Christmas?

I am a total ingrate! It should have been like Christmas on the 15th but since I only lost 4 lbs. I was seriously disappointed. I guess since I lost 24 lbs the first month and my eating hasn't changed at all I have expected greater weight loss than I've been having. Last month I only lost 8 lbs.

Still 12 lbs for the last two months is better than gaining weight and I am grateful for that, but I don't understand why it is slowing down so much. Still I am committed to this program and will continue my efforts and leave the weight loss results in Heavenly Father's hands.

It's a good thing we only weigh once a month.

If I lose more next month I'll title my post "Merry Christmas," then you won't have to read my blog, you'll just know I am happy.

Every month, the 15th is like Christmas

I got to weigh myself yesterday for the 2nd time in my CEA-HOW program. I have lost 32 pounds total in 2 months. I also measured myself for the second time and have a total loss of five inches on my hips over the two months and a 7 inch loss overall this month (1" was off my bust :( don't have that much to lose there hence the frowny face)

I can actually see the loss on my hips after my shower when I look in the mirror. I saw a picture of my face last night from before all this and I was shocked. I looked like a pumpkin! I hadn't noticed the loss in my face before then.

I am still celebrating!!!

Cheers, Cheers, Cheers
Mither

Melancholy December Day

Today is my Father's birthday. I always think of him in December. I wonder what he was like when he was a little boy. Seth reminds me of him. I don't know why. Maybe it's because he loved his children so much. Seth once said to me that all he ever wanted to be in life was a Father. My Father probably felt that way too. He was so affectionate. He always gave you a great big hug whenever he saw you. Friends, ward members, everyone! Well maybe not the lady in the grocery store checkout line, but close. ;) I loved him and I miss him at this time of year.

I remember going with him to deliver milk (one of three jobs he worked at the time). It was early in December and it was a cold winter morning. The sky was just starting to get light. He let me help him when it was just a bottle (quart) or so. I would run up to the house and find the box to put the milk into, put the bottle or two I had in and then run back to the truck. I ran because it was so cold but I could slip on the ice so I had to be careful. I remember how cold it was in the back of the truck. It was refrigerated to keep the milk cold but it was even colder outside. There was a heater in the front of the truck but it didn't do much good because we had to open the door to deliver the milk every 5 minutes or so and the cold air would blow in. (Did I say how cold it was? :)

The truck was very noisy because the bottles were glass and rattled in the metal shelves as we drove. I remember getting to have some chocolate milk which I loved. I think the paper cap on one of the bottles came off so we had to drink it (of course) It was a real treat because we couldn't afford chocolate milk at home. The chocolate milk only came in pint bottles so it was easy to drink out of the bottle, even for me. Wait, maybe they did come in quart bottles, too, but the bottle Dad gave me was only a pint so it was perfect for me to share with him.

I don't remember him saying anything but I remember the feeling of companionship I felt. I was about 10 or 11 years old. I really loved my Dad. I miss him. (Oh, I said that before ... oh well. It's the truth.) I didn't go with him very often, I don't think, but I do remember that one morning.

Actually I do remember one other time I went with him. It was on Christmas Eve. Mr. Stimpson, who owned the milk bottling and delivery business, allowed my Father to deliver the milk that night instead of having to deliver in the morning and miss seeing his children coming into the living room to see what Santa had left for them. I remember that it was in the early evening so the light of the day was waining and was much like delivering milk in the morning. Again there was that feeling of companionship and love. We were working fast to get home so we could enjoy Christmas Eve together with the family. There was something about the light of the morning and the light of the evening that makes it seem like a dream to me now.

Dad died in 1990 so it's been 19 years for Mother to wait to see him again. I can only imagine the love my affectionate and loving father must have radiated to her when he saw her come to the spirit world after her death. If the love radiating from Stephan when I saw him in my dream/vision was anything like the love Dad must have radiated when he saw Mother it must have been enough to consume her. I'm so happy for her that she has finally returned to heaven to be with him but it makes me a little melancholy this December.

I miss them both.

CHRISTMAS IS COMING!!!

I finished my Christmas shopping last night for my nine children, their seven spouses, and their nineteen children (my grandchildren, minus the one that will be born next summer :) I still have to finish shopping for my husband. Usually I am done by the end of October or early November so I was hassled this year that I didn't have it all done. (is "hassled" a word? it's how I felt out there jostling with all the other shoppers.{is "jostling" a word?}) :) So now I have a total of at least 57 gifts to wrap. Whew !!! (is "whew" a word or am I just making up my own vocabulary as I go along?)

I am giving three gifts to each of my children (family gifts, not individual - I really would be nuts if I had to figure out individual gifts for each person.) We buy all the same gifts for each family and then also for some of the grandchildren. The younger ones I have to pick out individually because they really have a difference in their abilities from toddler to three years old.

Besides all that we have three birthdays in December. That means three more to buy for by this Sunday for our family birthday party.

It just occurred to me how blessed I am to have all these people in my life. And I am glad for this time of year that I can give them tokens of my love. I should say "we." Joe provides the money for all this gift giving and is equally happy to have our children, their spouses and the grandchildren.

I am excited to have them all open the gifts we have for them; to see their reactions. I hope they like them. I start buying Christmas gifts in the summer so that by this time I'm all done. Well, I still have that one more gift to get for my husband. I hope it won't be too hard to find what I have in mind.

Next year we are going to have to seriously cut back on what we buy for Christmas and birthdays this next year as Joe has had a 25% cut in pay and we have been making that up by using our retirement money. On the other hand we've thought
that we should buy what we need and want this next few months because when the inflation hits as a result of the TRILLION dollar bailout and the TRILLION dollar stimulus package there will be no buying power in our money anyway. So cutting back on our expenses really won't matter. It's something that's hard to fathom. It's hard to go against our mentality that we have to save for our retirement.

Enough of the doom and gloom.

I am happy to have this Christmas time of year. I'm happy to celebrate the birth of our Saviour. I am happy that He was willing to make it possible for me to repent and learn from my mistakes without losing exaltation. I am happy to look forward to our little Christmas pageant that the grandchildren will put on on Christmas Eve. I am happy that Joe will be home for the two weeks of Christmas and New Years. I am happy to anticipate our traditional BIG family breakfast we will be having Christmas morning. I am happy to be able to watch everyone open presents on Christmas morning, as well. I am happy that I get to have my 6 chocolates (three key lime and three lemon truffles , YUMMMM) on Christmas Day and New Years Eve. (I still have to figure out a way to get through from Mother's Day to our anniversary without any chocolates. Maybe I'll have to start celebrating the 4th of July and Labor Day with chocolates. hummmm. I'll have to think that over.) I'm happy that we were able to go to the Christmas program put on by the Church this year even though we were late because of HUGE traffic jams and the fact that we ended up in the very back of the balcony in the most far left corner of the Conference center.
Oh well, it was an inspiring production and I enjoyed myself. (Thanks Jenn for the tickets)

Christmas is going to be great! I can hardly wait!

Lub lubs, Everyone

This and that, "that" being the holidays

November!!! I can't believe the year has passed so fast. I have lost another 5 lbs through my OA group and doing the 12 steps. (Who would have ever thought doing a spiritual program would be the the key to my success?) Half of my grandchildren started Kindergarten (not really, but it seemed that way.... several of them actually did, though,)

When it snowed last week I had the Christmas Spirit sweep over me. I was ready to put my tree up and start the whole holiday thing going.

Halloween was fun this year. We had some fantastic costumes in our family. One Daughter-in-law had the hottest witch costume. She looked fantastic in it. And three little girl, ages 4, 6, and 7 (my son Michael's daughters) all had matching replicas of the BYU cheerleaders uniforms. They were adorable!!!

I look forward to Thanksgiving. We have such a large group of family for dinner that I can hardly hear myself think. It is fun though.

But Christmas is the best of all. We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving and start Christmas music that day. Having a huge breakfast on Christmas morning has become a tradition. It's all so fun and special and spiritual.. I really hope we get to go see the lights on Temple Square. If Joe doesn't want to go again this year, I'll just have to go with the girls.

Anyway, fun times ahead, for this year at least.