Goals for the competition

I have been thinking about the final days of this slim & sassy competition. I've also been thinking a lot about the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of this competition. I thought I would share those goals on here and share what I wrote when I registered for the competition that has changed my life forever! Any guesses on how many goals I've accomplished or surpassed?


Goals:
My goals for this competition and this year are to be able to get onto any of the roller coasters at Lagoon that I want to ride with my children. I want to be able to fly without needing to ask for a seatbelt extender. I want to drop 3 pant sizes by the end of April. I am aiming for being able to finally be able to run a 5k. I want to be a healthy example for my children and my husband. I have my 20th class reunion this summer, and I would love to be able to turn heads and surprise all of my friends with a newer, slimmer, healthier, happier me! I look forward to shedding this prison cell that I've made for myself and showing the world the "real" me that has been hidden for so long. I can't wait to see all the wonderful, amazing adventures that I am going to be taking with this journey toward ultimate health and healing.

12 days left!!!!

There are only 12 days left in the Slim & Sassy lifestyle competition.... OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I feel like I've just started!!!! I feel and see so much wonderful difference from when I first started out in January. There has been so much healing happening, not only physically, but emotionally and mentally and spiritually as well. I have been so blessed to be able to work through so much in such a short time with no medication whatsoever. I've worked through cravings and eliminated them. I have learned so much about my body and the signals I am receiving and what I can do about it.  It used to be, that I would pick up a bag of m&m's and eat it all by myself, or eat whatever chocolate or cookies or cake I could find. I was trying to fill a void and protect myself.  I know I've talked about a lot of this in my previous blogs, but, I feel that it bears repeating because of the impact that this emotional eating has had on myself and my family.  I know there are others out there with similar situations and may even feel lost as I did.  There is a way, there is hope, there is healing. That is the beauty of the whole deal... THERE IS!!!!

I may or may not be the final winner of the doTERRA Slim & Sassy lifestyle competition, but I am a winner in my own slim & sassy competition. I had set some pretty specific goals at the beginning of January that I reached for...some were loftier than others. One of those goals was to drop 4 pant sizes...at the time, I thought..."Can I really drop 4 pant sizes in 4 months?"  That would mean going from a size 32 to a size 26. I have been amazed at the changes and improvments that have happened. As of last week, I fit into a size 24 pants. Last friday, when Tim and I went to Portland, my size 24's were falling off of me. We went to the goodwill in Portland and I played around in the clothes and let my curiosity get the best of me. I tried on some really nice size 22 capris that were half off. I decided before I tried them on, that I would get them either way because I would be in that size before summer started :)  I tried them on and they fit a little snug. Today, April 18th, I put those same 22's on....they fit better and were comfy to wear all day :)   I know that different brands are different sizes, so my size range is still 22-24 size range, but that is a total of 5-6 pant sizes down from January 1st 2012!!!! REMARKABLE!!!

As for another goal, I want to be able to do a 5k this year. I am in week 5 of my couch to 5k training schedule. I will be doing a 5k with some friends possibly in June and am looking at signing up for the color run in August in Boise.

Two of my other goals, I am really hoping to be able to see if I met them, however, they take some money...but they are great goals :)  One of them was to be able to ride any roller coaster at Lagoon with my boys and not have to step off the ride because the ride can't buckle down like it needs to.  My other goal was to fly and not need a lap belt extender :) I believe I have met that goal, however, I need to be able to get onto a plane to try that one out hahahaha.... I have faith and know that it will happen, I don't know how, but it will happen this year :)

One amazing thing about this journey is that I have kept my eye on the prize, but not limited myself or given up, I have added new goals and kept all of the original goals. I continue to add goals each week if not each day. I love how my body feels and how it craves the good food and exercise. I can totally tell when I've not eaten the foods that my body needs. As far as sweets... the bag of m&m's or cadburry mini eggs that I would devour in a matter of minutes by myself,,,, that's not me... It never was the real me, but it is not a part of my burdens anymore. I can open a bag of candies and eat only a few and be fine... that is not very often when I do eat candy, but when I do, I can be in control.

I want to be a great example for others like me who are lost and trying to find their way to a healthy lifestyle. I am going to share with all I can, the wonderful blessings that have come to me through this single lifestyle change competition. I know that I've influenced so many already, I pray that I can continue to influence others and be a positive role model for them to aspire to the greatness that is in them. I thank doTERRA and my dear friends Matt and Kelly for blessing my life in such a way that it brough doTERRA into my life :) I thank Justin Harrison and Lynda Decker for giving me the positive boost that I needed to make this daring plunge out of hiding. I am so very thankful for the faith that everyone has in me and the amazing support that all of my friends and family have been to me these past few months and continue to be. I am continuing this lifestyle change and will be an influence for others to follow :)

Happy happy birthday Kyler McKay

Kyler turned 9 today!!!! Where has the time gone???? It's totally not possible for my baby to be this old! He's still my baby no matter how old he is :)

Kyler had a great day today :) He had cinnamon rolls for breakfast, took snacks to school and had Uncle Don's double decker tacos for his special birthday dinner. I asked him the other day what he wanted for his birthday dinner...he chose Uncle Don's tacos :) I love it when the boys want to include far away loved ones in their birthday celebration :)

I'm so glad that Kyler was born in the spring time around Easter :) He loves bunnies! Every year for his birthday, he likes to have an Easter themed family party! We do an egg hunt with all the filled eggs and all sorts of basket filler items for birthday gifts :) It's so simple to plan his birthday.... I'm afraid that this simple birthday idea may be coming to an end soon though, but I will enjoy it for now :) This year, I made Kyler a 3D bunny cake. The cake looks so cute :)

I am so grateful that Kyler had such a good day :) I love you Kyler McKay Hallam! You are such a blessing to our family!

LOOK AT THIS!!!

I posted this on my oil blog, but wanted to share it here. This is just so AMAZING!!!! Just look at these pictures! This is my progress since January! I am so very excited about my numbers and sizes! I feel AWESOME! I am absolutely loving the exercising I've been doing as well as the even healthier eating :)

I am still working on my goal with the slim & sassy competition as well as my other goals. I have met my goal of being down 4 pant sizes and am continuing to expand that goal to be down even more! I have one more size of a few capris hanging in my closet...I want to be in them before the middle of April... Lofty goal? Maybe... but I have come so far and I'm not giving up!

I have loved seeing even small changes that have been happening all over. My cheeks are more defined... YAY!!! When I look in the mirror, it's so nice to see a shrinking me :) I can't wait to see more progress and more shrinking!!! I can't wait for the REAL me to imerge triumphant from this cushion and extra padding.

Happy sweet 16 Brandon!

Oy vey!!!! Another one turned 16 on March 5th! It is such an exciting time to turn 16! Brandon will be ordained a priest this sunday! He will be able to bless the sacrament next sunday. He gets to go on dates now! WOW!!! Stay back girls! I get to take him on his first date!

Brandon has overcome so many obstacles and become such a wonderful, amazing young man. He has a heart of gold! It's crazy how much life throws at us, yet we are still so strong and resiliant. Brandon has a wonderful sense of right and wrong and stands for right in all things. He has great plans for the future and is looking forward to being able to go on dates and learn to drive :)

Brandon is looking forward to his 16th birthday party tonight with girls and guys invited! He set the whole thing up. I've come up with some ideas of games to play, so it will be a fun night :)

I love you Brandon! You are such a blessing to our family! I am so very grateful that you chose to come and be a part of our family. You are a wonderful young man and will be an amazing missionary. You have such a sweet, tender testimony of the gospel and a deep love for our Savior.

My yoke is easy and my burden is LIGHT!

Last week, I had a wonderful opportunity to go to one of my upline in doTERRA for an energy session. Our bodies and spirits have energy. When we are experiencing different things in life, those energies change or show. This session was so very amazing! It was so nice to be able to experience such an incredible thing. I would love to learn more about energy.

I learned so much through this energy session. For years I have been sheltering my body in this mass, trying to find safety and comfort through food and self destruction. Those feelings of insecurity, lack of safety, lack of comfort have stemmed from so many life experiences that have caused so much harm to my body and spirit. I have been feeling guilty for things that have happened in the past and have been adding to it everytime more things would happen that were out of my control, but I wouldn't do something about it.

For me, I would turn to anything chocolate, or cookies. That one chocolate bar would only cover those feelings of guilt and fear with a sense of comfort and safety for a short time. When it would wear off (which was about the time it took to eat it) I would feel the need for more because I was still feeling those feelings. After time, one small bag of m&m's became a bigger bag, eventually those huge party size bags would become single serve bags. bleh!!!! Looking back now just makes me sick to realize the damage that I had been doing to this body that Heavenly Father has blessed me with.

Thankfully we have a Savior who asks us to give Him all of our burdens...ALL of them. Those self destructive burdens are ones that we seem to think we need to hold onto. Either that or we just don't realize that it's something we need to turn over to the Lord. We also can't take someone elses burden and make it ours...when we try to take someone elses burden, we only take a shadow of their burden, they still have their burden. When we do this, we add to our load already, which is totally un-neccessary. What a sweet special peace it is when we can really give all of our burdens to the Lord, even those shadows of others burdens.

Matthew 11:30 The Lord asks us to give him our burdens and take his yoke upon us because his "yoke is easy and his burden is light". Not just the weight kind of light, but light that chases away darkness. When we allow the Saviors light to radiate in us, we are filled and can share His light. When we are filled with His light, there is no room for darkness, or despair, or fear, or guilt, or hurt, or anger. The Saviors light shineth for all the world to see. I will no longer hide my light (the real me). I will allow Jesus Christ to take my burdens upon Him and let His light radiate in and through me. I am safe in my body now and I do not need this outer shell any longer. I am a daughter of a Heavenly Father who loves me and I will let His light shine in me.

18! How did that happen????

I remember when Aaron was a brand new baby and I would just hold him and marvel at the miracle of my new precious angel. As I would sit in amazement and just watch him, I would have these glimpses of him growing up; it brought tears to my eyes everytime I would see those glimpses. I would ask Heavenly Father to stop time so I could enjoy my baby and not worry about him growing up. It truly does seem like just yesterday that I was holding my sweet baby in my arms and bringing him home.

Aaron's arrival was wrought with much difficulty and stress, however, the joy of having my son finally here and in my arms was a joy that no words can express... I know every mother feels that inexpressible joy so I don't need to try to express it :) I knew that Aaron was a very special spirit from the time that he was growing inside of me. I felt the spirit so strong, yet I also felt satan's power strong as well. He knows how noble my God's son is and he has not stopped trying to lead him away from the path. Aaron has such a sweet, pure testimony of our Savior and a love for Him. He is such a wonderful son. He's so loving in his own sweet way :)
Aaron has always had a sweet, silly side of him that would make my heart smile. When he was little, he was so genuine and loving; he would hug everyone and loved everyone! I loved watching him play and laugh. What a blessing it's been to be able to stay at home and be a stay at home mom!

I have learned so much from Aaron in these past 18 years. I know I am still learning as is he. It is such a blessing to have him in our family! I love you Aaron Matthew Hallam! Have a most wonderful 18th birthday!

Sharing a smile!

The other day, Kyler was playing outside in the sun while I was fixing dinner. He was playing around the suburban and on the back of it for quite some time. I went outside to see what he was doing and just giggled and smiled. Kyler had made a smiley face on the back of the suburban in the dust that was on it haha.... It was too cute to keep to myself.

If you were driving behind us and saw this.... wouldn't you smile too ???? It's too cute to not smile :) It looks almost like the kool-aid man :)

GREAT QUOTE!

I just saw this quote on pintrest this morning and it made me choke up. "Your first breath took ours away"

I thought about each one of my boys and their birth. I wasn't awake for Aaron's first breath, but I was for the rest of them. It is so true, they took my breath away! I was in love with my babies from the very beginning and have loved them more and more each day.

I remember how tiny and precious they were....how helpless they were and how much they needed me. They need me still, but are growing up to where they don't need me as much. I am saddened by how quickly time is passing and how fast they are growing. At the same time, I am happy that they are growing and learning and becoming righteous men of honor. I am taking every chance that I can and cherishing every moment that I can with my precious children.

I love them dearly and pray that they will always need me in some way, just as we need our Heavenly Father. I am always here for my children, in good times and bad. I love them no matter what!

Better to look UP

Sunday I taught the lesson in Relief Society. I was asked a few weeks ago to teach for someone who would be out of town. This lesson was on a conference talk by Elder Carl B. Cook "It's better to look up". This talk was one of my favorites from conference!

Elder Cook shares an experience that he had when he was new to his calling. President Monson entered the elevator where Elder Cook was looking down. Pres. Monson asked him what he was looking at....when he responded that he was looking at nothing... President Monson said "It is better to look up." This phrase is so very important. Throughout everything that we do, whenever we are feeling down or overwhelmed, all we need to do is look up.

Look up to our Father in Heaven for strength and comfort. Just as the children of Israel were bitten by the serpents, all they had to do to be healed was to look up....just the same for us...We need to look to our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ for redemption and salvation.

Elder Cook shared an experience that he and his wife had while in South Africa. At the Stake Relief Society meeting there, the stake RS President had everyone go outside. There they had a balloon that represented whatever burden, trial or hardship that was holding them back in their lives. On the count of three, they released them. What a relief it is to finally let our burdens go, just as those balloons.

We can have that in our lives always. The atonement makes these blessings possible, to not ever have to be held back by any burden or trial. We can rely fully on the atonement for comfort, forgiveness, salvation and happiness. As we remember our Savior and turn to Him, we will feel His love for us and be strengthened and bouyed up through all of our trials. I am so very grateful for the Savior in my life. For His atoning sacrifice in my behalf and for His constant love for me, even in my weakness. His love is infinite!

I'M GOING TO DO IT!!!!

After long thought and much encouragement from my dear friends, I have decided to join the doTERRA slim&sassy competition! I have not relished in sharing such personal information with others or putting myself totally out there for everyone to see. However, since January 1st when I started using grapefruit and lemon only in my water, I have felt so good and have loved using the oils. On monday when I got my slim & sassy oils in my order, I opened them and have been using my slim & sassy since then! I love it! I feel great! I am not fighting any cravings! I have so much energy and have the desire to get up and keep moving! Before I started using slim & sassy, I would be so tired and drained by noon each day and want to just sit down and take a nap. I don't have that problem anymore with the lack of energy. I can get through my day and actually get so much more done than I have in a long long time.

Since January 1st, I have lost 6 pounds and 1.5 inches in my hips! I have not even begun to exercise, only eating better. I have not had to cut my calories to the starvation levels, only listening more to my body and what it needs. I have desires to eat healthy foods, not sugary or comfort foods.

This competition that I'm doing is about weightloss, lifestyle change, uncovering the real me that has been hiding behind this padded prison cell for more than 17 years. I have set some goals for myself! One goal is that I will be able to ride all of the roller coasters with my kids at Lagoon, without having to suck it in or squeeze or even leave the line because I can't fit in the car :( Another goal is to be able to fly and not have to use a belt extender! I want to fly to share my amazing doTerra experiences with others, therefore I need to be able to buckle with just one belt, no extender :) I also want to drop at least 3 pant sizes :) I want to continue the weight loss so that I am down at least 5 pant sizes by the time my 20th class reunion comes up in July :)

I know that I can accomplish my goals! I have been so blessed to have such wonderful, amazing support from friends and family! I have loved the emotional, spiritual, mental and physical healing and health that the doTERRA oils have brought me so far in my journey.

A-S-P-I-R-E

To have a great ambition or ultimate goal; desire strongly: aspired to stardom.
2. To strive toward an end: aspiring to great knowledge.
3. To soar.

That is my word for 2012! I am going to soar to greater heights with my relationships with my friends, family, and my Father in Heaven and Savior. I am going to learn more about myself and the things that the Lord would have me do. I am aspiring to be His hands more and lift others and help them to soar :)

I have many ultimate goals for which I am aspiring this coming year! I want to show my gratitude each day for my blessings. I want to always be found in favor of my God. I want to always have His spirit with me and share it with others that they may feel His love for them. I want to see others as God sees them and love them as He loves them.

I want to accomplish a major goal that I still won't share on here...this one is most personal importance. I know that I can accomplish this goal with the Lords help.

I am aspiring to greater health for myself and my family. I am going to share this blessing with all that I can, that their families may also be blessed :)

One word

Last year, my word for the year that I decided to focus on was FORTIFY.... I focused my efforts in everything on fortifying myself, my family, my relationships....

The Lord has truly blessed our family this year... I believe that FORTIFY was the perfect word and so much has been fortified, just like a castle :) We have grown closer together as a family and enjoyed so many wonderful, strengthening times.

We have been so blessed to attend the temple regularly, even though, since July, we have been going to Twin Falls temple. The longer drive deffinately takes more determination and faith that everything will be alright. Before the Boise temple closed, we were promised that, if we made it a goal and a point to attend the temple each month, we would financially be able to attend. There have been some months where we prayed to know what to do. We set the date to go and relied on the Lord to make it possible for us. The Lord truly does hear and answer prayers and allows us to accomplish our righteous goals. By attending the temple, we've been able to fortify our relationship with our Father in Heaven, fortify our relationship with one another, and our family.

I am working on my word for next year.... This one will be just right for 2012

A very merry Christmas

What a sweet sweet Christmas this has been! We had sacrament meeting only for church today. The program was so sweet and simple, the spirit was there. We really enjoyed the service!

Before church today, I told the boys that all I want for Christmas is to have a quiet peaceful Christmas with no fighting and arguing :) YAY!!!! It has happened so far :) The boys have all had such good attitudes and have been so helpful :)

After church, we had the opening of the stockings and gifts :) Before Christmas, Kyler had brought home some gifts for everyone from school. As we were opening the gifts that Kyler had "bought" for everyone, he explained to us how he aquired these sweet gifts. Kyler had earned points during school and saved them up. On a particular friday, they had the "point store" where Kyler had the opportunity to spend his points. He told us that he spent his points on buying these gifts for us instead of buying something for himself! How sweet!!!!! It was so touching to hear Kyler's story of love and to see the boys open these gifts that Kyler had thought to get them. He really put a lot of thought into these gifts as well. He knew just what everyone would want. What a blessing Kyler is! He has truly had the Christmas spirit this year :)

The boys also got scarves from their Aunt Sonia :) Blue and gold Middleton vikings colors :) They totally love them :) Kyler has been wearing it since he opened it :)

This Christmas has been so peaceful and so precious! There has been so much love and goodness! I pray that it continues and that the boys have felt the spirit of this Christmas and will desire to have these same feelings throughout the rest of the year and next year :)

Wedding cake!!!

My newest creation!!!! This cake was made for a family friend's daughter :) I just love this family!!!! Joann Perza's sister Kathleen Frazier asked me to make her daughter's wedding cake :) I had so much fun with this one and enjoyed every minute of making and decorating it :)

All of these cake creations could not and would not be possible if it weren't for my Heavenly Father blessing me and my hands!!! I am so thankful for this talent. Everytime I make a wedding cake, I say a prayer and ask that Heavenly Father's love for the bride and groom shine through the cake. I am His hands, and it truly does take a touch of the Master's hands to create such wonderful, beautiful works of art.

Another blog

I decided that I want to blog about all of the things I'm learning and experiencing with doTERRA essential oils. I have added another blog :) The title of the blog is "Adventures in oil" the website for it is.... www.oilsbygina.blogspot.com I have so much in just one short week to share, I can't imagine how much more i will learn and have to share, so I want to make a special blog just for it :) Happy reading and learning :)

A blessing in the making

The other day I was invited by a friend to attend a class. I had been asking about some essential oils that may be able to help Brandon with his blood condition. She was in the area and doing a class on tuesday evening, therefore invited me to attend and learn more about these oils.

The class was wonderful! I learned a lot about these essential oils and the benefits and blessings of these particular oils. doTerra is the name of the company that manufactures these oils...they are harvested from their native origin (lemon in italy, lavendar in france). By harvesting in the native home, you receive the most pure oil that our bodies naturally know how to communicate with. Heavenly Father has blessed this earth with all that we need for our lives and health!

I signed up to try these oils and talked to a few of the ladies at the class. We decided that we needed to try a few different oils on Brandon to see how his body takes to them and how they help him. I bought grapefruit, zendocrine, and recieved a starter kit of lavendar, lemon and peppermint oils. Each of these oils does different things for our body's benefit and health.

Grapefruit helps with cancer, depression, liver disorders, migraines, stress, lymphatic system, and many other things.

Lemon helps with food poisoning, blood pressure, liver problems, arthritis, muscle aches and pains...it cleanses the air, disinfects, helps with colds, fever, infections, white blood cell formation, and many many more things.

Zendocrine helps with organ cleansing, healthy tissue function...this is a combination of clove, grapefruit, rosemary, and geranium

These three are the oils that I've been using for Brandon since tuesday when I got them. I use two drops of each on each foot and massage them onto his feet. I have also put 1-2 drops of lemon in a glass of water for him to drink.

So far, after massaging the oils onto Brandon's feet for 4 days, I have noticed that a rash that he had around his waist and arms is beginning to fade. The rash is almost gone from his waist, and is fading from his arms. His mood level is more positive and he seems to feel overall better :)

I want to document his progress and continue to do more documenting as I obtain more oils for my family and test them out. I am so grateful for the blessing of friends who are inspired and guided to help my family. I pray that I may be able to help others as these friends have done for me. If you are interested in checking out my website, I have made one and will post a link on the blog so you can check it out as often as you would like :)

I look forward to learning more about doTerra essential oils and how I can help my family and friends improve the quality of our lives!

My website is www.mydoterra.com/ginahallam

Happy 13th birthday Josh!!!

13 years ago, we welcomed our third little boy into this world and our hearts! Josh has been such a blessing to our family. He has such a sweet spirit and a kind heart. Josh is so kind to others. He's a good friend to everyone! I just love him to pieces my Joshua Merritt!

Josh got his middle name from my Grandpa Snowberger, he's just like my Grandpa in how good a person he is. One thing that Josh does that just melts my heart is that he comes up and gives me a hug whenever he can. Joshy hugs are sooooo good!!!!

He used to have a nickname of "sunshine committee" He was always a ray of sunshine with his smiles and laughter and loves. One year, when we were going through a miscarriage, we were at a marriage retreat. We came home, my mom was watching the boys, and Josh saw us come through the door...he ran to me and just hugged me. He was extra happy and cheerful for the next few days. What a sweet special blessing it is to have such a wonderful young man in our family.

Josh has loved being in young mens, going to scout camp, APC, and camping. He's grown both physically and spiritually.

Josh also shares his special birthday with his Grandma Cook! Both wonderful, special people in our lives! Here's to you mom and Josh!!!! May you have a very blessed day and know that you are so loved! May this year bring you all that the Father has in store for you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

What a wonderful, blessed year we've had thus far. There is so very much to be thankful for. I know I've slacked big time on updating our thanks on our blog. We've been so very busy with all of the wonderful family time...which really is how it should be :)

We've had scouts, pack meetings, school projects, parties, major couponing, yard work, birthday ;) all sorts of fun family time!!! What a wonderful way to spend our time, with our family!

I'm looking at the month of December and it is so full of so many more wonderful events! I have two bazaars coming up, a wedding cake for a sweet young lady, Christmas concerts, Christmas parties, activity days, jewelry parties!!! It's so wonderful to be so involved in such wonderful things!

One thing that we are most grateful for is FAMILY!!!! Each and every person who comes into our lives becomes family to us! We love you all and are so very grateful for each and every one of you! May you have a most blessed and wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.

Anyone going black friday shopping, please have a little black friday fun for me!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!!!!

Too good to pass up

I saw this on facebook today and shared it on my wall. I felt that I need to post it here too... This is just too perfect... I mean purrrrrfect ;) hahahaha

This is how I feel so many times during each day. I think of all my blessings or see a blessing and am just so thankful. I don't even know how many times in a day that I thank my Heavenly Father, but I know I do it alot..which is a wonderful thing :)