Onward and Upward

Well, I did it! I finished Dr. Bart’s 21 DayCleanse. Last Saturday, I drove down to Balance 30A with my manclan, and I had my post-cleanse InBody Analysis. This machine is incredible. It measures your height, weight, itra and extra-cellular water weight, skeletal muscle mass, BMI, visceral fat, and much more. According to the InBody machine, I lost just over 7 pounds over the twenty-one days, dropped one percent body fat, and most importantly, cleansed my gut! As a means of celebration, my manclan and I enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Chiringos on beautiful Grayton Beach. Everything on the menu is organic, grass-fed, and wild caught. I still had two days remaining on the cleanse. So, I opted for the Quinoa And Veggie Bowl with a piece of blackened fish on top, and it was the best meal I had in the entire 21 days! Hahahaha! It was filled with brussel sprouts (one of my new favorite veggies), arugula, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. I literally turned the bowl up and drank whatever juices from the veggies and fish were left. 😋

We had the most wonderful day together. Sometimes the quick trips are the best! Yesterday was the final day of the cleanse, and I had a phone consult with Dr. Bart to discuss the plan for my next 60 days. During these two months, we are focusing on regulating hormones. I will be taking three different Standard Process supplements: Wheat Germ Oil, Chaste Tree, and Symplex F. I will also return to eating a Keto diet, focusing particularly on keeping carbs low, good fats high, and getting enough fiber through plenty of veggies. I will also be upping my exercise routine from every other day to six days a week. Now, I’m not talking about spending hours in a gym everyday, because that’s not my cup of tea. I’m merely looking to get my heart rate up for a good 15-20 minutes. The goal is to burn fat and build lean muscle. I will also continue with my intermittent fasting, which I’m going for my first twelve hour fast today. I had a shake with avocado, spinach, and blueberries this morning at 6am and will eat supper tonight around 6pm. Intermittent fasting is excellent for burning fat, and it helps you enter into Ketosis more quickly.

I’m excited for these next 60 days! I’m already seeing huge changes in my appearance and definitely in my clothes, and I can’t wait to see what changes occur over the next two months. I have some personal goals I would like to reach- lose at least 15 more pounds (that would put me under what I weighed when I got married), get into the cute size 12 white jeans my mom gave me, and start running again. The last one is very important to me! I used to love running. It’s so freeing, and I love being outside. I ran for the first time in 4 years today, and it wasn’t pretty, but I did it! I was only able to run for 11 minutes without stopping, but it was a starting point. I really love all the changes this journey has brought. I find myself dreaming about the end result. My amazon cart is full of swimsuit options and clothes and scrubs in smaller sizes. I love that my skin is clear, eyes are bright, and everywhere I go, people can’t believe the changes. God uses those things to encourage me to keep going. When I stop and think about the fact that I’ve completed a 100 Day Cleanse on the cellular level (True Cellular Detox), made it through the holidays while actually LOSING weight, began my year with another cleanse, and now I’m on to the next phase, which is regulating my hormones, it blows my mind! I’m so humbled and grateful! In case you haven’t figured it out, this isn’t about being skinny for me. It’s about being healthy. There’s a difference! My visit to Balance 30A on July 28,2017, changed my life, that’s for sure! Thanks for reading and check back next week to see how everything is going, including the running.❤️

2017….A Year of Change

Wow! Is 2017 already over? That was quick! This year, for my man clan and me, can best be described as a year of change. It has certainly had its ups and downs, but overall, I would say it was one of our best years yet.

Adam spent the majority of the year doing the job of the general manager at his hotel, and ultimately he was overlooked and passed over for the job. While this news was crushing, he remained faithful, and God gave him a better job with an incredible company, and he didn’t even apply for it. They sought him out! I’m so proud of him and all that he has accomplished professionally this year. He’s truly an inspiration to me, and his faith, patience, and hard work were rewarded in the end. He also led our family spiritually to a new church. This was not easy for me, and I shed many tears, but seeing the spiritual growth in all of us has been incredible. Adam is extremely easy-going, but when he’s passionate about something, you can hear the authority in his voice. I’m thankful for his guidance and most importantly, his love for each of us.❤️

Banks is a 10th grader (I’m still in shock over this!), and Weston is in 4P. The changes in their life were equally as impactful. Banks experienced his first college visit. He has his drivers permit. 😳 He’s taking his first AP class, and I’m happy to report that whatever happens to children from 7th-10th grade has finally worked its way out of his system, I think…Hahaha! Lately, I find myself impressed with his more mature and well-thought decision-making, and he’s truly the best babysitter in the world! He exhibited tremendous character throughout a very humbling football season, and most importantly, he’s grown in his Christian walk over the past six months. We have three more college tours scheduled for the new year, and although these tours make me cry a little, I am truly thrilled to watch Banks grow. He’s a good boy!

Weston goes to school five days a week this year, knows all of the alphabet and what sound each letter makes, and he can count to 50 without messing up. He played his first season of tee ball, absolutely loves to read, and will push a hot wheels car for miles! He found his independence this year. He wants to do everything by himself! He’s an excellent helper and finds joy in helping others. He wants to be just like his big brother and shows that by copying everything Banks says and does. I’m so proud of and thankful for my sweet Weston, and I can’t wait to see how he continues to change and grow.

As for myself, I went back to work full-time, left my family for a week to go on a mission trip, and began my journey to get healthy. My health is, by far, our biggest change. I say “our” because it hasn’t solely affected me. It has changed my whole family. I went from having chest pain, crying all the time, edema, and wearing a size 2XL/22 to exercising 4 days/week, smiling, laughing, losing weight, and currently wearing a size large/14. As I type this, I find myself crying tears of thankfulness. I was sick, and I mean really sick. I’m extremely grateful for my health today. I never want to be unhealthy again! To date, I’ve lost 54 pounds. I did not have weight-loss surgery, nor did I take some magic pill. It was sheer determination and hard work! It was discipline, and I couldn’t have accomplished any of it without the support of my family and my Balance30a family. Walking into that building on July 28, 2017, will go down simultaneously as the hardest and most rewarding day of 2017. It changed my life…It changed my family’s lives!

I fully intend to continue toward my best version of me in 2018. I can’t wait to start the new year by doing Dr.Bart’s 21 Day Cleanse. Have you signed up? If not, there’s still time! I am not sure what Dr. Bart has planned for me this year, but you can be certain that I will give you all the details in my blog posts.

I received The Magnolia Story for Christmas, and I finished reading it last night. I photographed some of Joanna’s words. The top photo perfectly describes what I learned in 2017. “Letting it all go is freeing. I am learning that getting our intentions right simplifies our decisions in life and changes our perspective. And in the end, what it’s all about is thankfulness and contentment.” I let it all go when I cried like a baby in Balance Health Studio that day in July, and I’ve learned through spending more time with my manclan and getting to know a new church family that my perspective has changed, and I am perfectly content and beyond thankful for all the ups and downs of 2017. The bottom photo is how the book ended, and it was clearly my mantra for 2018! “Don’t quit, and don’t give up. The reward is just around the corner. And in times of doubt or times of joy, listen for that still, small voice. Know that God has been there from the beginning-and he will be there until ….The End.” I LOVE IT! I know that 2018 will also haves ups and downs, but I have a Savior that loves me, a husband and children that love me and are healthy, an incredible family, and I’m the healthiest I’ve been in years. So, why give up? Why feel defeated? My plan is to be intentional, thankful, content, aware, and healthy in the new year.

Thank you all so much for reading my blog, and I pray that the new year holds peace and blessings for each and every one of you. Check back next week for my first post about Dr. Bart’s 21 Day Cleanse! Happiest of New Years to you all!🥂🎉

A Keto Thanksgiving

Make it through Thanksgiving without cheating on my diet…✔️

Go out of town for five days and stay on my diet…✔️

I hope everyone else had as wonderful of a Thanksgiving as my family did. We went to Chattanooga to spend the holiday with my brother and his fiancé and her family. It was so relaxing, and it is going down in my book as the best Thanksgiving to date!

The general assumption is that it’s impossible to go out of town and stay on a diet, and you can’t go to a true Southern Thanksgiving without blowing your diet out of the water. WRONG! I knew it was going to be a challenge, but I also knew that I could stay on track with hard work and determination. Dr. Bart had forewarned me that these next two months were going to be the hardest yet. So, mentally, I had been preparing myself to resist temptation. I knew everything I ate in those five days wasn’t going to be organic. So, to ensure I had at least one clean meal each day, I prepped breakfast bowls of organic, free-range scrambled eggs, organic sausage, and organic spinach to eat for breakfast each morning in the hotel room. Hydration was key! I drank only water, just as I have for the past 130 days, approximately 200 ounces each day. That kept things filtered and my downstream track clean and clear. I had also mentally prepared myself to do some intermittent fasting throughout the five days to keep my body in Ketosis.

Jud and Hope’s house was beautiful! The company was amazing, and the food was delicious. Our dinner was served around 6pm. So, I fasted from lunch on Thanksgiving, and when I got hungry, I dug through the Homemade Chex Mix and nibbled on the almonds. I forgot to take a picture of my plate once I fixed it, but I ate turkey, ham, Brussel sprouts, shrimp, half of a baked sweet potato with butter, spinach salad, and one piece of Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake. It was not difficult for me to skip over the potatoes, dressing, cakes, etc… Best of all, I didn’t feel miserable the following morning from overindulging. The hotel had a great gym, and I did my Burst Workouts every other day just as I was scheduled to do. This helped keep my energy level up, because we did a lot of walking over the next few days.

Friday night, Jud and Hope invited our kids to spend the night with them, which freed Adam and I up for a much needed date night. My thoughtful husband had pre-arranged a reservation at a completely organic farm to table restaurant for the two of us. Tupelo Honey Cafe was ADORABLE!!!! Great atmosphere, great service, and outstanding food! They bring you a basket of homemade biscuits with Tupelo honey and homemade jam before your meal…just push the basket to the side. That’s what we did. Adam had pork with a muscadine chutney and Brussel sprouts. I had the flank steak and eggs with hominy and mixed greens. When you order steak and you don’t get a steak knife with your food, you know it’s cooked right. It was tender and juicy and the runny eggs sent this dish over the edge! 😋 Best of all, it was totally on the Keto diet!

Now that I’ve tackled Thanksgiving, bring on Christmas!!!! I’m looking forward to more laughter, Phase 10 trash talk, food, fellowship, and family time! Keeping the weight off during the holidays isn’t an exact science or impossible. It’s a mind game. Your either committed or your not. I’m committed, and after losing two more pounds over Thanksgiving (grand total of 44 pounds), I have no doubt that I will be at the 50 pound mark by Christmas! I am so incredibly thankful for this journey and for my health this year! I hope that all my readers had a wonderful Thanksgiving as well. ❤️

Realization, Results, and Rewards

Yesterday was the completion of, what I view as, the first leg of this race to becoming my best. One hundred days of detox ( 10 day pre-cleanse and 90 days of True Cellular Detox) are behind me. My mind, body, and soul are clear and ready for the other changes that are coming.

The journey hasn’t always been easy. There has been a lot of soul searching, pep talks, and discipline involved. My parents always told me, “Nothing worthwhile is going to come easy.” This journey has definitely been worthwhile. To have hope again is indescribable! On July 28, 2017, I walked into Balance30a raw, hopeless, and exhausted. While others had formed the opinion that I was mean, hateful, or crazy, Dr. Bart Precourt and his staff saw someone that they could help. I was sick. I completely own my behavior choices, but I now know that my body couldn’t function normally. It was grossly toxic and incapable of normal performance. Grateful….it’s the only word I can come up with to describe how I feel. I’m so full of gratitude not only for the Balance 30a team but also for my family and the friends that believed in me and encouraged me. I’m grateful that I feel alive again. I’m especially humbled and grateful for the Holy Spirit’s gift of self-control and patience. Those are two that I did not possess prior to this journey.

Within this post, I’m going to outline three main areas of my journey: Realization, Results, and Rewards.

REALIZATION: The first step was for me to realize that I was unhealthy and despite my best efforts, I needed help. I was irritable, lacked self-control, exhausted, and emotional. I cried from the time I walked in Balance 30a until I got back to my parents condo that day in July. The realization that hormonal imbalance, weight gain, and the way I felt and acted was caused by the types of foods and beverages I had put in my body over the years was mind-blowing. Realizing that our bodies weren’t created to process anything except organic, clean foods was hard. It’s expensive, and it seems pretentious, but I am living proof that what you put in your body will either ruin you or rescue you. Realizing that everything from sleep, my complexion, energy, my epilepsy, and mood can be controlled and changed through what I eat is just more proof that there is a God and He is alive, real, and working!

RESULTS: The family photo above the previous section was a before picture of me, and that wasn’t even me at my heaviest. The two pictures above were taken last Friday. Over the course of these 100 days, I have lost 38 pounds and 40 5/8 total inches. Here’s a breakdown of inches lost on each section of my body….Calf- 5 1/2” Thigh- 5 1/4” Hips- 8” Waist- 5 1/2” Subcostal- 5” Chest- 5” Forearm- 2 1/4” Bicep- 3 5/8”.

Above are photos of the final results of my VCS Test, my Neurotoxicity questionnaire, and my MetaOxy Test. My original score on the VCS Test was 68%, which was extremely toxic and unhealthy. It revealed the presence of biotoxins as well as nutritional deficiency. Yesterday, I scored 90%, with NO presence of biotoxins, NO nutritional deficiency, and in the healthy range. The original score on the neurotoxicity questionnaire was 20, which revealed an unhealthy range of toxins in my body, and my score yesterday was 4, which is in the healthy range. My favorite test, the MetaOxy Test, is a urinalysis. The range is 0-7 as indicated on the test strip. My original results were 7+, and yesterday’s results revealed I was in the 0-1 range. I’m in awe and extremely humbled by these physical, visible results. There are also results that can’t be seen. They can only be felt. I feel so good now that I know I must have been on the brink of death before. Like I’ve said before, you never know just how sick you are until you feel better!

REWARDS: No, I’m not going out to eat or celebrating the end of the first leg of this race by undoing what I’ve worked so hard to achieve. Instead of being foolish, I baked a Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake. It is completely organic, contains no sugar or gluten, and has only 1.5 carbohydrates per slice. This recipe was a Pinterest find, and it is FINE! The intangible rewards are the amount of energy I have, the motivation to continue on this journey, and the compliments I receive on a daily basis from the people I come in contact with.

Again, gratitude is the word I keep reverting back to. I’m just so grateful for this experience and everyone that has helped me, loved me, and encouraged me along the way. I’m grateful for change. I’m grateful that the Ketogenic diet is easy to follow, delicious, and filling. Lastly, I want to encourage anyone who may feel hopeless with their weight and health to call Dr. Bart Precourt at Balance 30a and allow he and his staff to help you. This True Cellular Detox journey has been incredible, and I’m thankful for those of you that followed my blog throughout my journey. Don’t worry! It doesn’t end here. I will certainly continue to update you all on my progress as I continue to press on toward my ultimate goal.💕

A Huge Thank You

I’m writing this post to say, “thank you” to everyone who has helped support me in raising funds for my upcoming mission trip to Austin, Tx.

To those of you that purchased homemade savory and sweet treats from me during the holidays, thank you. I love to bake, and each item was prayed over and cooked with love. Thanks your kindness and generosity, I was able to raise just under $300 for my trip.

To my precious church family, thank you so much! Whether you chose us to wrap your Christmas gifts, dined with us at our fundraiser meal, donated baked items to our baked goods auction, bid on baked goods, or donated to our recent love offering, your support was monumental. It is a blessing to be part of such a loving and generous church family.

To my family and friends that chose to simply donate money to my trip, I love you all so much, and I’m so thankful for your selfless generosity.

However you chose to give, I’m so incredibly thankful. When God laid this trip on my heart last summer, I knew He would provide, because that’s who He is! It humbles me and leaves me in awe of my God to report that my entire trip (lodging, transportation, and food) is completely paid for through your generosity.

Some have asked specifically what we will be doing. Since we will covet your specific prayers each day, here is our schedule:

Sunday,  June 11- travel day! We will leave Dothan at 5am and arrive in Austin at approximately 8:30pm

Monday, June 12- orientation at the Austin Pregnancy Resource Center in the morning followed by ministering to patients at the center in the afternoon.

Tuesday, June 13- praying and witnessing at Planned Parenthood. This will be an emotionally and spiritually challenging day. We covet your prayers!!!

Wednesday, June 14- working at the APRC in the morning and we will be kicking off their on-campus outreach ministry at the University of Texas-Austin that afternoon

Thursday, June 15- we will be restocking the center and making house calls to those that are without transportation.

Friday, June 16- we will be working with patients at the center in the morning and continuing our on-campus outreach in the afternoon.

I ask you to specifically pray for lives to be changed both spiritually and physically. I ask you to pray that God will use our stories of teen pregnancy, single parenthood, adoption, and infertility to give hope to these ladies in such a hopeless situation. I ask that you also pray for God to grow and change me on this trip. I owe everything to Him, and I want to be my best for Him as well as for my family. 

I’m so thankful for each lady that He has clearly hand-picked for this trip, and I look forward to serving with them as well as my new friends at the Austin Pregnancy Resource Center. Thank you all again for your overwhelming support. I can’t wait to come back and share with you all what awesome things God did in Austin!❤️

Fall Breakin in the Mountains

There has been so much going on in my family over the past two weeks. So, there is really only one fair way to do this….write two posts😜. To my faithful readers as well as my visitors, check back in tomorrow for another post.One thing my manclan has been begging to do is go camping. So, when you live in a house full of testosterone, you load up the van and head to the great outdoors! We knew Banks had his annual appointment with his pediatric neurologist on October 11, so we began googling campgrounds near Huntsville, and luckily we found Cloudland Canyon State Park. It was only an hour and a half from Huntsville, therefore we knew we could enjoy camping all weekend then load up on Monday morning and head to the doctor’s office before driving back to Dothan. We also knew camping would be an affordable option. There are not many four-day vacations that a family of four can enjoy at just under $100. I grew up camping nearly every weekend of my childhood, but I had never stayed at a campsite like this😳! You park your vehicle and hike about 1/4 mile to your campsite, and the only amenities are a leveled area for your tent and a firepit with a cooking grate over it. The closest comfort station, electricity, and fresh water was about 1/8 mile from our campsite. Now, thankfully, growing up, my mother was the world’s most organized camping wife. So, I learned a lot from her, and I was able to implement many of the same tricks she used, and spending my childhood watching my parents use camp stoves, lanterns, and clotheslines, I had no problem planning meals and organizing each person’s “bath house basket.” For a little TMI, when you are with a group of boys, and the nearest comfort station is 1/8 mile away, you learn to go #1 in the woods and only make that trek to the bath house when necessary. Following a cool night’s sleep in our tents, we spent day 2 hiking. We hiked a total of about 12 miles that day. Although all the waterfalls were dry, the scenery was majestic! I was so proud of Weston and my Chrissy! Weston rode in his stroller as far as the trail would allow, but he hiked a good 4-5 miles, and that’s a long way for his little legs. My Chrissy is part Beagle, part Bassett Hound, and her personality leans more toward a Bassett, but she loved sniffing out the trails, and she was an awesome hiking dog! While Weston preferred to stay on the ground, Banks was a mountain goat! If there was a place to climb, he found it! Have I mentioned that he is in incredible shape! I was planning my funeral at the end of the day, and once we got back to camp, he was still running up and down the side of the mountain with his Go-Pro strapped to him! We spent day three hiking a bit closer to our campsite. We discovered the cutest little bridge, a few very unique trees, as well as a strange bug or two! Day 3 was really special! Adam taught Banks how to make a campfire, and using only an axe, Banks chopped down a dead tree next to our campsite. Like I said, he’s in incredible shape! We had delicious meals the entire time, s’mores each night for Weston, and campfire smooches for my honey and me. 

Monday morning, we woke up with the sun, ate breakfast, packed up, and headed to Huntsville where Banks received an excellent report from his doctor. She even gave him the “go-ahead” to get his permit next summer when he turns 15, as long as he remains seizure-free, which we have total trust in God to keep him healthy.

Quite possibly the best part of the trip was the time we got to spend with Adam’s dad in Hartselle, which is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Huntsville. I am thankful for repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation. I am thankful to know my helpmate felt love. Mostly, I am thankful for over a year of answered prayers! 

To say the least, our fall break was wonderful! We cannot wait to plan our next trip, and anywhere my manclan leads, I will follow!❤️

Everyday I’m Hustlin

As I shared two weeks ago, I will be going on a mission trip to Austin, TX in June 2017. Mission trips are expensive, and as I was pondering ways in which I could help off-set the cost of this trip, my sweet friend Amber called me. She knows I enjoy cooking, and she also knows I am an excellent baker. So, she recommended that I sell my homemade, baked items throughout the holiday season.

After considering my friend’s idea as genius, I began compiling a list of my favorite holiday recipes. Then I began picturing the presentation of my goodies, what my menu would look like, and once Weston was down for his nap, I spent the next hour typing a rough copy of my menu. Due to Adam’s extensive knowledge in the catering and hospitality business, I knew that I would need to consult with him on pricing. 

So, without further ado, I present P 31’s Holiday Bakery!!!!!! What is P 31, you ask…It is the book and chapter in the Bible in which I have prayed to mold my life after for the last thirteen years. Being a Proverbs 31 wife, mother, and woman is extremely important to me. She is a lady that works diligently, and that certainly describes me. She also uses her talents as unto the Lord, which is what I am attempting to do with this holiday bakery. 

So, if you are in the Dothan area and are in need of some savory or sweet treats for a gift, family gathering, holiday party, or simply to enjoy, please contact me beginning October 1, with your order. I guarantee super yummy goodies made with love ❤️.

Uneventful Week…Uneventful Post

Oddly enough, it’s been a rather uneventful, slow week for my manclan and me. I went shopping with my mom this morning and told her that I did not really have anything to write about this week, and she said, “write about that.” So, for those of you that actually enjoy my blog, this is a post about nothing in particular. Hahaha😂

Monday night, Banks had a JV football game, and he played great! He had two interceptions, some great blocks and tackles, and Houston Academy won! He was extremely proud of himself, as were Adam and I. Some of our friends from church came to watch him play, which made the great plays all the more exciting. Tonight, he will play with the varsity team in Goshen, AL, and then we will do it all over again next week. We love cheering for our Banks and the Raiders!💙

Weston’s highlight of the week was singing in church on Sunday with his Mission Friends Class. They sang two songs, and he seemed much more interested in the flower arrangement than singing. Thankfully, he pulled it together by the last verse of the first song, and the entire group did a phenomenal job! I love getting to teach this group of kiddos every week! They make me smile!😁

He also learned how to form the letters “L” and “O” at school this week. They use the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum, and it is amazing to watch Weston take cars, candy corn, and even his sweet little fingers to form the letters. The more I read about this curriculum, the more I love it. We are very proud of how much Weston is learning every week.

Adam and I have spent the majority of our time away from work, football, carline, church, etc… making a checklist and beginning to pack for our upcoming vacation to Cloudland Canyon State Park. We are very excited to spend fall break as a family in the mountains. I spent nearly every weekend of my childhood camping. So, this is nothing new for me. I’m thrilled to camp and hike with my manclan. One of the many things Adam and I have in common is our love for the outdoors. 🏕

Well, as I explained earlier, this week was not quite as eventful as usual, but if everything were always the same, this life would become extremely boring. We have enjoyed this calm week and are looking forward to our last free weekend until the middle of November. Come back next week to see what my manclan and I have gotten into.😃

Go, Serve, Love

This week I finally get to share some very exciting news!!!! At the beginning of May, I began praying for my VBS class, and I prayed specifically that the Lord would send more kids my way this year. VBS came, and He more than doubled the number I had from the previous year. I was pumped, and as if that were not enough, two young ladies in my class came to know the Lord! At this point, that flicker within my soul was now a flame!🔥 After VBS ended, I told God that I wanted to lead people to Jesus everyday, and as always, He answered me just as matter of factly as I speak to my friends, saying, “You can do this everyday, Jessica! You just have to be willing to be used by Me.” WOW! It was a real “duh” moment for me.

Mark 12:30-31…I could not get these verses off of mind. Everyday I would read them. Some days I would repeat them 3-4 times. What did this mean? I began praying over them, and soon enough, it was clear. GO, SERVE, LOVE!!!!! I was being called to head up a women’s mission trip. Who me???? Why me??? Seriously??? I also began to pray for confirmation, and I did not utter a word about it to anyone except Adam, and at the end of June, I was volunteering at our church for Wired, and throughout the week, three random ladies within our church mentioned that I would be the perfect person to organize a women’s mission trip like they once did annually at Southside Baptist Church. These are all ladies whom I hold in the highest regard, as they have been a part of my life since the day I was born. Isn’t God cool? Wow, ok, God, thanks for the confirmation! 

Now that I knew what I was supposed to do, I had A LOT to do. Where will we go? How do I even begin planning this? There were so many questions. I began by speaking to my pastor, and he said, ” I’m so excited about this, and I’m 200% behind you.” Awesome! What a blessing to have such a supportive and encouraging pastor and friend! Thankfully our church has a treasure in Mrs. Rhonda Grandstaff, who served as a wealth of knowledge and guidance for me in this planning process. Her husband, Dr. Jerry Grandstaff, just happens to be the Director of Missions for the Columbia Baptist Association, and he gave me a folder with 286 missionaries and their ministries to contact. I was completely overwhelmed! I persevered and over the course of two months, narrowed the selection down to four. After contacting all four missionaries, only ONE returned my call. I had prayed for clarity, and God could not have been more clear. We are going to Austin, TX to serve at the Austin Pregnancy Resource Center!!!!

From the first moment that I spoke to Lori Devillez, the center’s founder/director, I knew that this was the place. I cried as she told me about the situations these young ladies have found themselves, and I just praise God for allowing me to use my story to minister to the families. These young ladies have already made the most wonderful choice by choosing LIFE for their unborn baby, and now the Lord is going to allow this group of ladies from my church to share His Gospel and just show love to these precious “neighbors”.

We will be heading to Texas on June 11, 2017, and we will return on June 18,2017. I am still in utter disbelief and completely humbled that God chose me, but I am so excited to live out Mark 12:30-31, as my sisters in Christ and myself GO to Austin, Tx to SERVE the Lord at The Austin Pregnancy Resource Center and LOVE on these young ladies that are so courageously choosing life for their babies. So please join me in the coming months praying for this trip, the center, the people we come in contact with, the finances of the trip, and most importantly, the preparation of our hearts to serve. Again, I am so excited to serve Him alongside my sisters in Christ, and I am thrilled to love on these young ladies that are just as lost as I was fourteen years ago, and I just want to convey to them that I know exactly what they are going through. It will be tough, but they can do it with the help of God. They were chosen, hand-picked by the Creator. I am just thrilled! We appreciate your prayers and support, and I will be posting updates as the trip draws near. 

Read, Drive, Play…And Repeat

Gosh, since school has started, we have been busier than usual! Since Banks is playing for both JV and Varsity football, he has games twice/ week as well as practice every afternoon until 6:30 p.m., and workouts two mornings/ week at 6:30 a.m. Nichols Taxi Service is counting down the days until he can drive himself everywhere!!!!

Although we are burning up the roads, we are happy to do it, because our Banks is doing great! First of all can we take a minute and talk about his varsity football picture??? He’s really handsome, and I’m well aware that I’m partial as his mother, but even if I weren’t, I would admit that he’s a good-looking young man! He didn’t think he would get any playing time on varsity, but he’s actually gotten to go in for 8 plays in 3 weeks. On JV, he plays the entire game, and boy did he have a great first game! He even made the local newspaper! He caught a 20 yard pass and ran the ball nearly 70 yards for a touchdown. Adam and I were so proud! You can check out his awesome touchdown as well as the newspaper article below.​

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Banks isn’t the only member of my manclan making big memories! Our church library held a reading competition for all of the children, and Weston was the big winner. He’s always seemed so laid back like his daddy, but once he found out there was a prize to be won, he tapped in to his mom’s competitive nature! For an entire month, we checked out 5-10 books/ visit, and we read and read and read! Weston read a total of 45 books! Adam and I were so proud, but we were also ready for a reading break. We have always been advocates for reading to our children, and we are so thankful that both boys enjoy reading on a regular basis.

All of the kids were so excited to be recognized for their accomplishments. For winning the competition, Weston won a $25 gift card to Lifeway, some bookmarks, a certificate, stickers, and some candy. That’s a pretty great prize package for a three year old! Of course, he ate all the candy in one sitting, and I’ve found stickers EVERYWHERE! 📚 

He was so excited to use his “credit card”. He bought himself a Bible, which he was thrilled to be able to carry to church Sunday morning, a sticker book (no, none of the stickers he won went in the book. He preferred to stick them on furniture and walls😉.), and in classic Nichols boy style, a Veggie Tales bat and ball. It’s always ball season at our house!⚾️

So, although we’ve been extremely busy lately, Adam and I couldn’t be more proud of our boys. They are both incredible, and we are the blessed ones to be their parents. Bring on the craziness! It makes parenthood FUN!