The 12 Days After Christmas ~ Day 6 ~ New Year's Eve

I am not sure if it is just me but did today sneak up on you?  It didn't even sink in when hubby didn't get home until 2 hours after his initial off time.  In fact, I had moments today when I forgot simple things like hours of stores being affected by this "momentous occasion." I think at one point I tried to tell Joy what tomorrow was and she was more concerned about how much closer we were to her next field trip... nice, kid!  Just like your mama ;-) At least that meant I got to take it easier from lunch on today for the most part.  I sure felt like I have needed it.  And it also helped, that hubby made cookies and gave me yummy pizza.  But no, for the most part, today was just another day in this household.  Hubby went to work, stayed a little longer.  The kids and I ran a few errands.  They went to bed fairly close to their normal bedtime.  And tomorrow David s tarts 4 days of usual back-to-back shifts.  Oi!

But as little of an occasion my family may see today (yay us), I am looking forward in hopes to a year of LIVing, of Life! I am looking forward to my new challenge group starting on Monday, the 5th (see my Facebook page).  I am looking forward to welcoming our baby girl into the family this spring!  I am looking forward to weddings, a graduation, a retreat and some other events.  I am looking forward to kicking off some great traditions with my own little family and reaching a comfortable level of stability and flexibility.  What are you looking for?  Perhaps that is all that is on my mind at the moment as a little girl does the wave in my tummy :-p  1 hour until midnight here...

God Bless you all.  See you in 2015!  
As always,
Melissa

The 12 Days After Christmas ~ Day 5 ~ Mommy's Expectations

Another reminder in "mommyhood" ~ Just because you did it for them does not mean they will necessarily understand or appreciate it... However,  if that is why you became a parent... :-/

Drove to Livermore to run a helpful errand or two and quickly discovered with a friend a last minute playdate could be arranged but not until later in the afternoon. So this mommy played "surprise" & tried to make lunch and the trips in between fun and enjoyable,  despite the errands. While my 6 year old seemed to grasp this concept,  my soon-to-be 3 year old could care less.

So what ensued started out reasonable but soon wore this mommy out and brought me to the edge of my own personal sanity. A now broken Christmas train decoration combined with then missing but later found socks of Micah's and a prescription for me made me seriously reconsider this lovely playdate of ours. But as much as I wanted to "teach them a lesson, " my softie, Christmas break heart took over. A closed coffee shop later, mommy and the kiddos got a 45 minute play date at the windy park. (I don't think Micah even noticed the wind though.  Haha)

We ended up with errands once we made it back home but I was blessed with some help from the hubby. I am now sitting here in bed realizing I made it to 25 weeks with this little princess and tomorrow is a new day and I have no plans to go anywhere... at all! Looks like 14 more weeks max at this point!

As always,
Melis

P.S. When your doc recommends a maternity support belt that your hubby graciously buys you the same day and you immediately notice a positive change from, do not... I repeat do not forget to put it on in the morning before you leave the house!! Oi... preggo brain...

The 12 Days After Christmas ~ Day 4 ~ Hubby Blessed & Blissed!!

It isn't every day my hubby gets an actual day off from work. In fact, just because it is a new week does not guarantee that he will have one at all. (Ask our life since August! )  However,  being that as it may, one thing I can say for certain is that the man I married loves me very much and quite often spends part or all of a day he actually has off to do what I like (and he would prefer not to). And by that very fact, I truly am blessed.

Last night,  after spending most of the week with family,  the kids and I stumbled in exhausted and I clearly wanted to sleep. Hubby was finishing his 6th shift since Friday morning.  (I knew this because we were fortunate to see him for his brief dinner break when we arrived back home.)  Even though our time with family has been a quite fun or relaxing experience (kids one - other me - you guess), I personally was dealing with more discomfort than my average day (which I think is saying a lot). I had done something to my upper back which was in turn hurting my chest and then as I arrived home my lower back pain started kicking in.

Tylenol to the rescue?  Well, it was as much as it could be but soon enough hubby arrived home to a startled wife who slept maybe 10 minutes. I woke up 2-3 more times like this before midnight.  And yet, at my plea this morning,  my hubby agreed to follow me to the mall with the kiddos this morning on his day off... where I did not use my gift card and I started hurting again and requested he take me to my appt and so on and so on...

And I guess to some this might seem like no big deal. But the wait for my doctor's appointment was excessive with he and Micah attempting to sleep in the car and Joy likely bored for a good chunk of it. And after a productive appointment?  He then took my doctor's advice and took me to get a maternity support belt and have a pleasant evening yet a little further from home.

And I don't know why I feel the need to document this all other then to tell you all I feel... so... blessed!  I am just shy of 25 weeks pregnant and this pregnancy has been no stinkin' joke I tell you, emotionally or physically.  He has not just been a trooper but a helper but really more like a self-sacrificing man who rarely tells you when he has needs to begin with. 

Sometimes I wish others saw some of this side of him, the side that shows his deep love for his wife and kiddos no matter what it takes... the one who wants to give up some days but always presses on... the one who continually looks back to the Lord,  even somewhat frustratingly some days and says "ok"... the one who lifts me up in prayer when I am tired or having a hard day... This man is amazing and I am so proud to be his wife and best friend!

I am still amazed that he is that guy I struck up a "random" friendship with some 17.5 year ago, who I celebrated being with 9 years in Thanksgiving and have been married to almost 7.5 of that... through thick and thin,  no matter what happened. This man is NOT a saint but he is definitely My Best Friend!

As always,
Melis

The 12 Days After Christmas ~ Day 3

I was planning on a description of the last 24 hours of our visit with family in this post but I am not feeling 100%, not even 70% so I am going to make this a brief one...

I posted a little bit on my 1st challenge group of the year on my Facebook page.  I am pretty excited about getting back into it and helping some of you start a "New Year, New You" ~ I truly hope you will consider joining me.  It is a mere 3 weeks and will go by so quickly and it is all about encouragement and getting reinspired in a new year.  The trip was a fairly good one and we made our way home this afternoon, stopping to eat dinner with Hubby on his break this evening.  Micah walked in and promptly got into several boxes & baskets while I brought up the bare necessities from the car.  Abby jumped all over us to welcome us home.  Since both kiddos napped today, they're both more awake than I would like but are in the process of going to sleep for the night.  I plan to join them shortly in that land ;-)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I'll be checking in again tomorrow with some more details (I hope) on things to come.  God bless you all!

As always,
Melissa

12 Days After Christmas ~ Day 2... Time for a NEW Year!

Okay so it is December 27th today, not quite January 1st!  However, as many of you know each year David & I select a word for the year for our family.  (This will be #3!)  And... we have already selected one.  Well, I actually yelled it out over a week ago and further discussed it with David prior to Christmas and he agreed... I think ;-)  I thought about waiting to tell you all about it until December 31st or January 1st... but seeing as my level of patience is well, not the best... I have decided to share it with you all here on my blog, on the 2nd day AFTER Christmas!  Many of you may wonder what I am referring to.  A few years back, I heard someone on the radio saying that instead of a list of resolutions each year, they focused on ONE word to focus on the for their family.  In 2013, we focused on FAITH.  This was an especially hard one but necessary one as we lost 2 babies and I was hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism this year.  Some people say you get what you ask for.  I say you trust God and get what you get ;-)  God knew what our year would look like long before all of that went down.  As a result of the hardships, we found out more about my health and how to deal with it and how to approach future pregnancies.  I know we also learned a lot about our wonderfully FAITHful God!

In 2014, we hemmed back and forth and settled on CONTENTMENT for the year.  I do not think we were quite 100% at this point.  We were looking at where we had come from and knew we still had to wait for a clearance on my lungs and what that might mean for my health and our family down the road.  We were talking more about normal, everyday things and not just trying to survive.  We did not want to get complacent but we did not want to take anything for granted either. God had brought us through some truly hard, life-altering circumstances and we certainly could not and would not try to erase them.  I will admit this one has been quite the struggle in comparison.  Go figure, right?!  It seems when life circumstances are not so drastic, we often try to take things into our own hands more than we should.  God and I did a lot of talking this year about frustrations and my own struggles to trust Him and be content where He had us.  And frankly,  I do not know if I came out a better person for all of the arguing I actually did.  Yep, arguing.  As I said, this one was quite the struggle for me in the later months of the year...

This brings me to our word of 2015 which I think fits perfectly for where we are and where we WANT to be!  We are Striving.  We are Moving Forward.  We want to Succeed and see things Change for the Better...  We.. Want... To...

For us this means NO MORE Complaining about not being able to do things, about David's bosses not letting him off work to be with us, about not making enough money, or "feeling" happy enough.  It is not dependent on our neighbors to change their ways (whether we agree with them or not, which we most certainly do not).  It is not dependent on whether we make others happy all the time.  It is not our job to make everyone else in our lives happy all of the time either!  It is however about taking responsibility and seizing each opportunity that comes our way!  We have chances to change and be better for it and make a better life for our children.  And I pray we truly seek God in it all and choose to make those decisions that will help us LIVE!!!

So join with us and think about what it is that would make 201?5 the BEST YEAR no matter what is thrown your way.  What will YOU DO?  I have some ideas for you popping up on my Facebook page over the next week or two so stay tuned...

As always,

Melis

12 Days After Christmas ~ Day 1

So as promised, here is the first of my 12 day series following Christmas.  Expect a mix of emotions, ramblings, daily happenings and so on...

Christmas was spent with some of our extended family.  David arrived to my parents' house just after 11 at night on Christmas Eve, due to some "shenanigans" at work.  I was so glad to see him that I didn't care so much about the timing.  At this point, Micah off his schedule had just fallen asleep not too long beforehand.  Micah slept with us so I slept worse than usual, which here meant cold and sore, leaving me to contemplate leaving early.  

We did stay, however, heading over to my aunt and uncle's house later for the afternoon and evening.  David left for home to get home around dark since he had to work 12+ hours each the following 3 days.  It was calm and enjoyable, watching the kids play, enjoying the relative calm and of course, a yummy dinner.  I went to bed a little more hopeful for sleep last night and was pleasantly surprised to do so once Micah was out.

Today was restful, cleaning up my computer and some e-mails with cute children playing near me.  For now, the plan is to stay a few more days so the kiddos can have the run of the place and enjoy the space and backyard here.  I'll breathe more and pray this cold either stays at bay or gets its worse out while I have the "backup" here.  We will head home sometime Sunday and work on reestablishing a routine so when school starts back up, Joy won't be completely caught off guard.

Overall, I am mostly just surprised at the calm.  I came into this week sort of ready for disaster, not because of any particular person but because of the cold and all of the morning sickness I had earlier on in the week.  My creative powers are zapped at the moment it seems.  I have nothing witty to say and my challenge groups are still in my head not developed as planned.  I am busy thinking ahead to the New Year only days away but nothing concrete still...  I hope you all had a blessed Christmas.   I will post again tomorrow, hopefully something more...

As always,
Melis

Merry Christmas Eve!

I am sitting here with a cute little girl in my belly and an almost 3 year old boy calmly playing near me.  My big girl is at church with her Nana, Poppy, aunt, 2 uncles and Great Grandma.  I sit here nursing my sore lower back just thankful to be near family.  David is still working but we'll see him tonight or tomorrow and this little girl of ours kicks enough to remind us of God's miracles in our lives, events we often overlook, because they don't seem so big to us.

Last year, I was feeling completely crummy, followed by a trip to the ER on Christmas Day and a very short yet exhausting trip to see family.  I just wasn't in the right place.  The year before, we had either just lost our first baby or were about to and were completely unaware to this fact.  Those Christmas experiences are not lost on me.  I am fortunate to be able to drive my children to see family, even if I am fatigued and sore.  I am blessed to not hit any traffic along the way and to have family who adores them as I do and give me some much needed relief.

Last night was my Joy Joy's 2nd of 2 dance performances.  Her studio performed "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" & she was able to have some family in attendance last night, even Daddy and Micah!  She was beautiful and excited and has shown so much growth this year.  On our way out, one of her friends handed her a pink rose!  Boy, was she touched!  And again, I sit back amazed at God's goodness in our lives...

Just a week or so ago, we were blessed with some extra food and gift cards.  The kiddos and I found our way into Walmart and out without falling apart and came away with some much needed new shoes, school pants, diapers, a few Christmas supplies, as well as a few food items.  It wasn't expected and it definitely brought me to a place of humbling myself some but I realized God had brought these people and gifts into our lives for a reason and that getting angry, confused and frustrated would not get me anywhere.  For the people involved, they were showing God's love to us at a time when we really needed some things.

In 43 days, my little guy, my Micah Boo turns 3.  I cannot believe it some days.  We welcome his new sister around 2 months afterwards.  Joy turns 7 yet another month or so later and we have half a dozen weddings, graduations and family events spread throughout our spring and summer on the calendar... so far!  I am truly very excited to be able to share with you all our 2015 adventures just around the corner...

However, for now I just want to wish you all a wonderfully Merry Christmas!  There will be a blog series or so to follow in the "12 Days After Christmas" which will also be posted to my Facebook page.  I will be documenting adventures, goals & blessings all around as we head into our New Year, including our "Word of the Year" we have already chosen!  I am so excited to transition into a new chapter in our lives with adventures and blessings I am sure we have not yet discovered!  So come along with me and tell your friends too!  I am here and on Facebook and would love to chat with you as I share about family, health, fitness and adventure!  Maybe you can share with me too?

God Bless You All!
As always,
Melis

24 Weeks & In the Midst...

Imagine this... 

  I am laying on my bed typing, small fluffy dog "snuggled" up to the warm laptop.  Micah just beyond her, under one of my new blankets. (Because if Mommy brings home a new blanket, it must be HIS, right?)  After several hours of pleading and negotiating, Joy sitting next to the end of my bed has finally not only found her play clothes but put them on.  Oh yeah, and Pistachio (Veggie Tales) is playing.  I move to get up briefly, my back yells at me but I press on...

Lunch is pending but clearly there are some other things that need taken care of first.  Apparently, the latest Beachbody fulfillment has arrived while I am out of the room.  Abby felt the need to bark at them and Micah is begging to open it for his Daddy.  And I smell something...

We have some family due to arrive later today for Joy's 2nd dance performance in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."  Micah still has not gotten dressed and is now definitely hungry.  And it sounds like several of us are coming down with something...

In other news, we managed to get a progress pic before David headed out the door for work.  Hoping to update some more later.  Hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season.  Merry Christmas!

As always,

Melis

Don't Lose Hope!

I am 23 weeks pregnant today!  Another week down, another reminder of God's goodness on our lives!  Still plenty of things are not quite the way I would like but today is a testament to His goodness and His power and the reasons I have not given up on all of humanity yet...

A day that started with me telling Joy we were going to have to leave her dance class after Christmas and me contemplating how to deal with that...

It went down quite differently than that actually.  After her mature response, I found myself almost in tears, feeling guilty and frustrated that I could not change things to be better for her.  She is 6.5 and she handled the announcement with grace.  And I could not get it out of my mind.  Fast forward a few hours, several episodes of Chuggington with Micah later, and I was touched...

All I can say is things were taken care of.  At least the big one was and we could deal with the rest of them as we went.  Micah and I headed off to see David on his lunch break at work, where Micah made "dirt angels" on the floor.  (It isn't as bad as it sounds, I promise!)  We visited with David and then headed into Livermore a little early to grab a surprise for Joy and then walk with a new friend and her kiddos.  I was surprised to have a kind stranger return my cart for me at Target where I started to realize how blessed we truly were .  The walk with our new friends was far too short but definitely fun.  We then walked over to pick up Joy from school and dashed off (safely) back to Tracy for dance class.  On the way over, Joy discovered a surprise new dance outfit which she told Micah and I both boldly how much she loved.  Spilled coffee and yet a still pleasant Joy later, we arrived a few minutes late for Jazz but Joy was happy.  And Micah was content.  And I was sitting, reveling in the moments that God created, in the day He planned long before I arrived there.

A few errands and a long wait later, we finished up dinner at Red Robin on the end of my Christmas money.  It just made sense.  So, today I am 23 weeks pregnant and Baby Girl has been kicking up a storm and dancing all over my bladder... repeatedly... but I am genuinely and truly amazed.  So DO NOT lose hope.  God's got ya!

That's all for now...

Melis <3

I am not so happy...

Okay so my usual personality tends towards positivity... seeing the beauty, the good, the lovely in all that I possibly can.  But I will be honest, that has been super hard lately... and I've been grumpy.  And yes, I can blame it on a million things... the clotting disorder, the bipolar disorder, the miscarriages, the blood pressure issues, our less-than-nice neighbors, stolen wallet, stolen cans, grumpy or non-communicative family, friends, coworkers of David's... but I am not going to... or maybe I am?  I 

I am tired.  I miss my friends.  I wish other friends lived closer.  I miss my hubby and wish he could be home more often.  I wish his bosses knew how good they really have it with him, I mean really!  And yes, I will say it.  I wish I had more money, more means to help my kids see what life could really be like.  And yes, we have those moments, those precious times with them and I know they love us!  But I am sometime very ashamed of this place we call home and making them live in a place I don't feel 100% safe in myself, a place where being loud can get us reported to the landlord... all because a 2 & 6 year old were playing.

I have slowly started working on my business again.  (GO Beachbody!)  I have tried to stop making excuses about why I cannot do it.  I will still hurt.  I will still be limited this pregnancy but I am not incapable of being the BEST me I CAN be in THIS place.  Because I am in a different place, I need to adjust and deal with it.  I need to find a ways to share with you all WHERE I am NOW and what that means.  I do not have to stop; I just need to realign?  Does that make sense?

What is on your mind?  Check me out on Facebook if you like...

That's all for now,
Melis

P.S. How cute is this precious girl?! 

P.S.S. Baby girl just kicked me.

In the last 36 hours...

...Was encouraged by 2 Michelles

...Visited with my close friend who is hosting my baby shower

..."Outsmarted" Micah when it came to errands today

...Got a little grocery shopping in

...Heard encouraging news about a pregnant friend

...Chatted with one of my best friends in Santa Cruz

...Fell asleep quickly
...I figured out easy, happy dinners for 2 days in a row

...Was given a few pieces of school clothing for my Joy Joy

...Found out my phone survived its latest catastrophe

What are YOU Thankful for???

As always,

Melis

What was stolen? Broken? Hurt?

Phone appears to be broken... check!

Stolen wallet on Halloween at work (David)... check!

Phone that was working is now overheating and not working again... check!

Popped tire on freeway... check!

Other car won't start... check!

Discover heater does not work... check!

Half of recyclables stolen off of porch... check!

Phone screen officially refuses to turn on again... check!

This is a snapshot of our last month and a half or so...

OR IS IT?

As I cried to my friend today about our recent "disasters" today, I realized how easy it is to focus on the negatives.  Sure finances haven't been anywhere near great for awhile.  Sure, my pregnancy hormones have me crying, puking and forgetting just about everything.  Micah is 2.  Kids are 2.  They survive.  And so do their parents!  Oh, and my phone didn't die for 1.5 months after it started acting up!  The car with the popped tire was partially paid for by someone close to us who heard what happened.  The other car was opened and jumped by our insurance company a day later.  It did not cost us a cent!  (This is why my hubby is in charge of taking care of our insurance.)  The person who stole our recyclables off of our porch... missed some!  Our heater is still broken.. but we have at least a dozen blankets in this house.

And guess what? Even though we deal with struggles... we have people in our lives who care.  One of my friends regularly picks up and brings home my daughter from school 2 of 3 school days each and every week.  Today, when I had a panic about the car not "registering" the little bit of gas I put in, a friend bought me some.  In fact, she bought me more than I needed to get home.  Today,  my close friend who I adore did my hair.  I love going to her.  She always gives me such a good experience and she is a precious, precious friend.  If she allowed, I am sure I could talk her head off for much, much longer.  Last night, hubby cooked me dinner.  (I took photos but they are on the currently broken phone.)  Oh yeah, and he baked cookies... from scratch.  Tonight too!  Do you know how hard it is to feed a pregnant woman?  Especially one who is picky to begin with and has been puking almost every week of her pregnancy??? Oh yeah, and this guy gives foot rubs sometimes before bedtime on his nights without doubles! 

So I guess what I am trying to say is just that... our lives are not always easy... or fun... or what we want them to be for that matter.  We go through stages and seasons, sometimes which feel... way... too... long.  But they don't last forever.  And if you are paying attention, you will often notice those little or bigger blessings God is trying to show you along the way.  When I was on the side of the freeway a few weeks ago, I went through the list of blessings.  Thank goodness the car stopped in Livermore, near friends, 30 minutes from home, not where the road is dangerous or where I do not have cell phone signal.  The car stopped 30 minutes before David was off of work, not in the middle of his shift.  My mom was free to talk to me on the phone while I waited for David and the guy to help me.  It was just a tire, not something worse, not something more expensive.  And we still had our spare available and the guy changed it for us!  Oh yeah, and the kids slept though 99% of the entire experience.  We got home just before midnight.  It was the eve of one of a holiday, a day without schoolwork for Joy... you get my point, right?

I am not asking you to forget what happened or not mourn or grieve or be sad at frustrated.  People have real reasons to be upset, often around the holidays especially.  And it is important as friends to be there for them and listen.  But I guess I am trying to shed a little perspective on things.  It has taken a me 2-3 days of pondering & praying about this blog ent.y to get it here.  And I am not even sure if it came out the way I liked fully.  Feel free to share your thoughts...

As always,

Melis

P.S. Still working on adding more graphics and photos.  It's a work in progress for sure!

22 Weeks & Counting

Tomorrow marks 22 weeks pregnant with my little rainbow princess and since David had a rare day off, I asked him to take some "bumpies" today. (Excuse my hair, ahem.)  This pregnancy has not been fun... almost at all. In fact,  it's made us really think on whether we want a large family anymore. But that is for another day.

  What it is...
    •A reminder of God's promises
    •A miracle
    •Cuddly
    •A time of reflection
    •Proof I have the right doctors in my corner

Today was one of those preggo days where I spent more time lamenting my hormones than I would of liked. Let's just say the tears kept a flowin' & if they were not flowin' somebody was getting glared at or eyes rolled at.  And David had the day off... Now, normally I would pity him some but today he took it all in stride.  He always seemed to be right there when I least expected it, right when I needed a hug, or an arm around me, or a ridiculous joke to get my mind off things temporarily.

And then there's this little princess inside of me who has kicked pretty much all day long.  (Do babies EVER sleep? Am I in trouble? ) At least her kicks are still fun for the most part. She is a constant reminder of who our God is.

Tomorrow I take on another walk. I feel like it's the little things that keep me from losing every bit of my mind (if there's any left). Most of my walks are shorter these days but I am trying to make the effort to do them anyway. Feel free to join me in setting a walking goal for yourself! (I'm on RunKeeper.)

So another week is upon our little family. Baby girl is AT LEAST as big as a papaya this week.  (Have you met my children?) David works back-to-backs Thursday-Sunday after 6 hour shifts Tues/Wed. Joy soared through her homework today so I am confident in her upcoming week at school. Micah has finally started acknowledging his little sister (well, sort of). And Abby... she is still fluffy.

Another week in the lives of this Voeltz Family ahead. What is your family up to this week???

As always,
Melis

Miracles Come in Different Shapes & Sizes...

As I sit here cradling my little belly, I can't help but thank God for the blessing of this precious baby girl.  I read something this morning that really put things in perspective for me from a personal standpoint~ "If you don't believe in miracles, perhaps you've forgotten you are one."  This applies to anyone.  But in my personal life, I've found myself calling all of my children miracles...

Micah & Joy were both conceived and born before I discovered my Factor V Leiden clotting disorder.  I had no complications or serious issues with either pregnancy.  Baby girl due this coming spring is a miracle because we found out why we lost our 2 precious angels and were able to put me on an injection that would medically mean this little girl would most likely make it safely into our arms... If you ask me, without God none of them are possible, including my own husband who I feel blessed to have in my life, a man I met at church during middle school.  Clearly, I didn't know God's plan then... as we didn't start dating until 8 years after we met ;-)

Miracles, Blessings, Thankfulness... this is where I am tonight as I pray for God's leading as we move forward.  What are you thankful for???

As always,
Melis

Sparkly,Fit, Beachy Mama!

Time for a change and some updates!  Remember that announcement I made back in August?  Well, here's me a few weeks ago...

 

I am now 21 weeks, 1 day pregnant according to my dates.  Baby Girl is due April 14th, 2015!  It's been a very trying pregnancy, physically and emotionally but I am seeing the hope, that light that is this beautiful girl inside of me due to come in to this world this coming spring.  I am so excited but also ready to start making some changes elsewhere.  

Due to the trying nature of this pregnancy, I really have struggled to keep a lot of things up as I processed it all and really tried to stay calm and focus.  Hoping to start reaching out and really showing you all a little more again.  So without further ado, I have renamed my page and am renaming my Facebook Coach page to reflect it so I may connect more with those of you out there interested in knowing and learning more...

Sparkly, Fit, Beachy Mama is here!  (Formerly Lions, Giraffes & Puppies) 

I hope to focus more on the details of life as they intersect.  In other words, you won't just hear about medical or pregnancy topics here and my Facebook will have more than just my fitness love!  Does that make sense? Hoping to get some new graphics, headers, etc up as well as some new Challenge Groups launched by the New Year so stay tuned! Have questions? Just ask!  And if you do have some suggestions, let me know!  I hope to make these outlets better all around with these changes! 

Have a fabulous day!

As always,

Melis

BIG News Alert... Taking a chance here...

In January 2013, we started a part of our journey we never thought would exist.  We ventured into a world that confused us, that hurt and that made us question just about everything...

I do not know if it is every possible to truly prepare yourself for losing a child... ever!  doubt it... but we did and we were told that it was unlikely we would go through it again.   They were wrong...

Fast forward to July 2013.  Again. Confused. Hurt.  Let's move on.  Or not?

July 28th, 2013 changed it all.  I was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism, a clot in my lungs at 28.  I knew no one who had been through this just like when we first miscarried... no one.

In February of 2014, I was cleared. 

In April of 2014, I made some serious decisions about my health and fitness and the lifestyle I wanted.  I committed...

But the best was yet to come...

Coming in April of 2015, just in time for my 30th birthday...

I am not sharing this for kicks and giggles.  I am sharing this because we need all of your prayer and support in a major way.  I am giving myself Lovenox injections nightly because of the clotting disorder my hematologist discovered last year.  I will see both my hematologist and my OBGYN this pregnancy.  I will have my blood checked and no appointment will go underused or overlooked.  I will be discussing more with my OBGYN soon what he would like to do differently this time.  We are beyond thrilled at meeting our Rainbow this coming Spring but we have a long road ahead of us...

I do not imagine I will post much on this because this process is very personal to me and I want to be very aware of what details we share since it is so sensitive for us but I hope you'll join with us in prayer as we move forward.  I believe in this medicine.  I trust my doctors.  I am trusting the process. GOD IS IN CONTROL!!!

Thank you in advance.  

As always,

Melis

 5 Weeks!

6 Weeks!

Grumpy days need friends...

I woke up today and realized I was not going to be doing my favorite workouts today. Oh well, when you're following a plan that works, you make the choice to get up and do them anyway. I weighed in and realized I had gone up a few lbs but nothing added up, so I figured I was retaining water... sigh. I rolled my eyes and headed towards my first workout.  'll be honest, it took me a bit to get started but I started. 'll be honest, it took me a bit to get started but I started. I whined a bit to myself because I did not like it but I kept trying.  And just as I was about to finish the first one, my left glute started hurting.  I know this pain so I backed off and checked in with my hubby, ultimately finishing all but the burnout. But I realized the pain was not going away.  In fact, it was getting worse and not budging.  I rolled my eyes yet again, had a mini pity party and checked my phone.  I headed off to my good friend's house to swim for a little bit.  It helped while I gingerly moved through the water but the moment I stood up, the pain was there in full force... and I was at the edge.  I went back home to get ready for the day, facing the realization that I was not going to run, not going to do my MMX workout, that I was going to stay off my feet, ice the muscle and try to be a good mom to the one and only kiddo I have around here the next few days.

Today has not been my shining day but it is not the first hurt muscle I have had since I made the commitment to workout and become a healthier human being. Most, in fact have healed within 1-2 days with proper care and rest.  Perhaps my grumpy attitude was more about that feeling one gets when they accomplish something... I wasn't getting it and I knew today I needed that extra day of rest. Let me tell you though when you're going through any type of trial, having someone(s) to reach out to makes all of the difference. The same people who console me when I am having a bad day also are the same people that keep my accountable.  I am very fortunate to have those people in my life.  Otherwise, a day like today would have sent me to the nearest fast food restaurant AND my favorite coffee place... and tomorrow? Well, I likely would not have lost the water weight ;-) 

Have you had any frustrating days lately? Do you have someone(s) to turn to? Do they also call you out on those things you need to? Are you looking to make a change? For 6 weeks of accountability, take a chance and join my challenge group. You won't regret it. Message me or visit me at Facebook.com/RunLissaRun 

Tomorrow is going to be a better day...

Melis

Blown away...

I'm trying to get my head around this...

I'm not used to this kind of putting myself out there. Sure, I shared my life with you all this last year but YOU chose to read this blog, stay informed and encourage me.  And for those who liked my recently set up fitness Facebook page, YOU again chose to follow it.  You all read because you want to.  What happened last night was something I could not have imagined.  It was beyond anything I could have predicted. 

You see I posted those transformation photos not because I wanted the praise but because I wanted to share with all of you a few things...

1) My love for fitness & health. I love it because I love me and I want to be a BETTER me. I want my family to feel it. I want them to love it or at least appreciate it like I do.

2) I want to inspire others.  It took me a LONG time to be in the place to lose weight, to start this transformation for real, to become consistent to the point where I pretty much HATE rest days.  That is right. I miss working out on those days.

3) Where is all came from... It is not an accident I started to change my habits.  It sure was not a magic pill either.  It comes from a raw place I am often reliving.  Last year, after losing 2 babies and on the brink of losing my own life, I immediately went into survival mode for myself, my kids, my hubby.  After getting off the Coumadin and on to aspirin as instructed by my hematologist, I did NOT bounce back. I struggled... horribly.  I hid. I did anything I could to avoid people.  But with time, grieving and some serious inspiration, I knew that for those very reasons, I HAD to do this.  This was NOT a choice for more anymore...

...LIFE is far too important to just sail through...

My transformation is far from over. I am excited to keep moving towards my goals and prayerfully continue to build our family as God allows and leads us.  I am very excited about this stage of our lives and that I get to share my <3 with ALL of YOU!!!

Thank you for continuing to read and delve in to my story, my life, my transformation... I hope to help inspire others on their own.  If you wanna chat, message me and/or check me out at Facebook.com/RunLissaRun

This is NOT ultimately just about me.  I hope we ALL make it, YES?

That's all for now,

Melis

Are you OFF today?

Ever had a rough day?  Let's be honest. We all have at some point, probably a lot if we are being truthful.  Some are worse than others.  You know what I mean though, right? You often wake up feeling off and everything you attempt to do is affected by this nagging feeling or how tired you are or... fill the blank here.

Today was one of those days.  It wasn't that I didn't put in effort. It wasn't that I wanted it to be harder.  However, it was. I got up at 5:30. I did my X3 Yoga. I went for my 2 mile run. Neither felt good like I am used to. I spent most of my Yoga looking forward to a fresh run.  And then during my run, I dragged on and on just barely moving in a jog for just about the ENTIRE 2 miles.  I knew I had another workout but could not do it until 9am or later due to the noise rules of the complex. After drinking my Endurox, David and I agreed I needed to go back to bed. I was tired.  I was in and out for about 2.5 hours. David left for work. I woke up, slowly starting to feel better. That didn't last though. I walked into the other room and realized about 60 seconds in my body was still fatigued and I needed to postpone this workout to the next day. I worked on lunch for the kids and I. Once fed, I was overcome with emotion. Life just has a way of hitting you hard sometimes, overwhelming you... and the truth here is that I could have been a bit more organized early on and I knew I would be tired and yet I ignored those facts and was suffering the consequences of my own choices... not to go to bed earlier the past few nights, not to make my to do lists and even try to follow them some days...

So I was frustrated, teary, exhausted and I cried out to a friend. She gave me a quick piece of advice. I followed it.  And you know what?  I also got a few extra things done. 

I am still tired, fatigued, frustrated and today I did not follow my usual "diet." (I detest that word by the way.) But tomorrow is a new day and even on the hardest days, I can do something... and so can you.  Lesson learned? I definitely did today. No more laziness when life is hard.  Take it easier? Sure. But I won't give up again just because I am feeling "off."

That's all for now...
Melis

Just Keep Swimming!

I absolutely LOVE to swim!  But for years, I didn't have consistent access to a pool I could afford. I have missed it immensely! With the heat up here, its nuts some days. What I would give for a pool in my backyard... or a backyard... But that's another story. Hehe.

This all changed though when I was talking to a dear friend of mine recently.  She pointed out the window to their pool and said I could use that. I made a snarky comment, stating I would truly take her up on that if she was serious.

Just a few days ago, we set it up.  Today, I jumped in the pool.  Wednesday and Friday I will get to do this too... for at least the rest of the summer! Oh yes!  Today was a bit of acclimating as I made it about 20 minutes total, getting winded here and there. It was SO COMPLETELY WORTH IT!  I am in love and stoked and this will be my new favorite place to defrag and get my active on! Haha!

Just a reminder that patience pays off and having amazing friends does too!

God is good... ALL of the time! Yes!!!
That's all for now...
Melis

P.S. Did a picture of Dory come to anyone else's mind? ;-)

Lifestyle Change

Hi friends! Today marks a pretty important day for me. I am going "public" with my fitness & health journey.  I've launched my Coach Facebook & set up my initial Beachbody website.  It is actually a big thing for me as I have tried to keep this area of my life more private due to my own insecurities.  With the events of 2013 starting to affect me for the better, I have decided it is time!

A few refreshers or new info ~

Ran for the first time in 5th grade for our school's yearly track meet. I came to the realization I could run and maybe even be athletic, even though I was easily one of the slowest out there at the time.

Learned to swim during the summers of middle school.
Ran track in 7th & 8th grade.
Swam on the school team 9th & 10th grades.
Attempted cross country in 10th grade.
Learned after a missions trip btwn 10th-11th grades that I could gain weight :(

Ran with Team in Training during Spring of 2006 & 2007. During both seasons I suffered injuries. I developed a stress fracture in my right foot in 2006, scaling back from a marathon to a half marathon ultimately.  At the time, I did not take this well.
In 2007, I developed severe shin splints in both legs that did not initially heal up well and received a medical transfer, therefore not completing the season.
Nevertheless, running continued to be a goal for me.

Put on 50 lbs in 2008-2009 after my Joy was born midyear.
In 2010, joined Curves and ultimately lost 12 lbs over the next several years due to inconsistencies and pregnancies of my children.

Last year, after seeing the initial progress of my husband doing P90X, I jumped on board. I found I lost 15 lbs my first month (then got pregnant).
I attempted it again in November but my head and heart were not in it so stopped after a week.

Around the New Year, heard about P90X from a friend.  Jumped on board!
In February of this year, I signed on as Beachbody Coach but initially focused on my own personal journey.  Have now completed P90X3 Block 1 almost 3 times due to injuries primarily that sidelined and delayed me.

Recently, I have learned a lot about nutrition and how to make this lifestyle work for me.  I've stopped worrying about bring skinny. Instead, I choose to work towards being healthy & fit and be an example and inspiration to others the best that I can. That's just a snapshot but I hope you'll join me on my journey & tell me about yours!  More to come! 

www.beachbodycoach.com/LISSAFIED

https://www.facebook.com/RunLissaRun

And speaking of getting fit... Yoga X3 here I come!

Melis

Dinner Win!

Many of you know most of 2013 I resisted doing any major cooking or baking.  Life was hard and my kitchen made me mad so I chose to just stay away.  This meant that, yes a lot of microwaving and much more takeout happened than any sane mom would like.  However this was life.  And being that I actually do enjoy cooking and baking, it felt a little weird.  So, this year one of my goals has been to really get back into baking and cooking.  And it turns out I picked a pretty good time.  Joy is ripe to help me bake and apparently is learning that just because you haven't had the food doesn't make it bad.

This was especially important tonight.  If you have spent anytime talking to me about my childhood, you likely know what my favorite food was growing up, nothing frilly, nothing fancy but it was a big deal.  My parents always called it Chicken Lickin' Porkchops and it was mostly done in a crockpot.  This recipe is also what inspired my own love and use of the crockpot.  For whatever reason though, I only recently bothered to find out how to make it.  And realizing we'd NEVER eaten porkchops in this little family of ours EVER, tonight became the night.  (Plus, I can use the protein ;-) )  So, I attempted it with a different soup because I forgot to the buy the right one but I knew it wasn't a crucial change.  Joy originally told me she wouldn't be having any.  Her tune changed as she realized this was dinner.  Micah will eat just about anything but with Joy its hard to know some days.

Much to my surprise, she not only tried it, she asked for seconds with a smile before the side dish was even on the plate (one of her favorites too).  So for me, a dinner win also reminds me how much I love to cook for my family and eat real food.  It also inspires me to keep on cooking, even when the days are hard.

This is the 1st day of the rest of my life...

Okay, so I know we've all had our moments, our transitions, our times when we realized how different things could be now, often good and often bad but as cliche as it may seem, today really is the 1st day of this next season, a day when everything starts to change & I get to find out what my body is made of, really made of.  One thing I learned on Coumadin is that my body needed help, help to function, help to heal.  However, Coumadin was very likely also the reason I was so worn, tired & fatigued regularly. Even as I recently ventured into working out & eating on the newer P90X3 plan, I would get a slight boost of energy, only to be worn a few hours later.  My body had changed and I knew somehow, that no matter what meds I was on, some things would never be the same.

However, taking that all into account, I no longer need to be on Coumadin.  My doctor emphatically and comfidently review my history & scan results and prescribed Aspirin for the rest of my life, just one a day.  Now, say what you want but when you have a large pulmonary embolism at 28, you don't question your doctor's orders, the doctor that got you safely through 6 months of he**! (At least I don't.) I hated being on Coumadin and after all of those blood draws, my poor arms had so much scar tissue.  The poor lab techs worked harder than ever and I am glad to be free of that frustration.

Today, I get to celebrate continuing through transition week (week 4) of my journey on P90X3.  I get to see as time goes by if being off Coumadin is really going to help my energy nd my general "feeling" of quality of life.  I am so very thankful for all of the doctors, nurses, clinical pharmacists, PAs and the rest for all of their hard work, kind words & friendly bedside manor. They made this experience less painful, more bearable.  I also feel so blessed as we enter this new season to have had so so many friends and family praying for us through 2013, especially these last 6 months.  That was very apparent on Facebook last night and I genuinely won't forget it.

It's been a long year, a long 6 months... This is the 1ST day of the REST of my LIFE!!!

<3Melis

Write, Write, Write

A little while back, I got some interesting advice,  My Dad had heard I'd been blogging through all the hard times.  He encouraged me, telling me some of the best advice he'd ever gotten was to write & write & write, to write something everyday, whether short, long, serious, funny, whatever.  Well I haven't done too well at that, even though thoughts swirl through my head ALL day long, as I am sure most women can attest to.  So this post is just to write, to share a little, to tell you what's been on my mind. No need to patronize me but if you're interested, go ahead and read because I think my Daddy's advice was good & I want to keep writing...

Anyone else going to miss the Olympics because they don't have cable or satellite? When I finally gave in to ditching cable to save money, it didn't occur to me I would miss them. Seriously, swirling thoughts constantly going through my head & it somehow didn't occur to me until a week ago. It is not that I don't love saving the money (because we really need to) but I love the Olympics, winter & summer versions alike. I have always associated them with positive things.  Joy was born only a couple months before the Summer of 2008 ones. Micah was born about 6 months before the Summer 2012 ones.  And Squirt was due 7-8 months ago, Little One was due less than a month ago, so naturally I see a lot of happy things, as I sit nursing or thought I would be, as in the most recent cases.

Another thing that has been traveling though my mind is the fact that I am not the same person I was a year ago, or even 7 months ago... I mean, I know we can all say that to a point... but here's where I am going.  When I first found out about the baby loss community online, I remember reading how you are never the same when you lose a child.  I am sure most who have been down this round understand what I mean. We lost 2, both in the 2nd trimester. Again, I was hurt & I knew we could never go back and change the past, that emotionally, David & I were different people, apart & together & that we would need to learn how to BE us, having lost 2 precious babies.  But I am going beyond that.  When we discovered the night of our anniversary in the Emergency Room that I had a pulmonary embolism, all we were concerned with was getting me through that period of time, getting me out of the hospital for good, traversing the 6 months, hopefully going off the Coumadin & moving on, trying to find out how to continue to be a couple, a family & prayerfully grow it.  Only a week or two ago, I was reminded of my humanity once again.  I just had my 6 months scans. I have my results delivered Friday, my Daddy's birthday, in a hematology appt.  If the results are great, there are more steps, as in getting off of this medicine, on to a lesser one, and getting the full workup done to hopefully, confirm, deny or find out more about what happened, how I lost those babies and what can be done for me & for our (hopefully) growing family down the line... But as I have realized, closing this particular chapter doesn't mean going back to before the pulmonary embolism.  I will always need to be aware that I could develop a blood clot, or my kids could. When they hit, one often has a short amount amount of time to respond before it can cause serious harm (understatement alert).  Also, I started working out a few weeks ago.  When I used to workout, I would get huge bursts of energy, often getting me through almost the entire day.  Now, one workout gives me at most a few hours of energy.  Yes, I feel better. Yes, I tend to have more color in my face, a little more motivation in my day etc. But I am not the same energetic, bouncy person, at least not to the obvious point.  Last year was hard emotionally & physically.  And while I don't blame God for any of it, (I am not even angry) I am aware I am a different person to a degree.  There isn't anything wrong with that in and of itself.  David & I have become much closer & stronger together (although I know we still have our things to work on). These last 6 months have given me a lot to think about.  And, there is always the chance my scans will not come back clean enough to proceed forward.  Only God knows what happened during these 6 months. I haven't had a scan since a week after admittance in the ER.

I'm looking forward to sharing with you all more this year as there will be more challenges, transitions & the like this year. As most of you know by now, our word for the year is Contentment. Personally, I have decided to challenge myself by adding a word for myself each month to focus on.  Last month, I called "Kickstart Contentment." I needed to remind myself not to get complacent.  This is a new year & I need to not be lazy.  So, I  refreshed my zeal by committing to an online vendor faire & established my presence on FB with Pampered Chef (see link at bottom if you are interested).  I also convinced David to purchase P90X3, only 30 minutes a day but still a good focus on eating right.  I almost quite day 3 but I am still going strong 2.5 weeks in because of my best friend being the greatest support ever, my friend at church coaching me on & other good friends encouragement in the way I look & act.  So this year is going to be different. This month of February for me is going to be about Contented Focus. I need to stop letting my crazy brain keep me from starting & finishing things. I need to let other things go & not just be at church & Bible Study but BE there present & soaking it all in.

I know my wording is a little funny tonight. I ran out of pronouns & other choices for words.  To be honest, I just need to get my oldest in bed before it gets too late & she needs her sheets on her bed (which I didn't realize).  So, let me know how you like this idea. Some days I will have 5 words, other 5 pages (haha) but I am going to at least try to write 3-4 days a week again, Share with me any thoughts you have.   I have some more topics to explore but I need to have a few discussions & do some research.  I will keep you posted as long as you keep me updated, okay?

As always,
<3Melissa

And if you are at all interested in placing an order with Pampered Chef OR just supporting me by liking my new FB page, head on over to Pampered Chef: Melissa N. Voeltz. It's about time I start trying to make this business work so I can help my family out more! As I say frequently over there & to others regarding it ~ I bake. I cook. I love life. I’ll plan your show or help you host your own! This is the life...  

6 month mark!

I honestly can't believe I just passed the 6 month mark!  On July 28th, our 6th wedding anniversary I was diagnosed with a large pulmonary embolism.  This was only 5 days after our second miscarriage of the year. I couldn't believe it & honestly had no idea what would be next. At the follow up appointments with my hematologist, I learned that I would need to stay on my Coumadin for 6 months, even though 3-4 months was a more likely time frame in which I would be healed up enough. He said he did it to make sure.  Well 6 months couldn't come soon enough but I finally had my scans... yesterday!  I had an ultrasound on my legs & a CT of my chest.  And on Friday, February 7th I get the results!  I am beyond excited and nervous.  If all is clear, I get to go off the Coumadin & on to baby aspirin & get a FULL workup done, hopefully giving us more clear answers as to what happened. 

As excited as I am, a part of me remains hesitant.  These past 6 months have given me a lot of extra "smaller" hurdles: 3-5 yeast infections, a UTI, several colds, a sinus infection, a mysterious wrist injury, multiple drops in my INR that took some time to fix, TONS of blood draws, sharp mysterious pain, unusual cycles, several ER visits, a few GP visits, medication, medication & often even more medication.  But after 6 months, I am starting to see more about what people mean, when they say you can never go back.  I am not the same person I was before all of this happened. Physically, I have to work harder to get my energy; I can't just go out for a run and expect it all to come back to me. I am learning that through baby steps, I can still be relatively healthy & that small boosts of energy are totally just as important as big hurdles reached. Emotionally, I will never be the same either & I think it will be a long time before David looks at me without genuine concern when I tell him something hurts or I need to see a doctor. We've carefully navigated over egg shells for some time & while the pain has mostly subsided, we know we cannot erase the past, nor should we try.  We've become a stronger pair this year, a stronger team.  And whatever the results may be, that is something I definitely would never want to take back!

That's all for now..
<3Melissa

We made it!

Hi All!
  
Thank you all for the prayers our way. We made it through the weekend alive ;-) Feeling encouraged as I have a workout plan I hope to be starting Friday (already put off twice for different issues that came up).  I would ask you continue to pray for us.  My health is still a concern. Even though we are SO close to the scans, things keep coming up that give us reason to pray even more. Also, it seems we may be heading into a time of transition. A lot is going on in our minds & hearts and we really have no idea where God is leading. Please pray for guidance & calm.  David & I are more united than ever before but we are only human & really don't know where God is leading or if He wants us to just stay right where we are.  We are still learning about contentment & are trying to narrow in what it means for us as a family, notably in different arenas of our lives.

Just a quick one today.
Thanks again for all of the support.
More comprehensive blog coming in the next week I hope.

Your Friend,
Melis