Five things that Help when I'm Feeling Overwhelmed

You may not know this about me but I tend to be very easily overwhelmed. Sometimes to the point of near paralysis. I know this can be frustrating for Ryan but I have learned to manage. Being a Mom for over 17 years now has taught me a few things.

When I start to go into that perfectionist mommy mode, thinking I need to do it all and be everything for everybody....When the guilt tries to creep in and the overwhelm sometimes feels crushing, I have found it really helps to do these 5 things:

1. First thing I STOP and take a few deep breaths. Ryan will know I'm feeling particularly overwhelmed because I will taking big deep sighs. But you know what it really can help. Although it doesn't usually solve it so that's when I go on to the next step.
   
2. I ask myself: Will this matter 10 years from now? Pretty much every time not only will it not matter ten years from now it will likely not even matter next week and sometimes not even the next day. I find this perspective really helps to keep me grounded and focused on what really matters. It's almost funny how uptight I can get over things that really are of little or no consequence. It really isn't worth stressing over things that don't matter long term. When I realize that, I am able to chill out just a bit and it lifts a large majority of the burden I may be feeling at the time.
   
3. I eat something! If it can be high in healthy fats, minerals and protein, like a green smoothie with added hemp seed and coconut oil all the better but if that's too overwhelming to make, try to just grab something. A nut mix, celery sticks with peanut butter......just try to make it healthy! (sorry friends chocolate isn't the answer here save that for the big emergencies ;) Nine times out of 10 having a full stomach helps me to calm down and think more clearly.
   
4. Check the Calendar! No don't look at all the things your not getting done or places you need to be. Look and see where you are in your cycle.....more often then not my biggest overwhelm times come at that time of the month. If that's the case I repeat steps 1, 2 and 3. Then I grab a good book, leave all the "to-dos" undone and take as long of a reading break as I can. (obviously if your kids are really little it won't be for very long but I found even just little "check-out" times are helpful) This usually helps calm me down a lot. I also keep aware that the next few days I may not be myself but remember that it's just PMS and it will soon be over. I also have worked on things that help alleviate PMS.....But that is a post for another time.
   
5. And last of all and most important I make sure to lay on the GRACE not the guilt! This isn't easy I get caught in the mommy guilt trap like we all do. I have those blasted broken records that try to play that tell me I'm not good enough, that I'm ruining the kids, that the husband works so much because he hates to be home, that one that says so and so can do it all why can't you.............and on and on and on.....I'm guessing you - know the one. Well through leaning on my Savior and relying on His grace I have been creating new records that speak truth.....that I am good enough, that I'm a daughter of God, that he loves me, that he is forgiving, that he knows we learn from our mistakes, that I am doing His work! Oh and the husband tells me his favorite place to be is here and I believe him because....... .......well he's terrible at lying ;)

And since we are speaking of overwhelm have you seen how many books are in The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle? Honestly there is so much to it that it's easy for me to get overwhelmed.....but the overload of info that we have these days doesn't need to overwhelm us it's okay to pick and choose and at such a great price you only need to get like 2 or 3 read and it pays for itself and you certainly shouldn't feel guilty if you can't get them all read.

Right now I have only been working on getting two books read. I finished The Undivided Mom last night. And I'm almost through Steady Days! These would be excellent books to read when feeling overwhelmed. Both Kayse and Jamie talk right from the heart and share examples from real life. So inspiring and motivating yet comforting....I think every young Mom should read these books! So helpful.

I know there are other gems in the bundle just waiting for me to uncover them in my hour of need. But in the meantime  here's a video that shows how you can make use of the bundle all year long! Remember don't be overwhelmed....  
Just love much, do the best you can and be sure to give yourself plenty of grace!









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The Simple Healthy Life of a 17 year old girl

Hi there! I’m Missy. I’m 17 years old and crazy about life. Today I want to tell you a little bit about my life growing up in the Simple, Healthy Home.

   

As a little girl I really didn’t think much about it. It was just life. I had really never known anything else and what I had was good. Why change? I knew I was a little different, but I didn’t care. I just wanted food to fill my stomach, books to read, something to write in where no one would be able to see my handwriting and spelling. But mostly I needed time to pretend I was Laura Ingalls and my little brother to play with me. 

I knew my family and I could eat some things and didn’t eat others. I didn’t know why, other than the fact that my mom said so. When I started getting older I began to wonder more. Why was I so different? Why did we homeschool? Why did we believe what we did? Why did we eat weirder than anyone else I knew? I caught on to the homeschooling thing pretty fast, and all my best friends have very similar beliefs so that’s never been an issue either. But being a teenager and the food thing…. :P

As I got older I went more places on my own. And food is everywhere! You can’t go to a social gathering anyplace without at least some cookies, or pizza, or soda, and chocolate, and…. You know what I mean. Lets just say that I get hungry like everybody else and give in to the call for food, healthy or not.

I realized pretty fast that some things don’t have a very pleasant effect on me. And other things I just don’t have a taste for, at all. (Bacon and Soda. *gag*) The thing is I didn’t know why some food wasn’t good for me, and I probably never will understand it all like my mom. But I do know that the world has some really bad habits when it comes to food. Especially at social gatherings.

People ask me what it’s like being a teenager with the Simple, Healthy Lifestyle, because we all know teens aren’t exactly what you call healthy. Late nights, early mornings, and lots of Junk Food. Let me just say that it isn’t easy, and I don’t always make the best choices. But it really isn’t that complicated either. What is it exactly that I do? Here are 8 things I do in teenage social food situations.

1. If you can, bring something to share.

2. Don’t go completely starving or it will be harder to resist the temptations.

3. Eat what you know you can have.

4. Have like-minded friends that are a little weird themselves. That way you can probably eat more of what is there. ;)

5. Invite everyone to your house! (Homemade Waffles, Kettle popcorn, Quesadillas and Limeade, Mmmmm. Everybody loves it!)

6. If you know you aren’t going to gorge yourself you can eat a little of whatever you want.

7. Homemade stuff is better than processed nastiness. (It taste better too.)

8. Just listen to your body!

I’ve changed a lot since I was a little girl. I know there is a very clear reason why I do what I do and what my family does. Even if I don’t quite understand all of it yet. All I really need is good food to eat, books about everything to read, a huge variety of music to listen to, weird family and friends to spend my time with, something to write with so one day people can read it. And most importantly, time to learn, study, and dream. 

If you’re scared of being “weird,” don’t be. It really isn’t that hard, and it’s actually a lot of fun! You just have to know the reason why you’re doing it all. :D

Missy, The Happy Friend

Labels!

I have been thinking about Labels A LOT lately!.....No it's not food labels this time.  Even though I'm an ingredient freak and think the ingredients on food labels should be listed in bold letters on the front of the package...that's really not the kind of labels that I think the most about.  I've been thinking about those labels no one ever sees but seem so pervasive in our society.  What is it about us wanting to put labels on each other?  You know it's gone on most all of your life.  Maybe you were one who got called goody-goody, geek or you were with the "in" croud.  Maybe you were bullied or maybe you did the bullying.  I'm sure you could think about it and dig down pretty deep.  But that's not my intent today.

I just want to get out some of these thoughts in my head and maybe make them more concrete by writing them down.  Many years ago when I had the desire to learn and try to become more health minded, it was all very new and very unsettled ground for me.  Because it was so different, especially then, people were really quick to want to label me.  I don't think most people had bad or mean intentions, but they just didn't understand.  At first I bought into all the labels, I embraced the term "Vegetarian" for a while and almost wore it like a badge of courage.  I hated the term "Health Nut" and was overly sensitive when called it because to me they were implying I had gone nuts!  Although I wondered myself I certainly didn't want others inferring I was going crazy.

Well some time past and when I would get questions like,  Are you Vegan?  I would kind of cringe and say that I didn't really profess to be following any certain label.  I started to feel like the Labels Vegan or Vegetarian were labels of more than just what a person ate but a huge belief system that frankly I didn't feel I completely subscribed to.  Besides that I wasn't against people eating some animal products in fact I would even say if I could get such and such (stick in something like Free Range Eggs, Raw Goats Milk Kefir, Wild Alaskan Salmon, etc.) I would eat some every now and then.  I meant that, and when I have found some available at affordable prices we have had some. 

It's funny what time will do and how our attitudes can shift.  I see things a little differently now.  When people ask me if I am Vegan or Vegetarian I respond differently depending on the circumstance.  If it's a server at a restaurant that asks I usually just nod my head yes, smile, and don't worry about it.  I want them to think that I am cause I would really like my order to be right. ;)  If I'm talking to or meeting new people that I may or may not ever see again and they ask I will usually say, "No, I'm basically just a health nut!" ;)  If it's people I have or will potentially have a relationship of sorts with or they are friends and family.....I usually try to quickly explain the reasons why I don't consider myself Vegan or Vegetarian.  Then I mention that Cancer runs really strong in my family and this is the best way I have found to empower myself and do whatever I can to prevent it!

I do have a confession to make though.  I kind of use the cancer thing as an easy excuse that people seem to accept.  It is true there is a strong history of cancer in my family, but that wasn't really my deciding factor, but I will have to talk about that another time because today I'm talking about labels.

I have noticed that the medical community uses labels A LOT!  Labels aren't always bad....But do they sometimes cause us confusion?  For example, ADD and ADHD lots and lots of children and now even adults are being labeled with it.  As I have tried to observe and be understanding and sensitive  I feel like these labels don't help give us a full understanding.  Although there may be certain personality traits and commonalities in people labeled with ADD it doesn't automatically mean they need a drug to control it or that they are abnormal because they have some tendencies.  I have a younger brother who as a child was really struggling in school and basically couldn't sit still.  My Mother knew that doctors would just try to put him on Ritalin if she asked them for help.  So.......she pulled him out of school and started homeschooling him because she knew that he just wasn't going to fit the cookie cutter mold the school system was wanting to put him in.  Especially through Junior High.  She already knew from the time he was a baby that he was allergic to milk as he got older his symptoms were not as bad and I don't think anyone had ever told her or that she realized that the milk could still be causing him problems.  She would probably tell this story better but I remember she did notice that when he had those red popsicles.... that they made him crazy!  We all quickly learned NOT to give him anything with red dye.  Years later and after learning lots my Mom also is sure he's allergic to MSG (Who isn't!  But we are all affected differently, I have found it makes me depressed and overwhelmed, like really bad I do so much better without it!) and now that he's an adult he sees the connection to what he eats and how he feels.  Of course this doesn't always stop him from eating it but at least he knows.

So maybe a better label would be something like Food Additive Induced ADD or something like that! 

Have you heard of the book
Healthy Kids, Smart Kids: The Principal-Created, Parent-Tested, Kid-Approved Nutrition Plan for SoundBodies and Strong Minds
 
I haven't read it yet but it's been in my Amazon wish list for years.  This is what some of the description about it says:

"When she became principal of a 1000-student Georgia elementary school, Dr. Sanders-Butler was disturbed by the high number of visits to the school nurse, disciplinary problems, tardiness, and inattention, to say nothing of so many children being overweight. Convinced the problems were directly related to the pizza, sodas, and sweets the school offered, she launched the Achieving Academic Excellence Through Nutrition program, which banned refined sugars and high-fat and processed foods and drink from the cafeteria.

The results were immediate: better attendance, improvements in attention and energy levels, plus higher grades. Now, she shares with parents everywhere the lunchroom lessons that will help their children thrive"

I think sometimes labels just give us an escape goat, an excuse to not measure up to our full potential.  I honestly believe that EVERY single person is a genius!  I also think that many people never realize their full potential or their genius because of labels they or others have placed upon them.  When you look at your children or anyone for that matter, do you see a label or do you see the potential to overcome....do you see the greatness within everyone?

C.S. Lewis said, “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations… This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption… Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses.”

So should we suppress symptoms with drugs, stifle creativity, and insist everyone fit in the nice "normal" mold?  Oh I think labels can be useful in helping understand BUT only if we look toward causes and not let that label keep us from being exactly what God wants us and our children to be!  Now don't misunderstand me I'm not saying that just because you find the cause and change some things that all of a sudden your child is going to be just like those amazing kids down the street, I think my point is more that we shouldn't use labels to hold us back or keep us from becoming who we were meant to be and I promise we weren't meant to be like the Mother down the street she has her own mission and her children have theirs.  I guess mostly what I'm trying to say is it isn't always productive to label and compare and that we should be aware and be careful in doing so.  I know God knows us each as individuals and he isn't comparing us to anyone else or labeling us with some type of disorder.  We are all divine in His eyes and he deals with each of us individually!  I think we should do the same.  Full of love, mercy and understanding!  I recently read this quote that explains it better.....

"No one of us is less treasured or cherished of God than another.  I testify that He loves each of us - insecurities, anxieties, poor self image, and all.  He doesn't measure our talents or our looks;  He doesn't measure our professions or our possessions.  He cheers on every runner, calling out that the race is against sin, not against each other."
~Jeffrey R. Holland

Well I think that helped clear my head a bit to ramble on.  I hope that made some sense.  I have a gift of saying a lot but never making a clear point, just ask Ryan! ;)  Maybe you could help me clear things up even more by sharing your thoughts about labels!

Meat & Potatoes Man

I have a treat for you all today!  I finally got Ryan pinned down and had him post some thoughts from the husbands point of view, on all this Simple Healthy Tasty stuff!  I encourage you to post whatever questions you have for him in the comments section!  I would really love to see how he answers them! ;)

Also, as a side note from me:  Please know that we have never tried to push Vegan or Vegetarianism and that we do not consider ourselves either, but I will post more about that at another time.

Now I don’t consider myself an unusual man, I like guns, the outdoors & FOOD. Until recently my heritage on both sides have been farmers & ranchers. Camping, Hunting & fishing defined who we were. The rural lifestyle & it’s diet are deeply ingrained. Dad grew up on a sheep ranch, they ate what they raised. Mom “reminisces” about her creative uses of lamb burger when first married. Even after college & a desk job Dad would still purchase a combination of Beef, Lamb & Pork at the local auction each year. I fondly recall coming home on Sunday afternoons to the warm wonderful smell of pot roast & potatoes. I sincerely can’t decide which I liked more, the greasy well done pieces from the bottom of that Roast or the thick sliced Ham for breakfast on Saturdays w/ Eggs & pancakes. As I said, I don’t feel all that unusual. So how’d I get from there to here? It’s not all that far and it wasn’t really all that hard.

When a man, any man, really loves a woman there is not much he won’t do for her. And if he does occasionally experience a little stubborn streak she usually knows exactly where & how to coax it out of him. Incidentally, I believe that to be one of the greatest skills of womanhood, to be the master of her home while allowing her man to believe that it is he who rules the roost. Mildly stated, I did not warm to our lifestyle as readily as Tammie. There were tense conversations, hesitancy & disagreement. It was hard to accept that what everyone else was doing & had done for generations was not necessarily the best thing. No meat was strange, but no milk or cheese? Really?? And Rice…milk….? what is that? That was outright weird. Besides….what would people say? Nevertheless, it felt right to Tammie. (Confidentially, she can be so aggravating when she insists on following her feelings in the face of my “logic”. The worst part is that her gut is rarely wrong & I know it. Dang!) For me it boiled down to two major issues; our relationship & not who but what was right.

Pre- Simple Healthy Tasty Lifestyle

Long time readers know that we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. We believe that Families are Eternal. Marriage does not have to end with death. Tammie & I plan on being together forever and I want that to be a pleasant experience. Accordingly, some concessions may/will be required. To admit one has been in error, even innocently, is a difficult thing but as I studied the scriptures, both ancient & modern, I determined that my diet had not been sufficiently sparing. When the Lord tells us that the flesh of beasts is to be used sparingly & w/ thanksgiving I do not believe that he means meat at every meal.*  I felt that I needed to follow the knowledge we had been given and support my wife. At first meals were rather plain & repetitive. We did not have the benefit of blogs or even of the internet. Today I have no reservations about how we eat, I prefer to eat at home. I eat better. The food tastes better. My only regret is that I am not able to be here more. My pallet has changed. I love a whole variety of flavors & textures which I once refused. Tammie has tweaked our favorite recipes, we eat extremely well. Life is gooood!

I can look back & see the fruits of following Tammie’s inspiration. Weight is not an issue. Overall good health comes naturally. We avoid Doctors, drugs & the associated bills. This has proven to be both a physically & fiscally rewarding way of life. Despite my initial hesitance, time has again proven Tammie right. I support her in living & sharing what she knows. I love you sweetie!

For what it’s worth –

Ryan

Mr. Simple Healthy Tasty

*Doctrine & Covenants 89:10-13, Doctrine & Covenants 59:16-20, Genesis 1:29&30, JST Gen 9:10,11

Never too young......

......to learn some Simple, Healthy, Tasty skills! ;-)

The baby of the family helping her big sister knead bread dough!

Just thought it was so cute I had to share. I really do feel that starting kids with healthy habits and not giving in just cause you have one that is picky makes a huge difference.

I have some picky eaters but when they have to choose between this healthy thing or that healthy thing they always make the "right" choice! ;-) It's what I like to call covert operations and mothers use them lots in things besides just food! You ought to see my kids get excited about workbooks! ;-)

But seriously kids need to have choices and feel like they have a say. They can reason and I try very hard to teach them about what's good for them and what's not. I try to only have good choices in the house so really worst case scenario they eat their salad so they can have a "treat" which at our house would be a 100% fruit leather, a smoothie, some of my homemade cookies or cakes (that by the way have more nutrition then any meal from a box and it's dessert for goodness sakes) or lately they beg for a yummy peach! So do you think my kids are deprived cause we don't have candy bars, or gummie bears?

Starting from the beginning makes it lots easier but really it's never to late. Kids may resist a bit but if you talk to them about it and teach them what you are learning you will be surprised, they will understand that they only get one body and that we should take good care of it! And before long they will loose a taste for the artificial sugar filled snacks. And they will feel a difference when they go to a friends house and eat junk food!

Give it a try for ONE month you will be amazed at the difference. Take all the convenience junk food out of the house (common just for a month you can do it;) and replace it with a healthy snack.

If you want it to still be very easy and convenient just buy some favorite fruits and I have not met many kids that didn't enjoy 100% fruit leathers. Check out your local health food store and buy a few things that I call "glorified junk food" they are still pretty processed but just make sure they have all good ingredients. Of course when you see the price of them it will hopefully motivate you to make your own treats! Which are so much better anyway! Give it a try, let me know how it goes!


Oh and one more thing please don't use your children as an excuse not to cook more healthy. I have heard lots of things like "oh my child would never eat that they would starve first!" Ask yourself some of these hard questions and answer them honestly!

Is it that you are not really ready to commit to a healthier lifestyle and your child makes a good scapegoat? Are you worried about being the "mean" mom that doesn't give her kids candy? Are you afraid that you will notice a difference and see that your kids are happier, calmer, nicer, (the list goes on) and it will mean no going back and you will have to be weird like me? ;-)

I had lots of these questions go through my head and many others. I was so addicted to a lot of unhealthy things and I really did NOT want to give them up. But I also knew I really did not want to be the cause of similar addictions in my kids and have them have to deal with some of the same things I had to! I knew I had to be the example for my children I knew they needed me to be. I really tried hard at first to just give them the good stuff and let me still have my things. But as they got older I knew I wasn't fooling anyone If I was going to talk the talk I had to walk the walk! So I cleaned out my kitchen, I committed and I have never looked back! You will never know how freeing it is until you try it yourself! Your family may grumble and complain a bit and you may be told you are crazy but trust me one day they will be singing your praises cause they don't have the addictions, health problems and issues that are hitting our society at younger and younger ages!

P.S. Fruit snacks are NOT healthy like the manufacturers would like you to believe! They are mostly sugar, artificial colors and flavors! Get them out of your house! Always look at labels carefully!

My Article in the School of Natural Healing Newsletter

It recently occurred to me that many of you may not subscribe to the School of Natural Healing newsletter.  Last month they featured a article by Yours Truly!  I thought some of you might enjoy reading it.  It was about Kicking the Junk Food Habit for the New Year!  Better late then never right.  READ IT HERE!

School of Natural Healing was one of the best things that ever happened to me! (Not counting all the wonderful people in my life, especially my sweet husband)  I talk about that here.  Now I have another reason to love them all the more! ;)  Oh by the way their Newsletter is worth subscribing to.

I Promised to Share More (Part 3)

Curt Spring of 2004 with a bumped swollen cheek
and I'm not sure if the band-aids were needed or not

Curt decided he needed to make up for lost time and he was determined to keep up with his older Sister and Brother.  I learned quickly that I needed butterfly band-aids with us at all times with him and of course Dr. Christopher's Complete Tissue Formula.  But I loved watching him be active and not winded and wheezy with the cough.  In my thinking and studying I realized why I couldn't give him Echinacea. It's because Asthma is autoimmune.  I wanted to strengthen his immune system but I also didn't want it over reacting and causing a Asthma attack.  I got some Kid-E-Soothe to have on hand it was supposed calm yet help strengthen the immune system.  I knew that his lungs probably had a weakness because of him being born prematurely the reason he did fine that first year was because I was nursing him and basically my immune system was helping him out. It would have been so much better to have nursed another year at least.  I knew that we could work to cleanse and rebuild the lungs and make them stronger but I also felt that at his age just keeping the symptoms at bay would be a feat.  I wanted him stronger first.  Winter had taken a toll on both of us.

Curtis 2 years old May 2004

Summer was very welcoming with little sickness and very few if any coughing fits.  By the next winter I had convinced Curt that even though it was very nasty Anti-Plague would help his cough.  So I added it along with the Kid-E-Soothe to the things I had used the winter before for his cough.  Sure enough first runny nose the cough started up again.  But this time I felt more prepared.  He did have a few bad bouts but for the most part I felt like we kept on top of it better and the difficulty breathing was less and less although the cough did still sound pretty terrible at times.  I also noticed that his body started to figure out what it needed to do.  Inevitably after a few days of a bad cough he would get a high fever.  The heat seemed to break up the cough and loosen things up.  This was amazing to me and it was so interesting how the his body was actually learning what to do for itself.  His cough would last shorter and shorter amounts of time because the body would turn up the heat sooner each time.  This was a gradual process but not only did the coughs clear up sooner they were further and further apart.  I could tell his immune system was getting stronger as every child's is supposed to with each sickness.

Curtis 4 years old May 2006

During his third and fourth year he really started thriving well.  He chubbed up a bit and I liked that!  We were only dealing with about 3-4 rounds of "the cough" a year and they usually didn't last more than 2 weeks and the wheezing was not near as bad as it had been and he seemed to respond very quickly to the herbs.

Curtis 5 years old October 2007

 Every year just got better!  He got stronger by the time he was 5 and 6 the cough showed up only when he got sick.  Which was only 2 maybe 3 times a year.  And he stopped wheezing  He also learned to swallow capsules so I could then give him full doses of Dr. Christopher's Cold Season and Chest Comfort formulas.  These also seemed to help.  By the time he was seven I started learning more about essential oils and I had a friend tell me about Dana and Be Young now called Younifi I found the Spice for Life, Breathe, Defense formula and of course Frankincense to be just the icing on the cake added with the herbs I have been using.  Last winter he did get pretty sick and even had a night where he was wheezing really bad.  His immune system jumped on it and the oils worked so fast!  We only had one night that I started to worry a bit but with him being older and able to tell me how he feels and what helps the worry was much less.

This is my little Curt now.  He doesn't get tired running around and playing outside he can run and run and doesn't have a hard time breathing.  He can breathe as deep as I can.  He still obviously has a weakness there because when he does get a cold (which is about twice a year and I think that is normal and healthy for his age) he usually gets the cough with it.  But we have only had wheezing twice in the last three years.  I have thought about giving him the Lung and Bronchial or something else as a tonic for a few months to help cleanse the lungs and start working on any scar tissue that may be present.  But he's doing so good I think I will just continue to watch.  I know his immune system is just continuing to grow stronger especially now that we have been doing green smoothies for the past few years.  I feel like his body will let us know what it needs for right now I feel like it just needs more time and patience. 

I truly feel like this has been a miracle in my life!  It may be different then what I had expected but still a miracle!  And I can't help but be so grateful to my Heavenly Father who knew what would be best for all of us.  In fact I am confident that there are still things from this he has in store for us to learn.  I am grateful that he didn't just "fix it" for me and that he helped and supported me all along the way. 

I know this post is already too long but instead of dragging it into another one I just want to point out a couple of things. 

• I think that getting rid of all dairy at least while he was little was essential he would have had too much mucus and we would of had to had medical intervention.  Too much mucus and Asthma are not a good combination.
• The cleaning products I felt we needed to get rid of make me cough I hate to think how they would have effected him living with those smelly things.  I even quit using dryer sheets.   
• Vaccines bombard a very young immature immune system and Curt's was even more compromised with the Asthma these would have made it worse.
• I have recently learned that the antibiotic they gave me in the hospital before Curt was born is known to contribute to Asthma.  It was given as a preventative because they thought maybe the Group B Strep had caused my water to break.  They tested but couldn't get the results in time.  I told the Doctor I didn't want it but he was very insistent.  I wasn't good at holding my ground around people more "learned" then me.  He basically scared me into taking it.  The test came back NEGATIVE.  The antibiotic was totally unnecessary.  I should have gone with my gut.
• I have also learned that the third and fourth generation a lot of times will have issues show up from the past generations actions.  Grandchildren of fruit farmers who used lots of sprays tend to have Asthma.  Curt's Great-Grandpa was a fruit farmer who sprayed his trees and Curt's Grandpa grows lots of fruit trees and is very consistent about spraying them. (I'm not blaming anyone we all do what we know how to do and do the best we can worms aren't fun in fruit either.  I just thought it was an interesting statistic and a possibility.) 
• I find it interesting that God sees the big picture.  I couldn't but he was helping learn and be ready all along the way!  And he even made up the difference when I wasn't listening like I should have been.

I hope that my experience can be of help and benefit others and that is why I felt I should share more! As I have time and as it comes to me I plan to share most all of my story with you!  And of course the stuff that hasn't even happened yet! ;)  Not so you can do exactly what I did but so it can help you to gain confidence that between you and God you can know what you and your family needs.  You are the Mother of your children and God gave YOU stewardship over them and he will direct you.  This world is in great need of STRONG families!  That means us and our children need to be strong not only physically but mentally and spiritually too!  It takes the whole package and I just don't think we can do it without God's help!  For me praying and taking time every day to be still, turn off the noises and study His words, helps me to better "hear" His voice.  Faith then chases away the fear!  And as a very wise man recently said "The future is as bright as your Faith!"

Read Part 1 here
Part 2 here

I Promised to Share More (Part 2)

Camping August 2003

That Summer after Curt turned one and refused to nurse proved to be an interesting one.  I found that Curt would drink dehydrated Barley juice powder in apple juice.  I sure wish I had known about green smoothies then.  But anyway I was grateful to have that.  He did have a few fruits that he liked and I found that he liked beans.  Things were going really well with my herbal studies and I was finding them to be very helpful keeping us from needing to go to the Doctor!  We were doing much better at eating healthy although I was still struggling with my sugar addiction.  But I was learning to make some healthified treats and really my attachment at this point was pretty much emotional.  I didn't want to say or admit that I would ever totally give up sugar.

Then in August of 2003 we went camping with family and my Mom gave me this book!

 

 Diet decisions for Latter-Day Saints

I'm not sure that this book is for everyone but man oh man it was just what I needed to "hear" I was to the point I was ready for it.  And I think the Lord knew I needed that extra push because he knew I needed to be prepared for what was soon to come.  I just love how smart he is, don't you!  After reading this book, I cleaned out my cupboard got rid of all refined white things there really was very little left but like I said I was still emotionally hanging onto it.  Throwing the last little bit away was actually quite therapeutic.  None has entered my home again ever since then.  We also gave up the last bit of dairy (cheese and eggs) we were still consuming.  Not that there aren't some more healthful types of dairy but at this point I felt we needed to stay totally away from any for a while.

Then I also read this book - Cancer why we're still dying to know the truth.

It's a very good book and it talked a lot about the chemicals and things in our soaps, shampoos, cleaning products, etc. that can cause cancer.  I felt that where cancer runs pretty strong in my family and having a Mother who had colon cancer at age 33 I should do all I could feasibly do to keep known cancer causing carcinogenics away from me and my family as much as possible.  So I cleaned out the bathrooms and the broom closet.  I got rid of hair sprays, window cleaners, soaps, shampoos, deodorants, toilet cleaners, etc.  Anything that had ingredients that were talked about in this book and that I had researched or that I just felt were toxic for us to breath and/or use.  Many people including my husband at times thought I was loosing it and turning into some crazy fanatical, going to make healthy living my religion type person.  I was a bit offended but knew that only the guilty take the truth hard and since I didn't feel guilty (unsure of myself maybe but not guilty) I chose not to take it too hard.  Being offended and trying to prove my point would only make me appear that much more fanatical to others.  But in my heart I knew I needed to do this and that only time would prove to others that I wasn't completely off my rocker.

January 2004

Then came Winter!  And Curt caught the first thing that came around.  And with it came what we started calling "The Cough!"  Oh it was horrible sounding and just scared me.  I gave him all the herbs I had used for coughs before and some of them seemed to help but then I noticed some seemed to make it worse.  I found things like Echinacea or other strong immune stimulants would make him cough more.  Then there was the wheezing oh it was more scary then the cough.  It sounded like so much work just for him to breath in.  I would stand with him in a steamy shower to help loosen things up.  I would then rub Mullein and Lobelia oil on his chest and back along with Dr. Christopher's X-ceptic formula and Vicks.  When he was feverish I would do garlic feet on him. (more about that later) When his coughing would keep him up at night I would give him Dr. Christopher's Lung and Bronchial Formula and rub Anti-Spasmodic formula on him.  When he was the very wheeziest and we worried about him getting enough air I would lay sliced baked onions (making sure they were not too hot) on his chest.  I would give him Chest Comfort Formula, it was in powder form, in his juice he wouldn't take much of it though because it had Cayenne in it and he didn't like it.  I tried to see if there was a trigger that caused the cough.  I looked at food allergies or other types of allergies but there just didn't seem to be any type of pattern or trigger.  He would be fine one day and then the next, "BARK" the cough would start up.  It did seem to be tied a lot of times to a runny nose or other sickness but not always.  And the cough would hang on for quite a while after the cold or sickness was gone.

That winter was probably the very longest winter ever for me.  Oh did I pray!  I told the Lord that I didn't feel that I could do this on my own that I didn't have the knowledge and that I needed to take him to a Doctor.  I told him to let me know who would be the best to take him to that could help me and work with me and wouldn't force Steroids on him let alone Vaccinations which I also had not felt good about for this child.  I had no problem using drugs in an emergency situation but by now I was convinced that Curtis had Asthma and I knew exactly what the medical profession does for Asthma.  If I could keep my son breathing and getting enough air by using foods and herbs I didn't want him to be dependant on an inhaler or bronchial dilators.  I knew the side effects of Steroids and I knew I wanted to avoid them unless of course there was no other option.  I searched for Doctors to help me I asked friends who had taken their children to a Naturopath in our area and every time I would be ready to make an appointment I just couldn't do it.  I'm not sure what it was but it didn't feel right.  I kept getting the feeling that God had given me the information I needed and that the herbs He created were going to help my son who He also created.  I was very scared and impatient though!  I had a lot of faith I aways have.  I had my husband give him many priesthood blessings and I prayed for a miracle! 

Then I got mad when off and on all winter long we fought and struggled with "The Cough!"  I laid awake by Curt many nights just listening to him breathe and praying like crazy that God would just cure my son.  He wasn't thriving like I wanted him to be.  He was still growing well but skinnier then I wanted him to be.  He would also get so tired and wore out when he would have his coughing fits.  He would throw his chest back just to give his lungs some more space.  Then something interesting happened, the Lord humbled me.  I quit being stressed, fighting with God, telling him to cure my son now.  And I started putting it in his hands again like when I was pregnant with Curt.  I started to really trust.  I quit worrying what others might be thinking.  Because trust me there were people who were very concerned and convinced it was our diet with all the lack of mucus forming dairy, meat and sugar, that was causing the lack of health in my son.  I told my husband that I knew the Lord had things for both me and Curtis to learn and that I knew if I continued to try to listen that He would teach EVERYONE involved!

Spring 2004

Well teach He did!  And let me tell you our timetable is NOT at all what the Lords is.  He requires us to have much faith and PATIENCE.  It was so hard because I trusted the Lord but I didn't trust myself I was going against the grain, against what I had been taught all my life was considered healthy, against modern medicine that I had been taught was a miracle. (Don't get me wrong I still believe it is in many ways just not in my particular case with my son)  But they said Asthma was incurable and the only thing to do for it was to use an inhaler your whole life.  I didn't feel like God made our bodies to be reliant on drugs our entire lives that just sounded like good marketing to me.  But it was hard because why should silly little me with very little "formal education" know best what to do!  I doubted myself so many times I doubted that my feelings were correct.  But then I kept hanging on to the fact that God gave ME stewardship over this little boy that was His and I needed to just TRUST!

We made it through that Winter and by Spring the cough was happening less and less.  Curt started liking more foods and became well, older and able to reason with just a little more.  And you are just going to have to wait until tomorrow to find out the rest!  Sorry I can't seem to sum it up with less words! ;)

Read Part 1 here
Part 3 here

I Promised to Share More

A while back I told you I felt I should share more of my story.  And in that last post I shared quite a bit. There is obviously more since I shared that what I was learning was preparing me for things I had no idea were about to happen.  But I really procrastinate getting it all written.  I have never enjoyed writing and the words don't come very easily for me.  It's so much easier to just post a recipe!  Ryan keeps telling me that writing is good for us to do.  It helps us to know where we stand and what we really think and believe.  Well maybe he's right but I mostly just feel the need to share my experiences hoping they might help and inspire others.  I feel like there is a lot of unnecessary suffering just because we lack information that is available, just not as easy to find.  My goal for this blog is to make that information easier to find and to help teach principles that can be applied to every one's individual situations.  I especially want Mothers to be empowered with knowledge and confidence so they can make the choice that works for them and their family and not have propaganda pushed upon them.  I have never felt that a decision based on fear would be the very best one.  I don't like scare tactics!  I believe that the Lord does not use fear.  He uses faith, fear and faith are opposites like light and dark they cannot exist in the same space.  Alright see why I don't like this writing stuff, I just start rambling.

Onto more of my story!  I told you about the School of Natural Healing Courses  what I haven't told you is that while I was finishing up some of these courses I became pregnant with my third child.  It was planned and we were very excited to have another little one come to our home.  I was working on having a healthier lifestyle and went about things a little differently with this pregnancy.  I really wanted to have it at home but I still had so much to learn and was quite overwhelmed with that.  I had not had a baby "natural" before and wasn't sure if I could do it.  I wanted to be near the drugs just in case.  But I did plan to travel up North to Utah County (we were living in Price at the time) to go to a women's clinic with Midwives who could deliver in the hospital.

Well plans changed!  At about 20 weeks a long I started having cramping, contractions, and bleeding.    I went to the closest Doctor I could find who could do an ultrasound and give me answers FAST!  Well all he could tell me was that my baby appeared to be fine and that he wasn't sure why I was having the issues but that he thought it was probably a partial placental abruption and there was really nothing to do about it.  Bed rest wouldn't help, and it was just pretty much wait and see.

Mother's Day May 2002 a few weeks before Curt was born

I went home and read everything I could about placental abruption we didn't have Internet at the time so that reading was fairly limited and I didn't like what I found.  So I took it to the Lord.  I put my trust in him and I asked him what he would have me do.  I felt like he responded by letting me know he had already prepared me and that I knew what to do.  I went to my herb books.  Dr. Christopher talked about False Unicorn and Lobelia for Miscarriage and if bleeding is occurring to take it and rest with feet up as much as possible until the bleeding stops.  I already had the False Unicorn and Lobelia in the cupboard I just also knew that if the pregnancy wasn't viable then the False Unicorn and Lobelia was supposed to actually help the body with the miscarriage making it so a D&C wouldn't be needed.  To say the least I was worried about trying the herbs.  I continued to pray and finally I knew that I just needed to have faith and trust that God knew what he was doing and that he would help me.  I took the herbs and rested as much as possible.  After a few days the cramping stopped and the bleeding turned into spotting.  I started feeling the baby move which was a welcoming thing!  Long story short I had bleeding off and on the entire pregnancy.  Every time I would just take the herbs and rest it was stressful but I was able to go until about 34 weeks.

Then my water broke!  Now there were other things to be concerned about.  Would his lungs be fully developed coming this early?  I was able to deliver him "naturally" well if you count pit and antibiotics naturally.  I didn't have an epidural or an episiotomy and I didn't tear.  It was an intense but good delivery I was just worried about how he would be.  There was a respitory therapist there and the pediatric nurse to quickly take him and be sure everything was okay.  I wasn't thrilled about that but I had no idea what to expect.  He seemed fine he peed on the nurse and screamed.  He weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces. (a lot of people didn't believe he was that early but trust me I know he was and I even have ultrasound measurements to prove it so the Doctor knew too)  The respitory therapist checked him out and said he would go somewhere where he was needed.  Aside from a pretty good bit jaundice he seemed just fine.  Oh he also had pointy ears which I watched curl down to normal in the next few weeks that was quite fascinating.

We brought him home and put him in the Sun and that helped the Jaundice.  I felt great I loved not having legs to un-numb(is that a word), stitches to heal and not having that last month of pregnancy was so nice!  The Doctor had given me a hard time about gaining a lot of weight during pregnancy but since at 7 months pregnant I still weighed less then I did when I first got married I wasn't concerned at all about gaining 7 pounds in 2 weeks I figured it was healthy.  After Curtis was born the weight easily came off without me even having to try.  Like I said a new level of freedom I so loved not having to worry about such silly things as what the scale said and dieting!  After all I was a Wife and a Mother of three beautiful children I had much more important things to worry about.

Ten days after Curt was born we were at family weddings and graduations.  This picture was taken at the wedding.  Curtis was tiny and still a little Jaundiced but seemed to be doing really, really well!

 He grew fast and seemed to be thriving well.  That first winter he did get what I thought was croup.  A really bad tight bark sounding nasty cough but with lots of nursing, steamy baths and some herbs he got better quickly.  Then at about a year old he decided he didn't like nursing anymore.  He was a pretty picky eater and I didn't know about making green smoothies yet.  I did have Barley Green and gave him that but I don't think it was enough.  I still had so much to learn and I'm still learning lots.  But this post is already far to long hopefully I can get it all posted by Thursday!  Wish me luck just posting this took me way longer then it should have.  Still not sure why writing is so difficult for me.  I'm sure if you bare with me I can't help but get better with practice!

Read Part 2 here
Part 3 here

I think it's about time......

.....for a GIVEAWAY!

I went to random.org to very randomly pick a winner and the winner is.......

Jori O!!!!!!  I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do!

I'm sorry everyone couldn't win.  I would love to give you all a book!  But I highly encourage you to find this book and read it!  ESPECIALLY if you have kids! You can find it on my sidebar under My Favorites;  I Recommend

When I first started learning about healthy eating and natural healing a lot of people thought I was becoming "anti-doctor" and that didn't think they were of value.  That couldn't be further from the truth.  I'm am so glad that there are Doctors around and that we know and have access too so many amazing things.  I also know that A LOT of what is taught in medical school is determined by the Big Pharma and so that unless Doctors have educated themselves in other things like nutrition, herbs, etc. They will have limited knowledge in how to help us be truly healthy.  But when it comes to EMERGENCY medical care no body tops them.  They are pros! 

Anyway I will really try to keep this short.  As you know when I started learning about nutrition and natural healing it was very empowering and I felt I had so many useful tools in my hands and I didn't need to rely on Doctors like I had in the past.  (Remember I mentioned before that we have not needed to go to the Doctor in over 10 years.)  But it was very nice to have some reassurance and just to prove I was not anti-doctor I read lots of books and watched videos by actual M.D.'s  It's amazing what you can learn from someone who has been there but who is also open minded enough to see the forest through the trees.  I learned about a Doctor who ended up with breast cancer and her colleagues told her they wouldn't recommend Chemo and she healed herself using whole foods!  I read books on vaccines by Doctors some were for them some were against.  I just wanted to be told the truth as they saw it and then prayerfully make my own decisions for me and my family!

Me with my little family December 2002

Okay so the giveaway!  This book, "How To Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor", was one of the first ones I read!  It changed my paradigm on a lot of things.  It gave me confidence as a Mother, that I wasn't crazy for thinking there might be a better way for me and my family!  Really it just helped reinforce what I felt like I already knew in the first place!

So here's the drill!  Enter the drawing to win this book by:

Leaving me a comment with your email address or if you don't want your email address in the comments email it to me simplehealthytasty at gmail dot com except without the spaces and the signs for the words; you know spammers ;) (so I can contact you if you win).

Do you want to double your chances by adding your name again?

"Follow" my blog and/or become a fan on facebook. Add yourself over on your top left of my sidebar.(Already are? You're automatically entered in again. Just remind me by commenting again.)

Triple your chances?

Put my button on your blog.  Not just a link the actual button. ;) Again on my sidebar your left just copy the code from the box you know if you don't ask I'll tell you how. (Already have one? Just remind me by commenting again!)

How about a fourth entry?

Make a post about this giveaway on your own blog with a link.  Then comeback and comment again and share the link of your post with me!

PLEASE NOTE:  You need a separate comment for each entry.  So if you enter 4 times you will have 4 separate comments on this post.

I will close this drawing and announce the winner one week from today next Monday!  I hope to have a lot of fun with this and get lots of responses.  If I do I will plan lots more fun and even more exciting giveaways!  GOOD LUCK!

The Drawing is now closed we have a winner! 

Congratulations Jori O!!!!!