Wednesday, May 22, 2013

14 months later...

I won't apologize for not blogging because life has just happened and that's how it is. But I am back and I miss blogging as an outlet and as a place to share my life...even if no one is reading it. :) I have many posts planned that will go more in depth to the following general update, but that will be in the weeks to come. I have updated our info pages with a bunch of new stuff so you can feel free to read there (links in the bar above) to get an idea of where things stand with my family and then stay tuned to read more updates about the boys, homeschooling, my health, and even my pets!

So, from the top down (saving myself for last, though), here goes... Hubs is doing great. Better than great, amazing! He is still working his same job as before but at a higher position which suits him very well. He is happier than he's ever been in his life and he, too, is losing weight and getting fit and healthy. He's down 38 lbs. as of today and I couldn't be more proud of how hard he's worked. He loves going to the gym and has made huge progress on his exercises. He and I recently went on a Marriage Encounter weekend (if you haven't ever been, GO!) and I cannot tell you how much it has changed our marriage. We are stronger together and more in love than ever before and the impact it has made on us both is both profound and permanent. We could and would never go back to the way things were before we went and we are so happy now. God has restored our marriage and therefore our lives and family; He is so good.

Goober is finishing up 5th grade, his first full year doing school at home. About a month ago I did an assessment on him and discovered he's reading at a high school level, and in every other subjects he scored in mid-to-high sixth grade level. He is a smart boy! He began homeschooling the end of 4th grade and it is a decision neither of us has regretted. Homeschooling has been so good for him! He is a stronger, more confident kid because of it and he is so happy...happier than ever before. He still enjoys playing soccer and has a new passion for swimming as well. He loves reading and he does it for many hours a day, his favorites being youth fantasy books or Christian fiction novels for young adults. He has a very strong relationship with God that rivals many adult's relationship's with Him and I am constantly in awe of his wisdom and faith. He is truly a great kid who loves God, adores his family, and he's strong, confident, funny, smart and much, much more. He is going to be a great man of God who will do big things with his life and be an amazing husband and father someday.

Bub's progress is pretty remarkable too. He is almost finished with first grade, though in most subjects he's scoring in at least the second grade range, so he's also a brilliant little boy. He loves reading (same genre's of books as Goober but he also loves historical books and non-fictions about just about anything) but his real passion is art. He loves to sit for hours and be creative with whatever materials he can get his hands on. But, Bub's real progress is not academic. We have been working hard-core on teaching him to overcome some of his bigger Aspie difficulties and we (namely he) has been successful in that. Many of his little quirks and idiosyncrasies have been eliminated or at least managed and he is doing so great in almost every way. He is still very socially awkward, but we are working on that too. All in time. I have truly learned so many things about overcoming obstacles and difficulties from him because he handles so many things with maturity beyond his years and makes it look easy when I know that it is, in fact, very hard for him. He is an amazing kid and I am so very lucky to be his mama.

And finally there is me. I am so happy that I didn't know it was possible to be so at peace and absolutely joyous in my life. I didn't know I could love someone like I love Hubs nor did I know I could be loved so completely by someone. We see one another's faults and don't just love each other in spite of them but because of them. We strengthen and balance each other. I had no idea I could be so happy and fulfilled staying home with my kids and homeschooling them. I had no idea God could be so faithful and answer my prayers like He has and I didn't know He cared about me as much as I know now that He does. I didn't know life could be this good. I'm not saying it's all roses and sunshine because it's not. We have hard days: days I want to give up and run away but through it all we have each other and God's love and faithfulness.

I am also happily losing weight and getting in shape. I probably haven't been this "fit" in my life! Even when I was thin (pre-kids), I wasn't in shape and I hated exercise. I started losing weight about 7 months ago as a fluke and it's just gotten better and better since. It started just with managing my stress and trying not to binge eat and later it moved to portion control. Then, several months ago, I started exercising at the gym by doing either water aerobics or walking. Now, I love exercising! I love doing pilates or yoga in addition to the other stuff and as a result I have muscles, stamina, strength, and I've lost more than 45 lbs. to boot! Plus, my health problems have greatly diminished as a result of my weight loss and that is an answer to prayer in and of itself! I feel like a new person who enjoys things I never have before and it is amazing!!

I have also been letting God discover some things about myself I have needed to work on for a while, so I feel like a new person inside and out. It's not about me not being "good enough", it's about continuing to grow and mature and become the person I was destined to be...who He wants me to be. Sometimes His lessons are difficult, but His refinement is essential and lovely and I am doing my best to praise Him for his faith and love for me.

In summary, I am so happy with my life that I sometimes feel like I am glowing. It is an awesome and wonderful feeling to have. :) Blessings to all who read this and I look forward to expanding on some of the above topics later.

*Pardon any errors, I didn't proofread before I sent.*