On To the Next One

I have been a horrible blogger lately... seeing as how I haven't blogged at all.  So... I hope that you all had a fabulous holiday!  I certainly did.  Cedric and I spent some really good quality time with his family Christmas week and had a great time!  Even with all the delicious temptations and good home cooking I somehow managed to lose 4.2 lbs of fat that week... I gained 3 lbs of water so my net loss was only 1.2 but I was still pretty impressed with myself.
Then last week I went to Houston to have Christmas with my side of the family... Cedric was very sick and had to work, so he didn't get to come with me, which was very hard for me.  Especially because it feels like we are growing closer lately.  I won't go into great detail, so as not to embarrass the heck out of him, but he has been very intentional about speaking to me in my love language and I have felt it deeply!  My family had a wonderful time together.  We enjoyed watching Jack open his gifts with the wonder and amazement of a child.  We went on walks with the dogs and to take Jack to the park to play.  One day, Alicia, Jake and I took him to the park and it occurred to me... I don't remember the last time that just the three of us did anything together... not that it is good or bad... just an observation.  We had fun swinging him and sliding with him and exploring the tunnels of the playhouse.
At some point in time, I taught him about Baby Jesus in Mom's nativity set and every once in a while he would run over to it and say "Baby Jesus"... he would get so excited as we pulled the Baby Jesus out of his manger to hand him over to Jack and Jack would give him a kiss and then put him back in his manger to go "night night."  That little boy is so smart and so sweet and so good!  I can't get enough of him....
We had great food... Mom made Cioppino (seafood soup) and gumbo on Thurs and it was delicious.  Friday we had a Christmas dinner complete with Turkey and Ham and all the fixings.  Sat we ordered a pizza to watch the TCU bowl game... it was delicious... I only ate the toppings but it was phenomenal!  And GO TCU!
Sunday was really hard for me... I was really missing Cedric a whole lot... my heart was aching for him and I knew that he had the day off work, but I wasn't ready to leave my family either and so I was torn all day.  We all went to church after a quick dog walk.  Worship was a special time and I was grateful we were all there together.  After church we ate lunch and worked on the puzzle and Jack and Alicia napped... and then it was time to say goodbye... I didn't want to and it was difficult but at the same time, I was crying for Cedric too... I cried the first hour of the drive home... and never did find the music to lift my soul... so I just let it take me where it needed to.  I dropped Lillie off and went straight to see Cedric... It was good to be in his arms again!
So today was another weigh-in... and I was pretty nervous... I was unable to resist the homemade Dark chocolate covered walnut and toffee candy that is a Christmas tradition in the Lilburn family.... but I lost another 3 lbs this week so I guess I did ok.
It's been 13 weeks and I have lost 39.4 lbs... Now I have 8 more weeks to lose 25.8 lbs... I know I can do it... Cedric got me a kettle ball for Christmas and my parents got me a balance ball and ball stabilizer with resistance cords... I went to the store yesterday and got more Designer Whey Protein Powder and Jennie-O turkey... they had a sale on Turkey Bratwurst (1/2 off), Turkey Breakfast Sausage links and Extra Lean ground Turkey so I am good to go.  I am looking forward to another year of hard work and success... this past year was mostly about education with a start on health... this year I am focusing on my health and career and building my future with Cedric...
I ask for your prayers as I move into being more of a grown-up... I look forward to the exciting possibilities this year holds for me, my family and my future with Cedric...