Still working

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I was trying to lose some weight and needed to be accountable.  December is so very hard to be accountable in.  Since I ran my second 5k I have been slowly and not quite as steadily losing and exercising.

Unfortunately being a teacher and aunt in December means nearly every night has something plus people are always trying to give me food (especially chocolate).  The first three days this week were really bad, mostly because I had to stay late to get everything done for the semester.

I had gotten behind because last Friday I left half day to come home and do my home study update.  That went well.  We had to do it for 2 reasons.  One for immigration because our other one is running out soon and also because we moved this summer and our social worker had to make sure our new home was suitable for children.

So I was behind on grading and then this week was just a busy mess! On Wednesday I baked cookies with my students which is my favorite way ever to celebrate the holidays.  We made chocolate chip cookies and I ate way too many!

Anyway, yesterday I was super bad and although I had no work still didn't fit in any exercise (although for the most part my eating was more on track).  Today I got up determined not to put it (and this blog for that matter) on the back burner again.  So I went to pinterest where yesterday I had pinned this:



And while the doggies were outside frolicking in the first snow of the winter (yay! we didn't all die last night), I did this.  Man did it get everything on fire.  So I should definitely add this into the mix (because if I do the same thing or eat the same thing daily I get burnt out super quickly).  Hopefully I'll work up to being able to do twice a day but I think for a busy just quick workout it hit the spot.

So accountability, I am down about 30 lbs from last summer.  I had school pictures in September and sent them out in my Christmas cards to my students this week (ps why do I get a full package of school pictures every year? who am I going to hand 30 wallets, 2 5x7s, and an 8x10 to?  I am not really that narcissistic).  It was pretty cool because I could see the difference between my face in September and now.  Just have to remember that and not let laziness (probably my number one sin, pray for me) get me off track.

A friend put this on facebook last night:


I think it applies to oh so many things.  I am currently waiting to hit my healthy goal with eating and exercising, it is not something that will happen immediately and I don't know why we always think it will.  I am also waiting, waiting, waiting for God to grow my family because I know He will.  I know His ways are above mine and that this wait is helping me to depend on Him.  Thank you God for your willingness to work with me, to prod me, and to lead me.  Amen.

Isaiah 64:4

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁴ For since the world began,
    no ear has heard
and no eye has seen a God like you,
    who works for those who wait for him!

Thankful for good people in this world.

Remember how I posted that Saturday the weather was super gorgeous?  I went to a local park with my sister and went running.  I don't have a cool id for running so I just stuck my driver's license in my pocket.  I also had my pedometer in a pocket and my cell phone.  We listed to music and tracked our run using my phone.  My sister challenged me to run beyond what I thought I could and that was awesome.  I ended my run at the bottom of a lookout tower, head pressed against the cool concrete.  Betsy went to the top of the tower and I walked circles at the bottom.  As I walked circles at the bottom, I put my hand in my pocket to check for my stuff.  I still had my phone and my pedometer but I had no id.  Most of our run had been in a loop so after we searched the car we went back over the parts that we hadn't doubled over already.  It was no where to be found.  I thought maybe it had fallen out at home?  But alas it wasn't there.  Monday the BMV was closed. Tuesday I didn't go because of other things.  Last night I get home after work, working for Operation Christmas Child,  and going to Bible study I get the mail.  There is an envelope to me from someone I don't know in a neighboring town.  She found my id at the park Saturday and mailed it back to me.  There are good people in this world and for that I'm thankful.

Proverbs 11:3
Honesty guides good people; dishonesty destroys treacherous people.

Thankful for...

Tonight I'm thankful for Pinterest.  Where else can I while away the hours finding ideas for my home and my future?

Like this one:



Psalm 84:3
Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar, O LORD of Heaven’s Armies, my King and my God!

A Week of Thankfulness

I really was trying that first week... and then I slacked off and now I need to catch up on a whole week's worth of posts.

Nov 7-- Thankful for Faraday

My little puppy last fall has turned into a great big Giant puppy this fall.

Most evenings it is just the two of us relaxing, taking walks much to the chagrin of the not as nice dogs next door, playing fetch indoors and out.  We lost both of our previous pooches last year and I am so thankful we were able to get Faraday to help keep me company this last year.  His first year had a lot of excitement, eating a month's worth of medication, moving twice, and making friends wherever he goes.  

1 Samuel 25:16
In fact, day and night they were like a wall of protection to us and the sheep.

November 8

Thankful for Josh.

He tops my thankfulness list daily.  He has been my best friend for over 11 years and my husband more than 6.  He works so hard to provide nice things for us and I truly appreciate it daily.  I also appreciate the time we get to spend together, working on things for the house, going camping or traveling, playing games, hosting our annual Halloween bash.  I prayed to God for my husband and he has blessed me so completely.

The other day when setting up our Thanksgiving mantle I was searching for a picture for a new frame.  I went through the wedding album and found this one which I just love.  It's not the one in the frame now but it did bring a smile to my face.

Romans 12:10
Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Election Day Thankfulness

Here's a picture of me today with my I voted today sticker.  I am so thankful that I was able to put forth my opinions on who should be the next president of our nation, governor of my state, superintendent of education in Indiana, and Senator from Indiana.  I am also very thankful for the thousands of people nation-wide who worked the polls and helped people to exercise their right to vote.  I was lucky to be able to walk right in, show my ID, and go straight to a voting machine this afternoon.  While I was there one of the ladies checking ID mentioned that she had been there since 5am.  That makes for a very long day.  I am so thankful for her and other volunteers who helped to make this and every past election a pretty "painless" process.


Proverbs 22:29
Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people.

Bonus thought for the day:  I am so Glad Jesus is my king no matter what happens in the election today.

Thankful for my parents and siblings.

Today, and everyday, I am thankful for my siblings and parents.  I have 3 brothers and 3 sisters and a mom and a dad.  I love each of them.  I get together regularly with them.  I am so proud of who we have all turned out to be.  I pray that I can provide my children with as much love and good guidance as my parents gave all of us.  I think we are kind of like rocks in a stream.  We bump against each other and wear off those rough parts so that the world gets to see the shiny smoothness.  We are each others' greatest fans and I wouldn't have it any other way.  This picture idea I got from Pinterest.  My mom free cut the letters and then my sister set it up (she's the awesome photographer and her label thingy is on the picture).  I love it!  Don't you?

Psalm 105:8
He always stands by his covenant— the commitment he made to a thousand generations.

Thankful for Orphan Sunday

Today was Orphan Sunday around the world.  Unfortunately our church didn't have anything special for Orphan Sunday, but I still think it is so important and I am so thankful for it.  I think it serves a purpose because God has called us as Christians to support the widow and the orphan.  This won't mean through adoption for most families.  However, if God has placed this call upon your heart and then you go to church and hear/learn more about it it might be that nudge you need in order to follow God's plans for your life and your family.  I know that God had placed adoption in my heart long before we started the process.  I know that the process has been way too long by my estimates and will be just exactly the right amount of time in God's, but I also think that without exposure to adoption in my life (I nannied for a family with 3 beautiful, wonderful boys fro Guatemala), I might not yet be following God's will.  Adoption is hard and scary, especially for people with no history of interactions with adoption, perhaps through Orphan Sunday God can help people to overcome their fears and take that first step that completes their families.  Praise God for such an opportunity.

James 1:27
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. 

Ps.... Once I actually move my church membership and this adoption thing finally works out, I do plan to bring up Orphan Sunday to my church :)

Thankful for my treadmill

  Today I am thankful for my treadmill, it looks something like this only without the weights.  We bought it several years ago in loo of another gym membership that we wouldn't get enough use out of.  In its life with us it has had seasons of use and seasons of unuse (although never has it been a clothes rack).  Right now it is back in use.  I used it to prepare for the last 5k I ran and today since it is cold, wet, and yucky outside I am gonna lace up the sneakers and head down to the basement to show a little love to the treadmill and my body.

Proverbs 4:12
When you walk, you won’t be held back; when you run, you won’t stumble.

Thankful for my small group.

Kinda a rough last two days at work, but small group was tonight and it was nice sitting and talking with people and digging into the Word.  Last year Josh and I started looking for a new church and one of my criteria were small groups to get involved in.  It's taken awhile but now I am in a small group and I really feel like it is a gift from God to me to help me along my journey.  Thank you Jesus for fellowship with believers.

Acts 2:42
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals, and to prayer.

November Thankfulness

I'm going to try to write each day in November at least posting what I'm thankful for.

To start the month, I am so so thankful this year for our new house!

God has truly blessed us.

Psalm 101:2
I will be careful to live a blameless life— when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home.

Beginning

I saw this idea on Pinterest to use these as motivators on a weight loss journey.  Each rock represents a pound that you need to lose.  When it's gone, the rock gets to move to the lost vase.  I like that my "to go" vase is short and fat but my "lost" vase is tall and skinny.  It's the goal :) I made them then almost took them to my master bath but decided instead to leave them on the kitchen counter to help motivate me not to have that extra food I don't need in the kitchen.  So far I've been losing pretty consistently which is great.  I ran my second 5k last month.  Didn't run as much as I had during the first one but two of my brothers and one of my sisters ran it with me.  And when I wanted to give up near the end my brother came back and finished it with me so I could finish strong!  I love the feeling of accomplishment I get when I finish so I need to get back into training so that I can do another one. Since then I haven't done as well on getting my exercise in but have done really well on eating appropriately.  I have gained and lost weight several times in the years since high school and even won a weight loss competition a couple years ago with Josh and some siblings.  But I haven't been consistent and I don't want to continue the unhealthy cycle.  Right now Josh is once again in a competition but I chose to not join because I need to make it just a part of my life.  Eating healthy foods and exercising regularly need to be just something I do and not something I do because if I do I can gain money.  More than money I need to be in good health, happy, not spending money on unhealthy things (it adds up) and able to be the best mama I can be when God finally grants me that desire of my heart.  So I guess I also need to have some accountability and that's why I'm writing this.  I also need some accountability to writing on this blog so I'm going to try to do them both.  No promises.

In other news last week marked 1 year of officially being on the list.  We started at 85 and after a year...Hopefully referrals pick up and we move many more than 25 in the next year.  I so cannot wait to see their precious faces.


1 Peter 1:13 So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

African

So we continue waiting.  And with the recent updates from CHI and the continuing lack of referrals in 2012, it seems that we will be waiting a long time more for our children to find us.  Last weekend our town had its annual "Ethnic Expo" and we were able to go on Saturday.  It reminded me of a regular "market" that we might encounter on our travels because mostly it was shops of things to buy from different countries and food prepared by people from different countries.  There were no Ethiopian shops or food but there were a couple from Ghana.  We saw these cool djembes at one of the shops.  The one we really liked had a lion carved into the base.  We talked to the guy and then walked around more.  The other Ghana shop had some pretty cool carvings and paintings that we were interested in but we just looked around and didn't buy anything.  Then we had dinner. I had jollof rice and chicken stew from the Ghana tent and Josh had some meat from the Brazilian tent.  We saw a couple of different dancers and listened to some music.  It was an enjoyable experience.  Then we went back to the original Ghana shop and got ourselves a little piece of African decor.  The lion one was gone so we got this one with a gazelle on one side and a tree on the other.  Waiting is difficult but getting new things like this excites me.  During this time I am trying to depend more on God because without Him the wait would be impossible.   I looked for a verse with drums and found this: 1 Samuel 10:5-6
“Next, you’ll come to Gibeah of God, where there’s a Philistine garrison. As you approach the town, you’ll run into a bunch of prophets coming down from the shrine, playing harps and tambourines, flutes and drums. And they’ll be prophesying. Before you know it, the Spirit of GOD will come on you and you’ll be prophesying right along with them. And you’ll be transformed. You’ll be a new person!

I pray that God uses this time of waiting to transform me. To make me the person that my children will need. God is in control and today I am depending on Him for endurance during this wait.

Ups and Downs

So the endless period of no referrals finally ended in June which was a very good think.  I think as of today we are either 67 or 66 on the waiting list so that's awesome.  I've been able to think about some great "ups" that this extended wait has given us.

 We hated the house we were living in so we contacted a realtor about selling it.  He pretty much dashed all expectations of selling it and even getting what we owed on it :(  But we did have a neighbor who owned land adjacent to ours but was having difficulty getting the government to approve him putting in a house.  We contacted him just to see if he was interested.  He was very interested!  He said I have to sell my current house but then I want yours.... so we were back in the waiting game.  Then he called us this Spring saying I need the house ASAP.  So Josh and I moved out and in with my parents

(picture from my sister's photography business: http://www.klassicelegancephotography.com/)

We went from a house to one room but other than lack of space it's been great and it gave us time to search out our dream home:

It is definitely a place that we can't wait to bring our babies home to!  Unfortunately, we won't get to move in until next week but I am so very thankful to God that we sold our old house, had my parents to depend upon during the transition, and were able to find and purchase our dream home.  I know that if God had made our wait time shorter that this dream wouldn't have been a reality so I am choosing to concentrate on the blessings that I have each day.

I finished my first year of teaching.  It was a long year and also a very short one.  I learned a lot from my fellow teachers and from my administrator.  This is also a blessing.  

This summer I have taught 2 different summer schools and the large age differences has also helped me to grow as a teacher.  I won't continue summer school once the kiddos get here so growing as a teacher and gaining experience is a blessing (although an actual break would be a blessing too)

We also have in this time of waiting joined a new church.  Which has led me to join a Women's Bible Study. Which has led me to be better committed to my quiet time.  Which is such a blessing.  Thank you God for the blessings during my wait.

Isaiah 30:18
So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help. 

Mother's Day

I always thought I was a writer.  I enjoy writing but haven't put enough time into this blog.  One reason I think is because I made the blog to blog about adoption and well there isn't much news on that front.  Since October (when we officially made the waiting list) we've moved about 10 spots (from 85 to what I guess is 73 but I haven't checked officially).  That in itself isn't overly optimistic.  If you then break it down further to the fact that in 2012 our agency has had 1 referral (it was of siblings so that's something) then it feels much more bleak given that it's nearly halfway through May.  Also that Mother's Day is this weekend just puts me in a bad mood.  If I had a big old baby belly people would treat me like a mother but since I am only paper pregnant, it won't be so. People do care and ask about the adoption but I don't have any answers and thinking about it too much makes me so depressed because... it may be a year, it may be 2 it may even be 5 and that's a lot to swallow.  I know God has called me to adopt.  That there is a reason my heart breaks for the children without families.  That there is a reason for this time of WAITING with no end insight.  I know that.  But I have to remind myself every day.


Romans 8:23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

New Years Resolution....

So I read this cool blog post at the very beginning of the year:  On Friendship http://www.incourage.me/2011/12/on-friendship.html

And I felt like it had been written just for me.  Once again January has brought a new health kick (but I am feeling more even-keeled this time so maybe it will stick) but even though I struggle with "lack of friends" I hadn't thought about making it a resolution.  I definitely pray for it and it is one of the reasons that I started my search for a new church.  Hopefully one of the things I will find in my new congregation is a way to make new lasting friendships.  I hate making small talk.  It's actually gotten me in some real trouble at the job (apparently parents want bubbly teachers... and I try but I'm just not).  But I'm going to follow this blog series ( is that what you call it when she does a couple on the same topic) and think about the ways I can make more friends in 2012.

Luke 16:9  Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.