they're sprouting

Here are all my sprouts I planted early in April. I love seeing them come up. I am excited to finally have spinach, which I have horrible luck with, every year!

I ordered a variety pack of basil. I thought that was fun, but was hoping for more than two varieties. It appears to be only two from what I can tell thus far. Either way, I have planted them and enjoyed them tremendously.
Well, that is where we are in the garden as of a week or so ago. I am late posting this. I have now had two whole salads from the garden.

Happy planting to you all.

more posting

Hello friends. How has your healing, healthy lifestyle been going? I am going to try to get back in the groove of regular blogging reports, but time is something I don't have much of, but I love to write, however bad I am at it.  
It was a long hard Christmas without our dear B.  Things are still hard, never to be the same but there is a certain amount less of the 'pressure' of it now that school is back in full swing and Christmas is past. I can focus my mind on other things, sort of. Even though B is always on my mind, I am able to focus on my children left to me here....it helps....I cannot express the depth of missing him...longing to hold him...

I have spent time eating all of my 'healing' foods, following what I have learned from my elimination, with the exception of sugar.....I made plenty of sugar desserts over the last couple months, starting with Christmas festivities.  
I tried to bring some kind of norm into our first Christmas without a part of our family...it was hard. God gave me strength to do what is right for my other children. So, my health came to a maintenance level, in regards to weight and I am beginning to feel a bit of that sugar. I am happy at this weight, for now, but will not stay here forever.  That's ok, there is a place for this. I want to change my lifestyle to one I can live with, not one where I am constantly deprived. There is, however, a time for deprivation.
I am regrouping for renewed tightening of the belt as it were..soon, a cleansing will begin. I am gearing up...

Enjoy some beautiful birds that visit us all winter. Did you know that B loved birds? We have been so blessed to receive some fabulous large collections of birds at our humble home. We don't believe that B is a bird, but we feel these birds are a little gift from His mighty hand, to remind us that our boy is safe, happy and healthy...it brings us joy!

powdered kale for thyroid

So...I came up with this fantastic idea over the weekend.....but I know I did not invent this idea of coarse, but it was a little like an invention to me...you see, I have a bundle of wonderful kale in my garden. It just keeps on producing like the energizer bunny. Usually I just juice it or make Kale chips, but I am not juicing as much during my elimination diet (plus it's raw) and one cannot store kale chips long term due to the oil,  and here is the kicker....we have thyroid issues over here..my dtr has thyroiditis, which has turned into hypothyroidism, so we are working on healing foods over here in this camp.  That means we have not been eating raw spinach, broccoli or even kale!!

Yes, it has been an adjustment.  These foods are called goitrogens. This is a quick read about what that is.  I can cook them to cut back on the goitrogen effects, which works wonderfully for broccoli but kale is just not as appealing to the kiddos. Frankly, I do NOT like sauteed kale either, I have discovered and there is not  much that I dislike.
 Here are some pics of my weekend spent preparing our POWDERED KALE. I am so excited about this.

First you go out to your garden to pick some fresh kale.

Then you bring it in to wash all of the dirt and grime off.

Then you lay the leaves out to dry. One can also rip the leaves off the stem if your stems are super thick or if you want them to dry faster. I have done both, whole leaves and torn, but be sure to turn on your ceiling fan, it helps things dry faster.

Turn your oven to 275 degrees after leaves are mostly dry, too wet and you will steam your kale.  They will take anywhere from 45 minutes to more than an hour, depending on how thick and moist your kale is.

Next, you want to take them out of the oven to cool.

Beautiful!

Now put them in your blender. This is the fun part....oh that crunch, crunch...of the dried kale...it's so psychologically satisfying.....it's better than squeezing that bubble wrap.

Now it's all in there. Ready to zoom....

Now we have to make it into powder. I have learned that I love using my Blendtec for this. I use the 'batter' mode which is perfect for stirring it up and powderize the kale.

Now you can put it in a pretty jar and store it for a long time for use in salads, soups, smoothies, stir-fries, and anything else you can imagine up in your mind.

I actually discovered after my first batch, that I prefer the 'batter' mode on my blender and the rest of my powdered kale came out much finer.  I am so excited about this. I love using my fun mason jars and the screw on lids I bought for them through Amazon.  

I also experimented with this with my parsley which I have a ton of as well and so far it has turned out very well.

Happy fall harvesting to you.

Day 3 the plan

Day 3
Chicken (very low reactive protein)

I feel great!! Really I do.....that is my feelings Day 3 AM.  As you all know, I have been having about 2 oz of coffee each day to prevent me dying..literally....haa,
so I have a story but first  I forgot to let you all know that I have already been off wheat for about a month prior to starting this with no wt loss at all but I did notice that I went from taking 1-6 Ibuprofen a day to only a few a week!! A new hip pain I was having was nearly gone and my bad knee and feet, although not healed, were improved greatly!  As I research things, I think even my Plantar Fasciitis....is inflammatory related and that is what the Plan is all about..INFLAMMATION and stopping it. Finding the foods that are YOUR trigger foods.

That being said, I had pre-set plans to have coffee with some mom's from our homeschool class and was going to order hot green tea but unbeknownst to me, I ordered a sugary green cold drink...I guess I am not coffee shop savvy enough, while being told I have a free coffee that expired this very morning at 11 am can you believe that???  It was 9:30 AM.  Well, I opted for my free coffee and planned to drink only 2-3 oz of it and I did and it went well.

Lunch was cream of broccoli soup which I was excited about but it's really not so great, but it is edible and healthy. Most of the food is good, especially when I can add salt back in on Day 4.  If I could show you the face my Damsel made...oh boy...here is a pic of the soup, next time I won't blend quite so long...it's very fluffy soup.

Yeah..it's gross looking...

Great day all day, then today was an add chicken day...

Dinner was delicious, I even had a compliment from my man which is rare, so it was well deserved.  Tomorrow is chocolate day but I snuck a very tiny bit of dark chocolate.  Later that night I had very bad heart burn and my body was a little achy..these are big signs to watch for, but chicken and dark chocolate are very low reactive so I am a bit baffled, but since my wt. was still down the next morning....well, it was down a whom-ping 1.4 pounds still!! So I noted this in my journal and will begin Day 4.
From now on I will write about a full day, the following day.

Tid bits:

My hubs is not full on board sadly, he was tired from the day 1 cleanse, he works and his taste buds are less agreeable to all these veggies than me...he will get there but he will be eating our food at home and he already agreed to that.  I am happy.

Also. the flax granola breakfast is not my fav but I am hanging in there and was able to add a bit of honey today which made me very happy. I made the alternative compote and will try that later.

Total Loss so far:   5 pounds

Thanks to my Savior for helping me through this and my Braveheart for giving me inspiration!!  I can do this..he went through so much more and loved me to be healthy.
Love you Brave Boy...miss you so much!!!

Day 1: elimination diet

So we have been missing our dear boy for over 7 months now. It just doesn't seem real.  I get so busy taking care of my other littles that even though I think of him every moment of the day, how can I not, he is still here in everything he left behind, I do sometimes forget to have a really good cry.  Preparing my oldest left at home's school binder had me sifting through B's binder from last year and I was all alone and so I just couldn't stop crying forever!! He always encouraged me to eat healthy and exercise.

Now with Damsel having thyroiditis that quickly turned into Hypothyroidism, I must be motivated to make a change here. We are all stressed and ill after these last 41/2 yrs and especially after the stress of losing one most precious to us.
My research has taken me to 'the plan' by Lyn Genet.  Some of you may of heard of her from the Dr. Oz, I don't watch regular TV but someone told me about this book so I have been researching and our whole family is going to start the Plan.
It is a 20 day elimination diet, using your body's wt and signs as a indicator of your 'trigger foods.  The children will start on Day 4 and will journal any changes so that they will not be taught to 'focus' on wt plus it doesn't help a youngy yet at their age.
Yes, I am going to try it with the kids.....they aren't looking forward to it but they are very willing...this is my chance to do this all at once and see if we can find out what is triggering things in each of us.  I have already stopped wheat for myself and I find that I went from 1-6 Ibuprofen a day to just a few a week!!! Seriously!

What do we need help with you might be wondering?

Me: I am fat, cannot get the wt off, tired, achy, low energy.....headaches, low concentration..I could go on. I guess I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia years back but who knows.

Damsel:  She has an auto-immune disease!! Seriously??  I want to try to see if there is something setting this off...they don't know much about this medically nor is there any treatment.

Ninja: He is pretty good except he has severe acne and  major bouts of IBS, also he does have an attitude sometimes but then he is a teenage boy...

The Man:  Well, he is perfect...he wasn't even breastfed...haaa...perfect teeth...he can eat any food and it doesn't seem to bother him, he has general energy but not over an abundance of it..well he did have bad eyes but that was corrected with lasic.. ok so he is over weight and has a chronic back pain, that I hope will be alleviated...I love him...we will see how it goes...much of this food will be slightly challenging for him to eat..carrot ginger soup pureed?? oh boy

Ok, so keep up with me here and I will try to keep you informed on how we are doing.

I am going to go take a pic and get the flax granola out of the oven...hope the man can eat it...

YIKES!  I can't believe how fat I have become!!

I wish I could find a better picture of me when I was skinnier but here something at least from 2009.

summer changes

This summer is going way to fast!  We miss our dear boy every single day, but our days do go on.  It just is. We have school starting on August 12th for Ninja and August 26th for Damsel.  Oh how I wish I were planning school for Braveheart!!
After much prayer and consideration and an already solid adoration for Classical Conversations, we are going to home school both of the kids full time.  Saying this, one must know that it is harder for me lately with all we've been through, however, Damsel did a great job last year. We were in Essentials and did the Foundations work at home.  She took math at Ninja's school. Our day was choppy with all the driving, so I am looking forward to that being done. Also, my Ninja is very hard to home school. It's just true. They all have different personalities right?  That being said, after much progress with his two subjects at home, I believe we can do this. God will help us and we are keeping much of our 'busy-ness' to a minimum while we adjust to a new way of doing things for him.

Now, with such a busy summer, I am wishing for some quiet days at home while I get some planning done. I am also trying to adjust my lifestyle and diet. After losing 40 pounds last year with the help of juicing, then gaining most of it back and then feeling so sick....catching things (due to stress, I know) and the chonic issues I have with my bad knee and feet, chronic tiredness, and many other symptoms, then finding out my daughter has Thyroiditis....I know I need to find out what is going on and fix it. So, we are all making changes and I am reading some great books to add to my arsenal of changes.
My first plan is to prepare for and follow through with an elimination diet. Something I am doing is making me sick and me and my dtr have some kind of inflammation issues.  I will not just watch her and wait until she might need pills.
More on that later. Pray for me. Miss you always Braveheart!!!!

Summer Squash Bella Stir Fry with Herbed Goat Cheese

Soooooo gooooood!

I threw this together the other day and personally I thought it looked quite beautiful.  It was really a last minute, what in the world should I eat moment.  It tasted great and I didn't want to eat the spaghetti leftovers since pasta puts pounds on this pretty little behind if you know what I mean...
Sooo...I did what millions of people have done before me but in order to remember the details easily and to encourage you in case you need it, I am writing it down here.  This is very tasty and good to eat on the juicing/ good fats eating plan.

sweet onion, amount of choice, I used about 1/4
summer squash, I used one small one
sautee in coconut oil until starts to tender
add baby bella mushrooms, I used about half a pint
add leftover chucks of meat from the spaghetti you won't eat
now add fresh garlic from your press (we don't want it to burn by putting it in too soon)
salt and pepper well, also Mama Garlic seasoning mix
don't over cook, keep it firm.....

Now here is the kicker that knocks this out of the water.......................drum role please................

I had some herbed soft goat cheese I needed to eat, so I through this in until melted through...it must have been around 2-4 Tbsp worth.

WOW!!  That was so good!!  And it was just like I like it, if it's not a 'dump and go' then it's 'slice and sautee'...gotta love 'em!

keeping accountable

I decided to try to write more here about how my eating is going for many reasons.

1. Even though I don't claim to be any kind of excellent writer, I really love to write and it gives a chance to do that.
2. I know some of you actually care what I am up to personally even if we can't get together right now as much as we would like.
3. I need some accountability.

So, today is my weigh day.  One more pound down with 3 total.  I really do feel like the bits o' cellulite I have accumulated are improved but I am watching to make sure it is not my imagination.  I haven't done a 100% juice fast but am drinking 8-16 ounces daily.

Yesterdays was quite good:

1/2 cuke
one chunk mustard leaf
handful of beet leaf
4 org. carrots
one whole swiss chard 
1 org green apple
small handful cranberries
handful fresh parsley
2 celery

I think that was everything, plus I had a raw salad for lunch and went for some walking/lifting in the evening.
In addition I had fun making a yummy potato and leek casserole that was scrump for dinner and ate small portion. Although I used the potatoes we had, I am determining to try to get all my potatoes at the farmer's market this year as they are the worst pesticide offenders in the veggie world.

For the record, I also spent most of my day on the phone with doctors regarding Braveheart who isn't feeling well and has an infection.  Ahhhh..it felt good to sit down at the end of the day!

pumpkin muffins...mmm...

I just finished enjoying some warm, fresh, right out of the oven Pumpkin Muffins...mmmm...!  I am on a mission to keep getting organized as much as I can with the high task of getting Braveheart back into a learning routine, in addition to assisting his recovery, making him healthy, plus I want to use up some of my 'stash' that has accumulated in my deep freezer and pantry.  By the way, I just dropped off some blood for his labs this very morning.

One thing that we still hadn't used up were those zip lock bags of  home grown pumpkin that I  had cooked and frozen about two years ago.  I have been planning on making muffins.  Today was the day. I used some of the fresh ground white wheat I had ground and stuck in the freezer last year.  OH MY GOODNESS!  So good, soft, moist, delicious!!!  If you haven't started grinding your own grains, then you may want to consider it soon because it is soooo good.  Well, the boy is done with his math, I must return to my 'real' duties.  Love it though and now I have some healthy snacks for the kids when they get home! Yum! Maybe I can get back to my poor office room that is calling my name...but now I have gotten a brief bit of writing out which I thoroughly enjoy..have a great week!

superfoods!!!!!

Top Superfoods Offering Super Health Protection

• Beans
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Oats
• Oranges
• Pumpkin
• Salmon
• Soy
• Spinach
• Tea (green or black)
• Tomatoes
• Turkey
• Walnuts
• Yogurt

so much to post...

I can't believe I am even here updating this, but I had a moment and wanted some memories here, although some I would like to forget..but we're in a good place right now. Braveheart is feeling very well at this time. His little tiny head hairs are starting to grow back. He is on a very strict, immune building, healing diet. He gets annoyed about it at times but we try to work on new, interesting ways to make is diet palatable. He was just too used to eating junk food even with all my healthy ways of cooking. Nothing like a little death threat to really make you stand up and take notice. I can't wait to tell you more about what we are doing here. God is leading and directing and we appreciate all your prayers. I will keep you all informed as we go. After MUCH prayer, we are hoping to delay a BMT to the VERY last ditch effort. We are staying close to home, hanging out, adjusting to new eating habits and taking each day one at a time. There is more than just diet involved. There are very specific 'bad cell' treatments involved as well. We are thrilled to have you on our 'pray for healing' team! SO, here is some updated pics from Dec. month. Aren't our kids so precious???


This was the Friday that we learned the bad news at the university hospital. The little ones had their promotion so daddy took them. They did very well and each earned their next belt. She can really kick high can't she? Love that look on her face when she does that.

Here T is enjoying the early part of his gift. Damsel got a hamster for her 9th birthday and found the sweetest one around and her cage friend was so tender and sweet and so these two were ordained by God to be our hamster babes.

Weird weekend as we spent it together preparing for hospital on Monday and more chemo..I can't believe it still...

We all get in the spirit to send college boy a note. We love and miss him.

I will update our Christmas pics.