New Years Eve

To ring in the New Year, John and Hannah were able to go to a Hockey game---The St.Louis Blues Hockey game! I was supposed to go with John and my sister and her husband but I got sick and did not want to go. My sister did not want to go without me so my husband took Hannah and my brother-in-law took Becky ( his daughter) and they had a great time!

Johnny and myself along with my mother played games all night long! I love playing games! We also watched "Trapped in Paradise" one of my favorite winter movies. I laugh so hard! My mom and I laughed and laughed and laughed!

The Measure of a Man

I am finding out that I really enjoy blogging..I don't know who truly reads these, but I like writing about my life and later my kids and their kids can see how truly "nuts" I was.. LOL


I have always loved John, but lately I am learning a new kind of love for him. Respect, honor and pride for him. Its a much deeper love that honestly scares me to think about. I am a guarded person and he has "torn down the walls to my heart" and I love him!

If anyone knows my husband, you know the challenges he had in his younger years. He hates to talk about it, but I love him for it. He is a fighter! He has courage! He is an overcomer! He is a hard worker! I mean look at him, he started off as a city worker and now is a boss over the water and street dept.. and he is in his BA degree program. Wow!

Ok, so I love my husband.. its my blog.. don't read it.. LOL

Today, we went shopping. John has discovered this new love of wearing nice clothes.. I mean ties, and all.. He looks really good in them..:) and we were at Kohls and they had jackets on sale.. a 200 Chaps Jacket for 80.00. He has been wanting a nice jacket to wear with his nice clothes all he has is his work jacket. So, I told him to try it on just to see how it would look.. WOW, YOU should have seen his face. He knew he looked good. He felt proud and it showed! He was just beaming. I asked him if we had the money to pay for it because I wanted him to have it and he said no. :( Well then I remembered his mom gave him money for Christmas and I reminded him of it and he said he was saving that for my cruise. How unselfish is he?
I would rather go on the cruise with no money than to walk out of that store without his jacket. It was his Christmas money! He never buys for himself and by golly he was today!!!!!!!!!

I totally convinced him to buy the jacket. It looks great on him! Thanks Mom for the Christmas money you bought your son a jacket. :) LOL next on our list is a new pair of shoes..

I have seen many changes in my husband and I don't think he is changing who he is only he is becoming more confident and I am proud of him. ;)

Memories

The last few years we seemed to have our favorite meal for Christmas; Fettuccine Alfredo! This year I was uncertain if I could make it Gluten Free. I found a package of Gluten Free Alfredo mix and I made it and it was yummy! I always get out our best dishes ( my oldest sister bought them for me years ago) and made our meal special! I like to do this several times a year, why have nice dishes to just store in a china cabinet? I want to use mine! :) I want a chip on a plate or a cup or bowl! Those chips only creates memories and someday my kids will say; "mom do you remember when I did this?"!
Today, I am taking the time to appreciate my kids. The love that John and I have for them, the time that God has granted us to have! I am thankful! I might not have the nicest china, or silk tablecloths and crystal candlesticks, but we had a wonderful meal that was special and worthy of a memory all in honor of Jesus our Lord! :)

Posting from my husband

this in response to my earlier blog! Thanks babe for your comments and what is shoe soup? I did not know we were that rich!!! I was going to make "stone soup"... :)


Deep thoughts. But I totally have to agree. Self-sacrificing love is an endless love that is real and true. We still have time to fix our problems and work on a self sacrificing love. Unfortunately for the person you know he figured it out to late. It is funny that the time a person can sit and ponder on issues that many things can be revealed. One reason why I loved to play hockey. The drive down and back was a reflection moment and I figured alot of stuff out on these trips. With so much going on at one time, sometimes it is hard to control every emotion that a person goes through. For me it is when one of the kids acts the way they do. I am a firm believer that things will get better. This stuff takes time with anything else like college and losing weight it doesn't happen tomorrow. It's a daily battle. The overwhelmingness of the amount of activities and information overload is enough to drive someone mad. Shall we discuss it over shoe soup a little bit more this evening?

Thoughts!

Today I have many thoughts and I don't know how to really put them all down into words! Things have been changing in my home lately. John is doing great in college and I am trying to lose weight and be healthy and our kids are growing up. My marriage is taking on a new course with John and I both at different points in our lives. I guess that is what will keep the element of surprise to our marriage though. I think its OK to change and go into a different direction that what a person once thought;I also think its equally important to be supportive of those changes.



I know someone who is in prison who told me something the other day that I have been repeating in my head over and over and that is real love is self-sacrificing and that if he would have known that in his life, things would be different. I have been thinking about that and how I act in my relationship with my husband. Sometimes it is all about me. I would like to change that, and if I would make it about him I know in return he would make it about me and what an awesome marriage we could have. Right now we are serving ourselves. We live in the "its all about me" world and you know, its not all about me.. Its about no greater love than one man could give to lay his life down for his friend. That is what that saying is about. Self-sacrificing love!

Just my thoughts of the day!

THIS IS ME RIGHT NOW... AND THEN LATER I WILL POST ANOTHER ONE!

THIS IS ME AT MY HEAVIEST!

My weight has always been an issue with me.. It has been hard to lose the weight. Some people can say " it's not hard, just don't eat" honestly; until a person has been overweight they don't know the emotional challenges that comes along with the weight. For me, I have hidden behind my weight, and it allowed me to be insecure and "under-active" basically it has allowed me to hide. Yea I love food, but my problem was not really in the food itself but the power of the food to "heal" my emotions and validate what I felt about myself.

Finally, I am overcoming emotions and allowing myself to change from the inside out. I am stepping up and telling myself that I don't need to hide to get active and be happy. Food is not my enemy, food is not my power, food is now my strength I still have my down moments, but I am changing how I eat in my down moments. I am proud of the me that is coming out of hiding. Its the same me, I am who I am, I am not changing, just allowing myself the freedom to be me.

I know the journey has just started and the journey will be a long one but I am healing! I am! Sig Frued once stated that the human mind is like an ice berg only surfaces come in and out and until the ice berg reaches it full heights, emotions are left underneath. My iceberg is not so small anymore! The Titantic can see it! LOL

Mexico Here I Come

Ok, so it has been a long time since I blogged.. Shame on me.. I have the oppertunity of a lifetime-well at least I think so, and that is to go on a Cruise with my mom and sister Ginkers! i have been blessed that this trip has not cost me hardly a thing and I am sooooo excited to go. I have never seen the ocean and I think I will get my fair share of it! I have been saving up all my sick days and I have enough stored up and my boss said to "Go for it"! YEA... and John is so good at supporting me and will take great care of the kids while I am gone. I will have a lot of prep work to do before I go and making sure Hannah has food to eat for school and at home since John is still learning all about the Gluten Free Living! Its all good, I am a mom and that what I do.. :)

My mom and I are leaving a day early and taking the Amtrak to Chicago and then meeting up with Ginkers and then we have our own sleeper car and that will be fun! Then we get to New Orleans on Friday and will have all day and all night and then load up for our Cruise on Sat and head to Progresso and then Cozumel Mexico! Can someone give me a HOO-HAAA! YEA

I know that money is tight---at least for us--and God has given me the ability to go without adding to much financial strain on John! Thanks God! Thanks
Babe!

This all has prompted my weight loss journey! I have lost 28.5 pounds so far and looking forward in losing more!
I joined the gym and am finally a faithful member-and I joined a spinning class and can't believe how much I love it! I am getting healthy, getting my family healthy and loving it! I think the Cruise is an added bonus for losing weight! What a gift!