Jami: Mom of Many Survival Guide

I find myself inundated with advice these days.  It’s exhausting.  Eat this.  Don’t eat that.  Exercise 45 minutes… actually 8 minutes will do… in the morning, no, wait at 4:15 p.m. After you eat a lemon.  An organic lemon.  From Tanzania.  And then don’t use flouride.  Except on Sundays… after you do a breast exam in a cold shower.  The other day I saw someone post my 10 favorites.  This is brilliant.  I don’t have time to sort out all the info.  That being said, two women who utterly inspire me and keep my health regime on track are Jen Wittman and Kris Carr.

As someone who struggles with auto-immune disease and all the junk that goes with it…these two women continue to bless me with their self healing teachings.  I would love to post my before and after pics and have you “ooooo” and “awwwww,” but there is no after for me.  I am continually in pursuit of wellness and these two gals bring out the big guns with concise, fun, and right to the point gems!  They have convinced me of these two things and they are monumental in my day:

1.  Be nice to yourself.

2.  Eat your veggies.

If I do nothing else but change poopie diapers, watch elmo and argue with the teenagers… I can do these two things.  Giving myself a break is such a blessing.  And the benefits of my leafy greens, crispy carrots, bell peppers, onions, zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes far out weighs the misery of eating a pop tart on the fly.  So… you can find Kris Carr at

www.kriscarr.com

and you can fin Jen Wittman at

www.thyroidlovingcare.com

I assure you, even if you don’t struggle with thyroid issues, you probably do.  Not until I thought I had liver cancer did I realize what an ENORMOUS role the thyroid gland played in my wellness.  Mommies, you are on sacred ground… your calling means you ensure survival of the human species; you must be well to do it.  This quote from Kris Carr stopped me in my tracks.  Chew on this:

“Picture yourself when you were five.  In fact, dig out a photo of little you at that time and tape it to your mirror.  How would you treat her, love her, feed her?  How would you nurture her if you were the mother of little you?  I bet you would protect her fiercely while giving her space to spread her itty-bitty wings.  She’d get naps, healthy food, imagination time and adventures into the wild.  If playground bullies hurt her, you’d hug her tears away and give her perspective.  When tantrums or meltdowns turned her into a poltergeist, you’d demand a loving time-out in the naughty chair.”

This.

Oh my.  This spoke to my momma heart.  I love my children.  I love foster care.  I love to make this house a home… I cannot do these things from a hospital bed… or grave. And frankly, I would never allow anyone to treat my family or the children we minister to with the malice with which I sometimes treat myself.

Now, I am in love with Young Living Essential Oils, and I will put my link at the bottom, but I honestly do not care who you order EOs from… just get some. And get the good stuff.  I prefer the price and quality of Young Living, I learned about them in Carr’s book “Crazy, Sexy Diet.” Both Carr and Wittman taught me about them and this is truth:  When you have no time to love yourself, you still have to breathe.  I carry  lavender oil with me… EVERYWHERE.  It is in my diaper bag, make-up bag, purse, bible study tote, gym bag, and if I searched long and hard enough, there is probably a vile shoved in my D cup.   When all else fails lavender oil is a mini retreat for me.  To date we’ve relieved Colic, headaches, allergies, anixiety, ADHD symtoms, general stress…. still, no world peace, but if that happens, I firmly believe Lavender Oil, green leaf lettuce, and a Nutri-Bullet blender will be involved.  Just sayin’.

https://www.youngliving.com/signup?sponsorid=2861851&enrollerid=2861851

When I have time, which isn’t often, I love to pamper myself with a lavender mani-pedi complete with Jamberry nail wraps… SO STINKING FUN.  Talk about nuturing the inner five year old (seriously, they have every color and pattern your “baby you” could imagine!) AND!  If your mani is interrupted by one of the 7 humans…wait, who the heck is that??? make that 8, currently residing with me, all is not lost with smudged polish… and they last for weeks!  Which means, if I don’t get the treat again for a while, at least my nails look festive and pretty.  No chemically smelling polish and no spills!  My beautiful, talented, AH-MAZING little sister is a distributor.  If you aren’t BFFs with the Duggars, who also distribute them, hit Stacey up at:

http://staceyberrygirl.jamberrynails.net/profile/

My check list is short.  I try and have coffee, er … uh… Sorry Kris and Jen, I meant herbal tea, with a friend or friends… I hit my yoga mat often, I eat or drink my greens, and I call out to Jesus… A lot.  Listed below are a few of my favorite books, blogs, or blogger sites.  Feel free to comment below with any you cannot live without!  I love to stumble upon new stuff!  Be blessed mommas!

www.sarahdykema.com

www.chucklesinthechaos.com/

http://jasonjohnsonblog.com/blog/foster-care-loving-a-child-that-might-leave#.VVyxkU9Viko=

www.jenhatmaker.com

www.celiacchicks.com

www.thespunkycoconut.com/

http://www.amazon.com/The-China-Study-Comprehensive-Implications/dp/1932100660

http://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Sexy-Kitchen-Plant-Empowered-Mouthwatering/dp/1401941052/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1432139407&sr=1-2&keywords=crazy+sexy+diet

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Positive-Thinking-Maximum-Results-ebook/dp/B000FC0SXM/ref=sr_1_24?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1432140743&sr=1-24&keywords=the+positive+thinkers

I am sure I will think of about 200 more…Don’t forget to follow me and comment below!  Remember, your floors may be sticky, but if you are raising humans for His glory, you walk on sacred ground!

“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NIV