Second Goal & Counting!

January 28, 2009

Weighed in this morning and made 2nd goal! Lost 1.4 lbs and this brings total weight loss to 35.6 lbs. Susan also gave me an additional key chain that has the number "16" on it which represents 16 weeks of faithfulness in attending meetings. I cannot believe it has been 16 weeks already in this journey but I also realize I have many more weeks to go. She said to take this week and reflect back on the 16 weeks and look back over my food journal and get an idea on what I've done to get to this point so we can move forward and look towards my next goal. We are going to set my next goal when I return for weigh in next week. I did not do as well as I would have wanted this week and it was another low number, but I can look back on this week and tell you exactly why the number was low. I was not faithful in my daily exercises this past week and also splurged more over this weekend than I should have. My love for chicken wings must come to a halt! I watched "The Biggest Loser" last night and they gave me a great idea for a substitute recipe for chicken wings so that will be the next "dish" I try at home.

I wanted to comment on Sunday night at church. I did not get a chance to really say how great the service was and how mine and Jimmy's heart were touched. Not only did Jennifer Fogle do an awesome job but Rachael will never truly understand what me and her dad were feeling as she was singing for the Lord. I cannot express in any words the impact of her singing and how we had prayed all week that the Lord use her for his glory. Since Jimmy and I both accepted Christ later in our lives, we cannot help but to cry when we think of the years wasted in the world. Understand, we do not dwell on these thoughts but we know what years were spent living our lives for things of this world. As we watched our daughter sing, the overwhelming thoughts of generational sin came to mine. We, by accepting Christ and our home serving the Lord, have prayerfully stopped generations of habitual sin that was eating away at our families. Rachael already knows the Lord, serves the Lord, goes to a Christian school where she can pray and worship freely, is involved with teens, Christian camps, and receives the word of God in her life each day. That is so much more than Jimmy's family or my family ever saw or had the opportunity to experience. Just to see her doing what we have prayed for since the day we received Christ was a fantastic, awesome, and most humbling experience. I pray every day that Rachael will allow Christ to lead, guide, and direct her and that she will LOVE the Lord with all her heart. GOD IS SO GOOD!!! I PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!

Jimmy is in Salisbury today with his dad and we have been praying for God's intervention in a situation in his family as well. We don't always understand why bad things happen and sometimes nothing makes sense. We just see the pain and hurt that surrounds us because of Satan's attack on our families. We trust in God though, and we continue to have faith that he is in control. Isa: 55.8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. Pray for us and his family.

I am looking forward to the weekend. We have a couple of things planned and will be getting together with friends. I love to spend time with our friends and fellowship. It gives us a chance to relax, catch up, and enjoy the company of other Christians.

Forgive Me.

January 26, 2009

Not sure what happened with my last blog on our Ski Trip with teens and I've tried to "fix" things with no success. You will have to scroll down some if you want to leave a comment and I'm not sure what happened with my paragraphs. (sorry Jenn)

MEMORIES WITH OUR TEENS!

January 26, 2009

Its Monday and I'm back at work. It was a nice weekend filled with fun and surprises. We left on Friday for our teen ski trip to West Virginia. We were there by 3:00 pm and the kids were ready and on the slopes by 5:00 pm. I had packed 2 loaves of bread, peanut butter and jelly, ham, and some other snack foods for the kids. I guess I have deemed myself the "den mother" of the pack. I like to take care of the kids and feed them. I enjoy feeding others and it must be a God given gift because I always tend to lean towards making sure everyone has been taken care of and no one goes hungry. I enjoy giving to others and it is a blessing to see the appreciation on their faces. We were not scheduled to eat until around 10:30 pm when we left to go home so the snacks helped fill the void of hunger until we stopped. Even the leaders seemed to enjoy the sandwiches.

We watched the teens ski, tube, eat, play in the snow, and play games inside the lodge. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Approximately 1 hour before we were scheduled to start home, Sandy Holt was hit in the back of her head by another person that was hit by a skier. Sandy was knocked unconscious and she lay ed faced down in the snow for approximately 20 minutes. I gathered the teens around in a circle as Miss Wright was holding Sandy's hand in the snow and I started to pray. At that moment I just felt compelled to bring the teens together and pray. We prayed as the paramedics worked with her and she regained consciousness. We prayed as they loaded her in the ambulance and we prayed when we arrived at the hospital. It was a very scary time for all of us but God answered our prayers. Sandy received a concussion and an injury to her AC joint in her collarbone but was released to go home around 3:00 am.

Missy and I had rode up in her vehicle so we opted to stay to bring Sandy back home. The teens and leaders took the bus and van back home at the scheduled time. Austin, Becca, Rachel, and Miss Wright stayed with us and we all sat at the hospital with Sandy until time to go home. We got back to the Church around 6:00 am on Saturday. I am very thankful that Sandy was not seriously injured and I know the Lord was in total control.

Here are some more pictures of the trip. Hope you enjoy them.

OFF WE GO!

January 23, 2009

Short note to say we are getting ready to leave for West Virginia with the teens. Looking forward to spending time with the kids and taking pictures. I'm taking my book, "The Shack" to finish so I am going to just "chill out" this evening.

Wanted to ask everyone to start praying for Rachael. She will sing in front of the church on Sunday night and it is her first time singing in Church. Pray that God will give her complete peace and calmness of nerves. I am so proud of her for using her talents that the Lord has given her to be a blessing to others.

Some changes can be good!

January 22, 2009


Yesterday was weigh in day and I apologize for not getting my post done. It was an extremely busy day and I got involved in doing some things that helped me to get a lot of my work load down. I am leaving this Friday with the teens on the ski trip and wanted my desk to be free of paperwork (yeah, right). I will have it manageable though so hopefully no one will be asked to do anything beyond their work.


I weighed in and lost another 1.5 lbs. This brings my total to 34.7 lbs. I am so close to 35 lbs and my next 10% goal. Hopefully I will make this one next week. I did not have a big number like last week but that tends to be my trend. High number one week, low number the next. That's fine with me as long as it remains a negative number. I am committed to this weight loss no matter how long it takes. I've had several people ask me, "how much weight do you want to lose?" The answer: 86 lbs. Yes, that's a lot of weight and a long journey but again, I am committed to making this happen. I look at it each week as another pound closer to obtaining the victory. I am so close to the half way mark and that will be a day of rejoicing. Jimmy is doing awesome and is close to his 50 pound loss. I am not sure what his end goal is but I am sure it will be at least another 30 to 40 lbs as well. He will probably beat me to the goal but we will have the ultimate victory together when we celebrate our new and better health. But that will not be the end of the journey. We will have to hold each other accountable so we don't fall back into the "food traps." We must learn to manage our bodies and exercise. That seems to be the main focus of weight watchers. Managing your points and exercise.


I had my hair cut and colored on Tuesday of this week and I have to admit, it has caused some controversy with my spouse. I post this picture just to ask for honest opinions. Really, I want complete honesty. I would like to know what people think of the color and the style. I am perfectly okay with it but I think Jimmy is going to take longer to adjust. He just wasn't prepared for the color and style change all at once. I have been wearing my hair pretty much the same since high school (yes, I know, that's sad), but I really like the straighter style so I will keep it for awhile. My husband was nicer last night after Yuri scolded him for being so negative to me about my hair (Thank you Yuri for taking up for me). After all, its just hair.

Change can be good sometimes. We all have to adjust to change in our daily lives and as long as we always put God first and allow him to lead, guide, and direct us, I don't believe we will go wrong. We can either be in God's will or he will allow us our permissive will. The Browns are in the midst of change and I am still praying for them. They have a lot of changes ahead of them but I do believe they are doing what the Lord is requiring of them. I believe he is going to use them in Asheville just as he has used them here in Lexington. Jimmy said it best one day when we were discussing it on the phone with Yuri. Jimmy said, "Yuri, there are 7 more Jimmy Tullocks waiting for you guys in Asheville." That was a BIG statement and meant a lot to us and them. As I have said before in a previous blog, Jon and Yuri were big mentors for me and God used them to show Christ to Jimmy. I am going to miss them terribly but I also know that we will not let a 2 hour distance break a friendship that God brought together.

LET IS SNOW, LET IS SNOW, LET IT SNOW

January 20, 2009

Most of you are probably still sleeping in enjoying the wonderful snow that arrived last night and this morning. The alarm clock sounded at 6:00 am this morning and Rachael was the first one to come downstairs and ask if school was out. I informed her that I had just saw the list of closings and Union Grove Christian School was one of them. She gleamed and shouted "yes!" Now for Rachael to get up at 6:00 am in the morning and come downstairs with such excitement is rare, very rare. She only gets this excited in the mornings when school is out and snow is on the ground. We took some pictures and I told her to get ready so I could drop her off at the Garrow residence for the day. We had already touched base with them yesterday at the ballgame and Breanna, Leanne, and Rachael planned their day of fun if it snowed. I'm glad she has friends to hang out with on days like today when their is no school and her dad and I work. There was not as much snow as she would have liked, but she was happy just to be out of school. It's amazing that I cannot get her up any other day of the week but she can get herself up on a snow day. These are things I will remember as she continues to grow up into adulthood.

My drive into work was not bad although I did slide as I was leaving the Garrow's neighborhood. I don't know who the man was driving the white pick up truck coming down Ridge Rd but the Lord obviously made him stop for a reason. My vehicle was coming down the incline and as I started braking, it continued to slide. I was barely moving but still was not going to come to a complete stop. I said a quick prayer and safely made my turn onto Ridge Rd with no traffic to the left or right. I looked at the man that had stopped on Ridge Road (he had seen me coming out of the neighborhood) and gave a big wave of thanks! I then took an extra second to thank my Lord for protecting me. Its wonderful to know that he is always with us, watching over us even when we don't always take the time to think about his presence around us.

We had our Reformers Unanimous workers celebration event at the house on Saturday night and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. We had a total of 50 people that came and celebrated another year of RU. It is a chance for Jimmy and I to show our appreciation for their service to the daycare and RU group. Jimmy fixed barbecue and we had some appetizers as well. Everyone ate and enjoyed the fellowship until around 9:00 pm. Jimmy and I were amazed at how much Wes Burnette could eat and still be so small. (Wes, we are so jealous!) To be so small, he sure can eat. We also know that Tom Wilt loves Raspberry cheesecake. We are glad everyone enjoyed themselves. We love to see people enjoy themselves at our home. We know we are blessed beyond measure and want to share what God has done for us with others. Jimmy has said many times, "our home is not ours, it belongs to God."

The game at Woodland last night was great. Our JV girls won and Rachael did something that does not happen very often and probably will not happen again. They were in the 2nd quarter and the clock was running out with less than 8 seconds left. UG threw the ball in and Rachael started down court. The crowd and Mr. Gilmore yelled "shoot!" and she shot. She was half court and the ball went in the net just as the buzzer sounded, "swish". It was all net. The crowd went crazy. Everyone was laughing and later Rachael came to me and her dad and said, "you know, I can get a free hot dog for that!" Apparently the coach of Woodland told Rachael that anytime you make a half court shot, you get a free hot dog from concessions. Rachael opted for pizza instead and paid. We all laughed about her "half court buzzer beater shot" on the way home and wished we would have caught in on video. It was one of those awww moments.

The varsity girls lost but put up one good fight. Rachael got to play quite a bit and did great. She was definitely on her game yesterday. All the Varsity girls did very well and I was extremely proud of how they came together as a team. They tied the game up at one point 46-46 but Woodland pulled ahead after Allison Steinhaus fouled out and Tiffany Pack and Rachael caught their 4th fouls. We had to be careful so Woodland took advantage of our weak defense and went on to win the game.

My weight loss is going good this week and I have walked every day. I look forward to seeing the results on Wednesday. I'll post as usual and let you know how the journey is progressing.

I DID IT!

January 14, 2009

Today was weigh in day and I cannot begin to tell you the celebration that took place when I stepped on the scales and was told I had lost 6 pounds this past week. I lost the 4 lbs I had gained and lost an additional 2 lbs. Susan was thrilled and we did a "high five" as she read the numbers. I have lost 33.2 lbs total now and just want to continue to be obedient to what the Lord is leading me to do. I know without a doubt that God is in this. He has shown his faithfulness to me in so many different ways in this journey. He has opened doors that needed to be opened and he has taught me many valuable lessons. He has heard my prayers and the prayers of others (thank you very much to all who are praying for me), and he continues to amaze me. I had prayed last night as I was walking on the treadmill, "Lord, I need your strength to continue this journey and only through you can I desire to make this happen." I truly mean every word of this. I know that without God, I cannot do this. I cannot do this in my own flesh.
I was not expecting a loss of 6 pounds but was very thankful that God was so good to me. I worked hard this past week making sure that I was making good food choices and walking on the treadmill. FYI: Andrea has told me that if she looks through the woods over the hillside that she can view the top of our house. Andrea, if you look closely in the evenings, you may see a figurine in the dormer window at top with her arms flailing around and head bobbing. That would be me on the treadmill trying to make my 45 minute to 1 hour walk. Its hard work but worth every pound.

This week has been busy and last night we went to Rachael's ballgame at Union Grove. All teams won except for the JV boys. They took a loss but played a good game. This week is spirit week at school and today was "tacky day." Rachael was what I would classify as semi-tacky but not too tacky. At least that's what she said. Tacky day is not her favorite. I told her to get some good pictures and I would post them next week.

Jimmy is doing well and still losing. I believe he has lost the pounds he put on while we were away on vacation to so I look forward to giving him some competition this upcoming week. We watched the Biggest Loser last night and my heart sank when Jerry fell below the yellow line and put up for eviction. He is a 63 year old grandfather and weighed in at 369 pounds. He passed out while on the treadmill in the first episode and was evicted last night from the Biggest Loser. I cried because it was so sad to see him go but also to listen to how humbled he was about leaving and how much he was at peace with it. He has since lost 83 pounds and looks great. He is going to try and lose a total of 160 pounds by finale so I cannot wait to see him.

Homecoming at Union Grove is Friday and I have the RU daycare so I am going to take the kids over to the gym. They will enjoy watching the games. I work in the concessions when they need me but will not be able to help out this Friday due to daycare. That concessions can be a big temptation. I have learned that I must be prepared to work concessions or I will give in to temptations of cheese sticks, (they are so good), or french fries. What I have learned is to go by Subway and get a 6" sub and baked BBQ lays chips. I eat this for my dinner and it keeps me from wanting to eat from concessions. I know it doesn't support the booster club, but I do buy my drinks from the concessions. I need to get back to work so I will post again soon. Just wanted to give my Wednesday weigh in update.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Its late so I am going to make this one short. Wanted to make sure I published the pictures of the rainbow that Jimmy took from outside our house. It was absolutely beautiful and also reminded us of the covenant between God and Noah.

I am doing well with my eating this week and exercising too. I just finished the treadmill and I'm really tired. Its almost 11:30pm so I am going to get ready to catch some sleep.

Jimmy got home around 10:45 pm. He is so dedicated to his RU Ministry. He had 37 people in attendance tonight. He leaves the house every Friday around 4:45 pm. Goes to the church, gets the van, picks us 10 people and drives back for RU. Leaves the church around 9:30 pm and takes everyone home and then comes back to church before coming home. I love him more each day because He loves JESUS so much!!!

The Fall!

January 07, 2009

Yes, I said "the fall". It is Wednesday isn't it? And today is weigh in day and I did weigh in. I'll say, "it could have been worse but it was bad enough." I'll just say that I have some work to do. I gained. I gained 4 lbs. I find it hard to even say it. What a powerful word, GAIN! I don't like this word so I have resolved to get rid of this 4 lbs this week. Yes, the pressure is on. I will work out each night and I will watch everything that goes in my mouth! I am not going to beat myself down but rather hit the treadmill running. I watched part of the Biggest Loser last night so I am very motivated. I am going to work so hard and earn anything that I eat. I've had a heart to heart with God and he is my strength so pray for me. I need prayer!

Lessons I've Learned: (1) Never tell yourself that it is okay to take a vacation from good
eating habits! (this is a lie of the devil!)

(2) Be accountable to self. Don't blame anyone else for your failures.
(own them, because they are ultimately your responsibility)

(3) Learn from the experience.
(no more yo-yoing. Recognize what works and
what hasn't and move forward accordingly.)

(4) Prepare yourself!
(Good plans and good decisions bring good results.)

(5) Take care of yourself!
(Serving God & others is my desire but I have to take
care of me in order to accomplish this.)

I hope no one thinks I am preaching to the choir. I am preaching to myself. Each of us make our choices and this choice of weight loss is mine.

Back from Vacation!

January 06,2009

Let me start out by saying Happy New Year to each of you and I pray that 2009 brings you much joy and many blessings from our Father above. I will say that it has been since the 17th of December since I blogged and I apologize. I went on vacation for 2 weeks and just got side tracked with other things. I got out of my daily routines and nothing has been structured. I even slacked off my weight watchers and have been eating as though I am having my last meal. Anyway, coming back to work has it perks. I am getting back into a routine and very much needed the structure back in my life.

I went to weigh in on the 24th of Dec. and lost another 3 lbs. Let me stop here as well. I've probably have put this 3 lbs back on and so come this Wednesday the "scales will tell." I did not weigh in the week of 31st due to being out of town so I will start back in on my weekly weigh ins this Wednesday. I look forward to dropping more pounds in 2009. I've said all along, this is a journey and with the journey comes lessons. Habits have to be formed and you have to allow yourself forgiveness when you fall. Its hard to understand why we indulge in addictive behaviors and we see the train wreck coming but do nothing to stop it. If I could answer the age old question of "why?", I would be the smartest person on earth. Why do we fall into addictive behaviors that only bring severe consequences? Like eating 5 small cheesecake desserts or 6 chicken wings. (I love chicken wings!) Its over now and the New Year begins with a Renewed Motivation! Lose! Lose! Lose!

My family had a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. My mother loved her ring that all the children bought her and she cried when she finally got to the last box. We wrapped her box within boxes so she had to unwrap 8 boxes before she got to her mother's ring. She cried and laughed at the same time and it was well worth the wrapping to see her excitement. You can see from the picture above that she loved her present.

I also received an unexpected present for Christmas. My husband had also purchased a mother's ring for me as well and I love it. It has a beautiful emerald in the middle for Kelli's birthday and a cintrine stone on each side for Nick and Rachael's birthdays. It is neat how Nick and Rachael were born in the same month and made the ring look great! Jimmy calls me his queen now due to a message we heard in Sunday School (way to go T.W.!!) and I call him my King. He has been showing his appreciation to his queen and his queen saids, "Way to go King!"

Christmas Day was spent at my in-laws home and we had a great time of fellowship and food. Jimmy took me out Christmas night and we saw the movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons. I would definitely recommend this movie to the adults. It is a wonderful movie with an awesome story. Brad Pitt does a great job and it would not surprise me if he won an Oscar for his role as Benjamin Buttons. There is one part in the movie that really touched my heart and I burst out crying in the theatre. Everyone there probably thought I was crazy, but my husband understood exactly what I was feeling and took my hand to give me comfort. It is a very short scene between Benjamin Buttons and his real father but speaks volumes. It is truly about forgiveness and unconditional love.

Our trip to Gatlinburg was very nice. We had a total of 22 (including Little Miss Claire) and we had a wonderful time of fellowship with everyone. Claire behaved so well and really did a great job on her trip with such a large crowd. She is saying names now and I love to hear her try and pronounce them. She calls Rachael, Ray-Ray and saids Jimmy and An-gi. She really like Mr. Jimmy's gravy biscuits too! Jimmy and I had a date night and went into downtown Gatlinburg. It was very nice. We played lots of sequence and hats off to my partner, Kim! We Ruled!!

I also learned alcohol swabs are the greatest things for nausea. Stephanie kept one under her nose each time we left the house. (love you Steph!) GPS systems don't always recognize road names and never ever slow down for strangers walking in the road in the mountains, especially when they continue to double in numbers each time you come back!

The Grogan clan brought their wii fit and we played the hula hoop game. Everyone got a try at it and we played it so much, we possibly have broken the hula hoop game. (Sorry Ray & Jennifer)

We brought in the New Year with good friends and good food! We played games and welcomed 2009 with optimism but with some sadness at the departure of Jon Brown to his new job in Asheville. (We miss you already Jon Brown and expect to see you often!!)

And to the completion of this post, I say to my good friend, Jennifer, "did I do well on my paragraphs?" Ha.Ha. (look forward to seeing you at "rib fest")