The Power of Prayer

I've been meaning to post about this all day - even yesterday - but time got away from me.  If we are FB friends or if you follow me on Instagram, you've seen this picture!  This is my sweet cousin who is 27.  Today, she had a 11.5 hour surgery to remove a brain tumor.  You can read more about that situation on one of her friend's blogs here: http://thestateofbeingfree.blogspot.com/2013/10/liz-young.html?m=1.

It has truly been amazing to see so many people pray over her and for her...and for the doctors and for her family.  Amazing.  Today there was a prayer vigil - people signed up for 15 minute increments to be in constant prayer.  I can't really come up with the words to describe it - but I am in awe and overwhelmed by  people's faith and the power of prayer...and especially Liz's steadfast faith and sense of peace through all of this.

I got a text from Liz's sister about an hour ago that said this...

99.9 PERCENT OF THE TUMOR IS OUT AND SHE IS DOING WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY ZERO FACIAL PARALYSIS!!!!!! SHE IS AWAKE, TALKING AND DOING AMAZING!!!!! SURGEONS ARE BEYOND THRILLED WITH HOW EVERYTHING WENT!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!!!! PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM PRAISE HIM!!!!!!!!!!

I am so thankful that the surgery went exactly how the doctors had hoped and anticipated, that there is no nerve damage, and that she is awake and doing well!

To those that prayed for her today, thank you!  And please continue to pray that there are no other effects of the surgery and that she has a speedy and complete recovery!

Mission Get Fit: My Year In Review

Let's face it...getting in shape, losing a few pounds, fitting in those pair of jeans....those are quite frequent goals of a lot of people.  Especially after having a baby - every woman wants to get back into pre-baby shape as soon as possible!  After Jack was born, that was my exact goal.  I wanted to lose about 25 pounds and get in shape.  Never did I think I would be able to accomplish what I have!  Now, don't get me wrong.  I am definitely still a work in progress.  But now...now, I actually enjoy working out!  When I push the kids in the jog stroller, they will play with each other and we work on counting and work on directions and all kinds of fun things (in between me huffing and puffing up the humongous hills in our neighborhood)!  And I have started enjoying running.  Me.  Enjoying running.  Who knew?!  I have done one 5K and am signed up to do another in October.  And my favorite is now Tae Bo!  I love the fast pace and fun music and the fact that each class is different - you don't get stuck in a rut!  You have to pay attention because you never know what move is next!  So, there is the exercise component.

There is also the food/calorie component!  I started using MyFitnessPal last summer and now I love it!  As of yesterday, August 26, I have logged in to the app for a year straight...365 days without missing ONE!!  

You sign up and select all your info (gender, height, current weight, goal weight, typical activity level, how many pounds you want to lose a week, etc) and it tells you how many calories to eat each day!  And because it has already calculated all of that, any exercise you do just means more calories you can eat (which is great on days I want to splurge)!  You can scan items and it pulls up the calorie info.  Or you can search for items and more times than not it is already listed in the app!  Pretty amazing. And oh so helpful.

So, I mentioned my goal was to get back to pre-baby shape.  These are some of my "before" pictures from around this time last year...

...I know I had just had a baby, but sheesh!  It definitely helps me see how far I have come!  Once I hit various benchmarks, I came up with a new goal.  My goal is now to be my wedding weight by my 30th birthday.  Right now, I am 3 pounds away from that goal and have about 2.5 months to go!  I have currently lost 49.4 pounds!  Wow.  That is a lot.

And here are a few "after" pictures...

I never thought I would be wearing a 2 piece bathing suit again!  And it makes shopping so much more fun :) Another upside to me working on getting in shape?  Brad jumped on board too!  He uses MyFitnessPal also, so it helps hold me accountable.  And it has helped him too - he has lost 28.6 pounds!!

I am so glad we can set good, healthy examples for our children.  I want to be healthy.  That is the bottom line.  I like when I can tell my clothes are loose (my bank account, however, does not - I am having to buy all new clothes!).  I like when I can tell I get full so much more easily.  And of course it makes me feel like the hard work has payed off when others can tell how I have changed.

So for now, I am proud.  And I am most definitely healthier.  It is amazing the difference a year can make.  I will report back around my 30th birthday to see what additional progress I make!