My blessings...: February 2009

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Lifestyle changes

First of all, thank you for all the sweet notes of encouragement in the comments and private emails to me regarding adopting again. I will keep you all posted!

As CJ was looking through our Disney pictures he decided to make some life changes in regard to his weight. I am always looking for someone to keep me accountable as I tend to snack in the evening and I too have noticed about a 5-7 lb weight gain that I do not like at all! So, I decided to jump on the band wagon. Truthfully, I have been secretly praying for CJ to have a wake-up call before his health starts to get effected. Once we started talking about his daily diet, I was shocked beyond belief, in fact I think I was speechless! Here is a look at his diet Mon-Fri.

Breakfast from the gas station: Mountain Dew, king-size candy bar, hostess donuts (personally I would have been sick)

Lunch: Fast food from anywhere.

Dinner: whatever I made which I tend to cook on the light side, no deep fried and no processed packaged foods except mac and cheese.

After Dinner: A bowl of cookies, candies or anything sweet we had in the house or a bowl of chips.

Beverages: Diet Coke!

TOTAL COST PER MONTH: $325-375!!! Ouch.

Get the idea.

So, once he told me I have to confess I was broken hearted. As his wife, I feel it's my duty to help him and support him in anyway I can so I immediately went to the grocery store and Wal-Mart. I read every label, choose the best fresh fruit, veggies and lean meat and looked for alternative snacks for him to be able to grab and go... I had a few challenges along the way as my husband is extremely PICKY and he has lost his taste and smell senses due to severe allergies/surgeries. So I had my work cut out for me! I bought him an insulated lunch box so he could bring his lunch and he could nibble throughout the day instead of waiting until he's so hungry that he's looking for the nearest fast food joint. He made me a promise to not be so picky when it comes to breads ( I love whole grain, he likes white). I do buy whole grain white bread for the girls but I really wanted to see if he would eat the brown bread =). I also bought whole grain flat breads and soft tortillas for chicken/pork wraps. Another great alternate is the 100 calories packs, there are so many varieties now, I think I bought out Wal-mart's selection! So here's his new daily diet I thought I would share....

Breakfast: SlimFast protein breakfast bar or a SlimFast protein drink

Lunch: Sandwich wrap or regular sandwich on whole grain bread, baked chips, 100 calorie pack and fresh fruit or celery sticks, carbonated flavored water and a regular bottle of water.

Dinner: Usually Chicken or boneless pork chops, baked potato with baked beans, corn or a salad.

Snack: Skinny Cow fudge bar or Ice cream sandwich (they are fantastic and under 100 calories!!!)

As a result of cooking, chopping, label reading, salt substitutes, no soda, etc... here are the latest numbers....

CJ: total weight loss 14 lbs Goal to lose: 30-35lbs
(He has more energy and his asthma is better!!)

Trevor (Works out at the gym 3-4 days ): 5 lbs Goal to lose: 25 lbs

Amy (along with walking 8-10 miles per week on my treadmill): 4 lbs Goal to lose: 15lbs

Now, Trevor and I are not picky eaters so our new way of eating looks like this:

Breakfast: Cereal with fresh berries and bananas or a hard boiled egg with yogurt or if we're in a hurry I usually grab a Slim Fast protein shake. I will not give up my coffee with fat free creamer.

Lunch: A salad with lots of fresh veggies and chicken breast with dressing on the side or a medium size sweet potato with a tsp. of real butter and a tsp. of Splenda brown sugar. Trevor will at times eat a sandwich on whole grain bread with baked chips.

Dinner: Same as above.

Since I've had more time, I'm cooking more! Before we would eat out about three times a week now, we eat out on Friday nights and Sunday after church. I'm grocery shopping a little more but we figured we're saving around $300 a month!!!

We are also incorporating Prayer. I never thought it was something to pray about but I feel the Lord wants us to keep our bodies healthy and keep things in moderation. I also feel now is the time to do it before we wake up one day to a diagnosis or other health issue related to weight. I thank God everyday my husband makes better food choices not just for him but for us. I will keep you posted on our results!!! If anyone would like any tips or if you have any suggestions PLEASE send me a comment or drop me an email. I'm always open to new ideas and I'm always ready to lend an ear.

God bless!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

China again, Maybe?!?!?

Ok, I need to post this because we need some prayers. For the last 6 months going back to China for another kiddo has been on my heart. I was hesitant to start looking at Waiting Child lists because I knew my heart would really open up to it and once it's open it's hard to stop obsessing, I mean thinking about it ;) Due to the changes at the CCAA we would need an agency to advocate for us because of divorce limits. So with a lump in my throat I started inquiring at a couple of agencies but didn't feel any peace about the calls I made so I reached out to a fantastic person I met through Linzhi's adoption. Her name is Stefanie and she encouraged me to call Lifeline adoption. After about 6 weeks ( I was terrified of rejection,doubt, worry, etc) I decided to make the call but this time I was confident for some reason, I felt the Lord tugging at me to call so I finally gave in. I spoke with a sweet Christian women that I instantly felt comfortable with. I felt no judgement in her tone, she was more than happy to advocate for us. I was thrilled beyond belief!! Now, the next part was to let CJ in on it. He knew I was thinking about it again because I was beginning to start conversations like... "If we ever adopt again, I would love the name Cecily Nicole for a girl.... Or...Do you think the Lord will ever call us to adopt again??? SO as much as I thought I was going to surprise him with the news that I found the agency we had hoped to find, he already knew because well, he knows me. He is so amazing because whenever I think I'm nuts to even think about adding to the family he reassures his faith is where mine is and if we feel God is calling us again than he's on board. I often wonder maybe this is another reason why I felt the tug to leave my job, maybe just maybe we'll have another pair of pitter patter feet running around here???

We got a call last Friday from Karla but I was not able to get in touch with her until Monday. We were playing phone/email tag so to say I was anxious was an understatement. Prior to her call she emailed me asking what type of SN we would consider, age of child, etc... I told her what we would be comfortable with but honestly based on how the Lord placed Linzhi in our arms, I told her we would pray about any child. On Monday, Karla had two files she wanted to share with us both kids had multiple issues that I felt in my heart were too big for us to manage with the other kids. It broke my heart for those little one's, I wish I had all it took to care for as many as possible but God knows best and it truly didn't feel right to proceed by looking at their pictures and files. At this point we wait and honestly we are fine with waiting because we believe if we are to be blessed with another child it will happen and whether that is a little boy or girl, we are ready to go...If the Lord chooses.

I didn't want to post about this until we knew something more concrete but to be honest there is so much support in the adoption/blog community that I felt at ease knowing if we get a big fat NO, I can come here to share my disappointment and if we get a fantastic YES, then I can come here and share my joy. So I'm going to share it all...

To be continued...We pray.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

We're back...

I took a little break from blogging after we returned from Disney because I had to adjust to some changes that are going on around here. I quit my job as a PT healthcare recruiter. I absolutely loved my job and the company that I worked for but I noticed (and my husband) that I was loosing the Joy from my life because as hard as I tried I was always chasing my tail!!! I did struggle over the decision to leave my job for one reason and that is the terrible economy! I thought, how can I give up a job that pays me well, I work from home and I only work 20 hours per week and to top it off give up the security of a second income!?!??! My husband totally supported the idea of me leaving my job. He feels the Lord is blessing his business and we are at a point where we would be just fine on his income. After some time of prayer, it was clear God was telling me it was OK to leave and to trust in HIM, so I did. I know to trust Him but I do at times get doubtful when I fear the worst but honestly, after I made the decision I have felt nothing but peace. I love the role of a SAHM, it's wonderful to be able to slow down and be with my babies, cook a nice meal or just cuddle with my little ones when they crawl into bed with me after daddy goes to work. I have some plans this summer that I'm looking forward to that I was unable to do when I worked. I'm going to put in a BIG garden!!! I can't wait! So yes, I'm starting a new chapter and I'm lovin it!

Disney was wonderful! We were so blessed to have weather in the high 60's to low 80's the entire time we were there. The girls and Trevor (CJ and me too) had a fantasic time as we park hopped between Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, Epcot and MGM. We were also thrilled to have Grandma (CJ's mom) and Grandpa Sills join us for two days!! They planned it last minute and it just made our vacation even better. They ended up staying a few days after we left and enjoyed some of the sites around Orlando.

Our sleeping arrangements were interesting... We were told our room slept 5 which is the number we have in our family so when we got to the room we noticed there were only two double beds...hmmm, where is the fifth person going to sleep? So a quick call to the front desk was in order and we were told to look under one of the beds. Low and behold, there's a little "tiny" cot under the bed. Trevor said he would sleep on the cot but after looking at it and knowing he stands about 6 "1 there was NO way that kids would fit so CJ and I decided, the first little girl to fall asleep would indeed be the winner of the cot...LOL... Linzhi was the first to fall asleep every night! So, Rachel slept with CJ and Trevor and I slept together, it was tight but after walking the parks all day we crashed at night with no problems (ear plugs are amazing!)

Enjoy the pics, I will post more. Our camera's battery ran out on our last day and I forgot to bring the charger...Luckily, my MIL took most of the pictures last day so I will post more when I get them. So happy to be back to my blog!!

My boy.

The girls with Mulan. Mulan spent several minutes with Linzhi, it was so precious! She talked to her and asked her where she was from, told her how pretty she was and what beautiful eyes she had. It brought tears to my eyes when I saw Linzhi light up. =)