Easter 2017

"O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?"  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.  - 1 Corinthians 15:54-58

Easter Egg Hunt at school

 Easter morning happy faces:

 "Gardening Day" with RaRa:

 Easter celebration and egg hunt:

Happy Resurrection Day! 

It's Time to Kick Dieting to the Curb

Has this ever happened to you?  You've been very disciplined in your attempts to lose those last five pounds.  You've carefully monitored how you've eaten, sticking to a low-calorie diet, and you've exercised as planned all week.  You proudly step onto the scale to weigh yourself expecting to have succeeded only to find that you've actually GAINED weight!  What happened?  How can all this hard work equate to the opposite of the desired effect?

I've recently read a very interesting article that talks about our "set weight range" and "intentional eating" ("Why Diets Are So Last Year" by Anne Marie O'Connor in the February 2017 edition of Pilates Style). Our set weight range is the weight range that our bodies naturally want to be in.  For instance, your set weight range may be anywhere between 135 pounds and 150 pounds.  Your body just naturally gravitates to somewhere between these two points.  It's different for every person, but it's the reason that sometimes it's difficult to get the scale to budge.  It's usually fairly easy to lose weight to get into the set weight range, while it takes a bit more work to get to the lower end of the weight range.  To go below the weight range, however, it takes serious calorie restrictions - i.e., dieting.  This, however, can be extremely detrimental to your overall health and a major set back to weight loss. 

The article I read cites several studies that show that dieting can actually cause you to gain weight over the long run.  In one of the studies, 13 Biggest Loser contestants had regained all of the weight they lost six years after the program, and their metabolism was slower than when the show began - meaning that they now burn less calories than when they started.  Another study showed that twins who dieted regularly were five times as likely to end up overweight as compared to their twins who were not trying to lose weight at all. 

The explanation behind this phenomena lies in the effect that dieting has on our bodies.  When we overly restrict calories, our bodies go into starvation mode.  In starvation mode, our bodies want to hold on for dear life to any calorie it gets because the calories seem to be few and far between.  The metabolism slows to a snail's pace.  It's our bodies' way of keeping us alive - very helpful if you're on a raft with little food floating for days in the middle of the Pacific Ocean but not so helpful if you're just trying to lose a few pounds. 

So the next time you're tempted to go on a ten day cleanse where you eat nothing but spinach smoothies, think of the long-term consequences first.  Any immediate weight loss that you might have will be off-set by the slow in your metabolism as a result.  A year from now, you're likely to weigh more than you do now because of the slower metabolism, especially if this type of dieting happens on a regular basis.

Now that you've sworn off dieting (which is actually kind of a relief, right?  who really likes dieting anyways?), what are you to do if you want to lose weight?  Instead of dieting, focus on being on the lower end of your set weight range and being an "intuitive eater."  That means listening to your body.   When you're body is sending you signals that you're hungry, you eat until you are comfortably full (not uncomfortably stuffed).  The foods that you do eat should be nutritious and serve the purpose of providing steady energy for your lifestyle.  Think of your hunger on a scale of 1-10 (1 being starving and 10 being just finished Thanksgiving dinner).  You should strive to eat when you're at a 3 and only eat until you're at a 6.

If you stick to this intentional eating, you're body will naturally gravitate to its set weight range.  That's where your body wants to be. 

What if your set weight range is not where you want it to be though?  What if you still want to lose ten more pounds?  While some experts believe you can't change your set weight range, some experts do believe it is possible to gradually shift it to a lower weight range.  The key is to do it very gradually. You can make small changes at a very slow pace so that the changes will hopefully not send your body into starvation mode.  Once your body has reached the lower end of your set weight range (i.e., you have reached a weight loss plateau), the key is to make small changes one at a time, allowing your body time to adjust between each one, and the changes that you do make should be sustainable - not something that you can't maintain for more than a few weeks.  So you wouldn't want to cut your calories in half and add an extra five miles to your daily run all at once.  Instead, you would set a goal for one week to be mindful of what you are eating, being sure to eat slowly and make sure you're really hungry for what you're eating.  The next week, you may set a goal to take a walk outside three times a week.  The following week maybe you decide to set a goal of eating more vegetables. Spread over time, these changes are not drastic and will not have a negative effect on your metabolism.  The goals are healthy and are sustainable.

To be sure, you won't lose ten pounds in a week like you would with drastic dieting, but you also won't suffer the boomerang effect that dieting has on your body, where you end up heavier than when you started.  So the next time you're tempted to try one of these gimmick diets where you starve yourself for some short term goal, just say no!  It's time to say goodbye to starving yourself and say hello to healthy, intentional eating - for the sake of your current self and your future self.

Things to Do

These two have been keeping us on our toes lately.  With them both being walkers (er...runners) now, they're both little whirlwinds of destruction barrelling through our house at an ever increasing speed.  Things go missing - remote controls, make-up, combs, measuring spoons, books, cups...basically anything that is within their reach - and they are often never seen again.  At least, until we look in the tiniest nook in the darkest corner of the house.  Or (pursuant to Murphy's Law) after we've already bought a replacement for whatever was lost. 

Tony and I joke that they have a to-do-list that they must accomplish before the day ends every day.  It usually looks something like this:
- Throw as much food as possible on the floor at mealtimes
- Remove every mixing bowl from the cabinets and place strategically in places along the floor where they will cause the most trips and stumbles
- Fling all the shoes in the shoe cubbies into the floor directly in front of the front door
- Relocate all items in the bathroom drawers to unexpected locations throughout the house
- Shove all books in Mom's reading area directly to the floor - bonus points for making the books fall such that the bookmarks fall out
- Eat some of Mom's make-up
- Eat some dirt from Mom's plants and/or rub some dirt into the carpet
- Go through the office desk drawers and sprinkle Mom's business cards all over the office
- Smoosh face into all glass doors and windows
- Distribute little cars all along the floor throughout the house (a la Home Alone)
They're serious about accomplishing their goals, and they usually cross each item off the list each day.  It's a good thing they're so cute...

Judson has also become quite adventurous.  So much so in fact that he recently stood atop his riding turtle (meant for bouncing on, mind you), which resulted in him tumbling to the ground...but not before hitting his eye on the turtle's handles on the way day, giving himself his very first (and hopefully last) black eye.

 Not two days later, he was so elated to be outside that he tripped over his own feet as he ran down the driveway, adding two more bruises and scrapes to our prize fighter's face.

He's been a good sport about it all.  After the initial cry, he hasn't even acted like the bumps and bruises bother him. 
We've been (jokingly) telling people Wren beat him up.  Truthfully, she probably could have done it to him.  She has quite a mean streak these days.  The other day, she was banging a car on Judson's head because he was trying to steal her seat.  And just last week, as I was carrying her down the stairs first thing in the morning, I must have annoyed her somehow because she channeled her inner Susan Lucci and soap-opera-style slapped me across the face.  If she had had a glass of water handy, I'm pretty certain she would have thrown it in my face too.  She may be the strongest willed of them all, which I think is a good thing.  We'll just have to work on focusing her strong will a little more. 
She's usually pretty fun and sweet though.  Here she is making silly faces with Mommy.

We've also had some fun trips to get ice cream lately.  We've all agreed that we can add that to the to-do list any day.

These two are certainly hard work, but, as I remind myself often, they're totally and completely worth it.  (Please remind me of that when I slip and fall on a small car some day in the future.) 

Caleb's Prayer

Every night when I'm putting Caleb to bed, we say our prayers.  Usually, I do the praying, and Caleb chimes in at "Amen.".  Tonight, Caleb asked if he could pray, to which I of course agreed.  What followed was one of the most precious prayers I think I have ever heard.  I came downstairs and wrote it down immediately lest I forget any of his thoughtful words.  Here they are (with no editing from me):
"God,
Thank you for Jesus.  Glory fy him and God.  Whatever is noble, right, pure.  Christ's name is Jesus.  Amen."
Knowing what he meant, my heart about burst with love for this boy as he spoke his own original words.  Yes, Caleb, I agree.  Thank the Lord for Jesus and for Caleb.  May he glorify God in all that he does, and may he always keep his mind on whatever is noble, right and pure.
Here's our sweet boy singing and "playing" his guitar:

One Year

I can hardly believe that it's been exactly one year today since Judson had his heart surgery.  At the time, we had no idea how effective the surgery would be, what repercussions we would have as a result of the surgery itself, or what life would be like with a little baby who just had open-heart surgery.  We prayed for the surgeon to have wisdom and steady hands as he maneuvered the tiny organs and bones that were a part of our precious little baby boy.  We prayed that God would sustain us as a family as we struggled to take care of all of the little ones he has blessed us with, even while one was in the hospital.  We prayed that Judson's oxygen levels after the surgery would rise to a level that would sustain his activity level and that he would continue to grow and thrive.  We had no idea what the future held for us, but we prayed...

And God heard our prayers and answered them above and beyond what we asked for.  Today, Judson is perhaps the most active of all of our kids.  He walks, runs, loves to play peek-a-boo, throws balls, and does everything else a little boy his age should be doing.  I love to see his pink cheeks after he's been running around because that means that his oxygen level is good.  His little personality is so cute, and he melts my heart when he sweetly says "Mama."

Glory be to God for all that he has done for Judson and all of us.