13 Updates From the Biz's

I will try and be creative next week and think of something more interesting. :) But for now you are left with some family updates!
1. My detox was over Monday!! :) I really can not believe I did it! I could not have done it without divine intervention. It was such a blessing to have my sister in law do it with me. We were in prayer for each other and knew what each other's battle was. The even weirder thing is that I have had veggies for lunch the past 3 days. I have actually WANTED them!!
2. To fill some readers in---I went to see a holistic doctor. She is also a Christian! I loved visiting with her. She is passionate about getting her patients to their utmost health potential. She immediately put me on a fruit/veggie diet for 21 days. On day 11 I could add in 4 oz. of meat, 2 times a day. My main goal in seeing her was to get my body more healthy. And of course, another reason was to make another attempt to see why my womb remains closed. I also was doing saliva testing every 3 days to test hormones. I got those mailed off and I should have the results of those in a few weeks. We shall see... No high hopes on this end. Been there, done that, results in depression and major lack of motivation.
3. The first night of the detox I was having such bad reactions to lack of caffeine and my blood sugar plummented I passed out in the bathroom floor. Hubbie was not home so Malaya called her dad and grammy. She did a great job of handling it. I could hear her and what she was doing, I just could not respond. I just felt like it was a dream. David returned home quickly, got some Advil down me and sipped some Coke and was up and about after about an hour of laying there. Advice for future detoxers--SLOWLY WEEN yourself off the caffeine. Cold turkey is not real good for the body:)
4. My Papa is doing really well!! He just keeps us on a roller coaster! They have their house on the market and are hoping to move to Decatur with my parents ASAP! They are a little sad about that b/c they have so much history in East Texas but they need to be closer to Mom so that she can take care of them. And selfishly I am excited to have more babysitters!!:)
5. KidStand is going really well. Jessie just returned from Africa where she visited many schools and night shelters in Uganda. Thousands of kids and adults heard the message of Jessie through her and the group she was with. She taught the kids some of the songs off her CD, Pump Up the Praise and she dressed up as her characters and the African children loved that! She has some amazing stories. We will be in Houston on November 12th for a concert! I am looking forward to that. We had a meeting a few nights ago and the KidStand team is building. We all went away from the meeting so pumped and excited about the future of this ministry!
6. Malaya is such a great reader. She really has a passion for reading. She is also quite an artist. She LOVES to draw and paint. I really see her gifts beginning to be developed and see where her niches are.
7. Malaya is taking gymnastics at Texas Tumblers. She has really improved with her skills. The last few weeks, on nights David is home, our living room becomes a gym. They do stunts, practice cartwheels, backbends, flips, etc. I attempt skills occasionally. Why can I not do a backbend and Malaya can. I truly cannot get my head off the ground. David just stared at me and said, "Are you kidding?" At first I thought this might hurt my feelings but then I could not stop laughing! Oh well. Sometimes you got it, sometimes you don't. :) It is neat seeing them have so much fun together and it brings my heart joy to see them have such a special bond.
8. Malaya is quite the dancer too! As she always has been. But she really has special rhythm. Last Friday night we had on the new gospel network channel, which is amazing by the way. They had Christian videos on for 3 hours straight. We took turns with each video making up choreography. She was really good and serious about her skills. She really impressed me by her moves. I on the other hand....well....:):)
Sometimes in church she will get to going and I have to gently put my hand on her shoulder to calm her down a bit. Why do I feel the need to do that? Another topic, for another day:)
9. Business is going well. Still making LOTS of transitions as a family. There have been some tough times but we have to start each day fresh and be resilient. David has hired 2 new workers so that has helped so that he can be more of a supervisor and not the actual labor guy. We are just praying for steady business, especially with the holidays approaching or family members may be receiving candy bars for Christmas:)
10. I am finding joy in my day to day life. I love the activity that comes my way each day. God has been so good to give me gifts of His love every day through people, opportunities, and activity. Surprisingly I have found joy in victory over my sin. A couple of years ago I started praying that God would make me aware of the sin in my heart. He has been constantly, faithful to do so. ;) The ugliness is ugly and He still redeems me and loves me so perfectly. Absolutely astounding to me!
11. Malaya just came in to me and told me that she did something today that would "not have made God happy". She told me what it was, which was not a big deal at all. But she was broken hearted over it. I love her sensitivity but yet she still has such a boldness and confidence about her that is an example to me. I pray that God sustains that in her...
12. I find myself pleading with God for Malaya's purity of body and her spirit. Our world has already begun to strip her of it and truly prayer is the only weapon I have to fight it...so frustrating and overwhelming at times but I am also very grateful that we have the option of prayer.
13. God has been stirring in me for quite a while now about some changes I need to make in my life. When am I going to choose to be obedient? Why am I such a stubborn soul?

Until next week... or maybe I will actually blog before next Thursday??!! Love to ya'!