Simplicity + Chaos = JOY

My how things can change in such a short amount of time...

At the end of last year, I was tired of being sick and tired all of the time.  In many ways, it felt like life was just passing me by as I struggled each day with the continuous head pain and fatigue.  My focus was on simply trying to be the best mom and wife that I could be - and not letting the physical struggles rob my family from the love I so wanted to pour out on them.  It was discouraging to say the least, yet at the same time I think that the Lord had some important lessons to teach me that I never would have grasped had I been feeling good and keeping busy.

Lessons about being still, and resting in Him.... trusting that He uses all things....

Lessons that I don't ever want to forget, especially now as my life is once again taking another turn.  I am delighted to be feeling so much better thanks to the changes we have made in the foods we eat.  I haven't felt this good in years, and though I still often have headaches, they aren't anything compared to the debilitating migraines.

Feeling better and not wanting to waste my days away, we have opened up our home for daycare again.  Not like I did before with many families, but simply one family with 3 very special kiddos that I adore.  My days are full with giggles - and messes, and bickering, and chaos, and ... and.... and.....

.... and I am so thankful!

I have learned that every moment is precious, and that time really does pass by so quickly.

I desire my life to be one of purpose and fruit bearing... not selfishness and trying to find happiness with 'stuff' as our culture so often encourages, the trap that we so easily get ensnared in.

The more simple my life becomes, the more rich I feel, and the more at peace I am.

Extreme Migraines call for Extreme Measures

Up until this point, I haven’t been inspired to continue posting on my blog.  The last few years have been filled with chronic pain and fatigue, and really, other than the day to day happenings of being ‘Mama’, there wasn’t a lot new and exciting going on.  It took all I had just to get through each day.

Oh yeah, the chickens have been fun for us, but really, there’s only so much you can post on that before people start thinking you’re crazy.

But I’m so excited to report that things are improving rapidly in my life and I am so thankful!  Jeff and I have started out the new year with a new lifestyle.  And yes, maybe we are a bit crazy with this one.  We have eliminated caffeine, sugar, dairy from our diets, as well as most meats.  I know!  CRAZY!!!  But let me say that it has been the best month health wise for both of us.  We feel so good!  (recently, we both ate meat and cheese, and both times could definitely tell how much worse we felt after….).  No worries, we are getting plenty of protein, calcium, etc from the foods we are eating.  We take vitamin D supplements since we don't have much sunshine now, and the small amount of meats that we will eat will give us the B12 that we need.

It’s been over 3 weeks now, and it is so much easier than I thought it would be.  Really, I wasn’t sure if we would last this long.  But we aren’t hungry – we eat a LOT – and our tastebuds are changing.  Food that we used to love doesn’t taste the same, it tastes salty and gross, and we are finding that we don’t even want it.  We both have lost more weight than what we thought possible without an extreme exercise plan – and because of our new found energy we are finding that we are becoming more active and are looking forward to family hikes and such.

Get this… I ENJOY waking up with Jeff in the still dark hours of morning to make his breakfast and meals for the day.  Mornings used to be the hardest part of the day for me as waking up in constant pain is exhausting and discouraging.  Now I bounce out of bed ready to start the day!

Best of all, I feel inspired – to be a better wife, mom, and all that God created me to be.  Kate’s giggles this morning as I ran up our hill ahead of her were priceless.  She was in shock and delighted at the same time, and she couldn’t wait to share with the other people at the bus stop.

If I feel this good in just a few short weeks, what’s the rest of the year going to be like for me??  I am excited to find out!

What has inspired us?

Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (a documentary found on Netflix)
Eat to Live – book by Joel Fuhrman (available at Amazon)
Vitamix – my new fun blender that we invested in when we knew that this was going to be a lifestyle for us.