Eat food, not too much, mostly vegetables....for a week.

Well, I just finished "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan and it was excellent. I whole heartedly recommend it to everyone. It's a short read but jammed full of information that is likely to change to way you see a lot of things. Part of the book talks about "how to eat" - this is not a diet or a list of forbidden foods. Instead it recommends the three things listed in the title of this post:

Eat Food - this means no food products: i.e. imitation foods or foods that your ancestors wouldn't recognize as food. That also means if the ingrediant list is long and full of things you can't pronounce - it's probably not food but a food product. It's a lot more detailed than that but you get the idea...

Not too much - this means we enjoy our food and don't gorge ourselves on it. We eat more like the French who eat smaller portions of higher quality food.

Mostly vegetables - this means that we eat way too much meat in the country because it has become so cheap. Our ancestors ate a lot less just because it wasn't as available - as do people in other countries. We needs to eat more vegetables with meat being the side dish.

I have oversimplified the book's message by a million - there are health reasons to eat this way but just as importantly environmental, political, and social reasons. In my opinion this book needs to be read hand in hand with The Omnivore's Dilemma which I am still reading - it's a lot longer. Anyhow, my point being that I want to try it out starting this coming Sunday.

I wanted a little time to prepare so I could have it in my mind what I could make. You'd be surprised by how much isn't true food anymore - at least partly. Like today I wanted a tuna sandwich but when I looked at the can saw that it was partly vegetable broth - meaning soy flakes! I ate my tuna still but next week I won't be able to unless I buy the raw tuna and cook it myself. Anyhow...I'll let you know how it goes...I'm curious what my week will be like and I'm betting the food will taste a lot better - as long as I do my job right!

One year ago today...

....I was sitting in my OBGYN's office waiting for my ultrasound. I was HUGELY excited. Mike was with me and we had gotten Elijah out of school so could find out if he was getting that sister he was praying for or another brother. Andrew was at my sister-in-law Anna Lisa's house since he was only 2 and wouldn't have really gotten what was going on.

After getting there we found out that my appointment was an hour earlier than I had thought and they were going to make me come back the next week. I was sooo bothered - as any pregnant girl would be to have to wait. But then they decided they could fit me in if I would wait. We waited and finally got in. Immediately I knew something was wrong by the look on the technician's face. She then went out and got my doctor and when my doctor came in they checked a few things together and then they sent Elijah out. Once that happened I started getting tears in my eyes. Mike still had no idea that anything was wrong but I knew something big was about to happen. All I could say to my doctor was, "The baby isn't doing so well, is it?" She replied, "No honey, the baby's not alive."

It turned out that the baby died sometime in the days before the ultrasound - probably about two days before. We had to go out and explain to my excited 5 year old that the baby had died. We were all profoundly sad. It was really hard. We then had to make the calls to moms and dads and sisters and brothers to let them know what had happened. We still aren't really sure what happened with the baby. Though she was a little girl - 19 weeks along. She looked healthy but it appears that my placenta got some sort of infection which in turn in the weeks before my ultrasound made it so my baby wasn't getting the rich healthy blood it needed.

At that time we were living in Kingwood in a big house that we wanted to get out of and Mike was in a job that was going down hill because of the housing crunch. Here's my post from that time last year. I am sharing all of this because now this morning I was once again at my OBGYN's office waiting for my appointment. Except this time it's a week before I am going to give birth to my third son. We live two hours north of where we used to live. Mike is working in a new job with great oppurtunity and we live in a small rental home with five chickens out back. In some ways, we are so far from where we were last year and yet we couldn't be happier. If someone would have told me that in a year we'd be here with all of the changes that have gone on, I know I wouldn't have had the faith to believe them. In fact, my faith is what was most affected by that experience. It took me a long time to hope again. To believe that good would come in my life. I feel bad that I lost that hope so easily and I also feel grateful for a patient Father in Heaven who was willing to gently show me the way back to hope again.

I already was learning that you never know where you are going to end up but this year has really exhibited that for me. And even though you may not have any idea how things will all work out or how the path goes on or where it ends up - you cannot give up hope. I really hope now that I can gain the strength that nothing can beat me. That no matter what life throws at me I am going to keep going forward. That I won't ever give up. Hopelessness is an ugly place to be. I decided after the miscarriage and other things that were happening that I couldn't put my trust in the "arm of flesh" - meaning my husband's job, my house, or even the lives of my children or my husband. It's a hard thing for any mom to even fathom when it comes to losing a child or husband - but I now believe that even those experiences won't give us a "get out of life free" card. We cannot be beat. We must get up, brush ourselves off, and keep going. Though the pain will be intense and sometimes, if not often, seem overwhelming, I think if we are willing to get back up then we will be strengthened and joy will return to us.

I have been so blessed this year. By things such as this pregnancy, by a loving relationship with my husband, and by the little things friends and teachers have said. When we moved it had only been three months since the miscarriage and our new church congregation or ward asked us to speak - as is customary for the new people. The topic they gave us was, "Blessings after tribulation". I was like, "Are you serious? Did someone put you up to this?" At that time I had some things to say about that - but this year has been a case study in it. So, for all of you who are feeling like you don't know how you're going to get out of where you are now, or how you'll ever get what you are hoping for...don't worry - it's coming. And though it may not be the simple point A to point B that you thought it would be, all those extra stops in between will make the destination all the sweeter and fuller. As long as you don't give up hope in God. Keep on trusting. Even in if means you have to chuckle, shake your head and say, "I have no idea how this is all going to work out, but it'll sure be fun to see how He does it."

I'm sure many of you are learning these same things and could share amazing stories of ending up somewhere completely different then where you thought. Wouldn't life be dull if it were any other way? We should look back and remember those changes & share them - to remind all of us of the beauty of life and the necessity of hope. "For we are saved by hope" -Romans 8:24

So now, I wonder where I will be next April 24th?

Essential skills for danger loving boys...

My oldest has been asking for me to teach him how to sew for a long time. There may come a time or an age when he realizes that most boys don't sew and wouldn't want to know anymore but luckily he doesn't feel that way yet. I decided it was time to start because I see that reality looming and because I think he's got enough hand eye coordination now to pull it off.

Even if your son isn't into sewing this book may convince him to be. This has got to be one of my top favs of all time. It's got great stories, activities, articles, etc. all on being a boy.And there's one little paragraph in the front of the book that may be good material for convincing your boy of the value of sewing. See number 6 under essential gear? Click the image to see it larger...it's some good stuff.


And since we've got him into the basic hand stitching - it's pretty easy to get him onto the machine. Actually, I think every kid wants to play around with a sewing machine - it's pretty much a power tool. Luckily mine isn't too nice a machine so I'm not stressed about him using it. But I've seen some really cool kid-friendly sewing machines at the craft store. And they only cost around $25.00 - we may have to invest in that someday. Our first project now that we've got the basics down is going to be making a bag to hold all of his essential gear. He's totally excited - and so am I!

Idyllic afternoon

The other afternoon the boys and I decided to explore the abandoned house across the street. It had always intrigued me and so we finally got the guts to go snoop around.After peeking in all the windows we found a beautiful old tree in the backyard that was surrounded with deep ivy. Looking up we realized there was an old swing wrapped around the branch. The branch had actually grown over the chains for the swing. We found the biggest stick we could and finally got it down. After checking to see if it could hold weight we all took turns swinging.

It was so idyllic to swing under that tree - the weather was perfect and the sun was setting through the trees. Some days are just the best and make up for all the rest that aren't so great.

One step closer to our dream....

So tonight for FHE we went and got ourselves some chicken - not for eating. Actually, we got ourselves some chicks. They are as cute as anything and in not too long they will be put in our backyard to provide us with 3 or 4 fresh eggs a day! They'll be in our backyard a lot sooner than those eggs come though. When it's time to move we'll most likely give them away - Elijah already made us promise we wouldn't eat them. Andrew named his first - at the store he said, without even being asked - "I want mine called "mermaid"!" I didn't even know he knew what a mermaid was - which when I said that in the car on the way home he told me there was a mermaid in Backyardigans. Now, I know I'm his mom but that is one smart 2 year old. Mike was next with "Ursula" - to follow the theme of Andrew's name choice. Elijah named his "Crystal" and I finally settled on "Scarlett O'Hara". Mike's and Andrew's are the two black ones and they are Barred Rock Hens and mine and Elijah's are red and are Rhode Island Reds. We are so excited. We have been dreaming of keeping a few hens for a looong time and because of mentors like Marisa and the many books and websites I've looked at I finally felt it was time. Click on the links and you can see images of what they'll look like when they are older!

He's not so little anymore...

Some days are crazy and nothing sounds better than escaping your children and sitting alone on some warm deserted beach. But today wasn't one of those for me. Today I just couldn't get enough of my boys. I wanted to breathe in each moment with them. Elijah started piano not too long ago and he seems to have some natural ability. Watching him tonight he impressed me so much. It's strange to see your small children grow right in front of you. It's like all of a sudden you see them with new eyes. They aren't the toddlers they had been - they aren't so helpless anymore. They learn things that you didn't know they could. Today Elijah switched the laundry through and changed Andrew's diaper - all on his own accord. I am truly impressed but I also hear a strange voice in the back of my mind reminding me that Elijah won't always be mine. Someday he will belong to himself and then hopefully to some nice girl. My sister-in-law AnnaLisa said she's already half way through her time with her oldest at home. It is sad, but also exciting that we get the privilege to be such an intimate part of someone else's life.