Alumni

Five years ago today I became an alumni of the University of Tennessee! It's hard to believe that 5 years have passed! It was an amazing feeling to walk across the stage that day!

Jesus vs Santa

This issue controversy has come up several times this season; mostly talk around me, but it has definitely got me thinking about what I'm teaching Major and how in the scheme of his childhood/life that will affect him. Josh and I grew up believing in Santa and didn't believe in Jesus less because of it. Josh grew up in a home where he learned about Jesus and was exposed to "the story". He was raised in church and his parents provided a foundation of faith for him. I, however, did not grow up in church. Well, I started going in elementary school (maybe in the 3rd grade) when my dad had us on the weekends. I didn't grow up hearing about Jesus or that he was the reason for the season, per se. I didn't go to church on Christmas Eve or regularly or celebrate the birth of Jesus. Still, I learned that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas. I have been thinking a lot about should we just tell Major that Santa is pretend so that he doesn't get confused about whether or not Jesus is real. I've gone back and forth about being misleading to him. I don't want him to ever think that I am being dishonest and that he can't trust my word. I follow this blog and I think she is amazing! PLEASE click on that link and read her post. There is no way that I could have said what or how I feel any better. In our house, we teach Major about Jesus first. He knows Jesus was born in "Befweham" to be our Savior. As simply as I can put it to a spoiled three year old, I teach him about giving to others who have less. We talk about being the hands and feet of Jesus which, to him, means being nice and helpful to friends. He is learning and that makes me proud. Just tonight he picked up his bible and said "this is heavy, you have to be strong to carry this bible". I smiled because that means one thing to him but a completely different thing to me. The bible is "heavy", it is serious and to carry God's Word, to carry it in your heart, to share with others, to minister, you have to be strong. That's something that I am in a constant struggle with. Anyway, that huge tangent to say read JOY'S HOPE. She said it perfect about how I feel about Santa and Jesus. I definitely think with the right amount of balance you can let your children experience the magicalness ( I know that's not a word) of Santa while also teaching them and showing them about the love of Jesus.

Here are some pictures of Jesus' Birthday last year at our house:

 So if you haven't already clicked over...GO! Go, Go, Go!!!

Fatty McFatterson

Ok, so I am tired of being fat. I mean, really, when did these extra 10 pounds just sneak on over? I feel so gross, nothing fits, I look fat, my face is fat, ewww, ewww, ewww. It's time to make a change. Josh just got hired on full time and got a benefits package with WEMA which means that we get a basically free membership to Jimmy Floyd starting in February! Yahoo!!! I really am thrilled about this! But until then I have to get things under control. I am at my highest weight.....which I will not mention here.....and as much as I say it isn't about the # on the scale, we all know it is. So I am really, honestly, truly, gonna do something about it. The bottom line is that I just want to feel better, I want to go down just one jean size and have more energy and stamina. I want to just FEEL BETTER. Losing 10 to 15 pounds would get me there. I would be at a good and healthy weight without being too skinny. Since high school I have gained 18 pounds :( That's kinda a lot when you have no reason whatsoever to have gained it. I don't really want or need to go all the way back to my weight in high school but I need to take some responsibility and loose some of this. So maybe posting on here will help me be accountable. I am going to the store tomorrow....all good and healthy food for me :) I will try to be brave and post a fatty picture of myself on here as a sort of "before" and hopefully will have a much thinner and better feeling "after" picture before long. So here goes.........