Don't forget...

...to go back HERE and leave a comment!

You may have visited Cecelia's site this week and found some "Blogger alert". If so, no worries!It's all cleared up and our wonderful host is anxious to find out who she will be Breaking Bread with this week! It may be YOU!

Also, spread the word to your bloggy buddies so they can share in the fun and see how God uses His people to do His work. I love this idea!

A Boy and His Dogs

The Biggest Loser!

Thank you all for your comments and emails. I have to say that you guys TRULY rock! You make me laugh, and of course, feel so blessed! Amanda laughed and said, with a mortified look on her face, "Oh my God, Mom! You posted those pictures?" Hehehe! She's taking every precaution to make sure that none of her friends ever Googles my name and by chance comes across those pictures. I'm hoping that she learns that there is so much more to life than what you see on the outside. But, with her being 14 now, that's a hard lesson to learn at that age.

Moving on. I wanted to share about what else has been going on around here. Sweet hubby never says anything about my weight, but since I'm gonna be needing a forklift to get me into the van soon, I thought I'd better start doing something about it.

We are in week six of my being post-op. Therefore, I can no longer use that excuse to milk the fact that I have been laying around pretty much doing nothing. Have I enjoyed it? Hec, yeah! But now it's time to face the music.

I went on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago and found an old, but great working treadmill. Yep. I used to have one of those many moons ago, and I must admit that it was probably one of the best clothes hangers I've ever used. But not this time. No siree! I'm serious. So serious that Scott has decided to challenge me! Mr. Aktins versus Mrs. Weight Watchers. Yes, he's doing the Atkins diet and I'm doing Weight Watchers. I admit, we looked pretty funny at the grocery store the other day when we ran in to get our supplies. He was counting carbs. I was counting "points". We were there for almost 2 hours! At night, while he's having a big juicy steak, I sit across from him having mashed potatoes or bread. We're pretty even. Except last night, when I pulled out 3 Oreo cookies because I had 4 points that I hadn't used up yet! Good stuff!

Without specifying exact digits on the scale (see...and you all said I was brave!), I need to lose double of what Scott does. I'm pumped and ready to go. Every morning after dropping off the kids at school, I hop on 'ol treddy and we go at it for about 45 minutes. I'm pretty proud of myself thus far even though it's only been 4 days. Each day I burn an extra few calories and go a little further on the mileage calculator.

The deal between Scott and I goes like this. Sweet hubby loves to play golf. Playing golf during "season" in So. Florida is something you need to get a second mortgage for. It's crazy! Some courses are well over $200. for 18 holes. Ummm.....Scott doesn't play too often. Well, really. Scott rarely plays. So, if he loses 20 lbs. before I do, he will get a full day of golf. No, not at one of the fancy, schmancy courses, but golf is golf and he's really looking forward to it.

I, on the other hand, love to get facials, manicures and pedicures. (Did you notice I didn't say anything about hair? :) So, if I lose 20 lbs. first, I will spend a day having all the bells and whistles at the spa. That's really a luxury for me since going from 1 child at home to 4 has put a huge crunch in our budget.

Scott has threatened to take the scale to work with him everyday because I seem to not be able to get off the thing! Then I get pretty down on myself when I realize that I've only lost 3 lbs in 4 days. Slow return on my investment is the biggest reason I always quit diets. But now since I have a partner to compete against, and Lord knows I'm competitive, it's more fun. We have agreed to an "official weigh-in" every Monday morning before he heads to work.

Please keep me in your prayers that I could do this. I want/need to lose 40 lbs. Both for my health and because I want to look good for Sweet Husband. For the first time in my life I really, really want to be The Biggest Loser!

Because you asked....

and because I'm not vain, I have decided that I will share the infamous hair pictures. (You thought I was kidding about my entry in "Not Me Monday?")

Without further ado, for your laughing viewing pleasure, here's my hair in the span of 4 days last week.

The week started off like this.....black hair.

I had the crazy notion that I could go blond (over the black when my roots started showing).

Ummm.... It didn't work! (insert the word: IDIOT!) Then I bleached it! Notice the YELLOW roots? Yep, nice, huh?!

So, then I colored it again. This time, it was all orange! And I mean "Carrot Top" orange!

Finally, I realized my calling in life is not to be a hair dresser. So, after a professional got of hold of me, this was the final result.

I believe that publicizing this embarrassing moment is definitely worthy of comments. So, go ahead. Finish laughing and tell me your thoughts. I'm ready! I'm a big girl. I can take it!

For those of you that say that the orange "wasn't too bad", I say, "LIES"! I know where you got that line from. My sweet (and lying) husband, Scott!

This is powerful!

Please scroll down to turn off the background music and take the few minutes to watch this! It is so worth it! All I can say is, "WOW!!!" God DOES transform lives!

Warning: Be sure to have a tissue or two around before watching.

CARDBOARD TESTIMONIES

Please, let's unite in prayer!

There is a sweet 3 1/2 yr. old little boy, Samuel, who has only been home with his family for about 5 weeks. He was adopted from Ethiopia. Two days ago, there was a horrible tractor accident at their home and he is in pretty bad shape. His family is asking for prayers.

Again, we all know the power in prayer. Lift up this little boy and his family to our Savior and pray for miracles to happen. As a parent, I cannot even fathom what they are going through. You can visit a website they've opened up to follow his progress HERE.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

Ok...well, maybe not exactly "coming to dinner". But she was in town yesterday and filled our stadium with hopefuls of her becoming the new vice president. There were very few tickets left, and I pondered about going to the long lines to buy one (no clue what the cost was....that might've determined if I went or not also), but then I read her schedule and she was speaking at 2:45 p.m. That just happens to be the exact time that I am pulling up to my first school pick up line as I do my daily runs to pick the kids up. But, I would've really loved to see her. I think she's a great speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed the debate.

I am praying daily that the Lord's will is done to save his babies, and that this country does not fall into the hands of Obama. The more I read, the scarier it gets.

My opinion. My blog, folks! So, settle down.

I just feel that with friends like Bill Ayers, the Castro brothers and Hugo Chavez, my, oh my....who needs enemies?! Our problems are gonna be a whole lot bigger than the economy if Mr. Obama makes it into the White House.

We look forward to watching tonight's presidential debate.

P.S. If you're thinking about not coming back because you're an Obama fan, you may just miss those infamous hair pictures! Ahhh....you never know.

Are you ready for a makeover?

Well, this your chance! Not only will you receive an absolutely beautiful makeover for your blog, but (and more importantly) you will be helping to bring THIS precious, sweetie home from Russia!

Charlotte, who is already the Mom to 3 angels born in her heart, is now fundraising to bring home her last child, an older special needs child endearingly known as "Blue Eyes".

Well, when Nikki from Blogs for a Cause heard this, she jumped at the chance to help! For the month of October, Nikki will be donating $5.00 from every blog makeover she creates to helping bring Blue Eyes home! So, technically, you are not only helping another orphan make their way home, but you are also contributing to another worthy cause. Please click on Nikki's link for more info. Oh! And the coolest thing is that she only charges $30.00! That's amazing for what you get!

You can visit Charlotte's family at My Arctic Princess and check out the other fundraisers that she has going to bring her daughter home.

It's Not Me Monday, again....yippeee!!!!

I did this last week and had such a great time, I thought I'd try it again. Join in on the fun! So, what didn't I do this week?

• I did not buy a bag of peanut M & Ms while at the grocery store with the kids and I certainly did not tell them it was "spicy" so they wouldn't ask for any. How sad would that be?

• There's no way that for my own entertainment, I would push my sweet 2 year old, AJ, into the pool to see if he'd like it. I knew he'd probably cry, and in no way did I think it was funny if he'd yell out, "Mama, no pushing!" as he doggie paddled to his Daddy. That would be so mean and I love my baby boy!

• I did not lose the battery charger to my new Sony SLR camera. That would be completely irresponsible, therefore I would never do that. I also would never insinuate to Scott that he was the last one to see it, therefore it he must've been the one that lost it, because I know that is not true. He never touches my camera, and I would never accuse him.

• I certainly did not sleep in both days this weekend and tell Scott that he should give up HIS day because on my morning he didn't keep the kids quiet and I kept waking up. I did not feel guilty when my sweet husband gave up his morning of sleeping in, so I could sleep late both days because he felt bad.

• I absolutely did not change my hair color, including bleaching it, three times this week to the point that I had to run and have it all cut off this morning. No! I wouldn't do that because I know nothing about coloring hair and I think that having black, red and blond hair all in the same week would be terrible for your hair. Worse yet, there is no way that I had my teenage daughter assist in this task so that I could have someone else to blame for the disaster that became of my hair. I would never do something like that.(Pictures may not follow).
  
  

How COOL is this?

I know this is last minute and I apologize for posting it so late, but I've been out most of the day. I came home to an email from a very sweet sister in Christ that has been moved by God to "Break Bread" in the form of a giveaway. You've got to read what she's doing! I am humbled and blessed.

Take a minute and go Breaking Bread Together and be sure to leave a comment. You gotta hurry though, since the first giveaway ends at midnight tonight! It really is a unique site and I hope the idea of Breaking Bread spreads, especially while times are so tough for so many!