Taking a look back brings out smiles

As I sit here reminiscing of summer, smiles and happy memories flood my mind. I think it would be fun to revisit the summer. The biggest achievement personally is that I have lost 30 pounds. I started in May 2012 and will continue the journey to loose the last 10 pounds and then maintain what I have accomplished.I went from a size 16 to a size 10...size extra large to medium. Want to know how I did it? Weight loss isn't just a physical journey, it is an emotional, mental and spiritual journey. I had to clean out the cob webs that were standing in my way. I also read the book Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst. I needed Jesus to come an clean out my closets so to speak in order for me to heal and be my best. Then I had to regain confidence that was shattered and start believing what my husband and friends think of me. I became beautiful inside and out. It isn't easy at all, but the outcome is well worth all the pain and tears in between. The other thing our family decided to so was eat a more plant based diet which we started that last summer. We refine it a little more recently and stopped eating so much meat. We love our fruits and veggies. Joe is the biggest meat eater and he said he doesn't miss meat one bit. That keeps us all healthy.

Joe bought his race car! That was a great way to start off the summer. His dream for as long as I can remember has been to race at a dirt track. Thankfully that dream is close to coming true. He is almost complete with it and will start raising Spring 2014. Such a wonderful thing to see my man smile!

                                                  This is how the car came

   This is what the car looks like now after a rattle can paint job!

Speaking of racing, our family fell hard for dirt track racing. We went to about 10 races this season. We enjoyed the times we had together as a family. We all chose our favorite divisions and racers. Next year we will cheering Joe on. I am looking forward to watching Joe on the track!

Once again we had garden, well two gardens. We had some soil issues but al in all it was a productive year. We were able to can and freeze stuff for the winter. I am looking forward to the cold winter months when we can eat fresh produce we put up!

Joe and I celebrated our 15 year anniversary of our first date September 12. we took our kiddos back up to the Washington State Fair so show them where we had our first date, and where mommy and daddy started their relationship. It seems like we have been together 97 years because of everything we have walked through. To be honest, we probably wouldn't change much if had to do it all over again. The bumps and bruises along the way only make you stronger

Over all this summer has been wonderful. The best part is that we bonded as a family, and Joe and I bonded as a couple. We cleared our schedule and really focused on us. We needed to get our family back on track. Our plan worked better then any of us thought. We all grew close and spent much needed time together. Curtis headed to camp a few times. Shayla had to heal from her sprained ligament in her ankle. There was sleepovers and day trips here and there. I am thankful for this summer.