WOW....The Lost Sheep Returns

Not lost spiritually, only bloggily....errr, lost from the blog? I do not know how to say that but we all know it means that my blog has been *dead* since February. The good news is...*I* haven't been dead!! At least that is good news to me and my family. Blah blah blah.....

Okay, here is the deal....

I am going to New York!!!!!!!!

Just found out yesterday that I earned the trip to NY through my home-based business. I worked hard for this trip. Last year it was Jamaica and the year before was Arizona. I have never been to New York so I am pretty excited about it.

I have lost 70 pounds!!!!!!!!

Actually, 70.8 lbs if you want to know the exact number. Which you probably don't, but people like me are thrilled with losing even a fraction of a pound!!

The Bishop says I look really good now and should stop losing, but I am not satisfied yet. I am looking to lose about 13 more pounds to reach my next goal. I just want to fluctuate between 0-5 lbs at that spot, rather than this one. I will actually weigh less than I did when I graduated from High School two decades and three kids ago!!

The Bishop is going to the Philippines.

He is going in early May so he is busy getting things ready for that. He is teaching Early Reformation History there this time. He heads to India in November but first to the Philippines.

The Kidlettes are all well.

The kids are doing extremely well in the Christian school after two years of home-schooling. Tomorrow is Report Card day....their third one this year and I am expecting good things again. Only 2 months left of school and then home for the summer!!

God

The most important aspect of my life to update you on.....

God is good, as always. He is faithful and true. He brings me comfort and joy in my deepest parts, through Jesus Christ my Lord. I just celebrated my *spiritual birthday* on April 2. I have been a child of God for 20 years now. It doesn't seem that long ago....and although it has been 20 years I am fully aware of how much I do not know about our glorious Lord, how much He has left to teach me, how much more I need to be moulded into the image of Christ.

2008 Check In

I am a pathetic blogger...I know that too well.

Here it is, exactly one month into 2008

and I am just making my first appearance.

Life has been busy, as usual, but good.

Today one of my sons turned 12 years old....

we are having a sleepover of crazy boys here tonight. Pray for me.

I do not really know what to update about...

nothing has happened that anyone would care about.

My parents visited for the entire month of January,

but are back home safe now; they arrived last night.

The kids got their Report Cards on Wednesday...

all of them have averages in the mid to high 90's,

which ROCKS!!

Especially because I homeschooled them the last two years

and I needed confirmation that I didn't destroy their minds! lol

Our youngest son just started guitar lessons...
Now we have 2 piano players, a flautist & tin whistle player
and the new guitar player....too bad I can't play anything!

On the weight loss front.....
I did gain a number of pounds over the Christmas holiday stretch.
However, I am glad to say that I have those ones all OFF again and then some.
I have now lost 64.0 pounds in total...
I am 0.6 lbs away from my goal.
Now that I am this close, I can see that I still want to lose more.
I feel good and people tell me I look good, which is nice,
but I still see that there is room for improvement.
I definitely want to lose 10 more pounds, without question...
possibly 20 pounds in total.
I would prefer to struggle in that range than the one I am in now.


The Bishop is going to India and the Philippines this year to teach, which is exciting.

That is about it.
God is good, life is good and my business is going well.
I am blessed so much more than I deserve.

Sweet Georgia Brown!!!!!!

This rabbit has nothing to do with my post. I just love that he is so blooming BIG!!


"Sweet Georgia Brown...."

I really have no idea where that comes from...a song, I think.

In any case, it is something I say when I am excited.

I really draw it out though.....

Sweeet Geeeeeeorrrrrrrrrgiiiiiiiaaaaa Brrrrrrrrrownnnnnn!!!!

Just ask my children!
They are embarrassed when I do it.



This occasion calls for a Sweet Georiga Brown.

No, not because I am finally posting on my beloved blog.



But

because

I

have

finally

hit

the



60



Pounds



GONE



mark!!!!



Actually, this morning marks 60.4 lbs gone from this broken, cracked, clay vessel I call a body.



I started January 1, 2007 and that little episode lasted until December 8, 2007.



I am not finished though. There is more to be done, just another milestone to make note of.



My actual goal is 3.2 lbs away. I had a number in my head that I wanted to reach.



Thing is, I went to one of those lovely websites that you put your age, height and gender in and it told me my *ideal goal weight* should actually be 10 lbs lighter than what I chose as a goal weight. Now THAT was a bummer.



I fall within the NORMAL range for BMI...Body Mass Index.

I used to be OBESE on that thing....not nice.
Homeschooling for 2 years nearly killed me! LOL

I am looking to be lower on the Normal range though.

I can see that I still need to lose,

although I am feeling pretty darn good about myself these days!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Okay, let the lovely John Denver song swim through your head for a couple of lines and then we will get down to business!

The Bishop left for the Philippines yesterday morning. We woke at 3 am, which is not nice. One of our deacons was kind enough to pick him up at 4 am for the drive to the airport. It is kind of a tradition now, which I am very thankful for. Gotta love deacons!!

The Bishop will be going from here to Toronto,

from Toronto to Hong Kong,

from Hong Kong to Manila,

from Manila to IloIlo.

That is a lot of flight changes!!

Pray that his luggage does not get lost, especially his notes/laptop/projector.

He will be spending the first week visiting the churches that our church had the priviledge of helping to build. He will be preaching and teaching there, most times with a translater. The churches are located all over the Philippines and most of them are right in the jungle. The Bishop, as always in previous years, is hoping for a real adventure that might include an exotic beastie or two. The following week is spent teaching in the seminary, which does not require a translater. This year the course he is teaching is 19th and 20th century church history.

Now THAT is a Good Question!

I saw these questions in the signature line of Chemnitz...

from a message board I visit.

I loved them!!

Questions that haunt me:

IF JIMMY CRACKS CORN AND NO ONE CARES,

WHY IS THERE A STUPID SONG ABOUT HIM?

IF CORN OIL IS MADE FROM CORN,

AND VEGETABLE OIL IS MADE FROM VEGETABLES,

WHAT IS BABY OIL MADE FROM?

WHAT DISEASE DID CURED HAM ACTUALLY HAVE?

WHY DO TOASTERS ALWAYS HAVE A SETTING

THAT BURNS THE TOAST TO A HORRIBLE CRISP,

WHICH NO DECENT HUMAN BEING WOULD EAT?

Milestones....

I have a friend who has been blessed with the opportunity to visit England. I would love to do that one day as well. So much history. So many things to see and *feel*...you know how you just *feel* the history when you visit old places? lol Maybe I am a freak.

In any case....this friend told me how she loved to see the old milestones along the roads. As she went along, she could imagine travelling by horse and buggy 200 years ago and spotting the milestones out the carriage window as she approached London. I think that would be a very cool experience.

Milestones are great, aren't they?

I just hit a significant milestone myself....50 lbs GONE!!

50 lbs was not a goal of mine, it was one step in a long journey.

However, I feel it is a milestone that needs to be acknowledged...it feels good!

I have reduced my bmi by 7.4....I now have 5.6 lbs to go to get to my goal.

Now THAT will be a milestone!!

Nothing Much to Say....

Except, I am still losing weight...

not as fast as I would like, of course...

However,

I am now down

46.4 lbs

since Jan 1st!!

I am looking forward to hitting that 50 lb mark.

That seems significant.

I am also looking forward to hitting my next real goal...

It is 9.2 lbs away....I will be *normal* when I lose 9.2 more lbs.

Normal sounds good to me.

After that....my next goal will be 8 lbs more.

Nice, reasonable goals.

After that....15 more lbs and I will be like I was in high school!!!

I am not sure I even want to go that low...but it is on the radar for me to consider.

A girl has to have goals, right?!