I kind of remember who those people thought they were. Young. In love. Unstoppable. But we're not those people anymore. And I'm so thankful we're not. We are these people. More gray. A few extra pounds. Wrinkles. Broken. Beaten.
Forgiven. Healed. Renewed. Loved. Had you told that girl in that white dress exactly what she was in for, she would have stood up from that alter and walked away without blinking. And she would have never looked back. She wasn't signing up for the fights, and the skewed unrealistic expectations, the 25+ weeks of constant "morning sickness", twice. She wasn't signing up for being betrayed, or betraying. She wasn't signing up for moving cross country twice in 6 months under painful, stressful circumstances. She wasn't signing up for debt, for kids crawling into 90% of the bed at 3 am, or stone cold marriage silence. She didn't know about any of that. But she also didn't know that she was signing up for a lifetime with a man who would stand by her during those selfish rages, the nights (and days) of laying on the bathroom floor, or hospital bed, experiencing the "joys" of pregnancy. The man who would hold her hand and say, "It's ok. It's all going to be ok." and mean it. A man who would love her even when she pushed him to the edge of their marriage. A man who would be the physical embodiment of God's love for the church. I'm blessed. Beyond words. I love you, Aaron. Happy Valentine's Day. I'm glad we're us.
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No, I'm not having a baby. But we ARE moving! We have found a house that we LOVE, but, nothing is official yet. No papers signed as of now. Once things are set in stone (hopefully in the next week or two) I will have an awesome story about how God, once again, provided in His perfect timing. So that's all I'm going to say about it for now. We know for sure that whatever happens with the house, we won't be staying where we are currently. And the amature interior decorator inside me is screaming with joy. I can barely contain it. When I'm presented with a situation to redecorate, especially a blank canvas of a house, my desire is to go mad. I could take a whole week and shop until I can't see straight. Then paint, DIY, and style until I can't move. I could seriously have a decorate till I drop party. I know I have a few friends who'd willingly join me. BUT. Our budget sits back and laughs at that idea with an arrogant "let me know how that goes" type laugh. So, this will be a slow, progressive, on an extreme budget type deal. But I'm excited. My goal is to use as much of what we already have and redo things. I have big plans for our living room end tables, our bedroom furniture, and the girls iron beds. And that's just the short list. Last week, one of the blogs I follow, View Along The Way, had a post that was perfectly timed about decorating. So, I've been gleaning from her wisdom and starting with a "lead" piece instead of with a paint color like I usually do. Our couches are relatively neutral so my plan was to find a fabric I could use as throw pillows, or maybe an accent piece like an ottoman, and then bounce the rest of the room off that. And so after a few minutes searching, I found a Waverly print that I LOVE!!! and it comes in a few tones. It's called Santa Maria. This is a picture of what our couch and loveseat look like. You get the idea of the color we're working with. Our furniture is new so we won't be replacing because it's still in great shape. This was the first sample I saw. It's obviously in a deeper jewel tone. It's called Santa Maria Gem. Next to it are the Sherwin-Williams paint chip suggestions. This is my safe zone. These colors are ones that I understand. I can easy put a room together based on these. I love the bold punch of red and blue, but it's fairly sedated. This was the second one I came across. THE GAME CHANGER! It's Santa Maria Desert Flower. I am head over heels for this print. And it's way over the top for me. Like, this will take some serious brain power on my part to put a room together around this. Especially a living room! But, I just love it so much I think I might do it. I'm thinking the Curio Gray color for the walls, maybe a little red or gold chevron, and some black and white Ikat thrown in. And I've been really wanting some teal furniture in my house somewhere, so we'll see. Sounds like a hot mess right now, but it looks awesome in my head! (if that's any comfort to those reading like my husband and my mom) Which do you like better? The more sedate jewel tones or the bold, bright one? Does the idea of a new house/room/space excite your inner decorator like it does me?
Happy Thursday!
*I've received so many questions about this post, I added and FAQ page to help answer the questions as sometimes I can't keep up with the comments.
That was a mouthful! Whew! Well, I started Weight Watchers yesterday. I've been a big proponent of just calorie counting for years. I've done Weight Watchers in the past with little success, but I thought I'd give it another try this time. I have a few friends who are doing it as well, so, I decided why not. I'm using the online tools but not going to the meetings.
The program is much different than the last time I did it. It's been a few years, so I'm adjusting to the new system. Now they are doing a 2 week jump start program before you even start counting points, called Simple Start. Essentially, they give you a list of "Power Foods" that you can eat without counting any points. You create meals and snacks from these power foods. Then, you have 7 Points Plus Indulgence points you can use on anything you choose in a day. I've been using them for coffee creamer and jelly on my toast. Anyways, knowing the planning a full menu for at least the first week would be the best idea. That way there was no guess work. I knew exactly what I needed to eat at which meal. It was actually pretty easy to find meals for our whole family that everyone would eat. *let me just say that this menu is pretty plain jane and repetitive. I fixed a few things to eat off of for a few days in the week so there was less fuss. And I don't really have a huge expansive taste for food. There are plenty of things I left off this menu that are Simple Start approved. Check out the Weight Watchers website to see the list and create your own meals.
Monday
Breakfast- Lite Whole Grain english muffin, light margarine, and 1 T jelly, fruit salad Lunch- Shrimp Salad on 2 slices of 45 calorie whole grain bread, a fat free cheese stick, strawberries, and a banana Snack- 2 hard boiled eggs, and light ranch dressing Dinner- Baked potato with light margarine, salt and pepper and a salad with light ranch dressing Snack- Air popped popcorn, seasoning Tuesday Breakfast- Shredded wheat cereal, blueberries, fat free milk Lunch- Veggie Burger, light whole grain hamburger bun, green smoothie Snack- Crab Sticks, banana Dinner- Grilled Chicken Sandwiches, light whole grain hamburger bun, steamed veggies, light margarine Snack- popcorn, seasoning Wednesday Breakfast- Fried Egg and English Muffin, banana Lunch- Chicken Salad, 2 slices of 5 calorie whole grain bread, carrots, light ranch dressing Snack- Fat free cottage cheese and pineapple slices. Dinner- Egg salad, chopped veggies, light ranch dressing, fruit salad Snack- popcorn, seasoning Thursday Breakfast- shredded wheat cereal, fat free milk, berries Lunch- Shrimp Salad, light whole grain bread, fruit salad Snack- green smoothie Dinner- Sloppy Joes, light whole grain hamburger buns, salad Snack- popcorn, seasoning Friday Breakfast- Egg with ketchup, 2 slices 45 calorie whole grain bread, light margarine, fruit salad Lunch- Chicken Salad, cut up veggies, light ranch dressing Snack- Banana, boiled egg, fat free cheese stick Dinner- Turkey Burgers, light whole grain hamburger buns, steamed veggies Snack- popcorn, seasoning Saturday Breakfast- Light whole grain english muffin, fried egg Lunch- Veggie Burger, light whole grain hamburger bun, green smoothie Snack- shredded wheat cereal (dry), banana Dinner- Chicken Stir Fry, brown rice Snack- popcorn, seasoning Well, there ya have it. Like I said, pretty repetitive, but that's what works for me. So far, I'm craving carbs. With my main source of carbs coming through fruits and veggies, I'm not having the usual (totally unhealthy) carbs I'm used to. I'm definitely having nasty food withdrawal. But that's ok. That's good. And it helps having the indulgence points to use if necessary. I'm hoping to get some of my recipes up soon! Happy Tuesday! |
HEY, I'M JESSICA!
Christian. Wife. Mommy. Daughter. Pastor. Friend. Saved.Redeemed. Beloved.
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