I should have started my aliterations earlier! LOL! Oh well.
I am beat. Toast! WIPED OUT! I had a “big” job of navigating yesterday for our final day as “Tourists.” We went to Lancaster County. Michaela and I have read a bunch of books by Beverly Lewis that tell stories cast in this part of our country. We have both read half a dozen books or more set in Lancaster County, so we wondered how accurate what we had “learned” about the Amish through our reading was. Our family took a ride in a wagon pulled by “Caleb,” a young man who comes from an Amish family. His story was one of the most intriguing parts of the trip. After our wagon ride, I had to ask him questions about himself, I found him so interesting.
He graduated from the public highschool last year and was accepted into a college’s pre-veterinary program. Because of finances, he chose to wait a year and work to raise money for college. He still lives with his Amish parents, but earns money giving tours telling of Amish ways. He was very candid–from his perspective, of course, and it was quite interesting.
We were all thrilled to have left Philadelphia behind us. If I ever see that city again, it will be TOO soon! (My apologies to any of you who love this city that seems horribly MISnamed to me!). It is amazing to me the extremes we experienced in Pennsylvania!
The parts of Pennsylvania we saw yesterday were amazing! The countryside was dreamy, the weather was unbelievably beautiful…mid 70’s and no clouds to speak of (occasionally a whispy cloud would roll by).
After we stopped at a “famous” model train place (featured in one of Daniel’s “choo choo” videos), we stopped at the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum. This was definitely a highlight for the two boys. Michaela and I just wandered around a bit aimlessly. In spite of having a heritage in the railroad and in spite of the fact that my husband works for Union Pacific, to me, all the engines look pretty much alike. I mean, I can tell if there are some older ones and some newer ones, typically, but to me, once you have seen one train museum you have seen them all and Sacramento, CA boasts and amazing railroad museum! I am glad Daniel was happy, though! He has done VERY well on this trip…miraculously well, from my perspective!
After the railroad museum, we chose to use backroads to meander our way back to the Baltimore area to our hotel for our last night before leaving out of the Balitmore airport. We did this partly to see more Amish country, but also because we have never seen covered bridges before. We found a map showing covered bridges and enjoyed seeing a few on our way back to “civilization.”
I do believe that I have eaten too much on this trip. I think that I was caught in the mindset of “this is what I always eat, so I will eat this now” sort of mentality, when reality is on most of the days of this trip, I was a LOT less active than I am at home. I should have been more aware of my hunger signals than assume I felt them. I guess I should have prayed more about it all…I didn’t intentionally *lie* to myself or on my hunger graphs, but I wonder…well, I KNOW that I was at a 0 when I was. There is no mistaking that, but I wonder about the “5” now that I really consider it.
Add to this the “bloating” that always happens when we travel. I feel like a balloon! I will probably post more observations and corrections tomorrow once we are home. We arrive home tonight.
While I didn’t allow my eating 0 to 5 to go on vacation, being more PRAYERFUL would have been a very good place to start.
Today we traveled from the Assateague area — Ocean City, Maryland — to our first stop for the day– the Dover Speedway! Daniel and Big Boy Bob (hubby) were pretty much beside themselves with glee about this stop, as Bob had arranged with one of the PR people there at Dover a personal tour, including driving around the race track like a NASCAR driver! Well, ok, not so much like a NASCAR driver as a pace car driver. LOL! It was VERY exciting and we have lots of pictures that we took of the experience. The man who took us around, George, says his “official” title there at Dover is “Historian!” Ya gotta love that!
After we stopped there and enjoyed an hour or so of playing on the race track, we stopped at Denny’s. What a relief NOT to eat at McDonalds! Daniel actually ATE food at a restaurant OTHER than McDonald’s and Burger King! (YAY, Daniel!) Michaela and I split some nachos which were absolutely WONDERFUL. Both our early meal and the lunch time meal were 0 to 5 for me. YAY! Thank you, Lord, for providing food that would sustain my body *and* that tasted good *and* working in me to stop at 5.
Following our lunch, we headed off for the BIG city again. Oh my! We have been spoiled being in Chincoteague, Assateague and Williamsburg the past few days. It was so quiet and lush and now we were in the middle of city chaos! Philadelphia! What historic trip would be complete without visiting the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and other sights and sounds of Philadelphia?
By the time we left Philadelphia we were convinced that drivers are NUTS in that part of these United States! Oh my! California drivers aren’t even *that* bad. Seems like all the drivers we about RAN into, or who about RAN into us had the attitude of this little animated guy…eek!!!!
We are spending the night in a two bedroom suite in Malvern, Pennsylvania. We head off to Lancaster tomorrow….on our way to Baltimore…phew…I think this has been a MARATHON!
Tonight, amazing as it sounds, we actually all ate at Applebees! Daniel ate there, too! SHOCK of all SHOCKS! I had the riblet basket, shoveled most of my fries and some of the riblets to my family members and chased it all down by splitting two monstrous sized desserts between the four of us. PHEW! We were all so famished by the time dinner came that I ate too fast. I have to work on slowing down when I am really really hungry, as I would say I landed at about a 6 on the other side of all of that…but it wasn’t intentional like last night’s chowing down was.
I found today a day of extremes. Being sick and weakened a bit by being sick, I didn’t have the energy to fuss much. I just sat in the passenger seat trying to play “Navigator” for Hubby. Whew…I hope tomorrow we can rest a bit before checking out of the hotel!
My fourth eating occasion was about 5:30 as we were heading out of Philadelphia before we got to the hotel. I had some peanut butter on whole wheat bread and it did JUST the trick for me. That was 0 to 4 or so. I LOVE my peanut butter!
Praying for my live Thin Within group tonight as my co-leader is leading it. They will be starting in about 10 minutes. Lord, I ask that you will be with Pat. Thank you for her partnership in this ministry. Please bring everyone in our group. They are SO faithful and such a blessing to both of us. Thank you for that. Please encourage Pat as she leads with a special outpouring of your grace and lead each lady there to a closer walk with you, ready to go deeper with you and farther with you, Lord. Thank you for all your many blessings! In the Name of Jesus, Amen!
Whew! We are in Ocean City. I only have internet access down in the lobby here…and the family is up going to sleep, so I need to get up there, but I wanted to check in quickly. We traveled from Williamsburg, Virgina today to Chincoteague and Assateague until we arrived in Ocean City, Maryland. We will be leaving early tomorrow for Philadelphia. CONQUER! CONQUER! CONQUER!
Eating went fine until tonight. I must confess…I had a rebellious attitude…an “I JUST WANT IT” arrogance that I allowed to emerge. Bob and I slipped away to a seafood place–I hate seafood. So I had some of his fries. They were THE best fries in the world. I had NO idea french fries could be so good. But then I chased that with a very decadent hot fudge brownie sundae smothered in whipped cream. I didn’t have much of either, but I was honestly at a 3 on the hunger scale when I began…and finished at about an 8 and, as hubby would say, “I wasn’t DONE yet!” Pout pout.
I have repented and God has forgiven me for willful rebellion. In all honesty, today was a very emotional day. My husband said something that wounded me deeply. I was drawn to food and knew that, if my accountability partner had been present, she would have said, “Who do you need to forgive?” I knew I needed to forgive my husband (and my son for other wrongs…it is easy to offend me in a small car going across a couple of states! EEEK!). So I chose to forgive and chose NOT to eat. These are GOOD things. I am delighted that I made this choice. A number of times I had a thought of food outside of hunger…but said no.
Tonight, though, it wasn’t emotional…it was rebellion. So…next time, NPO! Nothing Passes Orally when I go into a restaurant so hubby can get his special food and I am not hungry! I planned to be rebellious. It was a pre-meditated rebellion.
So now I will capture this moment for the Lord…all is well. God forgives and I am thankful for that. I will not allow this failure to spell further failure. Again, just because one moment or even a series of moments of indiscretion occurred, it doesn’t negate all the work God is doing and has done! THIS IS NOT A DIET! If it were a calories thing, it might be that easy to “wipe out” all the hard work…but no…this is about my heart. I have seen the Lord work in me SO much…and I know it is for ETERNITY! Thank you, Lord!
Today we saw wild ponies! The Lord saw fit for us to have wonderful weather! THANK you, Lord!
Just wanted to let anyone who visits the blog know that the family and I pack up tomorrow morning and leave Williamsburg, VA behind. We head off to Chincoteague, Maryland in search of the wild ponies of Assateague Island. We will be staying in a hotel in Ocean City, MD and hope to have internet access, but we may not for the rest of our trip. If we do, I will be blogging back on again. If not, see you on Saturday!
I am thankful for snapping turtles and trees. The trees in Virginia are gorgeous. They are tall and thin and how they manage to stand is beyond me. I have no idea how they do it. God alone must support them! Today, we loaded the kids, attitudes and all, up in the car and did the driving tour around historic Jamestown. It was still pouring rain so we promised not to ask them to get out.
My sick one, Michaela, had a great attitude about it and Daniel didn’t complain either. (Thank you, Lord!) As we drove slowly along the road going out on Jamestown Island, my husband suddenly stopped the car, excitedly saying “TURTLE!”
Now I am a major wildlife fan, but even *I* don’t get that excited about a turtle. Well, this wasn’t just a turtle. This was a TURTLE! About two feet long! I had no idea what he had seen! WOW!
I had to laugh, though. When I look at the picture of me from yesterday’s blog (the one with the canon near my head…LOL!) and the face on this turtle, an Eastern Snapping Turtle (I think), it was like looking in the mirror! This turtle looked majorly GRUMPY! I think God, in his glorious sense of humor, decided to show me what I looked like when I chose to keep a grumpy attitude! This old turtle was doing a lot of scowling (or whatever you call the expression on the turtle’s face)…and, I do believe God was sending me a message!
Anyhow, in spite of the fact that I, too, seem to be coming down with whatever disease we are sharing in our family, fever and all, I can definitely say with assurance that I am thankful for rain, trees, snapping turtles, Andy Griffith reruns on TV Land and…oh, yes, a daughter who is amazingly nurturing…this afternoon, she rubbed my feet, kept a cool, damp rag on my face and feet this afternoon, all while dealing with her own misery…just so I could catch a bit of sleep and a brief reprieve from my fever.
Lord, thank you for these things. Thank you that Daniel is doing well, all things considered. Thank you that Michaela has a spirit of joy, even when sick (well, most of the time, Lord!). Thank you for a husband who kept a good attitude in spite of all we have thrown at him! Tomorrow we head off to Chincoteague. I pray we might catch a glimpse of the wild ponies there. Lord…I ask for sunshine. It has been raining…and raining…and raining. No wonder it is so beautiful here! So many flowers and lush, verdant growth! But if it is possible, we would love a stop to the rain long enough and a stop to our fevers and cold symptoms long enough to be able to walk out to see the ponies tomorrow. I read about the ponies at Chincoteague when I was a third grader, Lord, and would love to see them in “real life.” Give us a good night sleep, I pray. Thank you for the wonderful HUGE bathtub with jets that we have all enjoyed here at this condo. As we all convene in a small hotel room tomorrow night, may it be with joy in our hearts. Change us, Lord. Help us to be grateful and joyful. I choose joy, Lord.
I choose to begin this day with gratitude. I have posted at my Gratitudes Blog.
I know for a fact that gratitude changes, transforms, flips things around. When I choose to praise, thank, worship the Lord no matter what happens, things change…*I* change.
When I make fleshly, sinful, ungodly choices, it is really an expression of pride–that my way, my will, is being exalted above God’s. There is no way that pride can exist when worship–true worship–is going on. That is because worship, thanks, gratitude given to God puts me where I belong, in a humble place.
So, today, I choose to praise, worship, thank the Lord for anything and everything I can think of. I will take captive any thoughts that are not obedient, surrendered and submissive to Christ.
Got up this morning to a sick sick daughter. Poor thing. She is a mess. Daniel had his eyes set on watching a NASCAR race on the Speed Channel. We don’t get cable at home like this…so both kids, after having been pushed for the past two days, were down for the count.
Today is hubby’s birthday and I was bummed that I didn’t have a super special way of celebrating it..just a little present and cards from the kids and me waiting for him in the bathroom when he got up.
My back is toast after sleeping (if that is what you want to call what I tried to do) on a very hard bed. But I did get a wonderful whirlpool bath this morning…that helped my back quite a bit. Hubby and I left the kids at the condo while we headed off for Jamestown Settlement. It was pouring rain…and the wind was howling…and I was cold…and…miserable…and, well…my “good” attitude began to…erm…erode a bit. After hubby and I saw Jamestown, we stopped at Ruby Tuesdays for lunch. I dutifully had a small portion–just to a 5. It was tasty. All was well. I was not giving in…We rushed back to the condo to drop off food for the kids before going to a sales presentation so we could get the benefit of a $75 gift card (on a Visa) to help pay for something fun…
Well, my husband decided to reverse things a bit, bless his heart. He wanted to explain to the salepeople why *they* should really be selling the same vacation “timeshare” package that we use…instead of the one they were trying to sell us…and that meant we were there for THREE HOURS!!!!!! I love my husband. I really do, but THREE HOURS? I mean good grief.
When we finally got back to the condo, Michaela was sicker than ever…Bob and Daniel headed off to WalMart to get more provisions since we won’t be going anywhere…and I dipped my hand into donuts left from this morning…so much for “stellar 0 to 5 eating!” No, I wasn’t hungry. I had TWO bavarian cream donuts. I NEVER do that. Or haven’t in probably 18 months or more.
Observation: Flesh Machinery got me…it worked, and worked, and worked on me. I resisted and resisted and…then…caved. BIG time.
Correction: Assume that assaults will come…from my flesh, from the world, from Satan. Be prepared for the assault NOT to end. And, well, pray! Put on the full armor of God. Get in the Word for a few minutes. Chances are, this is NOT the last time the assault will be this challenging on this trip. BUT, this does NOT have to dictate what comes next. I can choose to take THIS moment captive for the Lord…and THIS moment. And THIS moment! (Etc….)
We are going to watch National Treasure…the movie that started this East Coast Madness! Daniel is on strike…as he planned to watch more NASCAR stuff on the “Speed Channel.”
Yesterday was Day 2 of the vacation, day 1 being a travel day. The kids coined the name “DC Death March.” Hmm…I wonder why? LOL!
This trip is probably not what the kids expected. You see, they have never been on a “Conquering Vacation” before. They have only been on “Restful Vacations.” There is a HUGE difference!
You see, my dear husband planned this to be the once-in-a-lifetime, you-won’t-have-us-pay-your-way-ever-again “Conquering Vacation.” So, he wants us to accomplish as much as possible. We homeschool and have been studying US History so this is the deal–time to see in REAL life much of what we have seen pictures of or heard about!
To drive home the point of what a “Conquering Vacation” is, here is our itinerary:
Thursday – travel
Friday and Saturday – Washington, D.C.
Sunday and Monday – Williamsburg and surrounding locations
Tuesday – Chincoteque and Ocean City, Maryland
Wednesday – Independence Hall, Philadephia and Dover Speedway in Delaware
Thursday – Lancaster County and Straasburg, Philadephia
Friday – travel back to California
As you can see, this is DEFINITELY, a “Conquering Vacation!”
Yesterday, the first of two days in DC, we hopped hopped hopped from place to place—at times, literally! We definitely got a LOT of exercise!
We took in:
The Library of Congress
The Capitol
Union Station
The National Archives
The White House
The Washington Monument
The Lincoln Memorial
…then we topped it all off by the ulimate…a march across the Potomac on Memorial Bridge!!!
I think our first objection came from the kids just about the time we were at the Capitol! It was a lot of walking and I realized just how much I have allowed my kids to be sedentary. We will have to fix that when we get home! Hubby and I “paid” for that, quite a bit.
However, God provided joy for me in the entire thing…and I hope that helped my family make it through the rather intensive day. For those of you wondering, Daniel has done FABULOUSLY! Thank you for praying! Michaela seems to be getting sick now, though. We definitely need rest!
The eating situation yesterday was intriguing. I managed to eat 0 to 5 the entire day. Hubby got off providing food for us at a restaurant twice… and we foraged on snacks we had packed the rest of the time. I am grateful to God for HoneyMade Graham Crackers and Skippy Peanut Butter! Oh, how I LOVE my peanut butter!
Today, day 3…we were hung up in horrible traffic jams getting to the Metro so it was late by the time we got to DC. For some reason I was feeling REALLY sick. It was almost 90 degrees and I got very light headed! Go figure! I wondered if I was hungry and wanted something that might get sugar into my blood stream quickly, just in case it was low blood sugar. Funny thing…I had two Oreos (the real kind, not the cracker kind! LOL!) and within minutes I was feeling a lot better, thankfully. I have not had an experience like that in a long time, but I have to assume that I missed a hunger signal.
Today, we hoped to tour the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian and maybe Arlington Cemetery and Mt. Vernon. It was so late by the time we got to DC, though, and with Michaela and I both feeling ill…well, we packed up and headed back soon after we got there. I am disappointed on the one hand, but on the other, I know it is best to let it go.
We drove over 2 hours to get to this wonderful condo. Haven’t seen it by daylight yet, but was able to get internet access. It is getting late, but hubby is out at WalMart getting some “provisions” to last us the three nights and days we will be here. (Gotta go cheap, if at all possible!)
I am blessed that so far, my flesh machinery has NOT been operational! I have been filled with the Joy of the Lord for the most part. I know it is HIS joy, as it is FULL. I have had my moments of being cranky, but God has given me an awareness of it and prayer has stopped that behavior in its tracks.
We went to Chili’s restaurant tonight and I was famished. I guess I should be thankful that when the fajitas arrived they were way too salty for me to eat much. So I didn’t eat outside of 0 and 5 today either. Tonight I felt miserable in my stomach and wondered if it was hunger. Again, my signals DO seem to be a bit messed up. I ate a small snack and the discomfort went away. I have to just trust that the Lord will lay it on my heart if it is something I need to give food to and if it is something that can be “cured” with prayer. So far, so good!
I am keeping a food log, observation and correction chart, *and* a hunger graph! It is in a pad in my travel wallet which hangs kind of like a mini-purse from my neck. It is SO convenient and helps me to stay focused. I want to show it to my co-leader of my live TW group when I return so that I can “stay honest” during this trip and not “go on vacation” from 0 to 5 eating or from obeying the Lord. Vacations will NOT be an excuse for disobeying his sweet voice!
P.S. It is 11:30pm here in Virginia and my young man just came out of his room…not yet able to sleep. He is horribly home sick. After making it through the past couple of days perfectly, I guess he is just letting down. If you don’t mind praying some more for him, I know we can get through. Disrupting his routine is very hard for him…and he misses all our animals at home. Thanks so much!
I have internet access! Yay! Right now, I am waiting for the family to be ready to head into Washington, D.C.
Thank you for praying for my son. He is doing great. Both kids are traveling like champs, in fact.
Yesterday was a loooooong day! The typical traveling challenge when on airplanes ALL day is how to eat according to 0 and 5. Then, on the airplane they pass out teasers. Oh my. “100 calorie Oreo Crisp Packs” for instance. Those things are nasty! How can they call those OREO anythings? There is NO cream in them at all! I thought the packs would be like mini Oreos…you know, REAL Oreo mini-cookies, just only 2 and a half of them or something. But no…they were like fake chocolate crackers or something. YUCK! When I got hungry enough, they got me off of 0, but other than that…barf-o-bits! Not even a teaser at this point. I call them TOTAL REJECTS! (Can you tell I am a bit sleep deprived? Oh my!)
A summary of yesterday’s traveling was: Departed by plane from Sacramento at 12:30pm and landed in Chicago-Midway at 6:30pm CT. Took off for Baltimore-Washington International airport at 8:00pm and landed at about 10:45pm Eastern Time. We then had to drive and drive and drive to get to our hotel. I think we arrived at the hotel about 1:30 am.
I began the day yesterday keeping my hunger graph and then realized it was a lost cause. Not because my eating was off…it wasn’t (thank you, Lord!), but between the time zones (what time is it when you are in the air?) and eating only to a 2 (the barf-o-bits previously mentioned) and our coming and going…Definitely some of the eating was on the run.
One thing God wants to teach me is how to have a quiet place in my heart even when the environment is chaotic.
When we did arrive at our hotel, I noticed that my legs and ankles were VERY bloated. I guess that is something that “just happens” to me when I travel. I drank water yesterday, but nevertheless…not as much as I am used to. My ankles and lower legs were like over-inflated water balloons. EEEk.
This morning ankles and lower legs look less like those of an elephant and more like those of a human being. Yay!
Well, I think we are heading out here in a minute. I hope we get to see the Washington Monument, but tickets are handed out early in the morning. Maybe tomorrow morning we will get to see it.
Lord, thank you for this time with my family. Thank you that you have answered so many prayers for Daniel. He is doing really well, Lord. No tears, no excessive IBS symptoms. Thank you for the dear friend who left a voice mail for me last night…made me laugh out loud on the bus on our way to the rental car place…and thank you for the unexpected blessing of a larger car than we had reserved to rent. I know that is an answer to prayers prayed by faithful friends. THANK YOU! And for keeping us safe. I praise you, Lord. Whatever I do today, may it be done to glorify you…whether eating or drinking…yes, Lord, whatever I do….be honored and exalted as Lord. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
I should have started my aliterations earlier! LOL! Oh well.
After we stopped at a “famous” model train place (featured in one of Daniel’s “choo choo” videos), we stopped at the Pennsylvania State Railroad Museum. This was definitely a highlight for the two boys. Michaela and I just wandered around a bit aimlessly. In spite of having a heritage in the railroad and in spite of the fact that my husband works for Union Pacific, to me, all the engines look pretty much alike. I mean, I can tell if there are some older ones and some newer ones, typically, but to me, once you have seen one train museum you have seen them all and Sacramento, CA boasts and amazing railroad museum! I am glad Daniel was happy, though! He has done VERY well on this trip…miraculously well, from my perspective!
