Let your faith be bigger than your fear...

My blog has gone a little off-track over the past 10 months or so! With the arrival of Carter, and things getting back to normal (or the 'new' normal- sleep deprivation is now normal!) I think it's time to get back to why I started this blog in the first place! FAITH, FAMILY, FITNESS - in that order!!

FAITH-

I can't tell you how much my faith means to me. I mean, I can try to express it with words, but it's more of a feeling, and I hope that I express it with how I live my life! Having Carter is a result of faith &of God's timing! I know, let the jokes begin, but seriously it is! I didn't think that we could have any kids. We had tried in the past and it never happened. So we quit trying and felt led to foster & adopt. When we pursued that and truly turned it over to God, we found out that we were pregnant. It was a bit of a surprise but we couldn't have been happier! Now we are praying for the next step in our lives... and I am ready for wherever He leads us! Turning it all over to God is scary- it takes out what our human fears and wants are, and only looks at what HIS plans are for our life! Hence, the quote above...

"Let your faith be bigger than your fear"

FAMILY-

My family rocks! And so do my friends & clients!! The amount of love and kindness that we have been shown this past month has been amazing! As our family grew to include Carter, life has been hectic!

My amazing hubby has been working extra hard to keep the household running smoothly- being self-employed rocks until you don't get a paid maternity leave :) So he has been working hard & taking on extra projects- did I mention how amazing he is?! You should check out his projects at facebook.com/patostergrenconstruction Or click right here! There are some fabulous before/after home renovation pictures!

Carter staring at his dad!!

Aside from work, he is an amazing dad! Carter sure loves his daddy!! And he is the best dad to Elisabeth as well- being a step-parent is not an easy job but he sure is great at it!

Elisabeth is awesome as well- with the new baby arriving and crazy life, we decided it was best to switch her to a different middle school this year. I was pretty nervous about it, but after loads of praying we did it, and it has been the best decision ever! I continue to pray about it- I don't think life is ever easy for a middle school student! She is still rocking it at cheerleading- I love her team this year! There are some great kids & coaches (& momma's!!) And she is an amazing big sister- such a big help! I miss her being here during the day while she's at school!

First day of 7th grade!!

Sis & Carter!

Carter catching some zzzzz's

And Carter is growing by the minute! He is healthy, happy, and such a fun little dude! We are starting to see smiles, he's rolling over, and not sleeping nearly enough at night :) HAHA!! He recognizes voices now, he is eating really well (like really often, really well! I think his 2 month appointment will show a huge growth spurt!) He's very snuggly, and loves to be on his tummy!

The rest of our family is doing great too- my nephew just turned 1 (where has the past year gone?!?!!) and had a rockin' birthday party last weekend! My bro & sis-in-law are great!

Happy Birthday Graysen!

My parents are loving having more grandkids! My sis is out of the country on another MSF trip. Pat's sis & the kids got to visit for awhile this summer which was awesome- and got to meet Carter! His parents are doing well and we went to visit his mom yesterday afternoon :)

FITNESS-

I've been asked several times when and if I'm going to start training again... the when is still up in the air, but I DO plan on training again! Trying to find the time to schedule classes is a bit more difficult than I had anticipated- once I am getting more sleep it will be a little more do-able. For now I am only taking on virtual clients, and I am so proud of each & every one of them! A lot of my bootcamp clients have switched to virtual training while I have been out, and have continued with their healthy lifestyle and working out! You guys ROCK!!! Having to be held accountable to me via texts, phone calls, Facebook, etc. might have been a pain in the you-know-what, but it works! I'm super-duper proud of you !!! I am still taking new clients as well- since it's 'virtual', you can be located anywhere!! Talk to me about getting healthy!

My personal fitness journey is still that... a journey! Trying to figure out what works around a newborn's schedule is pretty much a guessing game! I've been working out at home, occasionally at the gym with Pat & Elisabeth, and going on walks/hikes with Carter! I'm prepping meals ahead of time and eating pretty clean (mostly paleo, but with some grains still) and I'm seeing results! Slowly but surely! I still have a LONG way to go, but I know that I'll get there eventually! I had someone tell me that I'm 'not bouncing back very fast' - yep, seriously! I guess we aren't all celebrities that bounce back in a week! I'll get there, just give me some time! My main health priority is a healthy & happy little dude at the moment!