A Broken Record

Time is flying.
                   
                              Time is flying.

                                                        Time, is flying!

I can't say it enough.  The moments may be long, but the days and months seem to flash before my eyes.  Sometimes it takes my breath away.

Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

~Psalm 144:4

Wasted moments, there are too many of them!  Each day is a battle of choosing what is important over what seems urgent, choosing what lasts forever over what only lasts a moment.

As for man, his days are like grass;

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

and its place knows it no more.

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from

everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,

and his righteousness to children’s children,

to those who keep his covenant

and remember to do his commandments.

~Psalm 103:15-18

Time is Flying and I've been busy trying to catch it.

Mr. Pilot's Trip to Guam - Part 1

Well, yes, I was actually in Guam for the past two weeks.  And while the trip was every bit as complicated and tedious as you'd expect, I did manage to get about 2 whole days! off to visit the area.  

This is the view from the hotel that I was staying in.  It's a fairly nice view, and I did go down to the pool (below the picture line) and to the water the first day I was there. Honestly, I was busy every single day after that till next Sunday, and it 'looked' wonderful.  Since I did little more than wade in it, I can't speak for any of its other qualities, but the view was spectacular.

Since I was working so much I only had a little bit of time to 'see the sights', naturally I went to the local yokels...

I'm just kidding...Actually these are the fellow saints I met from Faith CRC on Guam.  A delightful looking group.  They were kind enough to drag along a tourist on their hiking expedition for what we were informed (by our officially 'un-official' National Park Ranger guide, think fishing hat) was not technically called spelunking but cave exploration.  We weren't sure if spelunking technically meant wearing more gear, like helmets???  

spe·lunk·ing

  : the hobby or practice of exploring caves

 HaHa!  

[MOVIE TRAILER NARRATOR VOICE]: Here our adventurers are preparing for an incredible spelunking journey into the abysmal Guamese abyss'sses. 

Unsure of their fates, knowing that God was their determiner, they make preparations to meet the Maker at every turn...

The preparations for this intrepid expedition is about to commence...you could cut the tension with a hankie.

[ADVENTURERS]: Is this gonna be 45min? 1 hour?  2 hours!?!  

[ME]: I better get some more trail mix... 

[NARRATOR]: It doesn't matter if you describe this adventure as spelunking or not!  They bring gloves, headlamps, snacks, and water. Armed with all the trimmings of danger and DEATH!  Prepared for anything...almost.

They fearlessly journey into the pits of doom and despair, never sure if they would return to loved ones again!  

Gut wrenching silence...

[ME]: BOO!

[NARRATOR]: Eerie sounds bellow from the great deeps.

ArrrrgghhhlllassssssppiiiilhmmmmmMMMMM

[ME]: Oops, that was me!  Where's my trail mix?

[NARRATOR]: The view from this perilous cliff could only be accessed by braving some of the most aggressive and persistent blood sucking insects in the galaxy...

Don't be fooled by the look on their faces, they have suffered mental anxiety and physical exhaustion on a level few mortals have ever lived to describe.  It is only because of their fearless devotion to their cause, and desire to inspire comfort in their loved ones that they make a good show despite the proximity to mortal death...

Down into the depths they descend.

Each adventurer knows that the only path to survival is dependent on their ability to congeal into a team.

Down they descend...

Up they climb

And then back down...

And then back up...

oh...

Awkward Silence...

Here they pause to gather themselves.  And tell tales to inspire each other.

It is here that the guide and others tell them that they are actually "out in the boonies"... An urban term to most, rooted in the islands of Micronesia. This is all too familiar territory for our weathered guide, his success in leading numerous parties through the Boonies is only surpassed by his love for the dramatic and dangerous!  Both of which he seeks and encounters on this adventure...(Foreshadowing)

But these explorers have little time to relax and tell stories, important as morale is, they know death is waiting in the next venemous spider's bite.

[ME]: What did you say?

Our undaunted travelers return from the journey through the first of many deadly caves.  There is no turning back now...The only way to salvage a chance at returning to civilization is by continuing on a monstrous assent up the slippery walls of doom!

[ME]:  Hey look...a frog!

The journey has become so hazardous that they must gather food at every juncture, never sure when the next meal will avail itself.

The kids are gonna love this!  Hey guys look, I caught a frog!

Tune in next time for the continuation of:

The Perilous Journey Into and Out Of the Abysmal Guamese Abyss'sesssses

[ADVENTURERS]: Did you eat that frog...?

Truly Blessed

The best anniversary ever!  If you haven't yet, please read part 1 of our anniversary.

I wasn't joking in my last post when I said we were dancing in the minefields.  When talking about covenants my husband shared briefly with our children during dinner that our marriage certificate had been destroyed.  He kindly left out most of the details, much to my relief.  Especially since I, in my complete foolishness, had ripped it to shreds. Three days after we were married.  Three days.   I had no understanding at all of what marriage meant.

I happened upon this perfect blog post  from a blog I regularly read.  Here is a little excerpt:

A Christian marriage begins with the reality that marriage is God designed and God instituted and has a purpose far beyond this temporary life... The truth about marriage reminds me often of how far short I fall. His divine design is inspiring...yet sobering and convicting to me...

~ Bambi from In the Nursery of the Nation

I couldn't agree more!  Praise the Lord for His redeeming Grace.

I only tell you about my ripped up marriage certificate so you can understand the preciousness of the gift my darling husband gave me.  I was completely surprised, and once again reminded of the Grace of God.

Since my husband thought he was going to be gone on deployment for our anniversary he wanted something really special.  He got several people in on the deal, all without my knowing.

Our marriage certificate!

Isn't it beautiful?!  He had to go through great pains to keep this a surprise!

 Friends ordered our marriage certificate from Virginia, my mother-in-law asked me (back in June) for a family picture (so I mailed it to Colorado and she mailed it back here to the framer, lol) 

He chose a very special verse about marriage, had it beautifully framed and hand delivered to me.

I think it is the most thoughtful and meaningful gift ever, and I am so honored to be the wife of my husband. 

Even my children made the day very special. They had some of our friends pick them up for a couple of hours and we had no idea what was going on.

They baked us a cake (a flourless, gluten-free cake!) beautifully decorated it, made strawberries with whipped cream (homemade with no sugar), and even pooled their money together and bought a bottle of bubbly.  How romantic!

This day is special to them, too.  More than they know yet.   It is my prayer that our children will know the Lord, know His grace, and one day understand the blessings of a godly marriage. ~the example of Christ and His Bride.

This was a heartwarming day.  May the Lord fill the earth, and to Him be the Glory!

13

13 years ago today I did a really crazy thing.  I ran away and married a 19 year old boy I barely knew.
Nobody thought we'd make it.  There were times I just knew we wouldn't make it.

We were dancing in the mine fields.

But God knew.  God is faithful.  By the world's standards we were destined to fail, and we certainly tried. But He had different plans.  That is what the promise is for.

I am so thankful for my husband.  I'm blessed by his perseverance and fortitude.
For the man that he is, I would dance through the mine fields every day.  I'd sail in the storms.

13 years ago I could not even imagine what an incredible husband and father you would become.  This marriage is beyond anything I could have dreamed up.  I am so honored by God's grace, and I look forward to growing old with you as the years fly by, Mr. Pilot.

Thank you husband, for loving me even when I am unlovable.
Thank you for loving the Lord even more.

Happy Anniversary!  I am glad you are here to celebrate it with me.
God is in the details, isn't He?!

Last Day of August - Treasures of the Sea

Lilla Rose Inc - .Treasures of the Sea

This is the last day of August, the last day of this beautiful flexi of the month!  Click the photo to check it out.

Update: Paleo Results

I have been officially starving eating Paleo for 2 weeks and guess what?  I am not starving,  I am actually eating a ton, making sure I'm getting enough calories for the nursling baby and all.  Mr. Pilot and I make passing jokes about starving, but we really aren't.  We are awaking new taste buds and learning to appreciate food.

I was doing fine, even though I had to bring my own food for our Wednesday night Bible study meal. I love potlucks.  Not as much here as in Mississippi, they sure know how to cook down south, but I digress.  I wasn't really missing food. At least not until I went to the farmer's market last night to pick up some grass feed beef and some veggies.  That is where I smelled the jalapeño cheddar twisty bread that I bought every week last year. That would taste really, really good right now. Scrumdillioumptious. And Boy smelled the carmel kettle corn.  He mumbled "6 months" and I reminded him it might be forever for me.  Ah, but it's worth it.

I had some super crazy stomach aches every day for the entire first week on Paleo.  I am not sure what it was caused by, but it made me scared to eat. At first I thought it was the ridiculously expensive almond flour, but I ruled that out.  Then I thought it was the Cod Liver Oil, ruled that out, too.  I next thought it might be the bovine adrenals, or the Green Tea extract? No...Blackberries, ? Maybe Paleo Flu, or a yeast die off? I don't know, but I was sweating! Seriously killer stomach aches every single day.  I was avoiding different things each day, keeping a list while doubled over... Thankfully I have been great for the last few days, I assume my body was adjusting to the new diet, and whatever nasty bugs were living in my gut were crying out.

I am not going to deny this has been challenging, primarily it is expensive.  Grass feed meat cost.  I have NINE people to feed.
My children are "hunry, hunry, hunry Mamma!"  I am having to pull snacks out left and right.

But the difficulty has mostly been emotional.  I tend to panic when I don't know what to make for dinner.  And I get food bored easily.  Anyone want to buy me a Paleo Cookbook?

~On to the Fantastic~

Some great things we have noticed:

We have been having lots of yummy snacks (Sis)
We have been having lots of yummy desserts (Sis)  (recipe ideas that I have tried to follow)

~Heightened Taste-

Boy remarked the other night that raspberries taste like candy now. (that explains the raspberry stains on the floor and the blue teeth, ha.)  We found some wild bushes and have several freezer bags full now, free food is extremely yummy!
Fast food looks disgusting.  Dad even had an emergency day (that means I didn't make him lunch) and he chose on his own accord to eat oatmeal instead of a cheesy-bacon drippy gross thing. Yes, fast food looks disgusting!

~We are trying things that we never would have before~

There a slew of recipes (at least a list of ingredients) to follow, but wow!
I never knew I liked butternut squash.
And we all like Pollock! I have made fish 3 times in the last two weeks.  That equals three times in the last 13 years.  (Once, my mom made some for us when she was visiting and I am not counting that because I didn't eat it.)

I haven't needed a nap.  At all.  I am still wide awake at 10 am and at 2 pm when 2 weeks ago I had to be scraped off the couch with a cup of extra strong coffee to drag my feet around.  (that was one reason I went to the doc.)

Oh, and I haven't had any coffee.  I thought that was going to be a killer for me.  I haven't even missed it.  When I realized I didn't have enough grocery money left for coffee for Mr. Pilot, he said no worries, just make the tea that we have.  What? Crazy!

~Reduced Cravings~

I no longer wake up looking for cookies at 2 am (my family has lovingly called me the cookie monster for years) and I haven't even missed my potato chips!
Mr. Pilot hasn't even had his chocolate-before-bed treat.  I really need to do this diet, but he does not.  I am so thankful for him sticking through this with me!

I have lost 10 lbs.  By doing nothing.  I actually can't exercise right now, doctors orders. That is because my system is so messed up that if I exercise, my body thinks I am running from a bear and stops metabolizing and starts panicking instead.  Nice, huh? I was discouraged about that. Who likes flopping around when you are used to being 30 lbs lighter?!

At least now I know why I have been hanging onto some extra weight for a few years and exercising wasn't helping. Right??

I thought my clothes were fitting a little different the other day and then I saw my friend Lacy's comment to my first Paleo post.  I hadn't even considered loosing weight, didn't really care about that actually, but imagine my surprise when I stepped on the scale two weeks since my last time.  Crazy!  I got a little snicker across my face.  Who needs grains anyway, lol.

~Not "Eating" of this World~

No, seriously, If you know me well, you know that I already ate really, really healthily according to the Standard American Diet (SAD)

but obviously, my body was still being tore up by the 10% of junk I was eating.  I can't even imagine what my health would look like if I was eating SAD.   No wonder America is Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead!

This is the Paleo Pyramid:

Yum!


So far, I am in it for the long haul.  I know full well the Lord has already chosen what day I will go to glory.  I cannot add a single moment to my life.  But I have the responsibility to do well with what I have been given, and I have the choice to use what I have been given well. I often fail miserably.  I am so thankful for His mercy and grace.

Liver and Onions

Ok, so I had already decided (pre-Paleo) that I needed to include some organ meats into my diet.  They are SUPER good for you.  But, this is coming from a girl that just a few years ago would even touch chicken on the bone, despite her rabbit loving upbringing...

My solution is to sneak it in and let it grow on me.  This is actually my third meal of adding some organs, here is my trick:

That is a cow liver and a grater.

I keep the liver frozen and grate it right into my sauteeing onions.

You can hardly tell its there, and you can't taste a thing!

Almond crusted chicken breast and savory asparagus with caramelized mushrooms and onions (and liver) on a bed of greens.  Yum!

(no one (besides me) even noticed the liver, too bad I can't trick myself)

Something-or-rather

If you know me, you know I do not use recipes.  I think I am allergic to the rules or something.  Here is one of my first Paleo concoctions.

Some eggs and some Geek Yogurt (yogurt is a contested Paleo ingredinet, but I used it anyhow.)

mix it with some ground grass feed beef and a can of organic tomatoes

layer it with eggplant

and fresh mint

Why in the world did I forget to take a picture of the finished product?  I guess I was hungry and there were no leftovers.   The only request was to make it with zucchini next time.

It was good.

Exciting News!

For Mother's Day I received some special gifts from some precious people!  Some of the gifts were:

Belle made me breakfast in bed

(especially sweet since I had a 3 day old baby, you can tell by my hair, lol)...

Yes, it is salad for breakfast, I have always been breakfast weird.

Pops gave me a tonka truck.

and everyone made cards.

and the children pooled their money together and Daddy purchased this beautiful Lilla Rose Flexi Clip.

It is so beautiful, elegant, and well made.  I simply love it!  We are constantly looking for ways to fix our hair in a lovely (not plain ponytail) way that is easy enough for the girls to do it themselves (at least the older ones) and this clip is it!  All of my daughter's wanted one, and I have a lot of daughters.They come in several sizes and many beautiful designs.

My girls and I like them so much, after purchasing another for Sis's birthday, we have decided to sell them!

Please check out my website and take a look.  There are even elegant bobby-pins and tiny clips for short hair, as well as jewelry!  I am sure you will find something you enjoy, and my family will be greatly blessed by your purchase.

Beet-Browns

For breakfast today we had beet-browns.  I just made that up.  The name and the recipe anyway, but the meal we did actually eat.

It went something like this:

I grated a beet "uh, what is that?"
and a turnip "that doesn't really look good, momma!"

and cooked it just like hash browns in a little bit of coconut oil "are you sure there isn't something else we can eat?"

then scrambled some eggs into it.

There were a few wrinkled noses, but that isn't allowed here.

Upon eating it, everyone actually loved it and some even said it was better than real hash browns.

That meal was a winner!

Note to self, I should have taken a picture.