God's faithfulness!

Last week Brett's other hearing aid broke and it could not be repaired in the office. They called and told me that they would have to send it out and that it would cost us $200.00 to get it fixed. I told them to go ahead and send it out and that we would come up with the money before it came in (5-7 days later).I have been praying all week for God to provide the money to pay for the repairs-at first I did not even tell Brett (until yesterday when he finally asked me if I had heard back from the office)-I did not want him to feel bad about it and I did not want him to say "no" since we did not have the money and we do not use credit. Anyhoo-I have been praying and believing that God was gonna come through for us-I reminded Him of His promise to meet our needs and the covenant that we are in with Him. I have been checking our bank account online everyday (looking for what?-I don't know). This morning when I checked it I saw our balance (which was the same as yesterday) and then right before I logged off I saw that there was a electronic deposit pending (that we were not expecting) for $289.00! I asked the bank about it and they said that the funds were available now-I asked who it was from and they said that they did not have that information yet. I am almost positive that the money came from social security-about a week ago they told me that they were going to stop taking my Medicare premium out of my monthly check (since I qualified for a special needs program) and that they would refund the premiums that they already took out. They told me that it would take several months before it would be put in the system-so I was not expecting the refund so quickly! God knew what we needed and when we needed it-I believe that He had a hand in speeding up the process to meet our need! (If you have ever dealt with SS-you know what a miracle this is!)I am always in awe when I know that God heard my prayer (why?) and that he cared enough to answer it.

Weight Watchers

Ok-so today is Saturday-"weigh in day". Drum roll please..............I lost 2 lbs this week. I am happy with that-especially since I used ALL my weekly flex points this week and I did not walk or work out at all (It is just too hot to walk outdoors and I am waiting for my gym membership card to come in the mail). I did swim a lot this week and did my own water workout so maybe that helped. This week will be a tough week-today is Brett's B-day (Happy birthday sweetheart!) and I just finished baking him a 3 teared birthday cake to celebrate his birthday tomorrow (I can not do anything 1/2 way-all or nothing! Half of a regular cake would be more than enough!). It is also "Girl's night out" this week-Tuesday we are going to the "Zen Forest"-I have never been there before and since it is small there is no nutritional info available-I will have to "guess" my points. I know that I will get through the week and I hope to have another good weigh in next Saturday-I will let you know!

One "point" treats!

Alright, so we all know that the best snacks are healthy ones (fruits,veggies) but for those of you who live in the "real world" I wanted to share some of my favorite one point treats! I discovered one point Bryers ice cream! I was at the store,scanning the ice cream, and I picked one up that looked good-when I got out my WW points calculator I was thrilled to find out that it was only one point for 1/2 cup!! Usually even the light ice cream is about 3 pts for 1/2 cup! The flavor I tried was Bryers fat free cappuccino chunk-it is cappuccino ice cream with bits of brownie pieces in it! No artificial sweeteners (which I do not mind but I have yet to find a sugar free ice cream I like!)! Yummy! Now-no one ever eats 1/2 cup of ice cream so be sure to measure it out and count 1 pt per serving. Last week I also found one point ice cream bars-they are by "Skinny Cow" and they are called "skinny dippers"-they are ice cream bars that are half way dipped in chocolate. They come in mint,carmel and vanilla-I love the mint ones! Another favorite 1 pt treat are the WW new chocolate chip cookies-they are individually packaged cookies-they are not very big but they are really good and they are a "good point bargain". In ww meetings you can find other (overpriced) treats-my favorite are the 1 pt "peanut butter bliss" one point bars!

Sugar (obviously) is my downfall, but for those of you who prefer salty treats, there are plenty of choices for you too! I buy fat free "pringles"-they are also just 1 pt per serving! I also buy individual serving bags of microwave popcorn-the brand I use (O.R) is only 1 pt for the bag! Finding a new treat that I can budget into my daily points allowance just thrills me! It is much like a treasure hunt! There are plenty of alternatives available that do not leave us stuck crunching on carrot sticks (although, you do need to eat your veggies like your "mama" always told you too!) while everyone else is eating the "good stuff". You just have to keep your eyes open, do the WW math, and watch you portions.

Mama's Quilts

My mom can sew "like no body's business"! She has been making each of her grandkids a quilt (where's mine Mom?). For Brooke's special quilt she made a flowered one with a fence at the bottom. Maddie's is gonna be a butterfly one-it is almost finished! Spencer's will be one with footballs and other sports. She does such a beautiful job! Today, the girls also got new quilts for their room in the mail. They turned out so cute! She even embroidered their names on their pillow cases! I wanted to share the pics with

everyone-I wish I had her talent!

Medical update

Today I had my Chiropractor appt. Last week I had 3 x-rays of my spine and today they gave me the reports. Nothing new to report about my neck or low back but the mid-back x-rays show that I have several bone spurs-he said there were 7 major spurs and also several smaller ones. I knew that something was going on there-hopefully I will get more info next week when I have the 3 MRIs. Basically-he tells me, the spurs are my bones trying to fuse together so my spine will have enough support. Because of the degeneration on the disc there is not enough support. I think it is amazing how God created our bodies to recover and heal itself-but I hope to stop the spinal fusion before it is completely fused and I lose the range of motion. I will keep everyone updated on my MRI results next week. PLEASE pray for me-I will have to be in the "tunnel"(feels more like a coffin!) for 2 & 1/2 hours on Tuesday! I have panic attacks every time I have to have ONE MRI-but it is going to be even harder to have 3 in a row! They said that they will try to get them all done on Tuesday but if I can not handle it they will have to reschedule them. I really just want to get all the tests over with and on to the treatment so I can be well soon-please pray for me!! Thanks!

Memorial Day!

Today we had an awesome "family day"! We went to play baseball at the Rec. center,we got a free doughnut at "Dunkin' D" x2 (every time the "Rays" win you can get a free doughnut if you mention it-the kids think that is the coolest thing!), we went swimming in our pool (and played "Marco-Muteto"-instead of saying "polo" you don't say anything-the kids made it up) and we grilled out for supper. We had a great time together-I wish we had

more days "off"!

Spencer

We let the kids skip school on Wednesday since I had a full schedule with doctor's appts and I would not be able to pick them up from school. I got to sleep in until 8:00 am! Well, Spencer (7 years old) is an early riser and when I woke up, he was already up. Brett had already left for work and I expected to find Spencer playing his "PlayStation" or watching TV-but when I walked into the living room I saw that he was sitting in the chair reading his Bible! He knows that his Daddy reads his Bible every morning, and most mornings Spencer will run get his Bible and read too. But-I was so happy to see that he had developed this habit enough to do it on his own, even though Brett was not even home! I have said it before, but I am so glad that he is following in his Daddy's footsteps!! This morning , while we were still asleep, he was copying from his Bible (he likes to copy things)-when we woke up he gave us the scripture that he had copied. On his own, this is the scripture that he found to write: "The proverbs of Solomon-A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother." Proverbs 10:1-I have not checked it to see if he copied it correctly, but I was amazed that he found and copied a verse about a "son". I am so thankful for such a special son and for the hunger he already has for the things of God!

Our "Gillie Girl"

Tonight, "my thoughts" are on our little "Gillie". She was kidnapped about a month ago and I have been concerned about her. Her Mother took her and moved away-even though she does not have full custody of her. Gillie lived with her Daddy and her grandparents more than with her own mother and now she has been taken. She must be so confused. Please pray for her to have a safe return home! My Brother will be given full custody of her if they can locate her. My heart is with her tonight! We love you and Miss you "Gillie Girl"!

Weight Watchers

Today I had my monthly weigh in at "Weight Watchers"-in order to keep my lifetime membership I have to weigh in every month and not be more than 2 lbs over my goal weight. My "WW" goal is way higher than my personal goal so I never have any problems maintaining my free-lifetime membership. I am, however, well over my personal goal so I am going to get back on track and actually follow the program and go to weekly meetings! Today's weigh in was not as bad as I expected, I was up 1 lb since last month. I have regained my focus and I know what I have to do to get back to my personal goal! I will report my stats each Saturday after weigh in-if you are interested in my progress. If any of you are on your own weight loss journey I would love to hear from you-we can help keep each other motivated!

Chapman family tragedy

I just wanted to remind everyone to hold up the (Steven Curtis)Chapman family in your prayers. My heart has been heavy for them since I heard about their 5 year old daughter's tragic death. For those who may not have heard, she was in the family's drive way when her teen aged brother accidentally backed his SUV over her. To have their son to be the one who hit her must make the tragedy that much harder and I am sure that there is a lot of feelings of guilt-so please pray for their son-especially. Only God can get this family through this-I pray that they continue to rely on Him as their source of strength. Let this also be a reminder that none of us are promised tomorrow and we need to let those we love so much know exactly how much we love them!

(Maria-in the video-is the little girl that they lost)

"Tea with Tanya"

Today was a busy day! This morning I had an appointment at 8:15 am and then I headed to Tanya's house for "tea". A few of us gathered there to enjoy the morning together. It was such a nice time! The food and atmosphere were beautiful! (Thank You, Tanya!) After that Karen came over to my house for a while and then I went to her house to drop my kids off-she watched them for me while I went to a doctor's appt (Thank You, Karen!). My doctor's appt went OK........at least I got what I went for (she is my new primary doc & I was "less than thrilled" with her ). I got a referral to a neurosurgeon-MRI's ordered for my complete spine and Xrays ordered for my spine. I forgot to get a prescription for the medication that I have been taking for YEARS-I guess I will have to call her and see if she will fax it to the pharmacy. Well, it feels good to be on the road to better health! I feel hopeful that things are going to start to get better for me now! I got home just before it was time to leave for church-I grabbed some pizzas on the way home-we ate and ran out the door. I am exhausted! I will feel better after a good night of sleep!

Just for fun!

I found this over at http://tarasloan.blogspot.com/

I AM: stubborn/committed!

I WANT: to please God-in everything I do, say, think, .........

I HATE: when people try to manipulate others. I hate complaints and excuses!

I MISS: my Mom! :(

I FEAR: failure

I HEAR: Bubba singing "Jingle Bells"-yes....that is right, "Jingle Bells" in May! You'd have to know him to understand this-well, I guess knowing him may not be the key-I STILL do not understand him half of the time!

I REGRET: ....not much, I'll have to think about that one.

I AM NOT: passive

I DANCE: while washing dishes..folding laundry...cleaning.... everywhere (last night,with Brett and the kids at the Dairy Queen, to "You've lost that lovin' feeling")! SEE PICTURE ABOVE :)

I SING: Always! Everywhere!

I CRY: when I think about God's goodness to me!

I MAKE WITH MY HANDS: paintings , color pictures , play dough "art"-whatever my kids are making!

I AM NOT ALWAYS: good at "thinking before I speak"! Sometimes, what I think comes out my mouth before I even know what it is that I am actually thinking!

I WRITE: in a gratitude journal

I CONFUSED By: why God allows some children to suffer.

I SHOULD: get more organized!

I START: organizing-only to go through the entire house and have to start all over again!

I FINISH: my healthy living and weight loss goals.(I REFUSE to give up!)

I TAG: all my blogging friends and anyone else who comes here and wants to do this.

Maddie had her "concert" on Sunday. She has been taking guitar lessons for the past 13 weeks and they ended the session with a concert. It took a lot of nerve for her to get up there and play and I am proud of her!

Can I brag? Pleeease!!!

I just wanted to take a minute and brag-is that OK? I went to a meeting this morning for mothers and the speaker said that we need to celebrate the "ordinary" in our kids. Well, today I want to celebrate the "extraordinary" in my kids! The girls just got back the scores for their "lexile" testing (Spencer did not take the test)-it is a national test that grades reading and comprehension. Brooke's score was 1439-which is off the chart! For a 12th grader they expect between 1050-1300!! She is in 6th grade! Maddie scored 1058 and she is in 3rd grade! I just feel so blessed that my kids are excelling. I don't know how or why our kids are so smart but I am soooo thankful to God. Sorry....I just needed to brag a bit.

Weight loss-#4

Ok....I am putting this picture up to show everyone that I do not always follow my own advice! I let my hormones win last week and I gave in to a craving for a banana split (no excuses-I could have been strong but I caved!). I told my girls to take this picture so I could post it here-I wanted everyone, who may be discouraged by my past weight loss entries, to know that "messing up" is ok-every now and then and success lies in getting back on track right away (well.....maybe not RIGHT away-I am REAL in this blog, remember! I had apple pie and ice cream with my Mother's day lunch). So, if you have "blown it" (like ME) don't consider yourself "down for the count" but get back up and start "fighting" again!

WOW! That is a terrible picture-I mean business-I am completely real with ya'll! :)

Mother's day!

Today was a beautiful day! It started out with my "Prince and Little Prince" bringing me coffee and a special breakfast in bed (OK-nothing new there-Brett does that every morning). After that, I got to open my presents and read my cards. Brooke bought me a small make up case, perfect to put in my purse, Maddie bought me a key chain-in the shape of a key-she said it was the "key to her heart" and she gave me two of her "beanie babies". Spencer has been making things for weeks! He drew a picture of the "Saints" football team (he does not like the Saints-so I pretend to love them just cause my parents live in Louisiana and it is fun to aggravate him about it). He also drew a picture of "Brad Paisley" and "Toby Mac"-since they are my favorite artists. He drew a picture of a castle "since I am a princess" and he colored a picture of a zebra. They each put a lot of thought and effort into their gifts for me! My little Noah gave me a Mother's day card and a gift set from Victoria's Secret (vanilla lace-my fav!). I think it is so precious that his mom "shares" him with me! (Thanks Lisa!!)! To hear him say "Mama Sherri"- just melts my heart! After church we came home and had a lovely lunch-all prepared-with love-by Brett! It was SOOOO good! After lunch Brett took a nap-he did not get home from work until 2:00 am, then we all went swimming. We have had a really great day! NOW-I get a "movie long" massage! (yippeeeee!!). I got a movie from blockbuster (Bella)and once the kids are down we are going to watch it. Well-I wanted to share my day with everyone, I hope ya'll had a beautiful day too! Oh-I almost forgot.... (don't tell on me!) Brett got me a shipment of gourmet coffee-it is being delivered tomorrow!

I forgot to tell you about our church service! The kids all got up and said why their Mom was so special. Spencer said "My mom is so special cause she takes me to the movies! (he has NARNIA on his brain!!-he can't wait until May 16th-the 2nd Narnia is coming out!) and Maddie said " my Mom is special cause while I am at school, she does housework". Sweet-I was so worried when they said that the kids were going to be doing that-I even said out loud "you should have warned us!"-Spencer especially........you just never know what that boy is thinking! His thought process is so different-sometimes I am just shocked at what he thinks about and how he views the world. (That is a whole other blog I guess!)

Farewell to "Little House"

Tonight-we watched the very last episode of "The little house on the prairie". It is a sad night in the McCann household. We started with the very first episode about a year and 1/2 ago-It was then that Brett bought me the complete first season on DVD. He has been buying additional seasons for me for birthdays,anniversaries,and "just because" presents ever since. The girls and I loved watching 3-4 episodes in a row late into the night while Brett was working his 2nd job. We would get very excited about the upcoming episodes-the girls counted down the days until the "Mary goes blind" episode! As "morbid" as it may be......that night we threw our very own "Mary goes blind party" and we made it extra special with pizza and coke! Crazy? Yes-but we made memories that my kids will never forget! It seems like the "end" of a family tradition (although Spencer is happy-he was never that thrilled with "little house on the praridy"-as he called it).I just loved that show-I loved not having to worry about the content being "kid friendly" and loved that there were so many spiritual lessons and references in them as well. We will miss you "Little House"-at least until we are ready to start our tradition all over again!

Picture from our "Mary goes blind" party!

Our Pool

We bought an above ground pool for the kids to enjoy over the summer. We were going to buy a summer pass to the "Rec" center (they have 4 pools) but we decide it would be much easier and more convenient for us to have our own. We live on a "hill" and our ground is not very level-we THOUGHT we had leveled it enough-but after filling the pool up (with 5,000 gallons of water!) we realized it was not even close to being level! We debated on just taking it down and returning it-but we decided that it would "just have to do" for this summer. After the season is over we will figure something else out. The kids have been loving it! We all went swimming together today-it was a bit too cold for me (it will warm up once the sun hits it a few days) but I laid on a raft-until Brett tipped me over! Update-Brett did fairly alright with his shopping list. Me and the girls got such a "kick" out of seeing him struggle through some of the items though! He looked for the salad dressing for at least 15 mins!(it was written-larger than life-above his head!). He also had a hard time finding the sprouts-at one point he was literally staring right at them and he did not see them! If we did not "give it away" by "cracking up laughing" ,he would probably still be standing there looking for them! Overall-he did OK -spent too much $ (he paid $4.00 for a teeny-tiny thing of blueberries!)-but he did OK. Can't wait to eat my sandwich tomorrow!

Happy Mother's day!!

Mother's Day luncheon

Today was the Mother's day luncheon at Spencer and Maddie's school. Even though I wasted 18 points (ww) on school food (yuck!-but I was sooo hungry I ate it anyway!)-I had a good time being with them for lunch! Anyways-I wanted to share pics. The picture of Spencer (giving himself "bunny ears") is him showing me his art work displayed on the cafeteria wall.

Tonight

Tonight we are all going to walmart-Brett is making me a special Mother's day lunch on Sunday and he insisted on shopping for the ingredients himself. When we were dating he used to come visit me in Lakeland (where I attended college) and he would bring me picnic lunches. He makes this amazing gourmet croissant sandwich-it has turkey, sprouts,tomato,cream cheese, American cheese and a tangy salad dressing. I am insisting that he takes me along on his shopping trip tonight-so I can be entertained by him trying to find his way around the grocery store!! Once, when I was pregnant with our first child, we went to the store to buy "cocoa butter" (it is SUPPOSED to prevent stretch marks-but it did not work!)-when we entered the store he started walking to the left (where the dairy section is) and I began walking to the right (where the health and beauty isle was)-I asked him where he was going and he said to find the cocoa butter! I laughed so hard!! He thought that "cocoa butter" was CHOCOLATE butter!! Anyways-I am sure that the grocery store trip tonight will be very interesting! On a side note-Spencer is VERY excited about Mother's day! He has been making me things and hiding them for about 2 weeks now, he is literally counting down the days until Mother's day! It is really kind of cute!

Weight Loss-#3

Here are a few of my favorite quotes-I use them for motivation!

"If you really want to do something, you will find a way. If you do not want to do something, you will find an excuse." I can not stand to hear people make excuses for anything! (I have made my share though!). Sometimes, I think people even have themselves believing their excuses. Sad. If we only knew what we are really capable of!

"Successful people do what they least want to do at the time they least want to do it." -I use this one to motivate me for exercise. I used to have to get up before dawn to go for a walk (when my kids were small)-and I HATE waking up early!

"The Lord did not do it all in one day, what makes you think that you can?" Just as we can be lazy and make excuses, we can give up because we expect too much of ourselves-too soon. We did not become overweight overnight! Why is it that we expect to see results overnight?

"I have EVERYTHING I need to be the very best ME that I can be!" So many times the reason we are unhappy with ourselves is because we compare ourselves to someone else (or EVERYone else!). God made us unique! We may never look like we belong on the cover of a magazine-but we DO have the ability to be the very best we can be! Try to work on being the best YOU-you can be. Don't become discouraged and give up just because you think you will never "measure up". WHO does!?!

" We are all artists and our creation is in the living of our lives."-Now, try not to over analyze this one. Simply put, are we "living life", or are we "surviving" life? Trust me on this one-if we are walking around with a 100lbs to lose-we can not be truly living life to the fullest. I know-there are people who claim to be content-even happy-with their extra 100 lbs -but I know the difference, I have been on "both sides of the fence". It is not that I was miserable when I was so overweight-I was happy in life, but struggling. However, I was NEVER happy with being overweight and I was so tired of my life being consumed by losing it. We need to get back to the business of LIVING our lives (no matter what "issue" keeps you from doing so). I realize I may have just lost a lot of readers-but I am about keeping it real. No more lies-we lie to ourselves and people lie to us-"so no one gets hurt"-but is it working? Is "no one" really getting hurt? Think about it.

"Treat yourself to something beautiful, you deserve it-just for being you!" On a more positive note :)....
we need to treat ourselves the way we treat our friends and our family. We need to see the value that each of us holds-value that has NOTHING to do with our size!! I challenge each of you (that are still here)-start treating yourself TODAY they way you imagine you will when you reach your goal. Losing weight does not make you any more valuable or worthy. You are worth every bit as much NOW as you ever will be! Begin to see your own value and begin to treat yourself with dignity and respect. You will be amazed at how learning to do that will effect the choices you make for yourself.

Again, I hope that I have not been to harsh-please believe me when I say it is because I care and I am sad when I see how we choose food over life (sometimes literally). I also want to clarify that I do not JUDGE ANYone based on their size. I know that there are many different reasons why some people are overweight-sometimes medical reasons, beyond one's control-sometimes it is a way to cope with things too painful to face (BEEN there DONE that!)-sometimes, it is simply because we have "slacked off a bit" or because we have put the needs of others above our very own BASIC needs. Regardless of what your reason is-changes can be made-steps can be taken into the direction of a better YOU!

Love you all and wishing you all well!!

Craziness

One thing I love about my family is our ability to make the most mundane events a blast. This video was taken on our way to the gym-we were just goofin' off to Toby Mac. (The sound is terrible since we had the radio on so loud-but watch it to the end, Brett does a "weight loss" commercial-he is such a nut!)

Southern roots

Maybe I still have some of my southern roots-because I am just so "tickled" (that means excited-for all ya'll "yankees")that I saw a wild gobbler (turkey) while I was out for my walk this morning! He was just a "gobblin'" too! He even had a beard! I chased him back into the woods where he wandered from-I wished I had my camera or my video camera (or a riffle for that matter!)! I did have my cell phone-so I did get a couple shots with it-but the quality ain't (isn't) any good. I asked a guy in a pick up truck if he had a gun and he laughed when I told him the turkey would be "some good eatin'". I'd have to say I am the least "southern" of all my family (except for my brother maybe)-but I'd have to say that I am the most "southern" of all my friends (and Brett's family for sure!-he did not even know what "britches" were when we started dating!) Anyway-I just had to share my experience from this morning-I may bring my camera along tomorrow!