So here I am. It has been so long.
We are all still doing life and all has been well.
The year 2020 will go down as one to remember for sure.
We have an election next week so things are a bit tense in our country these days but God is good and I know he has his hand in all of the "things"...
I have so enjoyed following along with "Let Us Worship" as revival breaks out all across our land!! Have you been following the "Worship" journey to? I have a heart for worship and this is how I connect with my heavenly Father the best so this had me pulled in since day one! Last weekend Sean and his crew set up in Washington D.C. Justin was there with friends and I was listening in "live" the entire four hours...:) It was an AMAZING God movement for sure!
Dave and Javon are out hunting now. Javon missed one with a cross bow last night behind the house! He came in froze! The weather has gotten so cold now!! (Tonight we change back our clocks so we will be adjusting to that for a bit.)
Jordan left for a ten day hunting trip last night! To Missouri with five of his friends!! He was super excited about this trip! He has been working hard and adjusting to shed hauling life (which can be unpredictable) so it felt great to send him off to connect with nature! I packed him a cooler full of food and the other guys all had a cooler full as well so they won't go hungry...:)
Justin has a party with church friends tonight. He stays super active and always has something going on. His little beater truck he drives (Dave's old toyota) is seeing the last of its days finally and its to cold to take his motorcycle out so he is on the lookout for a new vehicle. Its not a good time to buy because the prices are crazy right now but he hopes to find a good deal on something better then he has now...:)
Justin's house is busy with Airbnb guests! He has become a "Superhost" now and he takes care of things real well. I spend time there as well. Together we work to give the guests a great Lancaster County experience. I love details so going in just before check-in to make sure everything is top notch is fun for me... :)
Jenika and I went shopping today. She had her fourteenth birthday last week and it was a real wet/very rainy week so we decided to wait until today. She loves shopping! (oh dear) She is spending some of her puppy money on redoing her room so of course she was wanting to shop for things she wants in her "new" room. Her new carpet comes next week and she is so excited to have this last major step done!
Jenika had her wisdom teeth pulled out since I was on here last... She thought it was terrible. It took a few weeks for the swelling to completely disappear.
Tulsa her horse is doing well. She takes real good care of her. She can now saddle her, ride her and handle her all on her own and it has been so fun to watch her love on her horse!'
Slowly things are looking like winter around here. I have been pulling out the annuals and blowing leaves in sections around here. It takes a lot of energy to keep up with all the outdoor work that comes with this place and this has been the first year that it has felt so overwhelming. I have found my pace to be "slow" this year so this is how things get done. "slow"...:) I have been giving myself more grace and I find that although "slow" things do eventually get done.
Also a lot of the reason I'm not on here more. "Slow" leaves me with less time and by the time I read other things I do not take time for blogs of any sort. I used to read other blogs but I don't even do that anymore. (I think I have watched and listened to more news this year then all my other years combined. I am aware of fake news so rarely do I waste time on that but so much is out there to research and read by trusted source also so I know this is to why I have less time for blogging.
I have been wanting to share my health healing journey on here for a long time now and I feel like maybe this will be the post. I won't add many photos because my laptop gave out so I'm sneaking Dave's for this post...:) (Another reason I don't blog as often...:} Okay no more excuses...:)) I do hope to get a new laptop soon then I won't have that excuse anymore...:)
My health journey this year...
Spring of 2019 I knew something needed to be addressed with my health.
I was running on fumes most everyday and I was not used to this. No energy and fatigued like I had never knew. Many days I'd push myself and at the end of the day cry in the shower because I was just that exhausted yet not near everything was done yet. I felt two days behind everyday but had no way of finding energy to catch up... IT WAS EXHAUSTING. Yet I would go to bed and not be able to sleep. At all. Most nights I'd end up back downstairs on my chair reading so I won't disturb Dave with my tossing.
My legs and bones just wanted to jump. I could find no way to relax my core. My back ached so bad and no way I laid brought relief. I used ice packs on my back and I tried heat to.
My menstrual cycle was regular but so very heavy! I thought I'd lost my liver a few times. (sorry if this is goory...:/) I had to watch how I sneezed during my cycle or everything would burst. I knew I was losing to much blood but I thought maybe menopause was hitting me.
Finally after a visit to my family doctor I went to see an OBGYN. Ultrasound showed a huge bulky uterus that was looking like it will need to be removed with a hysterectomy. Bloodwork showed me to be dangerously anemic with way out of balanced hormones. (which explained all the symptoms I was having)
My OBGYN wanted to keep tabs on me but she was willing to let me work with a health coach to see what can be done naturally. I set up appointments with my health coach and scheduled another OBGYN appointment for six months out with some bloodwork done in between.
The journey began with "Health4hope" in June of 2019. I did hair sample tests and extensive bloodwork. Minerals were checked and we began a new supplement line (all wholefoods) focusing on balancing minerals.
I kept up running every morning but by January things were still not great. I decided to "walk instead of run" for a whole year. It was a hard decision because running had done so much for me over the years and I knew it. I found my worship time, clarity of mind and stress relief when running. Yet if I ran in the morning it took most of my energy for the day. Sometimes I'd just sit down on the road and wait for Dave and Nub to come back. It was frustrating but once I realized "slow" was best for my healing it went better. I was warned that this healing journey will be a slow process and sometimes it even gets worse before better. (oh my)
Every two weeks when I met my health coach she did a saliva and urine test to see how the PH level was in my body and see how my liver was holding up. (my liver was in great distress) She put me on supplements according to my hair and blood test. Sometimes depending on symptoms she would tweak and adjust.
My body started to change as it adjusted to a cleaner diet and all the minerals and whole food supplements I took four times a day. I drank so much water I felt I had no space for food...:) I never was able to go far from a bathroom.
Weird stuff was happening as the healing went on. "Slow" was still my only pace. I never was one to take naps but I found myself resting more. My mouth broke out in sores for weeks! My skin got a slight constant itch for weeks! Smells of detox were going on so bad! Taste! I still cannot explain it. For a few months it was like metal in my mouth and I was about to go nuts! Next for months it felt like I had salt on my tongue! I craved things that are bitter! Arugula and fennel I ate from my garden straight all the time! I bought arugula by the boxes and I'd eat the whole thing at once!
I felt and still feel like part rabbit some days...:)
I never in my life liked olives. They were actually something I avoided and pushed aside! Dave came home from his Shady Maple Saturday one week and he had some olives that Lyn had sent home with him. I thought to myself "I wonder if I'd like olives now? (because I had become accustomed to bitter tastes) I ate one and LOVED it! I ended up eating the whole container and now I get olives from Wegman's olive bar every single week and snack on them every day!
I went back to my OBGYN for a check up. She did ultrasound and bloodwork again. She called the change in my uterus "remarkable" and she told me at this rate I won't be needing a hysterectomy.
I felt like giving up many times. Dave felt like giving up. He asked me "How long will you go on before you try something else?" Some months it felt like I went backwards. Yet the blood tests indicated things were moving in the right direction.
Then justin got engaged to Eva in December! We were excited! They planned on getting married in the back yard and since flowers and outdoor landscape are my thing I of course went into high gear in spring and summer thinking all things landscape, flowers and wedding fun! It was slow but I enjoyed all the extras that went into my garden this year! It was actually a place where I felt peace, calm and healing. I snacked from the garden all day and skipped meals.
And COVID happened. It felt like the stay at home order only added to my healing journey. Taking things slower was what I was doing anyway so crossing things off the calendar felt great to me!! The less we have to go do the more energy I can put towards healing...:)
I felt during all the uncertainty of COVID-19 a thankfulness to still be able to get out every morning to walk/run with Dave and Nub on Creek road. And planting garden and flowers were often where I went as I worshipped and cried out to God about all the things...:)
School stopped in March. We were now virtual. It went fine but the kids missed school. This made for even more "slow".
Sleeping was still rough and although we were off school I kept on the morning routine anyway. I get up at crack of dawn year round. Rarely do I stay in bed at daylight! Ever. Maybe someday I'll sleep more...:) I tell Dave all the time God made the sun for waking us up...:) Nobody should have to get up at dark or sleep past the sunrise...:)
Today as I continue to heal the progress has been remarkable. I sleep all night most nights. My bones do not have that deep ache like they used to. My menstrual cycle is so much better and I no longer soak up tons of the heaviest "Jewel" pads! (If you do not use "Jewel Sanitary Napkins" do yourself a favor! You will never go back! These have been a lifesaver on this journey!)
My energy is getting so much better although I still take it "slow" when possible. I still walk. I want to give it until the new year to go back to running.
The last appointment with my OBGYN was in June. She was impressed.
I have tried to donate blood a few times as this is so good for the body. It helps to regenerate healthy cells. I would consider it a true gift to be able to donate because I have been trying for a few years. My hemoglobin level has not been up enough yet to donate but each time I try the numbers are better. I feel confident I will be able to donate soon. (I will be so thankful and celebrate in a big way when this happens!) I went on my birthday in hopes to give but my level was still to low.
Do your body a favor and donate blood if you are able! The benefits are wide spread! Plus you are helping those in need of some!
I eat clean and drink lots and lots of water and electrolytes. Adrenal cocktails I try to mix and drink two if not three times a day. These have become staples for me... Also staples... Real salt. Liver. Real/Pure/Raw Honey. Cod Liver. Magnesium in all forms. Calcium. Raw/Pure/Fresh Milk. (I love that I get to visit the cow that gives us milk!) At first on this journey it was Raw/Fresh goats milk.
I do not bake anymore. No desire. I have not baked anything for months. Its amazing how fast I lost touch. The mess I created when making some goodies for Jordan to take on his trip was unbelievable. The less I bake or make treats the less I want to or even feel like I can... Dave thinks its sad. (his sweet tooth might get better over my health journey..:})
I just pick up goodies sometimes and I think its perfectly fine.
I have another round of tests coming up next week. Hair analysis and Bloods. This will tell how things are moving forward and what supplements can be or should be adjusted. Slowly I'm taking less and less. It feels good to be seeing progress even if it is "slow".
It can take a long time for a body to get as low as mine was and so goes for the healing journey as well.
By now I have come this far and I can read my body better. I make the good days count and never take them for granted! It has so much to do with my cycle and where I am in the month! The good days are more then the bad now I'd say but somedays I just know it will be slower paced. I'm always moving and doing stuff. I still rarely sit but its all just slower going...:) I wanted to blame it on getting older but I now know that is not an excuse...:)
This journey is ongoing. I still have what feel like major ups and downs. I got my juicer out again in hopes to juice again but I still have not found the time and energy to juice anything. My greenhouse is still full of fun lush yummy greens as is the tower garden and I'm so thankful that greens and healthy food taste better to me then anything with sugar. I can tell my body is craving minerals and the balance is finding its way.
I have learned so much about body function. So much about minerals. So much about whole food. So much about supplements and what to look for but I still have so much to learn! One day I'd love to be a health coach myself but for this season I'm only thankful to keep my head above water. I feel confident the "slow" journey will have been worth it. I journal but this year not enough. I have not been recording year 2020 like I want to or know that I will wish I would have. It is what it is in the season we are in... I'm not planning to stop visiting here but it has taken less energy and time simply because it feels like I need rest or focusing on higher priority stuff more then typing out a post.
It feels like by the time I take all the things my body needs for healing I'm not even hungry for anything else. I have no need to snack. Ever. I can hardly even get two good meals a day much less snack (other then my garden greens which I eat all the time...:)) It has been an odd journey for sure. I hope to be back with another testimony in the future. Right now it feels like I'm still in progress and the story is not yet over.
For now that is my share on my "year of healing"...:)
It has been proving difficult to get us all together to do family pictures so far this year. I still hope to get them in but if so it will be random when we are all together in one place...:) It just goes with the year...:)
Justin and Jordan are both in the season of a very high social life! They connect when they are able but they both have different friend groups and are both kept very busy socially! Justin was all into something called "75 Hard" the past few months. Its a clean diet and lots of exercise! His self discipline is something Dave and I both admire and we tell him all the time he will go far in life because of it! He and I eat a lot of the same things...:)
I plan to do a coffee date with Eva Jane someday soon. I miss her. I miss her in our home. She had a spot in the corner of the computer desk where she would keep her stuff while she was here. (purse, keys ect.) I would put stuff at that spot for her. If it was setting there in her spot she knew it was for her to take with her. I felt like I knew her so well yet she was a mystery all at the same time...:) I now know she was not for me to figure out. Only to LOVE.
Justin went through (and still is some days) what seemed like a grieving process. He took his time finding himself. He is still in this process... Sometimes he seemed simply lonely. He never really knew what it was like not to have a girl in his life. It didn't feel right to see him alone so much. At family gatherings and cabin trips it seemed strange to see him without his girl.
He is connecting with good people groups, spending time in the word and reading lots of books. The process is slow but he is finding his happy again. He laughs more. He seems to be connecting with his group of friends well and I hear names and places that he goes that I have no clue who or where!?? And sometimes this still all feels so strange to me still. He keeps reminding me that he is almost 21... I know that Justin but I will never stop caring, praying or thinking about where you are or who you are with. It must just be a "mom thing"...:)
Tonight we change our clocks back one hour.
:)
The moon is full and supposedly a "blue moon" (once in every forty years the 11 year old said) Javon loves things like the moon cycles...:) Its also because of him that I now have a lovely mango and avocado tree growing indoors in the nook! He is fascinated by the seed to sprout to root process! He planted them in pots all on his own in my greenhouse now I care for them as he proudly keeps tabs on the growth..(which is a lot since he planted them!)
I have so many posts behind this one that I wanted to catch up on just because its 2020. We have a new Supreme Court Justice sworn in just this week (Amy Coney Barrett) We are praying for our country more then ever these days! We are praying for a good election outcome!
If I never get to the posts behind this one we will go from here...:)
A few picture updates....
Breakfast date with these lady friends I love at Ruthie's new "Agape Cafe and Grille" The place is AMAZING and the food is soooo.. Ruthie! Just all around "Yummy"!
Good-night...
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