Planning To Own 2014

I miss blogging and being able to read back on memories we’ve made as a family. So one if this years goals is to blog more and have a space for us to remember all the things we as a family have experienced. To be honest, it’s more for me than for the readers >insert wink

Cannot wait to see what awaits in the new year and all I keep thinking is 2014 will be amazing because I will choose a positive outlook.
Choose to love the life God has blessed me with. Choosing to write the pages of my own story with care, love, kindness, and determination to become who God wills me to be. Lots of changes await our family in the next few years and I look forward to getting started now. Yes I may keep restarting my goals of wanting to get fit and healthy but at least I haven’t given up of myself. That’s the secret to success, is it not? Not giving up, having the determination to see things through. The road will be bumpy, may even have huge to holes, but it’s up to me to patch up those detours and continue to live life to the fullest allowing myself the grace to fail only to get up and start over. I will not give up on myself nor my family. Time to be bold. Time for change within. Time to own 2014.

First Quarter Report

Four month into the 2013 and not a single post! Shame on me… I need to get back into the habit of posting here because honestly, when I go back and re-read some of the stuff the kids have done I find myself smiling at the little details I would have otherwise forgotten.

So much has already happened this year… Luke has been tested for his speech and was found that he was on par for speaking but a few months behind on understanding. We are to go back at the end of this summer to have him reevaluated. Of course during the evaluation we were given some very useful ideas on how to get him to speak more, things we simply overlooked. Since implementing the suggestions given to us he really has furthered his word count but still lacks in sentence structure, at least to me he does. Best part is L has become such a cuddle bug and this momma just adores all the snuggles and kisses I get from him. He still pays hard to get when it comes to dada but we think it is a game he likes to play with his daddy.

Dak has been amazing at school and has been elected next years Honor Society’s president!! We are of course proud but also know that it was ALL him and his hard work! He has applied to the Naval Academy’s summer internship and we should find out in the next few weeks if he gets accepted or not. I am praying that whatever happens it does so on God’s terms now ours.

Eva has blossomed into the sweet girl I never knew I wanted… She is a dream daughter to have. She is sweet, sensitive, helpful, bossy, funny, demanding and currently obsessed with learning new things. I love this age!! Since she has started Cubbies (AWANA), her heart is on fire for Christ! It is so much fun watching her learns a verse a week!!

Hubs and I have been attending a marriage bible study while E is in Cubbies and we have truly been blessed by the various studies we have completed. Since September 2012, we have completed three different studies and each has thought us something new to add to our marriage. I love how each of us is changing to become what the other one needs and we are no longer waiting for the other to change for us. God is so amazing!!

My diagnosis of Hypothyroidism has had its difficulties. According to my blood work, the meds are where they need to be and seem to be working. However, I feel I may need a slightly higher dosage so we are waiting to see what the next set of blood work indicates. My doctor wanted to have a clear picture with the new diagnosis and requested some ultrasounds. The results of the ultrasounds showed I had many nodules, which is quite normal, but 2 in particular has some questionable growth on them, one of which was 1.32cm in size. Based on the second opinion I went in for if it reaches larger than 1.5cm they will simply remove it and the growth on it won’t matter. We simply have to wait an additional six months from the ultrasound date to redo them and go from there. The wait and see would normally bother me but since I have full trust in God and his plans for me I am being patient to see what the future holds. There are times when I wonder if I should worry more or look at my neck to see if I can feel it but then I make an effort to stop before I freak myself out. I have gained an incredible amount of weight and while it continuously bothers me, I know my heart is beautiful and that when I am able I will shed the pounds.

I finally finished the last required class for my AA degree and should have my degree come May. I’ve already applied and have been accepted to Liberty University, a Christian university, and am so excited to start as soon as my financial aid is approved!

I have made a few friends since being here and it’s been a great time for God and I to grow closer without any distractions pulling me away. I have completed a few studies, one of which I was able to co-lead in PWOC and let me tell you it was a huge blessing! I have changed in too many ways to list but overall I feel I am a happier, more fulfilled person than I was last year. A few more months and there is talk of me weaning off my depression meds – HOORAY!!

The Bellz 2013

This was just a quick update…hoping I can update this blog at least weekly so you all can continue to keep up with the Bellz.

Love to all,

JB

 

So Long 2012

I am sure many of you have heard the traditionally sung  “Auld Lang Syne” song at the stroke of midnight, ever wonder what that means? It simply means “Days of Long Ago.” The song talks about friendships long forgotten and then they come to reunite and remember the good days they had together … in a nutshell. Oh, how I have been thinking of this song today… I have had many friendships fade away slowly through the years and yet when we talk on the phone or via e-mail I love that with the friendships I have held close to my heart it seems as if only distance separated us and not our friendship. I love that we get to move around the world with the many opportunities the military has given us… having my friends and family so far away is something I simply haven’t gotten use to nor do I like.

We have had many events happen within 2012:

–       E tuned three years old,

–       We went to visit my family in Turkey for a few weeks and the kids got to meet all my family I have there,

–       We packed up our home and moved back to the states from Germany,

–       Dak and L got to meet each other for the first time plus the littles and Dak bonded over the summer

–       E and L got to meet three of their cousins on hubs side,

–       We became Godparents to Ali and I got to meet her in person

–       E had her tonsils removed,

–       Hubs had his septioplasty,

–       I got diagnosed with my condition of hypothyroidism and depression

Even with all the positives this year, I will say this year was my most trying year since the year my dad passed away. It’s so secret for many of you reading this that I will be happy to leave 2012 behind and start 2013 with a fresh, clean slate. Thankfully with all the ups and down God has always provided for us and saw us through each storm we faced. I am happy to say my marriage is stronger now than it has ever been and we are closer to God as a couple due to all we gone through. It wasn’t easy, it wasn’t fun, but with lots of prayer and patience, we have been able to overcome a lot this year.

I am so very thankful to those of you who have stood by and helped me through it all. With each encouraging word, uplifting email, text or phone call, and prayers you have truly been wonderful friends. To the friends I have avoided and not contacted in a while or made little contact with, I am sorry. I simply needed some space to get through the past months and the next few. I promise I will call soon and explain in more detail. I know I have been selfish and haven’t been there for many of you in return and for that, again, I am so very sorry. I cannot wait to get back to my old self! I am trying hard and seeing results slowly but at least I am on a path to recovery.

Now to end the last blog post of 2012 on a more positive note (!) here are the goals / resolutions I have set for myself!!

1)   No more procrastinating!! This goes for anything and everything. Things need to get done ASAP not “in a few minutes”

2)   Obtain my AA with UMUC, finalize and declare my BA with Liberty University

3)   Run a “Color Me Rad” 5k on 05/05/2013

4)   Drink more water!! (I had this resolution in 2008 and it did me wonders!!)

May 2013 bring us all joy, love, and good health with those whom we love and hold dearly to us the most!! Happy New Year Everyone!

Love Always,

BellzJourney a.k.a JBellz