Welcome to Pilgrim's progress - or lack thereof!

Greetings! Welcome to my journey through my own "sloughs of despond" on my journey to a happier, healthier, fuller life. Please note - this is not a religious blog per se, although I will occassionally post about my faith because it is a part of my journey. Mainly, I couldn't resist the play on words with the classic "Pilgrim's Progress". I also like it a bit better than going with "Pilgrim's Pride" or "Howdy Pilgrim!"

My postings will run the gamut of my attempts to become organized in various aspects of my life, as well as my hobbies, challenges, crises, and so forth. I'll try and make sure the titles of each posting are clear, so you can choose to read them or not, depending on your interest in the topic at hand. Topics I plan on writing about include (but are not limited to):

• Autism: my five year old son has autism, and as a parent I'm learning to serve him based on his needs.
• Organization: because children with autism need order and routine, I'm attempting to organize many aspects of my life, including decluttering my house and establishing schedules.
• Weight Loss: I had lapband surgery in February, 2007, and am learning how to eat again, exercise, and lose weight so I can be healthy for my family and for myself.
• Cooking and Meal Planning: in order to support my organizational, financial, and weight loss goals, I need to figure out how to cook better, healthier meals for less money.
• Financial Health: getting out of debt and living on a single income is a priority for our family, but is not easy to do.
• Spiritual Health: how do you teach a child without words about abstract concepts like "faith", "Heavenly Father", "the atonement"??
• Genealogy: everyone has a hobby, and this is mine! I volunteer at a Family History library and work with people at church to find their ancestors.
• Scrapbooking: recording my life (children, family, ancestors, etc.) through pictures and stories, and my attempts to organize and complete my projects.

I hope through these postings to strengthen myself (and others) by exploring these topics in relation to my many roles in life: wife, mother, daughter, sister, special needs parent, student, church member, manager, bread-winner, homemaker, family historian, and daughter of God. Come and grow with me!