Always Tired...

That describes me to a "T"! I am ALWAYS tired. It doesn't seem to make a difference what I do. There are times when it's worse...ie once a month and during the first and third trimesters of pregnancy. This is the story of how I became tired all the time. (I will be commenting on foods that I know are extremely bad for you. At the time I didn't know that, and seeing as it was 15 yrs ago I don't think they were as bad for you as they are now)

Around the time I was 14 I started to gain weight. By the time I was 16 I was around 190-200lbs. Not good. Towards the beginning of '96 I was doing ballet. We had practice 4 times a week. I was teaching ballet, and I started doing Escrima with my dad and brother. (escrima is sword and dagger fighting, using wooden sticks to train) I started losing some weight. By the time I graduated in May, I had lost around 20-25lbs.

I had my graduation ceremony on a Friday night. Afterwards I felt sorta sick, but mainly just a sore throat. Over the next 3 days I was VERY SICK! I spent it all sleeping and in that 3 day span I lost over 20lbs and continued losing weight over the next few months...'til I was down to 135lbs. During the beginning I had a sore throat and got a terrible cough. The cough hurt my chest SO bad, it was awful. I was so weak that I spent most of my time in bed. I would get up to use the bathroom and be falling asleep while in there, only to get back in bed and go right back to sleep. I couldn't eat hardly anything. I went from being able to eat a double cheeseburger, large fries and large drink and still be hungry to I couldn't eat more than 3 chicken nuggets. I developed an intolerance to dark colored sodas, but clear one's were fine.

During this time I also went from being able to tan and being quite dark to being white as a ghost and getting second/third degree burns from the sun.

A couple weeks later I got an UTI. I was put on antibiotics for that and towards the end of that developed an allergic reaction to it. I also noticed at some point that there was a large mass in my left side, right under my rib cage. I could push it back, but it would just come forward again.

I went to the Dr's several times. Had innumerable tests done. The Dr was actually so worried about me (we had a wonderful Dr at the time) she actually called my mom to see how I was doing. The tests showed absolutely NOTHING! The Dr was very concerned about the mass in my side as well, so I had to do more tests for that. They discovered that my kidney is turned and tilted forwards. What I can feel under my rib cage is the top of my kidney.

Over the course of the next year I slowly recovered. At least to the point where I was semi normal. I still was much weaker than I should have been. I started having awful kidney pains. The worse when I would eat too much sugary foods or sodas and not get enough regular food. I still could barely eat. Since that time I have MORE than recovered my appetite. I still have occasional problems with my kidneys, esp if I take Vit C or drink citrus juice. To this day I still am tired most of the time. My Dr now says it's just cause I have so many kids. (Because you know everyone with more than the average 1.8 children just must be exhausted!) She tried to put me on BP meds saying I have high BP (which does run in my family) only at my next visit the nurse told me what my readings were and they were no where NEAR high. So I remain in the dark to this day. I am trying some supplements and am hoping they will work for me. We are doing our best to switch over to whole, natural, organic foods. It's very hard though when you're exhausted to cook from scratch. I realize it would help, but sometimes I'm just too tired to care.

Why am I tell you this? I don't know exactly, but I hate for people to think I'm just a complaining, whiny baby. When I say I'm tired, I really mean it! Thanks for letting me "vent" :D

Blessings, ♥T

Orange Julius Recipe

I love Orange Julius's! They are so yummy! Very bad for you I'm sure, but still tastes so good! They're also very hard to come by if you never go to the mall, which I don't :D So after much checking around, and trial and error I've found the perfect recipe!

1 C OJ (I think Tropicana works best)
1/3 C heavy cream
1/3 C whole milk
2 rounded TBSP powdered sugar
1-2 ice cubes
1/8 tsp vanilla

Blend til ice chunks are gone and enjoy! YUMMY!!!

Working on...

Well, hello there! It feels like it's been forever! We've been snow bound for the last 2 weeks. Not too enjoyable. It's supposed to clear up this weekend and get really warm though so that will be nice!

My nephew is in need of prayer again. A double ear infection, RSV and sounds like pneumonia. :( They think he has asthma. Pray for him and his mommy!

An update on our grain soaking. Kathleen is apparently allergic to oats. It doesn't matter if they're soaked or not. She did seem ok the first day, but the second time I was giving her benadryl (which I don't like doing) because she was really reacting. I am starting to think she's allergic to strawberries too, along with a myriad of other things! The kids all like the oats this way though. And it makes it super easy in the morning! Just add a little water, bring to boil and Voilà you're done! We've been experimenting with toppings too. But anyways...I have noticed that the oats do not bother me like they normally do, when they're soaked. So that's a good thing.

We finished our cleanse and are now doing a de-worming. Our family hasn't been sick since the flu we had in Dec. We went to a KOF meeting and a person there had brought her kids with strep, bronchitis, and ear infections. Lovely huh?! We only had a few kiddos start feeling yucky and upped the Vit C. Thankfully, no one got really sick and we're all fine now. Unfortunately it has made it to where we have decided to not go to church for a while. (We had also found out that another person in the church had kids with bronchitis, and pneumonia) We have decided that we are going to be keeping the kids out of some of the kids programs. (or should I say all?!) When we go back that is! We have found that they aren't learning enough to make it "worth" their being there. The influences are the same influences we are keeping them out of public school and the world for, so why do we feel it's ok in SS or kids church? My kids are too young, immature, and impressionable to be the "salt & light" to the kids in there. My personal opinion is, it's not their place anyways, it's the teachers. So, sadly, we may be looking for a more "family friendly" church. I don't know what the future holds, but I do know who holds the future! :)

We're not doing much around here that's "exciting". Just keeping up with school and housework. Never ending jobs, ya know?! I have been reading some more good books and been really convicted about my words and actions. The kids are such mirrors. Everything I do is coming right back at me through them. We are initiating some changes and there's always tumult with change. We're in the midst of figuring it all out so it'll be a while before things settle into "normal". But at least we're headed in the right direction.

Proverbs 29:17 Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy soul.

This is what I need. I spend too much time frustrated with my kids. All for lack of consistency. So this is what we'll be working on this week. I'm going to get my chart out and have the kids help me come up with appropriate consequences, and then we're going to really work on sticking to them! We're also working on doing our chores/routines right, the first time! I'm potty training Kathleen. I am going to reinstate "blanket time" and really work on it for the little ones. (my older ones like blanket time :) And I'm going to start "church training". I have quite a few preaching videos, and I'm going to have the kids watch them. We are going to pretend we're at church during them. I think we'll set up chairs to be pews and really work on them sitting still and being quiet, while paying attention. Plus I can pause it and not miss it myself, while taking care of any naughtiness that comes up.

Pantries!

That's what I've been doing this week. Organizing pantries! With a family this size, we have quite a lot of food and with trying to stock up, we really have a lot of food! We (my hubby and I) have really been feeling a need to stock up lately. To become self sustaining. To be prepared. In case of anything really...depression, natural disaster, war, EMP...Not that we're hoping anything happens but we believe we should be prepared. And since so many Christians we know have been feeling that prompting too, it kinda makes it seem like it's probably a really good thing to do. My hubby has been reading several blogs on how to prepare, and so have I. One good article was What to do in case of an EMP? While I'm sure a lot of people will think "oh they're just weird" or "they're just doomsday sayers" or "that could never happen here" or "nothing bad will happen". I don't think we should let that stop us from being prepared, and if nothing happens, well that's a blessing and we'll have plenty of food and supplies, but if something were to happen? We wouldn't be sitting around panicking and wondering what we're going to do. We'll just go on living!


When questioned by a friend and hinted at by a loved one, it got me thinking. So I asked my hubby what he thought...The question/hint...God is in control and we don't have to worry. We shouldn't stress about it. "Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?" And if you read the rest of the passage it talks about it more. But I think there's a difference in worrying about what tomorrow holds and preparing for things. We can prepare and not be worried or consumed! We are supposed to be good stewards with what we have, so I don't think you should do anything beyond your means. You shouldn't go into debt to "prepare". Also, I think we can all learn a lesson from Joseph! He became a leader second only to the Pharaoh because he PREPARED! The Lord used him to stockpile and save His people from starvation. I think if we look at it like that it becomes the right perspective. No we shouldn't worry or stress, but we should be ready. If nothing happens, nothing happens, but if something does (And I honestly think it will, and since so many Christians are feeling prompted in the same way...) we'll be prepared. We can take care of our family, and we can help out the ones who didn't prepare. Maybe even lead them to the Lord. So I think you should do whatever you can, within your means to prepare for however long you can, and then leave the rest in God's hands. I don't think we should become consumed with it, but we should be ready for anything! Sitting here with the prompting from the Lord and doing nothing makes us foolish if something big does happen. I don't think He would give so many people the prompting to get self-sustaining and stockpiled, for no reason. And he wouldn't do it to make us look foolish either. I know some people think we're weird for it, but what will they think when something happens? What will they do? They'll turn to us, because we're ready! 


So, saying all that here's a few pics of my pantries and storage room...

Our Everyday Pantry 

Our Storage Pantry

Our Medicine and Food

More Storage Room for Food

Our Books and Movies that I need to Purge :)

Yes, Zachary takes his Naps in the Storage Room!

Our Unfinished Storage room