Tag Archives: love

Be Doing A Seven Minute Workout

Last night Sexy Neck and I started a twelve week challenge to try to get a tad more healthy and “move or lose it”.

I have gained thirty pounds in the last five months. Sexy Neck has been nursing a sore back and trying to recover from Achilles surgery. Here is the story. It is time. The clock is ticking.

Back in May, the New York Times picked up a story from a health journal talking about the benefits of a structured seven minute workout. You do each exercise for thirty seconds, you don’t needs any fancy equipment and after seven minutes of pain um hard work, you are done!

20131021-133432.jpg

Sounds good? I will let you know.

Here we are last night after day one:

20131021-133438.jpg

Summary: There was a lot of groaning, sweat and muscular fatigue. Today, I am having difficulty lifting my tea mug and walking up stairs. It was incredible to workout with my man, like the ‘olden’ days. It was worth every one of those seven minutes.

*We decided to do it twice! Who’s idea was that? We also included a warm-up, stretching and some kegels and Achilles exercises for each of our individual programs.

Here’s the boys working out with dada doing squats. CC exclaimed: “Look at my muscles I just got!”

20131111-185642.jpg

Be an ‘Old’ Friend.

A friend sticks close no matter the weather.

A friend tells you when they are in town even if they can’t see you.

A friend uses her professional singing voice to sing your boys a bedtime song.

A friend drives ten hours on their holidays to come help you.

A friend asks about your mom and listens to the answer.

A friend loves you AND your family no matter the behaviour.

A friend bakes spelt buns just because.

A friend delivers food to the hospital and home.

A friend phones to check in, but doesn’t say “how are you?” because this makes you bawl your eyes out.

A friend cries with you when you get the prognosis.

A friend lets them hug you for a long time.

A friend pray unceasingly, even if it is the same prayer over and over.

A friend helps even if you haven’t seen them in twenty years or two hours.

A friend brings wine.

A friend climbs a mountain one day and walks with you another day.

A friend loves.

A friend is lovingly brutally honest.

A photo of just a few of our dear friends that have touched our lives and kept us strong through this time of change.

20130924-185951.jpg

20130924-190016.jpg

20130924-190113.jpg

20130924-190119.jpg

20130925-211843.jpg

Mom started her third chemo yesterday. She is struggling with nausea, eating and the extreme fatigue. Surgery is booked for October 31st in VCity.

20130924-190101.jpg

Be Eating Together

My mom has always been incredible at celebrating little and big things as well she has established amazing family rituals.

My mom has:
-volunteered in my boys schools,
– done many pick-ups,
-watched most activities they do,
– buys back to school clothes,
– every holiday the boys receive something,
– birthdays are a big deal,
– mom even makes a quilt when the boys move into their big boy bed. She is working on OC’s right now with help from her friend Audrey.

How does she do it?

I have to admit I do have a favourite mom ritual: eating together at dinner. This usually involves a bouquet of flowers, homemade quilted placemats, nicely set plates and utensils and a yummy homemade meal including a dish of olives that my boys sneak and gobble up even before dinner begins.

On Sunday, we had our first meal in our new house with mom and dad. (We bought it on May 10th)

I just love these two people to the moon and back. It was amazing to have them for both lunch and dinner.

Between meals, mom rested on the couch or on the Nana Cabana outside.

I really feel that a family that eats together, stays together. I wonder what the stats on that are?

20130915-233135.jpg

I even phoned a friend and learned how to poach an egg for mom. My foodie friend wasn’t home, but her observant husband was able to give me the details after watching his chef wife all these years. Go Jimbo!

20130915-233145.jpg

20130915-233152.jpg

20130915-233158.jpg

Be Going for a Walk

I have managed to gain over twenty pounds in the last three months. Quite a feat as this is approximately how much I gained during my nine months of pregnancy. And no I am not pregnant this time around for those wondering folks.

I am happy to say that mom’s weight has stabilized in the last two days. She also ate pizza with us tonight. We had to replace the tomato sauce with pesto and she gobbled it all up. (Tomato is hard on her mouth, esophagus, stomach.)

After dinner, mom rested while we played downstairs. Then JC convinced Nana to go out for a walk. No sooner did I have my shoes on then mom and JC were at the end of the road and into the field overlooking the lake.

Beautiful.
Peaceful.
Incredibly inspiring.
Going for a walk.

20130913-211438.jpg

Papa and his OC.

20130913-211448.jpg

Did we hear a snake? Nope just a quail.

20130913-211500.jpg

Super fast CC is hard to get a photo of these days.

20130913-211507.jpg

Now, if my mom can get off the couch to go for a walk, I know that I can at least do that as well. Thanks for the continual inspiration mom.

Be Choosing

Life is about choices. Every day choices.

Yes, we are not apathetic humans chosen by God to be puppets.

We don’t need to continue in a job that kills our Spirit. We don’t need a new house, car, boat… We don’t need to choose to fill our schedules with stuff. We don’t need to zip here and there not even recognizing the people God has put around us.

Every day we have a choice.

Today:

I choose to look for God in my anguish.

I choose my husband.

I choose to love my children.

I choose the peeps I want to hangout with.

I choose nature.

I choose to love where I am. Right now.

I choose delicious, healthy food.

I choose to move my body, not because I have to, but because I can.

I choose to celebrate all the special moments with gift of my thoughts, time and joy.

I choose to say what I feel and what I want.

I choose simplicity.

I choose forgiveness of those I feel have wronged me.

I choose to live life every day.

I choose hard work. Yup, some days this SAHM stuff ain’t for the faint of heart.

I choose love. Love for my amazing God, my family, my friends, my ‘neighbours’ and for myself.

What will you choose today?

Be Surrounded By God At The Skateboard Park

Before I had my boys, I was never one to frequent the skateboard park.

As I stood at the park today, I realize I was afraid of them because they were an unknown entity. I had a lot of fears as I have gone through my life, but now with mom’s cancer diagnosis, time in the hospital and journey home, these fears are insignificant.

Today, I chose to take my boys to the skateboard park. And not only did I get to see my boys rip around the park in the rain, but God showed me His sovereign love.

God’s love was expressed through the boys freedom to try new things, the grace they give each other when something goes ‘wrong’, and the joy that flows through them as they zip around the park.

20130826-145427.jpg

20130826-145435.jpg

20130826-145445.jpg

20130826-145457.jpg

I don’t doubt that these words were put down in the bottom of the skateboard ramp were put there for me on this day. I also don’t doubt that the only way I can walk through these days is because of the prayers of the saints that walk this earth with me – thank you my saints!

20130826-145504.jpg

20130826-145512.jpg

“Faith. Hope. Love. You are loved!” Thanks for the reminder.

Be Learning Lessons From A Hospital Bed

Be present.

Be making a will.

Be asking people to pray for you.

Be honest.

Be talking about the hard things.

Be enjoying my mom’s breath.

Be letting go of expectations.

Be talking about God.

Be talking about death.

Be talking about poo.

Be real.

Be honest and say what you feel.

Be sitting.

Be listening to and learn from other people’s cancer stories.

Be loving.

Be open to any help you can get.

Be humble and gracious.

Be watching for where God is working.

Be eating even if you aren’t hungry.

Be having a good old cry.

Be asking for a hug and let the other person hold you up.

Be letting God hold you in the palm on His hand.

Be full of faith and trust.

20130813-140302.jpg