My people, my family living the best healthy life style
Why I chose health and a chemical free lifestyle for me and my family…
- I don’t want to get sick. Who does? I want to be a healthy, active grandma. I’ll do whatever I can to minimize my risk of getting cancer, having a stroke or heart attack, or suffering an autoimmune disease.
- I want to have enough energy to do what I need to do each day.
Everything I do takes energy from cooking healthy meals, to being a wife and mom, to getting outside and playing with my grandkids. The diet and lifestyle choices I make...directly affect my energy. - I want to feel good. When I feel good I’m a better mom, a better wife, and a happier person. I want my body to be strong, able, and fit.
I started this new life style in 2014.
Why all of a sudden was this important to me?
It’s because ... ONE DAY A LIGHT BULB CAME ON!
I finally started to connect the dots.
After my Mom passed away due to Breast Cancer and... 6 years later my dad passed away due to bladder cancer... It got me thinking.
It got me thinking how my immune system may have been compromised while pregnant with our 2nd child who was born with a birth defect. Really? Could there really be something to that?
And then I ask myself...What caused my husband at the age of 61 to have a heart attack?
These are all questions I think about and I wonder if there were toxic chemicals that could have been avoided or... the hundreds of chemicals I was exposed to and put on my body each day or ... could it have been the many toxic cleaning products I used and most times had to covered my face with a towel so as not to breath in the chemical smell that literally made me feel like I was passing out.
Looking back now I shudder to think how I was so naive and unaware of what I was really doing to not just me, but also compromising my families health.
So the day that light Bulb came on was the best day ever! That is the day, with my husbands encouragement, I took a few wash baskets full of toxic products that were literally in every room in our home and I chucked them!!! I did!! I threw away hundreds of dollars worth of products and ... I made that first step to living a toxic free lifestyle, the best that I know how.
That included checking labels on all the stuff I put in my grocery cart. Talk about time consuming ! Yes! but ... so worth it!
After doing a ton of research I decided to start my new life style journey with "Young Living"
So why Young Living you might ask?
I had heard that Essential Oils had many health properties and I thought I would try them.
With so many essential oil companies to choose from, which essential oil company is the best? After doing research I chose Young Living as my essential oil company for my family’s health. And here is why…
My sister and I at the Young Living farm in Utah
Who is Young Living?
As the world leader in essential oils, we believe that everyone deserves a life full of abundance and wellness. Our vision is to bring the life-changing benefits of essential oils to every home, family, and lifestyle.
Not all oils are created equal. In fact, most of the oils on the market are synthetic, especially if they’re cheap. I know first hand that many oil companies try to stretch their oils and use fillers to do just that. Yucky fillers! Please beware. You get what you pay for.
Young Living oils are so pure, they’ve even developed their own purity standard called the Young Living therapeutic-grade standard. They’re marketed as the purest oils on the market, never synthetic or diluted, 100% “Seed To Seal.” check it out here.
The YL story started more than 20 years ago with a simple, home-built essential oil distillery. Today, our farms and community span the globe. Because of our proven commitment to provide nature’s best, millions trust us to deliver superior essential oils.
Young Living is a high quality company that consistently exceeds all of my expectations. I never worry about if they are pure or not. I went to the farm in Utah and when you see how they "plant the seeds to when you put that drop of oil on your skin" it is simply amazing!
Another reason I choose Young Living is because of the Young Living foundation they are passionate about and ... to know I have a part in this makes my heart glad! Such a good cause!
Check it out here, ]https://www.youngliving.com/en_US/company/media/partnerships/young-living-foundation
As I share my story with people I meet, it has led to a growing community of friends and has given me the opportunity of an unexpected successful business venture. I love to help people and there is nothing more fulfilling then that. I love what I do!
follow me on our facebook community @https://www.facebook.com/groups/521561731863879
Order here...https://www.youngliving.com/us/en/referral/1853613
It's 7:30 am. I hear the ding of a text... It says... Help! “I have a massive headache”. I make a straight beeline to my adult sons room to find him holding his head in excruciating pain!
One can only imagine how painful this type of headache really is!
As I access the situation I’m thinking, oh goodness, is this an aura to a seizure? It’s all too familiar. I gather my wits…I stay calm, I try to keep my son calm hoping and praying it does not turn into another nightmare.
Several minutes pass…. The monster headache doesn’t stop there but instead it leashes out to a full blown seizure!
We’re not talking a couple of minute seizure but one that refuses to stop! 90 minutes!
What I see in the next 90 minutes is a hard image to forget. It’s an image of feeling incredible helplessness. I watch my son In sheer desperation cry out to Jesus… Help me! Please help me!
He is fully aware and seizing at the same time. Never losing consciousness and... fully aware of the intense pain that is accompanying the seizure.
911 is called. And me?… I just crawled out of bed minutes before, my hair looks like a balled up spider web, I'm not fully dressed... and I really was not expecting company at this early hour!
I put myself together in short order and hope and pray the ambulance will put the “Pedal To The Metal”! Praying they will get here sooner then later!
The paramedics take over and administer an IV. The medicine trickles through his body, only… it doesn’t even phase the seizure one bit.
This seizure is not giving in. It continues to shake the body, fixate the eyes, all the while… my son is still conscious and moaning with pain in his arm!
90 minutes later it finally says, “Enough is Enough” The seizure releases it’s grip just minutes before arriving to the hospital.
This particular hospital is really… not the best equipped to handle the situation. The Dr. makes a decision that it would be best to air lift him to a Philadelphia hospital 1.5 hours away but… a mere 15 minute helicopter ride. I’m like …What?
My husband and I watch… the roar of the helicopters rotating wings nearly sweep us off our feet. We firmly plant our feet so as to not be blown away! All the while fictating our eyes upward into the bright noon sky. We watch until it’s merely just a speck in the sky. Up... Up and away he goes. Watching and praying…hoping everything will be ok.
Once again …it's ok. Another seizure, another hospital stay…
Everyone has a story and everyone handles their story differently.
I have people say to me…you are so strong! You are super Mom!
To set the record straight, I have no desire to be super mom! I may look strong on the outside but what you don’t see is... a scared mama that is totally freaking out not knowing if her son is going to make it this time.
At one point when a situation like this would happen (and yes, it has happened on numerous occasions) I would go into a full blown panic attack! I would be totally useless and my body and limbs would go limp. Talk about a helpless feeling!
With good nutrient, essential oils, talking to my counselor and simply leaning into Jesus, I no longer get those debilitating panic attacks.
Now when there is drama to this degree... I typically sail right through it. I have my wits, I don’t panic, I pray a lot and I am able to stay calm.
But… its after the fact that I literally fall apart!
I withdraw... I feel sad, depressed, and I feel like a failure as a mom. Why couldn’t I fix it?
I literally can’t think or make decisions. I want to curl up and bury my head in a pillow. I'm tired, scared, worried. I feel like I'm crawling through a dark tunnel in slow motion with no light at the end of the tunnel.
Life is like riding a wave. Big waves! Waves that take you under the churning waters and toss you around like a tin can. It's rather jarring... whiplash.
I really must get better at riding the waves!
It literally takes me a few days to process what just happened and the emotional trauma that played havoc on my mind and my body eventually quiets. The sea becomes calm, the waves become a sea of glass. I lean into Jesus. It’s really my only source.
My conversation to God goes something like this. Why? Why when Randall was crying out to you and seizing at the same time crying out... God, Help Me! Please help me! Why did you not stop the seizure? Why?
If I would continue to dwell on the Why? (And I’m sure we all do it) I would probably drive myself crazy.
It’s then that I literally make a conscious effort to look at how God really Did show up. He showed up by allowing me to stay in the hospital the several nights he was there when all odds were against me because of Covid restrictions.
He showed up when I was told I could sleep in the next bed instead of a hard uncomfortable recliner. What a tender "God Kiss" that was!
He showed up by giving us caring Doctors and nurses that genuinely had Randall’s best interest in mind, He showed up when friends called and said, How really are you…the texts saying, I’m praying for you friend...seeing a friend at the grocery store and her telling me how God laid me on her heart and that she had been praying for me.
I call these "God Kisses" That is truly what they are.
I'm learning how to ride the waves...taking deep breaths and... moment by moment I pull myself back up and then... just like that the sun comes back out, the skies are blue, the grass is green again. But... it's not without a struggle.
Do you need a "God Kiss"?
Your story may be a lot different and more intense then mine.
What are your "God Kisses"? Do you notice them?
I promise you… if you look, you will find them, just like I did. It may be just what you need to get through your situation.
https://www.youngliving.com/us/en/referral/1853613
I always say… being a grandparent is like icing on a cake or...whip cream with a cherry on top.
The day we became Mom- Mom and Pop- Pop was a day that forever changed our lives.
The hugs, snuggles and smiles melt my heart every time. Running towards me with arms open wide and the biggest smile on their face is the best medicine ever! I could be having the worst day, and those little faces change everything.
There is something incredibly special about the bond between grandparents and grandchildren, and it's so much deeper than the snack drawer and free babysitting.
One of the things I enjoy the most is when the little grandkids sleep over. To them, sleeping on the floor or in the big walk in closet are memories they will never forget. And oh ... I can't forget to mention the precious moments when the wee little ones pray their most precious prayers. with their child like faith, their payers surely reach heaven.
A study, published in the Journal of the North American Menopause Society, found the highest cognitive scores among older women who spent one day weekly babysitting their grandchildren.
However, a heavier schedule of babysitting five days or more each week was tied to reduced thought-processing speed and working-memory ability. Interesting for sure. There needs to be a good balance.
The life of a Mom Mom …. how I see it.
Missing them when I don’t see them - even if it’s just a few days.
Being ME with no inhibition’s, They just love you for who you are
Singing loudly and they are ok with it
Not getting enough of them
They actually think you are cool
Melting at the site of them
Heart to heart talks, even the teenagers
Seeing the world through their eyes.
They love your stories, over and over again. Especially the ones of their own parents
Did you know …
-Although grandkids (especially the young ones) can be mentally exhausting, spending time with them can actually boost your cognitive performance.
-Studies have shown that having a relationship with grandkids can add an average of five years to grandparents lives. I'll take that.
-A good relationship between grandparents and their young adult grandchildren can benefit the psychological health of both the grandparent and the grandkid.
-Caring for grandchildren can help with depression, boost social connections and keep older adults mentally sharp..
-Grandparents provide stability, safety, wisdom and fun.
-One study found that in families where grandparents regularly spent time with teenage grandchildren, the teens had lower rates of depression than teens who didn’t see their grandparents often
-They were known to have higher academic success, greater self-confidence and higher rates of competence and maturity
-Studies have found that children who are close to their grandparents have fewer emotional and behavioral problems, and are better able to cope with traumatic life events, like a divorce or bullying at school.
