Category Archives: Story Time

Juice Detox day 5

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 3 March, 2014 None comments

And… we are on day 5 of our fruit and veggie detox. My husband called this morning telling me he snuck some sugar into his coffee as he treated himself to his “birthday drink” at Starbucks. :) The cheating has officially begun. :)

Tonight we got a babysitter and my husband decided to tell me he is going to cheat on our date as he really wants steak and sautéed vegetables. So, we are cheating but he doesn’t want carbs. I had a feeling this would come at some point and though I don’t blame him as it can get very tiring to eat the same things meal in and meal out. I am still watching him closely. :)

Zucchini, Carrots and Tofu

Keeping you up to date and on your toes while we embark the remaining 5 days of “juicing” or shall I say cheating? Will he remain strong the next few days or will tonight begin the sinkhole of eating “real” food again?

Stay tuned for the remainder of the 5 days!

Forgiveness Breeds Bitterness

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 3 March, 2014 None comments

F-O-R-G-I-V-E-N-E-S-S

The weight of this word is immensely draining, powerful and liberating. Each of us are in one of these categories. Forgiving to some people may force you to believe that what that person has done to you has now been excused and justified because you took the step to forgive. It seems almost impossible to forgive when they have destroyed you to the core. Unforgiving hearts hold rage and bitterness that grabs ahold of your heartstrings convincing you that they deserve to be treated poorly now that they have wronged you. Ask yourself this: what power does this hold over your life by not forgiving them? Maybe pride, arrogance, control, or selfishness? Really you’ve gained nothing but a bitter heart.

For others, maybe forgiving comes really easy to you. You understand we all make mistakes, we let others down from time to time and we all need forgiveness to help move ahead in life

And for the remainder of you, you may be somewhere in between. Feeling you are a forgiving person only to realize days, months and years later you never really dealt with it and truly forgave them. Now you find it comes up in ways you never expected, leaving you angry that years have passed by and you really haven’t moved ahead.

I’ve seen bitterness take root in a few people and the depths of the anger has been extremely astonishing to me how deep the bitterness resides within them. It’s scary to me how much blame is poured on those around them unwilling to accept responsibility for ones own actions truly believing that they are entirely innocent. Unforgiving hearts lead to immense anger and blame and at that point it gets scary!

Forgiveness is very challenging and can vary depending on the depth in which you’ve been wronged. You know, Christ was the ultimate sacrifice; forgiving the very men who spat on Him, beat Him, tantalized Him, and even crucified Him. After reminding yourself of this, how than can you justify not forgiving your enemy? Forgiving does NOT mean they haven’t sinned against you or that they are right in their actions and are free to continue to treat you poorly. Forgiveness must come from Christ allowing him to heal your heart of the pain that comes with it and without expecting something in return. You are NOT responsible for them or for their actions, you must forgive to continue to grow your own heart and walk with Christ free of guilt and shame, free of bitterness and anger.

Thanks to thiskalidescopeheartofmine.com

Thanks to thiskaleidescopeheartofmine.com

Moment of Truth: Who have you not forgiven that you know needs your forgiveness? If you are struggling with the pain from this person, seek the Lord and ask for help to forgive them without holding expectations that they will become someone different; someone who treats you properly. Ask for guidance to become the person God has created you to be without holding a grudge on your loving enemies.

Thought of the day

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 2 March, 2014 None comments

I heard it once said: If you are running away from something in your life you will be running even more when you get to your eternity.

Which running are you doing; running with good or running with evil? What running do you want to be doing when you hit eternity? Run to the Lord and you won’t have to worry about your eternity. Don’t allow all the opportunities to pass you by for your own pleasure. Flee from evil. If you’re living in the midst of the muck and the mire it is NOT too late to run for the right things; things that make you happy, peaceful, and ultimately leads you to perfection with Christ one day. Your second chances are running out, Lord willing I pray I see you all in eternity in our pure, perfect heaven with Christ.

Thanks to bridgerun.com

The Juice Detox Begins…

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 1 March, 2014 None comments

Ten days of juicing has officially begun…my husband has decided to take a detox including only fruits and vegetables. Seeing as he is doing this and I am the cook around here, I kind of began the detox as well since that’s what is being eaten and I am his biggest supporter. I don’t want to be mean and cook tasty treats while he’s around. And naturally having a lot of fruit in the house, that’s what I gravitate to. I wasn’t necessarily desiring to do this detox but I pretty much stick to it besides breaking the detox at lunch for some carbs in a sandwich or with eggs and toast. I feed Cooper his usual meals but we all drink the shakes and come dinner we all eat veggies and fruit in some fashion or another.

Drinking smoothies and eating vegetables as well as cooking them and eating them raw seems to get old. You can only make them taste so different without using seasonings that include sodium. The shakes are the best flavor and tend to fill us up pretty well. Although when you cut everything out of your diet that quickly, you begin cravings pretty instantaneously and not only are you cravings a juicy steak but the unhealthy fatty fast food burgers and fries. Trying to fight those temptations while you are eating sautéed Brussels sprouts and mushrooms is not an easy task.

So today I set out to find something tasty for dinner tonight and succeeded. I decided to make homemade black beans for a bean burrito bowl minus the tortilla. Yay for something more filling and not just a typical bowl of sautéed veggies.

We are currently on day three….it’s progressing but there are seven days remaining. How will my husband handle the next few days? Will he cheat on his detox now that the weekend has come? Stay tuned and see what happens….

Who I used to be…

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 28 February, 2014 None comments

I was remembering today of who I used to be. As a child all growing up I held so tightly to my mistakes. When I would get in trouble with my parents for some reason I could not forgive myself afterwards. I held on to the guilt and shame of my selfish desires not finding release even after my parents forgave me, hugged me and told me they loved me. Something deeply rooted in me simply couldn’t move past my worldly sin. It didn’t matter where or what we were doing, I held my attitude so closely it became my best friend. I hated myself for it, but I couldn’t seem to let go. I would ruin the entire day over something so small because “gosh darn-it I messed up so the day is ruined.” These were my thoughts and my actions as a small child.

Yes, this was me as a child!

I was a very determined child and still am very determined. My mother used to say “determination is a very good thing when used in the right way.” I would get so red in the face because clearly I wasn’t using it properly at the time.

Fortunately, what I know now is that I constantly mess up, say the wrong thing and put my wants above anyone else. Selfishness is rooted deep within all of us. I couldn’t grasp this concept when I was younger.

I’m not quite sure when I learned to let go of my sin, what’s been done is done and to let go and not ruin the rest of the day. Asking for forgiveness is the first step. To be honest I may have dealt with this since I was 26 years old. I’m not sure if getting pregnant or giving my life to Christ was that magical point in time. I do know they probably are correlated.

This previous memory had been forgotten, tucked away in one of the many boxes of life that was to be dealt with, moved on and left behind. Today it really hit me hard how deep our sin takes us and the choices that come from our sin. I’ve learned being married and having a child that I sin throughout the day as that is part of our “makeup.” The joy within this is the great peace and forgiveness Christ has lavished upon us. We are His children and He is ours. He is our Father! He forgives and forgets unlike us.

As I look back pondering these moments from my childhood, I am beyond thankful and blessed that when I lay my head on my pillow at night regretting the little battles I picked with Cooper or the attitude I struck up with my husband, I know I can forgive myself and allow a new day to come. Letting go of my shame and guilt and most of all reminding myself that God forgives me and continue to learn how to accept this great gift. The joy of remembering this distance challenge that at one point controlled my life is now but a memory.

Moment of Truth: Take a piece of your past that you continue to struggle with and allow God to come in and wash it away. Forgive yourself knowing Christ has already forgiven you! Now that’s a blessing within itself.

Opps!!!

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 22 February, 2014 None comments

A total mom moment. Unfortunately this shows how my day went yesterday. A bit crazy!

Bath time

Mommy please take my socks off.

Please mommy!

Yay! Socks off and lots of playing to do!

Houseboat Livin’

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 20 February, 2014 None comments

Did any of you know that we live on a houseboat? My husband for years has said how he would love to live on a houseboat and live a simple life. Well when we met he did not live on a houseboat, he was living in a nice house in the suburbs of Portland. Recently we moved and yet again, it was not to a houseboat. His desire still remains and he would love to fulfill this dream and to be honest, I’m not sure we ever will. Although, the closest we may come to that is probably right now. With all the rain the last week or so on top of the mass amount of snow we received, I think my husbands dream has finally come true.

Thanks to saveourhouseboats.com

We are living in a house that is floating on water, filled to the brim with water and yet I must say our house was not designed for this task.

Recently, before the snow hit the rain began. Portland is notorious for rain and to be honest, it’s never really bothered me. When the snow decided to flake down I thoroughly enjoyed the change as I grew up with a lot of snow and have missed it for quite a few years. The 2-3 day span of snow is just enough for me to enjoy it and wish it gone. When the snow vanished it literally vanished so quickly we didn’t have time to worry about driving in it. Unfortunately soon after the snow, the rain set in. We’ve been in a “storm” for the last few days and it will continue for another three days.

You maybe wondering why I am giving so many details on our weather forecast as I am not a weatherman. :) Well- as much as Californians are yearning for rain due to the drought they are in, I’m yearning for it to stop. I could probably ship enough water down to cover all California to help rid the drought from our house alone. Okay not really, but pretty close. Our house is a cold, murky swimming pool. Right below my feet lies a swamp that I would prefer to not know what all lays within this swamp. I know my toad is down there croaking happily, but apart from him- I’m not too sure. Our crawl space has turned into a large swimming pool.

My husband and I opened up the crawl space a couple of weeks ago to find about 6 inches of water below. After the snow hit and the rain began, we have roughly 8-10 inches of water now. It’s an eerie feeling to open up the closet floor in our bedroom to see this site. Sleeping above a flood is not necessarily a peaceful nights sleep for me.

When we purchased our house we purchased during peak season- SUMMER! No rain to be had, dry as a bone was our crawl space. Our first rainy season has proven to be beyond messy and expensive. We are in desperate need of a French drain. Desperate need my friends. Our yard is puddle after puddle looking entirely messy and ugly but that’s just the outside of the real problem.

Immediate action must take place. Our excitement to fix this problem has been beyond ecstatic that we have pushed it off for quite some time. ;) Well low-and-behold this wasn’t our only problem. The morning of my husbands birthday we woke up to our plumbing acting up. Every toilet, sink and bathtub decided they wanted to act up. They quit flushing, draining and doing their job. We spent some time buying harsh chemicals they say not to use because they ruin your pipes, well my friends we were desperate. We dumped anything and everything down these drains so that we could clean them out and use them to their full potential. Sadly, this didn’t work.

Yesterday I phoned our ‘on call’ drain guy and asked for immediate service. My husband had just showered in a muddy bath which I am unsure to this minute how he got cleaned; this defeated the purpose of showering. Anyway, they reached our house at 8:15 in the morning and didn’t leave until after 12pm. Was our problem fixed? NOPE!!! $3000 more dollars and it will be…!!! We decided we would try to take on the work ourselves and to try to figure out which task to tackle first; deciding seems to be impossible and expensive. Both jobs together would equal over $11k if we had the work done for us. Both are in desperate need of fixing and time is NOT on either of their sides, or shall I say OUR side.

So here we are a couple of days later and the rain still hasn’t stopped. I’ve worried our paint marker from the drain is going to wash away losing our $300 paint stain on the yard. Let me explain to you the importance of these two marks. The money we spend to have our plumber come out for 5 hours was simply to paint these two marks on our grass. By doing so it indicates the exact location of the pipe and the length of the problem which lays underground. These five hours spent to locate this section was quite expensive for shall we say, paint and it would be an utter shame if the paint washed away. It would probably be the death of me as of right now. ;)

Not sure if any of you know that before you dig anything in your yard, even though it’s YOUR yard, the state must be notified. This is state compliance and could be a massive fine if they found out after the fact. So thankfully our plumber advised me in this matter and this is the FIRST free thing we’ve encountered throughout our entire house problems the last 8 months. Needless to say, I was grateful! You can dial 811 and follow the prompts for your state, don’t miss dial and press 911. :) Basically this company notifies any and all utility companies forcing them to come to our property and survey the land. They mark with different color paints to help guide us where to avoid digging; gas, electrical, water, so on and so forth. We have 5 companies that need to come paint a canvas on top of our greenish grass. They are supposed to be here and finished by Friday at 8:30pm. Praying they abide by this so we can begin our family digging Saturday morning.

Moment of truth: Life simply hasn’t figured out that the ‘problems’ it’s dealt us, has been anything BUT cheap. Or maybe it’s something I’m supposed to acknowledge that never goes away. Either way, pray for sunshine this weekend as my husband and I decide to dig ditches together.

A Toad or a Prince

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 18 February, 2014 None comments

How long does it take for a toad to actually turn into a prince? I’ve been waiting and waiting and being extremely patient as I long for this toad to turn into a handsome prince sooner than later.

You may think I am being a little harsh and not giving my husband any credit, but this actually has nothing to do with my husband. :) We have an actual real live toad living in our house. That’s right- I said it. There is a toad living in my sons room. He only croaks when Cooper is sleeping during the evening or during his precious naps. For some odd reason he enjoys being quiet all day long when the noise is thrashing through our house and begin croaking more loudly when Cooper decides to calm down for the day.

Thanks to abovetopsecret.com

I must say I believe he hibernates a bit; croaking more softly and doing less leaping when we had our big snow storm or when the weather decides to be extreme as it has lately. He follows the typical patterns of a toad but will not change his scenery, he plops himself down directly below my sons room allowing for an intense, loud, obnoxious croak. I believe he is in the crawl space but I must say he is extremely loud, I have questioned MANY times if he resides in his room itself. Every time I sneak around tiptoeing very quietly he immediately stops croaking when I open the door wide enough to walk in…so bazaar. It’s almost as if he sees me or the light begin to enter the room that he decides to shut up.

I had to take a video because I was almost 100% positive my husband may think I’ve lost my marbles and gone crazy. Check it out: (video will post soon)

When oh when will he turn into a prince? I long for this day but how can it be so when he sits in one lonely spot all by himself day in and day out; he’ll never find his princess. :(

Maybe I should embrace his loud lonesome croaking as he seems to think we must enjoy it. I’m not quite there yet, but maybe one day, as time passes by, he and I will be friends.

Stay tuned…..

Little Cooper Man

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 14 February, 2014 None comments

Oh the sweet sounds of a toddler filling the backseat while we drive through town. The precious coos and tiny giggles that have officially transitioned a great deal into small words and loud laughter filling the air with his precious voice. My loves only grows deeper as each day passes. Just when I thought I couldn’t love any deeper, any harder, or anymore, I am utterly surprised as each day approaches and the depth of my love that continues to take place.

My reality of losing my baby has been very tough for me; the snuggle time, gazing at my precious sleeper, the little smiles and tiny fingers has officially passed. My little baby is only growing and becoming a delightful little toddler. I am beyond surprised how much he has grown over night; literally over night. His vocabulary has flourished since yesterday. His interactions with me has become so much more “conversational” I use this word lightly, but the depth of this little personality and humor has just begun. We are barely scratching the surface of this amazing, gorgeous, precious, sweet, humorous, silly, goofy, lovable, huggable and kissable little one.

The little things are the greatest things to me. I realize how much he has learned and the growth is immeasurable. He continues to surprise me.

This morning while driving to church I hear little words coming from the backseat. I kept hearing “ah, ah, ah, ah” and as I look back in the mirror he is signing “more” as I have taught him sign language beginning when he was 5-6 months old. He has mastered the basics. Trying to figure out what he wanted more of I was quite unsure as he hadn’t eaten anything since being in the car. I ask if he wanted his milk and he quietly says “yup…moooo.” (moo is the best he can do for milk) A few miles down the road I hear “mama, mama, mama” and as I glance back I see him reaching out his hand trying to hand me his milk. He had finished drinking and instead of tossing it on the seat next to him, as he used to, he has learned to hand me things when he’s done with them. I was beyond shocked as I realize how much he is advancing and how quickly it all falls into place. This moment gave me joy that I absolutely love and couldn’t fill without him.

Yesterday he loudly shouts “UP!” and uses it all the time. It was so precious last night how he signs “please” and shouts “up!”

Last night at dinner daddy and him were playing games and he was shouting “UP!” as daddy tossed him into the air. The giggles that came from this overly joyous baby simply melted my heart. “This is all I need in life” I think to myself.

I love these two men more than words can describe. I am beyond grateful to watch my little boy grow and develop and continue to snuggle with me praying that never goes away. He’s a little lover and loves to give love and kisses.

I love you Cooper John!

Devastation

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 13 February, 2014 None comments

The fear pierced my heart to the core when I received a message “can we call you and Michael at 6:30 tonight?” I knew instantly that something was horribly wrong. Never receiving that type of message with out a preface that everything is okay, not to worry. I immediately flushed with fear as I was trying to gather my bearings while Cooper joyously played in his highchair with finger paint. Immediately he gathered something wasn’t right with his mama and he became more aware of his surroundings. Finally I calmed myself down making a mental note that I couldn’t change the circumstances; what I was going to hear 4 hours from now was absolutely out of my control.

My husband came home late as he usually does these days. I had dinner ready and waiting and my little man scurried around the room with a playful tone running from his mouth. The call came and instantly mommy and daddy hit the floor, gasping for air. What we had previously known had changed history forever. This was not a change for the good. The aftermath is now currently rippling down to the many people who would drastically become affected by this one choice. Life forever was changing as we knew it.

Cooper glanced up now and again with a gigantic smile upon his face while moments of confusion began to set in. He would take long breaks to be held by his mama to feel security that even while the tears were flowing everything would still be okay. He longed for comfort and peace. Normality is what embraced our little child while he knew nothing more than simply wanting normalcy. Desiring to place this precious child into bed, we couldn’t take a break at that present moment. Hind sight it always 20/20, he should have been in bed before the call.

Going to bed was not an easy task for me as everything I knew was going to change dramatically and would never be the same again. Fear seeped in. I rebuked it the best I could under the utter shock that has filled my body. Cool sweats woke me from a restless sleep an hour later, “was this a bad dream” I would plead with the Lord? “How do we begin to heal and move forward?” The questions pierced my heart to the inner most being. I woke my husband up in utter fear longing to be comforted while his irritation of his deep sleep had just been shaken. We held one another close as we hoped and prayed for the best. The hours drug on while I laid awake, bleeding from the pain I couldn’t control.

My heart aches as life continually battles around us, the war is raging and we seem to have a massive mountain ahead waiting to be climbed. I guess we must choose to climb this mountain no matter how steep, how cold, how dangerous it becomes; this mountain was in our cards we call life even though we pleaded against it. No way around, we must climb and keep climbing.

Climbing Saint Helens

This “God” we say we believe in sometimes seems to be silent. When life rages around us we tend to think God will be there immediately reaching down to save us from the pit. Unfortunately, I continue to learn that simply because life is messy and ugly, God is still with us no matter the circumstance but we still have to fight our way out. Choices were made, consequences follow. Sometimes it takes climbing that mountain to learn the grace of God. I must tell you, I have struggled myself in wondering why God seems to be silent when I feel I need him the most. The reality is He is there waiting to pick me up and strengthen me when I feel I can’t take another breath. He truly gives me the strength to battle the continual news that is never ending.

I long for the chapter to end to only find that the sequel is waiting to begin. This book is one of the longest books I’ve yet to read or shall I say live. Just when you think it’s over, the pages keep on writing. This story we call life is a never ending book. I believe we all could write an extraordinary series on life that would reach an extensive audience but what’s at the end of the chapter? Are lessons learned, does it end in tragedy, heartache, heartbreak or is this a book that everyone can learn from and say with confidence that this life was well lived and well received no matter the heartache that came?

It seems lately tragedy has hit and hit hard, but I must say there is hope. There are positive and exciting times in life as well. Unfortunately, you are all on this journey with me and this is right where I am…..in the midst of climbing the mountain, looking up at the finish line keeping my eyes on the prize.

Moment of truth: We must experience trial for our souls to be refined and become more like Christ. Keep fighting the fight; persevere.