Life, it is a Changing

The only thing constant in life is change. Change can be good. It can also be very scary. This has been a year of much change. Some of the biggest changes in 2010 have been relationship changes. One change has set forth a ripple effect of other changes.

I don't usually deal with change very well. I hold grudges and stew over my hurt feelings. I admit this, and I know it is very human and very wrong. Our Sunday school Bible study is on forgiveness right now. Talk about a divine intervention!

But there are positive aspects to change too. I have learned who my real friends are. A few genuine friends are much more precious than a crowd of people. We have made new friends and are really enjoying getting to know them better.

Frank and I have also become closer than we have ever been. After 18 years, our marriage is just getting sweeter and sweeter. Is he perfect? nope Am I? oh heck no! But I genuinely enjoy spending time with him like never before.

The kids are growing up, and their need for me is different than when they were little. Some parts of that change are great, others are scary. They are becoming more independent and I have to admit, it's great to be able to go to Macon for lunch with Frank without worrying about the kids! But it's also pretty sad knowing that Paige won't always come in to kiss me goodnight every night before she goes to bed.

Ugh, life, it is a changing, but I see that the good definitely outweighs the bad. And there is something else that is constant...God's love. His love for me hasn't changed. He knows the plans He has for my life, even when I don't. And they are more than I can ask for or even imagine.

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work in us. Ephesians 3:20

Cruise to the Bahamas...No Boys Allowed!

Ever since I was a little girl watching the Love Boat, I dreamed of going on a cruise. Frank and I have talked about it many times over the years, with me doing most of the talking, and him avoiding the topic.

Last year, Paige and I started a tradition of going on a girl's only trip for our July birthdays. She saw a commercial for Carnival cruises and decided that was the vacation for us. I thought it was a great idea...except for the cost.

Then I remembered that Frank has been saving Baker Bravo points that he gets from his AC supplier ever since he went into business for himself. He had enough points saved for a 4 day cruise! He and Jacob both swore they had no interest in joining us girls on a cruise, so it was anchors aweigh for Paige and me!

I decided to cruise out of Jacksonville because I was familiar with the city since we lived there when we were first married. Carnival offers one ship, the Fascination, in Jacksonville, and our cruise was to Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas.

Paige really wanted to swim with dolphins, so I surprised her with a Dolphin Encounter excursion. We were able to see the dolphins perform, learn a lot about them, and then get in the pool with them and pet them and were even kissed by a dolphin!

The weirdest thing about Freeport was the ride through town...they drive on the wrong side of the street!

We were really blessed to make friends our very first night on the boat. We met a girl and her mother from Camilla, Ga of all places! Bethanny was pretty close to Paige's age, and her mom is a teacher, so we had plenty in common and really enjoyed spending time with each other on the ship. Paige and Bethanny were instant friends and spent almost every waking hour together. They wore us mama's out! We went to all the shows and ate, and ate, and ate! Midnight buffets and room service became our best friends. Everything they say about cruises is true. And we loved every minute!

We had great service and Paige was always excited to see what towel animal we had in our room every night.

It's very hard to describe how absolutely beautiful the ocean and the sky were out there. The whole experience was awesome, and we are definitely going back! I've even talked Frank in a cruise for our 20th anniversary in 2012...as long as it's to Alaska!

In Nassau, we decided to take a taxi cab out to the beach. Paige wanted to get her hair braided by the ladies. We spent the day at the beach, and it was BEAUTIFUL! We were going to go to the Atlantis resort too, but were just too tired. That is the only day I got Paige to take a nap! The water was so clear, the waves were like sheets of glass.

There was so much to do both on the ship and in the ports, that we just couldn't get to all of it. I would be more than happy to go back on the same ship to the same ports again and again...it was that fun! Paige has already put in that we are going back next summer...and I'm already looking at deals to go back. I just wish I could talk the guys in our house to join us for a Thanksgiving cruise!

Paige-a-riffic

Paige is now 11 and in the sixth grade. She is the type of person who loves big. Everything is a big deal to her, and she has a huge heart. When she makes a friend, they are her best friend. When she likes a song, she plays it over and over. Everything is her favorite. This makes for some drama around our house, but it is also her best personality trait. As a person who guards their emotions like I do, I could learn a lot from Paige.
Last summer we started a tradition of going on a birthday trip, just the two of us. This year's trip was a cruise to the Bahamas. We had the best time. Paige is not afraid of much, and she forces me to come out of my own shell sometimes. We maneuvered the islands right by ourselves and had so much fun.

She is going to EBLA now, taking 6th and 7th grade classes. She has worked so hard, with hours and hours of homework. It's been frustrating for her, and for us too. She hasn't given up, and on her first midterm progress report got all 5's out of 5 for effort, preparedness, and attitude. Woo Hoo! Dr. Moss assures us that Paige will catch up quickly, and will be successful.

Switching schools last year was very hard on Paige. She really missed the social interaction with the other girls. I prayed that God would send Paige a friend at her new school this year, just one sweet girl. Not only did he answer my prayer, but he reconnected Paige with a girl she used to go to school with, so that she knew someone from day one, and he also gave her several new friends too! She is excited to go to school each and every day, and that is a blessing. She is enjoying the best of both worlds at church because she goes with the youth on Sunday nights and for Sunday school, but she stays with the younger girls on Wednesday nights with Mrs. Joy.

Paige is such a blessing to us. She keeps us on our toes and she makes our lives much more interesting. By the way, she is just about as tall as I am now, and LOVES that! When I grow up, I want to have a heart just like Paige.

My Boy J

Jacob is now 14 years old. In less than 2 years he will be driving. Just two short years ago, he was still a little boy...at least I thought he was. But now there is no denying, Jacob is growing up. He has taken to calling himself Jake. That's fine because I had intended to call him Jake the whole time I was pregnant with him. He's been Jacob, Jake, Jake-Jake, J, JJ, Jay-G, Jake the Snake, Bunk, and heaven knows what else we have called him at any given time. Most of all though, I'm proud to call him my son.

Jacob hates to have his picture taken, so it's very hard to get a good one of him. He is such a handsome boy to me, and his heart is his best feature. He's a smart kid, with a lot of self-motivation, and he has a knack for making his teachers fall in love with him. He is in the 9th grade and is enjoying high school. He has started having a social life and is loving his youth group. This weekend he is zip lining in the Georgia mountains! He just got his braces off and has been shaving since Christmas. Man, I feel old! He is way taller than I am, and has a set of shoulders like you wouldn't believe. Everyone thinks he is going to be taller than his dad, and they wear the same shoe size now. He is becoming more confident every day, and has a great sense of humor...

Ok, I admit, I made him take that picture, but you have to admit, it is funny! Jake is a great kid, and I know that no matter where he goes, he is going to behave himself. He is smart enough to save the bad stuff for home! He has grown up way too fast, and all the good qualities that he has, I know we had very little to do with them. He's a great kid in spite of his parents. I know that the next few years will be very exciting for him, and hard for me. Part of it I'm probably going to want to fast forward through, and part of it I'm going to want to pass as slowly as possible. I can't believe that he will be an "adult" in four short years. But I know if the next few years pass as quickly as the last 14 have, it will be time for him to go off to college in a blink. I think I miss him already!

My Hero

That's him... My Hero! Frank graduated in June from GMC with his Associate's Degree in History. He did this with a 3.9 GPA. The only B he made was in a summer session Statistics class! He also completed this monumental feat at the age of 39 while still providing for our family and doing more than his fair share with the kids. We are so proud of him! He is now a full time junior at Macon State College majoring in History Education. He took the summer off (at my request) and we celebrated his graduation with a trip to California.

Frank "grew up" in California and we loved seeing his old stomping grounds. We were able to spend time with his wonderful aunt, and even got to meet some of his cousins that he hadn't seen since he was Jake's age. The kids loved hearing about "Frankie". We did realize though, that Frank has actually lived longer in Milledgeville than he has ever lived anywhere in his whole life.

Frank has become very good friends with our Sunday school teacher, John, and they are golfing buddies now. He is serving on the Youth Pastor Search Committee at our church, and will be teaching our SS class this Sunday.

I've kept him busy around the house building a bedroom and bathroom in the basement for Jacob. He will be starting the media room renovation down there soon. I even convinced him to go running with me. I thought I could impress him with my new found athleticism. Hahahaha, he is running 2 miles at a time already and has left me in his dust!

Our family is so blessed. He is a great dad and a pretty good husband too! He forces me to lighten up when I take things too seriously, and he has a great big heart. He is strong enough to handle the things I can't, and loves me in spite of myself. I was only 18 when we got married, and I sure didn't know what I was doing, but God sure did when he gave me Frank!

September Challenge

Well, I'm back. I have thought about blogging a hundred times, and I finally decided to give myself a 30 day challenge. I am challenging myself to blog every day in September. A lot of things have happened over the last few months, and I hope to get to some of that, while also keeping up with what's going on now. Right now, I'm gonna play catch up. Since it's my blog, I'm going to be very self-centered and blog about me today. I have been working very hard since January to lose weight. I have not taken diet pills (though quite tempted) and I am not sick. Both of those have become rumors as to why I've lost "so much weight so fast". First of all, it hasn't been fast! It's taken me 7 1/2 months to get this far, and I still have about 20 lbs to go. I didn't weigh at first, because I couldn't handle the devastation to know just how big I was, so I don't know exactly how much weight I have lost. I estimate it to be at least 50 pounds. Ugh. I have a hard time being proud of what I have lost because I am so embaressed about what I weighed to start with. This is my "before picture". It was taken the day before I started dieting. It is just of my fat shoulders and face because fat people who are deep in shame don't let people take full length pictures.
This is my 5 months progress picture. We were on vacation in northern California. (more about that later)

I started at a tight size 18 W and am now in a comfortable size 10. I do weigh myself now, each and every pitiful day, and I go through the anguish of it going up and down, up and down. I keep gaining and losing the same pounds over and over. But I am determined to do this. I started out with a low carb diet, and after 6 months, was officially stuck. Now I'm counting weight watcher's points. I walk/run with a friend who is in much better shape than I am, and I have just started strength training to go with the cardio. My goal is to run a 5K, but I am not a natural runner. I keep trying though, and am almost up to running half a mile non-stop. That doesn't sound like much, but considering I started out trying to run between light poles and couldn't do that without grunting (LOUD), it's quite an accomplishment!

As for other news, I'm still teaching second grade. This year has already been challenging, but I am optimistic. We will make huge improvements this year. And I won't lose my mind (and hopefully my temper) getting us where we need to be. We are really getting settled into our church home. We have made new friends, and have an awesome Sunday school study on forgiveness. My toes are battered and blue and I am learning so much. Putting what I have learned into practice is not nearly as easy though.

Sadly, one of my favorite aunts passed away right before school started. Her husband, my daddy's brother is also very, very sick. We have been trying to spend some time in south Georgia with family during this tough time. It's been good, because of being able to see family I haven't seen in so long, but it's also been tough because it makes my own parents' passing even more real. I have realized that when your parents die, it's like the last of your childhood goes with them.

Well, now that I've made myself cry, I guess I will end this lengthy catching up post. I will be back tomorrow, and I will tell you what the other three Meighans have been up to.

A Night in the Big Peach

Frank and I took Paige to Atlanta for a night on the town. We went to the Shakespeare Tavern to see the "The Taming of the Shrew". We went last year to see "Romeo and Juliet" which I did not enjoy. But we all three loved, Loved, LOVED "The Taming of the Shrew". We stayed in Midtown at the Hotel Palomar. This was the view from our 20th floor window. Paige said this is Georgia's version of the city that never sleeps. This is our hotel room view in daylight.

Paige and me before we went to the play.

This is our hotel room.

Paige's dress matched the decor!

After the play, we had a late dinner at the Broadway Diner.

Frank had lasagna...I was good and had a salad.

The hotel had these cool robes but they were a lot hotter than we looked wearing them! We had a great time, and Paige had a great time being an only child for the night. We all need to experience a little culture in the big city every now and then!