Charity

Update time!  So, in the last few months a lot has been going on.  Here's the short version.  Remember my sweet little baby boy, and what a struggle it was to get him?  Well, the trials didn't end when he was born.  When he was 2 months old I took him in for a routine doctors appointment.  While we were there the doctor noticed something unusual and sent us to the hospital for x-rays of his head.  Turns out the plates in his skull had already fused together leaving no soft spot, his head was not able to grow.  Yikes!  So, at barely 4 months old we went to Primary Children's Hospital for Skull Surgery.  They had to remove a strip of his skull. It was stressful! 

 

But while we were there we stayed at the most AMAZING place, the Ronald McDonald House.   Talk about helping out in every way possible to get us through a hard time!  They pretty much removed all of the normal daily stresses so we could focus on our baby.  They have a kitchen open 24/7 stocked with food, lots of activities and toys for the siblings, and so much more.  My kids LOVED staying there.  They made such a difference to our family at an extremely stressful time.  Because of this experience I have become a huge fan and supporter of the Ronald McDonald House and wanted to let you know how you can help the RMHC help other families in their time of need.  After all, it is the season of giving, and if you're looking for a charity to help this is definitely the one! 

If you are interested there are so many different ways to help out this wonderful organization.  You can help out personally by providing service (doing activities with the children, cooking food for the families, even the cleaning staff are volunteers), or you can donate money or items.  You can also donate your change with their Coinstar Collection, at any of the green coin machines near you, or save your pop tops and donate them.  I also highly recommend visiting a Ronald McDonald House if there is one near you.  Just walk around and take a look at everything they do and see some of the families.  I promise you, it will touch your heart.  Here's a link about all the different ways you can get involved. 

As someone who has benefitted from this charity I can tell you that the RMH help real people in their times of need.  If you decide to help them you will be doing a worthwhile service!  I hope you will consider this during this holiday season. 

Righteous VS Self-Righteous Living

This subject is something I struggle with every time I sit down to write a post.  I want to write to inspire, without coming off as self-righteous.  It's a difficult thing to do.  But lately it's been a difficult thing for me in life as well.  Others are often trying to "help" me with suggestions of what I or my family should be doing, but all they end of doing is "help" me feel bad about myself.  I'm all for doing good things, but I'd rather do it in a way that doesn't make someone feel bad about themselves.

Here's a for instance. I don't drink. (Alcohol)  Never have.  Never will.  That's my choice.  But that doesn't mean that I am going to walk up to you and tell you that you shouldn't drink.  If you ask me,  I will tell you my opinion, and I'll tell you why, but I'm not going to tell you what I think you need to do.  See the difference?

Here are some of my thoughts about how we can keep our morals and standards without hurting others in the process.

First of all, be yourself.  Don't live based on what others might think of you, and don't judge others based on what you see.  Live your life the way you want to, but let those around you have the same freedom.
 
Don't judge.  Be aware of others and their needs but don't judge them.  Offering advice when you see a need can often come off as judgmental instead of helpful.  Sometimes it's best not to offer advice when you observe something that you think needs help.  It might be best to wait and offer your advice at a different time, or not at all.  Also keep in mind that everyone is in a different place.  What works for you might not work for them, or interest them, or even be important to them.  Again, don't judge!

Be an Example.  Let your light shine, as they say.  Let your actions speak instead of your mouth.  People are more easily inspired by observation rather than instruction. 

Be a friend.  Sometimes we think we shouldn't be friends with people that have different beliefs/standards, etc.  I disagree.  We should be friends with anyone that we get a long with.  Did you hear that?  Not everyone.  Some people just don't get a long.  But we should be friends with anyone that we get a long with.  It would be pretty boring if we only hung out with people that were exactly like us.  Some of the most beautiful friendships are ones in which our differences are accepted and loved.


It is good to have moral and standards.  It's good to share those thoughts and beliefs.  Just try not to do it in a harmful or hurtful way.  Most importantly love those around you, even if they are different than you. 

Tunnel Gardens

Hi Friends!  It's the first day of Autumn and I thought I'd share something awesome with you.  I LOVE to garden.  I recently learned about a way to garden all year long.  Yes, All Year Long!!!  How amazing is that!  I have seen it with my own two eyes and had to share it with you. 

My friends started this company, it's called Tunnel Gardens. These portable tunnels fit over your garden, require no additional heating, very little water and grow plants beautifully all winter long.  Here is a short 1 minute video showing you their garden last winter. 

Here is their website if you are interested in ordering a tunnel for your garden at home.  The pricing is extremely reasonable, they have several different sizes available, and they ship right to you.  Please take a moment to check them out, if you are a gardener like me it will be well worth your time!

http://tunnelgarden.com/   

Happy Gardening Everyone!

 

Update: PoTS, Pregnancy, and Miracles

Hi guys!

Forgive me for taking so long to write and update you all.  The last time I wrote I was sick, very sick, and pregnant.  Well we had our baby, a beautiful baby boy, and my illness went away!  Hooray!!!  Here is a picture so you can oooh and ahhhh. 

I know.  He's way cute. 

Well you heard right, my PoTS just went away.  Shortly after I gave birth my body went back to normal.  What a miracle!  (What a mysterious condition)  Boy am I glad it is gone.  The other day I ran up the stairs and stopped to realize that not too long ago that was an impossible task.  What a relief that I am symptom free! 

As I look back on the last several months I realize I have much to be grateful for.  Grateful first and foremost for my beautiful son.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I love him and what a joy he has been in our family.  We all treasure him.  I am grateful to be independent again.  I am grateful to be physically active again.  I am grateful to be surrounded by wonderful supportive people. 

Glancing back, I can see some of the miracles that took place.  The first has to do with my husbands job.  My husband started a new job shortly before all of this happened.  I have to admit I was weary of him taking this new job.  His earnings would be half, HALF, of what he was making.  That's a big deal.  But it turns out his new job was part of Heavenly Father's plan.  At his old job he worked long tiring hours and I never knew when he'd be home.  The distance of his job sites were varied also.  Sometimes he'd be an hour away, sometimes 3 or 4 hours away.  With his new job he is less than a mile away, working normal business hours.  When things got bad and I needed him home in a moments notice, he was there.  This NEVER would have been the case if he still had his old job.  I believe that this is an example of God knowing our needs before we do. 

Another miracle was when the baby was delivered.  There were some complications.  All of a sudden they were calling for doctors, the room was tense, and I found out we would be having an emergency C-section.  During all of the chaos I was completely calm.  This is NOT my personality.  I do not react well to last minute change, especially at a time like that, but I felt peace and comfort.  The thoughts; "there's nothing to worry about", "everything is going to be fine", "trust in the doctors" kept gently whispering to me to calm me down.   I believe those feelings of peace came from Heavenly Father.  I was not alone in those moments of distress.  He comforted me when I needed comfort. 

I have to admit the last several months have brought about a great deal of physical and mental stress.  I would not ask to go through this again, nor would I wish it on anyone.  But as I look back I can see some good.  I can see God's hand in my life.  I have much to be grateful for, and I because of these experiences I believe in modern day miracles.  Thank you for your patience with me over the last few months, in my lack of posts.  I hope you are all doing well!

 

 



Learning How to Live with Physical Limitations

Here's some background for this post.  I am a wife and mother in my early 30's with 2 kids and one on the way.  This is my 6th pregnancy, so we've had some pleasant and unpleasant experiences.  Pregnancy for me is difficult.  It's just not a sure thing until there is a healthy baby in my arms.

So we have 2 beautiful girls (7&3), and are pregnant with a boy, yay!  In this pregnancy however I have encountered difficulties that I have never faced before.  Somewhere early in the 2nd trimester I started feeling weak, too weak to even stand up.  My heart would race and my body wasn't strong enough to keep me upright.  Then I had a set of very severe chest pains that brought me to the floor.  The next day I was too weak to do anything, and passed out at home with my 3 year old next to me.  (she was safe, I had her on my bed with me reading books because I knew I was not well)  That was the beginning of it all.  

It took several weeks, tests, doctors and specialists, but we finally figured out I had something.  I was diagnosed with PoTS, Postural tachycardia syndrome, and quite a bad case of it.  Due to this illness I am very limited in my physical abilities.  Let's see, I am able to sit up with my legs elevated.  Fun!  And.....yeah, that's about it.  Of course I do get up, gotta use the bathroom, etc.  I'm a mom of two kids too, so I get up to tend them too, not very much, but sometimes.  And I get to get out of the house for my frequent doctors appointments.  

I've been dealing with this all together now for 2-3 months, and have 2 months left to go.  I think I'm finally at the point where it feels good to talk about it.  I'm past the figuring out what's wrong phase, and the dealing with the diagnosis phase.  I am ready to open up to get out what's inside of me.  I hope that this will help me deal with what I am going through, and possibly help others in similar circumstances.  So if you are struggling with physical limitations, or are a family member or friend to someone who is, here are some of the thoughts and feelings I have had through out my experience that I hope will be helpful to you in your process.

Here are some of the feelings I have felt, they are very honest, but I think they are worth sharing:

Crazy.  

At first I had no idea what was wrong with me.  I thought it could all be in my head.  I pay pretty close attention to my body when I am pregnant, maybe I am just being too sensitive to normal pregnancy symptoms.  Besides, who is incapable of standing up?? No one.  I'm crazy.  (this lasted a long time, until I had symptoms that I felt finally required a doctor's attention)

Angry  

I was SO angry at myself because I couldn't do things.  I was angry at my body.  I hated feeling helpless.  I hated not being able to do things for myself.

Prideful

My pride kept me from asking for help, and accepting help when it was offered.  Not because I was shy, or didn't want to put people out.  But because I did not want to admit that I couldn't do things for myself.  I felt like if I asked someone for help I wasn't asking for help, I was saying "I can't do something, I am flawed.  There is something wrong with me" and that is a really really hard thing to tell people.  And I certainly wasn't ready to accept that fact myself.

Sad  

Yes I will admit, Miss Focused on the Positive here wasn't able to stay upbeat and chipper.  I've shed plenty of tears throughout this experience.  I've had to come to terms with a lot of different things throughout this, and honestly tears helped sometimes.  There's nothing wrong with feeling sad.  It is perfectly O.K. to have a sad day every so often.

Frustrated  

There are many days that I long to go outside, go for a walk, switch my own laundry, do a project, etc. and I can't.  It is absolutely frustrating to have physical limitations.  Especially when it's something that was so easy, but now either requires help, or isn't possible anymore.

Lonely  

My house has levels.  Kitchen on one floor, family room (tv) on another, bed rooms and bathroom on another.  Due to my physical abilities I have to pick a level and stay there.  It is not easy.  Especially when I was not asking for help.  I'd pretty much assemble everything I needed for the day, hope my kids were ok, and wait for my husband to get home so I had someone to talk to.  But even then he could rarely talk because he had to do all the stuff I hadn't been able to do during the day.  It was lonely.  And I was a pregnant emotional wreck.

Of course it wasn't all bad.  One of the many blessings I've found in this trial is knowing that no matter how awful/bad/lonely I feel, I am not alone.  Not even close.  I know my Heavenly Father and Savior have been with my every step of the way.  They have witnessed every tear, and felt every heartache.  They have comforted me when nothing else could.  They have sent help in the form of dear friends to me.  They help remind me that this will end.  I will get through it.  And I will be better because of this experience.  And, oh yeah, I'll get a beautiful baby boy too. 

I've also felt loved by friends, neighbors, and acquaintances who have heard what we are going through and reached out to help in numerous ways.  I have felt an abundance of love and support.  I have felt the love of those who are praying for me.  I have felt strength from the prayers of others.  I know that when I have a good day, it may entirely be because others are thinking and praying for me.  I know God hears and is answering those prayers, and I am forever grateful.  Probably the most helpful thing you can do, especially if there really is nothing else that you can do, is to pray for them.   

So this is my advice for friends and family of someone who is going through a physical trial:

- Pray for them, 

- Love them flaws and all, 

- Call them or send them notes of comfort, 

- Think of them often, (I kid you not, as I am typing this someone rang the doorbell and dropped off flowers for me)

- Serve without judgement, 

- Don't be offended if they say no when you know they need help, they are learning, continue to love them

My advice to those going through a physical challenge is to:

- Find strength in knowing you are not alone.  I found great strength in learning about my condition, and realizing that there are many people living with it as well.  

- Know that there is nothing wrong with you, you are still the same person you were before.

- One day you will accept and  understand your limitations, and when you do life will be easier. 

- If you are strong enough, tell someone.  They will help you, or find someone to help you.

- Accept help from others (easier said than done, I know)

- Have faith.  Whatever you believe in, how ever you express your faith, do it now and don't stop.  It is only harder if you stop.  Keep your faith strong.  Believe in miracles.   

- Allow yourself to have sad moments, then try to look for something positive in your situation.

- When you are ready, talk about it.  Get your feelings out so you can move on.  

I have learned through this experience that a physical trial is hugely a mental trial.  There are so many mental hurdles you have to get over before the physical healing can even begin.  We can make it better for ourselves or worse depending on how we handle it.  I hope if you are going through something as difficult as this that you will find the help and strength that you need.  My prayers are with you. 

If you have something to add I would love it if you shared it in the comments.