Tuesday Coffee Talk, I'm HOME! with pics!

Good Tuesday morning everyone! Boy! It sure is good to be home and doing "Coffee Talk" again. I missed you guys and I thought about ya'll while we were cruising. Yep, sure did! But we had a blast! Torey and Allison are "hooked" on cruising now. UH OH! Our challenge today is to be thankful for what you have. So many times we are caught up in "getting" more and what we "don't" have till it causes us not to really be thankful. We all have so much. It may not be what we "want" all the time, but look, you are so blessed in what you have. Today, take 4 steps back, look at the entire picture of what you DO have, then be thankful! So, who's up? What cha sipping on? Me? I'm sipping on some wonderful Vanilla Biscotti that my awesome son got for me. Man! It sure is good. Below is a link to our Cruise, Easter, and my son Torey's Prom pictures. I thought I'd share them with you. OH! And some are also of our Birmingham, Alabama WLS dinner in April. The Pix of Torey's prom are of him, his date Tiffany. The other 2 guys are Torey's best friends, Glen and Justin. I hope ya'll enjoy the cruise pix as much as we enjoyed our Vacation. Here's the link: http://eshare.hpphoto.com/FilmStripHome.aspx?JobID=f1061069-7161-4e68-841a-674d0d9fa384&SK U=HP&Index=0# Randall

Welcome Home Randall, One of the best things I have learned to do is make a daily gratitude list. I even send my list to a Christian friend to make myself accountable to her. She calls it "seeing God sparkle through the cracks in the darkness." The more I see that I am grateful for, the less I see the crud in my life. I am sipping my diet, iced green tea. Hugs, Trish

Love the Pics. Looks like everyone had a great time. Your kids are beautiful. hugs, Trish

Good morning...wow the pics are great!! Isn't it wonderful to know the "Sonrise" from the cruise ship is the same Sonrise we saw that Resurrection Day here in SC.... Your kids are awesome!!! How speical for them and for you to be able to go. So carnival INspiration..is that a special type of cruise ship? Different than the reg Carnival? I just finished vanillia protein shake and vitamins...yummm.. smile... Joan M

It looked like a fun time for everyone. Loved the dress your son's date was wearing. Sally

Randall - Oh to simplify and be grateful! For years, I've chased things - now, God tells me that I shall have no other god but HIM! This is so my hearts desire. We have the opportunity to move to a little house (single wide) on our friends property, and give up our house (we rent - $2,100 a month!), and simplify our lives. We have to put this off for several months, and then see if the Lord makes it possible. It would be hard on my daughter cuz it's somewhat remote, and we'd have to either store a lot of things, or just get rid of stuff - or both. I'm so ready to simplify. I'm no longer intrigued by having a house that people might admire. As Solomon would say - it's all emptiness. The thing that I want is to be able to chase the Lord without the cares of the world to slow me down. So - I'm hoping for that... Great photos! Oh - BTW - as I come up on 1 year post op - here's what I'm grateful for: BMI was 48.4 is now 26.3 Ring size was 6+ (my 6 didn't fit), is now 4.5 (too loose) Pants were 24, are now 6 Shirts were 22, are now small/medium or 6 I've lost a total of 115 lbs I've lost a total of 81.5 inches (ha ha - I'm only 60 inches tall!) I've gained the ability to live life to it's fullest... I can cross my legs, sit on the ground, walk anywhere, play with kids, dog, husband () I'm not winded when I walk, I can get off the couch by standing up, not rolling over... I don't snore anymore I'm no longer at risk for diabetes, heart disease, etc! I have confidence I'm extremely grateful!!! Take care all! - Carolyn