Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

Sunday, May 29, 2011

A Few More Wedding Photos

botley 12botley 13botley14botley15botley16

Mr. & Mrs. Victor Botley.  See more photos here.

Preview of the Wedding

image

Victor and Chelsea  had one of the most beautiful wedding I have ever been to.  They asked me to do the photos.  Though I am not even close to a professional photographer (my hats off to them), I (with huge help from Mrs. Annie Gray) tried my best to capture moments in their special day.  I hope the photos are half as beautiful as the wedding and half as special as these two people are.

image

Victor is my first cousin on my mom’s side.  I babysat him as a little boy.  He was the baby in our family for 13 years.  He has grown into a very incredible young man.

image

Victor met his bride in high school (maybe before but they started dating freshman or sophomore year).  Chelsea has been part of our family for almost ten years, but on May 28 they made it official.  We are so happy to have her.

image

Friday, May 27, 2011

My New Camera

I am still figuring it out.  Here is one unedited photo I took yesterday.

DSC_0001.jpg

It’s the dresser I refinished.  In my house as of yesterday thanks to Johnny and Wayne.

Happy Birthday to Annie Pease Gray!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Outer Banks

Here are a couple of photos from our Outer Banks trip.

image

Dave and Henry our first evening about to take a stroll on the beach.

image

Desert flowers on the walk to the beach.  They open during the day and close as the sun goes down.

image

Daddy and son on the way to the beach.

image

Cuteness multiplied.

image

Mother and terrified child.  Not such a fan of the powerful waves.

image

image

Really not liking being so close to the water.

image

The beautiful sunset on our way back to the rental house.

More photos to come…

Trust

Loved, loved the message at church tonight.  Was so good.  Based on Proverbs 3:5&6 – Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.  I love the ALL’s in this verse.  Not trust in the Lord with part or most or until something comes up where you need to take control.  All.  Trust with ALL of my heart.  And lean not on my own understanding.   In ALL of my ways acknowledge Him.  Not the ways where God seems to fit in or when it’s convenient or when my life is really bad.  Wow.  A lesson to learn over and over and over and over again.

When I went to Ukraine the first time I made one of the best friends of my life on the trip.  Even though she’s a Canadian (ha-ha).  And a French Canadian (the brunt of many a Mainer’s jokes – I am just joking though).  She sang this song and it has been one of my favorites since.  I think I made her sing this song to me over and over and over again when we were in our room at night in Odessa.  There was no sleeping because the techno music was blaring so loudly.  Anyway.  I love this song.  And I love the message tonight.  And I love my pastor.  Always preaching a message from the heart of God that provokes such deep meditation.  I really needed it. 

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Outer Banks

handme obx

Our first evening in the Outer Banks, North Carolina.  We rented a home in Southern Shores for a few days that had a pool, hot tub and very close to a very private beach.  More photos to come. 

If my dress looks like a maternity dress, no I am not pregnant.  I purchased quickly on the way to the beach for a cover up.  I guess a few people are having dreams I am pregnant, but I am not.  Seriously.

I have to say, I like the northern towns of the Outer Banks more than the southern town – the ones I like are Southern Shores, Duck and Corolla.  It’s inexpensive to rent there before Memorial Day and after Labor Day.

Wedding Décor Preparation

balloon making 5

Chelsea, the young woman with blue scrubs covered in glue is getting married to my baby cousin this Saturday.  Well, Sam is the baby but almost seems like he is in the next generation. 

ballon making 4

She and Victor are getting married at a farm just over the PA border.  Myriah, Victor’s older sister and my wonderful friend, had amazing vine balls hanging from her tent when she got married in Maine.  Chelsea wanted something similar and Rye found this cool recipe to make your own.  Corn Starch, water, yarn, balloons and twine to hang them on.

ballon making 3

The project was started late last week and finished tonight and the upper barn on the farm.  I must admit I was pretty much zero help.  Just discussing wedding photos with Chelsea.  But the setting was something out of Country Living Magazine.

ballon making 2

Drying for two days and then ready to roll or hang, I mean.  The balloons are removed and then you have a vine looking ball to hang from the ceiling with white lights.

Henry was there just, just, just back from our NC adventure to provide cuteness support as always.

That Was Awkward…

Love this sign and stole the photo off facebook.  Have no idea who took it.

that was awkward

Friday, May 20, 2011

Happy to Report

Only a mother could understand this, but I’m so happy to report that Henry is have good bowel movements 2-3 times a day!  This has been unheard of his entire life.  If he had 2-3 a day it was from diarrhea which meant he was constipated. 

He also seems like he has gained weight already and is eating like crazy.  I could barely get the kid to eat a crumb for breakfast lately and now he is hungry and eating a lot each meal!


182679_10150406279405500_734745499_17058298_3824101_n[1]

Happy 75th birthday to my spring chicken Grampa Nate!  He’s in town but I will be out of town for his birthday.  But I will see him Lord willing and as long as the world doesn’t end (joke – there’s all this propaganda here that the world is ending tomorrow and my grandfather finds that pretty darn funny).


We are taking a little small family vacay tomorrow.  We really have never been on a family vacation.  Well I guess we have been camping in the freezing north Maine woods overnight with insufficient blankets.  AND we have been to visit family.  But never a little family getaway.  We are going to the beach and the beast aka Maggie is going with us.  We are really looking forward to it.


Did I mention on the way to church the other night I thought I left the stove on?  I knew I didn’t but you know what I mean?  I forgot about it and then on the way home it was lightening and I thought for a second I could see flashing lights above our house in the sky.  Then I told myself it was just lightening.  We turned onto our road and before we could see our house, we saw the big fire truck out front.  HEART ATTACK!  HEART ATTACK!  HEART ATTACK!!!!!  Dave drove like 100.  It was for the neighbor’s house.  Not that I was rejoicing they had a problem (I don’t think it was major), just praising God our dog wasn’t dead and everything we own gone.  How weird can you get?  If I already mentioned this, I am a little over tired.  Sorry.


Thinking a lot about waiting on God, not being slothful, not doing things in my own strength, being a good steward of the gifts and things God has blessed me with.  I have determined that all of those things can be way too much for me if I am not drawing near to God.  I just need to draw near to God and He will direct my steps.

I think sometimes people read my blog and think maybe I am just returning to God (Sorry, I just have simple thoughts!).  Well, in a sense we all offer ourselves as a living sacrifice over and over (Romans 12:1-2) and are crucified with Christ daily or minutely in Galatians 2:20.  But I think the more I walk with God, the more I realized this Christian life is not about a decision once in your life when you trust in God as your Savior.  Or once a week when you go to church.  Or once a day when you bow your head to pray.  The more I taste of the life with constant communion with God, the more communion I want to have.  The more I want to mimic the life and faith I see in my spiritual mothers and fathers.  The more I want to waste my life on God.  How can anything we give to God be a waste? 


I brought my dresser home today.  Thanks to Johnny’s muscles.  It’s not out of the truck yet.  I think Dave will save that until we get home.  I got a table and chairs to refinish.  Now I am praying for a place to refinish them when we buy a house. 

229481_10150607138685500_734745499_18489087_400581_n[1]


Linking up over here: http://thewiegands.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Little Boys & Puddles

We went help Chelsea make some hanging twine balls for the wedding at the farm, but I’m afraid we were more hindrance than help.  Mr. Man kept running in and out of the shop – dashing through mud puddles, chasing dogs and catching rain drops on his tongue after they rolled down over his face.

Dunking toys in the water Rye was working with.  Then he dunked his Sippy cup and drank from it.  Sick!!!

His pants are not high-waters or cropped!  They are overall shorts.  They just look funny because he has boots on!

I am so thankful I get to spend my days with this little man.  Such a gift from God!


Day 6 of our Diet Change:

Henry is eating much, much more since we took him off gluten, beef, refined sugar and dairy. 

He’s drinking a couple of glasses of rice milk a day which is fortified with Vitamin D etc.

The sleeping pattern WAS a FANTASY.  Last night his teeth were really bothering him.  I was up treating and soothing him until 2 am and by that he was ready to PARTY.  PARTY until 7 am!!  He then slept until 11, but I’m still wondering how either of us could see straight today.  We made it by the grace of God!

I forgot to mention that my skin changed right away.  It has been very dry in recent years and it feels very moisturized.  And I swear my toenails and fingernails changed in appearance as well. 

How Cute Can You Get?

[cousins+10+weeks+034.JPG]

I love this picture of Teagan.   She is so pretty she doesn’t even look real.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Day 5

I grew up in a meat and potatoes sort of crowd and haven’t been one to frequent the organic aisle because I’m leery of schemes.

I started becoming more interested in health when I lived with a family my first few years of Bible College.  That year I gained some weight and the mother helped me understand that my body probably didn’t do well on refined carbs.  Then I started reading books like Eat Right for Your Blood Type.  It help tremendously.  I think mostly to keep me focused on my diet (not lose weight diet but what you eat diet).

Once I hit my late twenties, I found it more difficult to shed the ten pounds from months of a bad eating binge (eating foods I pretty much knew my body couldn’t tolerate).  My minor digestive problems I pretty much noticed my whole life were becoming increasing noticeable to me. 

I resisted going to the doctor.  I didn’t want to be put on some prescription and I didn’t even know if that is what the doctor would do. 

I read Dr. Mark Hyman’s Ultimate Mind book and the information blew me away.  It convinced me of the importance of functional medicine.  It didn’t convince me to take the queues from my own body.  It was knowledge that was wasted or stored for a later date.  Check out his website.  He is able to link metabolism, dementia, mental illness, autism, and many other issues with heavy metal poisoning, poor digestion, and ingesting foods YOUR body cannot tolerate.  He gives case studies of medical doctors who haven’t been able to lose weight no matter what and he cures them!   There are many case studies in this book that will blow you away.

Now, before you get all weird on me, I am not against American Medicine.  If you haven’t noticed I am a strong believer in free enterprise, the God given gifts of doctors, and certainly would want a trained medical doctor to work on me if I crushed a limb in an automobile accident.  I do believe the Greatest Physician is He Who created all of us and gave all of us breath.  He can heal in an instant.  He has.  He does.  He will.

I am not a believer in giving cocktails of prescriptions to numb the symptoms your body is showing for a reason and creating equal or greater issues.  But, yes, prescriptions are very necessary at times.

It’s taken me until almost the dawn of my thirty-fourth birthday to make some life style changes.  I have often changed things temporarily to get the benefit, but, hey, the older you get, the longer it takes to bounce back.  And, more importantly I might add, I have the most precious gift I am taking care of too.  It’s very important to me to be his health advocate and to know what signals his body is giving. 

So now I am day five into a no sugar, no carbonated drinks, no gluten, no dairy, no beef, no hormone riddle meat, no caffeine life style change.  It’s not even difficult.  My husband always says pain is a great motivator.  Now, I didn’t let my health slip by many's standards, but there were signs of things to come.  My digestive system was in a lot of pain (I have leaky gut).  My thyroid was/is hyper and hypo.  Any extra winter pounds were not coming off as easily as before.  I tested positive for a casein allergy which is the protein in dairy and gluten which is the protein in many grains.  It’s estimated that over 50% of the population is allergic to gluten and maybe more to dairy if not all.

Many people believe if you are not going into anaphylactic shock or getting hives or instantly throwing up, you are not allergic to something, that is false.  The substance can be eating away at your digestive system, causing you mental instability, malnourishment and a host of other issues.  I tested as one who is malnourished because my intestines and other organs are under such stress. 

So is it helping?  Well, I am pretty sure I am still in the phase where my body is ridding itself of toxins.  Something it does anyway but is less capable of if you are putting in at a faster rate than it can keep up with  suppressing your lymphatic and adrenal systems.  Not to mention dumping too much on your liver and then recirculating dirty blood.

To answer the question, I have already lost weight.  Some things have already become regular if you know what I mean and I wake up in the morning with more energy.  I had already taken myself off caffeine before I ever went to the doctor because of migraines I was getting, so that was a big help not to have to go through that.  I wasn’t eating too much gluten or dairy because I suspected an issue but now am completely off them.  My biggest problem other than convincing myself I could eat the aforementioned things on a weekly basis is refined sugar.  But I really don’t miss it.  Well sometimes.  And I might eat again on occasion after we get through the next couple of months. 

But there’s nothing like putting your focus on someone else to take your attention off your own problems.  It’s sort of one of God’s best prescriptions.  So I am very thankful to have my little boy.

I share in hopes in helping others.

P.s.  There are many false negatives to gluten allergies and intolerance.  Google about gluten and if you are getting the symptoms, take yourself off it.

P.s. I buy organic

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Family Time

P5171077.jpg

This dinner was not a hit.  Definitely not.  Henry ate the chicken but didn’t care for the texture of the sweet potatoes or the red peppers.  No way to the brussel sprouts.  It all tasted good to Dave and me.

Here’s an interesting article my friend Sarah sent me.

We had a great time this evening tossing the football in the front yard after our walk.  Well, Dave and I walked.  Henry had a leisurely ride in the stroller asking for sticks and watching his parents fetch new ones for him.

Clap for me all ye people.