I Can't Be Silent

I want to start off by saying that I do not believe for even a second that I am an expert or qualified to write this post.That may lead you to wonder why I would be writing such a post than. I have several reasons that I will share with you.

My heart has been so heavy and I have felt so much righteous anger over peoples’ comments and reactions about what has occurred in Ferguson, MO. I refuse to be silent about a topic that so many people are ignoring. I know that racial topics are hard, uncomfortable, and messy so we avoid them. Not choosing to discuss them doesn’t fix anything though.

Another reason why I feel compelled to  share has to do with experiences that have affected me and people that I love dearly.

Our family was at a local park one day when Moses was not even two years old. This is the first time I ever encountered direct, verbal racism aimed toward my child. The worst part is that it came out of the mouth of another child (I wonder where they learned those words and formed those opinions) To say I was shocked, is an understatement. This really opened my eyes to the challenges my children will face, solely based on the color of their skin.

One day Mimi was watching Barbie on YouTube and I sat down with her. I looked down at the comment section, for no particular reason and this is the first thing I saw (mind you it is a direct quote so grammar is not mine):

"Nikki is my hatest among Barbie's best friends because she is black :\ Barbies are supposed to be perfect, flawless and beautiful , and there shouldn't be a black barbie! I want Nikki to be removed of these series."

This made me realize that my children's perceptions of themselves may be hindered by such comments in the future.

One of the most hurtful came as an attack on my husband's character and called into question his faith in God. This all occurred when Jarrell lovingly pointed out a blind spot in a young person's thinking in regards to racism after several uniformed comments the young adult made. The parents of this individual, people we had called friends and respected, ripped Jarrell apart and we really saw their true colors.

I don't share these stories for sympathy for our family but as a means of insight into how racism still actively affects peoples' lives today. Furthermore, I am fully aware that  my family lives in an area that is mostly racially accepting and we do not face these situations often, as do the people of Ferguson, MO and other places.

My main hope in sharing is this... Just because you don't experience a certain reality, doesn't mean that reality isn't true for someone else. In order to understand someone else's reality, you need to approach it with an open mind and a willingness to understand.

I know that we are not aware of all the facts in Michael Brown's death, though many more have been released tonight. I do not condone looting and/or violent protests. I think it's easy to get wrapped up in all the details that aren't the real issue. My hope is that through it all, you would strongly consider a few things.

#1- Michael Brown was an unarmed black male shot by a police officer.

#2- Victim shaming is never okay and regardless of other issues in Michael Brown's life, he was still an unarmed black male

#3- While some of the methods have been poor, we need to look at the people of Ferguson and realize that they are frustrated and fed up with a system that continues to fail them and countless others. Instead of quickly judging them, we should rally behind their cause, which is so much bigger than an isolated incident. Maybe their anger would begin to subside when they realize they are heard, understood, and are not alone in this fight.

Whether you realize it or not, If you are white you have privilege due to your skin color. It needs to be acknowledge and turned into action for people who do not have this privilege, especially in you are a Christian. 

Our Miracle

Now that we have made the "official" baby announcement, I wanted to share the miraculous story. Anyone that has talked to me in the past year has been so shocked by the news since I was very open about being done having kids. Don't worry, we were just as surprised as you!

After LO was born, we chose an IUD as our method of birth control. I was told by my OBGYN that it was the most reliable method and that we wouldn't have any issues. Fast forward to 1.5 years later. I was out running errands with the kids one day and my water broke. Yes, my water broke, which was very confusing because I didn't know I was pregnant and even if I was,  my water shouldn't be breaking. I knew something was wrong so I went to the emergency room. They did some intake testing and took me down for an ultrasound. As I was laying on the bed, the lady asked, "How many pregnancies is this, including this one?" I literally flew off the table. They forgot to tell my upstairs that I had a positive pregnancy test. My mind was racing. They informed me next that having an IUD could cause all sorts of complications and they needed to do testing.

The ultrasound indicated that my amniotic fluid was very low (almost non-existent) and that the baby's heartbeat indicated stress. I was told that I was going to lose the baby, since it couldn't survive without amniotic fluid. Talk about all sorts of emotions at one time. The ER doctor strongly recommended getting the IUD taken out by my OBGYN the next day (they don't take them out in emergency rooms). It is super controversial whether or not to get an IUD taken out if you become pregnant, and there are pros and cons to both. I prayed all night and decided that I needed to get the IUD taken out.

When I went to my OBGYN the next morning, he confirmed all the bad news of the pregnancy. I requested that he removed my IUD and he didn't want to, but I was very confident in my decision. He did an ultrasound and realized the IUD is what ruptured my membranes so he agreed to take it out. He scheduled me to come in for a follow up ultrasound 5 days later and put me on bed rest. 

I came back in for my ultrasound and you will not even believe what happened! My amniotic sac resealed itself and filled with an appropriate level of fluid and the baby's heartbeat was fine! At the stage of pregnancy that I was in, only 5 out of 200 times membranes reseal. 2.5% people! Talk about a miracle. My mind was blown. 

As of now, the baby is doing well. I just had a check up and the heartbeat was great. I currently have a blood clot on the placenta and will be going in for an ultrasound Tuesday. God has been so good and faithful so far, and I am trusting that this will resolve itself as well. 

As far as I am concerned, Baby Peak #4 was meant to be. This baby is a fighter and I can't wait to see what he/she will be like. 

P is for Pizza

A couple of months ago, we went to a Children's Museum in Palm Springs. The kids had a blast and have been asking to go back almost everyday. One of their favorite parts of the museum was a pretend Pizza Store. It was adorable and they played in it for hours.

Since it isn't practical for us to go to the museum often, I thought it would be fun to recreate this experience at home. I made the following items out of paper plates and construction paper. 

Toppings: Shredded Cheese, Pineapples, Peppers, Olives, and Pepperonis. 

For the crust we used the circle part of paper plates

For the sauce we used circles of red paper

Of course you always have to wear aprons when you cook so we put those on and created pizzas. We "baked" them in the oven, used a timer, and even used money to pay for them. They had such a blast! Several times, they said "You are the best mommy in the whole world!" The total price of this project was less than a dollar. 

I am going to remake the crust, sauce, and toppings using felt because a certain LO decided eating the paper was fun. For the next time, I am going to pick up some paper chef hats at the local cooking store and let the kids decorate them. 

Not only was this fun for the kids but reinforce several concepts that we have been learning like colors, shapes, and letters. (This week we are working on the letter P so we talked about pizza, pineapple, peppers, and pepperoni)

What are some of your favorite activities to do at home with your kids?

Proud Parent Moment

This morning I had to take a phone call that I knew would last a while and that was going to be frustrating. Jarrell wasn't home, so I knew I needed something to keep the kids entertained for a while, so I went to my surprise drawer and grabbed some stickers. I also grabbed crayons & paper and got everyone situated at the table. They were so excited about their stickers and I told them to use as many as they wanted.

I went into my room for the phone call. After the call was over, I was indeed frustrated and came back to the table to see what the kids had created. Moses had about twenty sheets of paper and they were all the same design. {Pictured Below}

I asked Moses to tell me about his picture. He looked up at me and said, "That is the cross, like the one Jesus died on. I made these for all of my friends and family because I want them to know about Jesus and that He loves them." He started naming people and asked me if we could mail a picture to them. I was seriously blown away and started crying. 

Parenting can be so hard at times, but moments like this make it SO worth it. I am so thankful for my little guy and the love that he has for all the people in his life. 

286.7 Miles

There are some people in this world that you would travel 286.7 miles to see for a few hours. Some of you may be thinking that isn't very far, which it isn't, under some circumstances. However, my miles were spent traveling roughly 7 hours, through LA traffic (enough said) , accompanied by my 4, 3, & 1 year old. 

A few miles made the rest of the miles worth it. Those were the miles that we spent with a dear friend, adventuring through the hills of Malibu on the windiest, craziest road. The road that provided the most breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean from the top of one of those hills. The road that led us onto the Pacific Coast Highway and through a portion of "Malibu - 27 miles of Scenic Beauty" in which we rolled all the windows down and took in the fresh air that was fragrant with Eucalyptus. The road that led us to the place where we surprised another dear friend for a long overdue visit. 

Some more precious miles were spent catching up on each others' lives and hearing about stories of hope and redemption. Stories of healing and restoration. Stories of growth and encouragement. Miles spent listening and miles spent feeling understood. Miles of silence, the good kind. 

I am so thankful for this day. It has left my heart feeling full and rejuvenated. It has drawn me closer to God and impressed important truths on my heart. It has reminded me to spend my miles wisely, making each one count. To surround myself around those who love me, for me, and encourage me.

Making a Dream a Reality

As many of you may know, I recently opened an online clothing store called Truly You {Clothing}.  It has been a dream of mine for many years to own my own clothing store & this was the first step in that process. If you didn't know or haven't had a chance to check it out, you can here. I have also included some pictures of some new product below* I was fortunate enough for someone to fund this endeavor for me and even though I had the resources I needed, I was hesitant to make my dream a reality. I would not classify myself as a risk taker and I have an extreme fear of failure. At times the fear of failing can overshadow my deepest dreams and desires. Thankfully I have the most supportive {and talented} husband and he helped me push through. 

I can't even begin to explain the range of emotions that I have felt throughout this process: excitement, fear, joy, accomplishment, defeat, doubt, and fulfillment {just to name a few}. Despite all the emotions, I can say that this process has been worth it. 

I have been incredibly thankful for the people who have supported me in this process through modeling  doing make up, building my website, promoting me, purchasing from me, and giving me words of encouragement when I felt like giving up.  There is no way that this could have happened without all of you. 

One of the greatest challenges I face is getting my name out there and I can't do it alone. This is where I am humbly asking for your help. 

* One of the best forms of advertisement is word of mouth, so if you believe in what I am doing, I ask that you share with people that may also be interested. 

*Obviously I would never want you to purchase something that you don't love, so please don't feel pressure but if you are looking at something similar somewhere else, please consider supporting me.

*I am looking to launch a incentive program that would provide discounts and free product for those interested in having a clothing party. This could be done in person or online. If this is something that interests you, please contact me at trulyyouclothing@gmail.com for more details. 

Once again, thank you all for your support, words of encouragement, and love. 

A Journey to Accept Myself

Through various different outlets, a struggle of my has so clearly been illuminated to me. 

Recently, a friend of mine started a blog called Redeemed Beautiful. It is a ministry dedicated to sharing the Truth about body image, self-worth, and confidence. A Truth that's anchored in Jesus Christ. {taken from the about me section of their FB page). Some of the posts made me realize some lies that I had been believing. 

Next, I was reading a post titled Rainy Day + Flaws by one of my favorite style bloggers, Victoria, at Fashion Flirtation. I loved that she was so open about here flaws and her transparency was so beautiful to me. 

The last place was a flip calendar titled, " God's Heart For You" that my dear friend gave me for

Christmas. It shares spiritual truths & verses for each day.

All of these things together made me quite a mess this morning so I began to pray & something clicked. This was my major realization:

While I do not have to love the weight that I am at, I do need to love MYSELF regardless. It is not my weight that defines me, it is God's amazing love for me. In the same hand, I may not be happy with the weight that I am, but I can't let my weight define whether or not I am happy.

These may be simple truths and may be no brainers for some of you, but this is something that I have struggled with the past five years{since I became pregnant for the first time}.

I can not even begin to tell you how many times I have let my weight insecurities get in the way of living my life. I have very few pictures, I could probably count them on my fingers, of me and my children. When my children are older and look back at their baby pictures, they won't see me.  That is sad. I have stood at the foot of the ocean and watched my kids have the time of their lives running in & out of the water, but refused to join them, because I didn't want to be in a bathing suit. I can go on and on, but I am sure that you get the picture. 

I don't want to let me insecurities hold me back anymore & rob my joy. This will be a journey but I am excited to learn to love myself again, where I am at & where I am heading. 

Tusen Takk {Week of 5.11}

As some of you may know, I am currently reading One Thousand Gifts and keeping a "gift journal" for a year that will record 1,000 gifts, which equates to about 20 a week. You may wonder, what are these "gifts"? They are ordinary and everyday things. They are moments that may mean nothing to anyone else other than you. I am only one week in and am amazed at how many things I have to be thankful for and how this has shifted my attitude. Today I was spending time with a friend and she had Tussen Takk written on her arm. I found out that it means one thousand thanks in Norwegian. I thought this was so fitting for the journey that I am on right now, so I am going to share some of my gifts with you each week in a series titled Tusen Takk. Some of the things that I am thankful for are deeply personal and some implicate the amazing people in my life, whose lives' I don't want to put on blast, so I will just be sharing a few out of the twenty with you. I encourage you to share with me in this journey...

#1- Earlier this week I was sitting on the couch drinking a cup of coffee. Moses was kicking a soccer ball around the living room and stopped all of a sudden. He looked up at me and said, "Mama, do you love me?" I responded, "Of course I love you, do you love me?" He smiled and said, "The MOST" At times parenting can be so hard, but it is moments like these that make it all worth it.

#2- Inspired by a conversation with a friend, I had a very honest, rough conversation with God this week about something from my past. It has been a really long time since I have hashed something out like this and it kind of reminded me of when Jacob wrestled the angel. I felt so free after it.

#3- I was in Target and my kids were on full meltdown mode. They were screaming and crying in line and I was in a hurry to get back to our car because I was so embarrassed. I turned around and saw an elderly lady behind me in an electric cart struggling to get her groceries on the checkout stand. Even though I wanted to get to the cart, I stopped and assisted this elderly lady and she was so thankful. I am usually in a massive rush and I was so thankful for slowing down and being able to help someone in need.

#4-Moses wrote his name by himself for the first time in my Mother's Day card.

#5-I read this article earlier this week about allowing your kids to get bored. It was talking about how boredom leads to creativity. I decided to give it a try and it worked! The kids excitedly called for me to come into their room. They made me take a seat and performed a circus for me. It started by Mimi saying "Ladies and Gentlemen" and Moses saying "Boys and Girls" It was so cute. 

|Virtual| Coffee Date

If we were having coffee this morning, you would probably sense that I am way more relaxed than I have been in a while. We would also be sharing an amazing Black & White that I found at a local Deli, thanks to a friend. {BTW- I am not sure what it is about these cookies but I have been New York Dreaming lately...I must make a trip, but have no idea when or how}

I would tell you how I went away last weekend with a couple of girlfriends and it was exactly what I needed. We stayed at a beautiful beach resort at Mission Bay in San Diego. We didn't have a schedule and that was the most amazing feeling in the world. The night that we got there we unpacked our stuff and laid out by the pool. It was so peaceful and relaxing, and I was even able to read a magazine without interruption! After we laid out, we went back to the room and got ready for the evening. We all packed at separate locations and even picked out our outfits separately, but we ended up wearing the same color scheme...I wish that we would have got a picture. We went out a fantastic fondue restaurant called Forever Fondue in La Jolla. I haven' t ate that much in a long time but everything was so good. After getting lost, thanks to bad I-phone directions, we made it back to our resort in time to go on a moonlight boat cruise that is sponsored by the hotel. We went around Mission Bay and had a lot of great conversation. It was so special to me to be able to spend the time with two ladies that mean the world to me and know me so well. We were able to reflect on the past year, talk about the future, and the ups and downs of life. 

The next morning we woke up late (8am is late for a mama of 3 little kids). We slowly got ready and made our way to a yummy breakfast that we scored for free thanks to my friends charm. After that we laid out for a couple hours, went shopping, and hit up Sonic's Happy Hour. So many of my favorite things, with some of my favorite people, wrapped up into a wonderful couple of days. When I got home, I felt recharged.

This is where we stayed. Isn't it beautiful?

I would tell you how there are some really exciting things happening in our life and would ask you to be praying with me and my family as we navigate them. It never ceases to amaze me how God works and how exciting it can be to follow Him, even if means trusting beyond what you can see.

I would tell you how I am reading a new book called One Thousand Gifts, that was recommended to me by a friend. One challenge of the book is A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are. I am keeping a journal for a year of 1,000 gifts in my life, which is roughly twenty a week. It is incredible how many things I have been missing or taking for granted because my eyes weren't open to them. A friend of mine did this a year ago, and I saw it transformed parts of her life, so I am excited to begin the journey. 

I would tell you how much I have learned to value community over the past three years. How this was something that used to be incredibly hard for me, but that has grown me significantly. 

I Cry

I cry...

Tears for the childhood that was taken from me

Tears for the scars that will never go away

Tears for the debris that still affect me today
Tears for the misplaced shame I feel

Tears for distortion of love

Tears for the destruction of life

Tears for lost hope and doubt of goodness

Tears for those who understand my pain as well as tears for those who misunderstand 

Tears for cleansing and healing 

Tears for restoration and true love

Thankful for God's Word and comfort that comes from His promises.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true." Then He said to me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. (Revelation 21:4-7 NASB)

Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me. My foes have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me. When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me? All day long they distort my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil. They attack, they lurk, They watch my steps, As they have waited to take my life. Because of wickedness, cast them forth, In anger put down the peoples, O God! You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, In the Lord, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? Your vows are binding upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You. For You have delivered my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God In the light of the living. (Psalms 56:1-13 NASB)

For all who read this, please know I am okay. I struggle at times but find comfort in God. I desire to me honest and transparent about my life because I know that God can use if in the lives of others. Writing can be an outlet and therapeutic for me at times and this happened to be one of them. 

Monday {Weigh Day}

In light of this wonderful quote, I got rid of one pound this week. That puts me at 182, which is a total of 33 pounds lost and puts me 7 pounds away from my second goal. 

I had a break through moment this week when I put a shirt on that use to fit me pretty snuggly. I was literally swimming in it. It reminded me how far I have come, even though I still have a long way to go.  I won't be posting any pictures until I am at my second goal weight, but I will be sure to show you this shirt.

In order to keep motivated, I look for small victories that show I am changing. This week I was so proud of myself while grocery shopping. I love Ben and Jerry's and I love coffee. Ben and Jerry are conspiring against my plan to become more healthy because they just released  this:

The ice cream is coffee flavored with chunks of espresso fudge! I knew if I bought it, I would eat the whole thing, so I walked away. Small victory. 

What are some of the hardest things for you to resist? What helps you to not give in?

|Virtual| Coffee Date

If we had a coffee date this morning, it would have been in my living room. I would have been excited to share all the different K-Cups that I received in the mail with you. I landed on the Donut Shop's Sweet and Creamy Nutty Hazelnut iced coffee.

I would excitedly tell you that my 28th birthday is right around the corner. I am planning a trip to the Bahia Hotel with my two closest friends and I couldn't be more excited. We are all busy ladies, but I think we landed on a date and it is soon! I will make sure to fill you in on all the details after we get back.

We would talk about the crazy bear that broke into my car and how we are still trying to decided what we should do with our insurance company. I usually get stressed out about stuff like this, but for some reason this event just makes me laugh.

I would tell you about the sickness that took a toll on our family this week. Meems got it the worst because she had the flu, tonsillitis, and an ear infection. She will more than likely be getting her tonsils out after she recovers. The doctor said that they were extremely large. The sickness lead to a lot of relaxing and movie watching for the kids, so I read the 2nd and 3rd books of The Hunger Games. I loved them.

We would talk about how an encouraging word at the right time can be such a blessing. I would share with you about how a friend did that this week and how it really brightened my day. I would tell you how I am working on being more of a blessing to the people in my life.

If you were having coffee with me this morning, which KCup would you have tried?

Sweet&Creamy Nutty Hazelnut-Iced Coffee

Donut Shop Original

Gloria Jeans Butter Toffee

Van Houtte's Chocolate Macaroon

Wolf Gang Puck's Creme Caramel

Weigh In Day

I want to apologize to everyone who is following my weight loss journey and looked for this post on Monday, which is when I weigh in and post the results. 

Last week I ate the WORST and exercised the LEAST. I didn't have any weight change this week, so I am still at 183. (32 pounds lost). This is the first week I haven't lost weight. I was relieved that I didn't gain weight given my diet and lack of exercise. This week made me realize that I need to work on the eating healthier portion of the equation. It is easier for me to push myself to exercise, but takes me a lot more to be disciplined in eating well. 

In the future, if I go more than one day past my weigh in day without posting results, someone please call me out. More than likely it means that I am not wanting to be real with you all. 

Thanks for all who are encouraging me on this journey. Sometimes I lose sight of the overarching goal, so my motto this week for my diet and exercise is:

|Virtual| Coffee Date

If we had a coffee date this morning, you would have been at the park with me and the kids. I would have a tall, non-fat misto. This is my new favorite type of coffee. I know this is a shocker to some, since I usually only drink iced drinks (even in the snow and rain). 

Amariah yelled uncontrollably if I tried to take away the coffee cup.

In between chasing my kids and saving them from the top of the monkey bar ladder, I would have told you:

Moses got stuck up here. Of course I took I picture before I helped him :)

I am so tired. Actually, I probably wouldn't have needed to tell you, I look really tired. Why didn't I get a bigger coffee?! The past couple of days I haven't got a whole lot of sleep. Moses had some sort of sickness that caused crazy problems with #2 and Amariah got her six month shots yesterday and has been running a fever. She is super fussy and tired, but can't sleep well. Everyone says that one day I will miss these days, and I am sure I will, it just doesn't feel like it right now.

I really appreciate my husband and all the ways that he helps me. He was gone a couple of days last week at the Catalyst Conference and it was a little crazy around the house. I am happy to have him home and it was a great reminder to be thankful for all the things that he does. 

I struggle with anger. A lot. This is something that I am working on and seeking the Lord to help me with. If you think of me, please pray for this. 

I am in love more like obsessed with ganado print items.... 

Speaking of clothes, I have been given the opportunity to start my own online clothing store. My hope is that it will do well enough one day, that I can own an actual store. I am really excited but I have a lot of work ahead of me. The goal is to provide quality, affordable, and unique pieces of clothing to people that don't have access to them. All items will come straight out of Los Angeles' Fashion District. There will be a lot more to come about this soon but I am REALLY EXCITED for the day when I get to share my website with you all. 

I hope that you all have a wonderful week! 

Monday {Weigh Day}

Well friends, I am happy to say that I lost two pounds this week. That puts me at 183, which is 8 pounds away from my second goal of 40 pounds lost.

This actually shocked me since I didn't work out much this week and I ate horrible. When I say horrible, let me paint a picture for you...

I ate an entire bag of Twizzlers in one sitting. Not the big bag, but the king size bag. That is still really bad though. I ate pizza three times this week! I am a stress eater and we had a crazy week, so it was a bad equation for me. 

I only exercised three times, but I made them count. I was really proud of myself for pushing harder than I thought that I could go. This quote makes me laugh but motivates me to workout and I do mostly wear black:

So I have focused a lot of the weight loss part of my journey, mainly because I am a data minded person, but I really want to focus on the part that is super important to me for a minute, being healthy.

I feel amazing and have so much energy. I have grown in confidence and am super happy.

|Virtual| Coffee Date

If we had coffee this morning we would have been sitting in the lounge chairs in my hotel room in Las Vegas. The blinds would have been open so we could look at the the strip while chatting.

I would tell you that this week has been busy but so fun. Earlier in the week I visited a friend in Orange County. We ate a wonderful lunch at a Japanese Restaurant. I left feeling refreshed and encouraged. It is always good to catch up with people you care about and this was no exception.

We would talk about how catching up and eating were the themes of my week. On Wednesday the kids and I headed to Las Vegas to visit my Aunt who was there on vacation. We caught up over an amazing meal at BURGR which is one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants. I had an Asian Salad that was to die for. It was fun to catch up with my Aunt and have her meet the kids.

The last thing I would tell you is how much fun I had taking the kids to the M&MS store. They were so excited to see everything and I had the opportunity to spoil them a little. The looks in their faces were priceless and it will be an experience I will remember for a long time. I even bought myself a little treat: a yellow M&M coffee mug and my favorite sweet treat, gelato. This particular kind was hazelnut chocolate.

What are some of the things you would tell me if we were having a coffee date?

{Monday} Weigh Day-A Day Late

Hello Friends! Sorry I missed yesterday's weigh  in post. When I got on the scale this yesterday morning  it read 185.0 which means this week I lost 1 pound this week. That is a total weight loss of 30/75 pounds putting me at 40% of my goal. 

I just wanted to share a few thoughts that I had this week regarding my progress:

Once again, I was a little disappointed when I stepped on the scale. I exercised 6 days this week and ate healthy. I found this quote though, which really encouraged me:

|Virtual| Coffee Date

So this is something new for my blog but I thought was super fun. A friend of mine does this on her blog and I loved the idea. Weekly I will do a segment called Virtual Coffee Date. The idea is that if we were sitting down having a chat over a cup of coffee these would be the things that I would share with you. Since I LOVE coffee this seems to suit me well.

If we were sitting down having coffee this morning our conversation would be competing with the background noise of Cars 2 and a chiming princess castle. I would be drinking Vanilla Nut coffee out of my favorite coffee mug. (Pictured on the right)

I would tell you...

That life has been incredible and challenging all at the same time. I absolutely adore being at home with my family, but it has put up a constant mirror into my heart. There are a lot of things that I need to work through. I know that God is so much bigger and I am thankful for the light that has been shed into these areas and the grace that is so freely available to me.

That I have found a new passion for the Bible. I attend an amazing Bible Study with some incredibly wise women on Mondays and it has changed my life. I always leave feeling so encouraged and challenged.

I have fallen in love with running and hiking. I am able to process through things and clear my mind. It is carved out time in my schedule for me and I am so thankful that my husband is supportive of it.

Monday {Weigh Day}

Hello Friends! It is Monday which means it is weigh in day. When I got on the scale this morning it read 185.8, which means this week I lost 3.2 pounds. That is a total weight loss of 29/75 pounds putting me at 38.667% of my goal. 

I just wanted to share a few thoughts that I had this week regarding my progress:

When I stepped on the scale I was super disappointed to see that I only lost 3 pounds.  I worked really hard this week and ate very good, so it felt super defeating. I really began to think about it though and my attitude changed. I realized that it took a lot of small choices, over a long period of time, to lead me to the weight that I am today. With that being said, it is going to take a lot of small choices over a long period of time, to lose the weight that I want to. Three pounds is a small number in a much larger equation and a step towards my ultimate goal of becoming healthy. Also, I was reminded by an awesome friend that this journey doesn't define me and that my value should be found in Christ alone. Such a great reminder of truth. 

I am committing to not obsess over the scale and only weigh myself once a week. 

The other major factor in my journey right now, is that I am nursing my six month old daughter. I need to be careful not to lose too much weight, too quickly. I realized this week that I was not getting enough calories to nurse well and lose weight effectively. I ate more calories the week prior and lost 6 pounds. It seems a little backwards to eat more and lose more weight, but after doing a lot of research, I found this is common with people in my situation. 

The last thought was this amazing quote I read this week:

Thanks for those who have been encouraging in this process. I am not an expert, nor do I care to be. I am just a girl making positive lifestyle changes and sharing them with people as a source of encouragement. 

Family Hike

I absolutely love where we live, it is beautiful. It makes it really easy to get outside and be active. My husband has been very supportive of my weight loss journey journey and has included himself and our kids. The past two weeks we have done a hike together as a family, which has been really fun. Today we hiked to Inspiration Point, which is a really easy hike that is located at Forest Home, which is where Jarrell works. 

Here are some pictures:

Moses and Daddy coming up the trail 

Exploring

View of the canyon

Photographer in Training 

What are some of your favorite activities to do as a family?