It has been a great few weeks!  Basketball season
has started for my daughter, Emily.

 She is a very competitive player and gives it her all. After practice, she always love to go to Subway....her favorite place to eat!!  
     Every year I am invited to go on a ladies shopping trip with my sister who lives several hours away.  My other sister and my Mom goes as well.  It is such a fun time and I look forward to it so much!  I'm not always able to go but I did this year!  It's so nice for us all to be together!

We always have tons of fun, laughs and memories.  

 Anyway, I came across this picture of my grandchildr and I just had to share!  They were recently in a wedding and they are just the most adorable kids ever!!

I just love them!

Don't forget that November is Diabetes awareness month!

Get yourself tested is you think you are having symptoms, eat healthy and exercise!  My diabetes is under control and I couldn't be more thankful!!

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Philippians 4:13

     I don't know about you all, but I am really enjoying this wonderful fall scenery!  When I took my walk the other day, I snapped a few pictures of the beautiful trees!!
                                       

What wonderful beauty God gives us this time of year!  It has been cool and rainy the last couple of days and the colors are still turning and becoming even more vibrant than before.  

It's great to take advantage of the nice weather 

to finish a few projects before it's too cold out. I was recently given a few chairs from friends who were moving (Yes!  they were FREE) and I gave them a makeover!  Here is the before and after...

  

 And the finished product!!!   I used just a inexpensive flat black spray paint from our local dollar store.  I love the way they turned out.

My husband has also been taking on a project.  It's much bigger than mine was.  He has noticed that the old windows that were originally put in the garage were leaking and his garage was taking on a lot of water damage.  

So, as you can see, the only thing to do was remove the windows and replace the wall.  Also, he decided to change the look of the garage and put the walk-in door on this side, instead of where it was.  So, here are a few pics of the tearing down and rebuilding the wall.

I will have an update and more pictures in a later post!

Anyway, I have struggled the last week with staying with my low-carb lifestyle. I don't call it a diet since I have diabetes and I have a medical need to eat low sugar and low-carb.  Even though my blood sugars are good, I am still trying to lose a little more weight as well, but, I have been on a roller coaster with a couple of pounds.  This morning during my devotion, the thought came to me that my weight loss is like my walk with God.  Although I want it to be perfect,it is not.  I try to follow Christ but I am a sinner.  God is merciful!  Even though I try hard to only eat what is good for me, I'm tempted with a bite of this, or a piece of that, or just a little of that.

It is a great comfort to know that it is God that girdeth me with strength.... Psalm 18: 32.  I know I can get over this!  Just as God's mercy is new every morning, I have another day to make good choices and eat better than I did the day before.

Now, time to stand up, hold my head high, take a deep breath and trust in God that he will get me through yet another hurdle!  I am at 93# lost and I WILL reach my 100# goal! 

I seen this saying today and it reminded me that sometimes you have to try harder, sacrifice more and go the extra mile for what you want to achieve!

Thanks for reading!

  

     It's a beautiful fall day today!  The sun is shining bright, there's a good breeze, leaves are flying all around and the air is crisp and cool!  I can't wait til later today when I can get out and take a nice walk.  All of the leaves on our trees are starting to turn the gorgeous hues or orange, red and yellow.  I love the crunch of leaves under my feet and the brisk feeling in the air.
    We had a fun and busy weekend.  On Saturday, we enjoyed the housewarming party of my daughter and son-in-law.  They were able to purchase their first house not long ago.  We are so happy for them!
                                      

Since being diagnosed with diabetes, I depend on

walking everyday as part of my exercise. Walking helps with weight loss and also helps to lower my blood sugar and as well as many others benefits.  Although I love fall and everything about it, I know winter is coming next and some days I won't be able to be outside walking.  We do have a membership to the local YMCA so I can exercise inside, but there's nothing like walking outside.  It's so peaceful, and time goes by so fast when your walking outside. Whether or not you have diabetes, or you are on a weight loss plan, or are practicing living a healthy lifestyle.....you should still get out and take plenty of walks.  Walking is very beneficial to your health!!  Even on those days where you don't feel like it or you are out of shape....just make up your mind and do it!

I was spending the day with my Mom the other day and it turned out that we were both wearing our bright yellow shirts, so I had to take a pic! Love my Mom!

Thanks for reading!  :)

     We had an absolutely wonderful weekend!  On Saturday, my husband, John, and I went on the Spoon River scenic drive.  It's a local event in our area that is the first two weekends of October every year.  It's a drive somewhat in the country, back road highways, and there are stops everywhere
consisting of crafts, primitives, flea markets, yard sales, food vendors, re-enactments and everything else in between!!  It involves a lot of small towns who really look forward to this every year!  You can purchase everything from Kettle corn, tools, flowers, doilies, pictures, antiques, and baby clothes to car parts!  One of my favorite things is the Kettle corn....We finished a small bag in no time at all!                                    

One of Johns favorites is fresh made BBQ pork rinds! He can really make them disappear!

We had a lot of fun together!  It was great to just get away and spend a little quality time with just the two of us!

On Sunday, We took Derek and Emily to Starved

Rock State Park.  Emily brought her dog, Lexi, with us.  We usually go every year and hike around on the paths and read all the posts of history about it. 

Here are a few pics of our day..

After the hiking, we were starved and went

to one of our favorite places, Culvers!  It was great because the weather was just perfect and we were able to eat outside and Lexi was able to be with us.

I love their concrete mixers!  The flavor of the day was Butter Pecan with roasted pecans....YUM!

Next, we drove on to Tanners Apple Orchard.  We didn't stay long, but we enjoyed our stop!

I'm always so thankful for my quiet Monday mornings after a busy weekend.  I look forward to my early morning coffee and devotions....it's a great way to start any day!!

For any readers who are struggling with weight loss....here is a pic for you!

Thanks for reading!

     Happy Friday to all!  I hope you have fun things planned for this weekend.  It's that time of year where I try to squeeze in a lot of outdoor activities before the weather turns and it's too cold to be outside.
                                        
     I love to walk outside.  My husband, John, and I usually walk 2+ miles every evening.  I'm dreading the fact that eventually it will be too cold!  It's not only time to exercise, burn calories, and get fit, but it's nice spending time together.  We both have FitBit trackers which we love.  I have a lot of family that compete in friendly challenges with walking and getting our steps in.  It's great to keep track of physical activity and helps keep you accountable for your walking. Walking is such a great way to stay healthy and it's FREE! :)
    Just remember, losing weight or getting in shape takes time.....
                                        

Always remember....

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  Philippians 4:13

I was looking at some older pictures and I seen this one.  So cute of my 2 daughters, thought I'd share it.

Ieshia and Emily

Thanks for reading! 

     It is a typical fall day here in Illinois.  It is slightly overcast, a slight dampness in the air, leaves are just starting to turn and a few leaves have made their way to the ground.  Why is it, I wonder, why the leaves always seem to land right in front of the door where we walk, to be stepped on, crushed into little bits, and then continuously tracked right into the house on the rug??  ha  What a messy nuisance!  The more I sweep, the more they fall! 
    I hope you all are having a great week!  I finally broke down and got into the "pumpkin" spirit!  Here is the flavor of the day in my coffee!
                                      

Yum!  It is so good!  I love almost everything pumpkin!  

Morning time is very special to me!  I have 

never really been a morning person, but now I crave that special quiet time.  My house empties out while my husband and kids make their way to school and work.  I take full advantage of this time for my morning prayer and devotion time.  

Here is a look at my stack from this morning.

on the bottom, is my prayer journal.  This is where I write down personal things I need to meditate and pray about.  Where I write down requests that might come my way, and where I list my strategy for prayer.  Also, I can keep a list of scriptures to help with certain prayers.  But it's also where I keep track of all the answered prayers!  It's great to ask for things in prayers, But never forget to thank God when they are answered!

Next in my stack is my Bible in the brown case.  I take it with me almost everywhere.  It's not as pretty as it once was, with little notes, bookmarks, highlighted areas, little sticky flags everywhere, But it is more precious and worth so much to me now then it ever was before.  Above my Bible is my devotion book.  I think it's important to read a devotion everyday....I call it food for my mind.  Gives me something else to think about, or a perspective that I wouldn't have thought of.

On the very top of that stack is one of my new books that I enjoy very much,

The book, Fervent, was inspired by the movie, War Room.  That movie really touched my life and this book is refreshing my memory of things learned from the movie.  I highly recommend it!

That is how I start my day, and usually how I end my day.  

Well, fall is definitely my favorite season!  Partly because orange is my favorite color, but this time of year the air is just so crisp and fresh, the colors are beautiful, and the decoration are so cute!  Here are a few pics of my fall decorations this year,

I really like the way they turned out, however, nothing could ever compare to the beauty God created!!

Thanks for reading!  Please leave a comment, or be a follower!  

Wow!  I can't believe it's been 10 months since I updated my blog.  I have been debating on whether or not to delete it or refresh it.  I really hated to lose all the memories that have been created in this blog.      There are great pictures, memories, recipes, family that is no longer with us, and a lot of info I could never get back.  
     So, even though my life has dramatically changed over the years since I first started my blog, I decided to keep it going.  I decided to somewhat start fresh with new interests, new pictures, and recipes and other encouragement that reflects my newer life style.
     First of all, God is so very important to me!  My life is devoted to him 100%!  Now, this doesn't at all mean that I am perfect.  I am far from that.  I daily strive to deepen my prayer life, read his word, and devote every aspect of my life to him. The one that created me, gave his life for me, and is preparing a place for me, for all of eternity, The Almighty God.

     I like to spend time with our great church ladies,
                                  

 

And we recently enjoyed a great ladies retreat where I was able to sing with some very talented, sweet, and devoted ladies

This also happens to be one of my favorite times of the year.  I love fall!!  The colors are so vibrant, the air is fresh and crisp, the scenery is breathtaking, and I love admiring Gods gorgeous artwork. 

Even though this isn't the first day of fall, I love the quote from Emily Bronte on the above picture.

Another change in my life is my whole lifestyle.

I have remained focused on low-carb eating ever since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in May2014.  Here are a few before and after comparison pictures.....

These were taken when I had hit my 90# goal.  I have now lost 91# and am diligently trying to get to my final goal of 100#.  God is so good to me.  None of this would be possible without him.  I have no self control.  After being diagnosed with diabetes, and going through several stages of denial, I finally broke down and told God that I couldn't do this alone.  I needed him. I would give him all the glory....and I do!  He is faithful, he is just, and he is the one behind my weight loss.  I get strength from reading his word, and I am encouraged daily by his promises to me.  Psalm 19:14

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Thanks for reading,  please feel free to leave a comment.  :)

We had a great Christmas!  I'm so excited to start 2015!   God has blessed us so much this year!!  I will be starting this year 70# lighter!!   Enjoy a few pictures and I will post again soon!  :)
                                      

Happy New Year and God Bless!