Merry Christmas from Breck!

Merry Christmas from Breck!

 This is Breck. Jake crossed the Rainbow Bridge on July 3, but before he went, we got really, really close. He passed on many secrets about our people and taught me how to write a Christmas letter. In addition to calling the police, befriending deer, and chasing skunks, I've been taking notes on the Biggs activities all year.

2015 was busy. I fetched a stick. D'Lyn saw Mamma Mia with friends and became Trim Healthy Mama. with friends and became Trim Healthy Momma. Kait played indoor soccer. We love Hopdoddy's, Lucy's Fried Chicken, and Lick Ice Cream. Kait's soccer team won their Houston tournament, saw emus and visited with the Baehrens and Coach Rena. I fetched a stick. Abbie lives in her Eno. John was unemployed, then self-employed, then employed, then unemployed, and now employed! D'Lyn loves the hike & bike at Town Lake. Abbie played with Austin Stars. We hung the Eno in Abbie's room. Now there's a hole in the wall. I chased a stick. Nou gen konfyans nan Jezi pou 19 Mei! Kaitlyn Johnson surprised Abbie. Abbie cried. Kait won 3rd in Ready Writing -- Mom's genes! I ate a Rib bone! Kait's soccer team won State! Our yard flooded, the pool turned green, and the retention wall out front fell -- again. Our thoughts and prayers went out to Wimberley. Our neighbors made sandwiches and snacks for the volunteers. Lake Travis went up and up and up. Our pool turned green. Tornado Warning! Abbie and friends sheltered at Amy's Ice Cream; D'Lyn & John sheltered across the street with wine. I jumped in the green pool! Cy-Ranch Baseball won state! Hayden was on TV! Kait played sand volleyball. Abbie is a CrossFit beast. D'Lyn did the the Fluvanna Homecoming. Abbie loved Baylor softball camp. We went to the July 4th parade, and I stole a lot of candy. D'Lyn & Christine took Abbie and Kaitlyn S. to North Carolina for softball camp. They toured UNC, Duke, NC State, Elon and Wake Forest. The shrimp & grits were awesome. "Where is your *real* State Capitol?" Everything is bigger in Texas. Lunch with cousin Robert Lloyd. Crashed Wrangler World Headquarters. Kymber spent the week with Kait. Hairspray and Barton Springs. Lunch with the unsinkable Sandy Brown. I played tug of war! Camp Blue Haven recharged the girls. Abbie came home with the biggest smile. We picked Madison Stephens up on the side of the road. She and Kait played indoor and scored goals! I helped pick up the socks. We survived the summer without Blue Bell -- barely. Kait started 7th grade, and Abbie is a Freshman. Kait rocked Cross Country and brought home some hardware. And she turned 13. Abbie played Fall Ball for LT and the Austin Stars. Kait's Coach is KC Crabb. I got a treat! Fall Ball in Houston and Tyler, visiting with friends and lots of time with Boomer, Mimi and Pa. John & D'Lyn went to the Rice / UT football game. I chased a ball! Our new neighbors come with two cute kiddos and Rocky. He's not quite Jake, but I'll let him try. GREAT babysitting gigs. D'Lyn and Team Tiara walked the Breast Cancer 3-Day for the 10th year. Abbie, Rana, Sarah, Callie and Amber walked with her. Kait and Kamy were on Youth Corps. Team Tiara raised $110,000+ in 2015 and has raised over $1 Million to date. D'Lyn's pink hair was PERFECT. D'Loopy loves her 10th Anniversary T-shirt quilt. I chased a Skunk! Kait's in Choir; her concerts are impressive. She's playing the guitar again! Hudson Bend loaded ALL the kids on buses for a Day of Service. Abbie turned 15 and got her Learner's Permit! Watch out Lakeway! Go LT Football! CBH reunions are so much fun! Abbie is in Debate -- she has to wear a dress! Kait built a roller coaster -- very fitting for a teenage girl! I played with Rocky!

We hope you had a great 2015 and are wishing you a Fantabulous 2016! May God Bless You!

Love, Breck & Co.

Keepin' it Real

Hi,

I just missed a Webinar I had TOTALLY planned my week around because I didn't realize it was supposed to start at 6:30 EASTERN. Yes, this organization is headquartered back East -- you think I would have picked up on that. Not so much. 

Kaitlyn scored another soccer goal this weekend -- for our opponent. Our goalie is out with an injury, and all the girls are taking a turn in the goal. It was her first time in the goal in well over two years. Bless it. 

But here's the deal.... The sun is shining on the tree outside my window, Breck hasn't called the cops in awhile (knock on wood), I'm sure there will be other Webinars in the future, and Kait doesn't have to play in goal again for a while (maybe ever.)  

If you read my blog in February (FEBRUARY!), you know I've been following the Trim Healthy Mama plan; and I wanted to give you an update. 

I've been following this plan since January 9, and it has made a HUGE difference for me. While there are some pretty incredible testimonies on the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook page, the progress around here is quite a bit slower in terms of the scale. I've lost about 10 pounds since Christmas, but the last two were at the rate of about a pound a month -- not what people usually brag about at work. 

BUT I'm good with that. I've done the way quick slim-down before AND that didn't exactly work long-term.  At this rate I'm hoping to reach my goal weight about the time Kait goes to college, but I keep telling myself it's not the weight part that matters as much as the HEALTHY part. 

This has been a long road for me, but when I look back to a year ago I'm a completely different person.  A year ago, I didn't realize it but I was suffering from severe anemia. I wasn't sleeping well, was exhausted all the time, and had a lot of other quirky things going on. We got that under control, but I still had room for improvement. 

With Trim Healthy Mama I have cut ALL sugar and bad carbs out of my diet. They really don't appeal that much to me any more. On STAAR test day there was an awesome dessert spread in the Teacher's Lounge. I didn't eat a single cookie or cupcake -- was loving the fresh berries instead. 

I've been walking a lot -- until last night when I tripped over Jake in the dark and stubbed / jammed / broke my toe / foot. (Jury is still out on this one.) A year ago I didn't have the energy to walk. 

We really are loving the FRESH meals we are eating. I wanted to share this recipe for Avocado Ranch Dip. If you know Abbie, you know this has been a life-changing HEALTHY option for her!

Avocado Ranch Dip

1 cup Duke's Mayo (No other brand compares, and this one is sugar-free.)

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt

1 Avocado (Peeled and seeded, obviously.

1 tsp. Sea Salt

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

3/4 tsp. Garlic

1 1/2 tsp. Onion Powder

1 1/2 tsp. Dried Parsley

1/4 tsp. Paprika

Optional: 1 Large Jalapeno, Stem end cut off.

Throw it all in the blender and give it a whirl. Store in your favorite plastic container.  It stays yummy for up to 2 weeks, but never lasts that long around here.  ENJOY!

Wow.

Hi Y'all,
When I ran by here in December, I had every intention of coming around more often. On a regular basis. Maybe not daily, but at least more than once a year. AND THEN....

Life did it.

That little thing where everything goes haywire and turns upside down.

That thing.

So RIGHT AFTER I wrote that last post, Biggsy was laid off. I'll spare you the details of how terribly unjust it was and just let you know that, under him, his company had had their best year -- ever. REALLY.

We're good.  Better than good.  We can see God's hand all over this. I promise. He is working.

It's like I say all the time, when you can see Him moving in the crazy small details of your life, you KNOW He has your Big Picture in control.

If you could sum up the last 10 weeks in one word, it would have to be CHANGE.  When Biggs was laid off, all spending came to a screeching halt around here. It was a good thing I'd almost finished my Christmas shopping!!  Life does seem to be in a bit of a holding pattern. We're thankful we had decided to low-budget Spring Break, so we didn't have to cancel a ski trip -- that was already taken care of.

We did have to cancel our trip to Italy this summer. Abbie had been asked to play softball over there this summer, and we were ALL going. We have high hopes to have that kind of adventure some day -- we aren't giving up!

In the meantime, I needed to make some individual changes. For one, I needed to cut sugar and caffeine out of my diet. I needed to ditch my Thanksgiving / Christmas poundage -- it was making me grumpy. AND we needed to drastically cut back on how often we visited our buddies at Taco Bell and Chick fil A.

So.... I took a deep breath. I joined a weight loss challenge to help a friend raise $$ for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. I stopped feeding the kids the "easy" way and went back to what really does work best for us. And I bought this crazy book I'd found online -- Trim Healthy Mama.

And everything shifted back to normal a bit.

I've been following Trim Healthy Mama since January 9 and have lost 8 pounds. That's not a ton, but I'm seeing a number on the scales I haven't seen for over a year. I feel better than I have in a long time. As for the peeps over at Taco Bell, I think they're in mourning -- we were only there ONCE in January -- and only through four drive-throughs total. RECORD BREAKING!

It's a process. THM takes a bit of coordination and planning. I tend to make a lot of mistakes. BUT -- I believe in Grace, and I believe in giving myself Grace when I screw up.

Getting our family "healthy" has been a long road. We've been on this path of learning / changing for several years. We stumble along the way, but somehow manage to find the path again and move ahead.

I do love THM for a gazillion reasons. I've had enough experience with Weight Watchers, Adkins, South Beach, Bikini Body (YIKES!) and Dukan to know why those wouldn't work for me long-term -- why they weren't sustainable or something that worked for our whole family.  I really did get excited when I started reading THM, with my background, and could see why it would work for me. I BELIEVED it would work for me -- and now I'm seeing that all come to fruition.

It's been a blast.

So..... Even though Vanity is really real, I'm going to share my picture from yesterday.  This isn't the best put-together outfit, I know.  However, I wanted to wear shorts so I could see my great legs (the one thing I'm ALWAYS happy with) and to taunt those of you in the Great White North. (High of 75 here today.)  AND I wanted to wear a somewhat fitted shirt, so I could see a real difference in the next few weeks.

As far as goals, I don't really have a weight-loss goal. I have a black dress in my closet that I haven't been able to wear in a few years -- when I get in it, I'll know I'm "there." My biggest goal, though, is to walk ALL 60 miles of the DFW 3-Day November 6-8 with my Tiaras at my side. The list of warriors I'm walking for is longer than ever, and I need to do them proud. My Abbie-girl will be walking this year as well, and I need to keep up with her!!

So here's my pic from yesterday. Have a blessed day, and I promise I'll try to touch base before 2016.

Oh!! And don't forget to schedule your Mammogram!  You are your best defense!  Love ya! Mean it!