Today

Today I cried.  A lot.

I yelled at my children.

I said a not-so-nice word under my breath at the guy driving too slowly down the road.

I cleaned my house with a vengeance to try to make it all disappear.

Tomorrow is a new day and for that I am so thankful.  A fresh start is one of God's sweetest blessings.  

Race T-Shirts

In case you haven't grown weary of me talking constantly about the Go Lucy Go 5k race, here is one more post to tide you over.  Aren't these shirts great?  I just love the colors.  The shirt is a heather blue color with lime green and bright yellow.  These are Lucy's favorite shirts yet!

If you want to support the Go Lucy Go Foundation but can't run in the race, you can sign up as a Spirit Runner and we will mail the shirt to you!  What better way to support Lucy and her Foundation?  Just go to www.racesonline.com to register.

If you haven't signed up to run but you are planning on doing so, please go online to www.racesonline.com to register today!  Of course there will be resignation the day of the race, but you won't be guaranteed a t-shirt if your size unless you register by Wednesday April 2nd.

Don't delay, don't procrastinate.  Register today!

Ski Down for Cancer

We have been coming to Winter Park, Colorado for almost 20 years.  It is like a home away from home for our family.  Yesterday, if possible, I fell even more in love with this city.  The ski resort held its annual Ski Down for Cancer event, raising money for cancer research.  In a crazy set of events, Lucy was asked to be a part of it.

Riding down in a sled with Ella, she was the only cancer survivor present at the event.  Even though she wasn't skiing it was the first time she had been on the mountain in 5 years.  It was a surprisingly emotional time for me.  I still pray that one day she will be able to ski again, but until then we will keep on fighting.  God has been so good to our family and I am so very thankful for the time I am having with my family right now.

Ski Season

We started our Spring break a day early

and are enjoying our time in Colorado. Skiing, snow, best friends....the perfect trip!  It was hard deciding to leave 2 weeks before the race but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to come out and ski. 

If you haven't signed up for the Go Lucy Go 5k it's not too late. Just go to racesonline.com or golucygo.org

Whole 30 Update

**I receive no compensation from this post.  I am sharing this information because it has helped me and I know so many of you would benefit from trying it.**

It's been 35 days today since I started the Whole 30 induction.  Just like the book told me, it wasn't hard.  Now, it wasn't easy but it wasn't hard.  It took a lot of determination and a whole lot more will power.  But I've done it and I'm so proud.  I will say this and I mean every word "it has changed my life."  Do it--seriously.  Do it.  Start tomorrow.  Don't procrastinate.

Here are areas in which I've noticed a difference:

• Sleep.  Like seriously, I sleep.  I've not taken an Ambien (sleeping pill) in 35 days.  Day one on the plan I slept.  
• Energy- I haven't had a drop of caffeine since I started and I can go from 6am-11pm without missing a beat.
• Brain- no more foggy brain.  This has been one of the most exciting changes I have noticed.  I can complete thoughts, I'm more organized, I don't forget dates and names.  I was beginning to get really worried about my tendency to forget what I was saying mid-sentence. 
• No Hot Flashes- At 36 years old I was having hot flashes all day long.  The kind of hot flashes that start from your core and make you want to jump out of your skin. 
• No Headaches - Besides sinus headaches, I haven't had low blood sugar headaches at all.  What a welcome change!
• Change in Taste Buds - I crave fruit, veggies and salads.  That's it.  After my 30 days was up I tried a Diet Coke and some tortilla chips and couldn't stomach either!  I threw my Sonic DC away after one sip and gave the chips to my girls.  I was blown away!  Water is the only thing I drink and it is so satisfying.
• Weight loss- This isn't the reason I did it but I am happy to say I have lost over 10 pounds!  Woo Hoo!

What I love about Whole 30 is that there is nothing to buy.  No pills, no shakes.  Nothing.  All you do is just choose to eat healthy and wise.  The way God intended us to eat.  God has given me one body and one shot on this earth.  I am committed to taking care of what I have and I want to be able to set a great example for my children.  Erik has been doing it with me and he looks amazing!  He's lost over 22 pounds and is still losing.  I am so proud of his commitment.  

If you are interested in the program I recommend starting with the book above, It Starts with Food.  It tell you everything you need to know about getting started but also explains in layman's terms the science behind why eating this way is good for your body.  Two cookbooks that I am in love with are below.  Against All Grains and Well Fed.  

Learning to eat healthy and trying out new recipes in the process has been such an exciting adventure.  We try something new almost every night and Erik is always excited to see what I'm cooking.  We are both going to stick with the really strict induction phase for a while.  After that, we will switch over to a Paleo diet that aligns itself very closely with the Whole 30.  If you try it, please let me know what you think!

What a Weekend

Oh, my!  What an amazing weekend it's been!  Friday night started with swimming for Erik and the girls and then a slumber party for Ella.  Jack and I stayed at the school until around 8:30 setting up for our annual spaghetti dinner and auction.  Saturday morning brought a real, grown-up photo shoot for me followed by the spaghetti dinner and then clean up.  I was moving at 7:00am Saturday morning and finally stopped at 10:00pm.  Talk about being exhausted!

This morning was church---wow---followed by a shower for my future sister-in-law, second church service and then a school board meeting.  Major things are happening in the life of our church and school.  If you are local I highly recommend that you join us this week at 6:30pm at First Baptist for the Prophecy Conference that we are hosting.  This morning and tonight we had the pleasure of listening to Rabbi Greg Hershberg, a Messianic Jew who has been blessed by God with the gift of evangelism.  He was amazing.  He has a YouTube site where you can go and listen to his sermons.  I could have seriously stayed and listen to his speak for hours.

As I sat and soaked up every single word he spoke I was so convicted about what I am doing with my life.  God has given me, through Lucy's illness, an incredible opportunity to minister to so many lost souls.  There is nothing more important in my life than what I do for my God.  Am I blowing that opportunity every day?  I have made it my fervent prayer that God would use me and this blog to witness to families who are hurting due to a cancer diagnosis or other childhood illness but I also pray that those who may not know Christ would come to know Him.

Tonight we learned about God and His promises to Israel (and by adoption the rest of us Christians) and I am just blown away.  I am more convinced tonight than I ever have been that God is awesome, God is in total control and the God is coming back.  I pray every day for the rapture.  I am ready to leave this world and all the pain and suffering that it holds behind.  Our choir sang about heaven tonight and that the lame would run on the streets of gold.  All I could think about was my Lucy who can't run now---but one day.  Oh, one day soon!!!

Seriously, come join us tomorrow through Wednesday at FBC.  God is moving and I promise you don't want to miss it!

The Best Birthday News

Lucy rounded off her Birthday celebration with the best present ever....CLEAN SCANS.  I was asked if I was on cloud nine with excitement and strangely the answer was no.  I think that kind of excitement comes from winning the jackpot or lottery.  Rather, what I feel is a calming reassurance.  A reassurance that tomorrow is going to be ok.  A calm that helps us sleep at night.  God's loving hand mercifully blessing our family.

Quick funny story about the crayons...anytime we ask Lucy what she wants for a special occasion, say Birthday or Christmas, she always says "crayons and coloring books."  She's so easy to please, bless her heart!  My parents bought her the biggest box of crayons they could find!

I don't know what she wished for, but our birthday wish for her came true.

Snow Day (times two)

I can't remember when we have had this much snow before.  It's March 4th and we have already used almost all of our snow days built into the school calendar.  It's been crazy.  Sunday night we got 3" of sleet/ice followed by 2 1/2" of snow.  Seriously, folks.  Crazy!

While I am tired of this cold weather I wouldn't trade the past two days for anything.  We have been sledding non stop since Monday morning.  I have some exhausted children but we have made some amazing memories.  These are the days that we will all look back on with smiles on our faces and happiness in our hearts.  I am so thankful for good friends and fun times.  The girls (all 5 of them) are now on the couch cuddled up watching Frozen.  What a great night!

Superhero Lucy

This year's race poster has been finalized.  Have you ever seen a superhero this cute?  But then again, she's always been a superhero to us.

I hope you will join us for this year's 5k.  It is going to be another amazing day.  We have lots of kids activities planned (face painting, bouncy houses) and live music!  And if that's not enough the race prizes are awesome this year!

We have extended the early discount registration until Saturday March 8th, in honor of Lucy's 8th birthday.  Go to www.racesonline.com to register today!