I am an aunt for the third time :). My SIL gave birth a week ago today. He is a monster too. She was in labor 14 hours , most of that without an epidural. She is a trooper and for sure one of my heroes.

When Conlan Xavier finally made his debut, he weighed in at 10 1/2 lbs and 23" long. WOW!!! She practically gave birth a two month old.

I hate that he lives 19 hours away. I can't wait to kiss all that chub!!

Doesn't he look like a Hill man?

8 Weeks to Real Foods

I have been taking this challenge for a couple of weeks now.  It's a great way to introduce a new way of eating to your family.  If you sign up for the emails, each week you will be sent a different food to cut out of your diet.  They allow you to slowly weed out the food that is bad for you without making you go "cold turkey".  I didn't throw away any food that I had already purchased, that would be wasteful but I did stop buying them at the store.  So far we are down to just a few unhealthy items on the shelf and boy have my boys been complain'.  

We are working on week 3 right now which includes cutting out sodas, sugar and any kind of trans fat in our home.  This has been tough due in large part to the fact that  I and my boys have two very strong weaknesses; fast food and diet sodas.  I know that both of these vices contribute to my overall bad health.  So far I have not had a any type of soda for about a week now; the boys are down to just one small one a day.  Which is still a lot to me but slow and steadily I hope to wean them off.   Fast food on the other hand has been a slower process.  I have gone to get Chick-fil-A and Sonic in the past week but both times I chose healthier options than I normally do. I still had a french fry or two or ten but I feel myself already not wanting those things.  I am hoping reshape my boys palates by example on this one.  

This for me and Steve is not about weight loss; although I have a strong inkling that by just cutting out these two vices, it will come.  It's about putting in our bodies things that make it healthier.  I love that commercial about "You are what you eat" when the lady is walking down the sidewalk with two big cinnamon buns on her buns.  That is so me (:   I hope one day both of those buns will be gone!!

Wellness is...

not something we have been feeling around here this year. I suspect it is due in some part to a new baby in the house. A baby that for the first 11 months of his life had is immune system compromised to due neglect BUT if I am really honest with myself I know that a lot of it has to do with the fact that our lives are full of junk.

By junk I mean, what we eat, what we do and what we don't do and basically the overall laziness of me. I have been feeling a prompting for a while that I have just plain ignored. A prompting to live my life and thus in turn, my family's lives, in wellness naturally. I know that with so much blathering about "natural" and "green" that it feels a lot like a band wagon that must be jumped on to be politically correct but that isn't really what I talking about. If you know me, I am anything but politically correct (:

"Going Green" is not what I am talking about. What I am feeling is a desire to be more simple and natural. To enjoy things in life that bless my family and not just myself. The joy of knowing that the foods that I feed my children are actually good. The peace and contentment of knowing that the home that I make for my boys, all 4 of them :) is safe and healthy. That I am offering an environment of wellness. A true gift as homemaker. I have known all along that I set the pace for the home. The choices I make determine how my home will run. Things like, am I getting up in a good mood and having a home that is joyful in the morning, instead of dragging myself out of bed, groggy and slow b/c I ate a Sonic burger and fries the night before and haven't had my 4 cups of coffee yet!! Am I providing a solid example of how we should treat not only a home but the "Temple of the Holy Spirit".

I am tired of always feeling bad b/c of the easier choices I make that make ME feel better. It is so much easier to run through a drivethru for dinner than actually making a homemade meal out of food that is grown in our garden. Or taking the extra time to bake homemade bread with ingredients that I choose and in which my boys really like more than store bought anyway. But in reality the drivethru mentality is only momentarily easier. In the long run, or sometimes the short run, I always regret it. Either b/c I actually feel bad after I eat it or I see that my children are so used to eating overly processed, excessively salted and fried food that they frown at homemade Spaghetti and meatballs. Or that they are so used to drinking a "Slushy" that lemonade made with fresh lemons and Sucanat is not "sweet" enough.

That is a true testimony to my laziness and lack of concern for anyone but myself....

So what am I doing. First of all I am blogging about it so that I may be held accountable. Next, I am educating myself. I am the type of person that if I am not held accountable, I will slip. So I have enrolled in school. Yes, school. I am well on my way to become a Natural Living Educator through Vintage Remedies. I hope to educate myself of living naturally, eating naturally and how to use Aromatherapy to create an environment of wellness in my home. Eventually, I hope to share what I have learned with others too.

So... here we go. I think I may encounter some kicking and screaming on the way, and the boys will probably protest too (: But I know that in long run, it will be a true blessing that only I can give my family....

Naturally yours,

Switchfoot

We recently took the boys to see our all time favorite band. They were scheduled to play in our local universities arts center and it just happened to be the same one Steve built :)

We have a very small university but the "chapel" as they call it is more like a small arena. It seats about 3000 and has a beautiful theatre. Steve worked a couple of years on this project and is he pride of our town.

The really cool part of the concert though was when Jon Foreman, lead singer , said that this was one of the best venues he had played in Texas. Kudos to Steve and how awesome to have a shout out by your favorite singer/songwriter.

Winter Garden

I am so behind on all of my posts that it stresses me to think about updating. I have decided to finally use the app on my iPhone for updating so I can be more diligent. I just hope this works :)

We have finally planted our winter garden. It's a little late this year but with this crazy warm weather, we think it will take.

We are only planting onions and potatoes this winter. Easily maintained and harvested.

We will see if we get a better crop than this summer.