Still amazing- Still Amanda!

I am posting these pics because I just read my daughter-in-law's blog. she expressed deep concern for the weight she has gained lately. I wanted to do something to open her eyes to the beauty and magic of her. When we look at this pic we see Amazing Amanda! We adore you Amanda! You make us laugh! You have an amazing, original sense of humor! You have a way of being humble and forgiving and understanding and tolerant, supportive and patient!!! You have great faith and an ability to love! Look closely at this pic of you poseing so cute and funny in our little mock, crazy attempt of the Nativity. You were the only one that followed through with the assignments that night and you made those great props for us! that was so awesome! You have such wonderful talents and heart and soul! We all have our struggles with weight and other things that our bodies have to endure. I admire your honestly, humility, commitment and desire to improve yourself, but it hurts to know that this effects you this way and you don't see how amazing you are! Our bodies are/do wonderful things for us. They allow us to accomplish so many things and give us strength to get through so many things. Look what you are having to get through! There is great truth to eating good food and being active and I am proud of you for recognizing and accepting that great truth, but I pray that you won't allow this to bring you down on yourself. I look at it differently. I separate it into health facts and what is best to be healthy and happy. I try to teach about it in a different realm than most see it...like "you're so fat and lazy" as compared to ..."you would feel so much better if you ate good foods and do active things each day." We all need to educate ourselves on what is good and bad for our own body types. It's a process just like spiritual growth. We have to make sacrafices to achieve in this life. We are all battling through our own little war zones down here and we should be like YOU! reaching out for help and doing things to help others the way you do. quietly and sweetly! Amanda, you make us laugh! that is a rare ablilty. most of us are just annoying, but you pull it off in such a neat way! I still see Amanda! You are beautiful! wrap yourself up in a bubble with all the things that you feel you do well inside it with you. Put all those that you love and that love you in there as well. Focus on those things and let them fight off the negative approaches of your mind or others that try to burst your bubble... make it strong with lots of things that give you strength.

look how cute you are! I want to wrap my arms around you and squeeze you! Blake adores you! You are the best thing that has happened to him. (that was so cute when you said that the other night). I loved it! I love you! Thank you for being so wonderful! I am there to do whatever I can to help you reach your goal. "you just call out my name, and you know wherever you are, I'll come runnin'!"