Trim Healthy Mama

I am so LOVING the Trim Healthy Mama!! The food is so delicious!! My whole family likes almost everything I have made. I can definitely do this for a lifetime! I am anxious to see progress and weight loss. So far, 1 pound has disappeared!!! I can do this!!

God is SO Amazing!!

I love how God brings us through our trials and tragedies! I don't know if I could make it through these things without Him. I love how He hears my prayers for guidance and directions, and then He ever so gently shows me the way. This past year has been full of it's challenges...I had my 3rd miscarriage of my 4th child, we sold our house and moved, and the stresses of work for my husband have also brought us challenges. But we are nearing a new beginning!! And God has brought us through, like He always does!! I am thankful and extremely grateful to Him for His patience with this rotten, wicked sinner.

What a journey it has been

Well, I haven't posted in several months. Sorry. I've just had a LOT going on. I think they call it "Life".

My journey to a cleaner house, well, that kind of took a detour. I am loving some of my homemade cleaning products though. I love the spray I use in the kitchen. It smells good and it isn't harmful. The bathroom has a few things that I like and a few I am still trying to tweak. I will post the "recipes" of the ones I like soon.

The last few months have been filled with great surprise and joy followed by disappointment and pain. I am so very thankful that I serve a God Who knows exactly where I am and how to help me through this. I know I couldn't make it through without Him! The pain right now is still very hurtful and raw at times. But He reminds me of His goodness all the time.

My mom is coming to help me start packing the house up. We are going to start with all the non-essential things. Get the house ready to show by making it look emptier! LOL I pray the house sells soon, Scott and I are anxious to build. Although, we know God's timing is best. After all this stuff is packed up and thinned out, I should be able to start making better habits at keeping it clean! With God ALL things are possible!!

What I have learned so far on my journey!

Well, I have been trying to build these new habits for about 3 1/2 weeks. Some are coming along slower that I had hoped, but you know what they say, "Slow and steady wins the race!"

First, I have decided that I am going to start cleaning with natural, homemade cleaners. That way Breanna can help, and I don't have to worry! So, I have already made a spray for the kitchen countertops, table, walls, or basically anything! Yesterday I made my own soft scrub, and a vinegar spray for cleaning the bathroom. Then I taught Breanna how I clean the bathroom. It was fun! I think I will like the homemade cleaning products, and I will REALLY like the money I save!!

Second, I have lost a few pounds, but not as much as I had hoped. I am just praising God for the little successes!! Those few pounds keep me motivated to lose more. When I don't see results, I get discouraged and want to give up. So, Thank you Lord for those few!!!

Third, I am loving the blogs that I am reading!! They are so encouraging!! I am working on some challenges from "31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way". I am enjoying the simplicity of them. I hope to have the house out of CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) by the end of the week. Yay!! Then I will move on to decluttering and packing. My niece is coming over next weekend to spend a couple of days to help get some packing done. I am excited to spend the time with her!!

Fourth, I have been making this delicious bread!! It taste almost exactly like the dark brown bread at the Cheesecake Factory. It is so good!! My family LOVES it!! I love making it for them! I will try to post the recipe soon. Also, I have found some ideas about cooking once a month. Although I am not quite ready for the extensiveness of that, I did brown some hamburger, about 6 lbs. I let it cool and then froze it. I can then just get what I need for tacos, spagetti, burritos, casseroles, or whatever I use ground beef for, and have dinner ready in a few minutes! Then yesterday I cooked 6 lbs. of chicken breasts in the crock pot. I shredded it, and it is cooling in the fridge. I will freeze it today and do the same thing with that!! Now when I am tired, I can still make dinner...FAST!!! And easy! I am super excited to see how I like this!!

Well, I think that is about all for now! Have a great week!! God bless!!

Another GREAT giveway!

This giveaway is by far my favorite so far! Go check it out!! www.raisinghomemakers.com

Raising Homemakers Anniversary Giveaways

The new blog I posted about a few days ago is celebrating their 1 year anniversary!! In the celebration they are having lots of cool giveaways. Like today, they are giving away lots of cool books from Doorposts! Go check it out!! http://raisinghomemakers.com/2011/anniversary-day-2-meet-the-new-contributors-plus-doorposts-giveaway

Summer Vacation and a Journey

Well, our summer vacation officially started at the beginning of May!! Yay for a break from school!!! This mommy sure needs it!

I have decided that this summer I am going to go on a little journey...internally that is! I have a few bad habits that I wish to break. I would like to spend more time in my Bible, learning more about my sweet Saviour, and becoming more like Him. I want to teach Breanna things that I feel I don't have the energy for teaching during the school year, like some cooking, baking, homemaking, etc. I want to scrapbook...badly!!! I want to become a better wife by doing better at keeping my house clean. Oh, then there is the packing up and purging that I am going to be doing in the hopes that we can soon sell our house and build. So, I will try to share the things that I discover when I can...

First, I have found a great blog, Raising Homemakers, I am so excited to dive into the things that she has shared about homeschooling, teaching our daughters about homemaking, and lots of other stuff. This is going to be fun!!!

Second, I started my new diet and exercise program. I had to wait for the right time to start. I tried several times during school, but school just got in the way! Then I didn't want to ruin any work I had done when we went to NC for a week. So I decided that this week would be the perfect week to start. I started Monday and Tuesday with a real food cleanse. The first day was not too bad, although the green smoothie was...well, let's just say...YUCK!!! I did crave grains and protein, but since the cleanse was suppose to be short, I had my grains yesterday! YUM! Today I will be reintroducing protein, and I started with eggs! :) The diet I am going to be doing is from a book I got at the Christian bookstore called "Dr. Colbert's 'I Can Do This' Diet". So we shall see! I also have exercised twice this week, not exactly what I was going for, but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow.

So, I hope you enjoy reading as I try to better my health and life with God's help! Have a blessed week!