Company's Coming! {free download}

Don't get mad at me for saying this but.....

Thanksgiving is in less than a month! You know what that means right?

Christmas is in two months! You know what that means right?

Company in your house!

This is good news and bad news!

Good news...time with your family!

Bad news...time to clean

But it really isn't that bad! I have found ways to get my house ready for company without it becoming a major event. Ok that's a lie. It will always be a major event, but it's a good one.

Here are 4 simple ways we get ready for company.

1.  I get my kids involved. I make a list of all that needs to be done and they choose what they will do. If no one chooses, then I assign them. There is always a reward involved. Even I like to be rewarded when we tackle the task of prepping for company.

2.  I divide the house up into zones. Sometimes that's how we assign jobs, by the zone. Often we will work on the house for several days, one zone at a time.

3. Gather all our tools. I make sure we have easy access to what we need to get that zone cleaned up. If several people are cleaning, I make sure they each have a spray bottle of cleaner and a cloth. Here is the cleaner I use to clean my house with.

4.  I try to make it fun. Try is a really big word. Sometimes I just want it done. Other times I turn on our favorite music, set a timer, give a challenge or whatever I can think of to get it done with a smile on all of our faces.

A few years ago I learned of the importance of reducing the harsh chemicals in our house. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about this before. But it was shocking to me what is in the common cleaners I was using and the harmful effects it was having on our health. I have a son with asthma and realized the cleaners and candles I was using was only making him more sick!

Here is an article that explains what these ingredients are and why we need to avoid them. 

Instead of a bucket of cleaners under my sink that could be really dangerous if my little kids got a hold of them, I only have one bottle of cleaner. It works great. Saves me money. It's very versatile.

Download this PDF of simple recipes that I use when I clean my house! 

>>>> DOWNLOAD  CHEMICAL FREE CLEANING  <<<<<

Chemica Free Spring Cleaning! {Free Download}

Here in Texas, the weather is just about perfect. The days are warm, but not too warm. The evenings are cool, but not too cool. I love this time of year!!

This time of year also brings about a desire to clean & toss out! We have been working on minimizing our stuff. Now it's time to start cleaning.

It has become really important to me to pay attention to what we are using in our home for cleaners, body care products and air fresheners. It only made sense to make changes in those areas if we were making diet changes too. What good does it do to eat healthy if I'm coating my body in chemicals?

Did you know that the average person uses at least 300 chemicals a day and 80 of those before breakfast?  The biggest pollutants are fabric softeners, dryer sheets, air freshener plug-ins and candles.  We are literally poisoning our families when we use stuff that we can't pronounce in our home. Your bright blue dish soap doesn't need to be blue to clean your dishes. When I began to read labels I realized that so many of the ingredients used in the cleaners I was using were toxic!  Many of the ingredients are known to cause asthma or they are endocrine disruptors. That just means that they interfere with the way your body produces hormones.

Think about this...it only takes about 26 seconds for these chemicals to reach your blood stream!

I know what it is like to use chemical cleaners in my home. I saw the side effects but didn't realize they were possibly related to the cleaners we were using.  I began researching the ingredients I saw on the labels and did not like what I was learning.

Tossing the chemicals and cleaning with healthier products was a no-brainer for me! I'm not a DIY kind of person. I have a Pinterest board packed full of great DIY recipes, but that is where they sit. If I can't make it super fast I won't do it. But, I have learned to make a few things that have really helped me.

Dyer sheets are super easy. If I don't use these, I use wool dryer balls and add essential oils to them! So easy & work so well! (I buy my essential oils here)

When I went to the store and saw how expensive the "green" cleaners were I thought, there is no way I can afford this.  I tried using Vinegar & baking soda on everything but I cannot stand the smell.

Enter in Thieves Household Cleaner! (I buy mine here.)

Seriously friends! This stuff is the secret to my super powers when it comes to chemical free cleaning! I have learned to use this stuff to clean my house from top to bottom! It doesn't just work really well, but it smells really good. The ingredient list is short! It even has essential oils infused in it.

I love that it is safe. I can mop my floors with it and when Charlie was crawling, he crawled right through it and I didn't worry about him getting it on his skin.

I love that it's cheap. One bottle is so concentrated that it makes over 20 spray bottles of all purpose cleaner. That's less than $1 a bottle! I couldn't buy the "green" cleaners that cheap.  And since it makes so many spray bottles, that means it lasts me a long time. Double win!

I use Thieves cleaner on my windows, floors, counters, walls, doors, dishes, in the laundry. I've cleaned the inside of my car with it. It is safe on granite and tile. 

I don't just use this in a spray bottle. I've learned to make a few other recipes with it. I think this Tub & Sink scrub is my favorite!

It works so well. Like you wouldn't believe it! Our septic system backed up into our bathtub. My husband wouldn't let me get a new bathtub. I thought there was no way we would ever get that tub clean again. I used this scrub and it came so clean you couldn't even tell what had happened.

My kids are playing outside a lot these days! Which is great, but when they come in they have a bit of an odor about them! One of the products we tossed out was plug-in and aerosol room fresheners.  I love to diffuse essential oils.  But I also like to make room sprays. I keep one in each bathroom and I've even kept one in my car for when those stinky boys jump in.

If you want more recipes that you can use in your own home, I have a free download for you.

>>>>CLICK TO DOWNLOAD CHEMICAL FREE CLEANING RECIPES<<<<

If you are interested in learning more of how you can incorporate Young Living products into your daily life contact me to check out my website.

If you are on Facebook you may find my page helpful as well.

What if Essential Oils are not a Fad?

So, what do you think? 
Are essential oils a fad? After all, there are quite a few famous people who have caught on to them. 


So what is the big deal about these little bottles of liquid?

Anyone who knows me well, knows our family has used essential oils for many years.  In fact, I placed my first order December 2004 with Young Living. Our naturopath had suggested an oil blend to support our son's respiratory system. It did such a great job that I just had to know what it was! We were already using herbs and homeopathic ways to support our health. I was thrilled to find out that the essential oils were simply a much more potent form of the herbs I loved to use! I had 3 reasons to love them.

1.  They worked quicker than the herbs and proving to be more effective.
2.  I didn't have to buy or use as much which means I saved money.
3. I could get them delivered to my door and as a mom of a lot of little kids, that was a huge score!

Over 10 years later, our family has incorporate YL products into basically every aspect of our lives. I love that my kids reach for essential oils before they reach for anyone else to support their health.  I love that after my son works out & comes looking for essential oils to soothe his sore muscles. I love that while my father in law was battling cancer, the Young Living supplements and Ningxia Red juice helped to keep his immune system so strong that he experienced no side effects from the treatments and he had plenty of energy to live life as he normally does.

Ok, but still...what is all the rage all of a sudden? I mean, I fell in love with these products over a decade ago, what is the big deal all of a sudden?

Social Media!

Yep, plain and simple. Word spread super fast, like a grass fire and BAM! Before we knew it, everyone else wanted in on the oily goodness.

So, some may say that this is a fad and in some ways, it probably is. People try them out and then stop. That is so sad to me.
I did that. I used my favorite 8 oils for a few years and then I stopped. The reason is that I didn't understand the difference between Young Living and the oils I could get in the stores. It didn't take me long to smell a difference. And it didn't take me long to experience a difference.  And when I had a true need for the oils, those store bought ones just didn't cut it.

When I returned to Young Living oils, I learned of the difference. It is called Seed to Seal. You can read more about this here.  But, the short of it is unlike any other essential oil company, Young Living has complete control of the entire production process of the essential oils. From the seed that is put into the ground to the seal put on the bottle just before it ships out to you, Young Living controls every step.  The reason they do this is because they want to ensure that the oil in that bottle is of the most pure therapeutic grade quality possible.

So, let's play the "What if" game.

What if, I'm not crazy for using essential oils in our family? Because I have been accused of it.

What if, I'm not crazy for taking a proactive health approach?  Is what you're doing working, because what I'm doing is working.

What if, none of my kids needing a prescription for the last 4 years isn't a coincidence? Many years ago I knew the pharmacist by name & he knew mine.

What if, it's possible to support the immune system with something just a little outside the box of the western school of thought?

What if, you could purchase over $300 worth of these said products for $160?

What if, you could get your money BACK through the referral program?

What if, you could make a little money in the process?

What if, you could change your family's financial destiny?

What if essential oils are not a fad, but are one way God has given us to be healthy so that we can live the life he has purposed us to live?

Any of that, in fact, all of that, is possible.

I rarely blog about our business, but allow me just this one post today.

Today is a great day to get started, but each day is a great day to start. I'd like to ask you that if you aren't going to choose today, why are you waiting?

The cycle you're in can only change if you change what you're doing. It's time to start. I can help.

Monday is Cyber Monday and Young Living is said to have some pretty amazing specials, but there's a catch. Only YL members can take advantage of these special deals.  I don't know what these deals are yet, but as soon as I find out I will be posting on my Facebook Business page, Dynamic Life.

If you are ready to make a change, I can help you get started. I'm not a trained professional in the field of medicine or aromatherapy, but I am a mom who has personally used these products for a long time and I will walk with you, help answer your questions and direct you as best I can.

For the next few days, I am offering anyone who becomes a YL member an extra special offer. Everyone who joins Young Living using my referral number receives one on one product support and a packet of information to help you get started. But if you join with my by Monday, I will reimburse for your shipping and tax as well.

If you are interested, send me this text to 903.502.0135, "I follow your blog, I am ready to get started with YL today!" or you can email me.  Or if you are still not sure, visit my website by clicking the "Essential Oils" tab at the top of the page. You can also contact me via the website.

Is Your Immune System ready?

September is coming in just a few days. I cannot believe it! Do you know what that means to me?

Crazy schedules
Germs
Sweets & desserts (Holidays are coming)
Germs
Being around a lot of people indoor (church & homeschool co-op)
Germs

I don't want to sound negative, but the reality is we are coming into the crazy season!
School has started back.
Our church fall schedule is about to kick off.
Our homeschool co-op is beginning soon.

It can often mean dinner in the car and snacks on the way. Eating out of a cooler instead of at home. Not getting enough sleep. Late night meetings or work sessions for me.

Our body will take a beating if we are not careful. Stress levels can easily get out of control.

And to make it even worse, we are coming into a season of holidays, baked desserts, being indoors with a lot of people who forget to wash their hands when they sneeze or cough, etc...

Is your immune system ready?

How are you preparing yourself for this crazy time of the year?

Stress can get you down so fast you didn't know what hit you! I get stressed out just looking at my calendar! And when I get stressed, I want to eat. I don't want to eat salads, I want a chocolate bar!

Did you know that sugar compromises the immune system? And what do we have a lot of from October until February? Sugar & lots of it!  And when do we seem to get sick the most? October through February.  Coincidence? I don't believe in that! Is there something we can do about it? Of course!



Number 1: Limit or even better eliminate sugar! Sometimes, you just can't. That Christmas party is too much fun, hanging out with your friends is too much fun and the desserts are way to good to pass up. But, limit yourself. If you know that party is coming up Friday evening, avoid all sugar during the week. 
If you know your kids are going to have cupcakes at school on Monday, make it a no sugar kind of weekend. A few days of your kids having no sugar and I have a feeling you will never want them to have it again. My kids always behave better when they haven't had any sugar. And be mindful of those hidden sugars in snacks. Sugar shows up everywhere.

Number 2: Drink a lot of water. This helps the body flush out the toxins that can make it easier for our immune systems to fail. A well hydrated body is a healthy body.  See this blog post for an idea of how much water we should be drinking.

Number 3: Protect your immune system. This is so important. Don't wait until you are sick to make changes. Make them now before you are sick. Build your immune system up so that it is better able to fight off the germs & whatever is floating around.

Natural, Plant based protection is best!

We build up and support our immune system in several ways.

Ningxia Red is a nutritional drink that is packed with fruits, veggies and essential oils. It does not have the junky fruit juices in them like white grape or apple juice that tends to raise the blood sugar. The protein levels of 2 oz equals that of a boiled egg and it scores higher than any other juice on the market on the ORAC scale.  My kids love it and I have to ration it out or they would drink it like Kool-Aid! It doesn't take much of this to give you the nutritional boost to your immune system, that is another reason why I love it!

Thieves Vitality is an essential oil blend that is another mainstay for us during this time of year. Adding a few drops of this to some warm water or into a capsule makes for an amazing body guard to my immune system!

Citrus Vitality essential oils added to my water is how I not only keep myself hydrated, but give my immune system that support that it needs. These oils also contain Limonene & you need to google that so you know why it is so important! Lemon, Orange, Tangerine & Lime Vitality are my favorites!

Thieves hand sanitizer and Thieves spray in my purse so that while on the go, we can protect ourselves from germs.

Number 4: Protect your schedule! It is so easy to sign up for everything. I homeschool my kids, I work from home and I'm involved at my church. It is very easy for me to let my activities get out of control. I have to be very careful! I have learned to set boundaries. I have to say no sometimes. I need to know what is important, what will help us accomplish our goals, what fits in to the purpose of our family.

Stress is a crazy thing and it can make us sick, lose sleep, crave the wrong kinds of food. So we need to keep it in check.

If you want to incorporate Young Living products into your daily health regimen, now is the perfect time to do that!! Contact me today & I can help you get started!!  Or click this link to get started right now! The offer below won't be available for very long.

You can also visit my business site for more information on the products.

Are You Moving?

Exercise.

I can hear you groaning already.

I've never been a good example of exercise. I'm still not!  So, I just want to put this out there now. I am not writing about how I have it all down and am not an expert on the importance of daily movement. Nope. I'm not there. But, I am working on it, because I have not only realized the importance of it, I have experienced the amazing benefits of it.

Last year, Scott had decided he was done being fat. He almost weighed 300 lbs, more than he had ever weighed in his life. We were already working on cleaning up our diet, but he knew that the missing factor in his weight loss was exercise. So, he began getting up early and walking. It wasn't long before he was walking over 2 miles a day, 6 days a week and the weight was coming off.

Then we went to the Young Living convention in August. The Young Living Foundation had a 5k fundraiser. He bought us entries. What? I can't walk a 5k!!  But, it was for a great cause, so I did it. And do you know what happened? I survived! I felt good! That night I knew I had to join my husband and begin walking with him.

So, every evening we would walk together. Sometimes our kids would join us. And that was fun. But something began to happen that I didn't expect.
I began feeling better.
I slept better.
My moods were better.
My clothes got too big. (OK, that one I was hoping for)
I got a lot more serious about taking care of myself.

30 minutes a day. That is all it took!

Walking is easy and free! You don't need any special equipment or gym memberships. You just need a good pair of shoes and ground to walk on or a treadmill. It is a good place to start if you aren't doing anything.

Don't walk alone! It is a lot more fun to walk with a partner.

It is time to get moving! Make it important! You will never regret it!

What are You Eating?

It only makes sense.

If you want your car to start & operate the way it was built to, you have to put the right kind of fuel in it. If your car takes gasoline and you put diesel fuel in it, you will have problems. If you put water or something similar in it, you won't get very far. In fact you will need a tow to your mechanic, who will then charge you a lot of money to fix what you did.

You can't be surprised if your car won't run right if you didn't give it what it needs.

The same is true for our body. If we want it to function the way God intended it to, we have to feed our body what he created for our body.

It is pretty simple actually. But not easy unfortunately. In a day when we want everything fast, eating healthy is not very convenient.

So, what is considered healthy food?  Well, we all have our own idea's on this. My teenage son considers a hamburger healthy because he has lettuce & tomatoes on it.

In a perfect world, we would have plenty of access to fresh produce and grains that are grown in healthy soil. But as we know, our world is not perfect and our food is not as healthy as we need it to be.

In my opinion, healthy food is food that is fresh and alive. Food that still contains digestive enzymes. Food that does not come in a box or can. I would love to have a garden so I can grow my own food. We can't always have that, so foods that are organically grown , GMO free and as close to its natural state as possible is my next choice.

Fruits and Veggies. Raw is best! Raw produce contains a lot of vitamins, minerals and digestive enzymes that will super charge your digestive system.  It is also easier for your body to digest. Your system can absorb more of the nutrients, giving you energy. When we eat processed food,  our body has to use more energy to digest it. That is energy we need to function through out the day. Ever feel sleepy after you eat a meal? Your food should energize you, not slow you down.

Food should be healing to the body, yet most of the food we eat today is damaging our body.

Sugar is in everything processed. Sugar compromises the immune system. When is cold & flu season? Is it a coincidence that it happens during the same time of the year as most of our holidays? What do we do to celebrate those holidays? We bake desserts, candy, etc... When our family began making better food choices during the holiday season, we did not experience near as much sickness.

Cancer cells thrive off of sugar in any form. Sugar is very dangerous to anyone with cancer or who has had cancer. This article explains it well.

The majority of Americans suffer from chronic digestive problems. This is a result of years of food abuse. There may be no immediate consequence to drinking soda's everyday and eating processed food, but it will catch up with you eventually. You may think your body is doing well at digesting your food, but when you look at the symptoms of poor digestion we realize that we aren't doing as well as we thought.

Do you have any of these symptoms? These are all symptoms of poor digestion.

How many of these do you have but just thought they were normal?

Here's the good news! Simple changes can help reverse many of the ailments we have. When we choose good food, it can help our body heal.

Here is my personal guideline for what good food is.

• Expires quickly because it is natural, not covered in preservatives.
• Colorful. Avoid white food. It is a sugar trap! (white flour, sugar, pasta, bread)
• It cannot be bought in a drive thru!

If this is a totally new change for you, go slow! Make one change at a time. When you remove an unhealthy food, replace it with a healthy one. Don't remove all of the junk food at once and then not know what to replace it with. That sets you up for failure really quick! And if you are taking your family along with you on this change, they will rebel if you take all of their favorite food away at once! Trust me.

Research! Use Google. Educate yourself on what food is healing and what food is hurting you.
Here are some sites I have found really helpful and trustworthy.

http://www.mercola.com/
http://foodbabe.com/
https://draxe.com/
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/

Click on the image for a larger view

Choosing Wellness: What are you Drinking?

I grew up with a mom that was a firm believer in drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day.  If I poured some milk to drink, she was right there...

"How much water have you  drank today?"

I just rolled my eyes and drank my milk.

When I was nursing my first baby the nurse and still at the hospital, the nurse told me that I had to drink a lot of water to keep my milk supply up. I figured that water and Dr.Pepper was pretty similar so I drank both.  Not true!

What we drink and how much is really important. Keeping our bodies properly hydrated is not hard, yet the majority of Americans are dehydrated and don't even realize it.  If you are thirsty you are already dehydrated. If your lips are dry, chances are you are dehydrated. If you have a headache, you could be dehydrated.

I like this article by Dr. Mercola about dehydration. Take a moment to read it completely.

One of the first things I did when we became intentional about getting healthy was return to drinking mostly water. I am not good at measuring it, so I can't tell you if I am getting the right amount. An easy formula to tell you how much water you need is to take your weight & divide that by 2. That number is the amount of ounces of water you need a day. It's not an exact number, but a good place to start.

I get tired of just drinking water, so I like to add some citrus essential oils to my water. The citrus oils have some really important health benefits as well, so I'm not only flavoring my water, but maintaining my health as well.
My favorites are:
Lemon
Grapefruit 
Tangerine
 I get my oils here and do not recommend using any other brand internally as I cannot attest to the purity of them as I can to Young Living's EO's.


Herbal teas are ok, but be careful of the brands. Some have caffeine in them and others are not worth the trouble. If it won't benefit my health, then I'd rather just drink a Dr.Pepper. I still like them & I still want to drink them even though I choose not to...most of the time. At the time of this writing I am going on 14 days with no DP.

Back to the tea. One of the things we had to become very intentional about was reading labels and avoiding chemicals. We find chemicals in things we never dreamed...like herbal teas!

Here is a great blog post by the Food Babe concerning what is in our tea.

If you need to remove something you are drinking that is not healthy, make sure you replace it with something healthy.

I need to stop drinking coffee, but am not there yet. This is a process and I'm not ready to ditch my morning mug of Java yet.  Scott went cold turkey on the coffee. He replaced his morning cup of coffee with fresh juice! He is the rock star!!

We drink fresh juiced fruit & veggies through out the day. He juices carrots, beets, cilantro, spinach, celery, apples & oranges and so much more. I joke that if I don't use up the produce fast enough he will juice it. I have gone to the refrigerator many times to get veggies to make for dinner only to find that he juiced them already. The struggle is real! We need a frig just for our juicing produce!  We have a Jack LaLanne juicer and really like it. We have had it for almost 10 yrs.

But there is no way we could eat that many fruits & veggies in one day that we are getting in our juice.

In addition to that, we drink Ningxia Red by Young Living! This juice is an even bigger boost to our health than the juice we juice ourselves. This juice is very high in antioxidants and supports every body system. We have seen big improvements in our health since making this a part of our daily regimen.  Our immune systems are strong, I sleep better at night and Scott only needs one short power nap during the day instead of several like before.

So what are you drinking?

Are you hydrated well?

Is what you are drinking, giving your body what it needs to function and way God created it to?

Don't forget...if you remove an unhealthy beverage, make sure you replace it with a healthy one.

Choosing Wellness: What are You Thinking?

Do you realize how powerful your thoughts are?

Please don't mistake this post as a feel good- just think happy thoughts - kind of post.  That is not what this is. One of the biggest things that had to happen before we could begin to experience a healthier life was we had to start believing it was important. We had to start thinking we were worth the effort. We had to start thinking that we really could make a difference.

How you think about yourself really does matter!

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”—Albert Einstein 

I learned a long time ago that our imagination is more than pretending. It is simply creating a picture in your mind of what you want to accomplish.  It is actually a very powerful tool when it comes to making changes. Our mind is the most powerful organ in our body. And what we allow ourselves to think is equally as powerful. Scripture tells us what we should think about. 

Remember the "Whatever" verse in Philippians?

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8

What we think matters! It sets the tone for how we live, how we communicate, how we dream.

Zig Ziglar said, "Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative thinking will."

I love that, because it is so true. If all I say to myself is, "I will always be fat, I will always be sick." how I can I expect anything to be different. We always accomplish more when we are focusing on the positive.

Ok, so what in the world does this have to do with choosing wellness? It has a lot to do with it. 

First I had to decide I was tired of the cycle of bad habits I had created for myself. I had to believe that I was worth the change and that I could change. I had to know that I needed to change for the sake of my health & the health of my family. It had to be very important to ME. 

I made a short list of a few things I wanted to change. It was short, because I still wasn't totally convinced I would accomplish any positive changes.

Then I began to make simple changes that helped me get closer to those goals. Drink more water. Walk 2 miles a day. Put down my phone & close my laptop to spend time with my God & my family.

My thought process and habits were at times all that kept me from falling away because I didn't see a difference very quickly. If I told myself that it wasn't working or it didn't matter I would have quit.  But I had to keep the Lord's promises in front of me as a reminder that even though it is hard, it is important.

Find 5 verses that inspire you to press on. Write them down. Print them out. Post them where you will see them everyday. Quotes are good, but nothing keeps me going better than the Word of God.

The secret to your success lies in your ability to control your thoughts. I don't know about you, but I need a lot of help with this and the Lord has always been faithful.

Today is a new day, a new month, a new year! There is no better time than today to begin making changes that you have thought about making for so long. We are spiritually new in Christ because of his sacrifice for us! But, by his grace we are also given new days, new opportunities.  What are you going to do with them? 

Choosing Wellness: Creating Healthy Habits

Knowing we needed to make changes meant we needed to create new habits. Our old habits are what got us in such bad shape. In order to create new habits we had to work to replace the old ones and this was simple, but not easy. We also had to recognize what habits needed to be replaced. Often that is the hardest part. I found that there was things I was doing that I didn't even realize I needed to change. 

This is where prayer really played a part. I needed the Lord to show me what needed to go. I was often shocked at what he showed me.  

And before you think this was all about diet & exercise, I'll tell you it wasn't. Most of my bad habits were in my thoughts, actions and time.  

I'm outlining in this blog post what the next 4 blog posts will cover. They represent 4 area's of my life I had to make changes in. 

What I drink, eat, how I move & what I think. Of all 4 of these, the last was the most important. Our thoughts play such a huge role in how we live & relate to others.

What are you thinking? My first habit to replace was disbelief that I was not worth the changes I needed to make. I also felt overwhelmed & didn't think I could stick with the changes. I didn't want to work hard only to back slide & be back where I started from. Changes made were not just to lose weight, but to be healthy overall. Physically and emotionally.

What are you drinking? This may sound silly, but this is a really big deal. I had to make a better effort to not only hydrate my body, but to hydrate it with nutritional beverages. I love Dr.Pepper & Sweet tea. Really sweet tea! When I'm at home, I drink water. But if I go anywhere... Drive thru's are my weakness. 

What are you eating?  This is the obvious habit that had to change. What I ate affected my moods, sleep and my weight. I thought this would be an easy change. I knew what I needed to eat, but choosing it wasn't easy. 

How are you moving? This is the one habit I had avoided for years.  I'm a stay at home mom. I don't sit down all day. I'm doing laundry, cooking, chasing a preschooler and wrestling with a son who has random meltdowns. I was moving, but not in the right ways.  I hate exercise. I'm allergic to it. I break out in a sweat all over every time I do it. (sarcasm inserted here) I thought this would be really hard for me. I'm not athletic at all. But, with the help of my husband, we together created new habits that have in turn made big differences in our health. More than I realized.

I found 3 R's to creating new habits. This was not intentional, just the way it happened. Then I found a blog post that described it so much better.

We knew that if any changes we made were going to be successful and long lasting it required that we create new habits that would encourage the changes we needed. And to create new habits we had to set some reminders to help us create a routine and then enjoy the rewards. It wasn't easy. It still isn't easy. I still have days when I want to drink a Dr.Pepper instead of water or herbal tea. And I still have days when I just go ahead and drink that Dr.Pepper (and often have a stomach ache later). 

Creating new habits is simple, but not easy. But very possible and you will never regret it! 

Choosing Wellness: Do what you can with what you have

Excuses.  They get the best of us every time!

I was full of excuses as to why I was not making the changes I needed to make.

• I have no time to exercise (I didn't want to)
• We couldn't afford to buy real food. (processed food is always more expensive)
• My juicer is in storage (yes it was until recently, but that still was no excuse)
• I can't read my Bible or pray while Charlie is awake.

There were many more, but those were the biggest ones.  

I wanted all of my ducks to be in a row before I did anything.

I had to get over that because if I didn't I would just continue to gain weight and be depressed. My ducks would never be in a row all at the same time and if they were they wouldn't stay that like that very long.

We started making changes slowly. The first thing we had to do was throw out all the excuses. 

We looked at our diet first.  What were we eating that we could replace with something better?

That is the key! If you are removing things from your diet, make sure you replace them with something else.  I'm really good at removing things, but not replacing them. So after time, I'm craving the bad stuff.

Snacks for example. At one time, we kept a lot of chips, microwave popcorn and crackers as snacks. It was easy to pull out a bag of chips to snack on or throw a bag of popcorn in the microwave. Now, our snacks are raw fruits of veggies, nuts, popcorn popped on the stove and healthy granola & nut bars. If I can't fit the already made healthy snacks into the budget then I find something I can make.

Exercise was a no brainer. I just needed to dust off my tennis shoes and walk. No gym memberships. No trainer hired to kick my butt everyday. Just get out of the house & put my shoes to the pavement. 30 minutes a day was our goal.  Surely I could walk for 30 minutes. 

My point of all this is just to say that we had to get rid of our excuses and just do what we could with what we had. We didn't have the money to shop at the farmers market. But we could begin buying healthier food that our body actually recognized as food at our neighborhood stores.

We didn't have to go to the gym to exercise, we could do it at our house..for FREE! 

It really all boiled down to what we decided was important. Until we understood the importance of taking better care of ourselves we would not do anything. It is a process. It takes time. The benefits far out weigh any excuse we ever had. 

You know where I learned this from?  Jesus.  He takes us the way we are and helps us grow and become more like him. He doesn't have a list of what we need to do before we can become his. We don't have to have our ducks in a row. We believe. I love that!! 

Just do it!

Choosing Wellness is Choosing Life

There was a time, many years ago when our daily schedule was one that was intentional about our health. I was really careful about our food, choosing organic real food, limiting our processed food. Our lifestyle was active. Our emotions were healthy & my walk with the Lord was growing and deepening.

Then 2006 happened. Pregnant with our 10th child, we found ourselves in the midst of a terrible financial crisis. The end result was losing our house and having to move.  Our finances didn't improve and we struggled for many years. As a result I went into survival mode and our healthy lifestyle was not a priority anymore.

Things happened that had not happened in years.

1. We all began to get sick. 
2. I gained a ridiculous amount of weight.
3. My emotions were really out of whack.
4. My spiritual life declined. 

In 2011 we had to move again, this time not into our own home, but in with our parents. I went to my parents with our youngest 4 and Scott went to his parents with our oldest 4 while 2 of our girls moved in with a friend. Survival mode was not even enough at this point. At this point a healthy choice was choosing sweet tea over Dr.Pepper.

Fast forward to 2013. Scott & I knew we had to make some changes or we would be in big trouble. We knew we needed to return to the lifestyle we once made a priority.  It was about more than food. It was about our whole life. Living with his parents was not easy, but it could no longer be an excuse for not being well.

Today.  We eat a lot of raw produce. We juice every day again. We walk at least 30 minutes 6 days a week (about 2 miles). We rarely eat out, especially fast food. We have reduced our sugar intake drastically. We have reduced the "white" foods we eat (white rice, bread, sugar, flour). We take essential oil based supplements and we use our essential oils to support our health and maintain the wellness we have worked so hard to achieve.  We have not arrived by any means. We still have a long way to go!

The result. Scott & I have both lost a considerable amount of weight. Our energy levels are high. My emotions are much more even and my hormones are happy for the first time in years. 

We made the decision to do this in 2013, but it has taken 2 years to finally make enough changes to really see a difference. Our changes were slow. We worked to replace foods, not just remove them.  We are diligent to make time to be active, to get our 30 minutes of walking or working out into our day. That is not easy! 

I had stopped blogging because I just didn't feel that I had much to say anymore. But the Lord has really helped me to see that living is more than just reading our Bible and prayer. That is critical. That is most important. But if we ignore the physical body he has given us we are truly missing out on the life he really wants us to live.  Not only does he desire that our spiritual life be healthy, but that our emotional and physical life as well to be healthy. And I think he wants me to share this part of our journey with you. It's not pretty. I still fail...many days. I still love Dr.Pepper. But, the Lord is really working on me. He is helping me to stay true to my convictions and choose wisely.

Choosing overall good health has really convicted me lately. Neglecting my physical health is just as bad as neglecting my spiritual health. According to 1 Corinthians 6 my body is not my own, it belongs to God. My body is a gift! We should honor God with our body.  It is the only one he gives us!

I'm working to create a series of simple blog posts that better explain what we have been doing and how anybody can do the same. Scott and I are not health experts by any means. We are not certified in nutrition. We are simply working to make better choices in all area's of our life.  These blog posts will not all be on nutrition. There is more to life than food. But, more on that later.

Stay tuned. More is on it's way!