Trim Healthy Mama

I am the queen of diet bandwagons.  I have done Atkins, South beach,  Cabbage soup, various cleanses,  juice fasts, raw foods, veganism, and many other diets.   My weight over the years has gone up and down. I just am one of those people who struggles!  Every joy filled birth of a baby is followed by a super motivated few weeks of eating ultra healthy and then a burn out and lots of self loathing.  I get motivated again and start that cycle over.  I feel most frustrated in the mornings standing in my closet before church trying to find something "cute", or when I am about to see an old friend that knew me when I had a metabolism.  I fret over profile pictures and wear lots of yoga pants in between my "good weight" phases because I WILL NOT buy clothes over a certain size. (I tell my self that I don't deserve them.)
So here is where I tell you about my new bandwagon, except it's not.  I believe I found a way of thinking about food and life that can be my nutritional transportation through this life as I journey toward heaven with my family. 
A book called Trim Healthy Mama has been such a blessing to me.  The long and short of the actual eating is not to mix (good) carbohydrates and (good) fats.  If you have a higher carb meal full of delicious (unprocessed) carbohydrates you keep your fat grams low. Still though, we are careful with carbohydrates!  If you have a fatty meal, full of scrumptious nuts and cheese, you keep your carbs very low.  You leave time between those meals so your body is only using one fuel at a time.  Guess what?  It helps you feel great and lose weight! 
The book is SO MUCH more than that.  I was convicted about how I often go on a diet and leave my family in the convenience food dirt! Mommy has a salad, kids have chicken nuggets... sad!  The authors talk about feeding their families well.  I have started making my husband's lunch, everyday- not just sometimes, it's a discipline for me, but I love him enough to do it. The book talks about our responsibility as Christian wives to keep in shape for our families!  We want to be full of energy, not irritable and grouchy.  It has empowered me to make sensible choices and not desperate "oh no I need to loose weight NOW" choices.  I also don't need to go to great lengths to buy special foods only found at high end grocery stores, if I don't want to.
I enjoy talking to women about Natural Family Planning because I find that this method of spacing  my children is most respectful of my natural fertility (yes I have 5 kids but we wanted them all and I've been married for 13 years, so lets do the math on how many I physically could have, It works is all I'm saying!) NFP contributes to my feeling valued and never used with in our sexual relationship.  As oppose to keeping myself from getting pregnant by ways that disrupt my natural state.  This way of eating is like that for weight loss and health.  It works with your body and helps get your head in the game too.  It took a good week after I finished the book too feel more confident in what to eat  and when.  I refer to the book constantly.  I have been making some new things that my family loves (some they hate) I don't feel obsessed with a way of eating. I feel like food fits into it's rightful place.  I enjoy it and I know the things I am putting in my mouth, and  those of my sweet family, are good and contributing to their long term health.
I also keep praying.  Praying for temperance, praying for humility, and patience.  I fell strongly that all the things we need to cure diseases were given to us by God in our foods and other things found in nature. (not that we don't go to the doctor when we need to)  I have confidence in Him to lead me to the right things in all the situations of our life.  I am grateful for this book.  I wanted to share.

Morning Mantras

As I strech in the morning.  I have started to repeat a few things and it helps my out look and I think it is working to change my behavior.  I say them through out the day too.  I pray for these intentions.
I can
Respond in Kindess and Gentilness to my children
Choose good things for my body
Do battle with Evil and with God by my side I win
Take a U turn quickly if I get off my path and get back on the right one!

After Lent is Easter :)

Well as usual I think we could have done better this lent.  I do think we succeeded in teaching our children that sacrifice should be a habit, in small ways everyday die to your self and tell your flesh "No thanks, God is in control here"
I have been sick for 2 weeks, I am now at the tale end of a horrible cold.  With just a tickle and cough left.  It's been a long time since the Momma of the house has been sick to the point I was in bed for 2 days.  I feel like it will be a month before I catch up with the house work and school missed.
Deep breath and, Ahhhh, Easter...Pascha... Christ is risen! Indeed he has risen!  We spent the day once again at St. Basil the Great eating and drinking with our church family.  I love it.  Truly my favorite day of the year.
I left Facebook behind for lent and I can't say I am all that ready to pick it back up.  It opened up more time for reading good books and prayer.  I am better with out Facebook in my life. 
I am watching a rousing game of  UNO among my children and a friend of theirs, super funny.

Yesterday we had a guy come to install cable Internet in our house.  He was here for 6 hours, told me his life story, used my husband's tools, complained about his job, ate dinner with us, in the end decided he may want to come back to the Catholic church.  Ha, well I feel like it was such a weird experience.  I am praying for him today.  When sweet hubby saw the terrible job the guy did and heard my stories of our day he is calling the company to complain... I am hopeful that God will still work for the Good of that strange man. That's all I have to say about that.

Papa!

What a day yesterday.  We had a friend over for a play date. I got a pope alarm text on my phone and we turned on the television to watch and wait for Papa to appear!  It was such fun.  The children were dancing around and we had a little ice cream party to celebrate Pope Francis I!  It was so powerful to pray with our WHOLE Church an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.  Our big universal Church, against which the gates of Hell can not prevail.

The day is beautiful again.  We went to the Zoo on Tuesday with lots of friends. My sweet friend Kelly was in town for the last few days and sadly she ended up sick and laying on my couch.  She barley mustered up the strength to drive home today. 

Last night was a little party for N's basketball team.  I got to have some nice chats with Mommies there and enjoy their company.  The Moms that I hung out with send their children to school They were talking about how they will only have one home next year.  It really made me feel a little envious.  I offer that to God and I know he will lead us to exactly what we are suppose to do.  I love having the children home and honestly if pressed, even if I was offered free tuition at a good Catholic school, I don't know that I feel like it's God's will for our family right now to have the children go to a conventional school.  The thought of having only L at home next year is such a temptation. Ugh...

This is how is should be.

Last night a priest friend of ours came over and had dinner.  It was a lovely evening. I made a yummy gumbo and we got to do a lot of chatting and enjoying of the children's antics.  The purpose of his visit was for our 7yr old Noah.  In the Eastern Church a person receives all the sacraments of illumination at once (Baptism, Chrismation or Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist) This leaves the sacrament of reconciliation to be determined by the parents.  Some children are ready early for this sacrament, as they seem to know right and wrong. Some little ones are ready later, just as we learn to walk differently our age of "reason" is not exactly the same. Noah is an old soul, I mean he is all little boy in his silliness, but he seems to be more aware of holiness, and concerned about the things of heaven, than my other kids.
So after dinner, Father and Noah went into a room and Noah got to go to confession for the first time.  After he was done saying a solemn and fervent  "Our Father"  for penance (I peeked into his room he was so sweet kneeling there), we gave him presents and the other children were jumping up and down (Jacob and Lily with out knowing why!) and it was s celebration.  And I just couldn't help think of the "rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents" (Luke 11) I just knew this is how it should be!  I am grateful for last night and the memory it made for our family.

Just need to say

Today is a beautiful day. It's going to be in the 70s and the children are playing outside. Lily and I are enjoying the breeze blowing through the house. This morning we talked about St Bernadette and blessed ourselves with Lourdes water that I got long ago from the spring in Lourdes France. We have a friend from church who spent the night with the boys. It keeps them busy and happy when we have a friend over to play.
Last night Grace and I traveled to a town near by to a consignment sale and got some great deals on clothes and she got a bike (in-spite of leaving hers out and getting it stolen) she's been bike-less for a few months and has been hoping for one. She loves to be outside.
We are visiting the nursing home today. I hope we spread some love!

Joy down in my heart.

My start this time is a question.  What does God want me to do?  He has clearly given me charge of 5 souls.  I know mostly my parenting consists in giving them back to Him.  But the part that I have in my hands, how do I fashion it into what he wants?  I resoundingly hear Him asking of me JOY, be a joyful Christian, a joyful woman, wife and mother. Just as soon as I say Yes Lord, I find my self frustrated and grouching at my children and being critical of my husband. 
I have denied it and tried to do with out it, but I know that the answer is the sacraments.  Confession, go more than you think you should. Eucharist, receive more than Sunday.   Visit our Lord in the tabernacle.  We attend an Eastern rite Catholic Church.  I love it there. The liturgy is so beautiful.  It turns my eyes toward heaven.  I leave Liturgy with a renewed sense of being a daughter of God.  Sadly, though, since I began to attend my little Eastern church I have abandon my fervor for the sacraments. I find myself giving into false humility prompted by Satan at how often I fall. Today during Liturgy I had a loud voice in my head telling me that in my current state I do not deserve to be there.  Then I hear the Lord counter, "My daughter you never deserve to be here, but I love you and you are mine and I want you here" I resolve to seek your grace Lord in the sacraments of your church more often this lent.  "O God come to my aid; O Lord make haste to help me" (Psalm 70:1)