Day 4

OK . . . we kinda broke 7.  You see, J & I have a VERY, VERY difficult time seeing food go to waste.

I was cleaning out the fridge - trying to make some more space for my bread making ingredients & spots for 7 approved food items.  I came across 2 gorgeous red peppers, a green pepper & half a red onion that looked like it wouldn't last 2 more days.  I KNOW they would not make it until July 24th.  So, I sliced them & let them cook over our approved chicken breasts.

Well, I guess God should just smite me now. ;)

Ultimately, I don't want to be doing this fast if it is about me.  It's really about God & His power & His passion.  I don't want to be "white knuckling" through these 30 days.  So, would you pray for me.  That I would surrender to Him, look to Him, lay it down at His feet.  I know I can't really do this on my own, but I'm realizing I'm really out of practice of asking for His guidance & strength.

Day 3

Oh, so uneventful . . .

Until I realized the fruit truck wasn't where I was told it would be . . . PANIC!!

I had been dreaming of my own box of sweet Georgia peaches since last summer when I first heard about the fruit truck.  My bestie had frozen some & we would enjoy them at dinner invites throughout the winter.  Yummy!

God has placed some very resourceful & amazing women in my life.  One of which got on the good ol' WWW & determined that they were in a town 20 minutes from J's work for the next hour.  J is really a PEACH!!  He jumped in the car & drove 20 minutes away from our house to pick up a box o' peaches & surprised me with a 5 lb. box of scrumptious Michigan blueberries!

I know what I'll be up to tomorrow . . .

Day 2

It is difficult for me to not have something sweet at breakfast time!  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  The best way to avoid temptation is for me to grab a ww roll & run out of the kitchen.  It never lasts long, as kids need me, but that initial morning craving is gone by then.

After I survived breakfast - really enjoyed breakfast of fresh bread & some blueberries, I was ready to face the day.  Today was a big day, not just because of 7.  I was dry needled today.

But first, we went to AMP's swimming lessons.  I forgot to say that he was bumped into level 2 for this session, which BLOWS my mind.  Just a mere 2 weeks ago my boy was AFRAID, TERRIFIED - would go in to complete hysterics when water would get on his face/in his eyes.  In level one, he did bobs & boy, o, boy, did he do bobs!  I couldn't believe my eyes!!  His teacher would talk him down & then he would try again.  At the end of last week we had free passes to Noah's Ark - I was not expecting much.  But AMP wanted to go down every water slide he was tall enough for!!  So. Proud.

After lessons, I dropped the kids at our amazing, wonderful neighbor's, GmaB.  She is a blessing!  All our family is 2+ hours away, making doctor appts & more difficult to do during the day & paying a babysitter for 4 is expensive!!

Off to my Dr. appt.  I've been having problems w/ my pelvis - lots of pain & instability.  This is my second round of PT & I am honestly a bit frustrated.  Not at anyone, but at how stinking difficult it is to get back to  some sort of 'normalcy.'  It's been determined that the ligaments are loose from 3 pregnancies - one being a twin pregnancy.  They finally gave me an elastic belt that stabilizes my pelvis for when I'm walking or standing.  It's uncomfortable to sit in, so I'm finding that I'm not wearing it much . . . since I'm so up & down with the kids.

This appointment was special.  As I mentioned earlier, we're trying some dry needling therapy.  So much of my pain is coming from muscles that are what they refer to as 'corded.'  Essentially an acupuncture type needle is inserted repeatedly into a muscle trigger point.  What happens if they hit the trigger point is that it causes the corded muscle to spasm -completely involuntarily.  The expected results are a muscle that is much more relaxed & stretched out.  It's not the most comfortable procedure, but definitely not too terrible that I won't do it again.

After needling 2 trigger points & not being able to find a third, I meandered down to my PT appointment where we focused on stretching & pain relief . . . & get me fitted for my belt.  As I left was the really difficult point.  I was pretty cold & I realized that I was a little traumatized.  All I wanted was to hold a hot cup of coffee & sip is slowly.  But alas, coffee did not make my list.  I walked out of the clinic fighting back tears, a little bit more scared about the next 28 days.

The rest of the day was less eventful.  I had asked J to take the afternoon off because the Dr. had told me that I would be quite sore, needing to rest, stretch & keep heat on my muscles.

For my big feat of the day I thought I'd hard boil some eggs.  This went well, until I thought I had turned the burner off & went to take a bath (while everyone else was napping).  Upon emerging from the steamy bathroom, an  unpleasant sulfur-y smell assaulted my nostrils.  Uh, oh.  Looks like I checked the wrong nob on the stove.  My eggs were sitting on a very dry surface.  They're a little tougher than usual & have grey around the yolks, but thankfully, it's pretty hard to ruin a hard boiled egg.  

Day 1

Well, day 1 of  7:Food Fast has come & gone.  It was a bit easier than I thought.  Really, I can't be happier since I'm making my own bread.  If I had to eat pre-made, preservative-packed, store-bought bread I think I'd be in trouble.  Everything was going great until after lunch I . . .

1) popped a graham cracker in my mouth during the kids snack time - completely out of habit.  After a few seconds, my brain awoke from the 3 hour nap I had just taken with La, A & B, & I realized what I had done.

2) realized that I forgot to call our dinner invite & explain our weird food fast thing . . . so, with much prayer from J & I, we decided it best to honor our friends & not make a fuss.  We enjoyed some of the best steak I've ever had, but stuck to our 7 with everything else we ate that night.

We had a great evening with our friends.  During the school year we don't see each other much - their 4 kids are in public schools & they also participate afterschool sports & such.  So, this dinner was very much a reunion!  I had goosebumps as K told us how God rocked his world by giving him a new job - his dream job teaching high school sciences.  A shared about how God has been walking with her & she has felt so close & loved by Him.  Their kids LOVED on ours like crazy!  It was a blessed evening & am so thankful for it!

My Last Supper

Is tonight.

Before I begin a 30 day fast.  

Now, before you jump to conclusions.  I am not writing about this on the blog to gain praise from man.  Yes, I know, praise from man is our reward if that is what we are looking for, but I am not.  I am looking for so much more.  Really, I'm using the blog like a diary or journal.  I can see that no one reads it, so I don't mind putting this all out there. 

On to the why, when, where & how . . .

It all started about a month ago when I stumbled upon this book, 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.  Her book includes an introduction, 7 chapters regarding her 7 months of fasting & ends with a conclusion.

Just reading the introduction blew me away.  I wanted to go on a journey like hers.  I have lots of baggage that I cannot seem to get rid of on my own & I need to open some doors so that God can take it (or rather, that I can learn to lay it down before & leave it there).  I want what is "comfortable (being a consumer christian) to become uncomfortable."  And what is "uncomfortable (loving the poor & marginalized) to become comfortable."  I read the intro out-loud to J a few weeks ago, as I was still trying to wrap my mind around it all (it is so simple, yet not . . .) & he was hooked as well. I thought I would be going on this journey alone, but I have a partner.

In Jen's first fast, she chose to focus on the excess of food that we have here in the states.  She chose 7 foods to eat for 30 days.  Water, salt, pepper & olive oil were 'freebies.'  She chose to eat only:

• chicken
• eggs
• avocado
• spinach
• whole wheat bread
• apples
• sweet potatoes.

Can you imagine?  Well, J & I have chosen our 7 foods and are ready to go for tomorrow.  Here is what we will be eating:

• chicken
• eggs
• apples
• spinach
• whole wheat bread (that I will make for us from fresh ground wheat berries, canola oil, honey, salt & yeast)
• beans
• nuts

We chose the nuts because I have a slight allergy to avocado & we needed to make sure that our bodies were getting a little fat.  We chose beans for many reasons.  If you want to check out this website, it will give you plenty of education on the matter of beans.

We have one exception to our 7 foods that Jen did not.  If you look back in the blog posts, you'll notice that we have started a garden & belong to a CSA.  We have no desire to see any food go to waste because of our fast.  So, anything in our weekly CSA box or garden that 1) the kids will not eat up or 2) I cannot preserve for after our 30 days are finished, we can eat.  

With that said, we start tomorrow.  I'm scared.  No coffee, chocolate, donuts, chips, smoothies . . .  J is going to have to do all the grocery shopping, b/c I don't want to see all the yum in the grocery store.

I'm not really a fan of being vulnerable either . . .

I'll be posting here from time to time - like I said, this is my journal . . .

I'm really not sure what to expect from God during this time.  But I hope & pray for so much!  

**If you feel a little lost about what you just read, I highly recommend finding a copy of 7:An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess.  You will not be disappointed - it is so much more than the title reveals.  Or you may leave a question in the comments section or email me.** 

for this house, we waited

Credits: Happy Scrap Girl - Serenity
(I need to go back & change a shadow that is wrong - see if you can find it.)

Busy . . . is . . . not . . . ending

Oh my goodness!  When will it all slow down?

I finally felt like we were getting back into a routine.  Then came strawberry picking & my Dad visiting, finding free swimming lessons at the last minute, going to my cousins to pick up Grandpa's console/upright piano, Father's Day, camping -- guh!!

I'm late at posting the questions for the book study I'm leading . . . wishing it had built in questions now.

I made 6+ batches of various kinds of freezer jam & still have one left to make.  I need to get my tomatoes in the second raised bed we have out in the yard.  Thanks Dad for getting that put together so quickly!

I need to meal plan for our camping trip . . . which is in . . . ARGH . . . 4 days.  Packing, gathering gear . . .

Oh, did I mention I thought it would be a good time to say goodbye to the twins bobbies? (a.k.a. pacifiers)

LOL!  Pray for me, that I would continue to be patient, compassionate, understanding & KIND through all the rough patches we have throughout the day.  Thanks!

Love - Hate Library

Libraries are really great!  I do love them for all the great books I can borrow, read & return.  I love all the programs they do for the kids & even for the adults once & awhile.  The librarians are amazingly helpful & have recommended some stupendous books!  They are, for the most part, patient w/ me & the 4 littles - which is helpful when I have my hands full assisting one in book finding while the other 3 are either running, yelling or pulling books off the shelves like it's an Olympic sport (total exaggeration on that last one).

But I hate the new library online catalog.  When it renews my books, it does from the day I click "renew" rather than from the date it is due.  So I wait until the last minute to renew - often forgetting & then am charged late fees.  Not only that, but the online catalog just doesn't work properly at home.  It freezes, it won't let me perform operations - like reserving a book and sometimes a basic search.  (I've tried 4 different browsers . . . )

I hate that my kids, somehow, misplace books & that I can spend days looking for them.

I hate that my kids find books I'm so not excited about - Barney, Spongebob, the Chipmunks, Barbie . . . bleck!

It drives me crazy when I have all 4 kids there & the librarian (only one of them does this) makes sure to look through all the books I have out to make sure she can get them renewed & help me avoid late fines.  I know that her heart is good on this one, so I can't be all that upset.  I just wish she'd hear me out when I do say that I need to get going & get the kids home.

As I say all this, I do really love our library.  I'm just totally frustrated right now that I have been looking for 8 books over the past 1-2 weeks.  I found 7 of them today - finally.  Where were they?  In the most random & odd places in the house for a library book to be - one on top of the tall filing cabinet in the basement, one was  IN one of our books . . . Aaarrrrgh!!

I just needed to get it all out . . .

The Sad State of Our Pencils

Thank you A & B.  You have decapitated our pencils & we can no longer erase our mistakes.  AMP, La & I are more than frustrated.  Unfortunately, we will continue school throughout the summer & I will not be purchasing new pencils till August . . .

We still love you.  We always will.  Praying you learn that you are humans & do not need chew toys.  ;)

How Our Garden Grows

Our garden has been growing - as much as the weather allows.  It's been fun (mainly for me since the kids are so little) to see how the plants will shoot up over a few days of really nice weather & then slow down as we get a touch of chiller air & less sunshine.  

I learned & shared w/ the kids about what seeds we should put in the greenhouse first, then add others according to how fast they sprout & grow.

Our beans (bush & pole), snap peas & lettuce took off from the start.  The kids & I were so surprised to see how fast we got results.  The peppers, tomatoes, basil & cilantro weren't so speedy.

The most unfortunate part is that we needed to take the greenhouse top off the garden earlier than expected since the peas & pole beans were hitting the top.  We thought that the rabbits would get at everything else before it even had a chance.

That meant that we needed to get a trellis for the peas & pole beans.  I knew string would suffice for the peas & was hoping the beans would be OK w/ it as well, so La & I drilled holes & screwed in some screws to make the trellis.  (Notice our other helpers - B w/ his gardening gloves on, A mowing the lawn & AMP our photographer.)

It's taking me longer to string it than I thought.  Every time I get up on the step stool, a twin is needing a push or help.  Thankfully the plants are more forgiving & patient than the twins at 2 yrs old.

A few weeks later & this is the state of our garden:

The lettuce is ripe for the picking or nibbling . . . :)  I love finding La picking off leaves for herself & the twins.  Now, if only A would eat them all instead of bringing me half-eaten leaves as a gift.  ;)

I'm linking up w/ HSV Garden Challenge to share w/ other homeschooling families.

Photocopier Fun

♥ ♥  From last fall (2011) while visiting J at work.  ♥ ♥

Back In The Game

3 years ago, in July, I had to call it quits.  I stopped digital scrapbooking.  I was pregnant & sick.

During my first pregnancy, I couldn't handle the smell of cooking bell peppers.

The second, mint - anything mint.  Have you ever tried to find non-mint toothpaste??  Thankfully Crest just released their Cinnamon flavored stuff.

The third, well, I thought I was off the hook on this one since I was so stinking nauseous.  No, I was wrong.  But it wasn't smells that got me this time.  It was the computer!

I had a major case of computer aversion.  ICK!  I had less than 2 minutes to peek at FB or read an email.  That meant the my beloved digital scrapbooking must wait . . . until the second trimester, or so I hoped.

For this pregnancy, computer aversion was going to see me right to the end & then some.  That's OK, as I knew I would have to seriously limit my scrapping time after the twins were born.

Then, when all was good on the baby front & life was manageable again we discovered our computers RAM couldn't handle the program any longer.  Darn PC's!  After waiting for . . . a very long time, we've finally upgraded our computer & bought a used one from the local tech college.  It's not exactly what I want, but it will do.

With much ado . . . or very little, here are some of my first pages since I've started scrapping again:

(Credits for the above in abbreviated form:  WM[squared], Happy Scrap Girl, Tangie Baxter, Sahlin Studio,  Chelle's Creations, Brittish Designs, Tracie Stroud, Megan Turnidge, & mel_h designs.  If you want to know where to purchase their products you can either comment below or email me.) 

If you've never seen digital scrapbooking before & this is all new, the polite thing to do is include credits to the designers.  It was their hard work to create the papers & elements.  I only put them together w/ my photos.  ;)