A Mom's Life

"When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, he doesn't just sit down and eat.  He must first prepare his master's meal and serve him his supper before eating his own.  And the servant is not even thanked, because he is merely doing what he is supposed to do.  In the same way, when you obey me you should say, 'We are not worthy of praise.  We are servants who have simply done our duty.'"  Luke 17:7-10

my calling

If that doesn't describe a mother's life to a "T"!  It certainly describes my evenings!  After dinner, there are dishes and baths and a shower that lasts about five minutes (I'll shave my legs when the kids are grown).  Laying out clothes, checking the calendar... the list is endless.  What I want to do (and I do at least half the time) is just sit down.  Sitting down means that baths probably won't get done, I'll be searching for socks in the morning and I'll be completely surprised that I have an early morning appointment!
The attitude in this scripture convicts and inspires me.  The servant serves without thought of "what about me".  The servant isn't disappointed when his spouse doesn't remark about a job well done.  He simply does what he needs to do when he needs to do it because it is his calling.
As a mother and a wife, I am called to care for my family and home in the way of the Proverbs woman (Proverbs 31: 10-31).  Although I may never reach her status as the ideal, I do believe that my calling is to do the work without thought of praise, recognition, honor or reward.  As a mom, I am simply doing my duty because I have been blessed enough to be called by God to do so.

The Mountain and Sea of Information: Complex Carbohydrates

Ok, so carbohydrates supply us with energy.  Depending on how refined your carbs are, that energy will last a little while or a long while.  Of course, if you're consuming complex carbohydrates, then the energy provided will be a slower and more sustained release.  Herein lies the theory of appetite control.
I am of the firm belief that those of us who gain weight do so because we've eaten beyond our appetite anyway, so choosing our carbs better is only part of the equation.  I need to pay attention to when I feel full and stop.  The other great thing about complex carbohydrates is that they are far more nutritious than their more refined counterparts.  The more refined or processed any food product is, the less nutritional value it holds.  So if I feed my body complex carbohydrates then i will feel full faster, have a sustained and level energy release and will be feeding my body the nutrients it needs to be healthy.
Whew!  Ok, it's gotta be complicated, right??  Not so!  I did a search on the internet for lists of complex carbohydrates.  Here are a few that I found:

• whole grains
• spinach
• apples
• nuts
• dried fruit
• lettuce
• oatmeal
• pears
• asparagus
• plums
• strawberries
• wild rice
• oranges
• brown rice
• yams
• celery
• carrots
• cucumbers
• beans
• potatoes
• broccoli

Those aren't hard to find!  Nor are they difficult to eat!  Watch the whole grain breads, tho.  Read the labels.  You may have a hard time finding good bread choices that don't include poor ingredients like white sugar, corn syrup or processed white flour.  I'll post an easy bread recipe so you can make your own.  I don't use entirely whole wheat flour in it yet because I'm trying to ease my family into eating something new.  You can do the same thing for yourself and your family as well, if you'd like.
Ok, so the first component of my new way of eating is in place.  Purposefully adding complex carbohydrates to my diet.  Next is lean protien...

The Mountain and Sea of Information: Introduction

So, here I go getting downright personal.  For the first time in my life, I've gained weight.  I hate it.  I went to the doctor.  Surely something must be medically wrong.  My thyroid!  No.  Diabetes?  No.  Not that I want to be ill, understand, there just has to be some reason for this weight that isn't actually MY fault.  After all, I've continued to do everything I've always done (which is next to nothing) and eat everything I've always eaten (which is nearly everything), how could my body "all of a sudden" change so dramatically??
Well, it has and that's all there is to know.  My doctor had a very informative conversation with me about diet and exercise and so I'm now heading down this new road of purposeful activity and careful eating.  Add to that the fact that a good friend just suffered a massive heart attack despite careful monitoring of his cholesterol and blood pressure and I'm totally on this new band wagon toward a slimmer, healthier version of me.  Since patience is not a virtue I seem to possess, I am using this blog to help keep me focused on my new goals.
In a nutshell (because nuts are good for you), I'll be blogging about foods that aid in weight loss and control and that additionally will help with my heart health.  I'll be talking about moderation and the definition of exercise.
Because I'll be learning so much as I go, I'm counting on you to correct and inform as you have information to share.  There is so much information out there and I know that some of it is conflicting, but I'll try to stay focused on the main points that are bound to help everyone at some point or another.  The information I give will only be from conversation with my doctor and research I've done on my own.  It won't be complicated because, if it were I wouldn't be following any of it.  I'll share successes, failures and stalls.  I'm counting on you to encourage me along to better health and hold me accountable.
That's it.  The next post will be about complex carbohydrates....

Darn! Busted Again!

I've been battling Mitchell all day.  "Do your chores!"  "Get along!"  "Do your schoolwork!"  Sigh.  Finally I decided that I would leave it alone.  His Dad could deal with his laziness when he got home... not much of an anniversary gift but it hasn't been great for me, either!

mitch... ready for anything!

So here I sit in judgment when Mitchell pipes up and says, "Mom, what's your temptation?"  Choosing honesty over nobility I said, "Feeling sorry for myself and complaining."  "Oh," he says.  "Mine is messing around and playing when I should be working."
Shoot.  He got me.  We all struggle with something, don't we?  Where did my compassion go today?  When did I start yelling instead of guiding and teaching?  As difficult as Mitch can be, there is no denying that God speaks thru him straight to my heart. 
I have been sufficiently humbled.

Nice Man. Think I'll Keep Him.

Well, it's official!  Today I have been married to Joseph for 19 years!  Long time in today's world.  We met through a mutual friend and a few months later we started dating.  We've officially been a couple for about 21 years!  That's a long time to put up with someone, I suppose.  The question was posed, "how do we do it?"  The answer is a lot of hard work and the grace of God.  There's a huge amount of forgiveness and humility involved in marriage, I think.  You soon realize that you're not "all that" and that life is short... yeah, even after nineteen years I can say that life is short.  I've come up with a few bits of wisdom that apply to my marriage...

• I am responsible for my own behavior even if my spouse is being, shall we say, less than ideal.
• As soon as I start saying, "what about me?", I've doomed my marriage.  We go through seasons.  Sometimes it's about you, sometimes it isn't.  Grow up and serve.
• Guard yourselves against intruders at all costs!  Don't EVER let anyone come between you and your spouse.
• He's the leader, but she at least wants to know that she's been heard and considered.
• Stay interesting.  Who are you aside from wife and mother, husband and dad?
• Stop taking each other for granted.  You are both here to serve each other all the time, not just when it's convenient or when you feel like it, or when you think your spouse finally has done something to deserve it.
• Love is a choice... not a feeling.  Choose to love your spouse.  You're a big girl, you can do it!

So, because we've been married for 19 years and I have all of these great pearls of wisdom that means Joe and I have it down.... right??  bahahahahahahahaha!  Oh, man, that's funny!  Yeah, funny but not likely.  We pray and we rely on Biblical training.  Without the training we'd be doomed for sure.  If you haven't participated in a marriage seminar or had biblical marriage counseling, I'd encourage you to do that---even if everything is going great in your marriage.  Satan is roaming about the earth like a hungry lion seeking to devour whom he may. (1Peter 5:8)  Don't let your marriage be the "weak" or "sickly" or "young" one that that hungry lion devours.  And remember, "anger gives the devil a mighty foot hold." (Ephesians 4:26-27)  Besides that, anger is arrogant.
There's an enemy to our happy homes out there and he's dying to get in.  Guard yourselves.  Believe that the next home he poisons could easily be yours and fortify your marriage at all costs.  You will never be sorry you did.  And neither will your kids.

JoAnna's Chicken

When I first came to La Grande, I was looking into going to college... more than 20 years ago!!  I was here with my best friend and her cousin and we were staying at their relative's home.  Her name was JoAnna and she was a school teacher.  For dinner she made this chicken and it's been a staple at my house ever since.

two chicken breasts... the crumbs are so completely addicting!

JoAnna's Chicken

4 bone-in chicken leg quarters
2 cups of bread crumbs
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic
3/4 cup of butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine bread crumbs, cheese, salt, pepper and garlic in a gallon size ziploc bag.  Coat the chicken pieces with the melted butter then dip them into the crumb mixture and place them in a 9x13 baking dish.  Pour the leftover butter and crumb mixture over the top of the chicken and bake for about 1 1/4 hours til meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

Mini Unit Study: Fire Safety

max standing by the "wee-ooo" (his word for any vehicle with a siren!)

Well, since we had moved into our new house quite some time ago, we were clearly overdue for some fire safety training in our new locale!  I set up a mini-unit study on fire safety and we established our place to meet, fire safety rules and floor plan.  We installed two more smoke detectors and learned about the fire escape ladder located upstairs in Janie's room.  We talked about fire safety in the kitchen and throughout the house.  We got great ideas from www.sparky.org including a checklist and a printable floor plan.  They also have games on the site that reinforce what our kids learned.  We stretched the unit study to about a week and finished with a trip to the local fire department with our local homeschool group!  Clearly unit studies don't have to be big and involved.  Pick a little subject and try it for a week.  I love it!  They're really fun!