This month has been filled with honing and refining for me. I've been refining the rhythm of the day (again)--and embraced this quirk about me. I think I used to feel guilty that I could never get the perfect schedule, but now I realize that the perfect routine changes over tie with the changing needs of my little family. And so I relish the refinement process knowing that this rhythm is good--and the next will be too.
I've been re-organizing and deep cleaning my kitchen from top to bottom. I'm about 75% done--just a few drawers left. I have been reading a book called "The Sacred Kitchen" which has totally changed my view of my sweet, special kitchen. I have long admired my Mother's ability to create such a haven in the kitchen I grew up in. She loved cooking and baking for her family and you could literally taste her excitement in the yummy food she prepared. She always told us her secret ingredient was "love." And while I've longed to have this love for cooking like she has, I've never been able to feel it. I tried, but until the last few weeks, cooking has been chore to cross off the to-do list. I think I liked it even less than vacuuming! But I've been praying for this talent and working so hard to develop it and the Lord has granted me my desire. I now see my kitchen as an oasis of peace, calm, and love. I absolutely adore cooking and baking for my family and relish the sweet time I get to spend in my kitchen every day. One day soon I'll share some of my secrets about this center of the home and post more pictures of my kitchen, but for now, here is my kitchen command center (which I love!!) Here I menu plan, keep a day planner of my family's activities, meals, snacks, and to-do's. I also have speakers hidden under the fabric in the basket so I can listen to beautiful, calming classical and church music while I cook and bake each day.
I've also been honing our family's nutrition by creating systems for healthy eating in our home. While it started out overwhelming, I knew that the transition to healthy eating would be as simple or difficult as I made it. So we cut out all white sugar (except for the little bit of candy the littles have every day) and replaced it with honey and pure maple syrup. We've eliminated white flour and I grind my own wheat flour and make my own coconut flour and coconut milk. I roll our oatmeal and make homemade granola a few times each month. We've cut out nearly all processed foods and focus now on eating things in a form as close to the earth as possible--fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains ground fresh. We are by no means perfect but I can't even begin to explain the change that has come over me the last few months.
To think that General Conference is coming up so soon and will mark to the day the 6-month anniversary of my health journey. In just 6 months with the help of the Lord, I have been able to cure my gastroparesis, receive 100 times more energy through a change in diet that nourishes my body type, vaporize my little bit of lingering depression, set in place a daily power-up and power-down routine complete with exercise that is best for me, improve my skin health, grow so much closer to my Heavenly Father, trust myself more, improve my confidence, and fuse my emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual health together. This has been quite a journey and I am so grateful the Lord led me down this path. I feel amazing and ready to conquer the world every day that I wake up. I know that without His help and the Savior's grace, I would not be in the place I am today.
I have witnessed so many miracles in the last decade since that time when my family and I packed our bags for Portugal. And it's amazing for me to look back on the last 10 years and see how far I've traveled. I'm so grateful for my life. It is so good. And even though the last few years have been full of ups and downs, I know that I could never have appreciated where I am now if I hadn't gone through my challenges. Truly, we need the bitter to appreciate the sweet.
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| My yummy soaked, cooked garbanzo beans---finally I've found a way to prepare beans so they taste Portuguese!!! |
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| My first batch of the yummiest popcorn you will ever eat! I call it kettle corn because that's what it tastes like--just coconut oil, pure maple syrup, and a little sea salt! |
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| It's our Sunday evening tradition right before we watch our beloved Avonlea. |
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| And lastly, my Blendtec. This little machine is my right-hind man! I use it several times a day and I love it for EVERYTHING--from peanut butter to soup to ice cream to grinding flour to smoothies to coconut milk and flour to ANYTHING! It was worth every single penny! |
Lastly, this month I've been honing in on one of my goals for this year--that of establishing simple, yet meaningful family traditions. So St. Patrick's Day was utterly lovely (post to follow tomorrow).
And I bid you farewell, until tomorrow of course! ;)
