In loving memory...

I had been putting off updating the blog, simply because I wasn't sure where to start. May was crazy, and a lot went on that I didn't know how to talk about. Since this blog is a personal way for me to look back on the things I've done and capture all the little moments, I need to update you all (and my future self) on what's been going on. So, here it goes:

My little baby niece Karlee was born in March. She was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis which ended up causing intestinal complications. She had been seen by surgeons & specialists who were working on a plan of action. Her intestinal complications led to lung & heart complications, and eventually kidney failure. She was in the children's hospital in Oklahoma City for the first part of May. She endured surgery after surgery, and finally got eternal healing when she went to be with our Lord on May 9th. Karlee Grace was two months old, and she touched so many lives in her tender two months. The preacher at her service said something that stuck with me, "Because of Karlee and the way she left this world, many babies and children will be held a little tighter & be cherished a little more deeply." It was a long two & a half weeks of surgeries, her passing, and then her services, but our family made it through. My sister-in-law showed more courage & strength than I've ever thought possible. The Bible says God is close to the broken-hearted, and I believe that to be true, because He is healing and working wonders on our lives daily. Here are some pictures of Karlee before she got her angel wings: 

We loved her so much, but her life would have been hard. She would have had many hard times ahead of her because of her cystic fibrosis. So, in a way, we are thankful that she'll never feel pain again. I wrote a few verses of poetry for Karlee that ended up becoming part of her eulogy...

Our sweet Karlee Grace

So tiny & perfect

Your soft little face

We'll never forget

Or your enchanting eyes

So bright & blue

With every sunset & sunrise

We'll be missing you

As we think of you today

Your life seems not long enough

How can you be taken away

When you were loved & cherished so much

We know God has a plan

And he knows why

We can't understand

But we want you to fly

Fly high into Heaven

Right through those gates

And we'll see you again

When we leave this place

Fly high, Baby Gracie

You'll never feel pain or sorrow

To all of us here, hug your babies

Because we aren't promised tomorrow

In Memory of Karlee Grace

March 4~May 9, 2014

Fly high, angel baby 

Bloggin' Weather! (04.27.14)

I'm just going to go ahead and admit this...I am a MAJOR chicken when it comes to storms. Some people are all, "aw, I love it when it storms, I sleep like a baby, I love the sound of thunder and rain on the roof..." The hubs is totally one of those people. He is currently snoring away, meanwhile I'm laying here wide awake until I know for sure, 100%, without a doubt that we are safe from the paths of these storms. So, since I'm wide awake, everyone else is asleep, and my tv won't pick up signal, sounds like a great time to do something productive some blogging! Here is a little of what's going on in my mind on the subject of blogging. Most of the bloggers I follow are fitness journey bloggers, more specifically the ones I follow were unhealthy, came to a point where they were unhappy enough to change, and then they begin their journey to lead healthier lifestyles. I've noticed a pattern that I seem to be following with nearly every blog I read. I start reading the blog because of the "ugh, what am I doing to myself" stories, then I'm rooting them on & following along in the "aha moment, let's do this" phase. During the phase where they start to see results I get so inspired & want to see the same in myself. Then finally, while they are blogging about workouts, recipes, how far they have come, I start to lose interest. I feel like it comes down to the fact that I have never met a goal like that to be proud of, so I don't quite relate. Now don't get me wrong, I've met lots of goals like finishing college in 4 years while working full time and being a wife & mother. Or like getting my degree, owning a home, and owning our own cars completely by ourselves by the age of 21. But I have never set a PHYSICAL goal for myself & met it. I want to have the aha moment, I want to work hard & get results; I just have never actually gone through with something like that, so I feel like that's where the disconnect is with the blogs that I follow. I have my own theories about why I haven't gotten to that  moment where it just clicks--my husband is fantastic & tells me that I'm beautiful daily, so I haven't had a point where I feel like my weight affects my attraction with my husband. I feel really happy with where I'm at in life right now...the expression is "fat & happy" for a reason. When you're happy, you feel comfortable, so why should you change a thing, right? Wrong! Also, there is my PCOS. It is proven to be a barrier for weight loss and can in fact cause weight retention and inflammation (look it up!). The insulin resistance that is part of the PCOS makes it nearly impossible for my body to break down fats and carbs, meaning my body doesn't have the tools to keep my metabolism going at a healthy rate. It just doesn't, not without the help of medicines. My goal is to set a physical goal for myself. I don't want to just set myself up for failure, so I'm going to take some time, think about what I really want to accomplish, make a plan, maybe even start with a series of small goals, or maybe one small goal at a time...I'm not sure yet. But something I've heard in most of the stories I read, is that blogging about your goals keeps you accountable for sticking to your plans. Even if you only have one reader, that one reader is going to be watching to see if you stick with what you blog. That's pretty good motivation, if you ask me! Here's to a hiatus of figuring things out! ;) Y'all have a fantastic week!

Full throne, full heart

It's a little late now to do an Easter post, but this past Easter left my heart so full that I just wanted to share a little piece of my thoughts. The pastor at the church we attended preached over the concept of the empty cross, the empty tomb, and the full throne. I felt so humbled as I was reminded that we have a savior in heaven  who is always pulling for us, always having our back. I think it's really easy to get caught up in the worries of the world...and I'll be the first to admit that I'm guilty of it almost daily. Lately I have been coming to a realization in a sense. I've realized that some of my plans may not ever be a reality for me. Also, I've been reminding myself that MY life & MY goals are just MINE, so comparing my plans to the plans of others is something that I need to steer clear of. I'm blessed to have my little family, I'm happy to share the little things with my loves, and I'm so very thankful to have a full throne. 

That's my musing for the day! Now for a little photo dump :) 

Coloring eggs...

A few cousins...

Silly girls...

Fam(ily)

I decided to try a little side bangs action...it's been a while! 

Happy hump day! 

Just Call Me Martha!

I've kinda been a blog failure as of late...the stars aligned and some prayers were answered, so I was able to cut my work hours down to part time! Pro- I get much more time with my princess. Con- Adjusting to the differences. Our family runs off a well-oiled routine, so it's taking us some time to fit into our new groove! Pro- I've had some time (and motivation from my bff) to try something relatively new for me!! SEWING! I know it sounds lame, but it fulfills my old, domestic soul.

You saw in my last post that I had been crafting & made that cute little tribal skirt...turned out okay but not exactly what I was thinking. My friend & I spent quite a bit of time searching for a pattern for toddler dresses that would be simple enough for our simple, no-experience-having minds. No bueno...everything was so complex (to us). I decided to just take a run at doing something freestyled. I literally just cut up some cloth, cut some elastic, threaded the machine (Bahahaha, you didn't think I was doing this by hand, did you?), and it turned out exactly like I hoped it would!! I did this with no pattern, not even a single measurement, which was hard for my OCD brain. I just went with it...winged it?? Wung it?? Wang it?? Anyways, the end result looked a little something like this! 

Just what I was wanting! A sweet, simple maxi dress for my sweet, sassy little model. Love her little poses. Lately she has been over the top with her photo shoots every time she likes her #ootd . 

Kind of like Saturday, just a little grocery shopping diva-style! 

Her teenage years may break me :)

So, if you are considering some DIY projects like this, I say definitely go for it! There is seriously a great feeling of accomplishment that comes from making something with your own hands that could be bought at a store. There are millions of resources & ideas on Pinterest; just go for it! Worst case scenario, you could end up with some pretty dust rags ;) Have fun! 

Catching Up!

It's been a while since I've checked in! The truth is, I have started three different blog posts since my last post...key word STARTED. Moving on, we have actually been quite busy lately. Our military friends are home! Our baby niece who was in the hospital is home! Work situations are great, and our precious girl is a sweetheart as usual! She just started the 3 year old program at head start at the end of January, and she's already excelling at everything she tries! I'm one proud mommy. We have had lots of quality time with friends and with our little family. Here's a little photo dump of what we have been up to. 

We have had birthdays...

We've had sleepovers...

We've done crafts...

Which turned out to be an adorable little tribal maxi-ish skirt!

Daddy & Paisley had a play date at the park with their BFFs...

And after grocery shopping today, we went to Nana & Papa's where they rode a four-wheeler that is clearly way too small for grown men! Haha!

To put things simply, I'm so blessed & thankful. Here's to making this new week a great one! 

Today's Challenge...Keeping Up!

Sooo...it's been a couple weeks! The last week or so has been busy, and I'm having difficulty keeping up...with life! Haha! 

Last Tuesday my sister-in-law had our sweet baby niece! Karlee Grace was born on 03-04-14, but she had a blockage in her intestines. She was life-flighted to Tulsa, then transported to OKC for surgery. She is making improvements, and they should be able to come home in 6-8 weeks, praise The Lord! 

This is baby Gracie :) That's what we call her at our house. It's so neat to see how much she looks like my sweet Paisley when she was tiny! Melt my heart! 

So we have been trying to figure out ways to help them while they stay in OKC we have been trying to figure out what we are going to do with our little one after school & over spring break; her school is out & our usual helpers are busy back & forth to OKC. 

Also, our best friends in the whole world are moving home for good!!! They have been stationed in Carolina for a few years with the military, and now they are officially done & coming home! Can't. Contain. The excitement. !!!! 

So we have best friend time, birthday parties, benefit events, babysitter scheduling, trips to the Children's Hospital--it's a little hard for me to focus on just one thing at a time, or focus at all for that matter!! Just keep swimming :) 

I'm behind on exercising, not doing so well on making healthy choices, slacking on housework, and obviously the blog has been on the back burner, but that's OKAY!! I will get back on track. Here's to catching up! Happy hump day everyone ;)

Metformin for PCOS

In my introduction post, I mentioned that I have been diagnosed with poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). In short, this is a metabolic/hormone/ovarian disorder that causes irregular menstrual cycles, fatigue, inflammation, increased androgens, migraines, weight gain, weight retention, infertility, insulin resistance and cysts on the ovaries which can lead to abdominal pain or pressure. These are just the most common symptoms and some women with PCOS suffer even more symptoms than these listed.
The good news is that there are options! Avoiding foods that contain dairy, gluten, or are high in glycemic index will improve PCOS symptoms. Clean eating and exercising can help suppress many of the symptoms of PCOS, but if it goes untreated, this syndrome can lead to ovarian and uterine cancers, so it is best to seek medical advice. I did seek advice from my doctor, and this is what I got...

There is a prescription drug called metformin that can be used to treat some symptoms of PCOS. This medication is typically used to treat diabetic patients, but thankfully it's been found to help women with this condition as well. So, how does it work?

Metformin decreases the level of androgens in the body, as well as decreasing insulin resistance. Metformin works with your body to utilize insulin making the body run more efficiently. Luckily for me, and for any others struggling with PCOS, there are TONS of places to find information thanks to the internet. I found this diagram that keeps it simple and shows what the medicine does to your body.

I have only been on the medication for a week now, but I will be doing updates every now and then to share how the medicine works for me! Maybe it will help others who may be considering with their doctor the option of Metformin!