Cures for my First World Heart

This is part of a series of posts that I'm writing on replacing the consumerism in my heart with contentment and gratitude.
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:12 (NIV)

We Americans often battle with consumerism. The desire for a larger home, a better car, a more extravagant vacation, or a more luxurious lifestyle are well known to us. I realized years ago that I needed to learn to be content in whatever situation I was in. It's a hard thing to learn here in the land of plenty. Things really began to change for me when I went to Haiti in 2010. I saw poverty that took my breath away.  Along the way, I've found a few things that have helped break my desire to have more. The first thing that I want to share with you is a company called Noonday Collection. A quote from their website to explain what they do:

"Noonday Collection is a business that uses fashion to create meaningful opportunities around the world."

Noonday partners with artisans in developing countries to develop fair trade businesses that offer fair wages and good working conditions free of child labor. Here is a short video about one of their artisans:

Please go check out their website and watch some more of their videos - so moving.

The Noonday necklace in this photo is made from ethically harvested animal horn.

I own several pieces from Noonday. I love them because they are beautiful, unique, affordable and durable. But I also love them for much deeper reasons. One of my favorite pieces is the necklace in the photo below, and it was made in Ethiopia from re-purposed artillery. 

Something that man created to do harm has given someone a job making lovely necklaces. While Noonday feds my consumerism on some level, it frees me from it at the same time. I love to buy it and give it away.  I always feel good knowing that my money went to a company that is breathing life into countries where people struggle to get buy. I love getting to wear jewelry that has given another woman a dignified life.  If you'd like to purchase some Noonday pieces, I'm hosting a trunk show! Have fun  shopping at Noonday Collection & enter my name as the trunk show host.  You have plenty of time to order for Mother's Day deliveries!

Weight Maintenance Update

It's been a little over a year since I hit my goal weight, so I thought it was time for an update. Hitting the one year mark, and still being at the weight I want to be at is a big deal for me. When I started trying to improve my health over two years ago, I was truly unsure of how successful I would be both in the short term and long term. Could I actually loose the weight? Could I maintain healthy eating habits for the rest of my life?

 I've hit a new low weight of my adult adult life. The photo above was taken this morning, and it's the first time I've seen my weight below 150 lbs as an adult. It's a welcome change from this before photo:

 I have to admit part of this recent dip in weight is due to a stomach virus that my whole family has been fighting, but that's not all of it. We got back from vacation about a week ago, and vacation time usually means a several pound weight gain for me. Not this time though. I did three things differently - no desserts at restaurants, I made a solid effort to track most of the food that I ate, and I tried to stay away from wheat. I did have a little wedding cake on the trip, but I came home weighing what I weighed when we left for the trip! I've noticed that avoiding wheat has resolved my issues with water retention.

I still have these size 20 jeans in my closet, just as a measure of restraint. They are there to remind me of what I used to have to wear. I still struggle with self control, and I still eat and drink things that I shouldn't at times, but one day off the wagon is just that. One day.

I've been reading Made to Crave, which a a great book that addresses the emotional and spiritual component of over eating.  I'll write a more detailed review of the book when I'm finished with it, but I want to share a quote from the book.

"Food can fill our stomachs but never our souls,

Possessions can fill our houses but never our hearts,

Sex can fill our nights but never our hunger for love.

Children can fill our days but never our identities."

The main point of the book is that we find true joy and satisfaction in God alone.  I finally got some time to listen an excellent sermon on gluttony that was recently preached at my church.  Hear is the link, if you'd like to watch it: Where do you find your satisfaction?  One point that our pastor made that really stuck a cord with me was this:

Does my over indulgence mean that someone else starves?

Oh that pinged my heart. I've seen severe poverty, I've lost a child in Ethiopia, partially due to malnourishment. How much money each week do we spend on food that we don't really need? How much of that money be given to buy food for someone else who doesn't know where their next meal is coming from?

Saying Goodbye

I wish could be with my husband's side of the family today as they say good-bye to his grandmother - his Mamaw.  She passed away on Wednesday, and James and Eva left for Louisiana yesterday to be with his parents. Samuel and I stayed home because we've both been battling a stomach virus. I think we're both on the mend today though.

Mamaw was delighted to be a great-grandmother.

 I don't know what these ladies were talking about, but it sure was funny. James is not the best with the camera, but sometimes he captures some true gems. He grabbed up my camera after I left it to chase down a child & I'm so glad he got that shot.

 James has many fond memories of his Mamaw. She was very involved in the lives of her grandchildren. He talks often playing at her home as a child and vacationing in Nashville with her and her husband. She loved her husband well, and she enjoyed life best when he was at her side. Mamaw loved to sew and cook, and she enjoyed sharing her talents with others. We have three quilts that she made. In her wisdom, she made baby blankets to give her great grandchildren before her grandkids were even married. She feared that her hands wouldn't allow her to sew by the time the great-grandbabies came along. I'm glad she prepared them in advance!  James' favorite recipe of her's was her cornbread dressing, and he went over to her home one day around the time we got married so she could teach him how to make it.  I'm glad he did this, and so was she. The recipe was all memorized & she had never measured any of the ingredients. James measured everything out, and put it to paper.  Here is it is - you have to start with homemade cornbread first.
Cornbread     

- Verdell Thomas

1 ½  C.  Martha White’s Self-rising corn meal

1 Tbs. oil

2 eggs

1 ¼ C. buttermilk

½  tsp. baking Powder

Preheat oven to 400°.  Beat eggs before adding them to the rest of the ingrediants in a medium sized bowl.  Mix well.  Pour into greased and floured skillet.  Put skillet into hot oven.  Bake 20 min. on Medium rack, then 5-10 min. on high rack.

Cornbread Dressing

- Verdell Thomas

1 cornbread (see above recipe)

2 stalks of celery (chopped)

1 onion (white or yellow)

1 can cream of chicken soup

Crumble cornbread in a large mixing bowl.  Saute celery and onion in skillet.  Mix celery and onion with crumbled cornbread in the mixing bowl.  Warm a can of Cream of Chicken soup with 1 can of water in skillet then mix into dressing.  Pour into buttered 9x13 aluminum pan – cut slits into dressing with knife before baking.  Bake at 350° for 15-20 min.

Bye-Bye Wheat

At a doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago, my doctor advised me to eliminate wheat from my diet.  This wasn't a big shock to me. I've recently had some blood work come back that may suggest I've got an autoimmune disease brewing, and wheat can be problematic for people with autoimmune diseases. I don't have any noteworthy symptoms, thankfully, so no diagnosis, no medication for now.
A few months ago, a pharmacist friend of mine let me borrow a book called Breaking the Vicious Cycle. That book outlines a diet called the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), and my friend used it for his son following his diagnosis of Crohn's disease. After following the diet, his son is symptom free and not in need of any medication.  That is a huge victory.  However, the SCD plan is rather rigorous with a long list of foods to avoid - wheat is one of them, along with a host of others. Since I wasn't having any symptoms, it didn't make since for me to jump all in with it. One change I did make after reading the book was eliminating Splenda. I had been using it in my coffee and oatmeal. After giving it up, I realized just bad Splenda was making me feel.

After leaving the doctor's office, I decided that giving up wheat is doable. Coming from the girl who used to love and crave bread, that is a big deal.  Some friends gave me some good ideas of substitutions to make for wheat products in recipes, and I'm off to a good start.  Last Friday, the four of us went out to dinner at a little Italian restaurant. The bread didn't look appealing to me, so I didn't even want to eat it. The kids enjoyed it though.

I get most of my recipes from Skinnytaste, and you can find a searchable list of gluten free and paleo recipes there. I really love that the author post the nutrition facts for every single recipe. I had to give up my favorite Kashi granola bars, because they contain wheat. I started making my own, thanks to a gluten free recipe at Skinnytaste called Banana Split Bars.

So yummy!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

  It's hard to believe that it has been three years since we got the phone that changed our lives forever.  Samuel is such a joy to us.

 I was sad for him to have a birthday in the wintertime, because I have a winter birthday. I didn't like it much as a kid. The weather was usually yucky, so I couldn't have my party outside.  I was really glad when Samuel wanted to have a snowman party this year.

 I got the cupcakes from Whole Foods, and they were very tasty - and very affordable. They were just over $1 each.  I got some of the decorations at after-Christmas sales and I made the rest. Disney missed the mark on marketing Frozen themed items for little boys. All of the party decorations that I could find were very girly.  If I had been able to find plates and party hats with Olaf and Sven on them, I probably would have bought them. I managed to track down Olaf though! He was a hard character to find in St. Louis, but I finally found him through a friend. He was provided by Once Upon a Party. That company was great to work with, and they even sent Olaf with a gift and card for Samuel. Olaf and his assistant played a couple of game with the kids.

The first game was "building a snowman." The kids wrapped each other in toliet paper.

 The second game was stick-the-nose on Olaf. Samuel decided that he wanted to stick his paper nose on Daddy instead of Olaf.

Eva Kate had no problem posing with Frankenstein at Halloween, but she didn't want to pose with Olaf. I had to get in the photo with her. Next, it was time for presents and birthday cake.

 Samuel was given two sled for his birthday, but no snow. He is still getting to play with them inside though. One of them has become a little boat that he and Eva pull around - or get pulled around in themselves.

We were blessed to have all four of our parents in town for his party, and we had several of our friends join us as well.  Thank you all - you made the day special for Samuel!

Eva Kate's Adoption Day

On January 8th, we got to celebrate the one year anniversary of Eva Kate legally becoming our daughter.  As with Samuel's first anniversary, I breathed a little sigh of relief. According to our attorney, there is little legal precedent for adoptions coming into question after a year of the finalization.  With the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision in just a few days, I thought this would be a good time to post this. Our kids have the brave woman as their birthmom. Their birth fathers both advocated for her to abort these two precious lives. She obviously didn't listen to them, and we are forever grateful that she made the courageous choice to give these little ones the gift of life.  We are so thankful for her belief in the sanctity of human life.

We had a fun evening with Eva Kate. James and I both worked that day, but he brought home St. Louis' finest cupcakes from Jilly's Cupcake Bar for us to have for dessert. Then she had a gift waiting for her in the basement.

We gave her a play kitchen. She and Samuel both love it, and they have already had several hours of fun with it.

 James gave her a silver coin. He a few of them for her to choose from, and she picked out a Chinese Panda.

On the following Saturday, we all went out to lunch at The Tattooed Dog. This place is about twenty minutes west of our house, and I'm glad it's not closer. Or else I'd be tempted to eat there too often. They have delicious gourmet burgers. I ordered kids' meals for Samuel and Eva. The hot dog that came with Eva's was way bigger than what they give you at the ballpark. She didn't come close to finishing it.

The next day. we all went to the art museum. This place is such a treasure. Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Warhol, Chagall, Renoir - to name a few. They had several pieces of Native American art on display too. We got to see the new wing that they just added, where there was a fun contemporary art display.

We are so thankful to God for making you our daughter, Eva Kate!

Christmas Day 2014

I was going through some photos to put together a montage for Samuel's third birthday, and I saw that I never finished editing my photos from Christmas day. Here they are, finally!

 We add a new ornament or five to the tree each year.  I took the kids to Target one day before Christmas and let them pick out one ornament each. Eva Kate chose Minnie Mouse and Samuel chose Superman.  The sphere with the fish on it was our souvenir from Hawaii. We bought it at the resort we stayed at on Kauai. It was handpainted by a local artist.  The ornament on the bottom row was one of the stocking stuffers I gave James.  We had to say goodbye to Daisy in June, and these were some of my favorite photos of her.  That ornament is made from metal, and I ordered it from Shutterfly. I'm really pleased with the quality.

 Stocking stuffers are always fun. The kids got socks, a coin, soap, sunglasses, cutters for bread, annd Frozen band-aids.

 Eva liked the new silicone baster that I gave James. Silly girl.  We ate breakfast after we had opened our stockings. The kids wanted to use their new bread cutters.

On to the rest of the gifts. 

The day after Halloween, I got up early and went to Wal-mart to get some costumes for the kids. These were a big hit. They like to play dress up. I embroidered chef's hats and aprons for them too, and they have already used these several times.

I gave James the Rosetta Stone spanish suite and he gave me a studio backdrop that is portable. I'm looking forward to using this!

The kids had a fun surprise waiting for them behind these doors. James' parents gave them a power wheels car that they can both ride in. The weather was really nice, and they were able to play outside for a while on Christmas day.

I took Samuel to register for preschool a few days ago. He was very excited to see the school, and he told me that he would drive himself there in his new car - not ride in my car. Hahaha.