~and things have changed~

The new eating habits of the Renfro family began in earnest this week and as would be expected, it's going to take some getting used to.  When Mike learned that he is diabetic after a routine dr. visit a few weeks back, we knew that it would be time to make some major changes in the way our cupboards, pantry, and refrigerator looked.  It wouldn't be easy but sometimes the most necessary things in our life end up being the most rewarding and life saving.

We shall see.

I don't think Mike or I really paid attention all that much to the labels on most food packaging. If we did, then I doubt either one of us gave much heed as to what those printed words were trying to tell us.  Oh yeah, I can remember once when I thought I might have been getting some high blood pressure issues that I actually started to peruse those labels for sodium content.  But other than that, not very much care has been given to it.

Things have now changed.
Big time.
And speaking of time, it was just that.
Time.

At ages 59 and 61 respectively, Mike and I both hope to have a long and healthy life still ahead of us.  There are things we want to do and certainly places we want to see and experience before our lives are completed on this planet.  If we don't take the steps now that will ensure better health for both us, we might be quite limited to what we can see and do in the years ahead of us.

If that's not a sobering thought, then I don't know what is.

Although my own blood sugar levels remain at the safe range for now, I am joining Mike on this nutrition journey because I am well aware of the fact that sometime in the future I too stand a good chance of becoming diabetic myself.  With a mother and a grandfather who both battled the disease, it's just a matter of time before I am added to the ranks as well.

This part of our lives together is just beginning this week and we know that it will be a lifetime of work and encouraging each other along the way.  Checking food labels for content and blood sugar levels is now a part of life in our house.  The way we figure, it's just one more part of the plan that began on May 21, 2013.

We are in it for the long run.
We'll keep you posted!

Here we are when we arrived for our first summer here in Texas.  Neither of us had jobs yet but little did we know what would lie ahead waiting for us.  Just a few days after this picture was taken, I received a teaching job in a town about 30 miles away from Burkburnett.  Only a couple of weeks after that, Mike received his position as the manager of a great hardware store here in town. God's plan for us~