Exciting Loss!

I am so excited that I just had to hop on here real fast and write a short post. Encouraged by my sisters Small and Simple things challenge (see that HERE) I started one month ago eating in a new way. I don’t want to say “diet” because that tends to mean that your cutting out certain thinks.That your not “allowed” to eat this or that. I cant do that! I like all sorts of foods and cant just never eat certain foods again!So what I have been doing is eating within a certain calorie range every day as well as eating no more than a certain number grams of fat a day.

I weigh myself every Friday to see how I am doing.This Friday was my fourth week weighing in. I started the month weighing 180lbs. This past Friday I weighed in at 169lbs!That’s 11 pounds lost this month.The best thing is I haven’t really felt deprived at all! Some times I do have to eat less of something than I would like ;0) BUT I still get to eat it so its Ok by me!

Potty training, Patience and Perspective

Oh my what a week we have had here at our house! On top of homeschool,church responsibilities and workouts I am potty training my three year old. My patience has been sorely tested this week and in all honesty I have lost it a time or two!

Hannah is a wonderful potty trainer in some ways.She WANTS to go on the potty!Great!Awesome!This IS progress I am thankful for. The down side is that every 5-10 minutes (right through the middle of math lessons no less) she wants to go sit on the potty.This is not my great frustration. The frustration comes when she sits for five minutes then says “My potty later mom” and hops down just to repeat this whole seen 10 minutes later!I didn't want to just drop school for the week.So we plugged along doing all that we could. Dealing with the interruptions.

Then my dear hubby tells me mid week that he will not only NOT be off early on Friday(which sometimes happens) but he will be working Friday all day AND all night! At the end of what has been a fairly long and trying week this was NOT what I wanted to hear. Now before I make you believe I was all doom and gloom this week we have had some great successes!Hannah is making it in the potty almost every time.She can “do the deed” completely on her own. These are exciting developments and it feels great to only have 1 in diapers now!

Upon hearing my hubbies news I knew I had to do something Friday to get through the day without being a total grouch.So we planned a trip to the library(our favorite place).Then to the play place at the BX (base exchange for you civilians) and then we were going to rent a redbox movie and have a movie night.

All of those things would surely brighten my Friday. Friday morning I got some perspective on my whole week and how wonderful it had all been when I got up Friday morning and saw the news about the quake and tsunami.Honestly it  didn't really stop me in my tracks.I had too much on my mind I’m ashamed to say.But thank goodness for my children and the lessons they teach me. Isaiah had asked me what the strongest metal was. I didn't know and our response to a question we cant answer is going straight to the computer ;0) So we head that way and the first thing Isaiah see’s is a picture of the devastation in Japan.

“What is THAT Mom?” That question started a long discussion  about the earth quake and resulting tsunami and what was happening to the poor people there. Followed by an internet search for sites explaining how earthquakes and tsunamis happen.We also talked about relief efforts and things like the Red Cross.

At the end of this discussion I asked my kids what WE could do for the people in Japan.On my mind was prayer. Isaiah said “We could send them money.” Isaiah is a very financially minded guy for his age. We talked about the different places we could put our money to help out.Then the boys leave,the discussion is over. Minutes later they come back with all there “fun money” from there banks.Telling me that they want to give it to help out in Japan. 

As I have had time to mull all this over in my mind I have really been blessed with some perspective. How good my life is, how much I have to be thankful for each day. A potty training three year old, homeschool, the things I am taught by my children, and a husband who has a job and is working long hours.

What a week this has been. We are praying for those affected by the quake and tsunami and are trying to find more ways that we can help. I hope that we can all use this tragedy to get some perspective on things and as an opportunity to come outside of ourselves,reach out and help others.

A refreshing Sabbath day

Today I heard a lot of things I needed to hear. I felt a lot of things I needed to feel.Mostly because my daughter is sick!

Some Sundays are hard for me.We sit in sacrament meeting and TRY to listen to the word being preached.But with a 15 month old to occupy, a 3 year old to quiet and two  older boys with boundless energy hearing anything can be a miracle! Today Hannah(3) has a hacking cough.So Daddy kept her home from church with little sis and one big brother.That left Isaiah(9) and I to go to church today. Now let me be clear I would NEVER wish my children to be sick and I know that the best place for them to be on Sunday is at church. But ooh how wonderful it was to be able to sit and focus on the truths being taught!

One of the things that struck me so strongly was what a new Brother said. “God has a plan for my life and that means I am exactly where I am supposed to be.” I know this sounds simple. There are just times in life when we can become discontent over “where” we are.Whether that is where physically,spiritually,in the church or other. I have admittedly felt a bit of that lately and it was like God was speaking right to me.Telling me that I am exactly where HE wants me to be right now and that I should be making the best of that.

God being the ultimate parent took an opportunity on the drive home to Reiterate this point to me.Listening to some music on the ride home Isaiah said to me. “Mom sometimes in songs you hear people talk about there purpose here. I’m not really sure what that means.” I told Isaiah that God has put us all here for a reason.We all share some of those purposes.To get a body,to learn and grow,etc. and that on top of that we each have things we have been sent here to do that God has planned for just us.Like serve a mission and reach a certain person.I told him that I knew part of my purpose here was to be his and his sibling mom.And then God told me something as I spoke to my son and it was just so wonderful to me. I found myself saying that I was put here to raise them to follow God and to teach them to become the people that God wanted them to be. Again this may seem kinda obvious but today I needed that reminder.It is so easy to lose sight sometimes of our purpose here.We lose it in the midst of the  everyday humdrum responsibilities.Or in the harried rush that is our life.

Today was so refreshing.I am going to remember this throughout my week as I ask my 3 year old why she hid and used my lipstick as paint.Or when I remind my 9 year old for the 10th time today to speak with a kind tone to his siblings.Or when I am wrangling the baby during church service. I am here for a purpose and I am EXACTLY were God wants me to be.