Sunday, June 30, 2013

Garage Sale!!

So, in trying to fund our mission trip to Guatemala I decided to do a garage sale.  I am ashamed to say I took NO PICTURES!!  Oh my goodness.  Bad blogger!

We did pretty well.  At first my son & I thought we wouldn't have enough for a sale but we had lots of people donate things for us to sell AND we went up to our attic.  We are happy & my husband is even happier having some more space up there!! 

We ended up getting about 1/2 of the expense of our passports.  That set us back pretty good getting 4 passports!  It's nice to know I can do something to help with the $$ part of this trip :)

Well, I am so sorry I didn't get pictures.  We were blessed & were able to bless.  My son was a BEAST at selling & helping people take the things to their cars.  My little girl sold lemonade & brownies like a pro!!  She was getting lots of tips as well.

Thanks for following my ramblings.  We only have a little longer before we leave for Guatemala.  The tickets are bought.  I am getting more nervous as we get closer.  I know this is God led.  I get to experience something a lot of people won't ever get to. 

If you remember to pray for us, we would really love that!!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!!



Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Mom Brag Time




Major Mom brag time here.  John Mayer fan?  This is my son doing "Hummingbird".  Enjoy!!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Mission Trip - Guatemala

Well, I mentioned a bit ago, we are going on a family mission trip to Guatemala.  This is the first family mission trip our church has done.

I would like to say everyone in my family is totally ready for this.  They aren't.  My youngest wants to go tomorrow :)  She said she is ready and wonders what is wrong with the rest of us :)

I will be using my blog to posts some updates about Guatemala also.  As we get closer & of course afterward, I will post pictures & other things from the trip.

For right now we are meeting with the other families every Sunday to have some bonding time.  Team discussions & stuff like that.  Trying to get to know everyone better.  The leaders of our group are a wonderful couple who have done mission work before & are very knowledgeable.  I know that helps me feel better about doing this.  I know I can always ask them any question & not feel silly about it!! Seriously.  When you have a family of 5 and have no where to do laundry, what do you do? 

For starters I will post this picture.  This is the Pacaya volcano.  We will have a front row view of this beauty where we will be.   This is an active volcano.  The last activity reported was an eruption that peaked May 27, 2010.  This caused LOTS of ash to rain down on surrounding cities. Our Pastor was there right afterward & got to help clean up the ash around the house of one of the people he was visiting. 

It seems silly but I am VERY excited to see this volcano!!
 



Have you gone on any mission trips?  What are some of the places you have visited?

Be Blessed & Healthy!!


If you are interested in helping us fund our trip you can go to this webpage and click on "The Sadlon Family":   https://cflcn.org/missionsdonation/




Friday, June 21, 2013

Just a Mom's Thoughts

I am a mom of 3.  My children are 17 (almost 18 - in one month), 14 & 7. 

There is a stretch between the oldest & youngest.  There are many days I am very thankful for that.  I love that my little girl came last, to be honest.  I LOVE my boys.  I have loved spending days at the baseball field, seeing the way their imagination would just take off & they would build things, create new games, be totally excited about hunting with Dad.  There are just too many ways to say how much they mean to me. 

My little girl does the same but in a totally different way.  I am glad I saved most of the things the boys had played with because she LOVES her dinosaurs & racecars.  She also is a girly-girl too.  She likes her Barbies & dress up things. 

Recently with my oldest being on the cusp of being a "grown-up" - since 18 seems to be that magic age (which by the way I don't believe an age is the way to tell if someone is grown up) I have had the opportunity to really watch & do a lot of thinking about things.  Something that is so hard to do is not step in & want to fix everything for him.   He has always been a strong-willed, intelligent kid.   He was able to finish 2 years of college while still in high school.  I am in awe of that.  Taught himself how to play guitar & is INCREDIBLE at it. 

I think something that someone once said to me when my kids were younger was "we pay so much attention to the children's FIRSTs but we don't remember to pay attention the LASTs".  That means so much more now than it ever did before.  Like after my son played baseball for 8+ years, he decided to stop & I missed his last game.

I try to make sure I'm there for them.  I can't tell you the amount of love in my heart for all my children.   It's so different though for each one of them. 

Ah, I'm trying not to give too much detail because I really don't want to embarrass them or anything.  I just really wish I could step in like when they were little & just take the hurts away.  Tell the people who are hurting them to BUG OFF.  A mother's love is a serious thing.  Some day they will know.  Some day, probably when they have kids of their own, will they truly know & understand what we feel for them.  How much we could do for them.  How much just talking to them means to us. 

Can you relate?  I would love to hear your stories.

Be Blessed & Healthy!!!

Friday, June 14, 2013

Vacation Bible School week - DONE

Ok, the VBS week is officially over.  I can honestly say I have kept up with my workouts (still have to do today's though).  I feel great about that for sure.

What I can say though is my eating hasn't been very good.  I did not plan my lunches & had no time to make very good dinners.  So, that means I did too much snacking and more like binge eating. 

The good thing I can say about this is that I know what I did & am REALLY happy to make the change back to eating like I should be.  No more snacking like that & making sure my meals are planned. 

Do you plan your menu?  How far in advance?

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Monday, June 10, 2013

Vacation Bible School this week

Well, it's summer time & that means Vacation Bible School for a lot of kids.  Our church has a huge VBS.  We do it for 2 weeks & there are 200 kids each week. 

I have been helping in the kitchen the last few years & while it's hard to see what snacks the kids get it also helps because I am able to see what I need to bring for my daughter AND I can make some somewhat subtle suggestions :)

So, this is week of needing to leave my house about 7am and making sure I fit my workout in each day.  Thankfully this happens to be an easy week (not sure there is one with P90X but...).  Yoga, core & stretching.  I think I can handle them.  I MUCH prefer to workout in the morning but with 1-1/2 hour yoga that won't be happening in the morning. 

My challenge this week is to make sure I am working in my workouts.  My history with VBS is I'm knocked out the rest of the day afterward.  You know those kids can really wear you OUT! 

My other challenge I have been working on is getting the sleep I need.  

How many hours do you get of sleep??

Be Blessed & Healthy!!!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Before & After Pictures

To be honest, when I look in the mirror most times I still see me 30+lbs heavier.  I don't see a difference most times.  The way I know I'm doing good is by the clothes I am fitting in.  Some times by measurements too but I can't let my mind be sucked into the numbers.  They really mess me up. 

A Facebook page I follow "Ripped Goddess" posts pictures of how well people are doing.  Lots of before & after pics, lots of pics of people just really proud of their work.  I finally got up the nerve to post my own pictures. 

I went through some of my pictures & realized there is a difference.  I am really glad I did that. 

So, if you are just starting out, sure, weigh yourself & remember, if you stay true to yourself you will NEVER see that weight again.  BUT take a picture.  Don't be shy.  Doesn't matter if you lose 10, 20 or 60 lbs.  You will see a difference.  You deserve to see that.  It works.  Take it from me.

Be Blessed & Healthy!!!

Friday, June 7, 2013

First Mission Trip!

I am somewhat excited.  We were asked to be one of the families from our church to go on the first family mission trip to Guatemala!!  We have  had quite a few go there from our church but not families.  The men that have gone helped build a medical clinic & dorm area.  Now that the dorms are finished, they are perfect for families.

Yikes!!  I always considered my "mission" to be working with children in our church.  Also, just with my family.  I'm a stay at home, homeschooling mom.  I figured that was enough.  Right? 

Nope, God said otherwise!  We prayed about it & now 5 passports later -- we are going.  My youngest (age 7) is THRILLED!!  Her older brothers, not so much.  They are working on it though.  We went & got books from the library to learn some things about the area we will be in.  It feels better to know a little bit.  One of the things we found out is there is an ACTIVE volcano across the lake from where we will be.  Now THAT is exciting!!

While we are there we will be helping with things like painting, etc.  Maybe some VBS type stuff for the kids although they will still be in school during the days.  Also, making some home visits to share the gospel. 

Have you ever been on a mission trip/out of the country??  I would LOVE to hear your experiences!!!

Be Blessed & Healthy!!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Determination

Determination: the act of coming to a decision or of fixing or settling a purpose.

The act of coming to a decision.   A long time ago I was determined to get healthy.  I decided hearing my son call me fat, not being able to do things I wanted to because I was too tired or just plan old lazy was unacceptable.  I also wanted to FEEL good for me.  Looking good for my husband was also a plus. 

It's so easy to say we are going to make changes.  When we start to make them our bodies start craving the crap it got so used to (sugar! fat!!).  I believe if we stick to the good changes we make for a month then our bodies will begin craving the good stuff.  Will we make wrong decisions some times?  Not working out one day, having that dessert that just looks too good to pass up.  Of course we will!  But we can't beat ourselves up about it.  Move on & continue on the right path. 

Exercise is probably one of the easiest things we can start with.  Going for a walk, jog or run.  Go to the library & look at their workout videos.  There are some very simple ones to get started with.  Truly all you need is about 20 minutes of your day to devote to working out.  Your body will reward you when you start doing this.  Within about 4 weeks you will start noticing a change.  A GREAT change.  You won't want to stop then.

Are you the type of person that would need others to workout with?  I thought I was in the beginning.  I started feeling sorry for myself because I couldn't get others to workout with me.  They acted like they wanted to but it was never followed through.  I realized the excuses got to me.  Their excuses.  Then I realized that was ok.  It doesn't have to change my goal.  If you want to try to gather a group of friends to walk with -- GREAT!!!  Putting in a DVD?  Call your friend to come over & join you or go to her house.  It's fun & the laughs are healthy too.  If no one can work out with you that's ok too!  Focus on making sure you are doing each move as good as you can.  Turn on some great music & get it done. 

Be determined.  You CAN do this.  Do it for yourself.  Do it for your family.  Just do it!!

Tell me one thing you can do to get started.  When I got started Denise Austin & Leslie Sansone were my go to workouts.  What about you??

Be Blessed & Healthy!!