28 Day Challenge

Tomorrow our family is embarking on a 28 day challenge. It isn't going to be easy, but we know it will be well worth it. We have read the Engine 2 Diet book, been to the grocery, and are ready to start eating HEALTHY! Tomorrow we will start with Rip's Big Bowl for breakfast, E2 Stuffed Pita with Hummus for lunch, E2 Spinach Starter Salad & Gnocchi with E2 Basics Red Sauce, and Frozen Cherries & Soy Yogurt for dessert. If you are interested in learning more about the Engine 2 Diet or the 28 Day Challenge then visit the website at www.engine2diet.com to watch some short videos. Also, you can visit www.engine2academy.com to get some recipes, weekly grocery and menu lists. All you have to do is create a username and password AND it is completely FREE!
SO, let's get healthy together! Here we come 28 Day Challenge! =)

Bella's tubes!

On Monday, July 19th we were all up at the wee hour of 5:10 to get ready to take Bella to Kosair Childrens Hospital to get her tubes. We all got up and ready and let Bella sleep until the minute we had to walk out the door. What I have noticed since Bella was born is that if we need to be out the door by a certain time I have to tell the family (myself included) that we have to leave 15 minutes earlier than when we really need to leave. So on this particular day I said we had to be out the door by 5:45 (meaning 6:00) and we were in the car and out the driveway by 5:50. Not too bad for getting five people up and moving that early!
We followed the directions from the papers the doctors office sent us because I can never remember how to get to what hospital in that area. I will eventually find it but we were on a schedule! So we missed a turn that the directions said we needed to take and I ended up driving down the wrong side of the street thinking that we were still on a one way street. I have NEVER in my life done that! The family was very thankful that we all survived! Luckily it was still early so there wasn't much traffic, but had there been I would have known it was a two way street and not a one way street.
Then we get to the hospital and I, again, am following the directions from the paper the doctors office sent. I pre-registered and did all the things I was supposed to do so we went to the 8th floor where the outpatient surgery is located. Oops...we were supposed to register Bella when we arrived. What a morning we were having and it was all my fault! So they sent someone up from registration and we got her registered. I apologized to the lady a million times...at least she was nice. =)
Then we finally took her back, got her weight, height, and headed to our room. We met one of the anesthesiologists and talked about what was going to happen with Bella. We changed her into her cute little gown and then went to play until it was time for her to go. They brought some medicine for me to give her to make her "loopy" before the surgery. I was surprised at how well she took it! Although, I'm sure she was hungry so she took it willingly! She never really got loopy and went with the nurses without hesitation when it was time. I was worried about Aaron. He had a somber look on his face, but he really did well. About ten minutes later the doctor came in and said she was all finished and did well. Now we just had to wait for her to wake up so she could come back to the room. Two things I was afraid of in the waking up process...1. Aaron takes FOREVER to wake up from anesthesia so I thought we could be waiting a while! 2. Bella was already tired from getting up so early that this would be nap time for her...this might take a while!
While we were waiting for Bella to wake up we were watching the little girl across the hall who had already had her "loopy" medicine and boy was she loopy! She was SO cute! She was sitting in bed playing on her laptop and she kept almost falling asleep. Then she looked at her parents and asked them why she was being so silly! I thought that was adorable!
Finally they brought Bella back and she was like dead weight. Everyone told us that she would be upset and grumpy so be prepared. Not our daughter...she wouldn't wake up! Anytime she would move you would have to grab her tight because she was going to fall! We finally got her dressed, got her to drink some juice, and they let us go. She slept most of the way home and slept for about two hours after we got home. Which meant that we were ALL taking naps! All five of us slept! The rest of the day was okay. She was not quite herself, which we expected, but it didn't make it any easier. And she CANNOT STAND the ear drops! You would think that we are dropping fire in her ears. Poor thing!
Hoping and praying that tubes do the trick and we don't have to go back for any more surgeries!
Thanks again for all of your love, support, and prayers! They are greatly appreciated!

Blackberry Jam

Last week I bought some blackberries at the local farmers market in Corydon. I decided that I was going to make some blackberry jam. We LOVE blackberry jam and we also thought it would make a great gift as part of a goody basket.

I hadn't made jam in years so I either bought too many blackberries or the jars I bought were too small because I had a bunch of jam left over. After I canned my 12 jelly jars of blackberry jam I sat stumped wondering what to do with my leftover jam. So my thought was to make a cobbler. Now, anyone that knows me knows that I don't like cooked fruit. I don't think you should eat fruit warm. That's just me, but I don't mind making pies and cobblers for others to eat. So, I made a blackberry cobbler. I tried a smidge out of one corner to make sure it tasted okay and OH MY GOODNESS! This is the BEST cobbler I have ever made in my LIFE! It was delicious! I actually wanted to eat it! When Aaron came home I had him try some too. As you can see from the bit missing in the corner he also thought it was quite tasty. So if you are making blackberry jam make too much so you can use the leftovers for cobbler! :-)

Bella is 15 months old!

Friday July 9th I took Bella for her 15 month check-up. WOW has she grown! She weighs 23.9 pounds and is 30 inches long! She is growing very well and actually a little above the 50th percentile (which is great considering she was between the 5th-10th percentile when she was born)! She also had to get three shots. =( It was sad and I was glad her daddy or Uncle Jimmy weren't there because they both would have had meltdowns.
The doctor asked how many words she has and I couldn't count them all which is fantastic because at her age they only expect them to have between 6-10 words. As much as she talks she has way more than that! We did have the discussion about her not giving up her bottle. Our doctor said that it might take her a little more time. With Garrett I took his bottle and gave him a cup and that was that. No transition he just took right to it. Not Bella! It took her forever to drink anything out of a cup and now she thinks that juice comes from a cup and milk comes from a bottle. Oh well, we will get her there, but not until after she gets her tubes. Her bottle is a comfort thing like a pacy which she will definitely need when getting tubes.

Say some prayers for Bella please. She is getting her tubes in on Monday, July 19th. Also, say some prayers for her daddy. I'm a bit worried about him during this whole process.

Thanks everyone!

Nolin Lake

This weekend Garrett went camping with our neighbors down at Nolin Lake. So on Sunday we went down to hang out with the neighbors, go out on their boats, and then bring Garrett home with us. We took Bella with us and were a bit worried about how she would do. She LOVES the water, but she hadn't had a nap. She tends to get a bit crabby when she doesn't get enough sleep (kinda like her mommy). We went out and she didn't like her life jacket, but LOVED riding on the boat. She wanted to be like the big kids and jump in and swim by herself. So we got on the water and she was having a blast splashing and swimming. This is completely opposite of how Garrett was at her age. He was deathly afraid of the water even then! Then we ate some lunch, let her play on the boat, and hoped she would take a nap...no such luck!
I wasn't quite sure what else to do with her so I let her be. Then she saw her daddy get in the water and she was telling him how it was that he went in the water without her! It was really funny! :-) So we put her back in the water and she had a blast!
Then we got her out and headed back to shore so she could nap. I took her to the car, drove around the campground once, and then sat in the car with her for an hour and a half while she napped. I really wish I would have had something to read because I was a bit on the bored side.
After she woke up everyone else headed back to camp. They had all had a great time tubing and skiing and were hungry. Aaron, Skyla, and Garrett were all sore from tubing and riding the banana boat. I wish I could have seen them! We were going to try and go back out on the boats after dinner, but Bella was still cranky so we decided it was best for us to leave. We hated to leave the neighbors (especially since I didn't really get to visit much with them), but it was leave or prepare for many meltdowns from our usually very happy little girl. I realized after I got her in the car that she was mainly hot (she's gonna be hot natured like her daddy) and was quite happy once she was in the cool air conditioned car.
I wish I had some pictures of our trip to post, but my camera died by the time we got to the camp ground. Looks like it's time to invest in a car charger!
Happy 4th of July everyone!

I LOVE this...The Return of Respect from Proverbs 31

"Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord." Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)

When I was pregnant with my third child, I shamefully displayed a lack of respect for a police officer. It was a Wednesday afternoon and I was running late for church. On the way, I had to drop off my eldest son at baseball practice. The fact that he had practice on a church night already had my tail feathers up in the air, not to mention it was drizzling rain.

To make up for lost time, I sped right into the park where the police officer pulled me over. I was appalled! How could he set up a speed trap in the park on a rainy day to catch a pregnant woman who was running late for church! The nerve! I thought.

I'd had it. Before the officer could approach my car, I jumped out in the rain and met him halfway. "Are you going to give me a ticket?" I questioned with one hand on my hip and the other pointing in his face. He didn't speak nor did his expression change so I continued. "I thought it was outrageous enough that these boys have to practice ball on a church night in the rain, but nooooo! Being set up for a speed trap in the park takes the cake!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry." He apologized.

"Well, you should be," I whispered under my breath.

"I can't do anything about your son's practice, but I can assure you I can do something about your speeding," he said while firmly pulling his ticket pad from his coat pocket. "Furthermore," he added, "if you continue to disrespect my authority, I can do something about that too."

Disrespect his authority? Is that what I did? Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened. While I'd like to bl ame my behavior on my hormones, I can't. I was guilty on all accounts. As I cowered back to my car, I noticed my children's faces pressed against the window of the backseat. They were no doubt learning how to disrespect authority—from their mother.

I let what I thought were my rights blind me to truth. It was my duty to submit to the authority of the police officer. Regrettably, this kind of behavior goes on everyday in the workplace, the home, and even in the church. Why is that? I believe it's because our society today has lost a general lack of respect for one another.

God commands, 'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord" (Leviticus 19:18). We show honor to God by displaying reverential esteem of others. Respect for God alone should motivate us to offer grace by extending an encouraging word instead of thrashing another with a rude comment. Generally, those who tear down others usuall y have little respect for themselves. Their rude comments are a desperate attempt to make themselves look better. Sadly, the results usually turn out opposite.

Can you imagine what our world would look like today if we heeded God's command? Envision how great it would be if all spouses respected one another; if children honored their parents; and if citizens obeyed the laws of God and government. It would be a different world! We would have a feeling of security with gestures of love freely given and received. Common courtesies would be raised from the dead. We'd make an effort to know our neighbors and lend a helping hand to a stranger. The words "fear" and "anxiety" would be dropped from the human language. Peace and goodwill would be the heartbeat of our existence.

Let's not dream of a world where people live together in unity, love, and respect as God intended. We can make it happen together using one little word called respect.

Dear Lord, I confess th at I don't always respect others' rights, feelings, properties, time or space. Help me to be more gracious and kind, by the power of Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Patoka Lake Father's Day Weekend

On Saturday of Father's Day weekend we went to Patoka Lake with some friends of ours. We told Garrett that he had to learn how to swim before we could go out on the boat with our neighbors and he FINALLY did! (it only took him taking swimming lessons FOUR times before he got there, BUT HE GOT THERE!) We had a GREAT time on the lake with our neighbors! They are awesome! Thanks so much for inviting us out!

Aaron and Garrett tubing....Aaron got flipped out of the tube! =)

G$ just chillin in the front of the boat

Skyla and Addy

Skyla drying off in the sun

Addy, Mason, and Garrett with a Funyun in his mouth

Skyla chillin in the lake on a raft