Tim's Transformation

This post has been a long time coming. If you've known Tim for any length of time you have watched him over this past year completely transform himself. I figured it was time to write his story and if in any way we can help others who have questions or are questioning the procedure he had, then that's just a bonus. 

I met Tim officially in junior high but we didn't become friends until high school. Then after about two years of being friends, I fell in love with him. If you've been around him for any length of time you know what I'm talking about when I say he's easy to fall in love with. He's got such an easy going attitude and is always willing to lend a helping hand and has the funniest personality of anyone I know. 

When we graduated and went to college Tim slowly started gaining weight. It wasn't dramatic at first, but after we got married and "real life" set in, it became more apparent. We both worked and then two years after marriage, Landry came along. Tim was always a stress eater. Without playing sports or working out consistently the stress eating and not being active caught up with him. Before he knew it he was 325 pounds. 

He had a stressful job, a wife, two kids and a mortgage. He was happy on the outside but on the inside he was miserable. He hated what he saw when he looked in the mirror. He tried various diets and would loose weight but would always put it back on. I'm a pretty healthy person and I try to eat well and work out pretty consistently. I would try to have him eat like me but it never worked. He would get so frustrated and quit. 

I love Tim. I have since I was 17. His weight was never an issue with me. I think it got to a point where I just looked past it. I knew he was big, but I never said anything. I mean why should I tell him, he knew it! I remember the day he told me he wanted to have surgery. We had taken a photo at Christmas with the four of us and he saw it and hated it. 

We have a close friend who had the surgery three years ago so Tim knew what to expect with this surgery. He knew it wouldn't be easy, but after trying everything else he knew this was the right choice for him. He consulted with one doctor and didn't meet the requirements for the surgery so he met with Dr Fenzel and he really worked with Tim. It turned out Tim had a hiatal hernia. So when they went in to fix that they also did the gastric sleeve surgery. All we had to pay were the hospital fees and doctors fees. That was an answer from God. I had prayed for us to find a way to make this work for us and it did. 

Surgery was set for June 8. He went in early that morning and I got to go back to see him about three hours later. He was really groggy and sore. They make you stay in the hospital until you can swallow 12 medicine cups of water. That's hard! Plus you have to be able to keep them down. 

The week after we got home was hard. He couldn't keep anything down and would dry heave for days. But after a few days of that it got much better. I will say it took a lot of getting used to at first. I was so accustomed to making dinner for the four of us the way I always had. And Tim would take three bites and be done. It was such a change from the old Tim. Plus, there were so many things he couldn't eat on top of that. It took some researching on my part but I knew it was for his own good. 

About one month after surgery is when we started seeing a few changes. About three months after surgery other people started seeing a change and noticing. 

I took pictures of him every few months and once we started looking back at them you could really see how far he had come. 

I want to share his before and afters for those that are wondering how this surgery can work. 

Before-June 7, 2015 (325 pounds)

After- June 7, 2016 (190 pounds)

Tim was asked by his doctor to interview and tell his story for their office and media outlets. I was so proud of him. It was really out of his comfort zone but he really wants to help others. He's had so many people come up to him and ask about the surgery and procedure and he's always willing to give them the story straight up. 

Words cannot express how proud of him I am. He's come so far in just a short amount of time. 

Friday Favorites

Well another Friday is here! I'm so bummed about all this rain. We had some fun outdoor activities planned for this weekend and I'm going to need the rain to stop asap. 

I'm returning with my favorite pictures of the week. I'm joining Narci, Andrea and Erika for Friday favorites. 

Cousin love...

A few weeks ago we took my mama out to dinner for Mother's Day and Landry insisted she sit by Brody. If you knew how obsessed my kids were with this little guy, you'd laugh. They stay by his side constantly and always want to touch him or hold him. It's so sweet. I hope they grow up close. 

My mini me...

Landry tells me all the time she wants to be just like me. I love that. It makes me feel really good. The other day she came into the kitchen with my wedges on. Then she said take my picture, I look just like you. 

Oh Lord have mercy we are in trouble. 

My sweet Grammy...

Last week, Hayden and I went and had lunch with my Grammy and Grandaddy. Hayden brought his books so Grammy could read to him. I just love this woman. She is so patient with him and I'm so glad they are still around to get to be close to my kids. 

First and last day...

Last Wednesday was Landrys last day of school. I cannot believe how fast this year flew by. When I look at how much she has changed over the year it makes me realize just how fleeting this time is. 

Red Nose Day...

Last Thursday was Red Nose Day and we Smiths got in on the action. I love the meaning behind the red noses. 

More cousin love...

On Sunday we celebrated Memorial Day at my parents house. These three were in the pool a good majority of the day. I cannot wait until they can all swim on their own but until then I'll stay in the shallow end and watch :)

His cheese face...

When I say Hayden "say cheese", this is what you get

I love it!

Happy weekend folks!!!

Angel

On Sunday we had to put our dear sweet Angel to sleep. 

Words cannot describe how hard this was for our family. Angel was such a huge part of our lives, I'm not quite sure we realized how much until I started looking through pictures of her. 

Tim and I got Angel over 10 years ago. About six months before we got married. Tim wanted a dog really bad and we decided to go to Petsmart one day on a whim. There she was. The only full bred dog. She was a year and a half and fully potty trained and we were sold. The only problem was that she was quite large and we were told since we were living in an apartment we couldn't get her. We were devestated. So my dad went back up there, signed the papers for us and she was ours! 

Oh how we loved her. Tim and I treated her just like a child. She slept in the bed with us, she rode around town with us and we walked her almost daily. 

I think one of the things she'll be remembered for in my eyes were two of the hardest days of my life. Both my misscarriages came as quite a shock to us. 

Dogs are very intuitive and somehow Angel just knew something was wrong with me. She laid on me and stayed by my side while I cried and healed and let me scream and pray and loved on me through it all. 

We were a little worried when Landry came along. You see, her papers told us that she had never been around children before and they weren't quite sure how she would do around them. I'm telling you though, in Angel fashion she took in that girl like she was her puppy. 

She stayed by her side and when I got up to feed her at 3am she got up with me.

They were two peas in a pod

And then Hayden came along and I was a little worried of the dynamic of two children against her, but again, she rallied and I think she grew more attached to Hayden then she did Landry. 

She was such a sweet dog. On Sunday when we knew it wouldn't be much longer we were all at my parents house and each of us talked to her and loved on her and made her as comfortable as we could. 

She will be dearly missed by us. She was such a huge part of our lives. Love you Angel!

A New Chapter

I'm not even sure where to begin this post at. I wasn't even sure I was going to share what all the we have going on right now, but this is my blog and this is our life so here goes. 

About two months ago, Tim walked in the door from work with a look on his face. I of course wondered what he had going on in that smart brain of his. He said "what would you think if we sold the house and moved in with your parents for a while and saved some money and figure out where our next move is going to be"?  Now imagine the look on my face :). Don't get me wrong, I love my parents. They are so good to us. They never complain when we tag along or want to come stay the weekend. They have a nice size home with plenty of room for the four of us. I guess I just wondered what people would think. Not that that's what's important but it's what my first thought was. 

So I prayed on it. I prayed and I prayed and I prayed on it. Then about six weeks ago we were standing in the kitchen of our bible study leaders house and in walked one of the moms of our students. We introduced ourselves and then she said she was sorry she was late, that she was showing a house. Of course we put two and two together and realized she was a realtor. She went on to tell us that the market was awesome right now and that homes were going like hot cakes. That we could make good money off our home. So we told her Tims idea and she ran with it. She gave us her card and told us to call her when we were ready. 

My parents came over that next week and we brought up the idea. I wasn't quite sure how this would go over. My mom had lots of questions and we kind of talked about what we had in mind. So we called our realtor the next day and she said she'd be over that next week to sit down and discuss our options. 

Again I prayed for God to tell me we were doing the right thing. Once she came over and assessed the house and told us what we could make we knew this was the right time. It just felt right. We put our house on the market back when I was pregnant with Hayden and never got a singer offer. It just wasn't Gods timing. This was though. 

We listed the house one week later and two days in we had three offers! All above asking. You talk about a shock. I was not expecting that. We accepted an offer and on Thursday we officially close. We moved in Saturday to my parents house and so far it's been seamless. 

So, the number one question we got was where would Landry go to school at? I think out of everyone I thought she would be the most affected. Hayden could care less where we live. As long as he has his puppy and cars and mama he's good. But Landry is older. She's in school. She's aware of the situation. I prayed for peace over this. I just needed to know that she could handle it. And boy did she surpass my expectations. She's so excited to try a new school and make new friends. She's been great through this whole process. She did cry on Wednesday when we left her little school that she loves. But she knows it's for something much better in the end. 

So where does that leave us? Well we have no clue. I would love to say that we have an idea of what is going to happen but we don't. We go back and forth on do we build? Do we buy? We'll just have to wait and see I guess. But I do know that God is in control and he has good things in store for us! 

Here we are Saturday as we were moving out. I wanted one last picture in front of our little house. 

I'll have a separate post on all this house has meant to us. But that's our update for now. 

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday!

I'm so excited the weekend is here as we have lots planned. A busy weekend for sure. 

I'm once again posting my favorite pics from the past few weeks. I'm linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea. 

My mama...

I realized I never talked about my Mother's Day. We are actually celebrating my mama on Saturday with the family but I posted this pic on Instagram last week. When we took family photos in the fall we took one of the girls. It turned out to be my favorite photo of them all. I love these women in my life. One is my mama, one is my baby sister who celebrated her first Mother's Day this year and one made me a mama. 

Daddy daughter...

Tim and Landry have a great relationship. I just love seeing him with her. I took this photo leaving Epcot last week. He's so sweet with her. 

A tradition...

Dairy Queen is a family favorite. My dad traveled a lot while Dani and I were growing up and in the summers we tagged along and we always always stopped at DQ for a blizzard. It's a road trip tradition. Of course Landry loves this tradition too!

My sleeping baby...

This was pretty much how I rode the whole way home. 

They missed each other...

When we got to Tims parents to pick Hayden up he ran to us and got so excited that we were home. He especially loved seeing his big sister. 

I sure missed him...

Hayden was well taken care of while we were gone. Tims aunt did such a good job taking care of him and Tims mom and sister pitched in too. We are so lucky to have so much help. I did miss this boy like crazy though. 

My future teacher...

Landrys awards assembly was Wednesday and the teachers give out fun awards to certain kids. Landry got future teacher award and the reading medal. I was not shocked at this award. She wants to be a teacher so bad when she grows up. I just love her. She has such a heart for others and loves helping her teacher out. 

Smiths do Disney- Disney day 3

Here we are on day three and the last day in Disney. My parents had a 90 minute session to sit thru so Tim and I decided to take Landry to Animal Kingdom to ride the safari ride. I love this ride! You get on a car and they take you all over this amazing property that has all kinds of animals. I knew Landry would love it and I was right!

Landry in front of the big tree in the middle of the park

After we left there we met up with my parents and headed to Hollywood Studios. 

We rode the Toy Story ride

So this next picture was sent to Dani. You see, every time we go she rides Rockin Roller Coaster with me and sits in the front row. It is by far my favorite ride. So I sent her this picture telling her I was missing her

It's ok though, cause this guy took one for the team and sat in the front row with me!

After we left the park we went back to the hotel and rested and got ready for dinner. We had reservations at our favorite place to eat, Ohana. It's in the Polynesian hotel, our favorite hotel. 

The next day we packed up and headed home. 

I just want to say a big thank you to my parents. They are always first in line when we talk about going to Disney and they are troopers walking the whole park and they are always up for anything we suggest. Love you both!

I've got a few random pictures I'll post tomorrow but I just have to say that this was one of our best trips yet. Can't wait until we go again!