For the most part, I have never struggled with weight. I wouldn't say that I was skinny, but I have never been overweight...until recently. With each pregnancy I would say that I kept 3-5 lbs. Now times that by 4 and you are talking about 15 -20 lbs. of extra weight. Then add to that a homecoming (my husband coming back from Iraq), a cruise (one has to try all the delicious foods) and a miscarriage, and I am not comfortable where I am at right now. So...I decided to join Weight Watchers.
I went to my first meeting last week. It was eye opening. I thought that I didn't have horrible eating habits, nor did I think that I overate, but when you are tracking everything you put into your mouth, it gives you a little change of perspective. I did great the first week, losing over 5 lbs. I wish that would happen every week but I know it won't. I have also tried to do some form of exercise everyday. Water has become my drink of choice, though I am missing a good sweet tea with lemon every now and then.
Last year when I was doing P90X, I did not incorporate a diet along with it. It was enough for me to find 50 minutes in my day to exercise with my husband in Iraq and homeschooling the girls. I look back and think that if I would have just made some changes to my diet, I might I have seen the results then that I had hoped for at the time.
While I am here in PA, I am determined to remain faithful to the task ahead of me. As with most of the things in life, consistancy is the key! I'm a bit worried about next week, when we will be in NYC visiting family and I will not be preparing my own food. I just need to be careful and watch my portions. I am one who will skip a meal and then eat a candy bar or cookies. Away with that! I am turning over a new leaf and going to stick this thing out.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Back "Home"
I have wrapped things up in Texas and the girls and I are back in Pennsylvania. All of our stuff has been packed, boxed up and is now in storage. We cleaned our duplex and cleared out of housing. My dad flew down to join me on the long adventure back east. The first day we drove from Fort Hood to Nashville, TN in a short 14 hours :) The next day we were on the road for just under 12 hours. It was nice to get home. I guess you could call it home. I was born in Maryland and when I was five years old, my parents moved to Pennsylvania. After college, I got married and we lived in PA. It was only when my husband joined the Army that we had moved from PA. My parents' house will be our temporary home until our upcoming move to Korea.
My husband received his tickets for his travel to Korea today. He will be flying out the first weekend in May and hopefully it won't take too much longer and the girls and I will be able to join him. In the meantime, we are trying to get into a routine here at my parents' house. I love visiting my family but when the stay extends beyond a week or two, I get anxious about it. Are the kids too loud? Are they cleaning up enough after themselves? Are we in the way? When it's not my own space, I want to make sure that where ever we are staying, that we are not taking advantage of the family or home and that we are doing our part to keep it clean and tidy, which is not always easy with 4 girls.
We have only been here just over a week and the girls are already reconnecting with old friends and cousins they haven't seen in quite some time. I know that being in transition is not easy but I am trusting God for the strength to get through this season in our lives. I can see how the changes are effecting the girls. We have already had attitudes flaring, whining getting louder than normal and complaining about schoolwork seems to be more frequent. I need to give each day to the Lord and lean on His grace and strength.
Since my husband is still outprocessing in Texas, I am again, a single parent. I can't wait for his two weeks of leave so we can just spend some time as a family again...but once he leaves for Korea, I'll be back to being a single parent yet happily married again. I am not complaining. I know that when my husband decided to enter the military, that this would be part of our life. I have learned alot and grown much in the last two years while being away from our family and having gone through our first deployment.
I will end with this....no matter what life throws your way, GOD IS FAITHFUL!
My husband received his tickets for his travel to Korea today. He will be flying out the first weekend in May and hopefully it won't take too much longer and the girls and I will be able to join him. In the meantime, we are trying to get into a routine here at my parents' house. I love visiting my family but when the stay extends beyond a week or two, I get anxious about it. Are the kids too loud? Are they cleaning up enough after themselves? Are we in the way? When it's not my own space, I want to make sure that where ever we are staying, that we are not taking advantage of the family or home and that we are doing our part to keep it clean and tidy, which is not always easy with 4 girls.
We have only been here just over a week and the girls are already reconnecting with old friends and cousins they haven't seen in quite some time. I know that being in transition is not easy but I am trusting God for the strength to get through this season in our lives. I can see how the changes are effecting the girls. We have already had attitudes flaring, whining getting louder than normal and complaining about schoolwork seems to be more frequent. I need to give each day to the Lord and lean on His grace and strength.
Since my husband is still outprocessing in Texas, I am again, a single parent. I can't wait for his two weeks of leave so we can just spend some time as a family again...but once he leaves for Korea, I'll be back to being a single parent yet happily married again. I am not complaining. I know that when my husband decided to enter the military, that this would be part of our life. I have learned alot and grown much in the last two years while being away from our family and having gone through our first deployment.
I will end with this....no matter what life throws your way, GOD IS FAITHFUL!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Living in Chaos
I wouldn't quite say that life in our home is unbearable, but we are definitely living in chaos. In January, my husband received his orders for his next duty station...South Korea. While our move to Texas just over 2 years ago was pretty uneventful, a move overseas is proving to be otherwise. Even though my husband got his orders, the family was not on them. To get the family authorized to accompany him to Korea, we had to fill out paperwork, have each dependent (me and the girls) screened to make sure none of us had any serious medical condition which would prohibit us from traveling and have all the above sent to Korea. We were told that it would take two weeks to hear back from them. A few days later, we received an email that an additional document was needed and we signed, scanned and sent that off. Last Friday we got our approval for Command Sponsorship.
In the meantime, we attended a brief for transportation and scheduled our HHG (House Hold Goods) to be picked up. One of the restrictions with moving to Korea is that we are only allowed to take 50% of our HHG allowance. So when the movers come, they will be packing and picking up three different shipments. The first is unaccompanied baggage. This is a small shipment of essential household items that will be sent first and a little quicker. The second shipment will be all of our things we will take with us to Korea. The last shipment is the other 50% of our stuff that will be stored for the next two years. Trying to decide what is important enough to take has been a bit overwhelming. I don't want to leave anything behind that we might need because it will be held in a storage facility in Texas and I will not have access to it...unless I choose to take a long flight from South Korea back to the states, just for something that is in the storage unit.
We are trying to break things down into different rooms or piles in a room of what is storage and what will come with us. I feel like my house is in such disarray. Yesterday, a friend of mine came over to help with whatever I needed to get done. We took down curtains and rods, pictures and wall hangings. The house looks so bare. We have just over one week before the packers come for the first shipment and there is so much to be done.
I think with all that is going on, I am going to take a break from homeschooling just so I don't drive myself crazy. With all the chaos in the home, morning sickness and so much to be done in so little time, I need to prioritize what's important and what can wait. At this point, getting ready for the movers is important and we'll just double up school when we get to PA in a few weeks.
As I mentioned earlier, we have our approval for all of us to move to Korea, but the downside is that my husband has to go to Korea first and find our family an apartment on the Korean economy, as they do not have military housing in the area that he is assigned. We are hoping that this doesn't take too much time. In the meantime, the girls and I will stay in PA with my parents until we get the green light to fly to Korea.
I guess living in chaos isn't soo bad. At least my husband is here with me and we can go crazy together :)
In the meantime, we attended a brief for transportation and scheduled our HHG (House Hold Goods) to be picked up. One of the restrictions with moving to Korea is that we are only allowed to take 50% of our HHG allowance. So when the movers come, they will be packing and picking up three different shipments. The first is unaccompanied baggage. This is a small shipment of essential household items that will be sent first and a little quicker. The second shipment will be all of our things we will take with us to Korea. The last shipment is the other 50% of our stuff that will be stored for the next two years. Trying to decide what is important enough to take has been a bit overwhelming. I don't want to leave anything behind that we might need because it will be held in a storage facility in Texas and I will not have access to it...unless I choose to take a long flight from South Korea back to the states, just for something that is in the storage unit.
We are trying to break things down into different rooms or piles in a room of what is storage and what will come with us. I feel like my house is in such disarray. Yesterday, a friend of mine came over to help with whatever I needed to get done. We took down curtains and rods, pictures and wall hangings. The house looks so bare. We have just over one week before the packers come for the first shipment and there is so much to be done.
I think with all that is going on, I am going to take a break from homeschooling just so I don't drive myself crazy. With all the chaos in the home, morning sickness and so much to be done in so little time, I need to prioritize what's important and what can wait. At this point, getting ready for the movers is important and we'll just double up school when we get to PA in a few weeks.
As I mentioned earlier, we have our approval for all of us to move to Korea, but the downside is that my husband has to go to Korea first and find our family an apartment on the Korean economy, as they do not have military housing in the area that he is assigned. We are hoping that this doesn't take too much time. In the meantime, the girls and I will stay in PA with my parents until we get the green light to fly to Korea.
I guess living in chaos isn't soo bad. At least my husband is here with me and we can go crazy together :)
Monday, March 1, 2010
You know your a military spouse if....
I came across this on someone else's blog and had to repost it. It's so true!
You might be a military spouse if...
...You live on your own, by yourself more after you're married than before you were married.
...You know all of your husband's coworkers by their last name, and rarely know their first name or even gender.
...Your husband's work and dress clothes cost more than yours do.
...You only write in pencil because EVERYTHING is subject to change.
...You know that a 2 month separation IS short, no matter what your civilian friends say.
...You have enough camouflage in your house to wallpaper the White House.
...You don't bat an eyelash at 22:45 and 0300 duty times.
...You are asked to stop talking in acronyms and translate it all to English.
...You've done more oil changes than your spouse, and even when your husband is home the mechanic asks to speak with you.
...You ask someone to hold on a second by saying, "Stand by."
...Military homecomings on TV bring tears to your eyes because you can relate so well.
...You've ever checked your email multiple times an hour in hopes your spouse has written you, and know how horrible email being "down" is.
...You wouldn't dream going anywhere without your cellphone, and all your other numbers forward to it.
...You've researched ways to surgically attach your cellphone to yourself.
...If you have a power of attorney, USE it, and freak out when it expires.
...If you know that not everyone accepts a power of attorney, despite the fact it gives you permission to practically BE your spouse.
...If you've ever argued that fact with someone in person or over the phone and gotten nowhere.
...Your husband spends more time getting ready for a formal function than you do, and on an average day spends way too much time ironing, polishing shoes, and shaping his beret.
...You can literally hold down the fort while your spouse is deployed or in the field.
...You know that 'dependant' means anything but dependant.
…the floorboard of your car is littered with french fries, yellow foam earplugs and chem lights.
…you lean to the right while driving on post so the MP’s won’t see you talking on your cell phone.
…you’ve ever wished your husband would get the Medal of Honor so you could get front row parking.
…you know better than to shop the Commissary on the first or fifteenth day of the month.
…you have a “favorite gate guard.”
…you don’t feed your kids before FRG meetings but plan to let them fill up on brownies and Sprite once they get there.
…you watch “Army Wives” just to yell at the TV whenever something is unrealistic.
…you’ve ever stopped your husband on the way to work because of pair of your panties was stuck to his velcro.
…you plan a special day because of the words “Case Lot Sale.”
…you’ve ever had a nightmare that involved not knowing ”your sponsor’s last four.”
…you know all the words to “Blood on the Risers” but still cringe when you hear it.
…you save an especially stinky shirt to get you through a deployment
…you think the only thing sexier than ACU’s on a man are ACU’s off a man.
…your sentences start containing more [acronyms] and numbers than actual words.
…you refer to everyone not in the military or dating someone in the military as a Civilian, you can rattle off the time in perfect military time without having to think.
…you start referring to all girls & women as “females”
…you tell the timeline of your past through deployments.
…you think 6 months away from your husband is “not bad”
…you can’t remember the last four digits of your own social security #
…you constantly have to explain to businesses on the phone that your husband can’t call to fix the problem because he’s in the middle of a desert somewhere
You might be a military spouse if...
...You live on your own, by yourself more after you're married than before you were married.
...You know all of your husband's coworkers by their last name, and rarely know their first name or even gender.
...Your husband's work and dress clothes cost more than yours do.
...You only write in pencil because EVERYTHING is subject to change.
...You know that a 2 month separation IS short, no matter what your civilian friends say.
...You have enough camouflage in your house to wallpaper the White House.
...You don't bat an eyelash at 22:45 and 0300 duty times.
...You are asked to stop talking in acronyms and translate it all to English.
...You've done more oil changes than your spouse, and even when your husband is home the mechanic asks to speak with you.
...You ask someone to hold on a second by saying, "Stand by."
...Military homecomings on TV bring tears to your eyes because you can relate so well.
...You've ever checked your email multiple times an hour in hopes your spouse has written you, and know how horrible email being "down" is.
...You wouldn't dream going anywhere without your cellphone, and all your other numbers forward to it.
...You've researched ways to surgically attach your cellphone to yourself.
...If you have a power of attorney, USE it, and freak out when it expires.
...If you know that not everyone accepts a power of attorney, despite the fact it gives you permission to practically BE your spouse.
...If you've ever argued that fact with someone in person or over the phone and gotten nowhere.
...Your husband spends more time getting ready for a formal function than you do, and on an average day spends way too much time ironing, polishing shoes, and shaping his beret.
...You can literally hold down the fort while your spouse is deployed or in the field.
...You know that 'dependant' means anything but dependant.
…the floorboard of your car is littered with french fries, yellow foam earplugs and chem lights.
…you lean to the right while driving on post so the MP’s won’t see you talking on your cell phone.
…you’ve ever wished your husband would get the Medal of Honor so you could get front row parking.
…you know better than to shop the Commissary on the first or fifteenth day of the month.
…you have a “favorite gate guard.”
…you don’t feed your kids before FRG meetings but plan to let them fill up on brownies and Sprite once they get there.
…you watch “Army Wives” just to yell at the TV whenever something is unrealistic.
…you’ve ever stopped your husband on the way to work because of pair of your panties was stuck to his velcro.
…you plan a special day because of the words “Case Lot Sale.”
…you’ve ever had a nightmare that involved not knowing ”your sponsor’s last four.”
…you know all the words to “Blood on the Risers” but still cringe when you hear it.
…you save an especially stinky shirt to get you through a deployment
…you think the only thing sexier than ACU’s on a man are ACU’s off a man.
…your sentences start containing more [acronyms] and numbers than actual words.
…you refer to everyone not in the military or dating someone in the military as a Civilian, you can rattle off the time in perfect military time without having to think.
…you start referring to all girls & women as “females”
…you tell the timeline of your past through deployments.
…you think 6 months away from your husband is “not bad”
…you can’t remember the last four digits of your own social security #
…you constantly have to explain to businesses on the phone that your husband can’t call to fix the problem because he’s in the middle of a desert somewhere
Saturday, February 20, 2010
I've become one of them
Many years ago, not long after my second child was born, I was invited to a get together of young moms by a lady from our old church. I thought how nice it was going to be to see some old friends and to make some new ones. Boy was this get together way different than I envisioned.
All the young moms there, except for my sister and me, had lots of kids, took daily walks with their family of over 2 miles and ground their own grain. With everything a mom had to do, why would anyone want to grind their own grain. I really don't remember anyone talking about the nutritional value or how the grinding took place but I could just see it in my mind.
This huge machine sitting on their kitchen table. A large hopper at the top which would hold the grain. And a large crank, which they would joyfully be turning and turning and turning. Spending hours just making flour, let alone the fresh bread their families would enjoy.
OK, now fast forward 8 years later...to the year 2009. I am participating in a homeschool co-op and it all comes back again. Women in the co-op are grinding their own grain. But how could they spend all that time grinding flour if there was homeschooling to be done, houses which needed keeping and fights between siblings to referee. The truth has come out. You purchase a machine that does it for you. WOW, revelation. That can't be that hard, can it.
I just had to see it in action. It was really easy. Measure out how much you needed, put it in the hopper and click the knob to on. And this time, all the nutritional informaiton was shared with me. When you purchase flour from the grocery store, all the nurtrients and vitamins has been removed but not so when you grind the wheat berries yourself. That flour is full of the good stuff.
I had already been making homemade bread for quite a few months from a recipe I found online. You can find it here: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx?page=4
I then purchased the book and have tried other bread recipes. Check it out!
So I borrowed some fresh ground flour from a friend with a mill and tried it in my Artisan Bread recipe. It was great! My kids even liked it and it was not a white bread. I ended up purchasing my own mill, getting my wheat berries and asking for friends bread recipes.
Now I am one of them....those people who grind their own grain into flour. I'll try to post the nurtional information later, I'm getting tired and may not last much longer on here.
Let me encourage you today, try something new. Maybe you're not ready to jump in and make a $230 purchase for a mill but maybe there is something you've been wanting to try or a dream you have had. Maybe you've heard about something and thought, there is no way that I can do that. Do some research, find someone else whose doing it and try it. Just don't ask my to go skydiving with you, I'm not quite there yet.
All the young moms there, except for my sister and me, had lots of kids, took daily walks with their family of over 2 miles and ground their own grain. With everything a mom had to do, why would anyone want to grind their own grain. I really don't remember anyone talking about the nutritional value or how the grinding took place but I could just see it in my mind.
This huge machine sitting on their kitchen table. A large hopper at the top which would hold the grain. And a large crank, which they would joyfully be turning and turning and turning. Spending hours just making flour, let alone the fresh bread their families would enjoy.
OK, now fast forward 8 years later...to the year 2009. I am participating in a homeschool co-op and it all comes back again. Women in the co-op are grinding their own grain. But how could they spend all that time grinding flour if there was homeschooling to be done, houses which needed keeping and fights between siblings to referee. The truth has come out. You purchase a machine that does it for you. WOW, revelation. That can't be that hard, can it.
I just had to see it in action. It was really easy. Measure out how much you needed, put it in the hopper and click the knob to on. And this time, all the nutritional informaiton was shared with me. When you purchase flour from the grocery store, all the nurtrients and vitamins has been removed but not so when you grind the wheat berries yourself. That flour is full of the good stuff.
I had already been making homemade bread for quite a few months from a recipe I found online. You can find it here: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx?page=4
I then purchased the book and have tried other bread recipes. Check it out!
So I borrowed some fresh ground flour from a friend with a mill and tried it in my Artisan Bread recipe. It was great! My kids even liked it and it was not a white bread. I ended up purchasing my own mill, getting my wheat berries and asking for friends bread recipes.
Now I am one of them....those people who grind their own grain into flour. I'll try to post the nurtional information later, I'm getting tired and may not last much longer on here.
Let me encourage you today, try something new. Maybe you're not ready to jump in and make a $230 purchase for a mill but maybe there is something you've been wanting to try or a dream you have had. Maybe you've heard about something and thought, there is no way that I can do that. Do some research, find someone else whose doing it and try it. Just don't ask my to go skydiving with you, I'm not quite there yet.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Getting back in the grove
This past December, my wonderful husband came home from Iraq after serving a year long deployment. We were estatic! After two weeks of reverse deployment processing, he was given 30 days of leave. This was exciting because it meant that he didn't need to go in the office or worry about phone calls. We spent the time reintegrating back as a family and working on the girls recognizing daddy's leadership in the home. For one of the girls, we are still working on this. Everytime daddy goes to discipline her, she runs to me crying that daddy put me in trouble.
After enjoying time together in Houston and taking a week long Caribbean cruise, we came home and tried to get into a groove again. Having taken a month off of homeshooling, I was worried that the girls would have trouble getting back into a routine. I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised. We've had a few bumps in the road, but we seem to be doing well.
As we are getting into our routine of family as it used to be, we have been thrown a curve ball. We knew that we were ready for a PCS (move to a new duty station) this summer but things are moving faster than we have anticipated. We will be leaving behind the great state of Texas and Fort Hood, which is know as The Great Place to venture into the great unknown. We will be moving to South Korea.
I must be honest, this was the last place I wanted to go, but I have been praying that God would place our family where he wanted us. As I have encouraged others, the Army may be the one who cuts the orders but it's God who ordains your steps. This move is definitely going to test my faith. A new culture, language, etc. I have a missions heart...but it's been for short term missions trips, not for two years of my life. I have decided to embrace this upcoming move and to look at the positives. Besides, if I don't do that, my kids won't either.
I need to be the one leading the girls with a positive attitude and anticipation of great things we can do....on the other side of the world. Little by little, I am trying to encourage them that not all kids in life get to live in another country, experience a new culture, and learn a new language.
Yes there will be things that we will miss, but oh, the things that you will see.
So as we prepare for this upcoming move, I pray that we look at the positive things in this journey of life we are on and continue to trust God in all things.
After enjoying time together in Houston and taking a week long Caribbean cruise, we came home and tried to get into a groove again. Having taken a month off of homeshooling, I was worried that the girls would have trouble getting back into a routine. I must say that I have been pleasantly surprised. We've had a few bumps in the road, but we seem to be doing well.
As we are getting into our routine of family as it used to be, we have been thrown a curve ball. We knew that we were ready for a PCS (move to a new duty station) this summer but things are moving faster than we have anticipated. We will be leaving behind the great state of Texas and Fort Hood, which is know as The Great Place to venture into the great unknown. We will be moving to South Korea.
I must be honest, this was the last place I wanted to go, but I have been praying that God would place our family where he wanted us. As I have encouraged others, the Army may be the one who cuts the orders but it's God who ordains your steps. This move is definitely going to test my faith. A new culture, language, etc. I have a missions heart...but it's been for short term missions trips, not for two years of my life. I have decided to embrace this upcoming move and to look at the positives. Besides, if I don't do that, my kids won't either.
I need to be the one leading the girls with a positive attitude and anticipation of great things we can do....on the other side of the world. Little by little, I am trying to encourage them that not all kids in life get to live in another country, experience a new culture, and learn a new language.
Yes there will be things that we will miss, but oh, the things that you will see.
So as we prepare for this upcoming move, I pray that we look at the positive things in this journey of life we are on and continue to trust God in all things.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Cry for Haiti
Last week as I was enjoying a family vacation on a cruise ship in the Caribbean, the captain of the ship came on the loud speaker to let us know that Haiti suffered an earthquake. He said initally there was a Sunami warning put out but that it had now been lifted. I was glad that we weren't in danger but my thoughts drifted to the Safehome. The safehome is a ministry that was started by a friend from our old church in Pennsylvania, Jacques Merine. It was opened to provide a home for some of the many abandoned, uncared children, that roam the streets of Haiti's capital. On February 9. 2009 they received our first 10 children into the home, which is located west of Port au Prince in Carrefour. The Haiti ministry ( www.source-of-life-ministries.org ) is a part of my dad's non-profit ministry ThirstySouls.
If you visit their website, you can view some before and after pictures of some of the children that are part of the safehome. It is amazing to see the change in their countenance.
Since we were on the cruise, I didn't have a chance to call my parents to check the status of the children and thier caregivers. As we pull into port on Sunday morning, I called my parents. There was good and bad news. The children were safe but the home was unlivable. The group was now on the street and they hadn't had food or water in over three days. The safehome had also picked up an additional 18 chldren. I just sat there and cried. By the time we got off the ship, went through customs and drove home the over five hour trip, it was late in the evening and there was nothing we could do.
The next morning we began calling anyone and everyone we might know that was in Haiti or going to Haiti. Since the airport was closed to commercial flights, there was no way to get in and take supplies to the safehome. As we began calling, we realized it was a holiday and many business or offices were closed. We had a few possible leads and hoped it would result in getting some food and water to them. By Tuesday morning we found that they were able to get some food...how much we don't know. Our contact with the founder's brother, who lives in Haiti is not alway consistant or reliable due to the instablility in Haiti.
I would ask that you continue to pray for Haiti as a nation and specifically for Source of Life's Safehome. The children and caregivers have to be moved because where they had been living on the street was just doors away from the morgue. My dad and a group were ready to head to Haiti this morning, but the trip has been delayed.
I have attached photos of the Safehome children that we taken last year and one of the children after they were displaced from their home. If you are looking for a reliable organization to give to in support of reaching out to Haiti, Source of Life Ministries is a great place to give. All donations are tax deductible. Donations can be mailed to ThirstySouls Ministry (Source of Life), PO Box 96, Hanover, PA 17331.
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