Our Thanksgiving Dinner

Today Margaret and I had our Thanksgiving meal. I took her on a date. She is the love of my life and deserves to be spoiled much more often. We went to the DuPont Country Club outside of Wilmington, DE.

Main entrance to the club

Once inside the doors, we were met by a uniformed man who asked our names and escorted us to the dinning room.

About half of the tables were empty for our seating time. I made our reservations only a few days ago and the only seating available was an early one. That worked for us as we’re not much on being out late anyway.

The first course was a scrumptious pumpkin soup followed by salads.

Margaret’s entree was rack of lamb.

No way was I going to have turkey! I had a Filet Mignon and mashed potatoes.

Desert was two different small chocolate parfait, one white and one dark chocolate, plus a small wedge of pastry covered with fresh berries for each of us. It was a delicious meal and awesome service by the Club staff.

An ice sculpture located at the dinning room entrance.

Margaret wanted a picture of each of us while we were all dressed up. Doesn’t she look great?

And then there is this ugly guy! This jacket is actually too big for me now. I have another 90 pounds to lose.

I don’t think I was using wisdom when I scheduled my November weigh-in at the doctor’s. It is tomorrow morning! Oops. After the meal last Saturday and the one today I may only break even on weight loss this month.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

2nd Annual Thanksgiving For Trucker Friends

Three of our truck driver friends live near us.  Last year Margaret invited them to join us for our Thanksgiving meal.  We repeated the invitations this year.  The past eight years we were always at the chapel on Thanksgiving day.  Also, the drivers and our family have other commitments on Thanksgiving day, so we have our meal the weekend before the holiday.

Our daughter Sheri and her two sons, Jonathan and Patrick Sean, came up from Virginia Friday night.  Sheri fixes a deep fat fried turkey for her family and agreed to bring her fryer with her this year.  Margaret had tasted one of Sheri’s fried turkeys before and loved it.

Sheri setup the fryer in the back yard.  It uses about 4 gallons of oil and has a propane burner.

When they thought the bird should be done, Jonathan lifted it out of the fryer so Sheri could check it’s temperature

It’s done!

Our three driver friends, left to right: Jay Jones, Tony Kong, and Ron Jones.  Jay and Tony are now retired from truck driving.
Lower right, Baby Girl was also spending the day visiting with us again.

I wanted a picture of the table before it got messed up!

Ready to begin the feast! Left to right: Ron Jones, Sandy Jones (neighbor and friend from church), Tony Kong, Jay Jones, Jonathan, Sheri, Patrick Sean, Margaret, and Baby Girl.  Even though we had three Jones’ with us, they are not related.

Margaret, Jonathan, and Sheri did an awesome job preparing the meal.  The fried turkey was delicious.  Sandy provided the desert—two pumpkin pies.  We have so many blessings to be thankful for!!!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Pet Sitting

We have been pet sitting for friends the past few days.  Over the weekend we had our friend Jim Tracy’s dog, “Baby Girl”, a Red Bone Coon Hound.  She and Jim have been to our house numerous times so she was very comfortable being with us.

Baby Girl thinks she is a lap dog!

She was a good house guest.  It is a good thing we have a king size bed!  She slept between us all night.

Baby Girl went home Sunday afternoon and Sunday night we got our friend Sandy’s cat, “Odie”, pronounced Oh’-dee.  Margaret and I had both met Odie at Sandy’s house but this was to be his first visit with us.  We were not sure how he would do in a new environment.  We need not have worried.  He did just fine.  After and hour or so of cautious investigation he made himself right at home.

This is where he spent most of Monday afternoon napping.  Margaret said he is our first visitor who can do nothing for as long as I can!

Odie also slept between us on the bed.  He did not take up nearly as much room as Baby Girl.  He is also very helpful around the house.  He inspects the waste baskets for us and today got into the clothes dryer to help with laundry.  Odie goes home tonight or tomorrow.

Being “grandparents” to pets has the same advantage as with kids—you get to send them home when you’re finished.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

I’m Back!

I have not been posting or doing much more than email on the net for quite a while.  The hard drive on my laptop crashed and I have had limited internet access.  Even when I can get on via someone else’s computer, I don’t have all of the software I normally use, including my favorite blogging software, Windows Live Writer, and Digsby for twitter and IM.  (Thank the Lord I had already moved to web based email!)

Right now I have temporary custody of an eMachine laptop from a truck driver friend, Ron.  He purchased it this summer with Vista already installed.  He gave it to me to upgrade to Windows 7 for him. Now he has decided to just leave it at our house as this is the only place he has [free] internet access plus he doesn’t want it to get banged around in the truck during the week.  So, I have set up an account on his machine for me and am installing some software.

With the Lord’s help I continue to do great on my weight loss.  I have now lost 74 pounds which puts me at 293 pounds.  That has reduced my waist size by 8 inches.  Margaret had kept one previous sized clothes which is what I’m wearing now.  A few more inches and I’m going to be out of clothes that fit.  Then its off to Salvation Army and Goodwill to get some temporary stuff to tied me over.  The plan is still to be down to 200 pounds by Christmas 2010.

I have already gained some health advantages from the weight loss.  My blood pressure and cholesterol are now normal. PTL!  Also, I have not had any vertigo attacks for at least three months.  I believe the cessation of the vertigo is an indication that my sleep apnea is becoming less severe.  Margaret says I appear to be sleeping much more soundly.

In addition, my doctor has agreed to let me stop all of my prescriptions.  I have blood work done again in three months to confirm that decision.  Of course I am taking vitamin and mineral supplements.

God is good!

In His Name,
Chaplain Sam

Another Eleven Pounds!

I was at the doctor’s office this morning for my monthly weigh-in and check up.  I weighed 313 pounds today which is another 11 pounds lost since last month and a total of 54 pounds lost so far.  I am pleased with that, especially as last month included two days off the diet during our anniversary weekend.  We celebrated by going to Outback Steakhouse one night (we had a gift card) and lunch with friends at a Mexican restaurant the next afternoon.

My blood pressure was 128/80 today which is good.  Overall the doctor is pleased with my progress and encouraged me to keep doing what I’m doing since it is working.

My next goal is to be at or below 300 pounds by my birthday, September 27.  I’ll have to do more exercise to loose another 13 pounds in less than a month.  I certainly can’t eat any less. My daily average last month was 698 calories/day, including the anniversary weekend.  My overall goal is to be at 200 pounds by Christmas, 2010.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam

Official Weight Loss Numbers

I had a good visit with my doctor today.  I like his scales!  According to that I actually lost 19 lbs in July.  That  makes my overall weight loss 43 lbs so far. PTL!

Additionally, my blood pressure was down to 123 over 84.  I think my pressure at the previous visit was something like 180 over 95.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam

Weight Loss Update

I am starting my second month on a Very Low Calorie (VLC) diet of 600 to 800 calories/day under my doctor’s supervision. I began a food diary on July 2 and have been daily entering everything I eat since.  At the end of July I had averaged 683 calories and 20 grams of fat per day and lost 13 lbs that month.  You can view my food diary online (click on the tabs at the top left to switch between months).  Weekends, when we are most likely to eat out, are my biggest challenge. I am often over my goal during the weekends.  Even so, I’m still not way over in any one day and have been able to maintain my overall average.

My first two days in August were a weekend and I’m a little over my goal for that two day average (817 calories/day).  I expect that to get back on target during the week.  Unofficially I have now lost 37 lbs from my peak weight last March – down to 330 lbs from 367 lbs.  That is unofficial until I get weighed during my next monthly doctor visit Monday, 8/3/09.

I’ve had a number of questions about our protein intake.  We use powdered whey protein mixed with liquid to supplement our daily protein consumption.  We began mixing it in milk but that added more unnecessary calories.  Now we mix it with water.  The powder has 23 grams of protein per scoop and we are using 2 scoops per 8 oz glass of water.

I am now in between belt sizes that I own.  My largest belt is now way to big but I’m still a little to large for the next smaller one I have.  I may have to break down and put a new hole in the large one to tied me over for the next few weeks.  That’s a wonderful problem to have!

Exercise is another story entirely.  Margaret and I have been walking for our exercise but that has been really hit or miss.  We have to move that higher on our list of priorities!

Thank you for your continued prayers!  We are dependent on God to continue to help us see this through until we have regained our health.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam

A Weekend Away

Last Friday afternoon we drove to Sayre, PA to check in to the BriMarie Inn for the weekend. The BriMarie is a Victoria bed & breakfast plus a restaurant.  I had stayed there once before but this was Margaret’s first stay.  We were there to attend the American Evangelical Christian Churches (AECC) Annual North East Region Conference in Waverly, NY.  Sayre, PA and Waverly, NY are adjacent to each other on opposite sides of the border.

The conference began Friday night but we were delayed by construction on the drive and arrived too late for that.  It should be about a 4.5 hour drive but took us almost 6 hours. The conference continued through late Saturday afternoon.  We did not want to drive back Saturday night so we stayed through Sunday morning.  After breakfast Sunday we returned to the conference host church to attend Sunday services.

I had Margaret’s camera which is smaller than than mine.  I intended to take a bunch of pictures but the camera batteries died after only two shots and we didn’t have any spare ones with us.

Talking to Margaret is Bonna Brown. Next to her is her husband Jim.  Jim & Bonna are from Hagerstown, MD.
The couple next to Jim made a seven hour drive from New England.

The man on the right, in the red shirt, is a full-time truck driver, Jim, who has visited with me in the chapel at Elkton.

Saturday night we opted to eat in the BriMarie Inn restaurant.  The menu had a couple of appetizers that looked like they would be within our diets (and budget). One was steamed mussels for me, and a vegetable pizza for Margaret. Those plus a salad each sounded like a good plan.  Wrong!  At that restaurant the appetizers portions are what we think of as entrées.  I got 21 mussels and Margaret’s pizza had eight pieces. Of course I forced myself to eat all of mine.  I went way over my goal on Saturday and over again on Sunday.  Even so my daily average is still good and I’m back on target today.  You can see my food diary here.

All in all it was a nice relaxing weekend away with some good friends. As Margaret said, “It is nice to attend an event and not be working on staff!”

The Car Is Back

Yeah!  We got the Toyota back from the body shop Thursday.  They did a great job on the repairs.

You can’t tell that it has been hit. In fact, the passenger side now looks better than the drivers side because of the fresh paint job.

If you missed the “before” pictures they are here.

Exercise Variations

For me, exercising is the most difficult part of my weight loss program. It is just hard for me to get into it.  Most of the time Margaret and I go to the closest mall and walk.  That gets boring after a while.  Today was a nice day weather wise…not oppressive heat and humidity plus there was a nice breeze.  So, we opted to go to Spencer’s Bazaar in Dover.  Spencer’s is a rambling combination flea market and farm market with merchants outside at tables and inside at stalls.  It was a nice change for our exercise.

One of the numerous entrances to the inside offerings

Some of the outside tables

Incase you’re wondering, we did not get anything to eat while we were there

Eating Out While Dieting

Margaret and I spent the weekend in Elkton at the Chapel.  Friday night we went to North East, MD to watch a blues band that included our friend Marty Miller.  Saturday afternoon a couple from York, PA came down and took us out to eat at Old Country Buffet, an all-you-can-eat place.  Sunday afternoon we went out with a driver friend of ours to a local Elkton diner.  All this while I’m on an Very Low Calorie (VLC) diet of 800 calories or less per day.  Quite a challenge.

Since I have been on this kind of diet before, I have some experience with what kinds of foods I can eat when eating out.  Of course anything fried is a no no as are all deserts except Jell-O.  Broiled/grilled fish, shell fish, and chicken are good choices if I stick to small portions.  Most veggies, fruits, and salads are also good if you don’t smother them with something high in fat or sugar.  I avoid most carbs except rice and plain baked potatoes.  Watching portions is the thing I really have to be careful about at most restaurants.  Many times I end up with a “doggie bag” for the remaining serving.

With the Lord’s help, I stayed under 700 calories per day throughout the weekend and now have an average of 672 calories per day since I began keeping my food diary.  You can see what I have been eating here.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Correcting a Mistake

One of my friends spotted a mistake on my food diary from yesterday.  I had entered 100 calories for a cup of rice when it should have been 160 calories.  That means I actually had 770 calories yesterday.  I have correct the diary.  (Thanks Anna!)

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Off To A Good Start

I spent 45 minutes with the doctor this afternoon.  The previous time I was weighed at his office was in March when I weighed 367 pounds.  That is the most I have ever weighed in my life!  The spike happened when I overate in reaction to the sleep deprivation triggered depression.  At first I didn’t recognize the cause of the depression.  That weight really got my attention and I began cutting back on what and how much I ate then.  Today I weighed 343 pounds.  That is a 24 pound loss in the first two months.

I have lost over 100 pounds twice before.  Each time I put myself on a 600 calorie diet for 18 months without medical supervision.  This time I believe the health complications necessitated my being under a doctor’s care.

I had approximately 710 calories today.  You can see what that looks like by viewing my food diary for today.

Of course there is a lot more than just cutting my food intake. I need to drink lots of water and exercise regularly. I prefer walking for the exercise.  At this time of year that means going to the Dover Mall where it is air conditioned!  The doctor also suggested exercising my arms at least once a week with weights or resistance equipment to maintain muscle tone.

I already had the necessary blood work done following the previous doctor visit.  The cardiac workup from my two knee procedures was recent enough to cover that requirement.  I go back to see the doctor monthly so that he can monitor me.

This weekend will be a challenge.  We head to the chapel tomorrow evening and will be there through both services on Sunday.  We’re covering for a chaplain who is on vacation.  I’ll probably eat a lot of salads!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Leaving TFC

Yep, Margaret and I are retiring from Transport For Christ (TFC) at the end of July. That will be eight years and one month since our first night on the chapel as volunteers. On August 1, 2009 I will no longer be the Lead Chaplain for the Life-Saver Chapel in Elkton, MD., but I will still be an ordained Chaplain, just not with TFC. And before you ask, we have no idea yet what TFC’s plans are for the Life-Saver.

This will be the third time I have retired.  The last time Margaret put up with me at home for six months and then told me I had to get a job or volunteer someplace.  She had enough of me home underfoot.  It will be different this time because now Margaret is the one working and I’m at home.  Just call me Mr. Mom!  I will still be filling in as a relief preacher when requested plus teaching an adult Bible study every Thursday night at church.  I’m sure the Lord has other things for me to do as well.

My main focus initially will be to get some health issues under control.  Last November I had two sleep studies which confirmed that I have Complex Sleep Apnea which is a combination of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea. From December through May I spent six frustrating months trying to get a V-PAP breathing machine to relieve the apnea.  I tried six different masks and they all failed to work correctly.  My apnea is so severe that it takes a lot of air pressure from the machine to force air into my lungs while I sleep.  At full pressure, all of the masks leaked which defeated the purpose plus the leak was loud enough to wake me.  At one point I had a serious infection in the bridge of my nose caused by a mask.

Life without a breathing machine means Chronic Sleep Deprivation for me.  That is much more serious than just being tired all of the time. When we consistently don’t get adequate sleep lots of health problems develop and the effects are cumulative.  The longer you suffer Sleep Deprivation, the more severe the symptoms get—some of which are irreversible.  The biggest immediate issue for me is that it causes migraine headaches. When I get a migraine I don’t get pain, I get vertigo which puts me completely out of action for hours.  Right now I don’t do mornings!  I need ten to twelve hours in bed at night to not wake up with vertigo.

There is surgery for Obstructive Sleep Apnea but my pulmonologist did not recommend it for me.  The only other alternative is to lose weight.  My apnea is related to my being over weight  Gee, where did I hear that before?  So, this afternoon I have an appointment with my doctor to begin a 800 calorie per day diet.  I expect that it will be an easy diet to follow—if it tastes good, spit it out!  I also expect to hear my doctor use that awful word “exercise".  Please be in prayer for both of us as I do this.  I will be posting my progress here so you are all my accountability partners!

On a happier note, Lord willing, our goal is to move back to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia after the Lord gives me victory over this health issue. That should be in 1.5 to 2 years.  I would rather not change doctors in mid stream.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Sporty Rental

This weekend I left our Toyota Camry at the body shop to be repaired.  On the way to the shop we picked up a rental car to use for the estimated eight business days it will take to fix the Toyota.

The rental is a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix.  Is that red or what?
I had a choice of renting another Camry or this one. That was a no brainer!

Fish or Flowers?

Our grandson Jonathan was here for a week a few weeks ago. While he was here he dug two new flowerbeds for Margaret—one along each side of our paved parking spot in front our house. After he returned to Virginia the rains came…and came…and came…

This is the bed on the north side of the parking area

Here is the new bed on the south side of the parking area.
I don’t know if these are for fish or flowers?

Oops

This Monday a neighbor backing out of his driveway hit the side of our passing Toyota. I was driving. The good news is that neither myself or my neighbor were injured (no passengers in either car)—PTL! But we now have a Toyota Camry with a banged up passenger side.

Don’t they say most auto accidents happen close to home? I was less than half-a-block from the house.

Passenger side front & rear doors plus rear quarter panel damage. The rear door will not open and the adjuster said to leave it closed. It is likely if we forced it to open it would not close again.

Since this picture was taken I have taped the rough edges so no one gets cut

I have been on the phone for numerous contacts this week with our car insurance company and the neighbor’s. I think it is now all sorted out. The neighbor’s insurance will pay for all of the damages. That means our insurance will waive our $500 deductable. PTL!

The initial estimate is at least $4,000 in damage and eight days to do the repairs. Now we move on the the actual repair process. Sigh…

Margaret on a Motorcycle

Grandma Margaret in visiting daughter Sheri in Virginia. Today she went riding on a motorcycle with Sheri’s brother-in-law, Chris.  Way to go Grandma!

Margaret and Chris

Fishnet 35 Year Reunion

The first time I moved to Front Royal, VA it was due to a company transfer.  (All together I transferred sixteen times in twenty-four years).  After settling in Front Royal I volunteered a lot of time to what was then a new ministry, Fishnet Ministries, Inc.  Fishnet produces Christian teaching and music festivals at their Front Royal location.  In three years I transferred once more and did not get to work with Fishnet again until after I retired (was paid to leave).

From March through August 1993 I commuted each weekend from my home in Ohio to Front Royal in order to volunteer with the ministry again.  That was when I met Margaret who was working full-time for the ministry as Secretary to the President, Larry Andes.  The Lord put Margaret and me together, with help from our mutual friend Donna Ralls (Larry’s sister-in-law and one of my coworkers when I first lived in Front Royal), and we were married that August.

I “bartered” for Margaret by agreeing to work full-time with the ministry for one year in exchange for her.  Larry agreed.  (I figured one year was a bargain versus the Biblical seven years plus it did not involve any sheep.  I also checked first and found out that Margaret’s older sister was already married.)  Margaret and I continued to work at Fishnet another fourteen months and then the Lord moved us on to other ministries.

Last Saturday Fishnet held a 35 year reunion.  We drove down Friday night and were “adopted” by Donna Ralls and her husband, Bill. They let us stay at their house. (That is where I had stayed during my weekends in 1993).  We had a blessed visit with Bill and Donna.

We were at Fishnet all day Saturday for meals, fellowship, worship and praise.  The day’s activities included watching videos of ministry activities throughout the 35 years.  There were also times for attendees to share favorite ministry stories.  Sunday morning we returned for the morning church service.  Bill and Donna then took us to lunch at Cracker Barrel in Front Royal before we headed home.

All in all it was a great weekend. What a blessing to fellowship and worship with old friends.  Darrell Dement, who led the worship and praise sessions, is an anointed musician.  Saturday night, after the sessions were over, no one wanted to leave and we continued singing and praising for another hour.  The Holy Spirit was ministering to each of us.

The main entrance to the Fishnet Ministries offices and the Fishnet Christian Center church.
The weather was gorgeous Saturday!

Memorabilia from past events

Pastor Larry Andes

Margaret, Jane and Jim “Dad” Stevens (Larry’s in-laws and Donna’s parents)

Darrell Dement, who motorcycled all the way from Florida,
led worship and praise Saturday and Sunday

There were lunch and diner buffets for our meals

We had a “Fishnet” cake for desert after diner.

The restaurant where we had lunch Sunday afternoon.
(Rich Hosea, this picture is for you).

Donna Ralls and Margaret on the restaurant porch.

Bill, Donna, Margaret, and me at lunch Sunday

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins

Grandson Jonathan

Our grandson, Jonathan, is on the men’s lacrosse team, The Saints, at college (Mercyhurst North East).  The team just won their first game of the season. Below is a news report about the game. I have underlined the reference to him.

Saints Lax Get Their First Win
Mar 16, 2009

Mercyhurst NE 24
Tompkins Cortland C.C. 14

(Dryden, NY) The Mercyhurst North East men's lacrosse team played Tompkins Cortland this past Saturday and came away with their first win this season, defeating the Panthers 24-14. The offense played very unselfish, as nine players tallied a point, and the defense played great individual and team defense.

Leading the team offensively was freshman attackman Jordan Flaman with 9 goals and 2 assists. Fellow freshmen attackman John Hink (3g, 3a) and Scott Workman (4g, 4a) also played great games. The midfield was led by the sophomore trio of Brian Dacunha (2g, 3a, 7gb's), Brad Pendy (1g,2a), and Zach Reiser (2a). The scoring was rounded out by sophomores Chase Sutherland (1g), Jay Rekau (1a), and freshman Andy Shaver (2g).

The defense really stepped up to the challenge, as they limited Tompkins Cortland to seven goals through three quarters. At close defense, sophomore Rob Kramer stripped the opposition time after time, while his freshmen counterparts Dean Branham and Gil Johnson denied the Panthers any room to attack. At LSM, freshman Jimmy Cardinale was a groundball machine until getting injured in the first quarter. Freshman Jon Reynolds took his place the rest of the game and came up with some huge plays. Freshman Donnie Murray played well at close defense and LSM and showed great hustle throughout the game.
In the net, all four goalies split time. Sophomore Donnie Andrews stifled the Panther offense, as he stopped 13 out of 20 shots. Freshman Andrew Ellis took over in the fourth quarter and also limited the Panthers, as he stopped 6 out of 13 shots.

Coach Malone was very proud of the team's effort, as the Saints cleared the ball 20 out of 23 times, came away with 42 groundballs, and went 2-2 on man-up opportunities. The team travels to Broome CC to play on Saturday March 21. This will be a great test for the Saints, as Broome is currently ranked #10 in the latest Coaches Poll.

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins