Updates in Pictures

     Well here ya go blog readers! Proof is in the pudding... Ok bad word usage for a Vegan! How about the Proof is in the Broccoli! There we go! I know my blog has been all consumed with my quest for health lately however, I like to blog about what I'm doing and that is what I'm doing. Well that and raising 2 kids, running summer camp with 300 kids and a staff of about 40ish, teaching college classes at our internship, maintaining a household, you know... that sort of thing. So I know that my life is full and that I have lots to discuss but sometimes it's just nice to be encouraged.
     So for those who have been wondering what 22lbs weight loss looks like, this is it. I would not by any stretch of the imagination say that it's the Before and After however, I will say it is the Before and Middle.

     I had breakfast yesterday morning with my children and the loves of my life. Summer is a tough time for them because Mike and I both work outside the home and they are not used to not haveing Mommy around. I have to say, it gets kinda difficult for me too. I miss being with them everyday. However, they are loving camp. Campbell is working at the Nature activity and doing a great job. She rides the wagon down to the barn with the campers, spends the whole activity there and rides it back. All by herself. Carson, gets to go to work with Mike some. Not alot just yet but he asks to ride the tractor EVERY time we pass by it. They both like being with me on stage and talking in the mic! Big shocker!

     So this pic was taken before camp started because NONE of us has time for these kids of hobbies however, this is the biggest fish he has caught and I was so proud of him that I agreed to have it mounted. So in a few short months, this will join the plethora of dead animals that grace my walls. And you know what, I don't mind. Mike has been working so hard at camp. Maintaining everything that goes on around here is a more than full time job. Just this morning, he has welded the red wagon back together, fixed a tire on the water rides wagon and is currrently hooking a gigantic pipe to pump water from small lake into Fun Swim. It's hard to find time to spend together during these summer months but we make it work for our family. This is who we are and we are blessed because of it.

     So, as you can see, we are all doing well. From the weight loss to breakfast to big fish, we are enjoying our lives. What is not to enjoy? We have a great family, we live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, we have a great group of campers every week that we get to minister too and we have an exceptional staff who has, once again, become grafted into our lives. As I finish this blog, and this huge bowl of hummus, it is my prayer that you find your life as blessed as I am finding mine.

Happy Summer Everyone!  

    

If you never start, then you will never finish

     So, I love blogging so much. Something about getting my thoughts out on paper...well...the screen that is rewarding. However, we are in camp. That, in and of itself, is enough said. Camp is all consuming. I feel like there are moments when i have a difficult time balancing everything I am supposed to be and do during these busy, but wonderful summer months. To the staff, I am a mom/friend/boss and confidante. To my husband, I am a wife. To the campers, I am a role model/mom and friend. To my children, I am a mom. To myself, I am a vegan. No matter how busy I have become these past few weeks, I have maintained course in my quest for health. This has been somewhat of a challenge seeing how camp food, while delicious, is not necessarily considered Vegan. Chicken frisbee sandwiches, french fries, grilled chicken breasts, sausage gravy, strips, mashed potatoes, cheese and pepperoni pizzas...you get the point.

     No matter what has been on the menu, I have stayed true to my resolve. This has paid off, I am happy to say. Yes! My overall goal is still next January which has kept me on track through the months however, I have crossed several milestones that have made me extremely happy. 2 weeks ago, I reached a weight loss of my biggest milestone to date...20lbs! I almost started crying! With the accomplishment of that goal brought with it, on its heals, a new goal. 22 lbs. I would go into why these milestones have such significance in my life but somethings are just for me. Anyway, To reach milestone number 2, I needed to loose 2 more lbs. Well, at 4:45 this morning, I am happy to say, I reached it!!!! 22 lbs!!! I feel so good for so many reasons. I am loving how I feel, the confidence that I am walking in, the way my clothes are fitting, or not fitting, the way I look in pictures! The most thing I am enjoying is the fact that I am well on my way to my life of health.

     The most difficult part of any quest for health is starting it and staying on it. I have wanted to get healthy and lose weight for so many years that Im unsure when it actually began. I never liked being on the front end of needing to do something about my lifestyle. When one needs to start a lifestyle change, the motivation is low because the journey is so long.

     I can tell you with much enthusiasm, it is worth it. The journey is tough, but being in the middle of it and still not needing to start is amazing. Whatever changes you are needing to make in your life just go ahead and jump in. With your finances, with your marriage, with your parenting, with your home, with your wardrobe, with your relationship with the Lord, whatever it is that you have been needing to start, just go ahead. Start.... You can do it. If I can change habits, lifestyles and thought processes then you can too!

                                                   If you never start then you will never finish.

Sweat, Dust and Proverbs 31...

     Yes! It is camp time again! Once again I find myself sitting at my vanity, putting make up on that will sweat off by council ring, brushing through hair that a golf cart ride will turn into a matted mess and trying to assemble and outfit that goes with red... Ahhh yes! It is camp again. In case you don't know, I am one of 3 camp directors that run Brookhill. My counterparts are 2 males. Do you have ANY idea what a man has to do to look presentable enough to run a kids summer camp? Shorts, T-shirt that has been laying on the floor, a hat or a run through of the hair with the fingers and they are good to go. That's it! That's All! Add in the brushing of the teeth and the kissing of the kids and wife and you have about a 10, possibly 15 minute process. From asleep to presentable...SO NOT FAIR!!!
    
     For me to look presentable enough to run a kids camp, I have to shower, shave, apply conditioner to manage my hair, base to cover the uneven scary skin tones, powder to smooth, blush and lipstick to look... well... ALIVE! Eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara... then comes the daunting task of clothing! What should I wear... this is as much as a neverending question as What should I eat! Is it too low? It is too tight? Will it feel to tight after 30 minutes of Council Ring? Is it too short? Will it make me sweat more than I should?
    
     Speaking of sweat... lets's just go there... Guys...when they sweat, it looks natural. They are suppossed to sweat. It looks manly. Like they have really been working hard. Guys can wear it well. Girls, on the other hand... or just me... I sweat from the top of my head! O yes! The top of my head. Which is lovely! So, after just a few moments out in the sun, my hair looks like I have just stepped out of shower. It's not pretty to say the least. Here I am, trying to be as cool as my male counterparts, attempting to be the perfect image of a beautiful Proverbs 31 woman, sweating from my head! Awesome! I am suppossed to be clothed in fine linen... Linen! Can you think of anything worse at a time like this? Maybe the dust from the horseback road sticking into my wet from sweat hair... Ok! That might be worse than linen.
    
     So, it is with a final resolve that I sit at my vanity, wrapping up an hours worth of beauty products just to look natural and thrown together, I am reminded of the roles of men and women. In this case, no matter how long my make up lasts, how wet my clothes are by the end of the day, how dripping with sweat my scalp may be... I can honestly say, it is the thought that counts!

Will You Be Our Mom?

     It's that time again! Camp time, I mean. How can you tell? Because there is my blog posts are getting fewer and farther between and because the status on my Facebook page has remained the same for the last week. We have had a great week of staff training and as I sit at my desk completing the staff activity schedule and preparing for one last training session with the JC's, I am overcome with mixed emotions.
     First - I am always amazed at how fast the summer goes. I remember, like it was last night, staff training from last year. I remember staff banquet and what most people were wearing. Every year, the seasons seem to go by faster and faster. The moments seem to pass all to quickly.
     Second - I already have a horse voice. This is due to the first night of staff training when we played rainy day games. Oddly enough, it seems to always rain on my shift! So, naturally, I am the one that plays games like, roller racers (which is my favorite to watch), grab the tail (which is the most competivie and therefore the boys favorite game), Whompum (which is only a name Steven Sexton could come up with after creating this game), and many more. It was the first night of staff training when my clear, crisp voice turned into something much... well... softer. And it will stay that way until one week after staff banquet.
     Thirdly - After 30 years of doing this, I am amazed at how every year, the staff makes its way into my heart. Friday morning of staff training is proposal day. The guy Senior Counselors ask a girl Senior Counselor to be their sister bunkhouse and give them a rock. Not a ring/rock, just a rock. So cute and very creative. Well, I was standing at the end of one the cafeteria tables and one by one, the boys brought me rocks and placed them in front of me. Each with a different letter written on it. It took me a moment to realize they were spelling something. "Is this for me?', I asked with much curiosity in my tone. "Yes", they replied. I watched the letters on each rock come together to spell out the phrase, "Will you be our Mom?" Warm tears filled my eyes as I replied, "Yes". "She said yes!", they exlaimed, and I began to hug them one by one.

     Just like that, in a single moment, I was reminded of the blessed woman I am. I have had the honor of carrying and giving birth to 2 of the most wonderful children and every summer, I am allowed the opportunity to adopt into my home and into my heart, 30 more! It is a short 9 weeks to be a mother and a role model but every year, I take this job on with as my passion as I did the year before. With a new group of extraordinary young men and women sitting around my table, napping on my couches and eating my food, it is with a grateful heart that I begin Summer Camp. With it brings laughter, stories, friendships, moments and memories that will last long after they have gone.
     "Will you be our Mom?...Absolutely!