Through God, you can

Well, I Sunday, I called out to God and he answered. Today, I weighed in for Weight Watcher. I did the at work program. They would pay 100% if I lost 5% of my weight. So, when I said I would pay I really meant it. I needed to lose 8 pounds right. Well as of Monday, I needed to lose 3 more. But, Monday morning I ran two miles, walked another 3 miles throughout the day, and ate good stuff. Kept that up til this morning. I went into the meeting knowing I was now close, but not knowing if I was close enough. I stepped on the scale. What did I see? I lost 4.8 pounds since 9/15/08. Through Gods divine motivation, I was able to accomplish what I thought impossible. I will get my check back. What a relief.

Thanks for all those who cheered me on.

Calling out to God

Today this mama called out to God. He answered so faithfully. It all started with the realization of not meeting a goal I set out to achieve 12 weeks ago. This goal for some would be totally reachable. For me however, I failed. I wanted to lose 8 pounds by Sept 22nd. I have lost 5. Unless God preforms a miracle, those other 3 pounds will still be there. I have contemplated just not eating between now and then, but have thought better of it.

From this realization, stemmed the overwhelming feeling of not being able to accomplish all I want to in my day. I home school 3 kids while the 4th tries her best to do every possible thing to interfere. Yes, I have given her things to work on, special work, toys, even a movie. It hasn't worked so far. I have a large house to keep clean. Six people create some serious laundry. Six people eat a lot of food as well. The cooking for them can be a chore. Then there is the daily trip to the gym for Grace's scholarship plan. She does competitive gymnastics. (She has God given talent. Saturday was her first meet of the season. She got 1 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze.) Then there is football for Cameron, violin for Cail, gym for Ellie, co op for school, MOPS, Board of Christian life, OMAC cooking, date night. Did I mention I work outside of the home 2 days a week. Oh, I also want to be a "nice" wife, mother, and friend. How does on person do all of this. Well, that was my complaint. I can't get it all done. I can not do it.

I had no energy for concentrating on the food and exercise. I put me last. And now I will pay for it.

So, here is what God said, I know this is the part you have been waiting for. "Tricia my dear, YOU CAN'T! But, THROUGH ME AND ONLY THROUGH ME YOU WILL." Only as I lay my life down at the foot of Jesus will I be able to accomplish anything. My verse for this week will be 1 Peter 3:8-11 here is what it says.

"Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To HIM be the power for ever and ever, AMEN."

God will restore me, and make me strong. Get behind me satan, I have Jesus on my side!!

Are you calling out? Has He answered? I would like to hear.

Singing in the Rain

Do you remember playing in the rain? I do. I can remember doing exactly what these two gifts are doing right here. Getting the water out of the downspout. It was such a beautiful day. The rain was warm and the sky bright. I can't believe we were the only kids out playing in the rain. But, boy did we have fun!!

OK, what you can't see in this picture is Cail about to drown his big brother with out Cameron knowing it. He is one sneaky little trickster. Better watch this one closely.

Just singing in the rain, Just singing in the rain. What a glorious feeling, just singing in the rain.

When was the last time you played in the rain???? Tomorrow is supposed to have some. Grab some buckets or what ever you can find that will hold water, get the kids, get the friends, and go out there. It will do your soul good.

Did you know that people did not know what rain was until God flooded the whole earth? What do you think that experience was like? How about the first time it snowed? Or hailed? What must have those early tribe thought? Are we going to experience anything totally new?

Lets enjoy the days God gives us. Don't clean to much, don't work to hard. Play with those gifts you have been given. Wiggle a little. You will love it, I promise.

Update, New Day

Ok, so now it is September 1st, 2008. Who knew time would fly so quickly. Eleanor is just about 3. She is the baby. She is such a stinker. The smarter they are, the harder it is to reason with them. She thinks she is the boss. Little does she know. But, she is not only smart, she is beautiful too. Wouldn't you agree. Just say yes, so we can move on.

Wanted to fill you in on the running. I have not given up. I has all of my accountablity people bail. Is this a good excuse for not completeing the month as I would have like to? Probably not. I am really not sure what has happened to be since I have birthed 4 babies and turned 30 years ago. I have no motivation anymore. I don't really care what size my pants are. How sad. But, I will not be defeted!!! No, today is a new month. This new month can bring lots of new stuff. I want to be a good example for my kids.

A question for today. Why does it cost so much to eat health? Junk food is really cheap. And why do my kids want junk food all of the time? If you have any good answeres to these questions will you please tell me. I am still in the dark.

My Favorite Shoes

They are discontinuing my favorite running shoe. I can not believe it. It has been the only shoe I have bought for the past 7 years. (I usually walk in them) I have heard rumors of them being discontinued, but now it is for real. If anyone sees an Addidas Boston in a size 10.5 buy them for me please.


These are my old shoes. They are now yard shoes. I think I have had these for over 15months. They are way beyond being decent walking or running shoes. I made them last as long as I could. When I could no longer stand them, I was talked into trying some Asics SuperNova's. I was told by that sales person they would be the most comfortable shoes ever. Well, they are not. They don't even look as cool.







They will work for now, but I don't think they are the most comfortable shoes ever. Do you think if I call Addidas, they will make them just for me?

I doubt it too. Well, I do know this, running is hard. Why didn't we decide to walk the Mini???

Silly us. I am going to do it though. I think I can run about .25miles now. YIPEE!!!! Ok so it may be a little more than that. Keep me going please.

RUNNING!!!!

Ok, so this is what I am going to do. Run. Run 13.1 miles in April of 2009 to be exact. Perhaps 26.2 miles in October 2009. Right now. I can run to the end of the drive way. But, God willing, and a lot of hard work, I will be able to do it



My first run was Friday morning. I did a lot better than I thought I would. I am following the Hal Higdon's training guide. 10 min walk, 30 sec jog, 30 sec walk, (keep the 30/30 up for 15 min) then 5 min walk. I also had to push a stroller filled with 100 lbs of children, keep two other children from crashing into each other while riding their bikes ( I am sure they were hitting tires just to see how much I could talk and run, the lecture came inbetween huffs and puffs). This is a lot of work. But, I think I will make it. I did not run today, Saturday, because freezer cooking for the night gals was last night. They did not leave until 1115PM!!! And I had to be at work bright and early at 7am. I did not awaken at the planned 5am, but rather 615am. Had to leave the house by 630. So, needless to say, no running today. I will run tomorrow. I promise!! I need you help me out.



So, why am I running? First, I need to lose 20lbs. Second, I want to prove I still got it. If you know what I mean. After birthing 4 kids and years after turning 30, I need to do something that lets me know I am still a hottie. Third, my friend Amy asked me to do this with her. And the 5 other people I suckered into doing this will be watching to see if I actually do it. Fourth, and probably most important, God tells us to be a living sanctuary for Him. I need to take care of my body in order to use it for Him.



Wow, that was a lot of words!! Hope you did not get to board!! Stay tuned for more details. I promise, I will give the oldest two the camera and you can watch first hand the struggles of this Mama calling out to the Lord to give her wings.

Freezer Cooking

Wow, what a weekend. It started Friday with another round of freezer cooking. If you are not familiar with this, let me explain. Once a month a group of ladies get together and make about 15 meals for the up coming month. Place them in the freezer, and Voila! dinner is ready. Just take out of the freezer, thaw and cook. It is a great help. We never need to stop at the fast food joint anymore. Dinner is a reheat away. And the food is good. We have only had one or two recipes we won't make again. The girls who came this month were Misty J, Adrienne J, Sandy W, and Me (cooking for Dawna). It was a great time of fellowship. Stephanie H is our trusty sitter while this is all going on.

Here is what we cooked:

Meatloaf x2

French toast casserole

Cranberry Chicken ( one of our favorites)

Citrus Fish marinade

Chicken Nuggets

Untidy Josephs (aka Sloppy Joes)

Taco rice -for taco salad or nachos

Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken Enchilladas

Stuffed Pasta Shells

Herbed Chicken

Stomboli

It took about 3 1/2 hours to complete. Not bad for not having to cook at least 13 meals. The cost for all of this was around $60. It could have been less, but I opted for the more expensive organic ingredients wherever possible.

Here are some pictures of our fun

Sandy chopping

Mama Cooking

The finished cooler for Misty to take home.

I love cooking. And eating it to.

So, after all of this is done, I don't want to cook. What do we do? Go to The Breadladies of course. Where else do you go on a Friday night? They have great sandwiches and live music on Friday nights. Check them out http://www.thebreadladies.com/

Here are the kids dancing to some jazzy rock. Aren't they cute? Luke is the boy in the picture. He lives down the road. Grace and he play a lot.

So cute!!

Cameron (left) and his other brother Harrison