Meet the Greniger Family from Maple Lake!
Dad Kevin, Mom Heidi, and their children; Ian (15), Hope (19), Chelsea (24) and Chelsea's husband Jim (28).
Kevin and Heidi own a goat farm in Maple Lake.
"Our family would like a makeover; body, mind, and spirit! The past 5 years have been rough. Kevin and I lost all of our parents in that time span. We also had many other struggles occur and feel like we have started to lose our purpose in a way. We used to be so involved in service, but had to step back from it all in the midst of all that was happening. Our daughter Hope moved away for a time, but is now back with us. Our daughter Chelsea had a baby recently with her husband Jim. Jim is currently looking for work. With all the stresses going on we are all struggling in different ways with our weight. Some of us need to lose it, and some of us need to gain it! I just desire for our family to get back on track physically, spiritually, and emotionally. I think we just may need something like this program to help get us back on track as a family and to put our eyes back on God as the pillar of our lives."
How We've Changed!
Physically:
Our trainer, Mike, was awesome. He was so patient and kind, but knew just exactly how much to push us to get us going. It has been so good to have the opportunity to be a part of a "gym" experience. We have never been members of a gym before and so this has been a real treat. We have found that we have more and more energy as we work out and get our bodies in shape. We had hoped that Hope and Ian would GAIN weight during this process, but neither did. I guess they are just meant to be skinny- at least for now.
Relationships:
We are still working on this, but I am so grateful that we have had the opportunity to at least address some of these issues. Being a part of the Biggest Gainer has given us the excuse to get some help from life coach Pastor Andy. He has the wonderful gift of discernment and was able to see just what our family needs to work on. He has recommended several books and studies to us and we are soaking them up whenever we can. Hope, Kevin and I are trying to read "Changes that Heal" together and we talk about it as we go. It is amazing how this book has made us change the way we think about things. The book "Total Forgiveness" is also a great book and has made me look at how judgemental I can be,and how having GRACE is really a better option.
We have spent some evenings playing board games or card games as a family and had some really good laughs. We have tried to make this a priority- we have tried to think ahead to the weekend and say "hey lets have game night on Friday".
Health:
Jim, Chelsea, Hope and I met with SarahErin at Stillpointe and had our BMI's done. We found out what our ideal weight would be and they gave us a nutritional book to encourage us to choose healthy eating habits. They encouraged us to write down what we ate each day. What a simple yet effective suggestion to get us to all see what we are really putting in our mouths each day! Jim, Hope and I had the Electro-dermal Screening and this was awesome. This is a great tool for those of us that don't always feel so great and a regular physician just isn't finding what ails you. We were able to purchase supplements and homeopathic drops to deal with the issues that came up on the EDS.
I had been suffering from some type of sinus issue for almost a year. It was keeping me up at night and I'd have to sleep in the recliner for 1/2 the night. Within a week of taking my drops I was sleeping through the night and not coughing or stuffed up. Most likely the problem is related to MOLD, which is something they found on both Hope and my testing (mold toxicity).
Financial:
We had a great time meeting with Cory Terres at Agstar. We have thrown the idea of refinancing our home around for over a year but never really had time to discuss it or look into it, always just a passing thought. It was so good to have the appointment with Cory because it made us get our act together and actually sit down and discuss what our best options are. After leaving the office my husband and I were able to have a better dialogue about money and what our priorities are. Good stuff.
Goals for the rest of 2010:
We would love to be able to keep up with going to the gym and working out and staying healthy by moving around more. We would also love to keep better track of what we're eating and to use some new recipes that are better options for us. We will also continue to work on our relationships within our family and try to heal from hurts we have caused eachother.
Thank you so much Spirit 92.9!
The Grenigers
Heidi, Kevin,Chelsea & Jim, Hope and Ian