Wordless Wednesday... First Movie

Learning Self-control

Well, it's up, but keep in mind that it's in the {very} preliminary stages... craftymommalovesturbo.blogspot.com is my new blog where I will share more about my health and fitness journey as well as about my Beachbody business. I only have one post up right now, but there are many more to follow. I just kind of wanted to get my feet wet, and I'd love for y'all to follow me over there and join in the conversation. We're all in this together, right?!

I will kind of fill you in on the process. After years of yo-yo dieting, I just really want to honor God by finally getting my whole-self together. I have known that there had to be some kind of balance, but I hadn't been able to attain it. Either I was ignoring my health altogether (and therefore getting bigger and bigger), or I was completely obsessing over every workout and bite of food. In the latter scenario I always got smaller for a time, but my methods were never healthy or manageable over any length of time. I have always been frustrated at my lack of ability to gain control over this issue but had failed to see the God connection.

Then several weeks ago, as our Monday morning Bible study group was wrapping up our series on the Fruit of the Spirit, we came to the end: Self-Control. I am going to recap a bit what Beth talked about here, and I hope it helps you as much as it did me~ it was like my 'lightbulb/aha!' moment! (The thoughts in italics are mine...)

1. Deeply absorbing a biblical perspective of our physical bodies would free us from the horrific stress our culture has placed on us.
2. From a strictly biblical point of view (as opposed to medical), physical fitness is probably more about freedom than size (Galatians 5:1). Here Beth talked a bit about size, and I can directly apply her examples to me. I have been a size 4, but every moment of every day that I maintained a size 4 (and it wasn't long!) was consumed by focus on that size... staying that size... what I could eat, clothes I'd wear, how long I had to exercise every day. There was NO freedom for me in that size. I have also been almost a size 16 (several months ago). At that size I was also constantly focused on it but in a different way... depressed about it... eating to fill some kind of void... terrified that my clothes wouldn't fit when I tried to wear them the next day. There was NO freedom here either! For me a size 8-ish is typically where I can find freedom. I can be fit and confident but not have to obsess every second about maintenance. Now understand that this isn't about size! Your free place may be different than mine, and that is perfect~ the key is to find that place!

Keep in mind that extreme conditions call for focused measures. By this, she elaborated that for one to truly find freedom, there may be a period of time when we must focus like never before. For example, I am definitely not at a size where I can experience freedom, so for this time, I am intensely focused on my health and fitness so that I can reach that place of balance. The ultimate goal for most of us, however, is freedom from obsession so that God rather than a body can be glorified. This goal is most often realized through

• recapturing the lost art (practice) of moderation (Phil 4:5)
• learning to do what we need to do, then getting on with living. Just get on with it!

See Romans 12:1-2. The most transforming and freeing way we can approach the care of our physical bodies is making fitness one way we worship God. Love this! Romans calls us to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship." How many of us actually look at working out in this way? I know that so many times I have begrudgingly pushed play on a dvd, just to get it done. This does little to honor God or improve my day!


I don't know about you, but especially point number 2 completely rocked my world. I want to be free! I began praying just that God would help me find freedom. And then it happened... I suddenly was looking at food differently. I started paying attention to the things I was putting into my body, seeing them as nourishment. And while I don't deny myself the occasional chocolate chip cookie, I'm not really craving them because before they were serving some other purpose. And I began looking at working out as a means to an end... I pushed play on my Turbo Jam dvds because the dancing and music could improve my mood while getting me healthier. And I started seeing results. Then I worked up the courage to go to a Turbo Kick class, and while the prospect of exercising in public terrified me, I looked forward to interacting with other people. I'm on my way... Glory to God!!

Okay, so I realize this is getting quite lengthy, but let me wrap it up if I can... In the self-control dvd, Beth also made one statement that stuck with me. She said that 'gluttony has become the accepted Christian addiction'. I couldn't get it out of my head, I think because it's so true.  Around the time I started going to the gym, a friend on twitter got me plugged into the Team Beachbody website. The site has awesome tools to help with scheduling workouts, logging stats and tracking progress. With my coach's accountability I was more likely to keep that workout I had scheduled, and I think that has been key to my success. I loved the relationships I built online with several other coaches, and then just this last week I felt that doing this would be a way that God could use me to help others with accountability. Just logging onto the site helps, but Beachbody also creates so many products that assist in the journey (Remember my mentioning Turbo Jam? They're Beachbody, along with tons of others you've likely seen on tv: Slim in 6, P90X, Insanity). I would love to help you stay accountable to your goals, match you up with a workout program or even a nutritional supplement to help you get on track~ God wants us to find freedom here! You can join for free by clicking on the 'Join' button from my site on the link above, shoot me an email to mpfeiffer@beachbodycoach.com, or just leave it in the comments here. Have a great day!

Miscellany Monday

~Happy Monday! The sun is actually already shining here this morning, and that is my favorite way to wake up~ even if it does feel too early. This morning I had two little ones and a dog in bed with me; it was crowded but a fun way to start the day! Feel free to click the picture above and link up with Carissa's Miscellany Monday!

~Kind of random, and kind of business: I am having a HUGE SUMMER CLEARANCE SALE in my etsy shop. I have a bunch of sweet little items sitting around here waiting to be worn by your own sweet things, so I've marked every single item WAY down.

~In other sort of big news, I have decided to become an Independent Coach for Beachbody. I am so excited, as their accountability and awesome products have been a huge help to me already with the 9 pounds I've lost so far, and I can't wait to keep it up and become the healthiest person God wants me to be. I also am very excited about being able to share their products and accountability with others. I am going to be launching a new blog for Beachbody stuff sometime this week... busy, busy.

**UPDATED! I just got back from the gym and it's actually 11 pounds! Wahoo!** ;)

~We launched VBS last night at our church, and it was great fun! I was a bit nervous to be a crew leader for 2nd-3rd graders, but fortunately they couldn't smell my fear, and it turned out to be awesome! I did tear up a little at my babies being in their very own classes, singing and dancing, but that's nothing new.

Okay, so I don't have as much to say as I thought this morning... it's early and my coffee hasn't kicked in yet! Have a great day!

Excuses

I cannot apologize for my lack of blog posts... you see, important things just come up. The Lazy Days of Summer have come upon us, and we have a schedule packed with play and water and well, laziness. I won't apologize for sun tans or sand between our toes or dirty fingernails or popsicle stained lips. (Though, all of that list makes this clean-freak a bit uneasy...) I hope you have time to get busy being lazy, and I'll see you, um, sometime!

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday! I'm joining in on the random again... feel free to click over to Carissa's blog to join in!

~I had no intentions of taking a blogging hiatus last week, but it just ended up that way. With the littles and Trace in Indiana, I spent hours a day in Bible study, which was heavenly! I was so into my 'retreat' that I just sort of hibernated.

~I also got everything sorted and organized for our upcoming garage sale. I absolutely hate pricing stuff, but I'm glad to have gotten it done!

~Biggest Loser week was a great success. I'm not quite sure on actual pounds lost because I won't get to the gym to weigh until this afternoon, but since June 12th I have lost about 4 1/2 inches, and I am thrilled with that! Last week I got up the nerve to try out a few classes that I hadn't done before, which for me is huge! If you know me, you know I do not like getting out of my comfort zone and meeting new people. It was so much fun!

~Though I had a great week, I terribly missed my family and was ready for their return on Thursday! Halle cupped my face in her hands upon their arrival and said 'Missed you, Mama'... It was so sweet!

 

~Trace brought them these huge 'yollipops' the previous weekend at the denominational conference he was at... the kids thoroughly enjoyed them, though the stickiness continues to be found here and there. I love the look on Halle's face that sort of says 'Touch this and die'. She's very serious about her snacks!

Hope y'all have a great Monday! 

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday, lovelies! Feel free to click on the graphic above if you want to link up with Carissa for 'Miscellany Monday'. I have tons of random stuff swirling around in this head of mine, so on with the fun!

~I woke up this morning to Celine belting (in my head, of course) "All By Myself". Yesterday marked the beginning of some quiet time in the house for me. Trace took the littles to Indiana to see his parents for 4 whole days! So I am planning on doing a lot of Bible studying and major cleaning and organizing to prepare for an upcoming garage sale while I have the house to myself. (And yes, cleaning and organizing is what I do when I can do anything in the world without the munchkins around!) I tried to start sorting for the sale last week, but with each item I brought out from hiding on the back of a shelf, Remy would say 'I have been looking for that! It's my favorite!'. Needless to say, it will be much easier without them right in the middle of it!

~It's also Biggest Loser Week for me. I have decided that while they are gone, I am going to do my best to blast off as many calories as I can at the gym. I am shooting for two workouts per day, including several Turbo Kick classes, which are my newest addiction. I am hoping to lose 4 pounds this week, but we'll see how that goes... In total I'm down 7- WooHoo!

~Yesterday on the way into church from the van, Halle was singing 'Oh, oh, oh' with great emotion. I asked her what she was singing, and very sternly she looked at me with hands on hips and said 'Umm, Single Ladies'  as though I should have known, and with all the sarcasm of a teenager. I am seriously in trouble with this child!

~It's storming here this morning, and I love waking up to the giant bomb sound of thunder (not really...). Actually I had just gotten up and my sweet Remy called to tell me that PawPaw is going to teach him how to use a big water gun. Great. So happy that he is learning valuable life skills.

Have a great day- I'm off for workout #1 at the gym!

Friday Love~ The Finer Things

Trace is at a denominational conference for a few days, so I've been making a point to enjoy each and every moment of my sweet little people as the Lone Ranger...  Here's a list of some of the things we've been savouring and loving:

~painting my toenails while the wee ones swim in our pool

~wearing temporary tattoos. You can see my lollipop is wearing off a bit, but all of us are tatted up. Remy told one of the sitters at the gym that we're 'hard core'. Nice.

~yesterday in lieu of a nap, Remy chose a movie and we sat snuggled on the couch with a zillion of his stuffed animals and just watched. It was such a sweet time, and he held my hand for nearly an hour.

~for snack after nap time we had Lucky Charms. We may have eaten just the marshmallows out of an entire bowl and fed the brown part to Starbucks... just maybe.

~last night I stayed up later than normal (I'm a 10 o'clock bed time kind of girl...) watching a movie that I thought Trace wouldn't want me to make him sit through. (Turns out it was one he did want to see, but it's the thought that counts, right?!)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend full of people you love! Next week I'm having my own Biggest Loser Week, but I'll fill you in on that Monday! Happy Friday!

Arachnophobia

Welcome to Illinois, Land of the Spider. Yuck. One of the (okay, admittedly MANY) things that bothers me... These pictures were all taken in less than two minutes right outside our back door. They are everywhere here, and I never fail to awaken at least once a night shuddering... just thinking that one might be on me. I haven't seen any actually crawling on me yet, but that will be a terrible day. Disgusting.

What scares you?

Miscellany Monday

Happy Monday! Feel free to join in the random-ness by clicking on the picture above, and while you're there be sure to wish Carissa & Kelly congrats on their gorgeous new baby girl! She is quite the momma, looking so lovely and blogging while still in the hospital!

~Blogger has been down all day, and I've been trying to post. Very annoying... Sorry this is so late!

~This weekend we emptied Remy's and Halle's banks to buy Buzz Lightyear and Woody toys they had been wanting. We counted out the money to make sure they each had enough and then told Remy how much of it needed to be taken out and given to God for his tithe.  My favorite thing about this was hearing Remy say on Sunday to one of his teachers that "Yes, I got this cool Buzz, but I also have three dollars to give to Jesus!" The way he said it was so sweet and he was genuinely excited to give the money to Jesus to help the little boy their class supports. I love seeing the character of Jesus blossoming in my littles!

~I am having a major desire to watch The Goonies after hearing about this that went on this weekend in Astoria. Has it really been 25 years!? One of my Facebook friends went, and I am sooo jealous! We actually have it, but it isn't one of Trace's favorites. I do, however, think my little man might like it, but I need to review it for scary stuff. I've seen it so many times I kind of forget if I used to be scared by it... Hmm.

~Strangely I don't have a lot to say today... that's pretty random indeed! We are watching Toy Story 2 for what may be the hundredth time, and I still think it's funny. I may like it more than the wee ones! have a great night, and I'll see you soon!

Friday Love

Hooray for Friday! I hope y'all are doing well. It's been a pretty uneventful week here, which is by no means a bad thing... after the car wreck and all that drama, I'll take calm and quiet any time! I have so much to be thankful for and I am counting my blessings this morning. 

Today I'm loving:

~This picture. It was taken at a birthday party for a sweet little friend who turned 3 last week. I love Remy's expression- so happy!

~Game night. Almost weekly we have an ever-increasing, ever-changing group of people over to play games. Cranium is usually the game of choice, but last night we changed it up with Apples to Apples. Have you ever played this!? It is so funny, but the funniest thing of the night was that Remy actually won the first game. We were all thinking carefully about our answers, and the boy who can't read would simple slide a card across the table, and they always were the best answer. Hilarious! And he was so proud!

~Sort of bittersweet... I am finishing up my last day doing the Esther Study, and also this week our group wrapped up our Fruit of the Spirit Study. I have loved both of these, and am a bit sad to have them ending. But I guess the love along with that comes in choosing something new.  I am thinking about joining up with the Living Proof Girls and doing their Siesta Summer Bible Study, but I'm not 100% sure of that. What are you studying this summer? I know it's easy to let the momentum wane just a bit during the summer, but this year I am determined to stoke the fire and keep it up so that when fall hits I am deeply grounded in God's Word and ready. 

~The feeling after a good workout. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this before, but as I type this morning, I am feeling it in my arms like crazy. I did my first group class this morning, and Turbo Kick is seriously NO joke... but so much fun! (Ask me how fun it is tomorrow...)

Well, that's it for today. The littles are telling me that 'the concert' is about to begin, and I get to be the audience. 'Hope you have a blessed weekend filled with people you love! Happy Friday!

Simple Systems~ How I Stay Sane, Part One

Last week I pitched the idea of doing some posts on time management, and I was surprised by the amount of emails and comments that I got about the idea. I love the idea, but thought that before I share some of my own strategies for home-keeping, I would share the Number One thing I think is keeping me sane right now. This is a fairly new consistent commitment in our house, but I definitely think that God has done some big things in my marriage, my home, and in me with this.

Nap Time

I have been one who is inconsistent with when and where I do my "quiet time" (my daily time of prayer and Bible Study). Being a morning person, I love having that time first thing in the morning, but having two little ones just doesn't lend itself to getting away in the morning. I typically would just fit in my time here and there throughout the day, or occasionally at nap time. Several weeks ago, I made the commitment to God and myself that I was going to use my nap time for this. Every day.

Let me just offer some insight & thoughts. I know that this time for moms of little ones especially is a time in which you think you need to be doing things around the house. Let me just encourage you to save this time daily for yourself. I committed to not doing any chores during this time and have been so happy with it! For one thing I believe it is good for Remy & Halle to see me doing household chores and to participate in such things. I would hate for them to grow up thinking that some fairy magically cleanse the house while they sleep. =) And for another thing, I truly need this time for myself.  In previous times (before I was consistently doing this...) Trace would get home from a long day at work and I would pretty much just hand off the kids to him and declare that I needed time to myself. The thing I neglected to see was that although he had been away from home all day, he hadn't had any time to himself either- He deserves to have some peace as well!

It has been so good for me to take those glorious moments while the littles sleep to meet with God! And the effect on my marriage is awesome~ I am so steeped in God's Word as I continue my day that I have found my mood to be better, and the way that I treat my family has much improved as well. (By the way, tonight I quizzed Trace about how he thought things seemed around the house lately, and he said that I seem less 'agitated' among other things... He had no idea I was doing this little experiment.) I am always reminded of Proverbs 25:24 (The Message) that says "Better to live in a tumbledown shack than to share a mansion with a nagging spouse." I do not want to be that spouse!

**Updated: I should add that Remy no longer naps every day, but he does have to stay in his room for at least an hour of his own quiet time. We use a timer, and I encourage him to read or play quietly in his bed.**

So that's just a few thoughts on what works for me... I have some other posts in the works about my actual plans for meal planning, household maintenance, and budgeting. And because I hate a post with no pictures, here's a shot of my 2 sweet things riding their bikes. Totally random and not related, but cute, right?!

Making...

Happy Tuesday! (I can say that now that I got a new coffee maker!) Today is our 8th Anniversary, so we celebrated by driving in my delightful new van (my gift!) to the gym... big times at our house! =) 

I have been on a sewing binge for my girl. This weekend I made her two different dresses and a new swing-type top. One dress and the top are already in the wash, so that's another post for another day, I guess.

I had forgotten how much I love these simple, smocked dresses until I saw this post on SouleMama last week. I made one in shirt form for Halle last year and loved it so much! I had this great fabric just sitting around and decided to whip one up. I tweaked the idea just a bit by doing a halter style. It sewed up in just an hour or so and will work equally well as a tunic later on~ love that!

I do have a bit more of the fabric, enough for one in the same size (about 18 months to 3T)... just email me if you'd like to order it! I'm not listing as much stuff  in the 2 sweet things shop with summer upon us, but I would love to set up a custom listing!

Also, as promised, here are a few pics of some of the winter items I chopped for summer play clothes. I took them at night, so the lighting kind of stinks, but you get the idea. I mess with the lengths a lot to give some elbow sleeves, some 3/4, some caps, and some of the leggings become capris or shorts... I use a tight zigzag on the hem to make a sort of lettuce edge (isn't that what it's called?!), which I think makes them a bit more girly.