Perfect Photo

I snapped this photo on our way into church last Sunday.  We were running a touch late actually.  They all hustled out of the truck and then all proceeded to fumble around to find an available hand.  Somehow I got left out of the shuffle, but it's more than ok with me because I got to see this.  I love these people so much.

This picture is pure beauty and perfection to me.  Here's what I see:

- His love for his children
- Their love for him
- Their love for one another
- Their love for their faith and God
- His example of faith for his children
- His openness to God's plan for his life and his commitment to his responsibilities
- He has no fear and no reservations

Summer of Paleo

This has been the summer of experimenting with the Paleo Diet.  I just didn't have a lot of knowledge and experience on it, so I picked up a few books and got to work.  The short explanation of Paleo is eating like the cavemen did before industry and agriculture.  Probably one of the more drastic things it does is cut out grains because they would be included in agriculture.  We aren't living 100% Paleo, but we're experimenting with a lot of the concepts.

Another one of my BIG goals for the summer has been improving breakfasts and lunches.  Dinner is great.  For years, it's been no trouble for me to put together a nutritious and delicious meal that doesn't come out of a can or box.  My dinners have lots of fresh veggies and meats.  Breakfast and lunch....not so much.  I blame my lack of time.  It's a lot of work getting 5 kids up and dressed and out the door, much less fed. Never mind that I used the same excuse when I had 1 and 2 kids as well.  So, I still resort to the pretty packages that are so readily available at the grocery store.  Blech!

Well, this summer, I decided to take advantage of the extra time and commit to ditching the cereal and sandwiches....at least a few days a week.  Baby steps.

Between some books and the internet, I've found some pretty interesting stuff.

One of our favorite new breakfasts has been fondly named "Nutmeal"  and is a paleo replacement for oatmeal.  It's a combination of ground almonds, pecans, apple, almond milk and cinnamon warmed on the stove.  This stuff is so good, I could eat the whole pot myself and have to restrain myself.  The two almost-two-year-olds gobble this one up too.

Pictured is one of our dependable paleo lunches.  The rolls are asparagus and avocado wrapped in turkey and ham.  One of my kids asks for these almost daily.  Good stuff!

Ultimately, I hope these habits carry over into the new school year now that I've got some ideas in my arsenal.

My Food Journey

I've been experimenting with food for more than a few years now.  I like to read, ask questions and learn about food and how to prepare it.   I have completely messed up countless recipes and learned from the experience.   My hope is to learn more and more about healthy eating and continue to give my family the best that I can.  The singular goal of providing my husband and kids tasty and nutritious food, makes the work of it all pleasurable.

I call it a journey because it has been.  Micah and I like to joke about how we used to eat when we first got married.  It was HORRIBLE.  No seriously, it was horrible.  When I look back to 5 years ago, it was slightly better since kids were in the picture, but still wasn't great.  Then, if I try to imagine how we'll eat 5 years from now, I'm just sure it will be different still.  I'm always learning and always making small changes, so that when I stop to think about it, I realize how much has changed over the years.

At this point in the journey, I'm not big on subscribing to one specific food philosophy as if it's the end all be all of eating.  I like following the principles of clean eating, anti-inflammatory, paleo, raw food, real food and probably a few others.  What I like is that while they all have a different emphasis and strategies of their own, they have big ideas in common:  less processed food, more fruits and veggies (especially veggies), more flavor, more emphasis on taking care of your body from the inside out, more real food and less "food-like" substances, more good fats.......the list goes on.

When I'm at home, I try to follow these healthy principles as much as possible (though I'm still a long way from 100%), but thus far, I've believed in breaking rules to live life.  I believe we should be able to: go on vacation and enjoy regional foods, enjoy friends' birthday parties including the pizza and cake, be guests in someone's home and be gracious about accepting what they prepare for us....and my favorite....accept that sometimes Mom just needs a night off.    I hope that in the end, the scale tips more toward the side of healthy, but that we're not slaves to restriction.  Who knows....maybe in that unforeseeable 5 years, that will change, but for now, that's where I am and I'm good with it.

Exciting News!!

We're adopting!!

The last year has been insane for us.  Exactly a year ago, we started taking care of a little boy.  The year has been filled many emotional ups and downs, stress, the details of raising 5 children and all the joy it brings.  At the beginning, there was no certainty as to how it would all conclude.

As of last week, he became available for us to adopt and we are so happy.
The girls are happy because they don't know him as anything other than their brother.  Micah and I are thrilled to be able to call him ours.  We all feel extremely blessed.

Because of privacy rules, we have not, and continue to not be allowed to say very much.  No details, names, pictures, etc, but it's all coming very soon!

Depending on who you ask, we're told this process can take about 4-6 months.  Lots of paperwork and procedures await us.  We don't mind though because it all leads to something very exciting.

YAY!

My relationship with running

Due to circumstances in my life right now, I am unable to go to the gym and haven't been for months. Fortunately, this is temporary. In the meantime, I need to get exercise, so I have been running. Micah reorganized the garage for me so I can get the jogging stroller in and out easily and I've managed a couple to a few runs per week.
Here's the hitch: I loathe running. I don't understand how people (like my dear husband) love it. I just force myself to do it because the sedentary alternative is not an option for me and its an activity that's easy to incorporate with little ones.
This morning, I finished another horrendous run and without knowing how I was kicking myself over iit, my mom sent me this screen grab.
How's that for perspective? I will keep this in mind on my next run.

Parenting Challenge

Something we have been in the throes of lately inspired me to reflect.....



Our children our so different!  And they are so different from us!  Personalities, work styles, temperaments  strengths, weaknesses, reason, paths to faith.....

We have been enjoying studying each of our children and learning what makes them tick and then tweaking our parenting of them to help them become more successful and productive people.

One may never leave our side, while another is more adventurous.
One may crumble under pressure, while another thrives under the same pressure.
One may process information and discern carefully, while another reacts impulsively.
One may panic while another remains cool, calm and collected.
One may be self motivated, while another needs a little help with motivation.
One may connect with God through active prayer while another may prefer quiet meditative prayer.
The list goes on infinitely.

We are challenged as parents to identify those traits and to help our children learn to work within their God-given gifts, talents and constraints in the best possible way for success.

Personally, I am enjoying this part of parenting at the moment because I love a good problem solving challenge and because it brings me great joy to know my children intimately and to see them succeed.
However, the harder part is not making them into something I want them to be simply because it is easier for me or make more sense to me.  I need to remember God made them as they are with a purpose and a plan in mind and it is simply my job to help them to learn to work with what they've got and temper themselves.

My hope is to eventually send each of my little ducklings out into the world with their own personalized skill set making them the best duck they can possibly be.

Spartan BC

Micah has been really into obstacle racing the past few years.  He loves running, but he finds the obstacle races more mentally challenging, more interesting, and more of a total body fitness challenge.  His current favorite race series is the Spartan.  The Spartan comes in four lengths - the Sprint (3+ miles/15+ obstacles), the Super (8+ miles/20+ obstacles), the Beast (12+ miles/25+ obstacles) and the Death Race (48 hours)
The obstacles include things like carrying sandbags, traverse wall, spear throwing, crawling in mud under barbed wire, rope climbing........and many more.  The course map is not revealed ahead of time, so you don't know what the obstacles are until you get there.  If you miss an obstacle, there are penalties.  For example, if you fall off the traverse wall, you may need to do 25 burpees.  You have to train and you have to be in shape to get through these races!
This past weekend, Micah went up to Vancouver, BC to participate in a Super Spartan Race with a group of guys (including my cousin, Matt).  I've been told it was a beautiful race with mountains, trees and rivers.

Here's the best part - Micah placed 23rd out of approximately 1000 people!!  That the top 2-3%!!
I'm proud!!  :-)  :-)

He trains for these events by incorporating workouts into his everyday life.  He wears a 40lb weight vest to mow the lawn or clean the garage.  He does push-ups with the girls on his back and he runs regularly.  These are just a few examples.  When he has specific workouts he needs to do, he heads to the backyard and all of the little ducklings follow.  They love to participate using modifications.  #1 likes to create obstacle courses in the backyard so all of them can participate.  #3 loves to do burpees, lunges and crunches so much she'll do them absolutely anywhere, even the grocery store!  It's fun to watch and hopefully these seeds of physical fitness will stay with them. 

Aside from including the children, my very favorite part of the way he does his workouts is that he gives all the glory to God and makes all of it a spiritual exercise.  He prays while he works, offers up his workouts for those who are unable to use their bodies as he can and he meditates on inspirational bible passages that parallel his physical work.  It's pretty amazing to watch this man tie it all together.  

Micah's next race is a Spartan Beast in Texas in early December.