Introducing...Sophie Joye

We are so excited to introduce to you the newest member of our family, Sophie Joye!!

 

 

Sophie was born on Friday, December 27th, 2013 at 10:11pm, weighing 8 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long!!

We are so blessed to finally be a family of four!! Please continue to keep us in your prayers over the next few days and weeks as we adjust to life with our new little one.

Love you all,
Jon, Jen, Olivia, and Sophie Joye

Slowing Down

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"You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight."

- Jim Rohn

 

I am a very faster eater. Maybe it's because I am the oldest of five siblings and in my family food went quickly. You had to get what you wanted or you didn't get anything at all. However, I am beginning to learn that even though I could win a food eating contest, this is not the best habit to help me maintain my healthy lifestyle.

When I went to visit my family, I spent some time with my Mom and Grandma. While at my Grandma's house, I noticed how slowly she eats her food. You can't blame it on her age, because as long as I can remember she has always been a very slow eater. I couldn't help but think that I would like to be just like her, but don't know how.

Thankfully, the Weight Watchers routine of the month for November is to Slow Down! More specifically, you are to "put your fork down and sip water in between bites". I am so excited to begin to try this routine and to learn to eat my food more slowly.

Some of you might hesitate to try this new routine, but let's look at some of the benefits you get when you slow down your eating.

1. Research shows that "people ate 10% fewer calories when they dialed down their pace than when they scarfed down their food". Who would be sad about consuming fewer calories? Not very many of you. In the long run, eating more slowly can help you achieve your weight loss goals!

2. You will have a happier digestive tract! Eating too quickly can lead to gas and heartburn. People who spend more time eating their meals are less likely to suffer from issues like those.

3. Feeling more satisfied is another good reason to slow down your eating habits.

Finally, here are a few tips to help you slow down when dining.

1. Take it all in. Engage all your sense. How does the food look and smell? Anticipate that first taste and really savor each mouthful as you go.

2. Eat frequently. Don't let me than four hours go by between meals, so you aren't famished when you sit down to eat.

3. Reflect on what you would do differently next time. How could you better prepare?

What will it take for you to slow down this week?

Commit to trying this for just one meal and see what kind of difference it makes for you!

 

 

For more tips, please visit the Weight Watchers website.

Learning to Accept Help

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A few weeks back, my friend's Mom, Diane, offered to help me clean my house. Diane said that she would be willing to clean my house every other week and help me with whatever needed to be done around my house.

I'm not going to lie to you that it took me several weeks to warm up to the idea. I am such a proud and it is hard for me to accept help from others, especially when I know that I could clean my house on my own. After wavering back and forth over what I would do, I finally talked to Jon and he encouraged me to contact Diane and accept her offer.

So, reluctantly I texted Diane and asked if her offer was still good. Almost immediately, Diane called me back. She was thrilled that I had gotten a hold of her in order to take her up on her offer. We talked and decided that yesterday would be the perfect day for her to come by and deep clean my house.

I was so nervous all morning waiting for Diane to arrive at my house. It was raining pretty hard and I wanted to call her to try to back out of all of this. Then after Diane arrive, it was so hard to sit in my house and focus on my work while someone else cleaned up my mess.

Do you know what? I survived. It did not kill me to accept help from another person. To be perfectly honest, I felt so blessed yesterday, after Diane left my house. I am so thankful to this woman for being willing to serve me and my family in this incredible way.

Do you know what else? Diane will be back in two weeks to help me again! I hope and pray that every time she comes to my house, I will become more willing to accept help from others.

What about you? Do you willingly accept help from others? What areas in your life you need to begin to accept help from those around you?

For me, it was all about my dirty floors, but maybe for you it's regarding your weight loss journey. Or maybe you need to accept someone's offer to be your workout buddy. Or maybe you need to ask your family to begin to help support your new healthier lifestyle.

So let's not wait any long!! The time to learn to accept help from those around us is now!!

As my husband said, "Praise God there are people our there willing to help stubborn people like us".

Stepping Down

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Some of you might follow my Twitter @jennewsham. If so, you saw me tweet this over the weekend, "Made an announcement at my #weightwatchers meeting today. More details to come....". If you've been waiting for "more details to come..." that time is now!!

For several months now, I've been feeling the Lord laying it upon my heart to give up a few things at this time. With the upcoming arrival of my second child, I have been forced to reevaluate my schedule to see what needs to go and what can stay.

When all was said and done, my husband and I decided that it would be best for me to step down from leading my Saturday morning Weight Watchers meeting. I am sad to say that I will lead my last Weight Watchers meeting on November 23rd.

I have had the most incredible Weight Watchers members come through my meetings!! I am thankful for each and everyone of them!!

This is not the end for me and Weight Watchers.

I will continue to work for Weight Watchers as a receptionist and as a leader if ladies need a sub.

I hope and pray that this is not something that I have to give up forever. I love being a Weight Watchers leader and hope that I will be able to have the honor of leading my own meeting again in the future.

My New Favorite...Greek Yogurt

I went to my doctor's appointment yesterday. I am excited to share that both myself and Sophie are healthy and doing well! Today, I am 32 weeks pregnant and time just keeps slipping away from us as this time of year tends to do.

One of the greatest discoveries that I have made throughout my pregnancy has been my new found love for...

Greek Yogurt

I'm sure it will shock many of you to hear me admit that up until two months ago I did not like Greek yogurt at all. My go to yogurt has always been Yoplait Light Yogurt, because it is delicious and just 2 pointsplus+.



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Everything changed for me this past September when I went to visit my Mom, who is on her own weight loss journey, and found out that she enjoys Greek yogurt almost everyday! After I arrived home from my trip, I was determined to give Greek yogurt another chance. I bought three different brands and three different flavors of Greek yogurt to try. I also got some Special K granola to add to my yogurt, because I thought that might help me like it a little bit better than if it was just plain.

To my surprise and delight, I feel head of heels for Greek yogurt. It is a wonderful source of protein that really helps me to stay full for hours. I've tried all different flavors in the last few months, but I have to say that right now the Chobani Apple Cinnamon is my favorite.



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Do you like Greek yogurt? What are your favorite brands and flavors?

If you have never tried Greek yogurt, I would encourage you to give it a chance. It is always nice to have a wide variety of healthy food choices that we enjoy, so we do not get bored with the foods that we are eating.

Home vs. Hospital Birth

Today, I am 31 weeks pregnant that means I only have 9 weeks left until I get to meet my baby girl, Sophie Joye!!

Earlier this week, I shared this blog post on my family blog. I wanted to re-share this post with all of you, because someone might need encouragement from the Lord this week on this particular topic.

For months I’ve been going back and forth between a home birth and a hospital birth. I’ve been praying that the Lord would show me which one He wants me to do. What would be best for our family? What would bring the Lord the most glory?

Last night, God gently whispered in my ear, “I am with you.”

I thought to myself that this was very nice, but what I really needed to know from the Lord is whether or not I should have Sophie at home or in the hospital.

Again, the Lord said to me, “I am with you.”

Even as I read the story of Noah to Olivia out of her, “The Jesus Storybook Bible“, the Lord reminded me that He will always be with me.

This really seemed to be the theme of the evening, but I’m not sure that I was connecting the dots to understand what the Lord was really trying to teach me. However, with the Lord’s help, the verse below came to mind to share with you in connection with the lesson that I’ve been learning. Are you ready for the cool part? Keep reading.

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).”- Matthew 1:23 ESV

 

Did you see it!? The Lord is trying to teach me that He is with me and this verse specifically tells us that Jesus’s name was Immanuel – God with us!!

God is with me, I mean He is really with me!! Wow, what a perfect time of year to learn this lesson!!
All along I’ve been seeking the “right” answer from the Lord about Sophie’s birth and in this situation, I believe that God will bless us no matter where we deliver our new baby girl. God’s decided to leave this choice up to us. However, no matter what we decide God wants me to always remember that He is with me!!

For now, my plan is to have Sophie in the hospital, just like I did with Olivia. However, in the coming weeks, I cannot wait to see how Sophie’s birth story unfolds!!

Missing You

My dear bloggy friends, it has been too long since the last time that I wrote a blog post. Life has been so busy, but I would love to take time to just catch up with you all!!

If you follow our family blog, you know that my husband recently got a new job with American Eagle Airlines. Jon was gone for almost two months straight training for his new position as a first officer.

As a result, Jon's job has left me home alone as a "single" Mom taking care of Olivia by myself. So, you can see why I haven't had a lot of time or energy for blogging. Being a pregnant woman who works full-time and takes care of a 13 month old little girl, doesn't leave room for much else.

It is hard to believe that I am the mother of a 13 month old!! Olivia has grown up so quickly. I really wish that you all could meet her, because she is the most amazing little girl that I know!! Olivia is very independent, so naturally she is already walking on her own. She also has a very tender heart and spirit. She is extremely observant and a very good judge of character. Olivia loves listening to music and reading books, when she is not busy exploring.

I am very blessed to tell you that my second pregnancy is going really well!! I am already 27 weeks along with our 2nd baby girl, Sophie Joye. Sophie's due date is December 31st, 2013. We cannot wait for Sophie to arrive. It will be fun to be able to kick off the new year with a new family member. So far, I have had another very healthy pregnancy. I found out that I am anemic, so I am taking iron pills and modifying my diet appropriately to bring up my iron levels.

With Jon being gone, it's been easy for me to turn to emotional eating to make myself feel better when I am alone. I haven't always made the best choices. However, under the circumstances I am trying to be gracious with myself. After Sophie arrives, I will be jumping back on the weight loss bandwagon again.