Emma's Birthday

Today marks the beginning of prep work for Emma's 6th birthday party..to be held tomorrow evening. Out of all of my kids, she's the most dramatic and enthusiastic (well, Anna can hold a candle to her on that one). I went with the famous Strawberry Shortcake theme and was blessed by Angela's mom with the character cake pan so that I could attempt to decorate the cake myself! Holy smokerooos! I've had all of the cake tips for 11 years (I did one Winnie the Pooh cake for Anna's 3rd birthday). Now, I'm remembering why I've only done one in all of these years- that was a LOT of work! The most difficult part was changing colors and tips. If I would have had duplicate tips and plenty of couplers then it would have been a breeze as I could've just
filled all of the bags with various colors and put the tips on and went to town on it. Strawberry Shortcake almost had a sunburned affect until I got smart and lightened up her skin tone :)

If you know John at all, you know he's hard to impress. So, the best part of my entire evening was hearing my honey say "Wow, I'm impressed!" Yahoooo!!! Doesn't it surely say somewhere in the Bible that the Proverbs 31 woman goes to extrenuating efforts on her child's birthday party??? Ok..probably not :)

Another thing to note about a birthday party at the Townsend household, there are a minimum of 23 people that are always invited- this is just family plus anna's BF Cayla. I always have a meal because i feel like it's a way to bless all of my family who have been so supportive of our BIG family and I do love to cook:) Well, I know everyone is eating lots of grill out food this summer, so I decided to go NON traditional for summer and make a good ole down home meal- pure comfort food! (Dont' worry I'm going to almost starve all day tomorrow so that I can enjoy dinner). In preparations, I went crazy and decided to do a time consuming meal- homemade beef and noodles (yes, from scratch!), mashed taters, corn and green beans, deviled eggs and veggie tray. My mom insisted that we use up the 24 Beef House Rolls- so I'll bake those up too! Is your mouth watering?? Mine is! The good news is that I asked my mom to bring the deviled eggs and my dad to do the veggie tray (my kids love to snack on veggies before the meal). I'm going simple with drinks- tea, lemonade and 1 - 2 liter of Coke. Besides the main cake, I made a lowfat angel food cake with crushed pineapple in it- yummmy!

YOu probably already know this recipe but if not:
Take 1 box of angel food cake mix and add a 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple, juice and all!
Stir up. Grease ONLY the BOTTOM of a 13x9 pan and bake on 350 for 30 min, or until golden brown and firm, not sticky. Cool. I take a bag of frozen whole strawberries from Aldi's and put a little sugar or splenda on them and let them thaw in fridge overnight. Serve cake with scoop of strawberries on top and a dollop of fat free cool whip- To die for!!!

Emma stayed over night at Auntie's house and will arrive at the party to see everything decorated and adorable...pink, white and light green streamers, pink balloons, strawberry shortcake tablecloth....and of course the cake in the middle of the table. I can't wait to see her eyes light up and the big smile on her face.

My legs now hurt so badly from standing all day in my kitchen that I can barely move..but I need to go clean up the kitchen so I don't wake up to a tornado of strawberry shortcake colored icing leftovers! Ok...off I go to drink some water and try to do some clean up! So, tomorrow, I just have to finalize cleaning my house, set up a couple of tables, decorate, peel 10 lbs. of taters, cook and mash 'em, let the rolls raise and then bake, cook the noodles that are drying on my counter. Ahhh....and this time tomorrow night it'll all be over :) Don't get me wrong...I love having our family over- it'll be a blast!!!
k

Shipshee

What a scorcher of a day I had yesterday at Shipshee with Tina! We began an annual tradition of going up for the day in celebration of our birthday month (June). The thing I love about Tina is her excitement, her preparedness and her sense of adventure. Even though it was just one day..I felt like it was a small sense of rejuvenation. She is the most prepared person i know...she remembered to bring things that I was oblivious to remembering... like a fanny pack to keep money sound and safe right at her belt level- brilliant! She remembered a hat and even had an extra visor for me- my, oh my, how cute I must have looked with my bright red visor on :) She brought an extra back pack to carry her "finds" in, cause let me tell you...those little plastic sacks they give you with your stuff really cause your wrists to sweat like a pig in 93 degree weather.
She had sunscreen conveniently located in her glove compartment and that was a huge life saver because I would have come home scorched had it not been for that. We have a tradition of eating at this stand called "King's BBQ" and get this scrumptious slow roasted, smoked chicken
and a pickle. It's only like a dollar more to add on baked beans and a roll, but Tina was brilliant...and said she didn't really want those items so she was going to go with just a pickle and water with the chicken. I never, never, never would have thought of that! That's how warped my eating process has been for so many years!!! I drank at least 3 more waters and felt great.
I walked my toosh off (not really, don't worry..I still have plenty of a toosh) and sadly had to retire to the air conditioned car about 5 rows early as Tina plowed her way to the very end- go Tina go! I was so proud of her to press on. I couldn't...just couldn't. My feet were killing me due to my shoe choice. AFter leaving the flea market, we planned to stop at a family style dining Amish restaurant that we had visited last year. Then, Tina shared that her mom recommened a new place that was even better!! Yahooo....so we ventured to "Essenhaus" and my oh my...it was a delight. I can still taste the mashed potatoes- to die!!!!
As I layed in bed last night, I tried to calculate the approximate calories of my day and realized something strikingly valuable- it is very easy to forget about other food that I had eaten that day and I must, must write down my food intake. There is just something to be said about a written record of things. During my first 2 weeks of my "Weigh N Pray" adventure I had the most success losing 2 lbs per week. I was dedicated to writing everything down and actually doing a running tally of calories. I started the day with 2200 available calories and then subtracted everytime I ate something. This allowed me to consciously plan ahead for the next meals and snacks of the day. Another huge key was small pieces of very dark chocolate- the
Green's and Black brand of individually wrapped pieces. I would eat 4 or 5 of those a day- no prob! But, see they are only 25 calories each and they just do something to your taste buds to cause a deep satisfaction. Up until about a year ago..I hated dark chocolate. But now I love it-how strange.
God is always reminding me how HE is in charge and it's no problem for him to change our likes and dislikes. Too often we are convinced that we are the way we are and that's just final. NOPE! That's a lie. We are pliable and moldable in God's hands.
Stay cool today!
k

ooooh- boogers!

Hey friends,
I've posted before about my wonderful teenage daughter Anna, but I'm calling you all to pray for her. She's going through a very rigorous conditioning program and training in preparation for the freshman volleyball team. Tryouts are Aug 1, 2 and 3rd. I'm claiming that in Jesus' name she will make this team and be a wonderful leader and example for Christ! This is very heavy on my heart. She had a minor set back this past week with a lower leg muscle injury and she needs prayer for complete healing so that she can get back to the conditioning on Monday morning. I've kept in touch with the coach, but the bottom line is that Anna must be in good shape by tryouts and everyday is valuable.
As for me....not so good of a day. I ate too many brownies after the Father's day dinner that I made tonight in honor of my dad. What has been my deal lately with brownies??!!!!
I'm listening to the sweet sound of Evan, Johnathan and Abby playing the game "Life"....ahhh...i loved that game when I was their ages! I'm not sure how my life is portrayed to others, but this is such a sweet moment for me because there is no fighting. Just laughter, giggles, silly noises, high pitch screeches of excitement, chitter chatter..etc. I absolutely adore my kids and value the precious moments with them. Pray against satan's schemes to discourage me with their bickering and fighting...this is when I feel most desperate and baffled. Sometimes they say the most ridiculous things to one another to cause a stir. For example, today in the van I hear Evan yell "Mom, I'm about to puke!" (He was literally gagging). "Abby just wiped a booger near me!"
Abby starts defending her poor decision by saying " I had to wipe it somewhere because it was really gross and I was about to puke!" Really? Really? Are my kids wiping boogers on anything but a tissue? How repulsive!!! The sad thing is that I was laughing so hard that I couldn't pull myself together to even look for a real tissue. All that I could do is reach down and grap a crumpled up old receipt that resembled a tissue and passed it to the back seat of the van. Evan continued to truly gag as Abby dealt with the unruly booger!!! Gross!!!!!!
k

Different Direction

Hey friends! I've been wanting to blog for quite a few days, but as you know...life gets away from us sometimes.

I was down .4 lbs at the Wed. night meeting- yay! I'm doing good and i was just reminded to start chugging water.

You know how you go through times in your life when you are very distant from God and other times you might feel closer to Him? Well, I'm finally coming out of another dry spell and by His grace, I can hear Him clearly right now. He has had several things to say to me in this past week and they have of course been rather humbling.
I will list them in no particular order.
- I must continue to walk in the upmost integrity. Little lies or deceptions ARE sin and against God. One of our kids wanted to lie about what age Avry was so that she could get a free meal the other day. When I was growing up, I would've just lied and not thought a thing of it. God reminded me how important it is to talk through these situations with the kids and show them how easy and tempting it is to lie. Also, I parked in a handicapped spot at a ball game and didn't realize it. As we were watching the game, John brought it to my attention and suggested we go move the van. I said...awe, don't worry about it, we'll be leaving soon. Anna so kindly said, "mom, don't forget about integrity..doing what's right when no one is looking." She was right.
- Today is always a new day- the #1 reason why I stay in sin (eating issues, etc) is because I don't fully believe that He can forgive me and give me power to succeed. I must trust whole heartedly in HIM and not my ways. Prayer is the number 1 way to peace and power to overcome!
- I am officially no longer working and providing income for our family. I have total peace about this and believe this is from God. Heather felt an overwhelming conviction that I was not supposed to remain as her assistant. This was very difficult for her to share with me as of course she feared me being hurt. However, God had just nudged me earlier in the week that I was not supposed to be working at all, yet there was no way that John was going to go for that! So, needless to say, by Heather obeying God , His will was accomplished. I have NO bad feelings about this and fully trust that He will provide for our needs. TRUST HIM- main point for me :)
I need to keep cleaning up the office area and get back to work :)
k

A Sprite, Napkin and Compassion

Oh, what an evening. I have a very embarrassing story to tell, yet it must be told because of God's graciousness. If I got what I deserved from God, it would NOT be pretty!!!
Ok...so bottom line- I pigged out tonight.There's no nice wording to dance around the fact that I simply lost my mind and pigged out. I slipped back into that psycotic mind set of "Well, you've already screwed up bad, so go ahead and make it a good pig out night!" Without painting the nasty picture that it was, I basically made myself sick...literally. I ate so much food that I had to puke to get relief. I had to pull over to the side of the road and vomitt because I was in such misery. Here's the reason I'm telling you this story though....God's kindness and compassion for me melted my heart. I pulled over near Harrison High School to get sick. There was a lady on her lawn mower with a toddler who apparently noticed me hurling across the road. As I got in my vehicle to leave, I saw her walking toward me with something in her hand....a cold Sprite and a napkin. What????? You mean to tell me that this sweet gal got off of her lawn mower, went into her house and grabbed me these items of compassion???? I deserved to have a disgusting taste in my mouth. I deserved to have saliva dripping from my chin. I deserved NO special treatment...i was a stinkin' PIG!!! I overate to the point of vomitting...how sickening!!!!!!! Yet, my God wanted to say " I love you, Kara." Gosh, this makes NO sense whatsoever!!
This act of kindness may have been one of the most memorable times in my life. God had quite a bit to say to me through that Sprite and Napkin. I sensed Him saying "Come here my dear child. Let me soothe the tastebuds of your tongue and refresh your mouth. Let me wipe you clean and comfort you. I know that must have been awful to get sick like that...let me comfort you." I should have been shoved in the mud and made to lay in my disgusting vomitt- that's what I deserved. Yet, God seems to have a different system of love and compassion. Today was just another glimpse of how good He is, gracious and forgiving. His love surpasses all understanding.
The last funny part of the story...I knew this lady. She was a year older than me in highschool....isn't it a small world?
k

Good bye strepp!

What an eventful weekend. I just began feeling truly back to normal this morning when I woke up. I could swallow and not feel a sharp stinging pain- yay!! Friday night was quite a blessing at our leadership meeting as I recieved some unexpected cards, popcicles and a purse size Bible- how cool! My sweet friends new how bad my throat was so they sang happy birthday and presented a tray of delicious popcicles! yummmy! We also celebrated the servanthood of two precious friends- Kirsten and her hubby Jeremy who had launched the MP3 student ministry at EFC about 3 years ago. They have faithfully guided our teens and have helped mold them into amazing young people. My own precious daughter was greatly influenced by them. When we came to EFC, Anna was just going into 6th grade (the youngest to be in the student ministry group)...now, Anna is preparing to go into highschool and into a new phase of life. They were there to help set a solid foundation for her during these crazy teen years....John and I will be forever grateful!!!! Kyle and Kim Burke will be taking over the student ministry and we are pumped to see what God does through them too :) I know it will be astounding!!!
Side note- Happy Anniversary to Jeremy and Kirsten today!!!! May God truly bless your marriage and take you to new heights and understanding of how much HE loves you 2 :)

My eating over the weekend- average... pretty good actually considering it was my bday weekend. I have eaten at The Beef House, Bruno's and The Cheesecake Factory...yes, I'm spoiled :) I feel good about it all...I made small, better choices than last year and I plan to walk alot over the next few days :)

I will continue to pray for each of you who have asked for prayer in the health areana :)
One day, one moment at a time...it's a journey my friends :)
loveyou all!!!
k

Victory, Strepp, and Pressing ON!

Hey y'all!
So, you'll notice a weight tracker above. I really dreaded putting that thing back on my blog as it's a hard core reminder of where I am in the physical realm. It was like if I didn't list it then I didn't have to face it. However, as I was choosing my little symbol for a weight tracker, the little turtle stuck out to me. Ah Ha! Finally, I'm not ashamed that this is a slow process and that turtles take their time...who always wins the race..the tortoise or the hare??? There is much wisdom in that old story. It's ok that I'm a turtle. I'm gonna be the proudest turtle there ever was :) so, every Wed. evening after Weigh N Pray, or Thurs. morning..I will update this tracker with my weigh in weight. By the way, I'm not intimidated by that number of 266.2- nope! It's just a number and God loves me and is at work in me. He's transforming me daily into the women He has called me to be. I'm in the trenches of life, carrying my cross and following Him. I'm claiming in Jesus name that we all be set free from food addiction and reclaim our lives to healthiness!!! yahhooooo!!!!!!!

From the inspiration of my weigh n pray friends and other's who encourage me.....I have decided to try harder at using this blog from the perspective of my health journey. Yes, you'll still get some sappy stories here and there that have nothing to do with my health.
By the way to my Weigh N Pray friends, the following has been copy and pasted from the email I just sent all of you...so don't bore yourself by reading it over :) k?

Today, I've had an amazing day with self control- by the grace of God!!!!!!John and I had the whole afternoon and night together...alone....no kids.... :) ....:) You're wondering..."Why on earth is she emailing us then?" Well......many of you noticed last night that my throat was hurting at the end of weigh n pray.I woke up this morning in a lot of pain, took anna to p.e. class and then thought "Gee, Kara, if you do have strepp throat, which you are prone to get, you better stop into Urgent Care and get on some meds asap!" So, sure enough, I have strepp.We disbursed all of the kids and then I was determined to have a fun day and evening despite the strepp.....God gave me the most amazing fun day and kept the pain far from me until about 9 p.m. this evening. As we sat at Eastside 9 watching Glenn Beck's comedy live satelite thing...I slowly started to fade. I can barely talk now...it hurts bad!!!! So, here I sit typing as I'm definately not in the mood for anything else...wink...wink :) teeheee :)
Victories: I had barely enough food to sustain me before my early bird special dinner at "The Beef House"....oh...my!!! How scrumptious!! I had a broiled pork chop, 1/2 baked pot. with little butter and sour cream, small cup of broc soup and 1/2 plate of salad with 1 T. of regular dressing...and of course 2 rolls...they were worth every stinkin' calorie!!!! All in all, I know I was still under my calories for the day and I felt fabulous!!! We then traveled back to Lafayette for the Glenn Beck thing and usually when I'm at the theater I must have Cherry Pepsi.. Now, I don't drink Cherry Pepsi anywhere else. So, get this!! This is how cool God is...I ordered the cherry pepsi and then John ordered a Mt. Dew. I heard the lady say something like "Do you want regular Mt. Dew sir?" I said, "Wait a minute on mine. Do you have diet Mt. Dew because the list out here on my side does not mention it?" She said YES!!! God knows I love Diet Mt. Dew!!!!!! So, I saved myself a good 300 calories since it was huge honkin' cup of soda, by the grace of God there...then, I ate just 2 handfuls of reg. popcorn with NO extra butter on it!!! John got one box of milk duds and I figured I ate 150 calories worth of those. All in all, I felt fabulous!! This may seem like a lot of food to some of you...but trust me...it totally beat my normal which would have been Appetizer of Fried Zucchini, Petit Filet Mignon, Baked Potato- I would have scraped that plate clean, salad piled high with the extra cheese, bacon bits and croutons and loaded with thick lucious 1000 island dressing (3 T. worth at least) plus 2 1/2 rolls at least with lots of butter and jam. Then, of course since it's a bday celebration....dessert!! hello!!! Gotta have a treat, right??!!What a glorious day!!!
Then, I would have went to the theatre, a few hours later..ate a tub of buttered up popcorn, the soggy kind!!! A large cherry pepsi, and probably gotten a refill on the pepsi. Don't forget the entire box of milk duds...all for me...no sharing of course! John would have wanted his own box.

I share all of this as an encouragement that this journey is literally one step at a time and we will not give up. I will type and say these words until the day i die...we will not give up. God doesn't ever give up on us and I will never give up on you, my friends who are on the healthier life journey. There is victory in Jesus, our Savior forever. He sought me and bought me with his redeeming love. He loved me ere I knew him and I my love is due him.....so the old hymn goes.
Loving you all more than you know! You are my friends, my encouragers, my prayer warriors. Prayer opens the door to amazing things. So...press on...and pray hard :)
I loveyou,
k