Losing it

Thirteen Things about Losing Weight 1…. Fiber (bran flakes are filling and if you replace 2 meals a day with them and a fruit like it says on the box you can lose an average of a pound a week) 2. Avoid sugar (Sugar aids in storing fat) 3. Avoid artificial sweetners (studies show that arificial sweetners are causing people to be fat) 4. Avoid High fructose corn syrup (studies show it makes you very hungry) 5. Eat lots of fruits and veges. (They are full of fiber taste good and are natural appetite suppressants) 6. Timing of meals (studies show that people who do not eat after 3 pm lose 5 to 6 pounds per month 7. Diet with a friend or family member (studies show people who diet together lose more weight 8. Walking (walking helps burn calories as well as increase endorphins that help you feel better) 9. Water ( you need a way to flush out all the ft you are losing) 10. Sleep (studies show lack of sleep contributes to weight gain) 11. Online help for free (www.kraftfoods.com has a weight tracker, meals, shopping lists, message boards and more) 12. Prizes (treat yourself to stickers, magnets, keychains, manicures, pedicures, massages and new clothes for weight loss) 13. Divine help (I finally gave up and prayed for help and it seems to be working!) Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Braden

The first in a series of letters to my son

This year you are 15. You have been a teenager for 2 years now however you acted more like a "teenager" when you were 12. You are more mature now, but the talking back and acting out seemed to be more when you were 12. I should have known as you went through the terrible two's when you were 1 years old and by the time you were two you were so great. You are so handsome and you have an artistic, scheduled, organized personality. Most boys your age who are handsome have mean spirited personalities but you have a loving kind personality that I can see by the way you treat your family and your girlfriend. I can see you making good choices with grades, attitude, and in your choice of friends. I remember in 2nd or 3rd grade you wrote a a few words on what was "important in a friend" and the top thing on your list was that they were "clean". You told me you didn't want to hang out with students who got in trouble, and I could see you hanging out with some of the nicest boys in the class. It didn't matter to you if they were overweight, short, tall or different. They were clean and nice so they were your friend. I am very proud of you for that, because choosing the right friends is very important. You are grounded in your beliefs and I am proud when you say "I wont take drugs Mom, I am not that stupid". I know you are a very intelligent boy and you wont take drugs, drink alcohol or smoke just because other kids do it. You have a quieter relationship with God, but I am happy when I see on your school admission forms that you think Jesus is your best friend and you talk to him daily. Remember that he can and wants to help you with everything you do. Your a superb swimmer and I love to watch you swim whether at practice or at a swim meet. Even though you like to win races, you mostly swim to beat your own times. You also love to draw. You draw great pictures and are especially talented at drawing architecture. You have loved architecture since you were a baby. You loved to look at buildings and in every nook and cranny. I remember when you were 3 and you room was on the second floor. We told you you were right above us and you said "not exactly my bed is over there" pointing exactly to the location of your bed a floor above. You love to tease by wrestling with your dad and pestering your sis and I. Such as when you place thin cardboard boxes under my memory foam or put honey on my toilet seat. You like the color blue. You also enjoy Lego's, PSP, your cell phone (an LG that you say means "life's good" and that life is good with an LG phone), taping home made movies of Lego still life, and food The best way to get a compliment from you is to make you your favorite foods (Vegetarian burgers, cheese roast, Fri chick and rice, pizza), although you are appreciative of just about anything we do for you. School was difficult for you but only in the reading department, you have alway done excellent in math. You are so intelligent, but couldn't show it because of the reading. We did different reading programs in the summer and read books all year till finally in 5th grade, we gave up and prayed about it. That year you went from reading at a beginning 2nd grade level to a beginning 5th grade level and continued to improve each year. Now you are getting all A's and B's, and your Dad and I are so proud. You are very self sufficient too. You can do laundry, cook food and clean the house when I need you to. You are an organizer ad you used to organize my wallet for me. The thing you like the most is to "leave on time and arrive early". Arriving late is the worst thing for you. You are very helpful with anything we ask you to do. I especially like help in reading things, lifting heavy items and carrying in the groceries. Your nicknames are Brady, Brady boy, Big Guy, Buddy and "B" is what your sister called you when she first started talking. I love you more than you will ever know and I pray that you will continue to grow closer to Jesus everyday. I also pray that you will continue to make great choices in life and that you will continue to date and eventually marry a girl who loves Jesus and treats you like the handsome prince that you are.

Love, Mom

I am Lemon Meringue Pie what type are you?

You Are Lemon Meringue Pie

You're the perfect combo of sassy and sweet Those who like you have well refined tastes

What Kind of Pie Are You?

I am a Hydrangea What Flower Are You?

"You are just a little bit of a show off and like to prove just what you can do. Every time someone double-dog-dared you, you proved that not only could you do it, but you could do it with style."

Thursday Thirteen: 13 great things to help with the teen years ed 5

Thirteen Things about help for the teen years 1. Book: 5 Love Languages of Teens by Gary Chapman (learn how your teen shows love and recieves love--It may be different from what you think it is) 2. Book: Parenting your out of Control Teen by Scott P Sells. I wish they would change the name of this one. It is great for even teens that are not out of Control. Shows you how to take care of a variety of problems such as disrespect and frees Mom from all the nagging. It also shows how to show your teen the positive things they are doing) 3. Date-time with Mom or Dad night. Special time alone with you and your teen. Let them pick the activity. Guarenteed to get them talking after the first few "dates" 4. Online- www.byparents-forparents.com deals with the difficult issues as well as minor issues. 5. Online- Tips for parenting teens at www.buzzle.com 6. Online- www.parentingteens.com 7. Online-www.ncfy.com/publications/tips/tips.htm 8. Hang on-When they pull away do what ever you have to pull them back into the family. 9. Snoop-Get a good program that records every site that your computer goes to, blocks undesirable sites and a program to recover deleted items for the tricky "computer smart" ones 10. Loosen up-When appropriate "loosen the reins" a bit, with more freedoms for good behavior and less for undesirable behavior 11. Driving: check out www.familycircle.com and read the article on "crash proofing your teen". Very good advice on raising the chances your teen will stay out of a serious crash 12. Words-Tell them you love them everyday 13. Divine help-Pray for them everyday and anytime you feel you need extra Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Tessa Laughing

This is my favorite picture of my niece Tessa. It looks like pure "joy", and makes me smile evertime I see it.

Kiara

Kiara,
The first in a series of letters to my daughter:
Kiara this year you are thirteen years old. An official "teenager" despite the fact you have been acting like one for some time now. You are so beautiful and you have a great independent, caring, and dramatic personality. I can tell you have no idea how beautiful you are. You act like your big eyes and thick hair are something weird. You may not believe it, but women all over the world wish they had big beautiful eyes and thick hair like yours. You are very independent and want to be "original" in the way you dress and act. You have never liked the "twin" dressing thing. I remember in 2nd grade all the girls decided to wear skirts and you agreed. But when it came down to it you just couldn’t bring yourself to "be one of the crowd". I am very proud of you for being your own person. You are the type of person that will not take drugs, drink alcohol, or do anything just because everyone else does. I am awed by your special love for Jesus which you have had since you were first able to talk. I can see how your love for Jesus and your independent spirit is doing great things for him! You love to help the poor and to pray for other people. We have seen miracles from the prayers you wouldn’t give up on. Like Aunt Staci having a baby. When everyone else finally decided the answer must be no, you kept on praying daily, and your prayer was answered!
Your dramatic personality is so you! You are my drama queen, dancing princess and comedy girl. You have been making your Dad and I laugh since you finally started talking for yourself (before that you let your brother do all the talking for you). The car you would like to have someday is a Mini Cooper. Pink is still the color you love, although your "signature" color for clothes is brown and your room decorations are purple, citrus green and a touch of orange. Chris Tomlin is the singer you like. Your Dad sang Chris Tomlin's song called ""made for worship" and you sent him a note that said "you nailed it". Your Dad was so happy to know you liked the song he sang for you. Your cell phone is one of the best around, and you like the fact that yours is special, because for a whole year the rest of the family had a phone and you were too young. You have lots of friends, but seem to like to hang out with Danielle, Alexis and Jazmine the most. Squirty is your dog even though she spends a lot of time with your Dad. You also like our big dog Kai. Your favorite food is pasta, and you still like salads. When you were little we loved taking you to a place that gave kids salad for free, because you would eat platefuls of it. You have always been my healthiest eater. When you get older you want to work for an Anti-terrorist unit. You also want to go to Italy and sneak away from college to go to the beach. Its not that easy, and you nay have to wait till you are out on your own, but you will find that out later. College is 5 years away. Speaking of college, you are also very smart. School work seems to be easy for you. When you are having difficulty with grades it seems as if its more of a boredom problem, because as soon as you get in trouble the grades go directly to straight A’s. You are also a computer whiz. You can read HTML codes and know how to do things on the computer that most people need to be taught. You are a great masseuse. And give great foot rubs, shoulder massages and back massages. You also enjoy cooking and are very helpful at home, and when we help with church potlucks. You have taken over making my punchbowl cake, casseroles and anything else I ask you to cook for me. You still love to sleep. You have always been a great sleeper and now that you are a teen you are taking more naps again. I love to call you Kiara, Kee, Sweet girl, Sis, Sissy and the name your friends call you which is Kay. I love you more than you will ever know and I pray that you will always keep Jesus close to your heart. I also pray that you will make great choices in life and find boyfriends and eventually a husband that will treat you like the princess you are.
Love, Mom

Decade clip

Back to the last decade when it was still okay to put your arm around your sister for a picture.

Thursday Thirteen edition 4

Thirteen Things about why I am glad to have a son 1. That mother-son relationship that no one else would understand. 2. Watching the sport he loves to do (swimming). 3. Playing catch or basketball together (we don’t do this enough) 4. Listening to how his day went 5. Having another muscle man to help open jars 6. Help with fixing things around the house 7. Help with reaching those impossible to reach things 8. Good night hugs 9. Watching his magic tricks and wondering how he did that. 10. Text messaging 11. Watching him draw a picture or getting one as a gift 12. Watching him on his skateboard 13. Having devotions together Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wednesday Words to Live By

This is not the most profound quote, but I do love flowers and if you love flowers, then spending time around them does something for you. Mostly gives you a sense of calm, beauty, specialness,loveliness and awareness of how great God is.

"More than anything I must have flowers, always, always" Claude Monet

A Few of My Favorite Things