Say NO to the Holidays' Side Effect!!!

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It's coming...it's approaching...there's no denying...

And you know the drill well.

Christmas shopping lists.

Holiday decorations.

Ornaments.

Teacher gifts.

Class parties.

Stocking stuffers.

Christmas parties.

Holiday meals.

Cookie exchanges.

Christmas cards.

Wrapping.

Flights. 

Travel.

Turkeys.

New Year's Eve parties.

As you DO ALL THIS PLANNING for the holidays...do you also plan on gaining weight?!?!

Probably not. That's not a real fun side effect of all that work!

But, be honest, did you end up doing so last year?

Where will you be in early January 2013? Standing in front of a mirror pledging that THIS TIME you'll make a change...only to find yourself later snacking again when you didn't want to?

I want to offer you something to COUNTER ACT THAT SYNDROME!!

Last year, I put out a challenge to join with me in a challenge where we daily encourage one another to live a life of health and balance. See last year's post here.

I lost twenty pounds since I wrote that post!

REALLY!!!

Another friend in our group lost 91 pounds. Yes, that's for real!

Another lost 10, another 20, another 25 and yet another 70.

We are the serious ones. We have supported one another ALL YEAR LONG. And it has made ALL the difference!!

Yes, this has been our year!! :)

I'm going to open up another group to people who would like to END THEIR TREND of holiday weight gain!

Would you like to kick the extra squish on your tummy/hips in the butt this year?

Would you be willing to join me and a small group of others in a Facebook accountability group?

Would you be willing to post a little something about how your day went each evening?

Would you be willing to say YES to daily exercise through the cold winter months when what is natural is to snuggle down and eat sweets? (You can STILL do this in a controlled way...just AFTER your workout is in! ;))

If this sounds like something you want to do...then drop me a comment here or friend me on Facebook and send me a private message. (You'll find my Facebook badge on the sidebar down near the bottom of this blog.)

We will use Beachbody products as I am a true believer in them and have had nothing but fabulous flying success using them! (And the variety is AWESOME!) Hop on over to my Beachbody page and click "shop" to look through the many different programs available.

Let's enjoy the holidays without the side effect!!!

Raw and Real

With a post title like that, you know it's gonna be ugly.

Dontcha?
I cannot bring myself to blog often. Let me be raw and real with you: parenting two toddlers who are stagger stepped in age by 7 months is nothing short of HARD, THANKLESS WORK.

We have come to realize that adoption is not all it's cracked up to be. Well, we have given a very needy child a home, more importantly a family...and we've given ourselves more and more WORK.

Better look at that with some "Christian-ese" right? We've given ourselves "more opportunity to trust God."

I think that is what most people would say. That sure sounds better than, "Man this is WAAAAY harder than I ever dreamed!!"

I have discovered that I truly love the IDEA of adoption but the actual work of adoption, not so much. I love the idea of rallying people to help, but the actual helping part, well...that's what I've rallied people together for, right?

Please do not misread me: I love adoption! And I adore Zareb!!! (The children waiting for families break my heart daily!)

But I am NOT liking the discomfort adoption causes in my life. It's clipped my wings in every sense of the word. 

One of the most challenging seasons I have faced, this first 5 months home has been full of so much. And the bulk of it I cannot share. Just know that if you've felt a burden to pray for our family, we have and still do indeed need it.

Something I have come face to face with about myself is that I am a visionary. That's great and awesome when a group needs a leader. When people need motivated. It's great when direction needs to be found. But it's not so great when life is so repetitive, exhausting and well, daily. (You've heard this before from me lately haven't you?)

I have been given hope by those who listen as I bare my soul that God is working on me. At first this thought shocked me. I truly thought NOTHING GOOD was happening. We are not progressing in potty training, I am not progressing in my patience level, I am not doing anything different than I did 4 weeks ago. (I really need to see PROGRESS in order to keep going!) But here it was from two different sources:

"God is working in you. Doing a great thing. He's getting you READY."

Really???

My soul perks up at this. Hope. I feel the lightness of the wind of hope blowing gently into my sails.

God might truly be changing me through...this???

I have now observed myself able to clean up giardia-filled diarrhea that spills out of diapers without losing my head. I stayed up till 2 am last night rocking a feverish Zebby filled with nothing but love and adoration for him. (Previously, I am QUITE SURE I would have been far more worried about how I'd survive the next day because of my "sacrifice!" Blech!) I've knelt down and tried to patiently decipher his stammering sentences. And we've made it out the door for the bus this week with everyone in happy moods and we haven't even missed the bus once this week.

Could it be true?

God is working on me in this...daily nothingness?

YES. It comes to me resoundingly.

Also that I am not surrounded by mundane. This is not "nothingness." I am given a front row seat to the metamorphic changes in a former orphan and a selfish woman. These are the building block moments for his life. These are the slow one-step-forward-two-steps-back days of healing. And for our little Darrah Kate as well. These are the moments that provide them a good strong, solid start in life that they need. The solid base of love they need to know is always here. Their God-infused years of toddlerhood that launch them into life.

This gives me the hope and encouragement to carry on. To see this thing through. To love without measure. To trust my exhaustion and personal needs into the hands of my Savior. He's promised to not only never leave me, but meet all my needs according to His riches (not in accordance to my lack!).

And there I rest.

Time to dole out a snack and change the laundry over. And stop these two from fighting over the Barbie laptop.