Another Beautiful Day.

So here we are with another beautiful day. 35 degrees out with a wind chill. Today I had my 1st cup of coffee since the fast had ended (Yeah, almost a week later due to not having any creamer). It was soooo sweet! I almost instantly felt like I had a sugar high from just the creamer. It's amazing how different things taste when you haven't had them for a month!  I have ran and worked out every day since the last week of the fast. And it has felt really good.  So far I have lost a steady 10lbs... It was 15lbs until we hit the chinese buffet and pizza buffet this week LOL .  I have come to grips with the fact that it really doesn't matter what your body looks like. But it's how you PERSONALLY feel about what you look like. Everyone has an image in their heads of what the "ideal woman" should look like. Personally it's not a size 4 in my head. Jean size is only a number. It's when you feel comfortable in your own skin, that's what matters. I have a difficult time losing weight because my husband loves me just the way I am. He tells me everyday how beautiful I am. Yea, it can boost your confidence, but the downfall is that then you don't care about eating a whole pack of oreos. lol   So here I am doing what's good for myself and something that makes me feel better about myself. Working out gives me so much more energy and that way I am able to keep up with my kids! I don't have a gym membership (al though one would be nice). I run about 2 miles a day and do a few reps of weights. Nothing huge. And that's what works for me. After having Jadon and not fully losing the 90lbs I gained with him, then having twins and gained 40 with them.... I have about 30lbs left to lose. That's not much and my goal it to accomplish that by the summer. So wish me luck!

The girls birthday is only a few weeks away. Crazy right? Well I REALLY want to get their ears pierced. But we can't.  We will have to wait another year when they are a little more mature. They pull each others headbands off their heads so I can only imagine what kind of blood bath they'd create if their ears were pierced.   My in-laws are coming up for the girls' b-day. That's exciting! We can't wait to see them! I enjoy their company, and I know the kids miss them!

What's next?

So here we are the 1st of February.... All the windows are open, cool breeze coming through, I can hear the birds singing, it's just beautiful outside. It has warmed up a bit today it's 66 degrees out. It's just perfect weather! Ran around the outside of the property not too long ago for about 30 minutes. Not really sure how far it was, but what I do know is that my heart was racing, my face beat red, i was sweating.... So that's good enough for me =)     The fast is still going. This Saturday is the last day WOO HOO!! I am so ready for a frozen coffee and chocolate ice cream! It will be nice to eat meat with dinner again as well!! I'm amazed at how much my appetite has changed... I;m not near as hungry as I used to be... I think I have been able to break some bad habits during this fast which is a great thing!!

Life is still going. The kids are growing so fast! We were sitting at Subway last night and Jadon was eating a turkey sandwich with pepper jack cheese, onions, tomato, lettuce, black olives, and pickles.... The lady was surprised when we ordered that sandwich for a child. As he was eating I just started to realize how much he is growing and how big he looks. He has been eating like a horse lately and I can definitely tell that he is growing!  He says he wants to get "Reawy reawy big like daddy!"

This month my niece Eloise turns a year old and in less that 5 weeks our girls will be a year old! REALLY?!?!? How has time gone by so quickly?!?!  Crazy how time passes you by. Just makes you remember how short life is and how we must treasure EVERY moment of EVERY day!

Things have been pretty good lately. It's kinda scary when you are really content with your life, because that's when God likes to change things up a bit. We have been so blessed to be able to be apart of an amazing church. The women are amazing, worship is over the top awesome!, our pastors are some of the most precious people I have met, the staff is so dedicated to connecting people with God, and LOVE just flows throughout the doors of that place.  God is THERE!  I find myself asking God, ok is this it? Is there where life truly begins for us or are things going to get switched up again? I thank God for where he has us. At this very moment in life, I can say things are AWESOME! My family is on the right track. God has given me a husband who is understanding and who is a fighter. He never gives up. God knew what I needed and met my need. Our kids have an amazing support group. They have family and friends who love them tremendously. They are growing up in the exact place that they need to be. It chokes me up to know that we weren't forgotten. That God is moving in our lives as I write this. He has continued to poor his blessings out on my family and I am sooooo very thankful! It's at this point that I ask myself, "Ok, what's next?"  Even when we don't deserve it, God shows up.

God has protected my family this past week... Stating with Lydia falling from her highchair and not even leaving a bruise on her face.... To saving my dad from the horrific tragedy on I-75 on Sunday morning.... To make a long story short, my dad leaves around 3am on Sunday mornings to come to Ga. He travels I-75... This particular week he left on Friday to go to Arkansas.... So he completely missed the accidents that occurred on Sunday that he potentially could have been apart of.  Thank you God for protecting my family and having a different agenda!

Submission...

So last night in our Woman's Group Pastor Nicholle spoke to us on "Submission". UGH! This is something I have ALWAYS had a hard time with. Whether it was my parents, teachers, co-workers, authority above me, GOD, and even my husband.  I'm not a very good "submitter".  I am the one who will do something just because you told me not too. It's not something I am proud of. Although I must say that I am getting MUCH better!!

 Submission is not a recommendation but it is a command by God. I'm going to share just a few of the BIBLICAL submissions that were shared last night... #1 Submit to ALL mankind (OUCH) #2 Submission is voluntary, it comes from the heart. #3 Submission gives us the right to bless others. #4 It's a matter of priority. #5 It brings attention to God. #6 It promotes dependence #7 Silence in innocent suffering.
We also talked about secular submission.... Which I fell under a lot of those. So it kinda showed me things that I need to work on....

This morning while I was reading Romans 14...  I felt pretty convicted. It kinda lined up with what PN was saying last night, at least that's how it spoke to me. 


As an outspoken person, it's hard for me to hear or see something that's not right and NOT speak up about it.  Some have different opinions than I do and that is completely ok. But as I am learning it's best to just keep quiet. The more we experience life the more we see how awful people truly are. It's sad.  You only hear from people when things are going GREAT, but if they are down in the dumps they stay tucked away in their shells. Ok... so I could seriously start ranting but I won't.  lol

Soooo.... Where were we? Today I took the kids to the park, by myself. That's HUGE! It's really hard to go and do things when Anthony is at work but I try. The girls LOVED swinging in the swings... So I think this might become a daily trip (maybe). (It's kinda dangerous having the kids by myself at a secluded park. Luckily there were 2 other mommy's there today.) And Jadon of course loved releasing all his energy.

It's a beautiful breezy day today. Kinda overcast, I love it. The fast is still going strong. I've been pretty irritable these past couple of days. I need coffee and I need sugar! We only have 1 week left! WOO HOO!  Softball starts this Sunday and that makes me REALLY happy. I'm really excited to play again... I haven't even thrown a ball in 6 years. I know it's going to be a blast and lots of laughs i'm sure! =)

Day 5 of fast....

So it's 5 days into our fast and things are good! I thought that doing the Daniel Fast would be pretty difficult but it actually hasn't been. My husband... well that may be another story. We used to eat meat EVERY night. I'm kinda enjoying the break of no meat. I don't feel so sleepy, my headaches have gone "bye-bye", i don't feel hungry all the time.... It's just been a really good change. I am excited to see what God is going to do the rest of this fast.

Last night in our women's group "Ignite" we had a life coach come and speak. Something she said really stuck out to me. She said "Sift through the dirt because there might be a diamond" and another thing that caught my attention was "Don't settle but accept."  So many times we are caught complaining about our circumstances, wishing things were different or maybe even better. By complaining or even feeling sorry for ourselves we are missing the point! 


God had called us into this season for a purpose greater than we think or know. Yea, your job situation may suck but why are you there? Why did God allow you to get this job? How will you allow God to use you at your job? Maybe you are a stay at home mom like myself. Do I find my self complaining about it? Yes. Sometimes I miss the reason of why I stay at home. #1 My kids need me. #2 At the moment me staying home  is saving us about $1,800.00 a month in childcare expenses (not to mention gas to and from, clothes, lunch, supplies, etc. for school).... I don't always enjoy being cooped up in the house but in reality what a blessing it is that God has allowed me to be able to stay home and care for my children. 


We (my self included) spend so much time complaining about our situation instead of being thankful. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices and realize what truly matters. My pastor said something last sunday that hit me like a ton of bricks... (paraphrasing of course) He asked if we were giving 30 days to live what would we get rid of, what would we do, and how would we start living our lives... Well friends, we aren't even guaranteed tomorrow. It kind of put things in perspective for me... What do I have right now that I can live with out (GET RID OF IT).... What would I do if I were given 30 days to live and how would I treat others around me (START DOING IT NOW).... How would I treat my spouse if he was given 30 days to live? Would I treat him different than how I do now? If so, I better start treating him a little better, showing more affection, giving him more of my time, etc.  Enjoy life while you have it. Tomorrow doesn't matter because we aren't promised tomorrow. 


We spend so much time worrying about how we will pay the next bill or how we are going to eat our next meal or what we will where.... Stop wasting your time on worrying about things that God has already promised you. He takes care of his children. What ever you ask for in prayer and have FAITH that God will answer it, HE WILL. God knows your need. He is never late on answering your needs (different than your wants), He is right on time.  


Friends be encouraged and stop worrying about the things that really don't matter. When you leave this world everything you have here will be left behind. What's really important to you? Embrace your loved ones because your never promised tomorrow.

<3

GA Power is awful

So I am starting to really dislike our power company. The 1st bill we ever received was for 1/2 a month and was $300.00. Really?!? Coming from Florida the hottest place on earth, our bill was never that high (so to me $300 is a high bill). The next month our bill went down significantly! Well the whole month of December I was in Florida. We receive our bill for december and it's almost $300.... Seriously?! I'm the type of person that unplugs every outlet, goes behind people turning off lights, won't run a load of laundry unless it's full and only wash on cold,  etc.... I am always trying to save! Well $300 during a month that the kids and I were out of town, no laundry was being done, limited meals being cooked... And the fact the Anthony works during the day and is only home in the evenings just doesn't add up. So I called the power company and she told me that they do a satellite reading and then compare usage to the previous years... So here I sit frustrated over something I can't do anything about. Remember my last post where I said Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy? Well he's trying to steal my joy and I am not a fan.


On a better note, business seems to be going pretty well. This week Anthony has gotten rid of almost all the plants on the truck, that's great! Meaning that we have less to try and take care of. I do not have a green thumb and neither does he. The faster we get rid of the plants the less that die!


I'm really enjoying this Daniels Fast. I'm learning new things to cook and I am feeling better energy wise. I have gotten a few headaches without having any caffeine but I am pushing through. Last night we had stuffed peppers which were really delicious! tonight we are having veggie stir fry tacos... YUMM!

Also had some fun taking snap shots of the girls today.. Lydia was in a funk today but Ava was a happy little girl =) I took Lydia out on the swing and she started smiling and babbling so I think she was just trying to steal mommy's attention away from everything else... Right now ALL the kids are down for a nap.... Probably the most quiet I will get all day =)

1st time in snow, fasting, kids growing....

Since my last post not much has happened. Our kids played in snow for the first time. It wasn't real snow from the sky, but it was snow! We went to Stone Mountain Park which is called "Snow Mountain" during the winter. Jadon had a BLAST! He went tubing and loved it. The girls pretty much just ate the snow the whole time LOL.

Our church is doing a thing called New thru 30. It's reading the New Testament all the way through in 30 days.... Can I just tell you that when you set a side time and have a plan to get something done, the enemy comes in to steal, kill, and destroy.... Especially when you are doing something to better your self and your relationship with God. I am a little behind on the reading right now... Only about 10 chapters (which is a days worth)... not too bad. I will get caught up during the kids nap time today and then finish todays reading tonight (HOPEFULLY). The enemy has a way of coming in and snatching your time away.... You get distracted and think of everything else that needs to get done at that time. Well I will push through, get myself caught up and stay focused.

Our church also started a 21 day fast on Sunday. My husband and I chose to do the Daniel Fast. This is our first time fasting together as a married couple. I know that God is going to do great things in our marriage. And I know that because Satan is hard on our backs daily. It's funny because things that Anthony and I experience at home, our pastor talks about that the following Sunday at church. We look at each other and laugh because we know we just had that happen to us and then our Pastor gives insight on the issue.  I pray that during these 21 days that God will just strengthen us as a couple, as parents, and as believers. I pray that he would humble us and mold us into the people that he has called us to be. Everything else will fall into place after that. 


Our kids are growing and getting so big. Jadon will be 4 this year and can start VPK. Our girls are 10 months old... I can't believe that in 2 months they will be a year old. Seriously, where did the time go? It's so crazy seeing 2 babies crawling around the floor and Jadon following right behind them laughing and playing with them... It just feels like a dream that I have 3 children already... It's still hard for even myself to believe!

Fun Day!!

So today my family went to Atlantic Station in Downtown Atlanta. We had LOTS of fun!  Old Navy had some major sales going on so we got a few things... Then we went to H&M and it was 2 stories!!!  Oh the angels were singing! LOL felt like I was in Heaven!  Walked around and snapped some pictures... Then went into the "Z Galleria" (I think that was the name of it, but I could be wrong). Man, they have some awesome furniture! We saw an AWESOME couch called the conversation couch. Oh how I would LOVE to have it!! But unfortunately we don't have $4,500.00 to put towards a COUCH! lol.... There were many things in that store that I added to my wish list. Not everything in there was expensive.... but i'd sure love to decorate with a lot of it  =)

Then we went to IKEA. Dropped Jadon off at the child play area for the 1st time and he LOVED! Anthony, I and the girls walked around for a bit... Ended up getting a coffee table that was 50% off and another smaller version of the coffee table that was also 50% off (awesome deals!), and a few other odds and ends. Picked Jadon back up and ate some dinner there. 

The weather was beautiful out. The kids were all well behaved. It was just a great day =)

Jadon and I at Atlantic Station.