His weight made me think of mine.....

Last week I got a picture from Matthew sitting with his companion.  He did not look like the same boy I sent on a mission almost a year ago.  He looked different.  About thirty pounds different!  He has said in recent e-mails that he has been biking and becoming very "buff".  I believe that if he stays "buff" , people will finally be able to see the difference between my identical twin boys!  They have always looked a little different to the immediate family.  When they were born, however, I actually did paint Mark's fingernails so that for the first month or so I would not make a mistake.  Soon their personalities emerged and we were able to clearly see there were differences.  For most of their almost twenty years,  they have been the same height and weight.....the picture I saw refuted this.

Elder Taylor and Elder Cuestas

 I am certainly not bothered by the fact that Matthew has put on a little weight.  I hear wonderful things about him from his mission president and wife, and I am much more concerned about his work ethic and his spiritual development.  I just know it has made me think about the weight that I have put on a since the boys' births and wonder now if I have changed in other positive ways.

I remember being sooo pregnant with them the Christmas of 1993, about six weeks before their birth.  I just wanted my pre-pregnant body back.  I requested a bike for Christmas.  I was going to ride up and down the streets of Washington Terrace with my new postpartum body and take back my former self.  Little did I know that I would spend the next few years in survival mode and that included ingesting a whole lot of chocolate.

CHRISTMAS 1993

The weight has come and gone, but mostly stayed, and now it is not just about looking a certain way.  My 58th birthday is Wednesday, and my knees are pretty bad.  I need to concentrate on eating healthy, and strive just a little harder (okay ..a lot harder) to get in some exercise, portion control and to develop self mastery over a whole lot of things.

This mission was to be not only an self improvement  experience for my kids, but also for their mother.  I wanted to better myself, and so far, have not done much in any one area.  I find myself still struggling to just work, and get through each day with a positive attitude.  I am thankful for my many blessings,  and want to feel gratitude instead of weariness.  By the way, that bike never did get used much, and sadly went the way of most of our other exercise equipment.

I am going to start small, and cut out sugar from my diet!  Yikes!!!  That does sound drastic, but I think it is necessary.  I am sadly addicted to having a little something every day,  and it doesn't help that I have a box of treats under my couch for the piano students.

The boys are turning 20 on February 6th, and I can scarcely believe it!

MATTHEW AND MARK --ONE YEAR

MATTHEW AND MARK--19 YEARS

                                HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOYS!!!!!  WE LOVE YOU!!!!