033 Thursday is NOT Jimmy's Friend

Good morning and welcome to Thursday. Normally Thursdays are pretty good. The week is half over and it's almost Friday. However, this week I have have a feeling that Thursday is not going to be a friend in the Mustion Mansion (that's what nicknamed our house).

The reason that I feel this way is valid. #1 Today is the last day before Jimmy goes in to have his WLS. So we are making lots of last minute preparations. We are welcoming my parents and a friend who in to stay while they help us out the next couple of days. But the real reason that Thursday is not our friend this week is because #2 Jimmy has to drink a doctor prescribed 10oz liquid laxative. YUCK! So pardon my bathroom humor, but things are going to be poopy around here. Sorry if that's TMI.

So please be praying for Jimmy today. On the prayer note (not the poopy one) I also wanted to make today better by showing you a clip of the wonderful support that we have been receiving from our church. I hope you enjoy watching it, and please remember to keep praying for Jimmy.

Jimmy weighed in yesterday and found out that he had lost 37 POUNDS
on his liquid diet! Congrats, Jimmy!

027 Get a Will Today

I listen to the Dave Ramsey Show online while I am working. I can't tell you how many times I have heard Dave tell people "Get a Will today." or how many times I have heard the US Legal Forms commercial. I think that I could actually quote it!

Jimmy and I have known the importance of getting a will for a while now. It's just that we don't have much and the prospect of something happening to us seemed really far away. However, as we began to prepare for Jimmy to have WLS we realized that it would probably be a really good time for Jimmy to get a will done.

Well, we didn't go to US Legal Forms, but we did talk to our friend Ben who is a local lawyer. He was able to help Jimmy get all his paperwork in order. Laproscopic gastric sleeve surgery is very low risk (comparatively) but now if something were to happen we are covered.

It's nice to know that Jimmy loves me enough to get all the details hammered out so I am not left with "a big legal mess to deal with" (Thanks, Dave!) and I know exactly what he would have wanted. Dave's right. It is important to get a will today. I just never appreciated it before.

026 Be Prepared!

I know it's stupid but one of my favorite songs from the Lion King was when Scar and the hyenas were singing the "Be Prepared!" song. The hyenas didn't really get it and I don't think that we always get the importance of being prepared either. So let me tell you why Jimmy and I find it important to be prepared as it specifically relates to the liquid diet he starts today and his gastric sleeve surgery in two weeks.

#1 Being prepared makes the transition easier
I am in NO way going to say that this liquid diet is going to be a walk in the park but I know it would be so much harder if we weren't ready. What if we hadn't gone through the house getting rid of all the temptations lurking in the fridge and cabinets? What if I hadn't planned ahead and bought the foods that he will need to have on hand so succeed? What if we hadn't been trying to eat healthy for the last couple of years to prepare for healthier living and eating post-op? Things could be even worse!

#2 Being prepared has helped us with our finances
Much to Jimmy's sometime annoyance I am a HUGE Dave Ramsey fan! We were blessed to be able to go through Financial Peace University (FPU) several years ago and since then we have been on our way to financial freedom. Let me tell you that we still aren't perfect.

However, we are much better than we used to be and "Uncle Dave" has taught us some really important lessons about preparing financially. This applied here as well. As soon as we had decided which Pre-Op diet we were doing I began to set money aside and I would also purchase an item or two a week over the last few months. This allowed us to spread out the cost instead of freaking out about the bill coming all at once or being tempted to put it on a credit card (that we don't have).

#3 Being prepared allowed us time to recruit
Since we were planning and preparing ahead we were able to recruit our support team at our leisure. We know these people are going to really be there for us because they have a proven track record. We aren't asking them on a whim or last minute. Over the last few months and years they have shown that they really care about us and support us. We don't have to worry about it--which is amazing!

So I urge you, if you are still preparing for WLS I urge you to begin preparing physically, financially, and mentally for the many challenges that lie ahead!