Back to School Photo Shoot

Last Sunday we had a photo shoot with my oldest daughter. She is a super photographer. The pictures turned out wonderful. I thought I would post a few here. Enjoy!

14 years old, 9th grade      12 years old, 7th grade

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by.

First Day of School

Yesterday was our first day back to school. We have a full range of subjects and will be adding more little by little. They are as follows: Bible, English, Ancient History, Biology, Math, Art, Music, Computer, Typing, Consumer Math, Critical Thinking, Latin American Spanish, PE, Sewing, Cooking and Auto Maintenance. I purchased them some fun new crates to keep their school stuff in and even added a few items just for fun, like duct tape.  It is my HOPE that they will keep them organized so they can find things easily instead of it being a mess with things misplaced. 

They are working at the big table most of the time, although they can work in their rooms or any other room in the house. We keep the table cleaned off between meals so that their school work will not get spoiled and they will have plenty of space for the items needed for each subject. They are doing great with the online program. It takes them directly to the text book page or the piece of literature they are supposed to read for the day. I am looking forward to hearing some feedback from them on Friday after they have completed a weeks worth of school. Plus, I have some surprises for them throughout the year when they work hard to keep a good attitude throughout the week. I don't expect perfection but I do expect them to give it their best in effort and attitude.

We will be having their older sister do "official" school pictures later this month but I was able to get a "first day of school" picture out of both of them. They turned out pretty good. It really isn't something they LIKE doing. But I told them to humor me because they are growing up so fast and I will be left with just memories of this time.

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by.

Hall Desk Redo

In July, I decided it was time to get the guys to finish painting the hall trim by completing the little hall secretary, I think that is what they used to be called. I call it a desk. I use it for my Mary Kay products and business supplies. It was painted as a changing table area several years ago but I don't do babies in my preschool anymore so I stopped using it for that and it because a junk cabinet. 

It WAS painted blue and pink. Then it got painted the color of the hall. We kept the color of the hall but wanted to do black trim since it looked so good in our bedroom. I love how it turned out. I am very pleased. I can't wait to see how the kitchen cabinets turn out!

This is just a simple paint job. Black paint. Doesn't take a lot of money or a lot of time to make things look better. I love how the hall looks. I do need to get some kind of liner for the shelves to keep things from sticking. Also, the desk has an issue with paper trying to stick to it. Maybe I can get some of that stuff that you paint a clear coat on and it makes a hard surface. 

Until next time...blessings to you. 

My Runaversary

One year ago around this time (not sure the exact date, I think it was the 25th of June) I started the Couch to 5K Treadmill training. I ran on the treadmill for 9 weeks. Then I started running outside around September 3. So I thought this would be a good time to look back over the year and see what has changed and what hasn't. 

What started me running? A friend signed up for a 5K. Believe it or not, it sounded delicious, the Hot Chocolate 5K. That was a little less than eight months away and I had not been training at all, or running at all, or even walking. I started the Couch to 5K treadmill and the journey began. It was easy to do because it started me off slowly. I did more walking than running until at the end of the nine weeks I was running the whole time except five minutes warm up and five minutes cool down. I decided I better take it outside since I had heard it was far different than running ON a treadmill. That is the truth. 

For a couple of months I was running in the mornings before 6 a.m. That was really hard on me but I had to be back at home for work by 7. My husband was going with me. He wasn't a runner then, he was mostly walking but started running a little bit here and there each time we went. (He is now a full out runner, runs up to 5 miles at a time.) After that I started going a little later in the morning by myself or in the afternoons. The cooler weather was a challenge because the mornings were cooler than later in the day. But if I covered my ears the cold didn't bother me after I started running. 

My first 5K was in early February. It was pretty cold that day but I didn't feel it until way after I was finished running. The feeling I got during the race was like nothing else I had ever felt. I actually ran faster during the race than I normally do. I managed to keep running the whole way with only two 5-10 seconds where I slowed down to a fast walk for a drink. I felt amazing. There is just something about running with a bunch of people even though a LOT of them were only walking. 

Right after that race I decided I needed to find my next race so that I would not quit. I had to have something to work towards. My older daughter and I signed up for the Color Run in early April. I had two months to keep training, it was still a 5K. I knew I could slack off and not keep running if I wasn't diligent. There were days I didn't run that I was supposed to. When the second race day came I was super excited again and my daughter was even more so. It was so much fun. We enjoyed the before "party" and the after "party". 

My third 5K was one that our family did to support the purchase of Bibles for a mission group. It was in May, Mother's Day weekend. I didn't run as much as I should have in the month between those races and it really showed in my performance. I did finish but I stopped more than I did in other races. And there weren't as many runners as in the big races so I think that had something to do with it. Maybe the big crowds of runners help motivate me. 

I am signed up for the Hot Chocolate 5K again in February. I plan on signing up for a night run in September but haven't yet. I know that I need to sign up for at least two races between now and February. Maybe more. I feel wonderful after a run and after a race. Somewhere along the line I forgot that I WANT to run and got it in my head that I HAVE to run. Sometimes our minds don't allow us to do the things we THINK we HAVE to do. Time to readjust my thinking. I WANT to run because it makes me feel great and because it is good for me; heart, mind and soul. 

After a year where am I physically? I have lost some weight, but mostly I have built muscle that weighs as much as I did before. I am in a little smaller clothes on good days. I managed to NOT be bothered by asthma during my winter runs, which I thought was amazing. My heart palpitations were almost nonexistent. Sadly because I have not been running regularly over the past couple of months I can no longer say that. Another great reason to get back into it. Some of the weight (fat) has come back because of my lack of running. Fat isn't healthy, that is why I want it gone. It isn't about a number on a scale or a number on my clothes. It is about taking care of my body because it is a temple. I am getting rid of my scales (putting them away). I am going to focus on doing things that make me feel good about myself and improve my health. That includes eating even better and working out when I am able. 

I am looking forward to seeing where I am at my next runaversary. I am going to work on a list of goals and will post them this weekend. 

Changing my life one day at a time.  

Summer Break

Our summer break started the beginning of June, with summer camp. We have a great time at camp each year. This was her last year at Children's Camp. We got to spend time with good friends while we were there. (I went to camp with her as a 7th grade leader.) Next year she will be going to youth camp. How can that be? The elementary school years have passed so quickly. She spent so much time in the pool that she got a bit too much sun on her nose. She did the swim test this year so she got to jump off the board. She also did the zipline for the first time. She was so scared. But she LOVED it. I am so proud of her for facing some of her fears. 

Youth camp was directly after Children's Camp. He had a GREAT time, as always. He spends a lot of time doing things on the waterfront and at the pool. He didn't burn much but did get darker. He did some really crazy "boy" things at camp that make a mom say "what?". He came home alive so I suppose that is what matters. While us girls were at camp his dad bought him a bow and arrow set. He has really been wanting to work on those skills. It is a really nice set. We just need to find him a nice quiver to hold the arrows. He will be doing a few home improvement projects with his dad over the summer and the coming year. 

I am working on a list of things I want to teach my kids this coming year and through high school. We are working on his high school plan right now, since he enters 9th grade this fall. I am working on some things for her, as well, since she starts junior high. It is so hard for me to think about there only being 4 and 6 more years to teach my kids the things they need to be healthy, successful adults. 

I am going to try to post some great stuff from summer on here. Also, keep a better blog record of school from now on. We are super excited to start a new curriculum, Easy Peasy All In One Homeschool. The awesome thing is that it's all online and it's all FREE. Yep, you read that right, FREE. Of course, they accept donations and we will donate yearly, sometimes more often, to help keep this great program available to those that want and need it. Please check it out if it is something you might be interested in. It goes all the way from PreK to high school. She is working on the high school classes now. She hopes to be finished with 9th grade by fall, yay. 

That is our progress report for today. Thanks for stopping by. 

Our Mission Church: Fuller Street Fellowship

This is our mission church, Fuller Street Fellowship. We started out in an apartment but someone donated this church building, a mission house and a house, since fall of 2012. We now meet here each week, three times a week. The mission house in the middle is used by visiting missionaries. The house on the end is used by the family we have served with for the past 7 years. 

Behind all three buildings is a large play area. We have fellowships out there but the kids also go outside after the lesson when the adults aren't finished yet. The whole thing is fenced off. 

The little girl in the picture has been a part of our mission church since she was about 18 months old. Many of the families from the old apartment church followed us to our church building. It is great to have old families and new families joined together to worship the Lord and learn more about Him. 

This is a view of the mission house and the other house. As you can see, the fence goes around the whole property. 

This is the inside of the big room in the church. We sing songs in Spanish and then the children go into separate rooms for Bible study and then outside to play. 

The younger elementary and older preschoolers go in one room. (There are rooms for the even younger children, too. On Wednesday nights there are more families that come so the amount of children and rooms needed is larger.) Our other co-teacher, Mr. Ed teaches that group. 

John and I are in the room with the older elementary kids. Sometimes we stay in and do puzzles and color but most of the time they kids like to go outside after we are done with the story. 

On Monday nights there is an ESL class that John teaches. It is a big class and they are enjoying it a lot. Jennifer goes and helps with the kids.  

Blazing A New Trail

I am super excited to add another type of exercise/fitness to my list. It makes life more interesting and "working out" more fun. In March we bought mountain bikes. We took them on our vacation over spring break and actually got to ride them for a short time, maybe 45 minutes, at this really big park in Memphis, TN. We didn't time it or the distance then. We didn't ride longer than that because we had spent the morning at the Memphis Zoo, which is quite large. 

Today we took our bikes out to ride a trail John found. You ride to the end of the trail then turn around and ride back, for a total of 11.7 miles. We stopped for a few minutes here and there but for the most part we rode straight through. JC was the first one back to the Jeep. We reached the Jeep after about one hour and 45 minutes. I actually came in second because John stayed behind with Jenni on the return ride. She and I were in the back on the way there, laughing and having a great time. She had a hard time on the way back because it got harder. I found there was more uphill parts on the way back, almost the whole way. I struggled a bit but pushed myself as hard as I could. I wanted to make sure I made it to the stopping point before my phone died since I was tracking the miles and using it for music. 

The weather was perfect, sunny and a cool breeze. It is my hope that we can do this often, maybe even every Saturday. Next Saturday we have a 5K to run. I am not sure how easy going the kids will be about it but I hope they will be willing to go with us every time, or most of the time. I hope we can find new trails to ride on to keep it interesting. 

I have been doing the Squat Challenge, the Plank Challenge and added a Crunch Challenge to it. I have done the workout video once, but plan on doing it more next week. I didn't run this week at all. I will have to get out there and run this week twice before our 5K on Saturday. Working on my diet, too. I need to get all the junk out of the house FAST! I ordered more drinks so I can do another cleanse. I think I will do that after I get back from Children's Camp because that is always a hard week when it comes to food and exercise. 

If you are unsure of what to do as far as getting your body moving so you can be healthier, just move. Go for a walk daily, do the Couch to 5K training, get on a bike and go for a ride, do one of the challenges. Just DO something, anything. And the more days you do something the more you will enjoy doing it. I love being an active person now. As I get closer to turning 50 years old the more I understand the need for my health to be as good as I can get it. I need to be active and I need to get my eating habits in line with how God intended me to eat. When I do, I feel amazing. But I know I can't go over board. I have to make sure I am not doing too much. It isn't about pushing yourself OVER the limit. It is about pushing yourself to the limit you are supposed to reach. If you push past that you can injure yourself and that stops your progress altogether. So take it slow and listen to your body. The better you eat, the better you will feel and the more you can do in time. 

Changing my life one day at a time.