My Journey toward Health

When I started blogging nearly a year ago, I was on a mission. I was going to lose weight and get my life back on track. Boy was I in for a rude awakening! My life got way off track, but I learned a few things about myself along the way.

1. I am a really good multi-tasker. We had planted a big garden in the summer and right when my tomatoes came in and were ready to can, our house sold. We had to be out in two weeks. The week we were to move out, my uncle passed away suddenly. It was a horrible thing for my father (who lost his favorite brother). I remember grieving and sobbing as I was putting up my tomatoes and packing up my kitchen at the same time. What a stressful time! But how good the Lord was when a few days after the funeral, there were seven men at my door with trucks and trailers to load up our house and move us.

2. After very eventful teen years with my parents where I swore I would never move back home, the reverse happened and they moved in with me. The shock of the house fire and the fact that my parents didn't have house insurance was so hard on them. People were so generous to them and just gave and gave. They were with us for 6 weeks and it was such a blessing! My children got precious grandparent time early in the morning and late in the evening. I cooked meals for my family every day. I put my love into those meals as day after day we worked on the house to restore it back to a livable space. I thank God for that time with my parents. Family really is all that is left at the end of the day. Cherish it and never take it for granted.

3. I really have learned a lot about eating healthy. I started the year with weight watchers. I really loved it at first, but over time it became monotonous as it seemed the same ideas were recycled over and over. I thought I was eating right when I heated up those little microwave dinners and ate my 100 calorie packs. How wrong I was! Do you realize how much crap is in that stuff? Ingredients I can't even pronounce and I was eating it like it was going out of style. I have since become familiar with real food and have decided that this is the path I want my family to take. I met a new friend, a wonderful lady who has been teaching me all about grinding grains, baking fresh bread, eating more organic real food. I am so thankful God put her in my life, I feel like she came into it at just the right time! I have also been reading a good book called Nourishing Traditions. Check it out!

Learning new things is hard. We get set in our ways, comfortable, familiar and we don't want to change. But I have learned change is good. I have moved twice this year, it was stressful but we learned to be patient with each other when we couldn't remember which box the toothpaste was in or where we stored the blender! We are in a tiny little apartment that on most days is fine, but give us rain and cold weather where the kids can't go outside and I feel like my walls are closing in on me. I pray a lot on those days. And occasionally scream! But God is good and that's been the biggest lesson I have learned, He really does care for me. Little 'ol plain me, who is nobody and no one. Thank you Lord!

I'm not a quitter!

I love fall. I love the colors changing, the cool crisp air. It's such a welcome relief from the hot summer we've had. And what a summer I've had! Parents house burnt, sold our house, moved twice in 5 weeks and then our house deal feel through. So not only are we living in a two bedroom apartment, we are also paying for an empty house that my husband doesn't want to move back into. Am I ok with that? Yes and I'll tell you why. For the first time I am standing still and letting God move. I am letting my husband lead. And if he doesn't want to move back, so be it. I am content to be, because my husband is leading. I want so much to be in God's will and I certainly can't do that if he is getting grief from me.
We are poor, but rich in God's love. We are committed to being the best parents to our children. God is good and worthy to be praised. He doesn't owe us anything, even though we secretly want to pitch a little fit like a toddler sometimes when things don't go our way. I've had a lot of things happen to me in the last few years that most people would say, what's the point in trying? Why not give up?
There are several reasons:
1. I have two little ones watching. If I give up, how do they learn to lean on God in hard times, to be thankful for everything? How can I give up when they so want to be like me and my husband.
2. I have loved ones who don't have a relationship with God. If I am truly to be the "salt" of this world and show them what loving Jesus is all about, how can I give up when times get hard?
3. God loves me and I don't deserve it. I deserve Hell, but He desires a relationship with me. Why would I give that up because life gets hard? This life is so short, so fleeting.

I want to walk up to God and one day hear these words: "Well done, my good and faithful child, enter in."

I never knew...

I'm having a rough week. Nothing major going on, just not a great week. We sold our house a month ago and moved to a rental trailer. We had two weeks to move when we closed (which was 5 days after we accepted a contract) So we had less than 3 weeks from the time we found out it sold to "see ya later house, it was nice living in you!" To begin to describe the stress I felt, well, I just can't. It was unbelievable. At the time of my move, all of my tomatoes came in my garden so I was packing, canning, packing, canning until I thought I would lose my mind. I will love my fresh spaghetti sauce and tomatoes this winter when I really need it, but right now I could care less if I ever can anything again. My uncle also passed away at the same time as our move. Another blow to our family, more stress.

So we've moved. I'm so thankful to the Lord for our house selling, for helping us get out of that financial burden and for providing a place. Here's the problem. Our house is 20 minutes from my parents. I know it's not far, but when you live 5-10 minutes away for years, this seems like an all day trip to just visit. I do not like living on another end of the county. I keep my sister's kids 2 days a week so she can work and her drive is much longer than before. Spontaneous trips to my folks doesn't happen now. I have to plan for them because now it's almost an hour round trip. Boy am I in a crummy mood or what? Since I am a stay at home mom, I guess maybe I've been getting too much home time. My husband and I haven't been out in over 2 months and I think it's starting to show.

I have struggled to like this house but I just don't. I know God wants me here for a reason. For one the view out the back is gorgeous. Nice big hills and a pond to feast your eyes on. That's it's one saving grace. The house is small. The kids are sharing a room and I have made the small bedroom an office/school room. I have yet to organize it. I just can't get motivated to even look at it right now. I think by not unpacking and organizing this one room I am internally rebelling against the change of another move (we've moved 8 times in 13 years by the way). Hmmmm, I think too much and I need a nap. Maybe my next post will be more positive!

On a brighter note here are some pictures of our camping trip we took last week. Enjoy!
















God has blessed me and I am so thankful for all He gives me. I know the enemy is
attacking me today. That's why it's so necessary to "gird up thy loins." Put on that armor of God and fight back!

Summer Fun

Since it's been forever since I have posted anything, I want to post pictures of some of the things that we've been up to as a family this summer.



Slip-n-slide fun:)













Church camp











Working at mom and dad's smoke damaged house

















Dress up Fun!


























Tea is served!!!!
























































Sleeping in mommy's bed is so much better












Pool Time













Nature center exploration













Lake Winnie


























July 4













Canning is hard work but so worth it!

Life's about changes...Nothing ever stays the same!

I used to love this song growing up. It's never been more true than right now in our lives. A month ago my parents house caught on fire and the kitchen was destroyed and the rest of the house was smoked up. We had to pull everything out and basically remodel the whole house. It was such a mess! We are slowly working on getting mom and dad back in their house. They have been living with us for a month. It has been a big change, but I have to say, it's not been a bad change. You really can live with your parents peacefully after you have grown up and moved away from home:) I always thought it would be awful because my teen years were so hard living with my dad. But it has been a wonderful blessing! God knows what He is doing and our family bond is so much stronger now because of this fire. My children have loved having their mammy and poppy with them. They have very willingly gave up their bedrooms and have loved "camping" out in our bedroom in their sleeping bags.

I have been canning a few things and working diligently in my garden. I have cucumbers and squash galore and in a few weeks I will have tomatoes coming out of my ears! I plan on making spaghetti sauce, tomato juice, diced tomatoes, squash relish, pickles, canned banana peppers, freezer corn, frozen berries, jams and anything else I can get my hands on to can. There is nothing better than opening up a jar of something you have grown with your hands and God's earth and eating it! My children love working in the garden. In fact, my son loves picking my cucumbers but he accidentally picked the whole vine, roots and all, and now I have dead cucumbers. He was quite upset when he realized he killed the cucumbers. He is more careful now! We are going to plant more seeds today.

Summer is off with a bang!

We are a few weeks into our summer and we are having a blast! We went to church camp last week and had the time of our lives! It was such blessing to our family. We will definitely be going back next year. It took a few days to get over a week of sleep deprivation not to mention the 5 loads of laundry I have been doing as well. But it was worth it to have a week of fellowship and fun activities with other Christian children and adults.

We are still doing some light school this summer. Every few days we are doing some math or reading with some writing mingled in. I don't want to start back up in August with 2 whole months of no school at all this summer. But we are doing tons of different learning this summer. Gardening, bug observations, my dad's pond, flowers, nature walks, camping, summer reading at the library, crafts and backyard camp outs will keep us learning all summer!



At Fall Creek Falls for the first time! I was scared to death of the heights!

99 Things

I found this on another blog and thought it would be fun to see how many of these I have done. There are several things I want to do in the next 5-10 years and others that will have to wait until my kids are moved out and we save some money, lol!
The items I have done/experienced are in green...

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band (drummer in elementary,lol)
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower (does a single shooting star count?)
6. Given more than you can afford to charity (God always gets His first!)
7. Been to Disneyland/world .... maybe someday
8. Climbed a mountain (probably more like a big hill, but hard nonetheless!)
9. Held a praying mantis .... ewwwww
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped...NO WAY!
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child...best thing I ever did!
16. Had food poisoning...no, thank God!
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (too many people to walk up, but I was there!)
18. Grown your own vegetables (Every year!)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon....(it's a dream)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset (many!)
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied...Money could never satisfy like my walk with God.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater (many times!)
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma...no but I've had it given to me many times!
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp...would like to gt up the courage to do that.
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible... still working on that one!
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby.... I wish!
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

My Anniversary is Fast Approaching!!!

13 years. I can't believe I've been married that long. Where does all the time go? So much has changed in our marriage since I was 19 standing on my front porch with a preacher, Frankie and my family watching. I was so young and didn't even realize. But I can honestly say that the relationship I have with my husband today is so much better and sweeter than 13 years ago. He is my true best friend and help mate. There's a lot of times I complete his thoughts and he completes mine and we just laugh. That verse in the bible about becoming one when you are married is so true because we are so much alike. I adore my husband. He is the love of my life. I couldn't ask for a better person to spend my life with. Has it always been this way? NO!!! I never understood the couples who say, "We never fight." I just don't get it. How can you not duke it out at least once a month, lol! It keeps you on your toes and builds a stronger relationship. But there are good ways and bad ways to fight, and I have done both.
When you fight the right way, you both recognize fault, seek to make the other feel better and always put God first. When we chose to fight the wrong way, things got a little crazy! Tires squealed, bags got packed, ugly words were said and not one mention of God was made. Nobody likes these fights except Satan. I'm thankful that as I get older I am learning how to fight better. God is also teaching me how to let Frankie lead and when I need to step back and let him do so.

As my anniversary approaches we have been planning a get away. We have debated and pondered on where to go, what to do, where to stay. Here's what I DO know: I have family keeping the kids for two nights. What we do after that doesn't matter because it will be just me and him, childfree for a glorious weekend!

What Adoption means to me

When I look at my kids, I don't have the privilege of seeing my color in their eyes. I don't see my grandma's hands which are like my mom's which are like mine. I don't get to compare baby photos and see who looks like me or my husband. I don't get to say, "Well she acts just like I did when I was little." Does that bother me? Sometimes. Do I dwell on it? Absolutely not! What ultimately makes a family? I've had someone ask me, "Are you their real mother?" Well if you want to get technical, did I have the joy of feeling their growth inside me, pour my love into their well being and get the distinct honor of being there for the delivery? No I didn't, but I can most assuredly say, YES, I am their real mother. What makes a mother? Blood? Ask all the kids abandoned on the street, thrown in the dumpster, aborted before they even have a chance. Does the person that carried them get that title because of a blood relation?

To me a mother is someone who will rock you at night when she is so exhausted and only wants to go to sleep but will rock you anyway because you matter more. A mother will go to ends of the earth to pay a lawyer and fight for the right to keep you, raise you and love you. A mother will look you in the eye and tell you the truth about your past, even if that past is hurtful and hard to hear. A mother will encourage you to succeed, celebrate and motivate you every day. A mother is a personal cheerleader. Someone who will stand strong and be a voice for you when you are too small to have a voice. We have an adoption poem in our family and it goes like this:


Adoption is love
Love is family
Family is forever

I wasn't there in the beginning but God said I get to be there in the end! He chose my children for me. It's a great honor to be an adoptive parent and it's one I don't take lightly. I love that I get to be there for all of my children's needs. Please don't think our life is picture perfect. It is far from it! But we love each other, stick up for each other and want each other to succeed! How much more real can it get?

Weather Unit 101

This week we are going to do a unit on the weather. We have had an unusually warm spring and it has been fabulous! We are going to learn about the different types of clouds, spring storms, animals born in spring, temperature changes and basically anything else to do with the weather. We will read a ton of books on the weather, draw and write about the weather, watch the weather channel, etc. I fully expect my children to be professional meteorologists by Friday! ;)

My eating has been off plan this week, but I have walked a lot, so that has to count for something! I am learning that this weight didn't come on overnight and as much as I would like to awaken one day and see my teenage body on my 32 year old self, it's not gonna happen! One day at a time...one step at a time.


Easter on the back deck! I am so blessed!

Weightloss= Hard Work!

I am down 18.8 lbs since January. It's going to be a long, long journey for me. I am learning some things about myself since I decided to really get serious about my journey to health.

1. It is really hard to lose weight and stick with it! This should be a no brainer of course, but I have always had success and about 3 months into a new diet or routine, I quit. I have crossed over the 3 month mark and everything in me wants to quit, but I am determined. I am praying a lot for God's help in this. I am learning to really trust in Him in all things.

2. I have learned a few triggers that really mess up my progress. I love to cook and a lot of times I will make desert for Frankie and the kids. If it is a cake or some kind of pastry type desert, I can not resist it. No matter if I tell my self I will only smell and look at it from afar, it ultimately ends up in my belly! The same with ice cream. So now if I make something, I have a serving, wrap up the rest and put it in Frankie's truck to take to work the next day. I'll never deprive myself, but I sure don't have to eat half a cake in one sitting.

3. Another trigger I have is social situations. If you put me in a group setting with food, I am going to eat. You always hear the experts say, "Eat before you go to a party and then you will be full and not eat so much at the party." Whoever came up with that line of bull needs to be whipped! Even if my belly is full to bursting, I will eat a desert or something because everyone else is and I feel the need to do the same. Why? I think for me it's associated with good feelings, fellowship, family memories of cookouts and fun. Whatever it is, it's dangerous for me until I figure out how to control it.

4. Failures in my life are a trigger for me. Satan loves to remind me of my infertility and inability to carry a child and used a lunch date with some dear women friends the other day to remind me as they discussed childbirth and pregnancy. I totally forgot about watching my meal portion and instead fed my hurt. Now don't get me wrong, I am a mommy and I adore my children. But I will always struggle with my infertility. Most days, with the Lord's help I am fine. That day, satan saw a crack and wedged his way into my thoughts.

I have to keep sight of the long term goal. I don't want to be a diabetic. I don't want to die an early death. I have dreams and goals I want to achieve. In order to get to those goals, some weight has to come off. I was walking the other day and just burst out crying as I realized how far I had to go. But I am so thankful for God's grace. He is so gentle in His love and encouragment. I can turn to Him anytime with a burden and He always takes it away. One day at a time, one step at a time.

Thankful

My blog today is about things I am thankful for. It's so easy in today's world to get down and out when things are not going how we want. Financial stress, debt, worrying about my husband getting work, my health, problems in my family and just general evil in this world can really get me down! But I am so thankful that there is a simple solution. One word: God. He can take all of that stress today, tomorrow, forever just by me simply being humble, obedient and submissive to His will. When I align myself to God's will, no matter what is happening around me, I have peace within. That is a good feeling. I can count on the Lord. I am truly thankful for that.

I am thankful for my husband. What a good man he is. He loves me and the children and is not afraid to get up every day and work for us so that I have the privilege to stay home and homeschool the children. Something that bothers me sometimes about people's view of our life is when I hear people say, "Well, if you went back to teaching, you could eliminate the stress on his shoulders, have health insurance, yadda yadda yadda....". Well that would be easier, but not necessarily better. You see what they don't realize is that I have to stand before the Lord one day and give an account to how I obeyed His call on my life. And I can honestly say that for us, homeschooling is a calling. It's hard and exhausting, but the rewards of seeing the children grow and learn are worth the sacrifice.

I am thankful for my children. What a joy they are to me! Because we spend so much time together, I really know them. When we first adopted them, I didn't know them. My daughter was (and still is) a drama queen and at 3 would throw awful fits. It was puzzling to us because we were so inexperienced as parents and we didn't know how to handle a moody toddler. My son at 2 would hit, punch, bite us when angry or upset. Again with no previous experience, it was a lot of parenting trial and error learning just what makes these kiddos tick. When I look at them now and see how happy they are, how well-adjusted they are (and believe me if you are an adoptive parent, well-adjusted is a good thing) I am thankful. God has been good to us.

I am thankful for my family. My sisters are precious to me and my parents are the rock in our family. They are so supportive of my homeschooling ventures and encourage me to succeed. As Easter approaches, I am most thankful for my salvation. Because God sent His precious Son to die for me, I get the pleasure of an eternal relationship with Him! Thank You Lord!

What are you thankful for?

Still Trucking right along!

Ok...somebody smack me. Has it really been a month since I wrote in my blog? What am I thinking? This has been such a great outlet for me and I have neglected it. I will try to do better!:)
I can not even begin to tell you how glad I am that spring is on it's way. It was a loooong winter. A great one, with lots of snow, but long nonetheless. My children are glad for fresh air and outside time (so is momma, lol).

I am still doing weight watchers. I am down about 15 lbs. Before you start screaming for joy at my incredible loss, that is like losing a golf ball off my behind! I still have a tremendous amount to lose, but slow and steady wins the race.

I was so mad this week when I went to my meeting and was up .8 of a lb. Now I know it's not much but I was really good this week, did everything right and even exercised 4-5 times. But I am attributing this to a certain thing that happens once a month for all of the female race :( Maybe next week I'll have a Biggest Loser week and pull like a double digit loss! I can dream can't I?

Homeschooling is going well. I forget how far we have come and sometimes get frustrated when things don't move as fast as I want. But I have a kindergartner and first grader and both are starting to read, praise the Lord! They aren't ready for a novel, but they can put a dent in Dr. Seuss, lol! I sometimes find it hard to believe that I have a 6 and 7 year old. I waited so long for children and they have been the biggest blessings in my life!

Here they are outside when we had a huge snow in the middle of
February.














My son loves snow cream!









They had a ball sledding!









Until my daughter crashed in the briars, lol!









Oh yeah....one last thing. We got a new couch, it's so pretty!

Vacation Time!

We are currently on vacation at an indoor water park and it is a ball! I think what is so exciting is the fact that we can swim and be warm in the middle of February! That is truly exciting! It is freezing here in Tennessee. Winters are usually mild, but for some reason this year is reminding me of my childhood. Lovely snow every few weeks and lots of soups and inside time. It's also a really hard time for me mentally. Being a homeschool mom, this is a month where we are usually starting to climb the walls for some outside time. I am so thankful for this break this week! I told my husband that weekly dates were mandatory this month for my sanity. Momma needs some alone time with her honey :0) And you know that golden rule about momma being happy, well....it's true!!!!

Here are some pictures of our trip. The kids had a blast!



Our condo was gorgeous and amazing! We were able to go with our friends and we had a great time. This dining room table will fit 10 people easy! It was the play area for the children.

Treasure a Friend!

I want to write today about a good friend that moved away recently. What a blessing she and her husband were to my family. They joined our church 3 or 4 years ago and we hit it off from the start! They didn't have any children at the time but now have a beautiful one year old. I know that God put them in our path for a reason. I have some great friends, but my husband and I wanted friends that we could hang and run around with. He answered a prayer with Melinda and Travis. Their families lived far away and we quickly became their extended family. With the economy in the dirt, we stopped eating out on Sunday's and they would come over to the house and eat with us. Since they lived 30 minutes from church and we lived 5 it just made sense to hang at our house.
What a great time we had for a few years! We would come home from church, eat, play games or watch a movie, play outside, take walks, eat some more and just enjoy each other's company. But all good things must come to an end. Travis got a job in another state and now we are long distance friends. If I need a prayer warrior, I know who to call. We will still visit and they will always be a part of our lives, but I miss them terribly.
Now on Sunday's, we come home, eat and take naps, or watch t.v., sometimes play games. We've been in a slump lately. Sometimes I slip in my room and read my Bible, pray or journal. If you have great christian friends, cherish each moment. I hope we were as much a blessing to them as they were to us. God has opened up some doors with some old friends that homeschool and has introduced new friends! I thank Him! He is so good to me. I will always miss my Sunday buddies and the memories we made, but God has a plan for both of us. I'm so thankful he is in control!

Full Steam Ahead!!!

It's official. I joined Weight Watchers a week ago and when I went back last night to the meeting, I had lost 5.8 pounds!!!! I was super excited! I have not told anyone in my family. Why, you say? Well, this is a routine I need to establish just for me, something I need to do for myself. I honest to goodness want to wait until someone notices that I have actually lost weight, then I can gleefully tell them my secret:)

It's important to me that I do this for myself. I don't even recognize myself anymore. Everything hurts, I have no energy and I am extremely overweight. I even worked at the YMCA for two years! I did not take advantage of the facility and was very much in denial about my weight. I was the heaviest person that worked in my department. Talk about humiliating. When the staff is so health conscious and I just did not care something is wrong! Well, maybe deep down I did, but I put on such a cool facade. Aren't we good at that? Put on a smile when inside we are crying? God has blessed and been so good to me and I am ashamed of how I have treated my body. I hope to correct that this year. The enemy wants me to fail. But I have something he doesn't. God. "I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strenghtheneth me" With His help, I will succeed! Because I sure haven't been able to figure it out for myself, lol!!!

I hope in the next few weeks to start posting pictures. My digital camera is on the blitz and I will hopefully be able to buy a new one soon.

My roles defined!

I was recently reading a friends blog and she issued a challenge: What are your roles? So I thought for my post today and to start off my new year, that I would get my roles out there, write about them, think about them, dwell on them.

What are my roles?

First and foremost I am a Christian. My first obligation is to God. I would be nowhere with out His amazing grace! I have desired a deeper relationship with my Heavenly Father this year, like never before. I want people to see the love of God on my face, in my actions. It doesn't always work out that way, but I am trying.

Wife: I love being a wife to Frankie. He is my best friend. He is so funny and such a good provider. Now before you think he's perfect, he has flaws too! He loses his temper way too quickly and easily and is not patient. But my job is to be the best wife and helpmate I can be for him. Sometimes I feel like when he comes home, he gets the worst of me, because I am so exhausted. So I am going to work on that this year. He deserves better!

Mother/Homeschool Teacher: This is a job I take seriously. I love my children to the ends of the earth. They were given to me by God to love, nurture and cherish and I try to do my best. I am also their teacher. I am responsible for their learning. It's important to me that they learn, but that they also have a heart for God and people. I always tell them I don't care what they grow up to be, as long as it honors God and that they serve Him gladly. It's a tall order, but I will do my best. The bible says, Train up a child in the way they should go and when they are old, they will not depart from it. I am holding on to that promise.

Sister/Daughter: In my family, we are close. I have three sisters and I love them all dearly. I have a blessed mother whom I thank God for. My father has always provided for us and I admire him greatly. It's important to me that I focus on being the sister and daughter they need. I want the love of God to shine on my face for them to see. We have been through a lot over the past few years and nothing matters more than family. I didn't get to choose my family, God did, and I reckon He knows best!

Family Chef: I am the only cook in our family. Frankie can boil water, cook hamburger meat and peel a potato. It's up to me to do the rest. I love to cook, I don't like to shop for food. But I will do it because it's my job. This year, I want to incorporate more fresh healthy meals and get away from the same old, same old stuff. I do have picky eaters, but they are just going to have to get over themselves already:)

Some things I have given up: employment: I was employed by the YMCA for two years. I just gave that up last week. Was it hard? Yes and no. I love all the people I worked with, but I didn't enjoy the job. I think for me, the fact that I homeschool, I am with my children all day and I was going to work with tons of children and never getting a break from children! It stressed me out to work there. So now, I am going to take one of the evenings that I would normally work and go grocery shopping and have an evening to myself. I need this mental break from my children for my sanity and health!

Some things I hope to gain this year: My health: it's really fallen by the wayside. I don't take care of myself like I should. I don't want to be selfish and hog all the spare time for myself, but 30 minutes to an hour each day is not too much to ask to exercise, read, pray, blog, cry, whatever it is I need to do. I am overweight. I am not proud of that. How much overweight, you say? Well, let's just say I would qualify for The Biggest Loser! I have been pondering on joining Weight Watchers. I think I would benefit from the group atmosphere and interaction. I'm still pondering on it. I know that I want to honor God by honoring my body and what I put in it. I haven't been doing that and I'm ashamed of how unhealthy and heavy I am. But God has never left nor forsaken me and I know that He won't now.

So as you read this blog, what is your role? What defines you as a woman, mother, wife, sister, friend and christian? Happy New Year!