It's beginning....

to look a lot like Christmas...in Zambia! :)

My Santa section :)

This is where we'll do our Advent every night. This is a family devotion that my Dad wrote that we will do every night until Christmas, starting this Sunday! But remember, this is our Zambian summer, so in the middle of the day I will come inside and find the Advent candles bent over from the heat!

P90X Results!

Blu & I (and Wes & Laurie) started P90X back in August, and we finished up this week! I wanted to share our results and give a little P90x review! Blu's body changed really fast, and he is pretty ripped, especially through his upper back! My results were slow in coming - I saw most of them during Days 45-65. I will admit that we fizzled out a lot this past month, only doing Legs & Back maybe 2 times and only doing Ab Ripper twice a week. I'm sure we would have seen more results if we had stayed strong to the end! All in all, it's a great program and we DID see results! However, this program is for someone who is already fairly fit. It is a strength building program, not a weight loss program. You can see that by our results - not too many changes in weight or inches but huge changes on the fitness test. My favorite days were Yoga, Ab Ripper, and Kenpo. Blu's favorite was Chest/Back. I was proud of him for sticking with yoga - he is so much more flexible now! I will say that anyone with bad joints or previous injuries should be REALLY careful doing some of the workouts. Both Laurie & I hurt our knees doing Plyometrics, and I had to be REALLY careful doing Yoga or I would have terrible neck aches the next day! As far as nutrition, we didn't follow the plan much at all. However, I did stop eating desserts last April, and I quit drinking sodas. Blu ate whatever he wanted the entire 90 days (in huge quantities!!) I also started tracking all of my food on Sparkpeople.com and that keeps me very accountable. The biggest change in my life the past 90 days, however, was that Blu only agreed to do this with me if we did it at 5:30am, and I am NOT a morning person!! Ok, now for our results! Measurements Darbi (didn't weigh myself, but I probably lost 3-5 pounds) Lost 1 1/2 inches in waist Lost 1 inch in hips Blu (not sure on weight) Gained 1/2 inch in chest Gained 1/2 inch in biceps (I was surprised Blu's measurements didn't show more because I can definitely see a huge change in muscle!) Fitness Test Pullups Darbi Day 1 = hanging only Darbi Day 90 = 1/2 pullup Blu Day 1 = 5 chinups Blu Day 90 = 10 chinups Vertical Leap Darbi Day 1 = 10 inches Darbi Day 90 = 12 inches Blu Day 1 = 18 inches Blu Day 90 = 23 inches Pushups Darbi Day 1 = 10 pushups (guy pushups) Darbi Day 90 = 15 pushups Blu Day 1 = 31 pushups Blu Day 90 = 43 pushups Toe Touch Darbi Day 1 = +5 inches past feet Darbi Day 90 = +7 inches past feet Blu Day 1 = -7 inches to feet Blu Day 90 = -2 inches to feet (yoga baby!) Wall Squat Darbi Day 1 = 54 seconds Darbi Day 90 = 44 seconds (ugh) Blu Day 1 = 1 min, 8 seconds Blu Day 90 = 2 min, 5 seconds In & Outs (Abs) Darbi Day 1 = 25 Darbi Day 90 = 70 Blu Day 1 = 27 Blu Day 90 = 50 These pictures show my best results, and since it's my blog I reserve the right to post only my best pictures ;)

I've heard P90x should be called P120x or P150x for women, because it takes longer for them to see results, so since we took most of last week off, we are starting Round Two tomorrow!

Happy 4th Birthday Cason!

Our sweet "Baby Cason" turned 4 years old today! He is sometimes bashful, a ball of energy, and VERY loving (as you know if he's ever rubbed your ear!) He definitely keeps us on our toes and we love him so much! Happy Birthday Cason! A new Batman costume from Paw & B-Maw!!

We got him 3 Justice League movies, a Batman t-shirt, Batman figurine, and a new Bible!

A Batman board book from Mama Dee & Grandpa!

Caedmon & Cambree made him a card that he loved! They also gave him a lot of their own special treasures :)

Fingerpaints from Uncle Blake & Aunt Dawni & cousins!

Power Rangers movies from Paw & B-Maw!!!!

Spiderman gloves from Grandpa & Mama Dee!

Fun stuff from Mrs. Dianna!

Reading Wes & Lala's birthday card

Cason & Misheck :)

Hugs for Phillip :)

Batman cake!

He loved the water - it was a hot day!

Thanksgiving in Zambia

Getting ready - yes I did make my daughter cut carrots with a butter knife ;)

You can tell I painted that morning!

Every year I watch my dad flawlessly and meticulously carve a turkey. As I dug my hands in there pulling off meat I realized he would be appalled! (So I took a picture ;)

Staci (missionary from Early, TX who serves about an hour from us) puts the finishing touches on the deviled eggs!

Not sure how we got a son who is a UT fan....

Jeff (Staci's husband) played a game of Spot It with the kids

Turkey, Ham, and Giblet Gravy (yes a REAL turkey, bought here in Zambia!! But the packaging said it was from North Carolina)

Yeast rolls, Strawberry Jello Salad, Cranberries, Waldorf Salad

Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Sweet Potato Casserole,

Buttermilk pie, Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Rolls, Apple Pie

Kids ready to eat!

The ladies - Deb, Staci, Carolyn, Darbi

We even had football!!! Jeff downloaded last Sunday's game between the Jaguars and the Texans - Texans win overtime!! (you already knew that huh?)

And...Thanksgiving is over, Christmas tree goes up!

Hildah

Hildah is one of my closest Zambian friends, and she is a teacher here at New Day. The last few weeks, she has really been helping with Kids Club. This surprised me, as most of our staff use Saturdays as a much-needed day off. I finally asked Hildah what made her decide to help, and she got emotional. She said, "When I was young I first heard about Jesus at something like this. I asked Him to come into my heart. We are supposed to see where God is at work and join Him. I can see God working here, and I know one day some of these kids will have a testimony that this is the place where they found Jesus." Hildah helps with translating, and she quietly makes her way into the kitchen around 5:30pm every Saturday to wash 170 plates and cups. It wasn't that long ago that Hildah was in a similar situation as some of these kids, wondering if she would have enough to eat that day, so I think she looks at them and sees a little bit of herself. But she also sees something missing - something that she found at a "Kids Club" when she was a child. We are praying that the kids that come to New Day Kids Club will find Him, just as Hildah did.

(photo courtesy Jordan Overturf)

For Mama Dee & Grandpa!

Mama Dee & Grandpa have all SEVEN of their grandchildren living in Zambia! We were able to get together yesterday and today in the capitol city for a quick visit! So this blog post is especially for Grandpa & Mama Dee! Dawni & I are 14 months apart

We left Blu with all seven kids so that Dawni & I could go and have a night out on the town (coffee & cake)

The Girl

The Boys

Isabel Grace - Age 10

Abigail Ruth - Age 8

Caedmon Luke - Age 7

Isaac Blake - Age 6

Cambree Rain - Age 6

Amos Jude - Age 4

Cason Mark - Age 3

All Seven :)