A Goal Revisited

Now that it's December, I'm faced with the harsh reality of the Resolution I made in January.  My goal was to lose over 30 pounds this year taking me from 182.4 lbs, 6 weeks after giving birth to Max, down to 150 pounds, the weight I was over 3 years ago before I was pregnant with Mason.

It's been harder in some ways than I thought it would be.  Taking care of two little ones leaves much less time and energy to exercise and think about my eating habits than I expected.  On the other hand, it was too easy for me to procrastinate since I had a whole year to lose the weight.  As it turns out, I don't expect to reach my goal of 150 lbs. by December 31.  However, there is still some success I'll be able to celebrate and I'm looking forward to seeing what the final result will be!

As a final push at the end of this year, I'm going back to using the "MyPlate" feature on livestrong.com to track my food intake and my activities.  Also, I'm using Stephanie as my accountability partner.  I will have to tell her at least weekly what I weigh, with no excuses.  Although I post it in my blog regularly, it makes a difference to say it out loud to a real person!

I have 31 days to reach a new goal.  I weighed in this morning at a surprising 163.6 pounds.  It was lower than I expected after indulging in delicious Thanksgiving meals with our family in Kansas City (which, by the way, we had an amazing time seeing our grandparents and hanging out with Mom and Dad Murrill - it always goes by too fast).  I am setting a new goal of losing 5 pounds by December 31.  That means my new, adjusted goal is 158.6 pounds.  Here we go!

Wake-up Call

It's 7am, and thanks to my personal little alarm clock, also known as "Max", I've already been up for at least 1.5 hours.  I can't say that I mind too much, but I am hoping I get a little nap later today.

We've been having a wonderful time with the Murrill family here in Kansas City.  Stephanie and I brought the littlest ones, Max and Monroe, with us on Monday.  Mike, Mark and Mason drove out on Tuesday evening.  We celebrated Stephanie's 30th Birthday with a surprise dinner with friends at California Pizza Kitchen and some shopping and fun to follow.  There were two "celebrity" sightings during the celebration, we saw Sasha Kahn of the 2008 Champion KU Jayhawks, and Michael Tait, of the Newsboys and formerly of D.C. Talk.  The birthday girl even got her picture with Mr. Tait!

This morning we'll head to church and we're looking forward to seeing old friends.  There's just something about Sabbath.  I'm so glad it's here.  I'm so glad to have the rest and time-out from everyday life!

Shabbat Shalom!

Happy Sabbath, Dear Friends!  I hope you are enjoying rest and taking time for the important things in life.  I am already getting into the Thanksgiving spirit, I suppose, because I've been thinking about things I'm thankful for.  Lately, I have been overwhelmingly thankful for my family, and today I'm going to tell you why.

My littlest boy, Max, is now a big one year-old and he has been dubbed by some, to be a "mini-me".  People say his eyes are just like mine and that he resembles me very much.  I'm so thankful for him, for how he has opened my heart up even more to learn how to love.  He makes me feel needed, wanted, and very important.  He also makes me feel like I'm doing a good job when he gives me his big toothy grin!

My oldest son, Mason, is a very busy 2 1/2 year-old who is looking more like his Daddy everyday, except for the little guy's amazing head of red hair.  I'm so thankful for Mason because he taught me how to be a mother and how to love like one.   Every time I hear his hearty little laugh I can't help but smile.  He is forgiving and loves me unconditionally.

My husband, Mike, has been in my life for 9 1/2 years, with 7 1/2 as my husband.  That's long enough for him to realize that I am terribly flawed.  He's been the receiver of my selfishness, my thoughtless remarks, my controlling habits, and the many negative effects of my insecurities.  Somehow he has loved me in spite of these things.  He is still the only person I ever want to spend my life with, my best friend, the only one who really "gets" me, and the one I still believe God planned for me.  He is an incredible man of God whom I aspire to be more like in many ways.

This thanksgiving, I'm more thankful than ever for the amazing blessing of my immediate and extended families.

So...I weighed in yesterday morning at 165.0 lbs.  I would like it to be much less.  But, it's not.  Enough said.

I wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Fasting

My media fast seemed to be so effective, that it even kept me away from my blog for quite a while!  Renee and I had quite an experience cutting media out of our lives for those two weeks.  We went through a range of emotions and phases including excitement, denial, frustration, anger, acceptance, and finally happiness.

We learned that movies, TV, magazines, books, the internet (yes, even facebook), and other media sources are not necessary to living a happy life and more often that not, (at least for us) were more detrimental.  We realized we needed to learn to create better boundaries if we choose to partake in anything media-related or it can easily overwhelm and overtake our minds, taking our focus away from both our families and from God, which are much more important to us than anything else.

Personally, I learned that I was living without true peace as I had not been taking any time for personal reflection or worship.  After my fast, I feel much more engaged in the lives of my boys and also with my marriage.  I haven't watched any TV (except a little sports with Mike), but I have watched one movie, read a few magazines, and have been online some, however it's been significantly less than my former ways.  I feel happier, more at peace, and generally less stressed.

I think two weeks was a crucial timeframe for this experiment.  One week would not have been long enough to change our habits.  After one week was over, we were annoyed and agitated as we felt the loss of our "media habits", but hadn't filled the hole with anything else.  It was the second week where the growth occurred.  In fact, I chose to fast from a couple of other things just to make sure that they too weren't more important in my life than they should be.

Now that it's over, I wish I could say I read my Bible everyday and spend lots of time in worship, but that wouldn't be true.  What I can say is, that I'm doing better with it now that I've created some space in my life for time with God to exist, but changing your lifestyle or habits isn't easy and it isn't immediate.  I know I have work ahead of me to put my relationship with God where it needs to be, but He is faithful and will guide me each step of the way.

Let me catch my breath.

Things have been so crazy lately that I feel like I'm barely able to keep up with myself!  We got back from Des Moines and 2 days later, the boys and I caught a flight to Washington where we visited with my family there.  It was a very fun 11 days, but also was tiring taking care of two boys as my cold turned into bronchitis and I had some pretty severe asthma.  We got back at about 1:00 A.M. this past Sunday morning and I was able to get some much-needed rest the past few days.

Today I started back to work.  Let me catch you up.  The first time, several weeks ago, it didn't end up working out which was actually good, as I had agreed to work 4 days a week and looking back, I was probably a little goofy thinking I could actually do that and maintain sanity.  I admire you mom's that work full-time.  That is a tough task and so many of you do it so well!  So Monday evening I got a message from Brandon, my boss and friend, who said they needed me after all, and that it would be great if I could start Wednesday (today).  It all happened to work out with childcare and I've agreed to work Monday mornings, and a full day on both Tuesday and Thursday.  This is a very do-able schedule for me and I am very thankful to have the extra income.

Speaking of Brandon, ahheeemmmm...He and his family, 5 people whom I love dearly (Maria, Mitchell, Blythe and Brynley), have announced that they are moving to North Carolina.  While I'd like to try anything to make them stay (selfishly, of course), and I have actually tried to think of something I could do to make them stay, I have to realize that instead of feeling sad that I should rejoice for the time God blessed us with by placing them in our lives.  They are some of the most kind-hearted, loving, fun, cool, gracious and meaningful people I've known.  I have no doubt they will be very happy and that God is leading them.  It's hard to leave people you appreciate and hard to be the ones left.  We've been on both sides and neither is easy.  I ask that you join me in praying for the Nudd family as they anticipate and begin their new life in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina.  We will miss you terribly! Ok, well at least they will likely be here a couple more months, give or take.  :)  I can cram in some time with them, although they might get sick of me hanging around all the time!  Oh well.  They shouldn't have told me they were leaving then.

I haven't weighed on Friday's like I'm supposed to.  I'll get back at it this week.  It's been too hard being on vacation across the country to keep up with it.

You won't find me on facebook or anywhere else on the internet (except for email and my blog), or reading books or magazines, or watching tv or movies for a little under 2 weeks.  My sis and I decided to try a "Media Fast" where we stop all of our bad habits and vices and only allow ourselves to journal and read our bibles.  It's already been very interesting and I'll let you know how the experiment has gone, once we finish.

It's just after 9:00 P.M., but I am so tired I think I might go to bed right now.  Good night!

Welcome to Des Moines

What an interesting trip this has proven to be.  All four of us are sick with this nasty cold to some degree.  We left Chicago on Friday much later than we had hoped, and once we got to our hotel in Des Moines, our relief was short-lived when Max threw up all over himself.  This was not some little spit up scenario, but a full-fledged heaving kind of throw up.  I felt so bad for him.

We had stopped for a plethora of medicines at Walgreens on our way to the hotel and as I gave Mason his cough medicine at bedtime, he completely missed his mouth and spilled it all over his blanket and himself.  Sometimes you just have to smile.

My cold has turned into something much closer to a full-fledged sinus infection and Mike is also battling this irritating illness. If we didn't love Kyla so much, I can say this would have been an easy decision to stay home.  On the upside, the hotel we're staying at has an indoor water park complete with a pirate ship that Mason has been more than delighted to explore.  I'll post some pictures after we return home.

The wedding was so much fun on Saturday night.  Kyla looked amazing and we're so happy for her and Lance.  They make a beautiful couple both inside and out.  Today we're going to take the boys over to see them at their house before we watch the Chiefs game with Dad Murrill and have to head home.

Please pray that we'll all start to feel better.  I've been sick over a week now and am concerned how the flight to Washington will go Tuesday if we are still fighting this virus.

Annoyed

This morning I'm a bit frustrated and more than a little annoyed.  However, I'll get over it.  I weighed in at 165.6 pounds this morning.  All week I've been weighing myself almost everyday and I've been weighing 164.6.  A whole pound lighter!  Oh well, that's how it goes, I suppose.  Maybe next week I can lose again.  I did, however, make good on my promise of having no sugar.  It's a good thing too, because I've been fighting a cold since last weekend that I can't seem to get over.  I'm sure if I had been having sugar, it would have already developed into something much worse.

In a few hours we are headed off to Des Moines, Iowa for the weekend.  One of Mike's friends from Grad school, who our whole family has come to love, Kyla, is getting married!  We are so happy for her and so glad we can make the trip to celebrate with her.  Dad Murrill is meeting us there tomorrow to watch the boys as we go to the wedding.  Sunday there is a luncheon where we'll get to take the boys to see the new bride and groom.

Thank you to Timi and Gina, for sharing your ideas last week for accomplishing a goal!  That meant a lot to me!  I've decided to take the next two weeks and devote one week to each of you!  First, for this week, I'll try out Timi's method and try to give myself prizes and incentives for doing a good job.  I know that it's probably meant to be spread out over a much larger time period, but I'm going to try it anyway.  I'll about Gina's goal next week.

After we get back from Iowa on Sunday night, the boys and I have until Tuesday to be at home.  Tuesday evening Mason, Max and I are flying to Washington to have fun with family for 11 days!  I'm so excited to see everyone but a little nervous about the flights out there with just me and two little guys!  I hope they will do good.  I may not be able to keep up with my blog for the next several weeks, depending on how it goes, so bear with me.  I will still weigh each week and post the results when I get back, if not before.

Have a great weekend!

The good, the bad, and the shocking

This week I feel like there is both good and bad to report when it comes to my weight-loss resolution.

First, the good: I weighed in at 165.6 this morning!  Yay.

But then there's the bad: I've continued to stay off of sugar, but I totally cheated this week.  I had a rice-crispy treat last weekend (okay...full admission: I had more than one), a chocolate frosty from Wendy's on Wednesday (but at least it was a small), and a piece of chocolate cake at Jen's baby shower last night.  Whew!  Now that the burden of stolen sugar is off my shoulders, I feel even lighter.  Pun kind of intended.  Let's see if I can try this again for the week and actually not eat any sugar going forward!

The big news is that I'm going back to work.  Don't be too shocked, I'm still in love with being at home full-time with Mason and Max, but my fellow-recruiter at the hospital is re-locating out of state so I've agreed to help temporarily while they work to fill the position.  It's going to be interesting - an adjustment for me as I'll be working twice as much per week as when I resigned.  I'll be working 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday and this will go until sometime at the end of November or into December a bit.  Living on one income has necessitated some lifestyle changes for us and things are definitely tighter financially (anyone want to buy a 2005 Pathfinder?).  I'm grateful for the option I have to make some extra money for us right now.

Here's where I need you:  What is a suggestion or encouragement that you wouldn't mind sharing, that has helped you with a goal (weight-loss or other) in the past?  Leave a comment to share with me and my 2 readers (ha ha).

Spray-paint projects

If you know me, you know that I love to use spray paint.  I will spray paint almost anything in my house, just because I can.   I've spray-painted many peices of furniture, and then re-sprayed them when I wanted a new color.  There was the table and chairs I painted blue right after we got married.   A few years later, I sprayed them black.  Then there was the cute little blue shelf I found in a trash dumpster when we lived in an apartment in Denver.  I sprayed it black a while later, and then recently topped it with white.  A pedestal has gone from gray, to black, to white.  A pine-colored side table is now black.  Four brown baskets have a new life in white.  Three brown picture frames became red.   A white bathroom shelf unit was more suited with green. In fact, I once spray-painted my dishwasher (complete with heat-safe appliance paint, and plastic paint for the controls) and saved my white kitchen cabinets from having to clash with its shade of warm almond.  Truly, I do not discriminate when it comes to items I choose to spray paint.   Anything that comes in my house is considered fair game for a color change.  You might want to keep your eyes on your shoes and handbags.

Here are a couple of my latest spray-paint projects:

This is a mirror I bought at a garage sale for $3.  I decided it would go better with my decor if it was white.  I had plenty of white primer from another project  so I decided to use it, without paint, for the mirror since I'd need to prime it anyway.

 I covered the mirror with magazine pages to protect it from the spray. 

I sprayed the frame from all viewable sides. 

Looks clean and fresh in my hallway!

I have two of the flower arrangements pictured below that sit on the mantle above our fireplace.  I decided the vases were too dark and were attracting too much attention to themselves.  I wanted to tone them down a bit.  

Here's what they looked like before.  A little too orange-brown.

I wrapped the floral part with upside-down plastic bags and tucked the handles inside.

First, they get a coat of primer.

Then, with their final paint color, they blend in much better with the fireplace.

 It's as easy as the three "P's":  Prepare, Prime, Paint.  You should try it.  I can't find a cheaper, faster or more satisfying way to update your home decor.  And there you have it! 

Pictures as promised

Here are a few shots of Max in the hat from Steph.  You can even see his third tooth in the first picture!

Having a good time!

So stylin'!

Just love this cute little guy!

Awestruck!

For those of you who don't know, I have an incredible sister-in-law, Stephanie, who is probably the coolest crafter I've ever met in my whole life!  Just when I think she's made it to the epitome of craftiness, she goes and makes something else even more incredible!  If you haven't read her blog: murrillspearlsofwisdom.blogspot.com, then you need to.  She shares pictures of some of the things she's made including wallets, baby head bands, baby quilts, customized onesies and now she's even making earrings.  She sews, crochet's, makes greeting cards, refinishes furniture and more!  To top that off, she made the cutest hat for Max and gave it to him today.  I need to get a picture of him in it and post it.  It's absolutely adorable.

She has been a huge inspiration to me.  I used to crochet years ago, maybe when I was around 12 years old, or so, but I later gave it up.  Then I tried sewing, but that too included projects that took so long that I ran out of motivation to see them through.  I've always loved paper and beads, not necessarily together, but I could never figure out what to do with them.  Finally, now that I'm older (maybe turning 30 shocked my psyche), and due mostly to Stephanie's influence, I have tried doing a few of the "crafty" things I used to do.  I picked up crocheting again, she's shown me how to make some great shirt embellishments, and she has helped me realize that instead of being afraid to try something, I should just go for it.

Thank you, Stephanie, for your unknowing encouragement to my creative side!

This week wasn't as successful as I'd hoped with my resolution.  I am going another week with no desserts/extra sugar, and although it didn't create an astonishing weight loss over one week's time (or any for that matter, ha ha), I have no doubt it will help me in the long run, and also keep sickness at bay.  Several nights this week I felt like my sinuses were going to break in to a bad cold by morning, but it didn't happen!  I know sugar is bad for the immune system, so I might have my new "sugar rule" to thank for staying well.  Even that seems worth giving up sugar.  I weighed in at 166.2 pounds on Friday.

Here we go.  Call me crazy, but I'm going to shoot for 165.0 pounds by next week!  Let's see if I can get back on the "losing" wagon and do this!

Too much of a good thing?

Apple season is upon us and since I've been eating delicious, freshly picked honeycrisp's every day, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I'm experiencing one of nature's more unpleasant afflictions.  I'll let you guess what that might be, shouldn't be too difficult.  I've been taking it easy since yesterday and hoping to feel better soon.  Luckily, we had an awesome day outside on Wednesday at the beach with Maria and the kids, so staying inside hasn't felt too bad.  I've posted a few pictures below from our beach trip.

I weighed in this morning at 166.4 lbs.  This week it was definitely harder to stay on track and I had several meals eating out, including a never-ending pasta bowl from Olive Garden, that I can't say I regret!  Did you know that you have to have a deficit of 3500 calories to lose just one pound?  That's a lot.  I've been trying to cut back by a few hundred calories per day.  Even that isn't easy, so to build up to that size of a calorie deficit can take more than a day or two, and frankly it should, if I am to be losing weight in a healthful way.  

I'm going to try something new this week that I haven't done since I was pregnant and was ordered to do this by my doctors.  I am going to try to go off of sweets, candy, etc. for the week and see how I feel.  I am not planning to go off of everything that has sugar in it, as this would mean I wouldn't be able to eat almost anything, but I am going to try to make choices that exclude desserts, and other obvious sugar-laden foods.  

I'll check in next Friday and let you know how it goes! Until then, enjoy the harvest of September, but remember: it's possible to eat too many apples.

 

A mini-party

I decided I need to throw myself a mini-party today because this morning I weighed in at 166.0 pounds.  I'm so excited to be at my lowest weight yet.  The Myplate feature I'm using on livestrong.com has really made a difference for me.  It's helped me realize my portions were too big and also that I wasn't getting enough activity.  I've adjusted my lifestyle this week accordingly and I hope to keep it up!  Back to the fun...My mini-party consists of me giving myself a manicure.  :)

We had a wonderful Labor Day weekend.  We went on lots of walks, played at the park and just had a low-key time.  It was just what the four of us needed.  We are happy to all be together after a very fun summer of lots of great vacations, but also the "un-fun" aspect of lots of time with Mike gone.

We've had amazing weather this last week.  It's been in the mid-low 70's most days and it's perfect for just hanging out outside.  I'm so glad fall is creeping in!

I heart Sunday breakfasts.

This is how I love to start a Sunday morning.  I'm sitting here eating a delicious breakfast of blueberry pancakes, stripples, and scrambled eggs all courtesy of my awesome husband!  He's also feeding both boys breakfast while I sit here at the table in my own little world.  I'm a lucky girl.  Once breakfast is over, we're walking to the farmer's market to get some fresh produce.  It was actually cool yesterday and last night was down right chilly.  It was wonderful.  I'm ready for a taste of fall after the long, hot, humid summer we've had.

Friday, I weighed in at 168.8 lbs.  It was only a few days before that I started using MyPlate and I think some fluctuation is normal.  I've been faithful with inputting my food and snacks and I'm still loving all the features MyPlate has to offer.  Thanks again, Timi, for your fabulous suggestion!

Happy Labor Day weekend!  I hope you can all enjoy some good food, good company, and get a little nap.  I sure plan to!

Thank you, Timi!

If you happened to read the first comment from my last post, you would see that Timi, who I'm blessed to have as my first cousin, suggested "My Plate" from the livestrong.com website.  Well, I checked it out and I was blown away at how perfect it is for me and my goal!  It's the most incredible website for tracking food you eat, calories burned, and more.  I've tried other websites before, but they took too much time.  I was amazed at how easy and helpful this site is and would recommend it highly.

Last night I put in the food I ate yesterday, and saw that I definitely needed to burn more calories for the day.  I'm ready to start today with my new food diary in mind.  Let's see how it goes!

It's sure been a while since I gave an update on either my weight loss goals or my summer happenings!

It's been a very busy summer.  We've had wonderful times with my mom, my sisters family, Mom and Dad Murrill, and of course Mark, Steph and RoRo.  The boys are doing wonderfully and doing new things everyday.

This weekend Mike is on a motorcycle trip around Michigan's upper peninsula.  He was gone last weekend too, so the boys and I are especially excited to have Mom Murrill here to help us stay sane this weekend!

Friday I weighed in at 167.4 pounds.  Not much progress in quite a while with my weight loss goal, but I've thoroughly enjoyed my summer vacation and all the delicious foods that went along with it. I'm still excited to keep at it and hopefully continue my process and reach my goal by December 31.  If I can lose about 8 more pounds I'll be pretty much where I was when I got pregnant with Max.  Although I think I'm at a plateau point, I need to keep at it.

I CAN DO THIS!!!  ....Right?

Today I weighed in at 167.6 lbs.  Although my May goal was 167.5, at least it feels good to hit it before the end of June.  Ha!

This morning the boys and I had a lovely time hanging out with Steph and Monroe at Starbucks and then shopping at Target.  I just love my little niece Monroe.  She makes me smile every time I see her.  Especially when Steph told me the story about her literally throwing her bottle across the room because Steph had tried adding a bit of formula to it.  Hilarious!  That girl has her mind made up about what she wants!  Mason was a rascal who kept running all over the store instead of staying close to me like he usually does and nothing seemed to work to get him to calm down and stay with me.  Even Target employees were calling his name.  At least he listened to them.  I can only go so fast with Max in the cart to try to keep up with Mason.  Thankfully, Steph was there to help out.  These are really crazy times in our lives with such little ones, but I'm so glad to have Steph, Mark and Monroe here to do this together!

I'm leaving in a bit to go get my mom at the airport.  She'll be with us until next Thursday!  Yay!

Back on the wagon...again

The last few months have been busier and crazier than I expected.  Quitting my job brought extra stress for me both before I quit (through the month of April) and after I quit (through the month of May) probably due to finishing up things at work and then adjusting to a new routine at home.  I'm so happy that I made the decision to be home full-time and haven't regretted it for one moment.  Now that I'm feeling more relaxed and peaceful after finishing the transition, I'm able to focus more on my weight-loss goal.

Here's what's been happening for me in the last few months.  I had been hovering in the low 170's and I got discouraged that I wasn't making any progress and didn't feel like writing much of anything on my blog because I had nothing good to report.  I know I should stay open about everything, the good and the bad, but I didn't feel up to it.  The first 10 pounds were much easier than these next 10 are proving to be.  Last Saturday I turned 30 and am only more motivated than ever to get to a weight I am comfortable with.

I weighed June 1, which is kind of like my final May weigh-in since I didn't get to that on the 31st. I was 168.0.  This morning for my regular Friday weigh-in I am 169.4 lbs.   I am glad that I'm more consistently in the 160's now.

I've taken a new look at my eating habits and exercise (or lack-there-of) and am committed to continuing on my journey.  I'm watching my portions more closely and have already made exercise a bigger priority.  I'm getting ready to feel some more success coming my way!

I love these kiddos.

That was fast...

Wow.  A whole month went by and I hardly even knew it!  The last post I wrote was at the beginning of April and much has changed since then, although I wish I could say it was my weight!  I weighed in this morning at 169.0. I will be honest that I don't even remember where I'm supposed to be right now, but I'll check and get back on track.

After my wonderful visit to Washington to stay with my sister and her family, I realized something I had been considering for a while: that I really wanted to stay home with the boys full-time.  I gave my notice at work and my last day was April 29 - well, my last day in the office.  I've still been finishing some work at home and have agreed to do one more newsletter, but I don't have to go into the office or pay for childcare which helps.

I have to say that although the last month has been crazy and at times I felt like I was going to lose my mind, I have had the most fun week this last week, staying home with the boys, that I could have imagined.  I feel sure now that I was listening to God speak to my heart when I decided to quit my job.  I struggled deeply with the decision, worrying that I would not find a job like it again, sad to leave a boss and co-workers that I enjoy so much, wondering if it was something we could really afford and also not sure if I would be happy to "just be at home".  After being home for my first week, I feel peaceful, relaxed, thankful, fulfilled and happy deep in my soul.  I also feel this was the right time for me to do this.  At other points in my life I haven't been ready, but I feel God has prepared my heart, and my mind for this special task and I am more than willing to jump right in.  It's funny, I had many people tell me things like, "it will be a shock", "get ready, it's not as easy as you think it will be", but I didn't do it because it would be easy, and I already had a concept of what it might be like since I only worked part time anyway.  I guess some people don't feel the way I do, but I truly believe God has called me at this time for this job of focusing all of my energy on my children, husband, and home, and YES, I realize it's way harder than a day at the office but THAT'S WHAT I'M SIGNING UP FOR!!!  And I couldn't be happier about it.  I know that since God called me to do this at this specific time, that He will provide the resources we need and He will bless us.  I already feel incredibly blessed just from the joy one week of being home with the boys has brought me.  I can't wait for more!