& We Have Arrived!

Hello there! It's been an exhausting day. I wanted to give a quick recap of our adventure over here, while it's still fresh in my mind. As well, I need to stay up a little later than now to adjust to the jet lag.

Starting off with the fact that the night before we left, I really had a breakdown. It's so hard for me to admit when I have a breakdown, but I do it because we all do & better not to pretend like we are living charmed lives when we aren't. Right?! Anywho, there were several contributing factors to mine (aren't there always?), off the top of my head I'll say pregnancy, travel jitters, & not keeping God in my day. There's more, but it would take too much explanation, so that last one covers a lot. The breakdown was good though. I really talked to God & just got refocused & a plan of attitude. I knew I had to continually thank God for everything during the trip rather than get upset at the inevitable mess ups (which there were a few). I spent the whole trip in prayer & it felt awesome. Now, no lying, toward the end I started to want to cry, but I kept up the thankfulness & it all worked out.

SO, now on to the trip. We left Corey's parents house Friday around 3 pm to make it to the airport 2 hours early to drop off Molly. We got there & got put in this really slow line (think 90 minutes of waiting), that happened to be the wrong line. We checked our baggage & Corey took a cab across the airport to drop Molly at Cargo (even though we were told several times on the phone we wouldn't need to do that). P.S. One of the 4 guys it took to check us in, insisted for the first 10 minutes that NO DOGS AT ALL were allowed to be shipped to the UK from the US period. I, finally, looked at him & told him, "I'm sorry, you're wrong. I've been doing a million things the last month to get her ready to be shipped. I know you can." Then he made a huge stink when I didn't trust him about other things he swore about. UGH. God was gracious though. We were still all together at the airport, all of our expected money had come in (& more) making finances not a concern, the kids were behaving beautifully, I knew we had some awesome prayer warriors fighting for us in all corners of the country, & my husband is hot. Like that last one?

Corey got back at 6:20 (our flight was at 6:40), so we ran! & we made it to the gate minutes after they closed the door. haha! God is still good though, because we were all together, Molly was checked in, there was another flight that night (which before we were told there wasn't). We went to customer service & this AWESOME lady named, Purie, helped us get on the practically booked 10 pm flight & was super nice. The staff at the gate of the 10 pm flight was also helpful. They moved enough people around so I was with Will & Sophia (Corey was in a middle seat ahead of us), but our seats were in some special row that had TONS of leg room, reclined really far & had footrests that went up, so we practically had a bed to lay on! SCORE!!! Want another score? BOTH kids fell asleep, or rather passed out before we took off & for the most part stayed asleep the WHOLE flight! I caught a bit of sleep here & there. In the last hour or so of the flight Corey & I switched seats & he was able to sleep some & I watched a movie.

Alright, that's a lot for a blog, I'll have to make a part 2 later... Will have to title it something like No Shuttle, No Dog, No Money. haha Aren't you excited?!

Seriously though, God is awesome & I am so thankful for all the ways He has blessed us, for the way he has carried me through this day, which I could have taken not so well, for so much.

Hello, We Are Actually Moving

I don't even know what to tell you. I never doubted this move would go through since we got the orders, but it is really here! The movers come tomorrow to pack up all of our belongings. By Tuesday afternoon we will be at my Dad's house for a couple days & then in Maryland for a week and a half. Then BAM! we are flying across the frakin' ocean for 3 years! Can you tell it is really hitting me today?

I am so very excited for this adventure & the opportunity to explore Europe! And, in full disclosure, I'm scared. I know everything will be fine & great even, but it is still scary leaving the country you grew up in. Not knowing if you will indeed be able to come visit like you promise everyone.

Will I find friends? Okay, I know I will, but will I find at least one GOOD friend? You know the kind you can hang out with almost everyday & share everything with? You know the Janet, Emily, Michelle, Trinity, Korinne, Abi, Lindsey, -type friend? I have been extremely blessed to have had just 1 great girlfriend, I know that! But those times I didn't have one, whew! Those were rough times!

Will we find our church? For some obvious reasons this one is easier to place in the hands of God. I still think about it. I still pray for it. Everyday. It took us awhile to find Alice Drive, here in Sumter, SC. It is AMAZING! So, I have to let go of expectations & search for what God has for us. Where God is going to use us.

I almost cried on the way to pick the kids up from preschool. I was in my typical rush-rush-rush mode & I felt God ask me to slow down, to listen. He's so intuitive that God! Then I realized I'm leaving. For the better part of my time here in SC, I hated strongly disliked it. The last year or two has been the turning point. I am connected to the people, mostly through the military & the church. So, I am going to cry. I don't like crying, especially in public. I'll probably cry tonight when I say goodbye to some of "my" girls in the youth ministry, as well as some leaders. I'll definitely cry Sunday when we say goodbye to our New Balance small group. I'll cry when I say good-bye to each friend I've made here. If anyone doesn't cry with me, I'll just blame my pregnancy hormones ;)

This is the hard part of the military life, saying goodbye. I look forward to blogging more about the GOOD part of the military life (i.e. adventures, making friends) in the upcoming... years! Bundle of emotions, yep, that's me!

Have a blessed day!!

Discipline for Sin, Not for Mistakes

I was browsing Pinterest (oh how I enjoy Pinterest!), found a pin on tips for marriage, which led me to another post on that blog about parenting & 10 Habits to Develop for Correcting Your Children. I have to be honest & say that I don't fully embrace all of the habits or everything from their blog, but this one, #4, was a good.

Discipline for sin, not for mistakes. Be sure that you have identified the sinful behavior of your child so that you can clearly point to scripture and discuss the sin. Never discipline your child for making a mistake, such as breaking a dish or spilling a drink.  That is not sin. That is an accident!  A child being annoying or embarrassing is not necessarily a sin; it might point to your own sin of neglect.  Instead, keep your eyes open for issues of the heart. Some examples might include selfishness (fighting over toys… you have two sinners), deceit, disobedience, covetousness, etc

It's not that I send Will or Sophia to time-out for spilling milk, but I think I have this mind-set that I need to "discipline" (& by that I mean show frustration & make them know that I don't like that) for every thing that isn't positive. Does that make sense? I hope that doesn't come off as me being too strict/mean. I want to be parenting from the perspecitve of what God calls of us, not just good, "moral" society, raising up good kids. I'm not sure how much this will change what goes on in our home, but it will definitely be changing my heart. I'll let you all know if I see a change.

How about you? Do you like this Habit? Do you already have this habit? or Is this as enlightening to you as it was to me? Let me know!

Menu Plan 7/9- 7/15

Hey Everyone, so it seems I've been beyond MIA. Since Corey's been home from deployment things have been really busy around here!

There are several updates to post about, like how we are moving to England! BUT, I'm on here today to show you all my Menu Plan for this upcoming week. I am trying to makeover our diet into a more clean one. We are starting off slow. I don't want to jump all in & then get frustrated. Right now we are eating clean breakfast & lunch, during the week. I'm not an expert at all about eating clean, but we are trying. I'm working on cutting down treats (for myself & the kids, Corey doesn't care) to one a day. I'm sure that's a lot to some of you, but it will be growth for us.

Also, this week is my church's VBS (Vacation Bible School). I'm leading all of the Recreation so dinners will be early, preferably easy & fast to make.

Monday: B- cereal, yogurt, berries
               L- noodles, cheese, green beans
               S- Laughing Cow Cheese, crackers, grapes
               D- leftover Baked Chicken Parm Casserole

Tuesday: B- oatmeal with cinnamon, eggs (whites for me), apple

               L- Salad with sliced chicken & rolls
               S- PB, banana, & honey "sushi"
               D- Taco Casserole & fiesta corn

Wednesday: B- toast, PB, banana
                    L- turkey sandwich & carrots
                    S- cheerios, yogurt, berries
                    D- roast chicken, mixed californian vegetables, garlic rolls

Thursday: B- oatmeal with cinnamon, eggs, berries
                L- salad with tuna & croutons
                S- carrots, cucumbers, cheese
                D- leftover taco casserole

Friday: B- cereal, yogurt, apple
            L- chicken sandwich, cucumbers
            S- pretzels, cheese sticks, pineapple
            D- Homemade Pizza Nite

Saturday: B- chocolate chip waffles & bananas
               L- chicken wrap
               S- yogurt, cheerios, berries
               D- OUT

Sunday: B- leftover waffles & bananas
             L- PB & J & carrots
             S- Laughing Cow Cheese & crackers, grapes
             D- Burgers, sweet potatoes

20 lbs GONE!!!

I generally try not to brag on blogger or especially facebook, but seeing as how I want to make this change permanent, I have to let you all know... I've lost 20lbs! I'm telling you all, because it will keep me motivated to not let the poundage creep back up.

I cannot believe that I used to be 20 lbs heavier! I am so excited to be at this weight, but I am not stopping. I have fallen in love with working out. It's the only thing close to coffee that can help me keep up with the kids & the house & all the other things I do. But, unlike coffee, there is no crash. Of course there is soreness, but that reminds me that I kick ass! *cough cough* Sorry about the language.

I really want to encourage everyone who reads this to take that next step toward fitness today! I never thought I would get here & less than 6 months later, here I am. I'm not a fan of the depriving yourself or working out so much you can't do anything else. I am proof that little steps get you where you want to go. If you need any encouragement, I would be happy to encourage you!

Thanks to ALL the friends & instructors who have taught me & encouraged me! Thank you Pinterest for your amazingly motivating Fitness section!

Real Food mini-challenges

It's been awhile since I've posted anything. What with my discovery of Pinterest, I've been busy making, baking, cooking, & doing things... really pinning more than any of that. Anywho, I love Pinterest! The other day I came across a pin that led me to a blog about a family who took a 100-day challenge to only eat "real food" . I have been slowly moving toward more whole food, more organic, & more local food. I'm not doing the 100-day challenge or even all of the mini-challenges they have. We already try to eat whole foods. The area of our diets that needs the biggest overhaul is our snacks! Typical snacks in our house are:
*Ritz crackers, natural peanut butter, & apples
*Nilla wafers, yogurt, & a banana
*graham crackers & strawberries
*Pretzel sticks & pineapple chunks (canned in juice)

See, not bad, but processed. So, I'm going to work towards less processed foods more consciously. Starting with Grahams, I've just found a pretty easy recipe, a la Pinterest.

Here are some of the other 14 mini-challenges that I am accepting:
*2 fruits &/or vegetables per meal (B & L we usually only have 1)
*Limited beverages (we will do this 90% of the time, special treats)- coffee, tea, water, milk & juice occasionally. We already do this most of the time.
*No fast food for 1 week. We go out to eat about 1 or 2 times per week, anymore than that & we aren't going to fast food, but healthier places like Panera
*100% whole grain. We do 100% whole wheat bread already, but pasta, rice, & other bread items we don't. (oh, we do do whole wheat Ritz! haha). Im sorry, but the Japanese in me doesn't think real rice is brown. Real rice is supposed to be sticky! ;) I probably will just keep with the white rice & switch everything else.
*stop eating when full- I already do this, I assume my kids do too, because whenever they say "I'm done" that's fine by me. I never push food on them.
*no more than 5 ingredients. Well... that one will be tough. I'll be waiting for Corey to come home to do this one, because I want to have the energy & time to bake a few things, so we wont starve. haha (a tad melodramatic? maybe)

Alright, Are you on board with me? Or if you checked out the link & looked at all the mini-challenges, which ones are you going to try?