Be a quitter!! Day 1

Day one.
Being a quitter is normally referenced as something negative. Except in the instance of smoking.
The mindset of a quitter:

~I light a cigarette, pull it to my mouth and say, man I should quit. This sucks.

~Did I really just spend $6 on a pack when I bought one last night?  Wow that's $12!! I could have bought 3 gallons of gas! Man this sux I need to quit.

~I belt out a really awesome note that I used to be able to sing with ease, and I feel the frog in my throat as my voice breaks. I think...ok...now I REALLY should quit smoking.

~Walking into a room full of non-smokers suddenly my clothing and hair REEK of smoke. As I run to the bathroom to wash up I think, this is disgusting I need to quit.

~I sit & listen to PC preach about how I am set free, how I have the power of Jesus in me. Don't I believe these things? I tell them to other people don't I? Wow, I really should quit smoking- I mean, the power of Jesus...and I can't stop lighting them?? Geezz Jess!

16 years of that everyday. But I still smoke. Until I am allowing the cigarette control me. My money. My day. What side of my body my kids can sit on so they don't breathe smoke. My health. Their health. Until one morning I wake up and say that's it.

~The sudden rush of Wonder Woman type strength pumping adrenaline thru my veins. I will NEVER smoke again!!!! (This of course before the withdrawals kick in)

~I debate on telling anyone, because telling is an actual commitment to someone besides myself. If I only tell me, then no one will know when I quit quitting.

~I tell a person or two.

~Their encouragement prompts me to go public. (scary) Now people are watching. And in my mind it's ALWAYS worse than it really seems.

~I eat lunch...now I want a cigarette. At this point I can still control it though. Even though the Wonder Woman rush is slowly beginning to wear off.

~I will probably make it through the rest of the day pretty easily. I will think about rewinding time & call off my quitting expedition, but at the end of the day I know I do wanna quit, I am set free in Jesus, and I can overcome this.

I was directed to the site I am posting below last fall by a friend of mine. I read it again today. I prayed the prayer. Hebrews 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to please God. Remind me of that. He answers prayers...he has set me free...now I have to have faith. Now I am a quitter!!! Yay for Day 1!!!

http://christianjourney.com/godsword/quitsmoking.html

~Hot Pink Hair~

A few months ago, Elysia and I took Jaelyn, Kyleigh, and Marian to get Kyleigh's haircut together. While we were there we had this brilliant idea to allow our girls to have pink streak highlights in their hair. This is an idea that Jaelyn and I have tossed around for the last few summers. I don't really see a problem with allowing her to do something like that. I know a lot of parents disagree.

This idea turned into 4 little girls sleeping over and me dying all of their little heads pink--and purple. These are the parts of being a Mommy that I love. Despite all of the chaos, drama, and diva moments these types of sleepovers bring, they give me lots and lots of joy. 

Letting my daughter have pink highlights is an example of a battle that I don't want to fight. She is so smart, so well behaved, and so sweet that I think allowing her to express herself through things like washable hair dye are healthy. It also gives me a way to bond with her, and to bond with her friends-which to me is most important of all.

In addition to the hot pink hair dye party for the girls, I also dyed Alicia's hair. We have not been able to spend a lot of 'girl' time together lately and so it was fun to streak her out.  (She looks amazing BTW) It was funny because during our hair dye session we had a friend call us for prayer. So with pink stained hands, foiled hair, in the middle of a messy bathroom we were able to still go to our God with our sister.  Our friend joked that one day Alicia would preach a sermon called 'pink hair dye'. 

I highly recommend grabbing a bottle of hot pink hair dye, your daughter, or a girlfriend. Good things happen!