My friend's letter...

I have a friend that prefers to handwrite everything and then get someone to type it for her.  I don't know if it's because she is intimidated by computers or just likes things "old school" but she asked me to type her letter into an email for her daughter.  It was so inspiring, I asked her if I could post it to my blog to share because there are countless people out there that would be moved by her sentiments.  She agreed so here it is.  Please enjoy.

Hi Sweetheart,
 Another Monday with a lot to do, but I have the "I don't want to do it" again. There's laundry that needs doing, bed needs making, floor and dishes need doing but like I said, "I don't want to do it."

Monday :/

I know I have to figure out what to fix for Dad's supper but my mind is blank. I need to go to the WAC and walk.  Like I said, I just got the "I don't want to." The sun is shining and the cats outside need to be fed. I will get to it, but not yet. I just want to drink coffee, sit on my butt and do nothing.  Screaming sounds good, but if I do that, no one will hear me except the cats. I am having an "I don't care to do it day." 

Dad woke me up at 5 am.  ______ was up with Dad, so he thought I needed to get up and get ______ fed and dressed for school.  You should know that no one wakes me up.  I need my sleep.  I did get up. I had ______ fed and dressed before her mother got off work.  Since Dad got me up, I now feel tired and wanting to do nothing. On top of that, when I called Uncle _____ and Aunt ______, they wasn't even home.  I couldn't even get them on the cell phone.  Aunt ______ can usually get me in the mood to get things done! I couldn't even get _____ on the phone.
So I am watching a movie on T.V. I might even take another nap. Have you ever gotten out of bed and all you wanted to do was SCREAM? But then there was that small quiet voice down inside of you saying, "If you will start your day with me, I will make your day worth waking up to."  So I go to the desk where I keep my bible and open it.
 Then I read: Psalm 25:5 - Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day.

Suddenly, I start to have peace and am energized.  We all have those times when we feel like there isn't anyone who cares about how we feel so we just want to give up and do nothing.  When those times come, if we would just listen to that wee small voice that is in us (which comes from the Lord) he will give us the strength to accomplish the things we must do each and every day.  We just have to call upon his name.

Now I can tell you that I feel a whole lot better.
I know what I am going to cook for Dad's supper.  Steak, baked potato, salad and brownies for dessert.
God does care about every aspect of our lives.  Yes, even down to the laundry!

In Matthew 7:7, it says, "Ask and it will be given to you." I just had to ask. I got out of bed angry with Dad for waking me up. I forgot to pray and ask God to guide me through this day.  I do believe the devil enjoyed my first few hours of my Monday.  I didn't listen to God's small calm voice speaking to me this morning. 

Why am I telling you this?  Well  it is because I know that there are times in your life that you forget to let the Lord of this universe guide your days.  That is when the Devil takes over and leads you in the wrong direction. Let the Lord guide you,_______, in every day of your life.
Honey, I do feel better now. God is in control of the rest of this day.  Let him guide you.

With God all things are possible. -Matthew 19:26

I got started with the dishes that were left from last night's supper, took out the steak to thaw, got laundry started and now I am fixing to vacuum the rug in the living room...

Any comments you leave for her, I will pass on to her.  She subscribes to my blog so she will see them anyway.  lol  We all have days like this and we all need to remember this advice.  :)

To Be or Not To Be...

As you might also know from a previous post, we are researching more natural methods of medicating my son for his ADHD.  While I have been researching, I came across an article about naturopaths that was somewhat true but also quite false. 

You can read that article here. (but be forewarned that he uses a lot of cuss words)  He speaks of his experience being educated in naturopathy (which is basically just natural medicine) and realizing afterwards that he thought he had the same education as a medical doctor just with the healing methods that actually work without side effects.  I cannot remember the reason he woke up one day and decided naturopathy did not work, but he said that he was fooling himself to think he understood the human body as well as a Doctor who went to years and years of study to become an M.D.  This really makes sense but what he said afterward is that he saw someone claim the benefits of clearing psoriasis while using naturopathy AND the steroid cream that the doctor had prescribed. Basically, he was saying the that the lady was giving credit to the natural ingredients that healed her and ignoring the proven effectiveness of the steroid cream. But what about the studies (not a blog, but actual studies) that I found on frankincense eating away at cancer?  The actual studies is the evidence I needed from a source I can trust.  His opinion that naturopaths are a hoax is biased to the fact that in a few instances, people are using both real medicine and natural medicine to heal themselves  There is nothing wrong with merging the two whenever possible to get the desired effect if necessary.  When are they going to do the study on that?  Why is that people have to be so angry when they want to be right that they cannot concede that there might be some truth to investigating both sides of the argument and considering a merge of theories. The part of his opinion that I agreed with is that after going to the doctor for years and being blown off, patronized or just plain misdiagnosed, people start researching their own methods of healing because they felt that doctors had not taken them seriously.  Maybe the doctor just didn't ask the right question. 

I completely agree with this assessment and it sounded exactly like my experience was with a doctor.  When I repeatedly told him;

• my legs felt like stumps in the morning
• I had been falling a lot
• I couldn't keep my flip-flops on my feet
• my allergies were ridiculous
• the muscles in my face seemed to have a mind of their own
• I got hives every time I took a shower
• I was losing my ability to open bottles of water
• my hair was falling out
• I couldn't sleep
• etc...

He ran a few blood tests, told me I needed more diet and exercise and sent me home with anti-depressants. "If you don't use it, you lose it" were his exact words about my loss of ability to open bottles of water. They called me and said all my blood tests looked good. 

???

?!?

!?!

I was so frustrated.  The more I thought about it the madder I got. 

Hmm...  If you don't use it, you lose it.  

...if I never stopped opening bottles of water, why did I lose it?  

I don't know any women that believe they exercise enough, but after I had time to think about it, it occurred to me that I am also NOT the laziest person I know and the lazy people I did know were not losing their ability to open bottles.  One previous summer, I rode my bike to and from work over 30 city blocks per day in the heat 5 days per week. That should keep me from losing it, don't you think?

So, one day I ran across this article in prevention magazine about a guy who had several of my symptoms and he quit eating gluten and dairy and all of his symptoms improved.  I returned to my doctor, article in hand and asked his opinion ('cuz your always suppose to talk to your doctor about diet changes, right?) and he said that he doesn't believe in the gluten-free diet but if I wanted to try it, I needed to do it for 60 days and not cheat to see any real outcome.  So I commenced the change and I haven't eaten gluten since May 2015.  It was one of the best things I ever did for my health. At the 60 day mark, I went back to him and told him that:

• My allergies were almost nonexistent
• The muscles in my face no longer twitched incessantly
• I no longer got hives in then shower
• My hair was sprouting back
• I was sleeping better
• My acne was gone (a nice surprise)
• I had lost 10 lbs. (I think gluten causes swelling, it's not a weight-loss diet)

I asked him if I could possibly have Celiac disease (which is a question, I am sure every GF person has asked after seeing those kinds of results) and said he didn't think so and tried to talk me out of seeing a gastroenterologist who could check. (I have been GF for too long to have it checked now)  He even gave a patronizing thumbs-up and said "Congratulations, you figured it out." as he exited the exam room.

I felt judged. I carefully weaned myself from his anti-depressants and never returned. 

I went to a different doctor who knocked on my knees with a hammer (yes, some of them still do that) and I had zero reflexes.  He sent me to the neurologist and that's how I found out about my CMT neuropathy.  The neurologist noticed the lack of muscle mass in my hands right off the bat.  The meds I take for this have some pretty annoying side effects. 

• I quit taking gabapentin because it made my balance and coordination worse, although it helped my legs stop drawing and pulling at night so I could sleep.  I still have it around for flare-ups, but I only use it sparingly.
• I quit taking cyclobenzaprine, hoping to regain some energy. (so far, none has returned)
• I am still taking duloxetine, but I hate it.  It causes profuse sweating.  I feel like I always stink and I probably do.  lol  The summer is a miserable time and if you sweat in the winter, you get colder.  Great!(sarcasm, for those of you who are confused)

My friend turned me on to essential oils and I was very skeptical at first, but I have seen some pretty impressive results.  

• I made a massage oil for my legs that keep them from bother me at night.  
• This smell of my massage oil could put anyone to sleep. I love it!
• my massage oil has a muscle relaxing ability that is even useful without a massage.  You can use it like a menthol cream without that nasty smell.
• Peppermint takes the heat out of a sunburn and repels biting flies
• When the allergy season is upon us, I can spray a mixture that will reduce the sneezing and runny nose.
• I got rid of my daughter's cold with a sore throat in one night!

Now some of these remedies have been effective alone and some with a traditional medicine added to them, but I have never gotten rid of a sore throat 100% in one night with only meds.  Does the fact that I used modern medicine and natural medicine together dilute my results?  

No.  Because I saw even more improved results compared to several times with modern medicine alone.  And lots of these remedies did work completely alone.  I have removed my muscle relaxer and one pain reliever from my nightly medicine regimen and I am still managing better without them than with them.  How can you look down your nose at something and judge it based off of your preconceived notions? 

You can't.

i.e. irrefutable scientific research on the effects of frankincense on cancer.

I only keep the duloxetine around because I am not brave enough yet to let it go. That is the first medicine my neurologist prescribed and the first relief I got from the neurologist and I am scared of getting worse again.  Maybe someday...

Now, bear with me because it's about to seem as if I am suddenly on another subject...

I don't know if I have said this before, but I am Catholic. Before you leave because you are not Catholic, wait and see what I have to say that makes this important.  I believe that as long as you have Christ in your heart, it is none of my business (or anyone else's business).  That is beautiful and completely between you and God.  Jesus wants us to love each other, not point fingers at each other or judge each other. Please don't judge all of us based on the weaknesses of a few.

When I met my husband, his family was Catholic and they have their flaws but are generally good people.  I went to church with them and couldn't figure out why they bowed and kneeled so often (its impossible to go to sleep in a Catholic church because just about the time you doze off, they are moving again. lol) My husband never bothered to explain it and if I asked he couldn't always tell me. (English is his second language and at that time my Español was no bueno.  lol  Translating church stuff is a quite difficult.) But their example still inspired me to be a better person.  (I was a much bigger sinner back then.  Confession keeps me in check now.)

So I started reading or listening to every pamphlet or CD they had displayed in the back of the church.  I decided to ask the priest to start me on the RCIA program which, if I remember correctly, stands for Roman Catholic Initiation for Adults.  I had the most wonderful teacher who was so passionate about her faith.  She was 80 years old but a feisty woman nonetheless.  She shared her faith journey, and it touched me.  She taught from Catholicism for Dummies and answered my questions to the best of her ability. 

I learned that I can have a relationship with Christ and still be me, I just adjust myself from time to time when I understand a new aspect of my faith that seems to be lacking.  Catholicism is not judging others, it's continually looking at MYSELF and asking "How can I make the world a better place?" 

But the main thing I learned, and what I find the most important aspect of our faith is knowing that it is ok to ask questions, just make sure that the answers come from a reliable source.  Like I said in previous posts, Anybody can make a blog and spout opinions.  It is our duty to make sure that the information we receive is from a reliable trusted source. 

The Catholic church takes care of that for faith related matters. A Catholic should be able to look on the back of their bible's title page and find the imprimatur mark where a bishop has reviewed that translation to be "free of error".  Of course, that doesn't mean that other materials are wrong.  I just means that a Bishop has reviewed it and found all included material to be within the teachings of the church.

In my opinion, there are 3 types of Catholics:

1. There are so-called Catholics that think they graduated church and now they know that they can do anything they want as long as they ask for forgiveness.  (let it be noted that they also rarely attend church) This is not at all what the church teaches, so please don't judge all Catholics by their misunderstanding of their faith.
2. There are devout Catholics that go to church regularly and sing in the choir and pray the rosary twice a day  and look down their nose at all of the people (namely the first group of Catholics)who don't live their lives exactly like them.  This is not what the church teaches either.  In fact, in my opinion these type of people (Catholic and Protestant) are ruining the face of Christ in the world because they forget the most important part of Jesus's teaching which is to have mercy and show love to your neighbor.
3. (Dear Lord, I pray that you lump me in with this third group because this is what I try so hard to accomplish)  There are Catholics that try their best with the hand that God dealt them, and show love to everybody they meet and try to be open and fair with all of them.  They try to teach the first group whatever they seemed to miss during their faith formation.  They welcome people into their parish that the second group has previously dismissed.  And when they point out some wrong that they see, they do it with a tenderness that they learned directly from their relationship with Jesus Christ. ( I know this because I did not have a gentle nature before I believed)  My college roommate is part of this group and she was my RCIA sponsor and I have never met anyone who didn't love her.  Love, Mercy and Forgiveness is true Catholicism.

How does this relate to doctors and essential oils?

No matter what, you cannot judge other people. 

The guy that wrote the article in the beginning was very judgmental of natural medicine.  Yes he had seen it but he still made the leap back without considering the merge.  Natural medicine has been around for ages and modern medicine hasn't been around long at all.  Why not try a merge?

Why couldn't my doctor consider that my body tends to be an expert on how it feels?  If I literally have tons of new sprouts of hair on my head (They were a pain when I wear a ponytail 90% of the time), isn't that proof that there might be something to this gluten-free lifestyle?  Why not try a merge between medicine and something less familiar?

If all Christians did as Christ asked of us;

• we would be merging with people who did not know Him to share His grace with everyone
• we would merge with the people who don't go to church all the time and invite them to come back next week
• we would merge with the poor, the sick, the elderly, the oddballs, our enemies...
• we would attempt to merge all the conflicts in our daily lives into positive outcomes.

Next time that you, come across two ideas that seem to clash, research it with credible sources (as you hopefully noticed that I used throughout this article) and consider the merge. 

ADHD doesn't control us!

We can overcome anything as long as we have God on our side. My youngest son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 5. Let me just define ADHD. It's is not about behavior problems. He is respectful and smart. Any bad grades he gets are from unfinished homework. It is a lack of attention mainly and a lot of fidgeting. He has trouble sitting still.  He fell out of his kitchen chair when he was 4 just because he couldn't sit still. He was better off standing up to eat. He needed to run around and expend that extra energy. I would take him to the activity center in the winter when he couldn't play outside. He wasn't good at watching TV but he loves to read. He can do chores when he has music playing in his headphones, but without them he cannot accomplish anything. We had hoped he would grow out of it, but it only seemed worse as he got older.  We started giving him Concerta after 2nd grade. It helped his concentration at school and he still seemed like himself so it was ok. By the time he got to junior high, the Dr and I noticed a shift in his growth.  He was short for his age as well as very slim. I asked him to gain weight for me this past summer while we don't take meds.  Make it a goal to get fat.  He did and looks very healthy now. Not overweight but not seeing ribs anymore. I couldn't bear to watch him lose it all when that pill entered his system. So we are using essential oils to help him focus at school. I have been using vetiver on a parachord bracelet his brother made him. I don't have any stats on how well this has worked on him because we just started school this week. I will update this in the future and give you a review on how well it worked.  But I have seen the evidence of the power of essential oils.
I sometimes get an itch on my back that nobody can scratch away. My husband took about a quarter sized amount of coconut oil and put a drop of lavender on it and rubbed it on my back and within less than a minute the itching stopped. I have never had lotions take that itch away before.
Another time we went camping, and my son's feet were sunburned across the top and he couldn't wear his shoes so I put a few drops of peppermint in half drank bottle of water and splashed it on his feet and his feet felt better. Then we splashed it on all of our arms and legs and we felt cooler and the biting flies stopped biting.
I also used tea tree neat (not mixed with anything) on athletes foot and mild toenail fungus and it stopped itching and burning and the toenail seemed much healthier.
Please read labels and research your essential oils though. The FDA doesn't regulate natural medicine and some brands are not 100% pure. When researching, you also want to make sure you are using a trusted source.  Any human being can write a blog and act like they know what they are talking about. Find out how they know what they say they know. I am still in the beginning stages of learning about essential oils and I know next to nothing.  I read a beginners book on them and learned a few tricks. I have a long ways to go but I know that God will help me through it just as he helps my son fight the ADHD.

The Great Outdoors

I am in Oklahoma today, camping in one of our favorite places. We have enjoyed the company of many people we have met here over the years. I have new eyes for the meaning of it all now, though. In the past, we enjoyed the fresh air, hiking  swimming, grilling chicken and toasting marshmallows. When my kids were little though, I didn't have time to sit back and enjoy the peace of the moment and the beauty of it all. Today, my hubby and kids went hiking up the mountain which I can no longer do because of my balance problems. But I am sitting in the shade enjoying my second cup of coffee watching a squirrel eat mulberries from the ground when a deer comes unusually close. He is probably no more than ten feet away, watching me intently. Suddenly, he gets bored with me so he turns and walks up the hill. This has happened here more times than I can count, but I always get the same little thrill inside when the wildlife gets close. I am so relaxed with the breeze blowing those little rebellious hairs around my face and the birds singing a sweet little tune. I realize that this is an encounter with God himself. None of the critters or their habitat would be here without him.
In Genesis, he created the animals and then made Adam the master of them. But I don't think master means we control them. We, of course, eat many of them and we also keep some as pets but encountering them in their natural habitat is exciting to us, even entertaining at times. I would even go so far to say that I love observing these complex creatures.
God is the master of us, as well.  I imagine he receives joy when we pay attention to him. When we are curious like the deer, I imagine he watches and patiently waits for us to come closer. Earlier my daughter threw a mulberry to a squirrel and it ran away. I imagine that happens when God tries to interact with us and we don't realize that what he is tossing to us is actually something good.  He is eager to interact with us.  All we need to do is come closer, take the grace that he offers and then share it with everyone else.
Many of us are like the cat that is apathetic to Him until we need or want something. But I want to be like my dog who is always happy to see me and ready for a game of fetch.
God has my life in his hands right now. And what will I do with that? As for this moment, I am basking in the warm sunshine and marveling at God's artwork.  Later, we might invite the neighboring kids over for some smores. Oh look, a sissortail...

My new phone

My CMT hands are generally not nice to phones and I recently ruined another one by knocking it into the dryer during a laundry swap. Apparently the heat melts valuable parts together and renders it useless.  It was the third in one years time that I had ruined and my insurance would not cover it, so I had to buy a new phone. I was phoneless for about 3 weeks which were awful because I rely so much on my phone to remind me of things which my brain can no longer remember on its own. I am an iPhone person but even when I had some money to go buy a replacement, I had trouble paying $600 for the oldest iPhone they had available. There was no question in my mind that I needed a smartphone. Even though they are very distracting, they are a necessary evil because of all the telecommunication technology that people in today's world need to accomplish tasks in a timely manner. Instead of my usual iPhone purchase, I bought the LG Stylus 2 which I use now for $250.
I have a few complaints about this new phone. I feel like Martin Luther posting the 95 theses to the church doors. These are the things I hate about my non-iPhone:

1. Not all mini-USB chargers will charge it. I prefer a charger next to the bed, in the kitchen and one in my purse and so far I have a car charger that works and a ridiculously short charger next to the bed. 
2. The control panel is not as helpful and easy to see as my iPhones was. 
3. I don't have access to anything from the lock screen. I can see it but I have to completely unlock it and hope I don't get distracted by something else before I find the app that has the thing I actually need to do. 
4. Finding accessories for this phone is not easy. 
5. The android version of apple music does not allow me access to any of the songs I purchased on iTunes. ( I prefer to purchase music and have it downloaded so I don't use so much data listening to internet radio or for those drives between towns where there are no good old school radio stations) Technically this is Apple's fault. 
6. I am having trouble getting used to this new keyboard. 
7. Going back on my browser is easy but if u go back too far then it is impossible to go forward again. This happens often because of my twitchy fingers. (If u know how to go forward please post in the comments below)
8. Syncing my phone to my iPad is impossible. 
9. I haven't figured out how to look for my phone if it gets lost. I used a find my device app but none of my other devices are connected to it so I am clueless. Lol. (If u know how to this please post in the comments below)

Unlike Martin Luther, I have been able to look past all of my frustrations and the see the good things about my phone which are:

1. It was definitely cheaper.
2. The accessories, once found, were cheaper. 
3. I can schedule my phone to send messages at a later date and time. (Sometimes I think of something at 2 am and don't want to wake anyone up. I also can schedule a reminder text to my hubby when he tells me to "remind him."  I want to ask him, who is suppose to remind me to remind him?  Lol)
4. I can personalize this phone way more than I could the iphone. 
5. When I want to snooze my phones alarm in the morning, I can literally just flip it over and go back to sleep not worrying that I might turn off the alarm. (I know this is a bad habit but usually after the 3rd or 4th time my early bird boy comes and bugs me so I still wake up with plenty of time.)
6. To turn off the alarm completely, I have to consciously touch random numbers in ascending order. 
7. Screen shots are easier. (This may seem like an odd thing but with my CMT sometimes my fingers are too weak to press both buttons at the same time)
8. It has a better camera than my iPhone6 had. 
9. The screen is bigger. 
10. I like being able to put sticky notes directly on my home screen with to do lists etc.
11. I have a stylus attached to my phone which helps on days that my hands are super shaky. 
12. This phone has the equivalent of a popsocket which should help with the dropsies I tend to have because of my CMT hands.  (This has nothing to do with the brand but I never had one before so I feel like its relevant)
13. Because the charger next to the bed is short, I tend to spend less time on my phone at night. 

As usual I found a way to be positive about it and sure enough, the pros outweigh the cons. During my decision making process to save the difference of $350, I reminded myself that a long as I can set reminders, take notes, use the internet, email, text and call people, I will survive. My iphone will not be going with me to heaven which is the most important aspect of life.

We love our family including our pets.

My husband and I who have been married for almost 17 years now have 3 wonderful children and they are as diverse as their pets. I have a deep love for these pets as well.  Come on, what mother doesn't bond with their kids pets. We have owned dogs, cats, goats, chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters over the years but I think we have settled in with the current selection of critters.

My oldest son who is 15 has a very old dog that was rehomed to us. She is very protective but a real sweetheart who loves to go camping with us and also enjoys the occasional ride along.  She is always loyal and loving. As is my son. Reliable and loyal and quick to get his chores done with only a gentle reminder. (Don't get me wrong he isn't perfect, but he is the easiest teenager I have ever heard of)

My almost 14 year old daughter has a very feisty male cat who sneaks onto the kitchen counters whenever possible but loves a good snuggle in the afternoon.  My daughter is also feisty and likes to see how far she can push me before I scream. She was an easy baby and also an easy child for the most part. (She is an A student and never puts off homework-I wish she could teach her little brother that trick)So being a bit tougher as a teen is not the worst problem to have. She does have a strong faith and loves to cuddle up at the end of the day which melts all the tension away. These are a few of her memes with pinguino.

My 12 year old son (who is also my wacky child) has a snail. Yes, I said a snail. 🐌 It was in his room but because I am afraid his ability to remember to take care of it could kill this little guy quickly, we decided to keep him in the kitchen. He sits next to my coffee pot and I can entertain myself while I wait for my next cup of Joe.

I absolutely love the cat and the dog that need to be petted and bathed and fed often. But this little guy (who I don't feel the need to touch unless I am snailsitting while my son cleans his aquarium) has quickly become a favorite of mine. You can buy snails at the pet store but we found this guy on a fishing trip and researched his nutritional and habitat needs and discovered that we can keep up with his needs with next to nothing in costs which in this day and age is a definite plus.

If you asked my husband, he would say that I favor the wacky child in the same way. Well sometimes, I do. But any mother knows that each child is favored in one way or another.
This wacky child of mine knows his faith, loves with his whole heart and is like a ray of sunshine to every person he meets. Eventually he might get on your nerves because he has no respect for personal space and cannot sit in silence to save his neck. But we have to accept the flaws to enjoy the good qualities. My son is like his snail in that, he takes forever to accomplish most tasks. Although I would rather not be in close proximity to him 24/7, I love his heart, his sincerity and the funny stuff you never expect to come out of his mouth. A snail is the perfect critter for this 12 year old boy. It's a bit different pet like he is and he can't talk it's ear off because it doesn't have ears. Lol

In case you are planning to keep a snail of your own, please first research the type of snail you discovered and find out what his needs are. Ours is a typical land snail who can drown so we have him in an aquarium with a shallow amount of water to keep his environment humid and 2 large rocks in the bottom for him to move around on. And for us to put his food on. We feed him a small slice of tomato, cucumber or apple. He also eats lettuce and dandelion leaves (we make sure we use ones that have not been sprayed with herbicides or pesticides.) He also needs a source of calcium to maintain his shell so we crush eggshells and keep in an old medicine bottle to sprinkle in from time to time.

I am always amazed at nature and smart way in which God created us all. Pets are a big responsibility as are children.  We love these friends that God has blessed us with and I pray that all people take good care of the children and pets that they accumulate.

Why me?

Before you start reading this, let me first point out that this will not be a whiny post about someone who always cries about the downs in their life. I am an extremely positive person. I have my down days but usually look forward to the ups in my life.  I believe talking is a type of therapy for me and understanding that we are all in this together is a type of therapy for you.

God has blessed me with the most wonderful husband and three beautiful children who are midway through their life here at my home.  I have enjoyed my children thouroughly and plan to continue to do so. Humor is the key to happiness. 

Even though I have a severe gluten intolerance and a Charcot-Marie-Tooth Neuropathy which impedes a lot of my activities, I want to enjoy life as much as possible. Embarrasment is sometimes a part of everyday life. Being able to laugh at that embarrasment and not take it to heart has been my saving grace.  I always wanted a normal life when I was younger. I now realize that if my life were normal, it would be ever so boring, hence the name of my blog.

Why did these ailments happen to me?  I dont have the answer to this.  I do believe that God has a special plan for me and he wanted me to learn something from this. I have already learned to be more reliant upon his strength to get me through my day.  I could whine about it but it won't change my diagnosis, so I continue through my days forging onward as a Christian soldier. Sharing my love and faith in the best way I know how. By telling my story to anyone who will listen and hoping that it helps people to grow in faith, love and mercy for all people.

So why do you want to read a blog about me?  Because we all have our days where we get down and we are better off laughing it off and looking forward to a bright tomorrow together. My positive attitude paired with my ever growing faith would be a great support group for any person who needs to remember that we all have trials and troubles and the best thing we can do is thank God for the great things in our lives and be well entertained by the hardships we endure.