Just a Few of the Many Things We are Thankful for...

We have SO MUCH to be thankful for all the time, so today we want to share just a few of the many things we are thankful for right now! :) 

 

Meeting so many new friends (and eating awesome food) at the Refresh Summit! 

 

The four year old I nanny in the afternoons is a lot of fun to hangout with. We do a lot of crafts, and he decided to add some drawings to my card for my grandparents. (That I totally forgot to bring...oops!)  

We spent Thanksgiving with the Kemmer side of the family in Tallahassee. It was lots of fun! Our little cousins, Chase and Zach were full of nonstop energy and loved playing with us. The boys played Wii Golf (surprise surprise...haha) and I played catch/soccer outside with them for a while. Then, we all played pool and air hockey together. The little kids beat us EVERY time! (Wink Wink) Here's some pics that my Aunt Beth captured. Check out her blog with TONS OF AWESOME PICS!

 

We picked out our VERY OWN Christmas tree and decorations and had a blast listening to Christmas music while we put everything together. Hope that will remain a tradition EACH year! :) 

At the Refresh Summit, Lindsay, (check out her awesome blog here)  told us about their family's SMOOVIE night and thought it was such a fun idea, that we did it one night too! We watched a movie while drinking smoothies. 

  

Jared headed out of town for a tournament, so I cranked up the Christmas music and CLEANED CLEANED CLEANED!!! Jared's parents are coming to visit for a few days, so I wanted our place to look nice for them. Of course, I had to take a break with a Strawberry Zevia. (SO GOOD)

When Jared was at a tournament, I was blessed to be able to watch our friends' sweet baby overnight so his parents could enjoy a much needed DATE NIGHT! He was SO GOOD and it was fun getting to experience what nights are like with a 3 month old! I loved every minute of it!

 

Jared is doing MUCH better at his mental game, which is so great! He is still working hard every day and we are just waiting on God's perfect timing for him to make his way back on the Web.Com Tour. 

Earlier last month, we were fortunate to get tickets to Disney for free thanks to a friend! It was SO MUCH FUN to act like big kids again. It was a nice break from the stresses that golf can bring at times.

 

and last, but not least, I am so excited to announce that I am now a Love Grown Ambassador! If you haven't heard of Love Grown yet, check out their website! I will be hosting some fun giveaways soon, so stay tuned!

 

 

Umpqua Oats- Vanilla Almond Crunch

 

Umpqua Oats sent some of their Vanilla Almond Crunch for us to review.  

We were not compensated for this post. All opinions are our own. 

Here's a little more info about them:

They use No Gluten Ingredients, are GMO Free, Whole Grain Certified, Kosher Certified and Made In The USA!

Our oats are custom milled. And that’s why our ingredient list doesn’t say “oats,” it says “groats!” No, that’s not a typo. Groats are the whole hulled grain. Groats include the cereal germ and fiber-rich bran portion as well as the endosperm, which is the usual product of milling. What does that mean? You are getting a larger, thicker, unbleached, whole oat that is not processed into “instant” oats. Bottom line? Our oatmeal is not soft and mushy! Like the chefs say, it’s “al dente!”

We are creating flavors never seen before in oatmeal, and we can’t tell you how fun it is! Oatmeal was one of those healthy American traditions that just grew old and boring. At Umpqua Oats we are making oatmeal fun, fast and convenient, without losing any of the healthfulness!

Seriously . . . we buy the best ingredients we can find, and you can tell as soon as you open the lid. There are all kinds of ways to reduce ingredient costs, such as buying broken nut fragments and adding fillers to extend volume. The only grain in Umpqua Oats is whole rolled oat!  

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Our Review:

Their website hits the nail right on the head!  These oats are chewy and thick, just the way we like them! They are super easy to make, taste awesome, and are in a perfect container to take them on a go when you're in a hurry.  They have a perfect combination of healthy fats, carbs, and proteins for feeding our bodies properly! You need to check them out!!!

Browse their website

Like them on Facebook

Follow them on Twitter and Instagram

The Nut Butter Company Review

The Nut Butter Company sent us some samples to review on our blog. We were not compensated for this post. All opinions are our own. 

 

 Here's some info about The Nut Butter Company from their website:

We believe in delicious!

 That's why we are making small batch, homemade nut butters. We believe delicious snacks have no need for chemicals. We believe in delicious! We started making nut butter so we could eat it.  We try to eat healthy more often than not.  We shared the flavors with friends who asked us to make it for them to have and give as gifts.  So we started doing this .  We roast nuts in the morning and process in the evenings. 

Little by little let's replace each pre-packaged, processed product in our pantry with real foods made without being overly processed and overly preserved..    

Somewhere along the way, in an attempt to get a lot of people through the cold food-scarce winters, people started preserving food. Westerners started making a lot of products out of wheat and corn because we couldn't get fresh foods. A lot of people got put to work and a few people made a lot of money making and selling pre-packaged, highly preserved "food".  Things are different now.  Most of us don't starve through winter anymore. We've got fresh produce and fresh protein available to us all the time. But we're still eating, and feeding our kids, out of boxes and frozen packages of chemical laden quasi-food. But we don't have to do that. We can take small steps, snack by snack, meal by meal, back to a cleaner path. We can grab some pecan butter and dip an apple in it and we can offer that snack to our sons and daughters. If you are already on the return-to-whole-foods train, if you are Paleo or eat in the Zone or follow Body for Life, South Beach, No wheat, High Protein, low carb, vegan...whatever it is...they all agree: Minimally processed, real foods are better. Better for us. Better for our bodies and better for our minds. Together, let's make delicious synonymous with healthy. This is our step to that. 

 

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Our Review:

 

This stuff was goooooood! We topped it on our oatmeal, toast with banana, and even used it in our chicken & veggie stir fry!!!  The Cashew Rosemary Shallot was PERFECT for the stir fry. It had a nutty and herby flavor and it was awesome! The Dark Chocolate was Jared's favorite and the Cashew was mine! They were all extremely tasty!

 

 

Oh, did I forget to mention that we also ate a lot by the spoonful or had those moments when we were just too lazy to get a spoon, we used our fingers? haha SO GOOD!

 

 

 

 Please check out their website and order some for yourself!

 

Wrawps Food Review and GIVEAWAY

 

Wrawps sent us some flat bread to review! Here's a little info about them from their website:

We are pleased to provide you double the nutritional ingredients consequently making our wrawps fuller, non breakable all while providing you twice the nutritional value! More vitamins, more minerals and more amino acids in the same pack! Get your daily nutrition from raw wrawp made of fresh vegetables and ground flax seeds filled with Omega 3!

Are you on a diet? Have cravings for every day food, sandwich or wrap, and don't want to eat a regular tortillas or bread with flour, carbs, gluten and fat?

Its Raw, Wheat Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Low Fat, Sugar Free, Diabetic friendly, all natural, high in fiber, full of flavor and rich in nutrition! No white salt or sugar and low in calories. It is full of Complex Vitamin B and Omega 3! It helps to prevent heart disease, blood sugar, diabetes, high cholesterol, and colon problems.
It's HAND MADE, LIVE, HEALTHY, AND UNCOOKED, Dehydrated at 115F. No trans-fat, No saturated fat, no oils, no preservatives, easy to digest, live Vitamins, Minerals and Enzymes.

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Our Review:

We enjoyed these wrawps as a healthy alternative to shake up our everyday lunches. We put some turkey and cheese and rolled them up to enjoy at the golf course. They had a very tasty flavor to them. Our favorite was the Smokey Haven. We didn't need to add any spices to these wrawps because they were so full of flavor.

 

We also used them for our breakfast a couple days. We made eggs and added some cream cheese to make a delicious wrawp! 

Please check out their website and order some for yourself!

Follow them on Twitter

Like them on Facebook

Now, enter below for your chance to win a sample pack, just like we tried! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Refresh Summit Recap!!!

This past weekend, I got to experience my FIRST blogger retreat! I have been wanting to go to one of these ever since I started blogging. My friend, Brittany, and I were talking one day, and I mentioned that I've always wanted to go to one, and she said, "OMG! You need to come to Refresh! It's a Christian blogger retreat and I'm a host! You will LOVE it!" After talking with Jared, we decided that we would do everything we could to make it happen. I am SO THANKFUL that God provided a way for me to attend! It was INCREDIBLE! I got a LOT more out of it than I thought I would. I went into it hoping to meet new friends and have lots of girl talk, good workouts, and food, but I came away with so much more.

Photo from Amia

Photo from Jennifer

 God revealed to me how SELFISH I was being last year. Yes, my husband travels a LOT with his job. It is tough sometimes, but I was being so selfish, that I wasn't allowing him to actually ENJOY it. I complained way too much about him getting to travel to all of these cool places and do so many cool things, while I was stuck at home. I was NOT the wife that God wanted me to be for Jared. As I am writing this with tears streaming down my face, God allowed the roles to be reversed this weekend. But, instead of retaliating and treating me like I treated him, Jared did nothing but show me GRACE. He allowed me the freedom to actually enjoy where I was at and enjoy spending time with the people I was with, instead of constantly talking to him on the phone because he didn't have anything to do at night, like I did to him. He allowed me to invest in the people I was hanging out with and develop relationships with them. I am so thankful that God gave me such a wonderful, loving, and supportive husband. When I got home, I broke down and cried on Jared's shoulders and told him how sorry I was for being so selfish. He forgave me and told me that we had to make a promise to NOT LOOK BACK and only move forward. I am so thankful for God's grace and forgiveness! 

Photo from Amia

This weekend was a major breakthrough for the lifestyle that we have, with Jared traveling a lot. It also leads me into another point, that God's blessings are constant. HE ALWAYS TAKES CARE OF US. He gave me TWO great families to nanny for full time! I am going to watch a baby in the mornings and a 4 year old in the afternoons. I am so excited that I get to love on a SWEET SWEET baby, and do fun learning activities with the four year old.

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Now, here are some fun pics from the retreat:

Photo from Bobbi

Wow, what an incredible SWAG bag full of healthy goodies! Thank you SO MUCH to all the sponsors!!! 

Photo from Amia

Lots of girl talk went on this weekend. It was cold outside, so we were fortunate to have a fireplace to warm up! 

 

TONS of yummy snacks and meals were eaten.

Photo from Amia

We did Bobbi's bootcamp, Reina's PiYo and Amia's Zumba. FUN FUN FUN! 

Photo from Amia

Well Food Company Review

 

The Well Food Company sent us a sampler box to review. Here's some information about them from their website:

We are Paleo.
We are Paleo for Power Athletes™.
We are CrossFitters, CrossFit Footballers, CrossFit Masters, Powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, figure show competitors.
We train in our garages. We box in the ring.  We do yoga in the living room.

We are travelers who got sick of (and sick from) eating airport food.
We are frustrated with the lack of Paleo options on the road and in convenience stores.
We are fishermen and business people who got sick of Friday morning doughnuts and luncheon sandwiches.
We are athletes who couldn’t find soy free protein bars.
We are biochemists and organic chemists who believe in helping people.

We are now also parents.
We are sensitive to children with food allergies.
We are sensitive to everyone with an autoimmune disease.
We believe in a different version of the food pyramid.
We will never diet again.
We are fed up with marketing executives telling us what is healthy.

We have fundamentally changed the way that we view food and decide which food we allow into our homes.
We hope you join us in our quest for strong bodies and strong minds.

We have a simple direction: provide clean, accessible snack foods for Paleo parents, kids, and athletes everywhere.

If we wouldn’t feed it to our kids, we won’t feed it to you.

We are Well Food Company.

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Our taste buds were VERY happy trying out everything in this sampler pack.  

 

The protein bar was HUGE and it had the texture of a blondie. It felt like I was indulging in a dessert, but it was GOOD for me! Two thumbs up! 

We loved throwing the coconut shavings and nut mix into our oatmeal for breakfast. 

Jared loved eating the Jerky during his long days at the golf course. It was very flavorful and didn't hurt his teeth to chew. 

Of course, if we HAD to choose a favorite out of the box, it would be the COOKIES!!!!! I had Almond Raisin and Jared had the Double Chocolate Chip. The best part was that they packed 8 grams of protein in each cookie! Talk about a win-win! 

 

Please visit their website and try some for yourself. 

You can also connect with them on:

Twitter

        Facebook

God's Ways are Better Than Ours

Even when things don't go the way that we HOPED they would go, God always takes care of us. This year, Jared didn't make it past first stage of Q-school. It happens. That's the name of the game of GOLF. You have your good years, bad years, good days, bad days, good rounds and bad rounds, but through it all, GOD IS GOOD! We are so grateful that God has given us the opportunity to BE TOGETHER and TRAVEL TOGETHER for a couple months, before we figure out what's going to happen for next year. I caddied for Jared at Q-school and a PGA qualifier, and will caddy for him on a few mini-tour tournaments until the end of the year. I am also SO VERY GRATEFUL that God has given me a few families to babysit for here and there, because I truly LOVE caring for children. It brings my heart so much joy! 

So, here's a few pics to share from our first month and a half in Florida:

 

LOVE THIS ADORABLE SHIRT!!! HOW CUTE IS THAT?!?!? 

 

Jared and his dad went on a fishing charter boat when Jared's parents visited. 

 

Ok, so when you move to Florida, you can't shop at Kroger anymore. We LOVE Manager's Special shopping at Kroger, and even ended pretty much EVERY DATE NIGHT WE HAVE EVER HAD at Kroger to search for Manager's Specials. True story. While we were in Mississippi for the PGA qualifier, we went to EVERY Kroger we could find. We RACKED UP on protein bars and peanut butter. WE WERE PUMPED!!!! 

During first stage, we tried out a completely Organic Vegan restaurant. Jared was skeptical at first because he believes that dinner is not complete without some meat involved, but he loved his zucchini pasta and salad and I absolutely LOVED my veggie burger! The food was very flavorful and tasty. 

 

My parents were very gracious to drive 10 hours to bring us our LAST load of stuff from our old house and spend a few days visiting. We made them our homemade pizza and they loved it! (It means a lot coming from my dad who has a self proclaimed "Body by Kellogg".. haha)  He was surprised at how well we have been budgeting and buying natural foods and feeding our bodies well. Although he didn't say he would be switching to super healthy eating anytime soon, but my mom is actually interested in taking baby steps to eat healthier. I am super proud of her!

 

We finally got our FAVORITE piece of art to hang up in the apartment! We LOVE pizza, but don't worry, we LOVE fitness too! :) It's all about balance!

 

My mom is a WONDERFUL photographer, and she captured some really sweet pics at the beach one evening. Thanks mom! :) 

 

I'll end this post with a pic that I found on Twitter that I LOVE. Even though Jared didn't make it through Q-school this year, these past few weeks have been incredible. We are fully trusting in God and know that He will ALWAYS take care of us. I am praying that He will help us prepare our hearts to be strong starting in January if we have to spend a lot of time apart again like we did last year. I am completely on board and will always be Jared's number one fan! He is going to keep on persevering and playing the game that God has gifted him with incredible talent and determination! Through whatever tour we are on, our main goal is to shine Christ's love to everyone around us and be His disciples!