a thousand blue fish

My darling son Alexander is always asking us to "plis ghelp."  He does it with everything.  It's not that he can't do it alone he just doesn't want to. Alexander is an electrical storm type child.  He is so sweet and loving, but he has the tendency to get so worked up over the littlest things.  His moods can be treacherous (NO to refined sugar!!!!) and he is only able to calm down if we remain absolutely calm throughout.  So when he asks me to "plis ghelp" him drinking his juice first thing in the morning I'll do it. (On the juice:  we juice veggies and fruit every morning.  This way we know that they will get in good nutrients even if they're not interested in eating much the rest of the day.) This morning as I did this God just highlighted that Alexander does not like drinking the juice, but he this does by asking for help.  And I think God was pointing out that we need to learn to ask for help when we find ourselves in tough times or sit...

I eat potatoes.  Everyday for lunch I eat potatoes smothered in butter and salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Oh my, so good! I remember listening in on a conversation at a spinning class years ago.  The discussion was on food and what one needed to eat to lose weight. One of the ladies proclaimed her love for the all-faithful spud.  The instructor told her love was not out of place so long as she never dressed her potato with a sauce.  The poor woman was heartbroken (she was Irish.) This potato diet of mine has helped me lose a mass of weight.  I’ve dropped not 1 but 2 pants size and I’m showing a shape that I don’t recognize. Wow.  If only I’d known that through my brief encounter with an eating disorder, the meal replacement milkshakes, the appetite suppressant drops, the Weight Watchers and Weighless (I am really not bashing the last two, they were just not for me).  How much time have I spent worrying about my body?  How mu...

Hello world... I'm back!!! And I have got news!!!  Firstly I'd love to share with you that we are now a gluten, dairy and sucrose free family!  Woohoo!  In this change Alexander has picked up weight and Emiel and I have lost weight.  Beatrice on the other hand is growing just as she should, beautifully! In other news...we are in the (very overwhelming) process of moving to Japan for a year!  God has done sooooo much in our hearts and I promise I will write a post just on that.  Two Sundays ago our pastor asked us if we'd be interested in going to Japan to teach and get involved with a church there.  My response was to burst into tears.  We WILL go WHEREVER God calls us!  Obviously we said yes.  This Sunday it was confirmed and thus began a VERY overwhelming week.  There are some MAJOR mountains that need moving before we can board a plane to an adventure we feel so called to.  Please, please pray for us and if you want to sup...