Rest Stop Retreat

Shauna and I hanging out at the camp fire making some smores.

Shauna and Candice by the creek. We took a walk down there to see where the zip line place is. It's across the creek on the other side.

Silly Heather and the Rest Stop hat.

So proud of Shauna for doing the rock wall!! You go girl!

Heather and Danielle getting ready to brave the zip line. I swear they look like construction workers with all of that equipment.

There's me zip lining. I'm the ball of fear near the tree in black.

Shauna and I getting ready to zip line.

One of my all time favorite pictures from the photo scavenger hunt. We all had to squeeze into a bathroom stall.

God shows his blessings in many different ways. I feel so overwhelmed by his love. If only I could give a 10th of it back.

So, when I heard that there was going to be a 2nd annual Rest Stop Retreat I immediately thought that there was no way that I could go. We seriously are trying to just find money for food let alone extra things like a trip. I'm not sure exactly when it started but I kept getting asked if I was going to the retreat. Mainly by Sherry Mortenson, who is our Women's Ministries and Spiritual Formation Pastor. I seriously have never felt more ministered to than by Sherry. She really has taken time to get to know all of us on the steering team for MOPS by holding a retreat day at her house and other meetings in the summer to get to know everyone. She is very genuine and wants to know how we really are doing. We have all grown so close this summer. Sherry is the one in charge of the retreat. So, she keeps asking everyone who is going. She knows our situation too. At one point Kristin, Sherry, and Danielle came up to Taline and me and told us that we need to go to the retreat. We both quickly told them that there wasn't any way we could afford it. Sherry very quickly said "Is that the only reason?" Um, yes. I would love to go. She explained that she didn't want finances to be the reason why we don't go. So, later that week we had a MOPS meeting and I knew I had to talk to Scott about it. He told me that it seems like she really wants you to go. I kept feeling like that too. Scott said that if we didn't have to pay for it than by all means go. He was more than willing to be alone with the kids for the weekend. So, I went to my MOPS meeting (which Sherry goes to) and she brought the retreat up again to all of us. I told her what Scott said and she was very excited that I could go.

So, about a week and a half later is the retreat. 2 days before I get a text from Shauna that a friend told her about the retreat (and she thought I was going) and if she should go. I couldn't have been more excited. Thankfully there were enough spots available and she decided that she would come after all. Now I'm even more excited! This was the day before the retreat started.

So, 5 of us got into Candice's HUGE truck and drove up to Forest Home. Danielle, Heather, Candice, Shauna, and I carpooled together. We were a little giddy to be going. We were even more excited that Taline decided to come but was coming up Saturday. Nanette was also coming up Saturday too. Then our posse would be complete.

A side note: I had been to Forest Home before but boy did it look different than I remember. Of course I was either in elementary or jr. high when I went there, but still. Quite the experience seeing it all again.

Several of us who went are part of the 12 week weight loss challenge. It was hilarious how we all were either encouraging each other or sabotaging each other. lol Danielle Frank is hilarious. She made comments on our facebook about bringing us sweets and to bring a full appetite. haha Then the first night she brought us both a plate with a brownie on it. Little did she know that we were going to get one anyway. lol So we paid her back and gave her some ice cream the next night. :) There was so much hiking back and forth that it was like constant exercise. Just to get back to our cabin we had to hike this steep hill. We all were so out of breath every time we did it.

We had an amazing time. We chatted, played games, had a scavenger hunt, zip lined, rock walled, rope coursed, and worshiped. It was so much fun. Oh yes, I said zip line. WOW, was that an experience. And one I didn't think I was going to do. But Shauna convinced me to do it. Or forced me. lol haha We even stayed up late playing games (Apples to Apples and Phase 10).

Another amazing thing was all of the wonderful women who were there that I knew from different areas of life and some of the new friends that I got to know too. It for sure was a bonding experience that I will never forget.

And when it was time to pray for one another it was amazing how close we all got to each other. I really believe that God brought us all there for different reasons and that we were all meant to experience this together.

I have been working on listening to God's small voice and little nudges when I should pray about something or someone. And I have been trying to notice God's work in our lives and expecting Him to be a part of it.

I'm glad that we did better than I thought we would watching what we ate and workout out. I managed to maintain over the weekend. woho!

Feelin' Good

This is the picture that I talk about in this blog.

I'm in just a great mood right now. I'm feeling so good about where I am with this challenge and how I just needed this to make a change. To get re-motivated. I'm proud of myself and how I have changed my eating habits and how I behave with food. I really did well this weekend. I didn't have the best food at Disneyland on Saturday, but I did walk a lot and went to the gym that night. I also ate a smaller portion which I rarely do with good Disney food. Then 2 parties. ahh the food everywhere. Once again I was proud of how I handled it and worked out after to justify what I did have. I'm looking forward to weigh ins because I know I have done a good job that week. I really had my will tested when there was a chocolate fountain. I was excited that the cake wasn't really a temptation at all. The taco guy was but not the cake. ;P

I for one, am going by my scale. For the challenge we all weigh in at Roselia's house on the same scale. It makes it fair for everyone to use the same scale. But I for one am not trusting that scale for anything. The fluctuations have been so high that I have no idea where it will be in relation to mine. (And I only have mine to go by during the week to see where I'm at.) I know it's going to weigh me heavier there than home. That's a given. But the amount of difference between the scales is frustrating. I weigh in, in the mornings with no clothes just for myself to know where I truly am. Then I weigh myself with my weigh in clothes on at home to know what my scale says. Then I go to her house and weigh in immediately. The differences between those 2 has been anywhere between a 3.2 and 5.2 lb. difference!!! So, I never know if it's going to be 5.2 lb higher than my scale at home or 3.2 or wherever else. ahhh Since I know I'm not moving my scale around I trust it. Plus, it's pretty new and re-calibrates itself before each weight gets measured. Anyway...as long as I am losing weight, that's all that matters. As long as the scale keeps moving downward is what I care about. It's when I lose 2 lbs at home compared to gaining .2 at her house that just frustrates me. That's just NOT possible. I just needed to get that off my chest. I do love having to have someone to go to in order to weigh in. That keeps me so much more accountable than just weighing myself at home. So, I will continue to go for as long as this challenge is still going.

The competition has been so fun. I happen to know several of the people participating so we have been encouraging each other. Or blatantly sabotaging them. lol Funny little remarks on facebook like...."have some dessert too." :) It's been funny. What's so cool is that this has sparked a new challenge that is going on at church for the staff. They have started a challenge of their own just like this one.

I feel strong and am enjoying the increased endurance during my workouts. It's a great feeling when I can go up a level on the stair machine or up the time I can run (or speed) on the treadmill (or both). It also was a great feeling today when my gym pants started slowly falling lower on my hips from my stomach as I worked out. I kept having to pull them up higher to get them to stay on. I even took a photo at Disneyland yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that my face looked skinnier. Just since photos I had taken in mid August.

A big goal is coming up this week. I believe I will make it. The last time I updated how much I had lost on facebook (or here) was when I was at 27 lb down. During several months I had gained a few pounds of it back. I believe I will hit this first goal this week to get back to the 27 lb. mark. My next goal is to take new comparison photos at 30 lb. lost. I was doing them on the 4s (14, 24) but that just happened because of the initial photos. So starting from 30, I'll just do it every 10 most likely. Then the next goal after that is to get to pre-pregnancy weight with Skyler (18 lb to go).

The incredible camaraderie, encouragement, and support from family and friends has been great. I so appreciate that. I know I have a long way to go so those little encouraging words go a long way. I also love that the pastor calls me his workout buddy. That just makes me smile. I am inspired by all of the wonderful people who are going through this weight loss journey. May we be able to get knowledge and wisdom from each other. And inspire the next group of people who haven't started their journey yet.

Challenge

The challenge has been going great so far. I have already lost a little over 5 pounds. Woho! Getting back on track has been good. I have been keeping an eye on what I'm eating and exercising like crazy. Almost every day I have been going to the gym. And then I'm walking to Courtney's school and back 5 times a week also.

12 Week Challenge

I feel the need to give an update on my weight loss efforts. A couple months ago I hurt my back. I'm assuming from all of the working out I've been doing. Or at least it was aggravating it. I have been having sciatica for quite a while since having Skyler. And when I workout on the elliptical machines my toes start falling asleep. I have to roll my ankles a few times during exercising to get the tingling to go away. I went to the doc and he said that where I was pointing seemed muscular. So I was to lay off the elliptical machine (my favorite), and the abdominal exercises.

Well, it was hurting a lot and I was on meds to help that and I never got back into the swing of exercising all the time again. I gained back like 8 pounds of what I had lost. BOO! But I am bound and determined to get this weight off. Even my GYN was proud of how much I had lost last year (even with the gain).

My back is feeling better with the occasional sciatica happening. My friend, Roselia, decided to start a 12 week weight loss challenge. I can't afford to be a part of the money aspect of it, but I'm showing up anyway to have her weigh me just like everyone else. It has given me so much motivation. And it really helps to know so many people who are also doing it. Shauna especially, since we are workout buddies. Last Friday was the first weigh in and we exercised together Saturday and Sunday. I exercised by myself last night and she did a hike. I was proud of us. Even if we weren't doing it together we still exercised.

I have meetings tonight and tomorrow night so I'm going to have to fit in a workout somewhere. I think I'm taking today off and working out tomorrow since both of the girls will be in school tomorrow morning.

I have already lost some but am not counting it until Friday's weigh in. I feel different already so that is helping me move toward my goal as well.