Christmas 2010

Well, what an adventure we had this Christmas vacation.

We left the 22nd at 5:00am, headed for Tennessee. Along the way we only had one major hiccup....angry drivers.  Someone tailgating us with their high beams on...Ken returning the favor after they passed us.....a semi running us off the road.....Ken blaring the horn to tell the trucker how he felt about his driving......A polite, but firm, letter is ready to be sent to the company regarding that incident.

Tennessee was wonderful. It was so much fun to see family, especially that side. Been much too long since I had a Gentry reunion....even longer for the Tennessee Gentry's (25 years, I think?).

Hezekiah and his cousins loved each other....when they weren't trying to all play with the same thing at the same time of course :) He made a killing with presents this year. His favorites at the moment are the "Glow-worm" and the "AQUAdoodle"...the "AQUAdoodle" was the first thing he ran to this morning when he got up.

Christmas dinner was a typical Gentry meal......HUGE! Turkey, ham (half with honey glaze, half without), corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, rolls, stuffing, and more that I can't remember at the moment. Desert was just as wonderful....Pineapple upside-down cake, pumpkin pies, cheesecake and home-made chocolate cream pies (with cocoa). As we were leaving Ed blessed us with 2 boxes of canned food and 1 box of potatoes. I think I've got meals for a week or more with everything he sent us. And Bonnie sent home an overflowing coffee can of flavored coffees.

We left with so much more than we came with (A Gentry tradition I think) we had to leave Hezekiah's "inch worm bike" at his cousins, to be picked up at a later date.

Coming back was pretty uneventful for the most part. There was snow pretty much all the way, but not too bad of roads.....until Virginia. I think the snow was following us. It seemed the closer we got to our area, the more cars were sliding off the roads into the ditch/shoulder.

Now it's back to life as normal......well, normal-ish. Ken has duty today, so it's just me and Kiah for dinner tonight. I think for my "me time" I am going to watch my 3D version of JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. Ken and I were able to have a semi-spontaneous date night and saw NARNIA: VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER in 3D, so I saved my glasses for this very reason =D

Been a very adventurous year, filled with many blessings indeed.

"Back in the saddle again...."

Wow, last post Oct 19.......can you tell there's not much excitment in my life right now?

Well, I was really disgusted with myself a couple days ago, looking for a dress for the Christmas party for Ken's ship. It was a day of disgust and motivation combined when we found the dress.  I had planned on wearing my red dress with the black lace contrast around the waist, only to find a couple days before that it is too small. Disgust. We went to Ross the day before the party and found a nice teal semi-formal dress for $20 (yay) that confirmed my current dress size.......14. Motivation. As of this summer/fall I was into a size 8 dress that I bought as a "goal size" dress. It fit perfectly, no snug-ness at all. Now my size is most definitely 14. More disgust.

In addition to my disgust/motivation we had family pictures done a few days ago. They were really nice, but unfortunately they busted my brain's ability to trick me into thinking I still look like I did 5 years ago, still have a size 6/8 jean size....ha! ya right :) So yes, more disgust, but at the same time, more motivation.

But, I am "back in the saddle again", doing my workouts, following the meal plans, working on my portion control. It only took me a couple months to go down to that size 8. I KNOW that if I continue to stay on track I can get back down to that size by spring. Just in time to go back to Montana for Ken's deployment where I can get out and walk with Hezekiah everyday without having to drive to a park or a mall.

I have no thoughts that I will be a size 6 like I was in High School. After all, let's face it....I've had a kid and my weight is not distributed the same as it was, nor will it be. But it's not about size, or weight, or even inches. It's about getting and staying healthy. It's about making and keeping a habit.

So....if at first I don't succeed, try try again.

"Oh Noooo"

This is fast becoming Hezekiah's new phrase....and boy does he know the appropriate time to use it.

He went through a phase earlier this year, where he would take off his diaper for us whenever he was wet. Actually, I think the first time he did that was just before he was one.

Lately, this week especially, he has been back in that habit. Ken and I had talked about potty training him when he first started, but it was only on occasion when he would take the diaper off, he isn't talking more than one or two words at a time, so we just decided to wait a litle bit. Well, I think the time has come.

I'm sure you can imagine my surprise whenever I have a little, naked toddler walking down the hall into the living room....especially when he was in his diaper when he left the living room only moments before. Well, just a few minutes ago, I had that surprise again. Here comes Hezekiah with no diaper, that he just had. I follow him to find the diaper to see if he was wet, or just annoyed with his diaper......For the first time, he evidently took off his diaper THEN went potty. There was his diaper on the floor, next to a wet spot. And no, the diaper itself was not wet on the inside. I am thinking that we will most likely be getting him a cheap potty chair this weekend and start teaching him how to use it. He's learned to take the diaper off, now we just need to show him the proper PLACE to potty, and it is not the floor!

Too Smart!

I am constantly amazed at how smart my son is.

Tonight after I put him to bed, I checked on him to find he had climbed into his pack-n-play (which is now his toy box). It wasn't until I laid him back in his bed that I discovered he was wearing shoes.

He not only put his feet all the way in his red Lightening McQueen shoes, they were each on the correct foot.

He brushes his teeth....well, sort of, he's putting his shoes on, he turns on the cartoons, he put his tank tops on correctly (albeit backwards and inside out, the arms are in the armhole and the head is in the head hole)....and he's only 2! And just 2....not even a month yet.

He is so independent and strong-willed all ready, I can't imagine what he is going to be like when he is 5...10...15....He is always exploring, trying to figure out what that thing is, how it works. He loves being around people, running outdoors. Nothing is too big of a challenge for him.

Such is a day in the life of the LaCroix clan :)

"child proof"......HA!

My son is just too smart. This is the 3rd or 4th time he has taken the "child proof" ball thingy off the doorknob. 


He climbed into his bed, so me thinking he was tired shut the door, even if it was almost 2 hours early....He decided he wanted to watch cartoons instead. Opened the door, walked into our room and turned on the TV. And he's only just 2....it shall be an adventure :D

Thoughts from 5/16 devotion

I have a "prayer journal" that I am currently using to keep track of my workout...not sure how it made that transition. On the front is inscribed Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future".  One day, while flipping through pages, I re-read my thoughts and I would like to share them with you.

Jeremiah 29:11 reaction It's not that we are incapable of making good plans for our life, but Christ's plan will blow our minds with it's magnificience. Our vision is like a newborn's, extremely nearsighted, unable to comprehend objects far away. While our spiritual eyesight is like that of a newborn's, Christ's is infinite. Trust in Him, wait patiently on Him, and be prepared to receive a calling you would have deemed impossible.

Psalm 24:14 (amplified) "Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait and hope for and expect the Lord" 

The New Living Translation says "Wait patiently for the Lord [...]" 

The hardest thing for me to do is wait PATIENTLY. I think it is human nature to wait ANXIOUSLY or to not wait at all. It is very easy for me, being human, to want to get ahead of myself and jump into action rather than patiently waiting for Christ to direct me.

Psalm 90:4 "For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night" (NIV)

About 5 or 6 years ago, God started revealing His plan for my life. I was sitting at a computer and I had two words pop into my head, Australia and children. In that instant, I knew God was calling me to work with the Aboriginal children in Australia and I had a feeling it was going to be with a school or a hospital.

Over the past few years I have been learning that everything is in God's timing, which is almost never the same as mine. He has been giving me more details as to what He has specifically called me to do. It is my deepest wish and greatest desire to start a "mission" for the Australian people that will fit all of their needs. A medical facility that will treat anyone who cannot receive treatment elsewhere; a loving home for children who have lost their parents, whether by death or by abandonment; a school for children and adults to ensure they have the basic education to learning a trade to ensure employment; a place of worship without judgment; and anything else that would be needed.

There are many days I feel as though I am sitting around doing nothing to advance toward this goal, but I know that God is using this time to prepare me. He is teaching me and stretching me, showing me what areas need work in my life for God to use me most effectively. He reminds me to prepare myself, to do what I can now and equip myself for the future.

I frequently refer to a line in the song 'While I"m Waiting" by John Waller that says "I'll be running the race, even while I wait" to remember that even when it feels like I am standing still, I AM moving towards the goal. 

I have decided to make the step of going back to college for multiple degrees, the first two being Education and Business.

I pray that God will continue to remind me that everything is in His timing, and that I will persevere through the time of my preparation that seem boring or pointless. Everything is for a reason. Waiting does not mean standing still, but equipping yourself for the journey ahead, so when you hear the word "go" you will be ready. 

Greetings

With our family being so scattered, we have decided to start a blog in which we can update everyone on what's going on in our daily lives, what's new and exciting, and PICTURES! Who knows who will post what or when, but it's a start.

I'm really hoping to have a family newsletter for the Christmas/New Year season this year as well with a family photo, but we shall see.

So begins our adventure with "blogging".