40 BAGS in 40 DAYS

I've been decluttering my house and I ran across this post on a friend's Facebook page.

http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days-2014/

It was just what I needed to help encourage me to continue on with decluttering my house or in other words decrapifying my house!  I don't normally give up anything for lent.  I enjoy doing something to better myself and this was perfect.  Clutter is so overwhelming for me!  It takes so much of my time and it's so easy to just ignore.  So for the next 40 days during this Lent Season!  I'm dedicated to getting rid of the clutter, one bag at a time!  Today, I sold 4. grocery size, bags of Tupperware and a few CD's!  One day at a time is my theme for the next 40 days!

Will you join me? 

Rosy Armpits

I've recently been doing so well with eating new foods, lots of wild-caught fish and whole foods!  Most of my days have consisted of me being stuck inside the house.  When it's below 40 degrees, I should stay in.  I've realized that food is huge in what I'm going to feel like later.  One of my biggest problems is wanting to reward myself with going somewhere, because I got out of the house.  Today, was one of those days!  I got out!  I went to Bible Study where I enjoyed all my friends!  After that, I really didn't want to go home, so I went to my favorite place, Mojo's Coffee Bar with Zoey to have lunch!  They have the best Harvest Salad!  And the cookies are Amazing!  So I ordered a Harvest Salad and Organic Green Hot Tea for me and a Strawberry Yogurt and Granola Parfait and a Chocolate Chip cookie for Zoey!  I was very proud of myself...I didn't get a cookie (they are the best, but I'm eating clean...no gluten, no dairy)!  Then as we were leaving I got my refill on hot water and used my tea bag one more time and I thought why I was up there I would order one cookie and one ended up being two cookies to take home.  What in me thought I needed a cookie?  It was an emotional response...I deserved it...right?  Was I seriously rewarding myself for getting out of the house today?  Yes...I was!  I ate one of the cookies in the car ride home.  There was no enjoying it, I felt like I was scared it would get away, if I didn't eat it right away.  As I was putting it in my mouth and eating it, I kept saying to myself, "why are you eating this...it is NOT gonna make you feel good.  And I continued to eat it.  I know that no dessert can be in my house at any time, especially right now, which is very difficult.  Why you might ask?  Because I devour it, if there is a dozen cookies, I'm gonna eat them.  Not just one, but all 12 of them! 

As the day progressed, I was feeling quite lazy, so I didn't feel like making supper, so on our way to church, we stopped at Wendy's.  I decided to get Chicken Nuggets, fries and a lemonade.  HELLO!!! Is your brain in there...you CANNOT have gluten or wheat!!!  But, I ate all of it and drank all the lemonade!  It's like I have a shutoff to what I should be doing.  We got to Awana and my hands were ice cold, numb, stiff, and in pain.  I took my gloves off to show a friend, they were purple and white!  I got my naked salve out that I had made and Cypress doTERRA essential oil out to help them.  Yes...I'm the one that smelled like wood...not a pleasant smell for a woman!  It is an oil that helps me deal with my Raynaud's when the pain is so intense or even when it is just coming on!  The pain was relieved!  After Awana we got home, I quickly took my coat off and realized my armpits were very itchy and red with welts, when I looked in the mirror.  This has been a problem for about 5 months and I am determined to find the culprit...what did I eat that caused those painful reactions?  And why can't I say, "NO to eating that food that doesn't make me feel good!"  It is my responsibility of what I put in my body!

Some people may think I'm crazy in using the doTERRA essential oils, but I will tell you, I don't want to be on medicines that I can't even pronounce and I don't even know exactly what is in them or what side effects they have.  I've realized that for my body to heal my body, I must take responsibility and know what my temptation signs are. Yesterday, I went onto Google to see what websites had information on the Cleanse and supplements that doTERRA carries.  I ran across this website:
http://www.mynaturalfamily.com/symptoms/food-allergy/how-to-get-rid-of-candiasis-once-and-for-all/

This website and video have some really good information in them.  I really like the quote,

"doTERRA does not prevent, treat, or cure disease.  

Your lifestyle choices can help prevent disease. 

Your doctor treats symptoms and fixes broken parts.  

Your body cures disease!"

You may think of me as the hippie chick, or the one that always smells funny, or the one sharing oils with you.  I truly believe with the help of clean eating and using essential oils, is important!  It is very important to know what foods may or may not make you feel bad.  Everyone is different and the way their body reacts from different foods that we eat or the different essential oils that we use are ways in which we can prevent or reverse these diseases!  It is a lifestyle choice.  As I continue this journey, it is my goal to only put foods in my mouth that make me feel good and take out the one's that make me feel horrible!  I want to get rid of those rosy armpits and the triggers that cause my hands to have a Raynaud's Attack. 

Memories from the Fall of 2013 and how they have changed my life...

these are the memories I will never forget!  They have changed my life, my perspective, and how my life has changed.  At the time, I didn't see it that way, but now looking back at how God has worked in my life, I am clearly amazed!

Back in August, Simon began school at Walton Rural Life Center and at Kindergarten Orientation, the Principal asked me if I would like the Greenhouse position at the school and I said, "Yes!"  This on my part was an impulse answer of me saying, "Yes!"  If you know me at all, I love to help others and I have a degree in Landscape Design, so I could help the kids learn about plants and how they grow and how plants benefit our lives!  After saying yes, so quickly, I immediately realized I didn't include Justin or our children in this decision or pray about it before giving my answer.  After talking it over with Justin, we had decided that it would be good for me to use the knowledge that I had with Horticulture and do the position at the school.  At this point, we still didn't  pray for this decision.  The job was not funded yet, so we waited, and waited, and waited. 

During this waiting period, I had noticed some brown lines on my fingernails, which raised a concern for me as I had these back in January/February 2013 and they were the first sign of ulcers on my fingertips.  I went to the doctor and he recommended that I wait and just watch them.  They began to get worse and I was referred to my Rheumatologist and a Hand Doctor.  At my first appointment with the hand doctor, he recommended that I take some medicine that would help to break up the blood vessels causing the blood to flow better, since I don't have good blood circulation in my hands, also known as Raynaud's Phenomenon.  In more simple terms, my fingers tend to get cold very easily and turn white, blue, and red, swell, and go numb.  In October of 2012, I was diagnosed with Scleroderma and Raynaud's Phenomenon.  Since the Raynaud's is secondary to the Scleroderma it makes it more severe and this is what causes the ulcers.  When seeing the hand doctor for the second appointment, he was very concerned and it was to be below 40 degrees and very cold outside the next day.  He strongly recommended that I not go outside when the weather was below 40 degrees.  The reason for his concerns that day were that my fingertips would ulcer out more, which in turn would cause my fingers to get gangrene and then amputation.  Leaving the doctor that day, was very hard as I had no idea what I was in for.  Thankfully my Mom was with me at that particular appointment, so I knew I had someone to hold me accountable!  

This changed my world...

I was surrounded by walls, I couldn't go out, which I love to see people, go places, I'm definitely not a home body.  I began to wonder why this was happening to me and I started feeling depressed as it was getting colder and colder outside and I was confined in my house.  I had to set my pride at the door and say "no" to the things I loved.  I had to tell the principal at the school that I couldn't take the greenhouse position. I had to ask my friend Stacy to pick Simon up for school and bring him home afterwards.  I had to ask my Mother-in-law to pick Zoey up for school and bring her home after school.  This was one of the hardest decisions I had to make, because being a stay at home mom, this was one of the most important things I wanted to do, be able to pick my kids up from school and see how their day went.  I had to quit doing jewelry shows with my Premier Designs Jewelry business, as it was too cold to get out and I was beginning to lose my fine motor skills in my hands.  This made it hard to carry things and open and close necklaces.  I loved doing jewelry shows, because I was able to meet new people and I was able to serve others!  Staying in, meant I wasn't able to go to Bible Study, Church, and the meetings for New Anthem Community Church Plant, as often as I wanted to.  I couldn't go to the gym to exercise, because it was too cold outside and the temperature in the gym was too cold.  

All this wasn't easy to take at all as I was trying to figure out why this was happening to me, how could I fix this, what doctor would help me get better.  Nothing was working, the medicine I was taking for my hands in turn made me lethargic, I didn't feel right with it, and I began getting very depressed, so I started taking an anti-depressant, than I began itching and developed a rash, so I was taking medicine for that.  I began seeing a Nutritionist back in September and he recommended that I quit eating Wheat & Dairy, as these were foods that caused my body to be inflamed and swell.  Honestly I didn't want to listen to him as I had given up all the things I loved doing and now I had to give up what I was eating and take lots of supplements!  But, I tried it and you know, I felt the best that I could ever feel when I went Wheat and Dairy free, but then after saying no to everything else, stress got the best of me and I started to not pay attention and I hit a brick wall, meaning I didn't want to do anything! 

But, God had a different plan...and so I began cleaning more as I was home, I might as well start doing something constructive!  I've realized it is a lot easier to clean when I don't have all the stuff in our house.  So I began donating the things we no longer need in our home! I began to pray more and I began to have a change in my perspective...God had another plan for me and that was to stay at home Mom with no added stresses right now!  I love to help others, why not be a servant in my own household and serve my family! A clean house makes me calmer, why wouldn't it make my family calmer!  I still have a ways to go on donating and selling items, but I'm getting there!  And I'm lacking in my organizational habits as I've developed a paper trail.  I may not be able to take my kids to school, but I can be the one that helps them get ready for school and a smiling face for when they come home!  I get to see at least one other person besides my family each day during the weekdays and that is someone that I appreciate so much beyond words!  Someone that is a blessing to our family!  Thanks so much Stacy for being there to help encourage me as I am on this journey and for taking Simon to school and bring him home safely!  I can be a Prayer Warrior for others!  When I'm cleaning, I have been praying more fervently for others and for what I am thankful for and for what I'm able to do!  I am able to prepare meals as I have realized what a benefit that is for my family and how it affects our body by what we put into it.

So far on this journey of being sick and not able to get out, I've learned that God has a plan and it is up to me to be intentional about following Him!  He doesn't want me to be in pain, he wants me to be happy!  It is up to me to face the challenges that I may have and figure out what is best for me and what medicines or supplements to take or eat to keep me healthy and able to care for my family!  God has put people in my life to fit in His strategic plan! One that He has laid for me!  There is a reason to the waiting, because it is in His timing, in which we should wait.  So what God has planned for our family is His and we shall obey Him, because He wants what is best for us!  

It has been 5 months since the memories of Fall and what I would say was a real eye opener in my life and now God has opened a new chapter in our lives...a dream that only He can make come true...and so we wait...for a contract to be approved and signed so an offer can be made...we wait for another week or two to get a call, to see if the job that Justin is pursuing in Arizona is the one!  A place we might be able to call home, a place where I can go outside and be warm, and the best thing of all, as Simon put it, a place I can go out and play with them!  The ultimate reason we are looking into a new warmer place to call home is so that we can play together and have fun as a family! 

Where did the year of 2013 go?

About 2 weeks ago, Justin and I flew to Arizona!  In the midst of riding the escalator, I began to chuckle and laugh, bahahahahahaha, Justin looked as me as I was nuts!  What was I laughing at...well the last time we went up the escalator with luggage was when we were flying out of San Diego, CA after Justin's sister and brother-in-law got married and we went to Disney!  This particular escalator ride consisted of lots of luggage, myself, 2 kids, Simon (4) and Zoey (2), and a horrific smell!  Not my idea of fun, especially when luggage is dropped and the lady at the bottom is freaking out, because Simon has fallen, he was okay!  Why am I bringing this up, well the last time I posted was in 2012!  I have taken a whole year off from blogging!  I do recommend that if you haven't read my last blogpost about the plane ride, you should!  It may give you a great laugh, which at the time I wasn't laughing, but it has given me the realization of what parents could endure while flying and how I can help if I need to!  Life does go on and God does have a sense of humor!

So what did 2013 bring to our family?  It brought lots and God definitely stirred lots in our hearts!  As I try to keep up this year in 2014, I will give bits and pieces of what 2013 brought us and how it has affected us, as well as, put our trust in Jesus!

Psalms 25:4-5 Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow.  Lead me by your truth and teach me for you are the God who saves me.

The path in which God has laid for us is hard to understand in the moment.  Why would He put me through this...why me...what is this for.  I have always believed that God will only give us what we can handle, but a few months ago, I read a post on Facebook that God gives us what HE can handle!  He is in Control!  And it is us that have to be willing to listen and be intentional about praying and doing what He wants us to do!  It is up to us to move forward.  I have hopes of continuing this and writing and I will be intentional and move forward.  I hope that you will enjoy reading, get a good laugh, and someone will be touched by God's love as they read our story!  

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