Igloo (365-58)

We were pelted with other snow storm.  Granted we aren't getting what the east coast has received, but it's snow.  Rob and the kids went out back yesterday and built an igloo. Rowan and Nadine had a ball. They thought it was the coolest thing. 

They even took out their snacks and ate in the igloo, which is why they had no gloves on in this picture.  Tate was protecting it like it was some kind of national treasure.  He was completely interested in how the kids got inside the snow. 

Katie & Trevor (365-57)

This is my cousin Katie and her new precious son, Trevor Michael! He was born yesterday! We have been anxiously awaiting his arrival.  This morning I spent a few minutes with the two of them at the hospital.  And this is my pic of the day.  Katie's sister, Jaime also had a baby boy just 6 days ago, I haven't seen him yet.  His name is Brady Matthew. 

Fairlane Mall (365-56)

Rowan and I ventured out today to spend the day with Melissa & Izzie. We decided to go to Fairlane Mall, since there is absolutely nothing to do in the middle of the winter in Monroe.  Correction: I'm not sure there's anything to do any time of the year.  I haven't been to Fairlane for a very long time.  The inside is still the same, minus the Elevated Train over to the Hyatt.  That's completely gone and if you hadn't known it was there at one point than you'd never know it existed.  Neither of us took a stroller because mall's always have them to rent, but they didn't. So Rowan and Izzie made a day of walking through the mall and discovering the joy of escalators! They had fun!

It was quite challenging to stick to my diet being out for the day. But I think I did a good job.  The people behind the counters thought I was psycho, but I don't care. I found one that was serving grilled chicken, in way too large of a portion, so I bought it and ate half.  Then I found another that had ceaser salads without the dressing yet, so I asked them to pick of all the croutons and cheese.  Topped it all off with a Ginger Peach hot tea from Coffee Bean!

Catch up (365-54 & 365-55)

Yesterday, we went roller skating for Nadine's school.  Jourdyn did so well helping not just Nadine and Rowan, but also my Daisies that were there.  Rowan absolutely loved rollerskating.  The kids have kids skates. They tighten the wheels so they are basically walking with just a little roll.  Rowan was running! In fact, because they didn't roll that much he kept falling.  But he had a blast. 
Daddy would like to get him on the ice to see how he handles ice skating, so he can play hockey!
Nadine, the drama queen that she is, of course, fell a lot just for the attention of it.  But she did well too!

My picture of the day for today is of our final van load of water, food and baby supplies for ISOH/Impact's Haiti Relief Disaster.  Last week Tina and I sorted this all and prepared it for delivery. Traci and I spent this morning loading this up and taking it to the warehouse, where we were greeted by some great guys who unloaded it all for us. 

We've decided from this point on to focus our efforts on cash donations for Nazarene Compassionate Ministries work in Haiti.

Cedar Creek (365-51)

It's been since Christmas that Rob and I have made it over to Cedar Creek.  We used to go all the time on Saturday nights.  This evening we didn't have anything to do, so we decided to go! The kids love it and there's always great music and an even greater message.   I took this pic with my cell phone.  It turned out quite well I think.  

Right now I'm struggling with my oldest daughter.  I really feel like she hates me.  She has about a month and she'll officially be a teenager and I'm scared to death! We will be going to a concert together for her birthday. We bought Toby Mac and Skillet tickets for her. Then a few weeks later we will go to Gatlinburg for a conference over spring break, where she will see Michael W. Smith and Steven Curtis Chapman in concert! I don't think she realizes that yet.  Hopefully she's excited.  Today, she went roller skating with her friend, Brookelynn and her family.  She fell and her knees are really bruised.   

365-50 - Blue Eyes

Apologies (365-49)

I have to apologize. I have not been carrying my camera as I should so I have not kept up with pictures of the day and somehow my numbering is also off. So I'm going to begin numbering them differently. I think I will do 365-2-18, 365-2-19, etc.  That way I know which day it is!                

Rob is beginning the same diet that I am on.  Today will be his first restrictive day. He's really not looking forward to it.  It will be nice to cook for two instead of one, when I make the food. 

My pic of the day is Rowan. Jourdyn took this with my cell phone from the back seat of the van.  But I thought it's cute!

I have been standing right around 10 lbs for several days.  Yesterday, I broke that barrier again and even went beyond it by .2, however today I gained that .2 back because I used baby powder yesterday in abundance, which is starch.  Yes, our skin absorbs things and whether its fats/oils in lotions, starches in powders, or whatever it can throw off the weight loss program.  Amazing, eh? So I am right at 10 lbs lost. And I'm not complaining!

Busy Weekend

It was a fairly busy weekend around the McQueary house.

Rob and I sorted all the Girl Scout cookies and they have all been picked up! So my kitchen and dining room are looking like they are getting back to normal.

These are some pictures from the Couples Valentine's Dinner that I put together.  My friends, Larry and Evelyn shared their story with us.  It was really good! I firmly believe that we are required to share our stories as part of the Gospel. The Gospel is incomplete without us.  I think Paul in I Corinthians highlights this wonderfully.  I Corinthians 15, verses 3-4 contained the meat of the Gospel message and it is no mistake that Paul points out that what he is telling them is something he learned himself. In fact, if you read through verse 11, you'll see Paul tell a brief synopsis of his life story.  Storytelling is how the OT was passed down for generation to generation.  Storytelling is a part of our lives! It is a part of our life in Christ!

"For what I (Paul) have received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised

on the third day according to the Scriptures."

I Corinthians 15:3-4

These are the roses that Rob gave me for Valentine's Day! Aren't they beautiful? So they are my Sunday picture of the day (365-45).  We didn't do anything out of the ordinary for Valentine's.  We spent the evening at our care group playing games. 

Monday was a great milestone in my journey to a better me.  I hit the 10 lb mark! However, I regressed this morning a little bit, which was a bummer! But I'll get over it! I believe it's water-weight!

CookieTime (365-44)

Cookies have invaded our home!!!! And this is only part of them! Our Daisy troop sold about 1000 boxes of cookies this year! That is awesome for our first year.  I am so proud of my girls. They did a fantastic job! 

Last night and today were filled with tempation.  We had a Girls Night Out last night at Traci's house.  It smelled so wonderful, however, I have no clue how it tasted because I was good and didn't touch a thing!

Today I picked up all these cookies, then picked up the cupcakes for the event I had this evening. And to top it off spent the evening at the Spaghetti Warehouse. I did this all without touching a thing! I took apples to snack on at the restaruant.  It was a great night.  And I am very proud of myself for not cracking under pressure!

Ronda and I planned our Valentine's Dinner & A Story! It was fantastic.  We share a dinner together and then on couple shared their story with the group! We gave out awesome doorprizes and lots of laughs together!

Variety (365-43)

I have lost 7 lbs in the last 4 days!!!! YEAH!!!  Yesterday, I began to add a little variety to my protein choices.  I ran out to Rohr fish and picked up lobster, mahi-mahi, fresh shrimp, and tilipia.  My pic of the day is my lobster creation from today! Sauted onions & lobster with fresh garlic and italian herbs! It was fabulous!!!! I absolutely feel great! My shirts are already visibily fitting differently! As well as my pants! I've resisted things like pizza and fast food! We even made cookies today! And I was good! I love seeing those numbers decrease in the morning too much to give in!!!

Nadine came home today with all her Valentine's candy! Ugghh!!! Tomorrow is going to be a hard day! I have a couple's dinner that I've planned and we are eating out at the Spaghetti Warehouse and my friend has made us wonderful cupcakes for dessert! All of which I cannot eat!!!!! So I will watch everyone else chow down on delicious food. Like I said, though, its worth it when I see the scale in the morning.

We delivered another van load to ISOH/Impact for Haiti today.  That makes our third trip.  The need is still so tremedous.  I'm saddened a bit by how it seems to already be fading from our memories and our daily lives.  No lives in Haiti have gone back to normal, yet we've continued life as usual up here.  So we are continuing to collect items and delivering them as we are able!

Another update: I have sent out my completed application packet for chaplain candidacy endorsement to Kansas City. The Church of the Nazarene Global Ministries Center is there and I have to have their endorsement before the Air Force can consider me for Chaplain Candidacy.  I should hear something within a couple of weeks!

Snow Day #2 (365-41)

Being a Timothy...

"A friend is someone who, when you forget your song, comes and sings it for you."

Over the past week, I've had a few conversations with some of my dearest friends and even with a woman pastor/chaplain that I have never met in Kansas City.  In those conversations, I was able to open my heart, talk about my struggles and my journey.  Each of these dear women giving me support, encouragement, validation and guidance. 

While my denomination supports fully and recognizes fully the call of God on women's lives, that doesn't mean that the journey a woman takes is the same as a man's.  Not considering the problems that exist in the protocol already, there are what seems like an endless chain of hoops that have to be jumped through for a woman to "prove" her calling.  Of course, these aren't written in stone or in the manual, but they are faced by every woman I have met that is in ministry.  And most men, would immediately tell me I'm wrong.  But I'm not. An example: I've been working at this all officially since 2006, I now have my district minister's license.   And I am patiently waiting for an assignment, have been for 3+ years.  A gentlemen in our church, decided to become a pastor, he was given his Local license in April (has no education or training) and has already been approached by District superitendents for pastorates in VA.  Examples like this could be listed probably indefinitely. 

I am just feeling like all that I have gone through, my time, my money, my efforts, my heartache...has all been a waste of time.  Oh, it is definitely not a waste in God's eyes. I know that I am called and that He has a purpose for me and that I am obiedently following Him.  But I feel that no one cares. No one cares to help me do what God's calling me to do.  When I force the issue, I get responses but what's it worth if I had to force the hand? Should they not be eager to help their up-and-coming leaders to be the best they can be, to have the experience they need, to be encouraged and supported?  

So I've been reading this book, 11 Indispensable relationships you can't be without, by Leonard Sweet.  I would recommend this book to anyone! It is life-changing.  I've been crying a lot, praying and asking God just really what am I supposed to do. Why are my feelings and experiences not being validated? Am I wrong for feeling this way? Well, like a message from God Himself, I read these words last night. 

"What Timothys need most is 'sounding boards." Superstring physics defines matter very simply: You and I are 'vibrating strings of energy.' We are string instruments...sounding boards by nature. Life plays those strings, and the notes of life are your thoughts and emotions. That's the danger of holding things in and keeping the notes to yourself. Those notes have to burst forth in song, and if they don't burst forth in song, they burst forth and explode in destructive ways.
     Neglected strings break when finally played. Some people never get the opportunity to play their song...so we medicate our numbness rather than play the song we've been given. The process of being a Timothy is a gradual revelation of the song your life is composing...that one-of-a-kind, unrepeatable, irreplaceable song that only you can sing. But Timothys need sounding boards to find their songs.
     Remember the Winnie the Pooh story about losing his song? He gets his friends to go on the hunt for his song and then he finds that his song is within him.  Too many Timothys are being told to 'play the part' of corporate Christendom: Sing all six verses from the hymnal. 
     Instead, the song of the gospel is a ballad of daring, mold-breaking, lie-rejecting, life-giving dissonance. Holy dissonance."

This is all in reference to the relationship between Paul and Timothy in the New Testament.  Sweet is saying that we all need to be a Timothy, an apprentice to someone, and that we all need to have a Timothy.  In reading this, what I have realized is that the people that I've needed the most have not been a Paul to me, for some reasons in their control and for some not in their control. It is really like I have not existed. I've been a Timothy, an apprentice, with no Paul or opportunities to find my song, for my strings to be played.

Now you'd have to read the book to understand that Timothy is just one of the eleven indispensible relationships that we must have.  But I would be testimony to the necessity of having that Paul/Timothy relationship in your life.  And please don't misunderstand. I do have Paul's in my life. I have caring people who encourage and mentor me. However, there are those people that I need within leadership, both local and district, that just haven't been there.

A massage???

Nadine drew wrote this tonight and I thought it worthy of an additional post. 

Snow Day

Our school district had its very first snow day today! When we woke up there wasn't even snow on the ground yet! They cancelled in anticipation for the coming storm.  And boy, has it come! In fact, every school in the area closed today.  Businesses are closed and events have been cancelled all over town.  

My pic of the day (365-40) is one of my Blue-Jays stocking up for the storm. The wind was blowing pretty hard. He was having a really hard time holding on.  I haven't seen them in a couple of weeks. They've probably been here, I've just missed them. But their feathers are much brighter than before, is this a sign of winter or of spring being around the corner??? I don't know!

 I put a ticker at the bottom of the page for updates on my progress.  I feel really good! I didn't think I would feel this great. Being only my second day of the restrictive diet, I didn't expect to be full when eating my lunch and dinner!

Lunch: 3 oz of chicken breast with Franks Red Hot, about a cup of cabbage (boiled w/salt & pepper), 1 melba toast and 1 cup of organic strawberries, sliced with Stevia to sweeten them. 

Dinner: I got a little creative! 3 oz of chicken breast boiled, 1 1/2 chicken broth boiled with a cup of celery, salt & pepper.  So it was chicken noodle soup minus the noodles and onions.  I chose to stick with my strawberries for dinner as well, since they were so good! And of course, my one piece of melba toast.

I've discovered that I like organic green tea.  I don't like Lipton Green Tea in the bottle, so I was hesitant to try hot green tea. But it's great! I'm learning to drink my coffee nearly black, instead of nearly white.  And I'm wondering what I ever did without Stevia. 

Jourdyn has been hovering over my meals, wanting to eat what she can of them.  Right now, I am cooking and eating before I cook and feed my family.  I think this is the best way. I am one of those eat what's in front of you type of girls and I know if I wasn't already full, I would be licking my fingers, sneaking bites of no-no foods! So this is working for now!

I was excited to see that I have lost 3.4 lbs already! YEAH!!!!! Can't wait for tomorrow!

First Meal (365-39)

This was my first meal on my journey to weight loss.  A granny smith apple, a melba toast, 1 c. asparagus and about 3 oz of chicken.  I sauted the chicken in my non-stick pan, added a little water and some herbs.  It was a very good meal. My dinner was sauteed shrimp w/tomatoes, an orange and a melba toast!

Today being my first really restrictive day, I've realized already how much I snack and graze throughout the day.  It is a conscious choice to not do that and it takes will power!

Man Vs. Food (365-38)

It's Super Bowl Sunday!!!! For guys that might mean something. Heck for girls it might mean something, but for someone who doesn't watch pro-football, it really doesn't mean anything other than a great party and funny commercials. And really this year I didn't even watch the commercials!

The party was a Man Vs. Food Hamburger party.  It was quite funny the guys were outside deep frying just about anything they could get there hands on - french fries, cheesecake bites, mac n cheese wedges, and much more.  At the same time they the grill going outside and the griddle going inside.  They blew fuses, set off smoke alarms and just all around had a fun night proving how manly they were, in there ability to eat hamburgers as big as my pic of the day! (365-38) I don't even want to count the calories contained in this beast of a burger! It's bun consists of texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches. In between those is two burger patties, a fried egg, bacon, onion, jalapenos, BBQ sauce, and I'm sure much more. We ladies were ready to vomit at the sight of them.
 
There were no massive heart attacks and it was all done under the supervision of several nurses and an ER doctor!  The ladies hung out with the kids. We chatted and ate somewhat more appealing food creations throughout the evening. 

These are just a couple of the people we journey in life with at this point - Brian, Brandon and Tim.  But I have to give you another picture of Tim because it was just hilarious! He was serious about eating him a beastie burger!  It's amazing how competitive guys can get over food! And how their manliness has to be proven by the amount of food they can intake in one setting! Oh, well! They had fun! We came home at about 8 pm because Rob has to work tonight and the kids have school in the morning. 

I said this yesterday, but it is so great to this journey called life with other people.  We were created to be in relationships! And that just thrills someone like me, because I love people!!!!

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,

but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)

Lifeline Community Dinner - February (365-37)

"You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the

same way, let your light shine before othrs, so they may see your good works

and give glory to your Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:14-16

This evening was the February Lifeline Community Dinner at the North's home.  My pic of the day is a picture of their house as we left.  Rob wasn't able to go this time, so I rode along with Char and a couple of her kids.  The food theme was italiano! It was good!!!

It is indescribible to be in a place of community, a place where you feel as if you are part of something bigger than yourself, a place where everyone's passion is about loving others, justice and equality in God's eyes.  I can't explain it but as you begin to talk to someone you've never met, it's only minutes before you feel as if you've known them for years.  The North's are truly people who can from all I've seen say, believe, and live out the reality that nothing that we have is ours; it's God's.

A couple of guys came and played music.  I was able to videotape one song, but the audio isn't very good for some reason. I apologize.  The little boy in the video is Chance! He's such a cutie.  He was opening the door for everyone and showing them where to put their coats.  He is going to make an excellent greeter one day! Heck, he's great now!!!

Make a Smilebox collage

A Journey to a better me...

Tomorrow I will embark on a journey towards a healthy, thinner, more fit me! I'm excited! I even had to buy a new scale (365-36), since I through mine out years ago.

I'm inviting you to take this journey with me. I am going to see if I can add a bar on the side that records my weight loss over the coming months.

If the diet I've chosen works, I'll tell you about it in depth. Wish me luck! My goal for right now is to lose 30 lbs. and see how that feels and looks on me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rowan and I finger-painted today! This was his first time! It is amazing to watch him and sometimes quite funny. He didn't want to get dirty. I put paint on his face and he was upset with me. I've noticed this before in other things but right now he is my neat freak. He can't stand to be dirty. Well, he likes it in the moment, but immediately needs to clean himself up.

(I've also began to use labels. I'm not really sure what that does but thought it might help organize this thing a little bit)

Nadine's new look (365-35)

Well, it's been a long time coming, and today was the day! After school we took Nadine to the salon and had her hair cut! We were going to go with a pixie cut, but the stylist thought she was too blonde for that. We may still if we end up not liking this cut, but it is adorable and it makes a great pic of the day!

Hope Community hosted the District Sunday School Teacher's Appreciation dinner this evening, being that I am a Sunday School teacher, Rob and I were invited to the event. It was catered by Spaghetti Warehouse and we had cheesecake for dessert! Our teens served us our meals and cleared our tables. They also performed for us. They are going to BLAST in March and hoping that this performance will take them all the way to regionals in June. Jourdyn is a part of this, although it's impossible to tell who she is. (She makes part of the U and the L!)

This was choreographed by one of our teens, Alex and one of our college kids, Ana! It's phenomenal!

The keynote speaker this evening was Rick Harvey, a pastor from Cincinnati. Rick spoke about the most important things in our lives. When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was He responded "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'

We try to make our journey so tough these days. We add clutter and we frankly tend to be self-absorbed. God never intended it to be that way. The most important thing to Him, really the only thing that ultimately matters is loving God (being in relationship with Him) and loving others the same way we love ourselves (being in relationship with others.) It's not the loving others that gets us. It's the loving others the same way we love ourselves that's hard. We take care of ourselves. We make sure we are fed and clothed, that we have the latest and greatest things, that all our needs are met. Yet when it comes to others we most often give them our scraps. For example, hearing about a need for food, and instead of giving the same we would eat, we clean out our pantries and give the things that we've refused to eat. (Sometimes things that are expired, but hey, if they're really hungry they'll eat it)

The greatest commandment is love God. The second greatest is to love others. That's it, yet we get so caught up in the things that Jesus himself didn't care to count as the most important.

What's up with kids today...

Picture: 365-34, Rowan's funny faces. Rowan is quite a goofy boy! He can be a ham if he wants to be.

This afternoon as I was doing my Bible study (beginning a new one Breaking Free by Beth Moore) I heard a bunch of noise. At first I thought it was just the neighbor kids, but then I got up to see why it was so loud. There were about 20-30 teenagers in my neighbors backyard with video cameras and cell phones recording a fight.

I called 911, however, someone in the backyard had come out to the front yard and flagged down a cop already. The police came and the onlookers scattered. Apparently they told the cops it was a UFC type fight, not a real fight. However, it was a real fight and planned all day long at school.

Rob went out and told them to stop and they were idiots, since we live 200 feet from the police station. He also asked them if they realize that they would all be held accountible if something happened to one of the boys and they videotaped and egged it on instead of stopping it. None of them cared.

It is just ridiculous. I don't want my kids to grow up in a world, where there is no respect for life or for each other. One of our nieces, a sophomore was out there egging this thing on, in fact it was her boyfriend or her friends boyfriend doing the fighting. I don't get it. I suppose I never will.

Idaho Trip Pictures

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It was a great four days in Idaho! I am glad to be home, but also sad at the same time that our time there couldn't have been longer. It was great to have my sister and nephew out there with me. We haven't been together as a family like that in a really long time. In fact it has been nearly four years since we were all together.

Jim is doing good, relatively speaking. I praise God that we were able to venture out for this trip. It was definitely needed and I suppose somewhat therapeutic for Jim to have his daughters out there and other grandkids.

There are lots of pictures. Mostly people shots. Not too much scenery. I cannot wait until our visit in May.

Home for a Surprise (365-33)

We have all arrived home safely! Yeah God! It was horrible in Iowa, we ended up stopping for the night because of the snow and ice.

When I arrived home my hubby had a surprise for me....my diploma arrived while I was gone!!!! He framed it and everything! So this is my pic of the day!!!