I haven't been here much lately, as everything exciting that was going on in my life could not be made public until very recently. That being said, Marcus and I are officially expecting! Not only that, but we're expecting TWINS! The news nearly knocked us off our feet, but we have never been more happy, excited, or grateful in our lives. Everyone is asking me if I am afraid of having twins, and I honestly am not - I cannot wait! It's going to be difficult, sure, but every first child is hard! It's going to be a new experience and I'm going to love every exhausting, new, exhilarating moment of it. I do have a history of miscarriage, so we are praying very faithfully that this pregnancy will be different. Thus far, it already is. Previously I had untreated hypothyroidism, which my doctors are fairly confident is the cause of the miscarriages. Also in my previous situations, there was never a heartbeat - but this time there is! We saw two strong heartbeats at 6 weeks and the doctors are confident that it will continue. All those factors aside, God is good and with Him all things are possible! So I am simply keeping faith in the fact that he will walk us through this and keep our little ones safe - and if not, there is a reason.
Anyway, I digress. The inspiration for my blog today came from a conversation I had at work today regarding some of my ideals and opinions in regards to raising my children. My decision to use cloth diapering, home-school, and frugal shopping at gently used stores were ridiculed and mocked. It was then followed by someone saying that all new mothers have these great ideas that they're going to do things differently but eventually they all just fall into the easier way of doing things. It was right then that I realized something. My decision to pursue a healthy lifestyle does not end with eating the right way. Its so much more than that. Its about raising my kids with a dedication and commitment to bringing them up in a way that's best for them and their future. I will not take the easy way out. I will be stronger than that. I will not compromise whats right for whats easy. So even if its a little more inconvenient to do another load of wash instead of throwing hundreds of diapers in the garbage, if it takes more effort to teach my children myself so that I know they're being learning good morals and the truth, and if buying someone elses baby clothes that were worn once helps my family to survive so that we can afford for me to stay home and raise my children, I have NO problem with that. Others will chose their own paths - but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
March... In like a lion, out like a lamb?
Whew! What a blustery beginning we had to March! Okay, technically it was an end to February, but in my book it still counts. Here in good ol' upstate NY they say that March is the craziest month for winter storms, but after this, spring begins to pop up. Ah spring! This will be our first spring/summer on this all natural lifestyle, and I've gotta say I'm SO excited! There are just so many things that you can do that you cant really in winter. Marcus and I are going to be starting our "self sustaining" journey this summer - we plan to do the "easy" stuff - you know, Tomatoes, Peppers, Carrots, Garlic, Herbs, Strawberries, Raspberries, etc. It also marks the beginning of really good produce at our local Farmers Market (which just so happens to be right down the road!). It's open year round, but lets face it - who trusts red peppers in the middle of winter that are actually "local"? Not I. In fact, my hope is to grow enough produce to either jar or freeze so that I can use them throughout the year and not worry about buying them from the stores. I think a good way to go about this is by purchasing local organic fruits and vegetables from someone else during the summer months, and canning/jarring/freezing all of our self grown produce to use during the winter. I use lots of tomatoes so that will be on the top of the list for sure. I also want to be able to make my own jam, so it's going to be a summer full of experimenting! Hopefully the end of the year will also bring about some bulk meat purchasing from Lindsay at Smoke Ridge Organics - which means we will be working on the farm as part of her Co-Op plan. It should be good times! Also, we soon hope to make it out to the country to purchase raw milk, as we have yet to do so, and I very much want to.
Another step we've taken is one to eliminate chemicals and junk from our home by purchasing Soap Nuts. These are exactly what they sound like! All Natural little soap nuts that grow on a tree and are harvested. You can use them from everything from Laundry to all purpose spray - really the possibilities are endless. And if you buy them in bulk, they are SO affordable! Marcus and I purchased the 5lb bag and intend to use it for laundry. You throw 5 of the little soap nuts into the wash bag it comes with (all natural fabric, of course!) and throw it in with your laundry. No detergent, no fabric softeners - it does it all! Typical life of a batch (5) of soap nuts is apx 5-6 loads in hot water, and up to 10 loads in cold water. That means if you use mostly cold water you could get about 1400 loads out of the 5lb bag - and it costs 48 dollars. Break that down - it comes out to about 3 cents a load! I think I can handle that! Not even the store bought detergents are that cheap! We haven't used them yet so I cannot vouch for their effectiveness, but once we get them in and use them, I'll be sure to let you all know!
We're going strong together and I feel better about myself and our life every day. And I can totally notice now when I eat something "unnatural" - my body is beginning to reject it, and its almost hard for me to stomach now. This lets me know I am on the right path and my body will thank me for it for years down the road. I hope you're all doing well out there! I'll be sure to blog again soon :)
May God bless you and keep you and your family safe in His arms!
Another step we've taken is one to eliminate chemicals and junk from our home by purchasing Soap Nuts. These are exactly what they sound like! All Natural little soap nuts that grow on a tree and are harvested. You can use them from everything from Laundry to all purpose spray - really the possibilities are endless. And if you buy them in bulk, they are SO affordable! Marcus and I purchased the 5lb bag and intend to use it for laundry. You throw 5 of the little soap nuts into the wash bag it comes with (all natural fabric, of course!) and throw it in with your laundry. No detergent, no fabric softeners - it does it all! Typical life of a batch (5) of soap nuts is apx 5-6 loads in hot water, and up to 10 loads in cold water. That means if you use mostly cold water you could get about 1400 loads out of the 5lb bag - and it costs 48 dollars. Break that down - it comes out to about 3 cents a load! I think I can handle that! Not even the store bought detergents are that cheap! We haven't used them yet so I cannot vouch for their effectiveness, but once we get them in and use them, I'll be sure to let you all know!
We're going strong together and I feel better about myself and our life every day. And I can totally notice now when I eat something "unnatural" - my body is beginning to reject it, and its almost hard for me to stomach now. This lets me know I am on the right path and my body will thank me for it for years down the road. I hope you're all doing well out there! I'll be sure to blog again soon :)
May God bless you and keep you and your family safe in His arms!
