Saturday, March 26, 2011

Circus!!!

Last Friday after school, my friend Regina and I decided to take our kiddos to the circus together. It is a small traveling circus called Circus Pages. It comes through Warsaw once a year and they perform at our local National Guard Armory. I hadn't taken the kids in a few years so I decided it might be a fun activity to start our weekend. The kids had a GREAT time! The best part of this small circus is that you are sitting SO close to all the animals and acts. The kids got to ride ponies and elephants. They had never ridden the elephants before so they thought that was especially COOL:) I thought the motorcycle guys were the best. CRAZY! No...it wasn't the big Shrine Circus but we all really enjoyed it and the treats. Enjoy all the pics;)
Lilyan riding a pony...
Lorelle and Liam...
Levi's turn...
Snow cones and cotton candy...
Look at the cotton candy on Liam's face...LOL! He ate his bag so fast...I thought for sure he would be sick, but nope;)
White lions and tigers...

Acrobats:) The one girl spun from her hair and it made my head hurt just watching...OUCH!
Dog tricks were FUN!
Lorelle was so scared he wouldn't catch him...he did:)
They even had camels...
This guy was entertaining too...
ELEPHANT rides!!!


The CRAZY motorcycles, in a giant round cage, act...YIKES!!!
Then they added a girl...I thought for sure they were gonna hit her;(
The elephants did a few tricks for the grand finale:)

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

School FUN!!!


Friday evening, the kid's school had their annual carnival. The kids really look forward to this night. They had a BLAST!!! Thanks to the Harrison PTO for this event:)

This is their FAVORITE game...

Home and going through all their goodies...

On Saturday morning Leytan had play practice. They are performing The Song and Dance Man this year:) I think he is actually going to have the lead in at least one of the performances and sing a SOLO! He is excited and I am SO proud of him!!! After his 3 hour practice...I took him over to the High School to see his art work that was selected to be in a show. Art is his other passion;)

Leytan with his favorite cartoon character...

ELMO!

The Daniel Fast...21 Days

The Daniel Fast is a biblically based partial fast. It is a method of fasting that men, women and young people all over the world are using as they enter into the spiritual discipline of prayer and fasting.

"In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled." Daniel 10:2, 3

I have 4 more days left in the Fast. I intended to do more blogging about my experience but life has been busy, as usual;) Here are some random thoughts...

I naively thought, since I don't weigh 300 lbs. I totally went into the Fast thinking..."I don't have food issues." Ummm...I do;(

Yes, I like coffee but I was not as addicted to it as I thought. After a couple days of headaches...all was fine.

Although caffeine may heighten some of my issues...it doesn't cause them.

I think my body was more addicted to sugar and carbohydrates.

I struggled to put in the miles I would like. But trust that God will get me back to where I need to be for the mini-marathon:)

I thought I would miss sweets the most...NOT! I want MEAT!

I am most definitely an emotional eater:( Learning to pray...or at the very least grab a healthier snack during these times.

I have a stronger will-power than I thought.

My relationship with God is GOOD...but it could always be stronger.

God knows what is BEST...even if I do try to give him lots of reasons why I shouldn't/can't obey.

HE is my best friend!

I actually like vegetables...EVEN asparagus!

Fruits are good too...a great natural sweetener.

I ate lots of nuts. I have always liked cashews but pistachios are my new FAVE!

Popcorn without butter is actually not bad...especially with raisins.

It is VERY hard to grocery shop for all natural foods...even the ones you think are "healthy" MOST have additives:(

My will-power was perhaps tested more than some during this Fast. I cooked regularly for the kids, ate out a few times and even got them Ritters. NOT easy but I survived it...

Hunger pangs are sometimes just signs of dehydration...drink some water, wait a few minutes and then if still hungry, have a healthy snack;)

Hunger pangs are actually good...if you are trying to lose weight. This means your body is gonna have to tap into your fat storage:)

Think I will definitely make some changes in my eating habits...even after the Fast.

Need to remember to "eat to live" NOT "live to eat"...also NOT easy for me since I LOVE FOOD!

Some days were more of a challenge than others. Mostly, I felt at peace with my decision and stronger for it.

I like the way my jeans fit and that the numbers on the scale are down.

There were times when I felt like bawling...because I chose this Fast. MANY go hungry...but not by choice:(

My Grandma Grace, rest her sole, really did traumatize me a bit as a child. I always felt the need to "clean my plate". I have even, Lord forgive me, used this on my kids. And no we can't box up our leftovers and send it to Africa;( BUT...we also should NOT treat our bodies as trash cans. I have to stop eating my kids leftovers. It is OK to throw it in the actual trash.

Kids really do follow our example. My kids are definitely requesting more "healthy" snacks, along with their ice cream/cookies;)

Eating what is "convenient" is my worst enemy.

My husband is EXACTLY the man I thought he was. He is AMAZING!

All that call me "Mom", are FIRST His children. I feel honored to be their Mommy. Will there be more...only God knows for sure;)

Yes...I will be happy for Monday morning. BUT, I am so glad I stuck with this Fast. I have learned much and LOVE my Lord even more. I owe it ALL to Him!!!

Thank you Jesus!!!

Monday, March 21, 2011

God's BEAUTIFUL work...

I took these pictures over the last couple weeks. Thank you Lord, for all of the beauty around us. AMAZING!!!




The largest full moon in 18 years...

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Indoor Soccer...

The indoor season has come to an end. Levi and Lorelle will both start the KCSL (Kosciusko County Soccer League), out at the CCAC next month. They both LOVE the sport and are looking forward to being outside again. Here are a couple pictures of them with their medals:)

My sweaty but handsome Levi...

Beautiful Lorelle...
Come on Spring! We are ready to play outside again:)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Just Mommy and Me...

I took these pictures on Tuesday afternoon. We had a crazy busy Monday afternoon so it was nice to have NOTHING on our schedule for Tues;) Levi is SO ready for our walks, bike rides and park time...but it is still a little too cold for me to really enjoy it. We played our usual card games, a game of beach volleyball and bowling on Kinects. My arms are still sore;( Then we did head outside for just a while and took turns riding on Leytan's Christmas present, the Ground Force Drifter. It is just a little go-cart type thing but it is so fun. I think it only goes about 12-15 miles an hour but being so low to the ground...it feels much faster. The funnest, scariest (for me) part is when you do spin-outs. I almost flew out...I have no idea how the little kids manage to hang on. And I thought my big-wheel was fun...LOL! Today's toys are SO cool!!! Good times with my baby boy:)

Levi on the Drifter...

My turn...

Thumbs up...lol;)

Our beautiful sunset that evening...

Video of Levi on the Drifter...

Spring is almost HERE!!!

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