Growing in God

So, on August 16, 2017, I had my arm lift surgery or brachioplasty. Going into it, I was very excited, and I had fully expected for there to be some pain and some challenges. I had it in my head that I would be laid up for awhile and things were just going to be challenging for awhile. Well, this has been a way easier experience than I anticipated, and even though it was a pretty major surgery, it hasn't felt all that major. Let me just explain. On the day of my surgery, I went in at around 11:00 and they got me all prepped, hooked me to an IV an things like that. And my plastic surgeon actually has an operating room in his office, so I was at his office, and not a hospital. Shortly before my surgery, my surgeon came in, he drew on my arms and made marks where he was going to do the cutting, and where he was going to do the liposuction. And then after that, I was given the "happy juice" and then brought to the operating room where I was put to sleep. The surgery lasted ...

For those of you who don't know, I work in daycare as an Assistant Teacher in a Preschool room (3&4 year-old's). I absolutely love my job, I really do. I feel like I am where I am suppose to be and like I am right where God wants me. But, just because I love it, does not mean it is always easy. In fact, there are some days, I want to run away screaming. In this post I just want to talk about what it is really like working in daycare. Now lets start off with the best parts of the job. For me, the absolute best part of the job is getting to interact with the kids and helping them grow and learn and become the people God is calling them to be. I love watching them learn and play and get smarter and stronger in everything they do. Also, you never know what a kid will say or do, and sometimes, it just makes you burst into laughter and makes your day so much better. And getting lots of hugs, kisses, and "I love you's" makes it all worth while. And getting to inter...

I got a couple of things I just HAVE to post about. Because both are pretty big things for me and pretty big updates in my life and this whole crazy weight loss journey I have been on. First off, I have a HUGE NSV(Non-Scale Victory) to share. Yesterday(7/14/17) I went to "Michigan's Adventure" with my younger brother and my 9-year-old niece, Sophia. I have not been there for years. And the last time I was there, most of the rides, I wasn't even able to go on because I was too big and couldn't fit. I remember even being tossed off one of the rides and I felt humiliated! I felt so self-conscious and felt like I really wasn't getting to enjoy the park. But this time, I felt so confident and so excited, and I was proud to march up to every single ride and hop on and ride them with absolutely no problem! There was one roller coaster that I never even rode on before because I was too scared and because I knew I probably wouldn't fit. And this time I walked rig...

When you are working to lose a lot of weight, all you imagine is yourself going from this big, ugly, fat person, to this skinny, healthy, pretty person. That is all you think about, and the thought of extra skin just doesn't really cross your mind. Not until you start realizing the problems the loose skin is causing you and until you start really seeing it and realizing what it looks like. That is what it has been for me, just coming across this realization that I have a lot of extra skin, and it is causing me problems. So what does having loose skin truly feel like? Well, I feel like it is something that is kind of hard to fathom until you actually have it for yourself. The feeling I hate the most, is the feeling of the loose skin bouncing around and hearing the sound of it slapping together. The skin also just feels so heavy and makes things so hard on me. So, let me try to talk about what each part of my loose skin feels like. First is my stomach. My biggest problem area. Th...

I decided is probably time for me to update on where I am at in this whole crazy weight loss journey. In total, since beginning this whole process, I have lost 212 pounds. I started out weighing 401, and now weigh 189! So crazy and unbelievable for me. I am able to do so much more, I have so much energy, and I can where cute and in-style clothing that is normal people clothes. Seriously, I now wear a size medium shirt and size 12 pants! Crazy, especially since I used to wear 3X-4X shirts and 30-32 pants! I am so happy with myself and how far I have come. But with all that weight loss, comes the loose skin. I have so much extra skin hanging on me, and I hate it. My stomach skin causes me so many problems. The main thing being back pain. My back hurts all the time, and I try to do things to help it not hurt so much, but it still isn't perfect. The other issue is that I get rashes underneath my belly apron and in my belly button a lot, too.  And they are awful, painful, sometimes it...

At my church we just finished up a sermon series all about transformation. And this particular sermon series really hit home to me as it really made me think about my own life and this crazy journey I have been on in becoming more independent, getting healthy, and becoming closer to God. And it really hit me how much I have transformed and changed. And it made me realize even more how good God is and that he works in the most mysterious and crazy ways. So, let me just tell you all my transformation I have gone through. 2 years ago, I was in such a dark place. I had no job, I was extremely obese and unhealthy, and my Mom was going through cancer. I was doing as much as I could to be helpful to my Mom and I was trying hard to keep myself fairly busy, but it didn't matter. No matter how happy and ok I looked on the outside, on the inside, I was very depressed. I would look at myself in the mirror and see nothing but a fat, ugly, worthless, useless, good-for-nothing human being. I f...

Time to update you all on where I am at in life! It has been awhile don't ya think? So, let me just give ya a brief rundown. First off, I am absolutely loving our new home! The condo is so nice! It takes very little time to get it cleaned, and we live so close to much stuff. I use so much less gas living where we live now and it is wonderful! Plus it is just such a nice and cozy little place to live and I like it a lot. I love this fresh start and I definitely feel so good about our home. There are some things I miss about our old home, but, overall, I love our new home a lot, too! Second, I am getting super close to actually getting my CDA. I have officially completed all of my coursework and passed the class. So, now, I just gotta get all of my materials printed off and organized into a binder to send off to the council to be reviewed. And then from there take the next steps to getting my CDA. I am getting really excited about this because once I get my CDA, I will get a pay ...