This morning I gave myself the shot of hcg.... but I was too chicken to watch the needle to into my belly, so I got it in position then closed my eyes to shove it in and inject the hcg. I know, I'm a big whimp!! I get woozie when I watch needles come out or be used on people even on TV shows let alone myself or my kids. I got that weird feeling I get when needles are involved, which usually means I'm going to pass our or get sick, so I sat down for a couple minutes to clear my head. Hopefully this round using the shots will cure me of my needle fobia!
I did wake up this morning without feeling hungry, and have continued to have no appetite so far. Lunch was one of my favorite VLCD meals: chopped chicken (100 grams), chopped celery, and 1/2 a chopped apple all mixed together. This time I put a splash of 0 calorie, 0 carb, 0 sugar wine vinegar on it and it was yummy. In the past I've done a splash of lemon juice with a sprinkle of cinnamon, and a couple drops of stevia which really hits the spot for me but I wanted to try something different today. I decided to save 1/2 my apple for later because I'm not hungry. My "hungry" time usually hits later in the day, but maybe that will change with the Rx shots. Time will tell!
This morning I didn't weigh myself but I feel so much less puffy than I have felt over the past few weeks so I'm encouraged by that! I had my daughter take pictures yesterday with me wearing my too tight jeans and a top that is a bit snug. I'm going to wear these same clothes and take pics every 2-3 weeks so I can see the difference. Maybe I'll be brave enough to post them someday. I like viewing others before, progress, and after pictures, it keeps me motivated while on the VLCD.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
First Shot
Ok, so got up this morning after a rough night, I was made aware of a situation where I opened mouth and now need to insert foot and my shame and guilt for the hurt I've caused led to a very sleepless night. So, this morning I chickened out on giving myself the shot. I had hubby do it for me... and... I couldn't even feel it. Before you think me a big chicken you have to understand that the last time I had a shot in my belly was when I had a blood clot in my leg and I had to get that anti clotting medicine, I think it is called cumadin(sp), that they inject into your stomach. Those shots left huge bruises and REALLY hurt. So this is what I was anticipating.... pain during the shot and pain afterwards. Totally not so with the hcg shots. I didn't even know my hubby had stuck the needle in me, it was over like a few seconds before I dared open my eyes and ask, "Are you done?" He laughed at me and said, "Ya!". So tomorrow I'll try to do it myself. I must say it was really nice to be able to weigh then start drinking whatever I wanted. I didn't have to wait 15 minutes before guzzling my coffee or water like I have in the past when dosing hhcg or sublingual Rx.
The scale was friendly today. It is VLCD5, so I've done 4 full days and have lost 7 pounds so far. I am wondering if since I gained most of this weight in the past 6 months if it will come off quicker than my first time doing hcg when I had been obese for 17 years. It will be interesting to see if fat falls off faster having not had the chance to really "set in". A girl can hope right!! LOL!
We are expecting to get hit with a big snow storm this afternoon, so I'm going to do a mad dash to clean the house this morning and get some laundry done. If school doesn't let out early then I will go in at noon to sub for one of the teachers. It is nice to be busy the first week of VLCD. I subbed at school Wed & Thurs and helped with concessions at last nights basketball game. These diversions have helped me to ignore the typical first week "hunger" that I experience while getting going on the VLCD.
Have a super day everyone!
The scale was friendly today. It is VLCD5, so I've done 4 full days and have lost 7 pounds so far. I am wondering if since I gained most of this weight in the past 6 months if it will come off quicker than my first time doing hcg when I had been obese for 17 years. It will be interesting to see if fat falls off faster having not had the chance to really "set in". A girl can hope right!! LOL!
We are expecting to get hit with a big snow storm this afternoon, so I'm going to do a mad dash to clean the house this morning and get some laundry done. If school doesn't let out early then I will go in at noon to sub for one of the teachers. It is nice to be busy the first week of VLCD. I subbed at school Wed & Thurs and helped with concessions at last nights basketball game. These diversions have helped me to ignore the typical first week "hunger" that I experience while getting going on the VLCD.
Have a super day everyone!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Appologies
I received a comment from someone about my post:
http://roundsrecipesreallife.blogspot.com/2012/10/news-from-north-dakota-settling-into.html
http://roundsrecipesreallife.blogspot.com/2012/10/news-from-north-dakota-settling-into.html
I believe I have caused an offense that I did not intend to. It appears that in my effort to list my likes and dislikes about the house, which I believe all women have as they move into new places, I have caused unintended hurt and offense to some in the community. This was NOT my intent!! When I spoke about the house and the work I wanted to do, it was perceived as being offensive and critical and as I re-read it through the eyes of the person who posted a comment... I could see how it could have been received in such a manner. My desire was not to do this and I hope and pray that any offenses will be forgiven. I love this house and had a need to make it my own, that was what I wanted to express. I am deeply sorry for anyone who took offense. I went through the post and deleted many things that could have been viewed as offensive, critical or hurtful. All I can say now is that I am very sorry and hope that the people who were offended visit my blog again, and see this apology post.
We are so much enjoying our self here in this house, school, and community. Please those that were offended, stop by so that I can make it right. I did not intend to hurt nor offend anyone. In my opinion, there isn't room in a small community for bitter feelings to exist, so, I hope that my foolish expressions will be forgiven and that you will give me a chance.
My deepest and most sincere appologies,
Shirley
http://roundsrecipesreallife.blogspot.com/2012/10/news-from-north-dakota-settling-into.html
http://roundsrecipesreallife.blogspot.com/2012/10/news-from-north-dakota-settling-into.html
I believe I have caused an offense that I did not intend to. It appears that in my effort to list my likes and dislikes about the house, which I believe all women have as they move into new places, I have caused unintended hurt and offense to some in the community. This was NOT my intent!! When I spoke about the house and the work I wanted to do, it was perceived as being offensive and critical and as I re-read it through the eyes of the person who posted a comment... I could see how it could have been received in such a manner. My desire was not to do this and I hope and pray that any offenses will be forgiven. I love this house and had a need to make it my own, that was what I wanted to express. I am deeply sorry for anyone who took offense. I went through the post and deleted many things that could have been viewed as offensive, critical or hurtful. All I can say now is that I am very sorry and hope that the people who were offended visit my blog again, and see this apology post.
We are so much enjoying our self here in this house, school, and community. Please those that were offended, stop by so that I can make it right. I did not intend to hurt nor offend anyone. In my opinion, there isn't room in a small community for bitter feelings to exist, so, I hope that my foolish expressions will be forgiven and that you will give me a chance.
My deepest and most sincere appologies,
Shirley
Back in the Saddle! VLCD4
This week began another round for Hubby and I. He doesn't have as much to lose as I do but we will travel this road together again. I'm too embarrassed to say how much I've gained over the past 6 months but instead will focus on making it one day at a time, one pound at a time until I see that goal weight come into view again!
Monday was my first VLCD and since I've dropped 5 pounds. I'm not sure what Phil's progress has been as it has been a busy week for us. I loaded and started this week out using hhcg from GFC Health productshttp://store-ebde3.mybigcommerce.com/plus-hcg-drops-1-2-oz-bottle/.
Today my Rx arrived from clinical hcg!
http://www.clinicalhcgdiet.com/hcg/index.php
Tomorrow I will start taking the shots. I'm a little nervous about giving myself shots. If I cannot do it, stick that needle into my tummy, then Phil will give them to me. So why am I switching to the shots you may ask??
1. I'm looking forward to not having to dose 3 times a day like I'm used to when using homeopathic. Having 1 shot a day will be nice. It will also be nice to not have to worry about whether or not I've eaten or drank or had mint or coffee around dosing times.
2. I'm hopeful that the shots will offer better and more sustained appetite suppressant. When I'm taking hhcg I usually get hungry at mealtimes and depending on how my day goes I often experience hunger in the evenings. There are times when I just feel "empty", but sometimes I honestly feel hungry, I'm hoping to just feel "empty" on the Rx rather than hungry. I've read often of those on Rx who have a hard time eating their small meals... I'm hoping that will be me soon!
3. I wanted to try the protocol exactly as Dr. Simeons did it. He only had Rx offered by injection. He didn't use hhcg or sublingual hcg. I want to see how my body responds to Rx given by injection. The Dr. at clinical said one reason she prefers the shots above all else is that it ALWAYS works. I have met some folks that find the homeopathic doesn't work for them. Some say all forms of hcg work. Two years ago I used hhcg, then switched to sublingual, now... I'm going to give the Rx shots a try.
Once again I'm getting encouragement from others on the hcg2yahoo group. If you aren't part of a yahoo group and area looking for a group that is honest and encouraging check out hcg2, they are a great group of ladies. The main moderator is very good at challenging us to re-think our food philosophy by posting articles on many things related to food, diet and health. One on that group maintained GREAT over the past year but has decided to do one more round to get a little off gained over the holidays plus is hoping to get closer to the lower end of her "normal" weight. Another posted her success in losing over 100 pounds this past year... AMAZING!! I find it inspiring to read of not only the success of others... but even their struggles. Ya... misery loves company. No really, I know I'm not the only person who has struggled with weight for YEARS and is still learning to deal with the emotional, mental, and physical challenges of making life changes with my diet.
So..... here we go again!
Monday was my first VLCD and since I've dropped 5 pounds. I'm not sure what Phil's progress has been as it has been a busy week for us. I loaded and started this week out using hhcg from GFC Health productshttp://store-ebde3.mybigcommerce.com/plus-hcg-drops-1-2-oz-bottle/.
Today my Rx arrived from clinical hcg!
http://www.clinicalhcgdiet.com/hcg/index.php
Tomorrow I will start taking the shots. I'm a little nervous about giving myself shots. If I cannot do it, stick that needle into my tummy, then Phil will give them to me. So why am I switching to the shots you may ask??
1. I'm looking forward to not having to dose 3 times a day like I'm used to when using homeopathic. Having 1 shot a day will be nice. It will also be nice to not have to worry about whether or not I've eaten or drank or had mint or coffee around dosing times.
2. I'm hopeful that the shots will offer better and more sustained appetite suppressant. When I'm taking hhcg I usually get hungry at mealtimes and depending on how my day goes I often experience hunger in the evenings. There are times when I just feel "empty", but sometimes I honestly feel hungry, I'm hoping to just feel "empty" on the Rx rather than hungry. I've read often of those on Rx who have a hard time eating their small meals... I'm hoping that will be me soon!
3. I wanted to try the protocol exactly as Dr. Simeons did it. He only had Rx offered by injection. He didn't use hhcg or sublingual hcg. I want to see how my body responds to Rx given by injection. The Dr. at clinical said one reason she prefers the shots above all else is that it ALWAYS works. I have met some folks that find the homeopathic doesn't work for them. Some say all forms of hcg work. Two years ago I used hhcg, then switched to sublingual, now... I'm going to give the Rx shots a try.
Once again I'm getting encouragement from others on the hcg2yahoo group. If you aren't part of a yahoo group and area looking for a group that is honest and encouraging check out hcg2, they are a great group of ladies. The main moderator is very good at challenging us to re-think our food philosophy by posting articles on many things related to food, diet and health. One on that group maintained GREAT over the past year but has decided to do one more round to get a little off gained over the holidays plus is hoping to get closer to the lower end of her "normal" weight. Another posted her success in losing over 100 pounds this past year... AMAZING!! I find it inspiring to read of not only the success of others... but even their struggles. Ya... misery loves company. No really, I know I'm not the only person who has struggled with weight for YEARS and is still learning to deal with the emotional, mental, and physical challenges of making life changes with my diet.
So..... here we go again!
Friday, November 2, 2012
News from North Dakota - The search for a Church
The final post about our journey to ND these past few months includes that of finding a new church for our family to attend. I think this process has been more difficult for me than for Phil. While he and S were out here during July and August they visited a couple churches and found one that they liked. They went there on Sundays during their month long stay. When we arrived in ND as a family in September our family began attending this church.
A little background here will allow you to understand my personal struggle a little better. When we made the move to New Holstein WI a few years ago Phil found our church, First Baptist of Kiel and I was completely at peace with the choice and easily transitioned. I loved the fact that the church had many young families with a heart to disciple their own children as well as work together as a "community" to instruct each others children. It took me a couple years before I really felt like I developed a deep friendship and that was with our associate pastors wife. When we left the area in September, we spent our last night in WI with their family, as Phil was very close to Pastor S too. Not only was the fellowship sweet with so many of the families in our church, the way the church functioned was so wonderful. When we joined the church was going through a building project and I really enjoyed how the leadership and families worked together to make our church one in which we could worship, fellowship, welcome visitors, and have a space where kids could be kids. I'm afraid that all the excellent ways that our church handled things over the years made me feel so at home, that leaving there has been tough. The church people became our "family", especially since we had no family in the area. Our times at church were refreshing, encouraging, convicting, and over all a blessing. So my expectations for a new church were very much so on the high side.
That being said, I found that I enjoyed the preaching at our new church, it was biblical, pertinent, and well done. Appreciated that there were many young families, a few were members and some are considering membership. There is a wonderful Senior population just like we had at our old church (I miss you Jean & Lou Eva!), and the church has a great spirit. On several occasions I shared with Phil my "concerns" about this or that.... of which I will not expound, and after several weeks of attending Sunday services, attending a planning meeting and business meeting, spending time with the pastor and one of the trustee's we decided that this is the church that God wants us to join. The day we made this decision..... I cried. I miss my church family in Kiel so much, I found it really hard this time to just jump in with two feet to a new church. I know that my struggle is more emotional than the church isn't right. After all, there are no perfect churches because there are no perfect people! We went forward this past Sunday and made public our desire to join the church and I'm very excited about how God is directing. I know that we will be blessed by the ministries and people in this church and pray that our family will be a blessing in return.
A little background here will allow you to understand my personal struggle a little better. When we made the move to New Holstein WI a few years ago Phil found our church, First Baptist of Kiel and I was completely at peace with the choice and easily transitioned. I loved the fact that the church had many young families with a heart to disciple their own children as well as work together as a "community" to instruct each others children. It took me a couple years before I really felt like I developed a deep friendship and that was with our associate pastors wife. When we left the area in September, we spent our last night in WI with their family, as Phil was very close to Pastor S too. Not only was the fellowship sweet with so many of the families in our church, the way the church functioned was so wonderful. When we joined the church was going through a building project and I really enjoyed how the leadership and families worked together to make our church one in which we could worship, fellowship, welcome visitors, and have a space where kids could be kids. I'm afraid that all the excellent ways that our church handled things over the years made me feel so at home, that leaving there has been tough. The church people became our "family", especially since we had no family in the area. Our times at church were refreshing, encouraging, convicting, and over all a blessing. So my expectations for a new church were very much so on the high side.
That being said, I found that I enjoyed the preaching at our new church, it was biblical, pertinent, and well done. Appreciated that there were many young families, a few were members and some are considering membership. There is a wonderful Senior population just like we had at our old church (I miss you Jean & Lou Eva!), and the church has a great spirit. On several occasions I shared with Phil my "concerns" about this or that.... of which I will not expound, and after several weeks of attending Sunday services, attending a planning meeting and business meeting, spending time with the pastor and one of the trustee's we decided that this is the church that God wants us to join. The day we made this decision..... I cried. I miss my church family in Kiel so much, I found it really hard this time to just jump in with two feet to a new church. I know that my struggle is more emotional than the church isn't right. After all, there are no perfect churches because there are no perfect people! We went forward this past Sunday and made public our desire to join the church and I'm very excited about how God is directing. I know that we will be blessed by the ministries and people in this church and pray that our family will be a blessing in return.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
News from North Dakota - Weight, Health, and Life
I get emails often from folks that have been encouraged to lose weight and better their health by watching me as I journey through the obesity battle. I will continue to say that I am a work in progress and pray that someday I will have complete victory over my food addictions and battle with the bulge. I've learned over these past few months that I continue to be a stress and bordum eater. Now you might say... "HOW can you be bored?? You are a wife, have six children and ran a farm!!" Bordum is a choice. When I chose to feel that my responsibilities in life are not fulfilling I get bored. Did you notice my CHOICE of words?? I said when I CHOSE! I am a firm believer that our actions are a result of our thoughts! The Bible says in Proverbs "as a man things he is" and I agree with God on this matter 100%. What you think about you will do. If you think you are stressed, overwhelmed, unworthy, bored, your actions will coinside with those detrimental thoughts.
For me personally I learned once again that I am a total stress eater!!My stresses of these past family months totally make sense: hubby gone most of the time, moving to a new state, wrapping up the details on the farm, sorting & packing, cleaning, transitioning from a homesteading farm life to living in the big city for 30 days, living in a hotel and eating the foods they provided, then transitioning to small town life, etc. These are challenges that would stress out just about any mother of 6 right? So, I have reason to be stressed but I didn't have to chose to live in a state of stress.... and I did. I prayed about the daily challenges but found I didn't CAST them at the feet of Christ as I ought to have. So I found my comfort in food: potatoes, wheat, sugar.... and all the other foods that I know trigger instant weight gain for me. I used the excuse that I was busy, stressed, didn't have proper food around because I needed instant this or that or didn't have time..... so I chose to not eat well since June. I stopped exercising, stopped weighing and stopped controlling my impulsive eating.
If you remember back this spring I hit 148 for a brief few days. I stabilized between 155 & 165 when I was exercising. That is where I begun my spiral back into the old habits of grabbing this and that, most of which was carb and sugar laddened. Lately I've been weighing between 185 & 190 sometimes hitting 195 briefly. This week I've been starting to feel like life is returning back to normal. I'm establishing new routines that I like with the hubby, kids, house & life. I've struggled greatly these last few months about my spiraling weight gain and kept thinking I'd dive into another hcg round, only to start taking hhcg and never being able to stick to the VLCD so finally I'd give up and stop dosing. I finally decided that for me to start a round now would be impossible. My mind is not in the proper state needed to strictly follow the VLCD and we that have done this protocol understand the level of commitment needed to do a round.
So, instead of hcg I've decided to get my body moving again. My current goal is to walk 2-3 miles a day 3 - 5 days a week, either with the Leslie Sansone DVD's I own or outside weather permitting. I'm also adding back in water. It is amazing how much MORE food I eat when I'm NOT drinking my water. My daily water goal is 3 quarts. Better food choices round out my immediate health goals. This is a challenge since I will only be grocery shopping 1 X a month. I can pick up a few things here and there when in Bismarck on Sundays and our small town grocery store carries a few fresh items, but I'm trying to make better choices with what I have. I doubt I'll lose much weight over these next couple of months with the holidays fast approaching. BUT I do know that I'll be getting back into the habit of caring for my body better.In the new year I'll look to do an HCG round using Clinical HCG's prescription hcg.
Thankfully I still feel great though the extra weight does sometimes effect my energy level. My husband would most likely argue that statement since I've been unpacking and cleaning like crazy since our stuff arrived here on the 16th. I've got most rooms in the settled, other than hanging pictures, and am enjoying keeping our home clean and orderly. This is the first time in years that I've slipped into those flylady routines and find that about 15 minutes in each room every day keeps us in living in a home that is welcoming and for the most part clean.
My daily routine is such that I now feel free to focus some time on me. I get up at 7 - 7:30 a.m. and get the crew up and going. Make breakfast and get the kids fed and out the door to school by 8:15. I clean up breakfast and get laundry going. Currently laundry is a challenge since my dryer broke in the move, I do not have outside clothes lines, AND the closest laundry is 15 miles away with only 2 dryers! So I do a load or 2 each day and have laundry hanging all over the place so it can dry. I keep it out of the main living area's so folks won't see underwear on the doorknobs if they stop in, and somehow I'm keeping up. If the dryer cannot be fixed within the next week or so we'll have to buy a new one. I'm going to be starting to substitute teach at the school and will not have time to keep up with hanging each piece of laundry and finding somewhere for it to dry before I run out the door in the morning.
After clean up and laundry I get to have some quite time reading the Bible and praying followed by 30-60 minutes on the piano. Then I usually do my walking, followed by lots of water, lunch, and some time on the computer. I then do pick up and cleaning throughout the house and get dinner ready. When I start to teach I'll make use of my crock pot so dinner will be easy to pull off, and I'll have to reserve my cleaning for the days that I'm not called in to work. Thankfully the kids are learning new habits, like keeping all toys and books in the family room, keeping up with their bedrooms, making beds, etc., and helping me to keep things in order when they are home. Little clean up times here or there keep the place functional and more fun for us all!
So, there is the long and the short of it. I'm not happy about my weight, but am changing my choices so that each day will be a little better than the last. I love our new place and the routines it is allowing me to develop that are giving me the opportunity to create a peaceful welcoming home for my crew, and I'm so very thankful that God is helping me to forgive myself and move on!
For me personally I learned once again that I am a total stress eater!!My stresses of these past family months totally make sense: hubby gone most of the time, moving to a new state, wrapping up the details on the farm, sorting & packing, cleaning, transitioning from a homesteading farm life to living in the big city for 30 days, living in a hotel and eating the foods they provided, then transitioning to small town life, etc. These are challenges that would stress out just about any mother of 6 right? So, I have reason to be stressed but I didn't have to chose to live in a state of stress.... and I did. I prayed about the daily challenges but found I didn't CAST them at the feet of Christ as I ought to have. So I found my comfort in food: potatoes, wheat, sugar.... and all the other foods that I know trigger instant weight gain for me. I used the excuse that I was busy, stressed, didn't have proper food around because I needed instant this or that or didn't have time..... so I chose to not eat well since June. I stopped exercising, stopped weighing and stopped controlling my impulsive eating.
If you remember back this spring I hit 148 for a brief few days. I stabilized between 155 & 165 when I was exercising. That is where I begun my spiral back into the old habits of grabbing this and that, most of which was carb and sugar laddened. Lately I've been weighing between 185 & 190 sometimes hitting 195 briefly. This week I've been starting to feel like life is returning back to normal. I'm establishing new routines that I like with the hubby, kids, house & life. I've struggled greatly these last few months about my spiraling weight gain and kept thinking I'd dive into another hcg round, only to start taking hhcg and never being able to stick to the VLCD so finally I'd give up and stop dosing. I finally decided that for me to start a round now would be impossible. My mind is not in the proper state needed to strictly follow the VLCD and we that have done this protocol understand the level of commitment needed to do a round.
So, instead of hcg I've decided to get my body moving again. My current goal is to walk 2-3 miles a day 3 - 5 days a week, either with the Leslie Sansone DVD's I own or outside weather permitting. I'm also adding back in water. It is amazing how much MORE food I eat when I'm NOT drinking my water. My daily water goal is 3 quarts. Better food choices round out my immediate health goals. This is a challenge since I will only be grocery shopping 1 X a month. I can pick up a few things here and there when in Bismarck on Sundays and our small town grocery store carries a few fresh items, but I'm trying to make better choices with what I have. I doubt I'll lose much weight over these next couple of months with the holidays fast approaching. BUT I do know that I'll be getting back into the habit of caring for my body better.In the new year I'll look to do an HCG round using Clinical HCG's prescription hcg.
Thankfully I still feel great though the extra weight does sometimes effect my energy level. My husband would most likely argue that statement since I've been unpacking and cleaning like crazy since our stuff arrived here on the 16th. I've got most rooms in the settled, other than hanging pictures, and am enjoying keeping our home clean and orderly. This is the first time in years that I've slipped into those flylady routines and find that about 15 minutes in each room every day keeps us in living in a home that is welcoming and for the most part clean.
My daily routine is such that I now feel free to focus some time on me. I get up at 7 - 7:30 a.m. and get the crew up and going. Make breakfast and get the kids fed and out the door to school by 8:15. I clean up breakfast and get laundry going. Currently laundry is a challenge since my dryer broke in the move, I do not have outside clothes lines, AND the closest laundry is 15 miles away with only 2 dryers! So I do a load or 2 each day and have laundry hanging all over the place so it can dry. I keep it out of the main living area's so folks won't see underwear on the doorknobs if they stop in, and somehow I'm keeping up. If the dryer cannot be fixed within the next week or so we'll have to buy a new one. I'm going to be starting to substitute teach at the school and will not have time to keep up with hanging each piece of laundry and finding somewhere for it to dry before I run out the door in the morning.
After clean up and laundry I get to have some quite time reading the Bible and praying followed by 30-60 minutes on the piano. Then I usually do my walking, followed by lots of water, lunch, and some time on the computer. I then do pick up and cleaning throughout the house and get dinner ready. When I start to teach I'll make use of my crock pot so dinner will be easy to pull off, and I'll have to reserve my cleaning for the days that I'm not called in to work. Thankfully the kids are learning new habits, like keeping all toys and books in the family room, keeping up with their bedrooms, making beds, etc., and helping me to keep things in order when they are home. Little clean up times here or there keep the place functional and more fun for us all!
So, there is the long and the short of it. I'm not happy about my weight, but am changing my choices so that each day will be a little better than the last. I love our new place and the routines it is allowing me to develop that are giving me the opportunity to create a peaceful welcoming home for my crew, and I'm so very thankful that God is helping me to forgive myself and move on!
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
News from North Dakota - Settling into the house
Hello my online friends and family!
Grab a cup of coffee, tea or a bottle of water and settle in... this update will most likely by a long one! LOL!
We are settling into our rental home in the quaint little town of Hazelton North Dakota. The last few months have been quite the journey for our family. Through it all we have grown closer, learned much and are continuously thankful for God's provision through each step of the way.
The children are settling into a good routine at their new school. Which by the way... I LOVE our school! It is nice and small, just over 90 students in K - 12, which gives me the opportunity to easily communicate with the teachers and keep up with what is happening with each child. Our home is located on the same block as the school which makes for a quick walk each day for the kids. Once again we've been blessed with a tremendous staff with fabulous creative aptitude in dealing with Thomas in school. We do not yet know what services Thomas will receive from the county as we are waiting to get our first bill... who ever heard about someone being excited about a bill... Ha Ha! Once we get a bill at our new house we will be able to establish residency with the county and start the ball rolling to get services for Thomas. Overall the children have made it through these past months challenges very well: Daddy being in ND while we were in WI July - Sept 10, living in a hotel for 30 days, during which time the commute to school was 50 minutes one way, the much anticipated move, and now settling into a new house and a completely new routine with no farming.
My daughter was hired for her first job on her 16th birthday! She has since been working 2-5 days a week after school and on Saturdays. I'm excited to see how this opportunity is allowing her to develop and grow in the area of independence and discretion. I'm proud of her!
The two big boys enjoyed playing football for part of the season here at our school. It was a great time for them to get to know some of the boys in the community while giving them the opportunity to get a greater understanding of the game. We didn't get to attend many games as our hotel was hours away from most of them. Next year we'll be able to be regular attenders and cheer on the Reese Boys... and the team of course!
The littles just seem to go with the flow. Starting school 3 1/2 weeks late posed a bit of a challenge for them as they missed out on those review weeks. Our littlest guy is struggling the worst, for some reason he is not retaining words that he learned in Kindergarten, nor her words for this year. His level of retention is very small. I'm so thankful that he has such a great attitude through this all and is not discouraged about reading, even though it is a challenge for him. His teacher is wonderful and continues to help guide me on how I can best support and challenge Na through this.
The house.... one word sums it up.... WOW!I love the space but desire to do some updating so it suits our taste. Hubby took work off to help me paint and our LL's wife came over to help with the process. So, we were able to get a few rooms done before our stuff arrived. The rest will happen little by little.
Ya see, my goals for this move have been quite different from the past two moves. The past two moves focused on farming and creating independence with our food sources. This move my focus was to make a home that was ours, one in which our family would have a haven to grow, fellowship, disciple and have fun in. The past two places I never had time to make them "ours" with paint and decor. This time, I want it to be different. I want to develop a place with low stress and lots of opportunity for us to have time to nurture and disciple these six kids. I'm not as much of a perfectionist as my parents..... but I really wanted to see some completeness here in the house itself.
So, Wednesday the 10th we shopped all day, picking up paint, electrical, and cleaning supplies to get started with this big job! Thursday and Friday the 11th & 12th saw us madly washing walls, putting up tape along the beautiful crowned molding, throwing plastic down to protect the gorgeous hard wood floors and painting daily for about 10 hours. Saturday we wrapped up with another 5-6 hours of painting then helped the previous tenant get the rest of her items out of the attic. We managed in those 2 1/2 days to get the entry room, dining room, kitchen, hallway & stairway, C's bedroom & S's bedroom painted. The hallway and stairway needed a second coat but we decided to wait until after the movers came just in case it got dinged up. I'll post pictures once I get some of the wall decor up. I had not yet found the hammer and nails! LOL!
There are many things I like about the house. The space is one thing! It has a lovely entry room/mud room that is perfect for our crew. I am going to be putting my hope chest in it, which will soon be covered with a padded seat so we can sit down to put shoes on while using the inside for storage. The chest really needs to be refinished, but I won't be able to do that until Spring when it is warm enough to do the stripping, staining and varnishing in the garage. I'd prefer to have tile or something scrubable in the entry way, but for now it is carpeted so rugs will cover the spots that get the most traffic so I won't have to clean the carpet as often.
From the entry room you can go out to the very large 2 car garage with storage room on the side. In the garage we were able to fit our 5 freezers filled with our grass fed meats from WI along the back and 2 extra fridges to hold our summer veggies and extra milk from the local Jersey farm. Currently half of the garage is still filled with boxes that we need to sort through and unpack. I'm also able to store my 5 gallon buckets of honey and grains (over 50) along the wall that butts up to the house so I can easily access them. Once we get the garage organized we will be able to park the van in there and eventually our new car which we hope to get in the new year.
The entry room also leads up to the kitchen or down to the family room. I'll start with the down stairs. The family room will serve the purpose of being the kid's hang out space. I have book shelves in one corner that are filled with books, paper, coloring paraphernalia, and DVD's. The TV is in this room with one couch. Eventually we will have a few bean bags in this space so the kids will have more seating for movie and reading times. The floor is heated which makes it cozy, the walls have a beautiful wood wainscoting at the bottom, and the top a floral paneling. There is a table at one end of this room where the kids can do puzzles, play games and color/draw. It really is the perfect place for these 6 kids and friends to hang out! I love it because I can hear what is going on, yet the noise of boys does not overwhelm the house. :-)
The basement also has our daughters cave. Currently it is brown paneling which will be primed and painted once we pick out E's new bedroom set. She wants this grey set that has splashes of bright pink, yellow, lime green, and teal. If this is the set we get we will paint the walls a light silvery grey to brighten the room up, then she will use her artistic ability and add splashes of the bright colors throughout the room, using the pattern of the comforter as her guide for the wall art. I think it will be great once it is done. Our big challenge for her room is getting it organized with all her stuff. This is a very tiny room compared to E's past two rooms, so organizing it with the appropriate shelves and furniture will be the biggest challenge while keeping it a fun space for her to be creative in.
There is a 3/4 bath with a large shower, toilet and sink that also houses the laundry room. This room has great storage. There are kitchen cabinets along two walls for storage of laundry supplies and towels.
Oh, forgot to mention one of my favorite spaces in the basement is the canning closet that rests under the stairway. It will be a great place to put next years garden produce and is where I'm storing much of my pantry items, spices, baking goods, bowls, etc. It also houses the basket to catch all the clothes from the second floor laundry shoot! This is a HUGE blessing as it saves me from hauling the laundry both down and up! Now I only have to haul it all up once it is dry and folded. :-) Thankfully the shoot is small enough that I'm not concerned about the boys trying to throw each other down it! LOL! We have of course had to establish the rule that ONLY clothes get thrown down, as the first week it was fun to see how many things one could throw down while hoping to hit a brother in the face who was in the basement "watching".
I'll take a moment here to inject a little blurb on the stairs.... there are over 40 stairs from the basement to the attic in this place. Over the past couple weeks of us settling in there have been many days when I've done the full trek or parts of it hundreds of times in a day, since we are storing all empty boxes and stuff that doesn't fit in this floor plan in the attic. The first few days my legs were killing me. Now I"m getting more used to it and I think these steps will keep my legs and heart in prime condition! LOL!
So, up a few stairs from the entry room leads you into the kitchen. This kitchen is large enough for me to function in well. I've always been blessed with large kitchens in all our homes. I love the fact that this kitchen has a dishwasher and am amazed as to how little time it takes me to clean up each day!
When you exit the kitchen you enter the most beautiful section of the house. The dinning room has beautiful hard wood floors, with gorgeous crowned molding around huge windows and a high ceiling. I've painted this room a light olive and will post pictures once I get the pictures hung. I love the family meal times we have in this room. Our table fits at an angle and there is extra seating along the large radiator. I will refinish the radiator cushion with a warm color patterned material.... once I buy it! I have plants along the windowsill which ads life and color to the room. We have family meal times, and do homework in this space and it suits us perfectly!
There is a large doorway that opens up into the living room where the hard wood floor, high ceiling, and crowned molding continue throughout. The living room is painted in a light beige/tan. There is another radiator with a cushion that will be recovered in warm tones. Currently we have a beautiful antique square table in one corner and our couch along the brown paneled wall. I'd love to re-do the wall with paneling sometime, I think it will allow the room to feel more open. Sometime in the future when we have a full week to work on it we will pull down the paneling which will most likely lead to ripping off all the plaster, then putting up studs, and drywall. It will completely transform this space and in my mind I can see how lovely it will be when it is done. My piano sits on the inner wall between the living room and dining room and will soon have a beautiful large mirror with my Grandma Conover's antique rose pictures hanging on either side of it.
From the living room you can see a beautiful landing area with antique coat hooks along the wall and the gorgeous wood banister with hard wood floors up the stairs. Above the coat hooks I hope to find a scripture verse vinyl applicay to complete this space.
There is a gorgeous heavy wood door that leads to the four season front porch. The last tenant used this space as an office. We have it set up as C's room, plus my office space. There is a large executive desk at one end, his bunk bed, and a wardrobe. We will accessorize with some shelves, antique hooks for hanging clothes, and some out doorsy stuff. We'll post pictures once it is done. Eventually I think we need to get a smaller desk for this space, but for now we are using what we have. He loves having his own room! I stay out of it when he is home for the most part, so that he doesn't feel like his space is being invaded.
Upstairs there are three more bedrooms, our master room which needs to be painted. The littles room, which will also be painted once I get them new comforter sets. And S's room. S's room needs to be decorated but he is getting it settled and cozy in his own teen way! :-) There is a full bath that only has a tub. We'll be painting it light olive, replacing the broken vanity mirror, and putting in a new vanity light. This will have to be a 3-4 day weekend project as we have to tear down the mirror and light, fix the electrical, prime, and paint. It is a unique configuration because the stairs to the attic are in this room.
The attic is very cool! E's first statement about it was, "Daddy, daddy, I want this to be MY room!" It is a really neat space that with remodeling and heat would be an awesome teen room. BUT we need the space for storage so it will remain an attic! I love that it has stairs and not a rickety ladder. There is plenty of space for me to get organized and use it as functional storage for my extra kitchen and entertaining supplies along with all the clothes, holiday decor and other odds and ends.
So, there you have it! A verbal walk through our new space. I hope you enjoyed the tour!! LOL! I love documenting it so that in years to come I will be able to read this and look around and see how wonderfully the space was transformed into our home. We hope that our LL will allow us to remain here until Phil is transferred again, or until we decide to get a small farm. I'm completely content and do not want to move any time soon. I hope we'll be here for the full five years of this current contract, and if the contract for Phil's job is renewed, we may want to remain here longer still. I love being close to the school and as the kids get more involved in extra curricular activities I think being close will be a huge convenience for our family.
So, shall I end this post and continue on with our new news in other posts. I think so! I hope you've enjoyed catching up on some of our current happenings. I'll write two more posts today, one that will contain our health and weight update and another about our search for a new church home.
I'll end this with a funny conversation that I had with our youngest yesterday:
Yesterday I walked into the living room and smelled what I thought was gas or poop. I asked my youngest if he needed to use the bathroom. He said, "No, maybe Pansy (our Boston terrior) pooped." I looked around and said , "No, I don't see anything." Then little N said, "Maybe she forgot to do her doggy wipe after she went to the bathroom!" Ha Ha! I love seeing life through the eyes of a child!
Have a blessed day!
Grab a cup of coffee, tea or a bottle of water and settle in... this update will most likely by a long one! LOL!
We are settling into our rental home in the quaint little town of Hazelton North Dakota. The last few months have been quite the journey for our family. Through it all we have grown closer, learned much and are continuously thankful for God's provision through each step of the way.
The children are settling into a good routine at their new school. Which by the way... I LOVE our school! It is nice and small, just over 90 students in K - 12, which gives me the opportunity to easily communicate with the teachers and keep up with what is happening with each child. Our home is located on the same block as the school which makes for a quick walk each day for the kids. Once again we've been blessed with a tremendous staff with fabulous creative aptitude in dealing with Thomas in school. We do not yet know what services Thomas will receive from the county as we are waiting to get our first bill... who ever heard about someone being excited about a bill... Ha Ha! Once we get a bill at our new house we will be able to establish residency with the county and start the ball rolling to get services for Thomas. Overall the children have made it through these past months challenges very well: Daddy being in ND while we were in WI July - Sept 10, living in a hotel for 30 days, during which time the commute to school was 50 minutes one way, the much anticipated move, and now settling into a new house and a completely new routine with no farming.
My daughter was hired for her first job on her 16th birthday! She has since been working 2-5 days a week after school and on Saturdays. I'm excited to see how this opportunity is allowing her to develop and grow in the area of independence and discretion. I'm proud of her!
The two big boys enjoyed playing football for part of the season here at our school. It was a great time for them to get to know some of the boys in the community while giving them the opportunity to get a greater understanding of the game. We didn't get to attend many games as our hotel was hours away from most of them. Next year we'll be able to be regular attenders and cheer on the Reese Boys... and the team of course!
The littles just seem to go with the flow. Starting school 3 1/2 weeks late posed a bit of a challenge for them as they missed out on those review weeks. Our littlest guy is struggling the worst, for some reason he is not retaining words that he learned in Kindergarten, nor her words for this year. His level of retention is very small. I'm so thankful that he has such a great attitude through this all and is not discouraged about reading, even though it is a challenge for him. His teacher is wonderful and continues to help guide me on how I can best support and challenge Na through this.
The house.... one word sums it up.... WOW!I love the space but desire to do some updating so it suits our taste. Hubby took work off to help me paint and our LL's wife came over to help with the process. So, we were able to get a few rooms done before our stuff arrived. The rest will happen little by little.
Ya see, my goals for this move have been quite different from the past two moves. The past two moves focused on farming and creating independence with our food sources. This move my focus was to make a home that was ours, one in which our family would have a haven to grow, fellowship, disciple and have fun in. The past two places I never had time to make them "ours" with paint and decor. This time, I want it to be different. I want to develop a place with low stress and lots of opportunity for us to have time to nurture and disciple these six kids. I'm not as much of a perfectionist as my parents..... but I really wanted to see some completeness here in the house itself.
So, Wednesday the 10th we shopped all day, picking up paint, electrical, and cleaning supplies to get started with this big job! Thursday and Friday the 11th & 12th saw us madly washing walls, putting up tape along the beautiful crowned molding, throwing plastic down to protect the gorgeous hard wood floors and painting daily for about 10 hours. Saturday we wrapped up with another 5-6 hours of painting then helped the previous tenant get the rest of her items out of the attic. We managed in those 2 1/2 days to get the entry room, dining room, kitchen, hallway & stairway, C's bedroom & S's bedroom painted. The hallway and stairway needed a second coat but we decided to wait until after the movers came just in case it got dinged up. I'll post pictures once I get some of the wall decor up. I had not yet found the hammer and nails! LOL!
There are many things I like about the house. The space is one thing! It has a lovely entry room/mud room that is perfect for our crew. I am going to be putting my hope chest in it, which will soon be covered with a padded seat so we can sit down to put shoes on while using the inside for storage. The chest really needs to be refinished, but I won't be able to do that until Spring when it is warm enough to do the stripping, staining and varnishing in the garage. I'd prefer to have tile or something scrubable in the entry way, but for now it is carpeted so rugs will cover the spots that get the most traffic so I won't have to clean the carpet as often.
From the entry room you can go out to the very large 2 car garage with storage room on the side. In the garage we were able to fit our 5 freezers filled with our grass fed meats from WI along the back and 2 extra fridges to hold our summer veggies and extra milk from the local Jersey farm. Currently half of the garage is still filled with boxes that we need to sort through and unpack. I'm also able to store my 5 gallon buckets of honey and grains (over 50) along the wall that butts up to the house so I can easily access them. Once we get the garage organized we will be able to park the van in there and eventually our new car which we hope to get in the new year.
The entry room also leads up to the kitchen or down to the family room. I'll start with the down stairs. The family room will serve the purpose of being the kid's hang out space. I have book shelves in one corner that are filled with books, paper, coloring paraphernalia, and DVD's. The TV is in this room with one couch. Eventually we will have a few bean bags in this space so the kids will have more seating for movie and reading times. The floor is heated which makes it cozy, the walls have a beautiful wood wainscoting at the bottom, and the top a floral paneling. There is a table at one end of this room where the kids can do puzzles, play games and color/draw. It really is the perfect place for these 6 kids and friends to hang out! I love it because I can hear what is going on, yet the noise of boys does not overwhelm the house. :-)
The basement also has our daughters cave. Currently it is brown paneling which will be primed and painted once we pick out E's new bedroom set. She wants this grey set that has splashes of bright pink, yellow, lime green, and teal. If this is the set we get we will paint the walls a light silvery grey to brighten the room up, then she will use her artistic ability and add splashes of the bright colors throughout the room, using the pattern of the comforter as her guide for the wall art. I think it will be great once it is done. Our big challenge for her room is getting it organized with all her stuff. This is a very tiny room compared to E's past two rooms, so organizing it with the appropriate shelves and furniture will be the biggest challenge while keeping it a fun space for her to be creative in.
There is a 3/4 bath with a large shower, toilet and sink that also houses the laundry room. This room has great storage. There are kitchen cabinets along two walls for storage of laundry supplies and towels.
Oh, forgot to mention one of my favorite spaces in the basement is the canning closet that rests under the stairway. It will be a great place to put next years garden produce and is where I'm storing much of my pantry items, spices, baking goods, bowls, etc. It also houses the basket to catch all the clothes from the second floor laundry shoot! This is a HUGE blessing as it saves me from hauling the laundry both down and up! Now I only have to haul it all up once it is dry and folded. :-) Thankfully the shoot is small enough that I'm not concerned about the boys trying to throw each other down it! LOL! We have of course had to establish the rule that ONLY clothes get thrown down, as the first week it was fun to see how many things one could throw down while hoping to hit a brother in the face who was in the basement "watching".
I'll take a moment here to inject a little blurb on the stairs.... there are over 40 stairs from the basement to the attic in this place. Over the past couple weeks of us settling in there have been many days when I've done the full trek or parts of it hundreds of times in a day, since we are storing all empty boxes and stuff that doesn't fit in this floor plan in the attic. The first few days my legs were killing me. Now I"m getting more used to it and I think these steps will keep my legs and heart in prime condition! LOL!
So, up a few stairs from the entry room leads you into the kitchen. This kitchen is large enough for me to function in well. I've always been blessed with large kitchens in all our homes. I love the fact that this kitchen has a dishwasher and am amazed as to how little time it takes me to clean up each day!
When you exit the kitchen you enter the most beautiful section of the house. The dinning room has beautiful hard wood floors, with gorgeous crowned molding around huge windows and a high ceiling. I've painted this room a light olive and will post pictures once I get the pictures hung. I love the family meal times we have in this room. Our table fits at an angle and there is extra seating along the large radiator. I will refinish the radiator cushion with a warm color patterned material.... once I buy it! I have plants along the windowsill which ads life and color to the room. We have family meal times, and do homework in this space and it suits us perfectly!
There is a large doorway that opens up into the living room where the hard wood floor, high ceiling, and crowned molding continue throughout. The living room is painted in a light beige/tan. There is another radiator with a cushion that will be recovered in warm tones. Currently we have a beautiful antique square table in one corner and our couch along the brown paneled wall. I'd love to re-do the wall with paneling sometime, I think it will allow the room to feel more open. Sometime in the future when we have a full week to work on it we will pull down the paneling which will most likely lead to ripping off all the plaster, then putting up studs, and drywall. It will completely transform this space and in my mind I can see how lovely it will be when it is done. My piano sits on the inner wall between the living room and dining room and will soon have a beautiful large mirror with my Grandma Conover's antique rose pictures hanging on either side of it.
From the living room you can see a beautiful landing area with antique coat hooks along the wall and the gorgeous wood banister with hard wood floors up the stairs. Above the coat hooks I hope to find a scripture verse vinyl applicay to complete this space.
There is a gorgeous heavy wood door that leads to the four season front porch. The last tenant used this space as an office. We have it set up as C's room, plus my office space. There is a large executive desk at one end, his bunk bed, and a wardrobe. We will accessorize with some shelves, antique hooks for hanging clothes, and some out doorsy stuff. We'll post pictures once it is done. Eventually I think we need to get a smaller desk for this space, but for now we are using what we have. He loves having his own room! I stay out of it when he is home for the most part, so that he doesn't feel like his space is being invaded.
Upstairs there are three more bedrooms, our master room which needs to be painted. The littles room, which will also be painted once I get them new comforter sets. And S's room. S's room needs to be decorated but he is getting it settled and cozy in his own teen way! :-) There is a full bath that only has a tub. We'll be painting it light olive, replacing the broken vanity mirror, and putting in a new vanity light. This will have to be a 3-4 day weekend project as we have to tear down the mirror and light, fix the electrical, prime, and paint. It is a unique configuration because the stairs to the attic are in this room.
The attic is very cool! E's first statement about it was, "Daddy, daddy, I want this to be MY room!" It is a really neat space that with remodeling and heat would be an awesome teen room. BUT we need the space for storage so it will remain an attic! I love that it has stairs and not a rickety ladder. There is plenty of space for me to get organized and use it as functional storage for my extra kitchen and entertaining supplies along with all the clothes, holiday decor and other odds and ends.
So, there you have it! A verbal walk through our new space. I hope you enjoyed the tour!! LOL! I love documenting it so that in years to come I will be able to read this and look around and see how wonderfully the space was transformed into our home. We hope that our LL will allow us to remain here until Phil is transferred again, or until we decide to get a small farm. I'm completely content and do not want to move any time soon. I hope we'll be here for the full five years of this current contract, and if the contract for Phil's job is renewed, we may want to remain here longer still. I love being close to the school and as the kids get more involved in extra curricular activities I think being close will be a huge convenience for our family.
So, shall I end this post and continue on with our new news in other posts. I think so! I hope you've enjoyed catching up on some of our current happenings. I'll write two more posts today, one that will contain our health and weight update and another about our search for a new church home.
I'll end this with a funny conversation that I had with our youngest yesterday:
Yesterday I walked into the living room and smelled what I thought was gas or poop. I asked my youngest if he needed to use the bathroom. He said, "No, maybe Pansy (our Boston terrior) pooped." I looked around and said , "No, I don't see anything." Then little N said, "Maybe she forgot to do her doggy wipe after she went to the bathroom!" Ha Ha! I love seeing life through the eyes of a child!
Have a blessed day!
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