Check out my baby!!

Click the link to see more ADORABLE pics of my little Arwyn!

http://rememberyours.blogspot.com/search/label/Baby%20Portraits

Let's do this!

I haven't worked out very much this week. I feel it too. Everyday has been really busy. Well today not so much. But today was one of those "rest" days...the kind where I don't do ANYTHING. I played with my kids, watched about 15 minutes of mindless television and read fitness stuff on-line. As I go through my own get fit journey I often think to myself what would I say to someone I was training. My life this week is real. Weeks like this happen in every one's life. So I would encourage someone with a week like mine...to be calorie conscientious...and to RELAX...the worst thing you can do really is to stress during an already stressful time. Will I most definitely hit the gym hard next week. You betcha! Does it really makes sense to try to fit hard work outs in when you are already exhausted? Absolutely not! There is a tricky mindset out there for those of us who want to lose weight. It is often called the all or nothing mindset. That mindset gets people like me in lots of trouble. But that is one of the many things I am working on. Rolling with the punches. Taking life one day at a time. And realizing that if one week I don't get in my best work outs...that it's okay because there is always next week. Tomorrow and Saturday are booked full. So I am right now letting go and looking forward to Monday and the 5:30PM kickboxing class. Next week is going to be a great week for me and the gym. This week was a great week for my van and the 500 miles I put on it...literally!!

And you know I just had a thought...Recording your workouts and caloric intake is importante!! So for the next little while I will be reporting to you. :) One of the things they teach in your certification process is that you have to be the example of what you are teaching other people. I have always loved health and fitness, now I want to be that example. So starting Monday or maybe tomorrow depending on what time allows for...I will bare my soul, my workouts and what I eat! This could get interesting :) Bring it!!!!

Decor

What if my Christmas stuff is still up? What if? Cuz it is!!! and I love it!!!! We took the tree down...but everything else is still up. I am not sure when I will take it down....There is just something about all of it that makes me feel GOOD inside!

my work outs

I am so sad...I just posted about my work outs and then I hit a button and poof and it was gone....soooooooooooo...I guesss I will try again tomorrow...Sufficeth to say things are going good :) I am feeling stronger...I have gone up in weight again on all my workouts...I am tracking my calories on sparkpeople.com. Things are good...things are good!!

It is my life's ambition to tell everyone that they have a Savior. I long to bear my testimony everyday. It burns so strong that I echo Alma, "O that I were an angel and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people! Yea I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth." (Alma 29:1-2) Do you KNOW this? Does it burn so with in you that you feel as the Nephites? (Mosiah 5:2) Having no more disposition to do evil but to do good continually? If I were to leave this earth today my dieing wish would be that each of us would pray to KNOW with nothing doubting that our Savior lives, that He loves of us. I long for everyone, quite literally, to have that personal relationship with him. Where does your loyalty really lie? Who is it that you seek to serve each day..each moment?

I know my Savior lives. I know that he loves me. I know that he is always ready and willing to help me along my life's path. I know that he knows how I feel through each of life's UPS and DOWNS. I know that by reading my scriptures I can not only get answers to my prayers but I can SEE my life through his eyes. I know that my prayers are heard. I know that by keeping my heart, my "tent" (Mosiah 2:6) towards heaven life's troubles and joys can be seen through the Lord's eyes. I know that the Savior truly is the head of our church, that He truly leads through revelation. I know that families are forever. I know that life AND death are a part of the plan of salvation, and though some may have gone on to that heaven we came from and though we might not be able to "see" them, that we can feel them. That we can feel of their presence and love. Heaven is only a veil away :) And has we strive to live closer to our Savior the thinner that veil can become and we can have an eternal perspective that will allow for more peace in our lives. I share this you with you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Temple

I went to the temple today (not this one...but this is my favorite!). I love that place. It feels like home. Heaven home. I went every week while Ray was gone, literally until I had Arwyn. There is nothing that compares for respite for the soul than going to the temple. I always get answers, comfort, counsel and peace when I go. I love that the Lord has given us a little piece of heaven here on earth to help us along our path.

Christmas Family Pictures

Certified Personal Trainer

I have struggled with my weight for YEARS!!! Weigh Watchers...1200 Calorie diets...Metabomax diet...etc...After I had Alexa I didn't want to count or obess anymore. In January of 2008 the Lord told me in a blessing I would soon lose my weight. My prayers were that I would not just lose the weight but that I would keep it off. What would the point be if I just had to keep starting over. The Lord has taken me down an incredible path of learning and growth. I did lose weight last year before I got pregnant. The Lord blessed me during my pregnancy, helping me to be able to work out every day and to watch what I ate so that I only gained 20lbs for the whole pregnancy. I joined a gym last year while Ray was away, so that I could have at least that hour to work out in peace :) After I had Arwyn I began praying about whether or not I should pay for a personal trainer at some point. I felt good about it and planned on it around Christmas time. As that time approached it still felt good but something was different. I kept feeling like wait...wait...On the night of our ward Christmas party I couldn't go. I didn't have anything that I felt like I looked nice in. So I stayed home. I cried for almost an hour straight. I prayed that whole hour and I read my scriptures. I wanted to see my life through His eyes. What was I missing? I had been trying to work out and eat right but I wasn't really losing the weight fast enough for me. What was I missing? Then it hit me...I needed to become a personal trainer. So I went on line and researched it, prayed some more and had Ray give me a blessing. The Lord said this was the path he would have me pursue. So here I am taking courses to become certified in training and fitness nutrition. It is in this certification process that I am learning what more I could do to facilitate a healthier body for me. I am learning how the body metabolizes food, how to work out more effectively and how to eat better. And with this I can turn around and help other women. I was hoping to be done by this summer. We will see. Even if it takes me a year to ceritify and lose the rest of my weight, I am learning true life long lessons that will help me keep my weight off, stay healthy and help others on their own journeys.

Christmas/New Years Letter

http://www.facebook.com/#/notes/andrae-davis-griffin/our-christmasnew-years-letter/270841356211

maybe this will work :)

LOTS of pictures

Still here

Hi! It's me. I am still here. These past few months have been incredible, hard, wonderful, spiritual, WEIRD...so much. At some point I am hoping to be able to fully disclose all that has been transpiring. Do you still read my blog? I am wanting to be better at it this year. Christmas was wonderful. My Dad came. It is so interesting the road in the which the Lord has taken me down. 10 years ago I would have told you I would never see my father again, nor did I want to. But the Lord taught me forgiveness and understanding. I love my Dad. I appreciate the work my Dad has done to better himself and his life. For a long time I wanted my Dad to tell me he was sorry for what he did, and then I learned that that was between him and the Lord. I forgave him and let go of it, and the Lord healed me from the affects. My Dad told me he was sorry this Christmas. And he was. He didn't mean to hurt me or my family. I know that. He like so many others were victims of traditions, trapped in an environment that only encouraged the darkness and abuse. It didn't help that he is bi-polar and they had him on a high dose of Zoloft...125mg's I believe. If you know anything about meds you know that that combined with a bi-polar makes for a very explosive and not fun life. He has changed though. He went to therapy. He has a read books. He has faced hard truthes about who he was and he over came it. While he was here we had fun. He often expressed how much fun he was having. How different it was in my family than what I grew up in or even how he grew up. You see the dysfunction has gone back for generations on both sides. He said he could see how much I loved my kids, and how much Ray and I loved each other. No one fought. No one pouted or slammed doors. No dysfunction. It was great.

It all has ended in my line. No more abuse. No more of the lies, and manipulation and just truly pyscho stuff. My children, grandchildren, great grand children, etc are freed. I still have so much to overcome. Little things really in comparison to how far I have come.

I can not close this post though with out letting you know who was the instrument in my "success". The Lord led me. He gave me great friends who love me even though I am so very ...overly passionate and intense. Three angelic doctors...these doctors allowed me to discuss my personal beliefs about healings and the Lord...though some believed differently their objective approach allowed me the opportunity to fully disclose all my emotions. I wish I could list all the miracles in my life that have brought me to where I am that ultimately brought me to my healings. The Lord loves us. He is on our side. He is our biggest fan. It is not just a fun thing to say. It is real. Please if it has been awhile since you have really prayed, go right now and just let it out. Please allow him the opportunity to be your best friend. You won't find a better one :)


please click here for my story if you don't already know it
http://andraegriffin.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-healing-story.html