Head over Heals...

...in love with my new babies. Yes, we have a 17 mo, 2 yr 8 mo, and 4 yr 8 mo. They are all sisters with the same father, but the two youngest have a different mother than the oldest. They have been with us since October. I wish I could say we have adopted them, but alas I cannot. We are so not a foster family. We got licensed just so that we could adopt... Then we are told that these three angels need to be placed in a home that will want to adopt them... So we did it... OMG!!! Being a foster parent really tears at you!!! I hate it!!! We were told the judge was giving this six months as he is pretty strict...well the father got out of jail right towards the end of that six months so now they are were given their full year. The girls lawyer makes it sound promising for us, but we just have no clue. Based on what the attorney says it is our hope that the father and the little ones mother realize they cannot meet what they have to in the next six months and relinquish their parental rights, realizing the girls are well cared for, loved, and happy. We don't expect the oldest girls mom to make it that easy. So, please keep us all in your prayers.

I miss blogging...will try to make this a regular habit again.

Visit to GA

I had two weeks with family in GA.  It was probably the best visit home since I moved away 12 years ago.

My uncle came down from Jersey with his family.  Izza and his son,  my cousin and her cousin of course, were inseparable.   Izza got to ride on a three person float with her cousins.  A first for her and she loved it.  We also went to analternative arcade amusement complex where the Izza and her four cousins had a ball.

We had dinner with my in-laws, which allowed Izza to meet her Uncle Scott and Aunt Rhian in addition to two more cousins. 

It was great spending time with my parents not doing anything planned...just being together.

Since I worked some of the time from the VA facility I was even able to have lunch with some of my former co-workers.  It was great to see them again.

It was awesome to spend this time with the family.  I miss everyone so much with living so far away, but I have to say it is also nice to get back to my regular life.  There is no place like the home you make for yourself.

Patience of a Diamond

Even if our efforts of attention seem for years to be producing no result, one day a light that is in exact proportion to them will flood the soul- Simone Weil

I read this and it is like...hell, yeah...that is what I am talking about...I wish more people could "hear" those words and get what they mean...


I used to be an Amway Independent Business Owner (IBO).  I was young and not very experienced in life.  I was told what I needed to do to be successful in the Amway business, but I just did not get it.  I was not willing to do what I was told and again...I just did not get it.


It is now 8+ years later and I ironically came in contact with the Amway business again while I was on vacation at Disney World right before Christmas.  The man I met has reached a significant level in the bonus payments from Amway.  I asked him some questions, questions that pertained to part of why I did not stay with the Amway business.  He had good answers...gave me a lot to think about.


On the way home my husband and I talked about this opportunity that had come around to us for the second time in our life.  It was a no brainer, we had to become Amway IBOs again.  We are mentally in a different place than we were back then, we are wiser, and we see Amway in a whole different way than we did back in the 90s and early 2000s.


Then we get our access as IBOs and we sign up for the training and we are so surprised and happy to find training like we never received before.  We find ourselves being told how to sell the products in a way that no one ever explained to use before.  We see this business in a whole new light than anything we had ever experienced in the past.  We are excited.  We can't wait to market our products and we love the Amway products, have never stopped so it is just like anything else we have experienced in retail, accept that now we get paid for telling people about products that we love and referring them to the store that we got them from.


So, yes...I so get this quote...our efforts before, did not see any results, but in the last two months we have already made more in this business than we ever made in the six or seven years we were in the business before.  So much of that success in the past two months is due to what we learned before and our life experiences since leaving Amway.  With big dreams and goals we can see the light.  With patience and hard work we will be successful and get to have the most fun in life ever.


Don't ever give up on those dreams and goals.  With hard work and the patience of a diamond we can all shine. Banish discouragement and feelings of impossibility by working hard, doing more, and not giving in! A diamond was only made beautiful after millions of years as a lump of coal.  

Doors

The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live. - Flora Whittemore, author

So true.  In the last year I have had some significant opening and closings of doors.  I had adopted the best little girl in the world.  I  had surgery to help me lose weight.  I started a new job closing the doors on a career I had been in for over 21 years.  I have had friendship doors open and close in the past year and am fine with that.  I believe all friendships go a course.  And now we are back in a business that we left over 8 years ago and I can see so many doors opening.

I am so excited about the doors that are opening and expect that we will have some close along the way as we become different people and lead totally different lives.  It is a journey I am ready and willing for...let's go!!

One True Friend

If you have one true friend you have more than your share. - Thomas Fuller, English clergyman & historian

This is a quote that was on one of my www.sparkpeople.com daily emails.

I just had to blog about it...

I have at least four people in my life I consider true friends, so I have way more than my fair share and a day does not go by that I do not count myself blessed for these people in my life...We all live far apart now and most of them have met each other, which is a great bonus for me of course...but distance has not diminished the love I have for these people in  my life or the trust I have in them.

I hope you too have at least one true friend.

Vacation - December 2011

We had a great time with Mom and Dad in Orlando...it was tiring, but a great vacation...

Disney Vacation 2011

I took a ton of pictures and I still need to purchase the pictures taken by the Disney photographers with our Photopass, but here are a good many for you to get an idea of how the trip went...
We were there for four days, sadly Izza got ill on the 4th day after just one ride so we ended up not doing anything that fourth day and that really was supposed to be the big ride day...We went on the Space Mountain and though she was excited to go on it, we believe she held her breath and caused herself to get a migraine on the ride.
So, we have plans to go back for Halloween this year for a weekend in October to experience the Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween party...and have a day at Universal Studios...Can't wait!!

Christmas Already

I just can't believe it is that time already...tomorrow will be a year that Izza came to live with us...WOW!!  A whole year!!  She is such a different little girl from the one that came to my house a year ago.  She is so much more alive and so, so smart...everyday it is something new about her that just makes me want to smile and cry all at once...I want to do something special, but we are having to watch our money because we go on vacation next weekend...she does not know where we are going...I can't wait!!!  I can't even sleep!!!  Disney World...she won't know until we are driving in the gates!!  And I have her booked for a Bippity Boppity Boutique session with the full package!!  So, must watch the funds...but I think it will all be worth it once she is there...

We had our first family portrait done the weekend after Thanksgiving.  I was so excited for this...Look at her...she is gorgeous...We are so fortunate to have her in our lives!!

So, a year ago this is what my little girl looked like...tell me...doesn't she look like a completely different child now...it is kinda weird to me.

She got to go to her first ballet today and she loved it.  She, of course, saw The Nutcracker.  She is ready for after vacation to get back to her gymnastics and Special Olympics Basket ball.  I love it that she loves to do all of these things.  Though I am sure so much of it is because she never did anything before.

She had compound words for her spelling words this week.  I was really worried for her, but she says she did good on the test, though she did not bring it home like she usually does, but with all of the stuff going on at school today I guess that was to be expected.  We'll see on Monday I hope.

She will be singing on Sunday with the children's choir for the other children at church and then on Thursday she will be singing with her school choir.  She has been practicing for both for weeks, even singing at home.  I hope she does not get the stage fright like she had in October.  I have told her to look right at me or Daddy and sing to us if she gets nervous.  She loves to sing so I hope her love for singing overcomes her stage fright.

Well, I really should be in bed...just needed to share all of my happiness with the world.

Namaste.

Believing in yourself no matter what

"The mighty oak was once a little nut that stood its ground.  -Unknown"

I am not perfect...I make poor choices at times...don't always eat right...don't always get all of my exercise in...but I know that I will be successful in reaching my target weight next year and gaining good health through the process.

120 Days Since Surgery

The last month has not been the best for me in the weight loss area, but I know what I have done and what I have not done and will fix that this month.  I did lose six lbs this month, but it should have been more.  I have eaten some things with a bit higher fat content and I have not been exercising the way I am supposed to on a daily basis.  Well, I know what I am not doing right so I will fix that this month.  I have picked up my exercise a little bit, but I have not gotten it where it needs to be, so I will do that this week.  I will be on travel for work so I will be able to work out at the hotel.  I also know what I am eating that I am not supposed to eat and I have already made those changes.  Again, with being on travel I will do pretty good with this because it makes no sense for me to buy food at a restaurant just for myself, so fat free refried beans will help me get through the three days on travel and get me back on track.

See, the sleeve surgery is not a miracle maker, it just helps you, you still have to make the right choices and exercise.

Well, here is my 120 day picture and I added a few pics I found from 2007 when I was taking before pics.

Stephie's Bariatric Living

Halloween 2011

Our town had a community carnival for Halloween.  So, we chose to go to that, donating one can good per person, and not do trick or treating.  It was a nice night and Izza had fun playing the games, dancing and getting in the jump house.  She got a moderate amount of candy that will fit in a lunch size paper plate, which is perfect as we restrict candy in our house.

It was a great memory for our first Halloween together.  Here are some pics...