Weight loss goals

My weight loss goals are attainable, but not without a lot of hard work. I want to be 135 when Sabrina turns one. I got 10 months. I will be posting my weekly update of how I’m doing with exercise and with healthy eating. It won’t be easy. I have not been exercising regularly for quite some time and I’m a recovering junk food junkie. The good thing is I like to exercise and I do like fruit and veggies. I am serious about losing weight. I am going to make my weight loss a reality instead of just a fantasy.

Marie-Anne

Daily Bible Journal

My sister-in-law, Annette, got Frank and me both a Daily Bible Journal for Christmas. It has been a huge blessing. During the day we separately do the reading and journaling. When Alex goes to bed we compare notes. It is amazing how we can read the very same passages and get something completely different out of it. We both look forward to this every day. I get more out of Bible reading and I know I have grown closer to the Lord and to my husband as a result of this gift. Thank you, Annette.

Marie-Anne

Rotating Toys

Alex has way too many toys. We got rid of two boxes and he still has more than enough. So, last night while he was taking a bath I boxed up his Imaginext fire station set. I warned Frank that Alex would throw a fit when he noticed, but he hasn’t even noticed! At the beginning of next month I’ll switch them for his castle set and in February he’ll have Geotrax. (His Thomas toys will stay in his room because it is glued to the table and we have nowhere to put it up.)

Now remember Alex got these toys for his b-day in November and for Christmas, but he’s already into something new; Geotrax. He has a Geotrax set he got when he was 2 that he’s shown no interest in. Of course, that changed when he saw the Geotrax website with a link to the DVD. We were going to donate it to a thrift store when we moved, but some of the pieces were already boxed up and now I am glad we still have it.

We are not buying this boy many new toys this year. I will get him one of the cheaper trains for Valentine’s Day and for Easter, if he’s still into it then. If he wants more he has to do extra chores and earn the money. He’s already saved $8 towards a $20 set.

Marie-Anne

If Tomorrow Never Comes

In the excitement of the dog attack I almost forgot a sadly touching scene we saw on the way to Lake Mead. In a curve there was a wooden cross by the side of the road. That’s sad enough, but a woman was sitting beside it crying. I couldn’t help but wonder which loved one she lost. Was it her husband or child? Was it her mother or father? Was it her brother or sister, or best friend or favorite cousin? Let this be a reminder to hug your loved ones and enjoy them. Pick up the phone. Don’t be so busy that you forget why you work. We just never know how much time we have so spend it wisely. Tell your loved ones how much you love them. These are the words of my favorite Garth Brooks song, If Tomorrow Never Comes:

Sometimes late at night

I lie awake and watch her sleeping

Shes lost in peaceful dreams

So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark

And the thought crosses my mind

If I never wake up in the morning

Would she ever doubt the way I feel

About her in my heart

(chorus)

If tomorrow never comes

Will she know how much I loved her

Did I try in every way to show her every day

That shes my only one

And if my time on earth were through

And she must face the world without me

Is the love I gave her in the past

Gonna be enough to last

If tomorrow never comes

cause Ive lost loved ones in my life

Who never knew how much I loved them

Now I live with the regret

That my true feelings for them never were revealed

So I made a promise to myself

To say each day how much she means to me

And avoid that circumstance

Where theres no second chance to tell her how I feel

*chorus*

So tell that someone that you love

Just what youre thinking of

If tomorrow never comes

Make sure they know how much you love them if tomorrow never comes.

Marie-Anne

My Montessori Journey

In looking for ideas for homeschooling Alex I came across a blog called My Montessori Journey. It has a lot of neat ideas for developing hand-eye coordination and for developing fine motor skills as well as many other ideas. Most of these use simple and cheap things we can easily do at home. For example I got the idea of stringing beads onto pipe cleaners from this website, (in Sunday School we did this to make Christmas ornaments). Today we used tweezers to pick up snowflake buttons that I got on clearance and put them into rinsed out creamer cups. Alex also used one of his toys from his doctor set to pick up pompoms and put them into a cup. He enjoyed these new “games” and spent quite a while doing them, with Sabrina and me watching.

At the moment I do not have many of the things used in these activities, but I will be adding to my “collection” until we are able to do many of them. Of course I will keep them for Sabrina when she is old enough.

Marie-Anne

Ringing in the New Year; by the grace of God

Happy New Year! I sincerely hope your New Year’s was not as eventful as ours. We went to Lake Mead National Park for a picnic. That sounds pretty uneventful, doesn’t it? We saw a coyote as we pulled up to the picnic area and stopped to take some pictures. Since it was far enough away we continued with our plans for a picnic. We ate in peace, but kept an eye out for the coyote.

After a little while another couple came with 2 dogs, but they were on the other side of the picnic area. Frank said that the domesticated ones were the ones we’d have to watch out for. So we kept an eye on them as well.

Alex and I went for a walk up a hill and on the way back he wanted to run. Alex was a few yards ahead of me when the dogs charged. I tried to get Alex to run back to me as I’m running to him, but the dogs were too fast. The German Shepherd attacked Alex, but the other dog stopped. I’m screaming at the top of my lungs, “Get away from him.” The owners called their dog and this time he listened.

I scooped a terrified Alex up. Alex was crying and saying the dog bit him, which I already knew, but I had no idea how bad he was hurt. As soon as I got back to the picnic area I checked Alex and all he had was a scrape that didn’t even break the skin! It was more like a carpet burn. Praise God for his mercy!

After the owners got their dogs into their car the lady came over, (she was shook up almost as badly as I was) to make sure Alex was okay. She apologized profusely, but I don’t think it was her fault, (unless the dog had a history of being that aggressive) nobody would have thought the dog would attack us as far away as we were.

During this time the coyote moved to the other side of us and was joined by another. They were far away and absolutely beautiful to watch. People were driving up to them to take pictures and feed them from their cars, not too smart to do right near a picnic area.. Soon those coyotes were joined by two more, that’s when we decided to leave. Of course we also drove up and took pictures, but did not feed them.

I don’t even want to think about what could have happened. Alex is blessed that he wasn’t seriously injured or even killed. What if both dogs attacked? I could go on and on with the what ifs, but instead I can praise God for His protection and His mercy!

Marie-Anne

Tales of Glory toys at Dollar Tree

I am so excited that I found the Tales of Glory Toys at the Dollar Tree! These are great bible character toys that I got for Alex a while back. He keeps them in the tub and plays with them every single time he takes a bath, though they aren’t bath toys. I bought every single one they had and even went to another Dollar Tree hoping they would have them. I am going to give these toys out for Easter presents to the kids at church. I even got a couple of them that Alex didn’t have.

Marie-Anne

Christmas Lights

There is a man and his wife who for the past 22 years have totally decorated their yard for Christmas. It is free and open to the public. They go all out there is life size animated Christmas things all over and tons of lights. They even have a train ride! We went the day after Christmas. It was very nice, but also very cold. We bought hot coca and cappuccino. Sabrina was covered up with blankets so she missed the lights. Alex and Frank rode the train. Then we went back to the car, but Alex wasn’t ready to leave so while Frank and Sabrina waited in the car we went back through it again. We plan to go back next year.

Marie-Anne

Christmas Day 2008

Our Christmas was great and I hope yours was as well. We opened presents in the morning. Alex, of course, got lots of toys. It was so funny when he opened a box with clothes. He said, “oh, clothes,” (picture a look of disgust) then I pulled back the tissue paper and he saw the fire trucks. Alex’s face lit up. We all got some nice gifts. After Alex opened his last present, (and he got a bunch, after all, he has a bunch of aunts) he asked where’s the rest of my presents! Does any one have any suggestions on teaching a young child to be thankful?

We also had a very nice service where Frank read the accounts of Jesus’ birth and we sang Christmas hymns. (Frank already blogged about the service.) It was a wonderful day.

Marie-Anne

Christmas Day

Our Christmas was great and I hope yours was as well. We opened presents in the morning. Alex, of course, got lots of toys. It was so funny when he opened a box with clothes. He said, “oh, clothes,” (picture a look of disgust) then I pulled back the tissue paper and he saw the fire trucks. Alex’s face lit up. We all got some nice gifts. After Alex opened his last present, (and he got a bunch, after all, he has a bunch of aunts) he asked where’s the rest of my presents! Does any one have any suggestions on teaching a young child to be thankful?

We also had a very nice service where Frank read the accounts of Jesus’ birth and we sang Christmas hymns. (Frank already blogged about the service.) It was a wonderful day.

Marie-Anne

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with two wonderful ladies. They invited us over for a wonderful meal and we had a great visit with them and their family. They gave Alex a toy fire truck, a crane, and a big brother teddy bear. They gave Sabrina a very cute outfit. And they sent us home with two boxes of holiday goodies.

Christmas Service

Instead of our regularly scheduled Bible Study on Thursday we had a special Christmas service. We had a lot of fun. We read a few scriptures from Luke 2 and then Matthew 2 and then sang a related Christmas hymn. Then we read a few more verses and sang again, repeating this process through the two accounts of the birth and early life of Jesus Christ on the earth.

Since becoming a Christian, those Christmas hymns are so special, and instead of growing more wearisome each year they are growing in fondness for me. Singing "Joy to the World" and "O Come Ye Faithful" is very enjoyable and edifying. It is shame we have to wait eleven months to sing them again. Hey! Maybe we can have a Christmas service in July!

--Frank

Yellow Squash or Zucchini

I cook yellow squash and zucchini the same.

Yellow squash or zucchini Johnny’s Seasoning Salt
Butter water

Cut the yellow squash or zucchini in small pieces. Fill the pan with about an inch of water. Add butter and Seasoning salt to taste. Cook on medium, to high heat until tender.

Marie-Anne

Christmas Fellowship

Today was our Christmas fellowship after church. We had a good turnout and everyone had fun. After church, but before the food the kids sang Joy to the World, but since only two knew the song everyone sang with them. The food was delicious. We are becoming like a family and it is wonderful to see all these people who, not long ago, were strangers laughing and having fun together. Sabrina wore a beautiful fancy green dress, (I wanted her to wear it before she outgrows it). We ended up with a lot of goodies to take home. The best part is that 2 prayed for salvation; God is working in the hearts of men and women in sin city.

Marie-Anne

Saving money on kids clothes

For Alex (when we lived in Washington) and Sabrina most of their clothes were given to us. My sister, Jennifer has a one year old so she sent me a lot of Amelia’s outgrown clothes. Since the cousins aren’t living next door or even in the same state no one will know that Sabrina’s clothes are hand-me-downs in excellent shape. When they outgrow the clothes I will pass them on to someone who can use them, sell them at a consignment shop, or donate them to a crises pregnancy center.

For Alex now I shop clearance sales in a size or two bigger than he’s wearing. I also bought some cute dresses in a size or two bigger than Amelia is wearing and when she’s outgrown them I’ll get them back for Sabrina.

Saving money on books

We use the library quite a bit, but I also love owning books. I rarely pay full price for books. I usually buy them from thrift stores, garage sales, Amazon (I include shipping in figuring the cost), or from the friends of the library’s sales. When we get rid of books we either sell them at a used bookstore, garage sale, or donate the kid’s books to the local pregnancy center or to an overseas military program to record deployed parents reading for their kids.

Marie-Anne

Early finance lessons

Wanting all of the Imaginext toys has made Alex learn about money. He may get some for Christmas, but if he wants more than that, he has to do extra chores to earn the money. He has already earned enough and bought the Treasure Keeper to go with his castle. Alex also has about half of what he needs to buy the next one he wants. We will also have him put part of his earnings in a saving account and, of course, pay tithe.

Marie-Anne

Cute Easy crafts

Homemade lacing cards- Color a coloring sheets then cut it out and glue it onto a cereal box (or print it on card stock). Cut it out and use a hole punch to make evenly spaced holes all around the outside edge. You can use shoelaces or even curling ribbon to be laces.

Color pictures of people using whatever theme you want then cut them out. Cut out the faces of pictures of your family then glue them in place of the coloring pages’ face. We used a royalty theme; Frank as a king, Alex as a knight, Sabrina as a princess, and me as a queen.

Marie-Anne

Cooking

I have been cooking more and eating at home a lot more. I have discovered that in addition to saving money and being healthier, I really do like to cook and I like to try new recipes. In the last few months we have had loaded potato soup, banana nut bread, peanut butter cookies, winter stew, apple pie, and of course, snowballs, chocolate balls, and pumpkin bread. All of these were new recipes to me and my family has enjoyed every one. Please share your favorite recipes- I’d like to try them!

Marie-Anne

Things I learned

· Babies don’t like it when you warm your hands on their backs
· My wife doesn’t like being charged for me babysitting our kids, when she is doing housework.

Frank