again instead of an 89 year old. The minimum number of days at a time to be on the program is 23 and the maximum time is 40. I will probably only need to do the 23 day program since I am so close to reaching my goal weight. Then I will begin the stabilization part of the program which is the vital part of helping my system regulate. I am excited to see if I am going to be able to reduce my medication! Can't wait for that! Anyway, I was going to document each day I am on the diet with photos and progress and menus, but I was away from work for a week so I got behind. But if anyone wants any info, I would be happy to answer whatever I can. And I will definitely be posting updates as I finish up! Looks like my ending date will be around Halloween. Wish me luck!!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Day Out with Thomas!
When "A Day Out with Thomas" rolled around last year, Brian had gone cold turkey on Thomas. His name was never spoken, he was never played with- he was a memory of toys past. But since this year he is full on into Thomas again, we decided to take him to see the cheeky little train in person.
As we were walking through the parking lot and he saw that huge Thomas from a distance, he pretty much lost it. I don't think I have ever seen my son so excited before! Yelling, running, shaking! He just couldn't get there fast enough!
We all had a blast. Brian was such a good boy the entire time. There was a tent where there were lots of train tables to play with and LOTS of kids wanting to play with them. However, there weren't very many actual trains so Brian would patiently wait his turn. A few times while he was playing with a train, another kid would come by and yank it out of his hand. But my sweet boy never got upset. He just started playing with something else and waited his turn again. I love that boy!
As we were walking through the parking lot and he saw that huge Thomas from a distance, he pretty much lost it. I don't think I have ever seen my son so excited before! Yelling, running, shaking! He just couldn't get there fast enough!
We all had a blast. Brian was such a good boy the entire time. There was a tent where there were lots of train tables to play with and LOTS of kids wanting to play with them. However, there weren't very many actual trains so Brian would patiently wait his turn. A few times while he was playing with a train, another kid would come by and yank it out of his hand. But my sweet boy never got upset. He just started playing with something else and waited his turn again. I love that boy!
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