And the Biggest Loser is....

ME!!!!!!!

Well, it was no secret that I gained weight during my pregnancy. And all that happened after Noah was born added so much stress to my life that it was very difficult to get back to my old self -- mentally, physically, and spiritually. After personal trainers, lots of different diets and many failed attempts, I finally did it!!! Earlier this spring a friend of mine in the MOMS club asked if I wanted to join a biggest loser challenge with her. I agreed and since late April we have been meeting every week to weigh in. It cost $29 per person and the biggest loser at the end got the money. There were about 15 participants and a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prize would be awarded. My friend who invited me was just as motivated as I was and we dueled it out every week. We both went on vacations, had family events, went to parties and struggled to make it to that weigh in every week. But for 12 weeks neither one of us had a gain. She is 6 inches shorter than I am and so she started at a lower weight. It was a percentage weight loss competition. I just got home from my last weigh in... She lost 17.7 lbs and I lost 20.9 lbs. Our final percentages were 11.05 (her) and 11.49 (me). It doesn't get much closer than that!!!! So, I'll win over $100 and she'll win $60.

But just as Paul said this morning, it doesn't matter that I won, because either way I won... I'm 15lbs less than when I found out I was pregnant and about 10 lbs less than my old "normal". The pictures are from when I seriously started trying to lose weight last April. From that date, I have lost 47lbs. HOLY CRAP!

Thanks to everyone who made nice compliments along the way -- they really helped! And thanks to my MOMS club for being so encouraging and letting us talk about weight loss all the time. And thanks to my awesome husband who always tells me how great I look and who always helps me make time to work out.





Please know that this is very difficult for me to post these!!!! I just hope that you share in my joy and know what a struggle this has been!!!! But, God always provides a way, even when it seems that there is no hope.

Beach Week!!!

We just returned from a fantastic week at the beach. Better than we expected! We did such great things every day and we are home and relaxed and incredibly happy.

We went with our friends Jason and Erin who have a 1 1/2 year old, so Noah had a play mate. We stayed in the Hayloft which is a clergy house at Rehoboth, DE and it is 2 blocks from the beach and 2 blocks from the shopping district -- it is the perfect location. We had incredible weather and it was so awesome to enjoy the sunshine. Our routine was pretty consistent -- wake up, eat, beach, come home, eat lunch, naps for everyone, dinner, boardwalk, grown up time. We did have some special stuff -- Noah's first carnival rides on the boardwalk, a visit from our other friend Erin and her boyfriend Andy who were at the beach the same week, a ride on a "surry" bicycle (we both got to pedal), a day off from the sand at a local water park, and yummy dinners out. Noah was such a rockstar and we had so much fun. And a side bonus was that we have him potty trained except for sleeping right now -- yippeee!!!!! We'll work on naptime this week and then to night time after that.

A little photo tour of our awesome week: