Journey to Health, Volume VII

  

2019 started out rocky after I was hospitalized for Sepsis at the end of January. You can read about that journey here if you’d like. Recovery from that has taken most of the year. They gave me an incredible amount of antibiotics that wiped out my immune system which then resulted in me being ill a few times this past year. I mostly feel like myself but am still worried about getting another infection and having to go through all that again. I feel great most of the time but the first 6-8 months were rough. In December I had a scope of my bladder (OUCHHH), and they confirmed everything looked great and that I definitely didn’t have bladder cancer.

I took time in 2019 to organize my home. I did an overhaul of my closet (check out the before and after videos that I posted) and pantry (sorry, I forgot to take a before pic)! It was two full days that were very well spent and each time I go into either of them, I’m no longer frustrated but smile from ear to ear that they are organized. Everything is easy to find once again! The pantry still needs some work (just too much stuff that I can’t get rid of, like 7 crock pots) but I love the containers I purchased to organize everything. This is part of my Journey to Health because stress affects health. If something is stressful, I try to remove it from my life. There are things we simply can’t remove, but if something like a cluttered closet is stressing you out every time you walk into and it you want to light a match and burn the place down because of it, I suggest doing something about it.

Speaking of stress, March and April of last year were tough. I struggled mentally. I had thoughts of ending my life and one day it got to be too much. I know I will never, ever, end my life but that doesn’t stop the thoughts. They don’t magically just go away because a decision is made to never take the action on those thoughts.  Making that decision doesn’t stop the enemy from coming in and attacking me and my family with vengeance. I spoke to Jeff about it and asked those close to me to pray. I began to read up on mental health and how I could combat it with essential oils. I had everything in my arsenal that I needed, or so I thought. I began using them more regularly and consistently which immediately helped. I thought I was good until I realized I could be great. In September, doTERRA launched a new product that has given me a whole new perspective on life. As soon as I received my new oils and capsules, I started taking them immediately and what a difference they made. People close to me recognized the difference not even knowing I was doing/taking something different.

Did you know that 2019 was the worst year of my life? We were blessed in 2019 and had a lot of wonderful things happen, but it was still the worst year I’ve had. We had major milestones (Kiarra turned 20, I turned 40, Jayden turned 18, Tamia turned 21, Taryn turned 13, Jeff and I celebrated 20 years of marriage, etc), which were all great, but we were also battling what has been the toughest fight we’ve ever faced. Most people don’t know this and would never know because I didn’t remain in my closet on the floor in the fetal position. I got up, put on my oils, showered, got ready for the day, diffused oils 24/7, and trekked forward with my head held high. Did I have moments of meltdowns and uncertainty? Absolutely! Did I have moments that are engraved into my brain forever that I want to forget? Yep, that too! Was there a day here and there that I had to force myself to get out of bed?  Sure did. The specific oils I used boosted my mood and helped with my anxiety (thankfully I haven’t had to take anxiety medication in over 4 years – thank you doTERRA). Without these oils, I 100% would have needed to get on medication for anxiety (which would have had major side effects). I was able to manage life and continue being the best wife and mother I could be because 1, God had me in the palm of his hand and 2, I had the tools and products I needed to regain my health (from my Sepsis diagnosis), stay healthy (from catching the flu) and press forward. There are 4 specific oils/blends I used to get out of bed, keep my head held high and press forward during this very difficult season. Those are Cheer, Jasmin, Balance and Adaptiv.

• Cheer is dōTERRAs Uplifing Blend. It smells fresh and warm and uplifts my mood within seconds of inhaling it and applying it topically. I start everyday with Cheer. Typically, I apply it on my way to work or once I get to the office but during this time I had it on my nightstand and would often apply it before getting out of bed.

• Jasmin is wonderful for uplifting the mood and calming the nerves. It smells like a real Jasmine flower, it’s warm and exotic.

• Balance is dōTERRAs Grounding Blend and it does just that. It didn’t matter if I was crying in the fetal position or just down from everything going on, it would immediately calm and ground me. It’s very soothing and tranquil. Balance is one that I’ve used for years, applying it to the bottoms of my feet each morning when I was getting ready for work. It helps me get in the right head space to start my day. I love it so much I also will apply it throughout the day to my wrists.

• Adaptiv is dōTERRAs Calming Blend. It is new as of September and has already changed SO many lives. There are thousands of testimony’s on this wonderful blend. I started taking the capsules when I received them and looking back, I can see a clear difference in my mindset prior to taking them verses after taking them. I didn’t need to grab Cheer and Jasmin as much throughout the day because I was taking Adaptiv.

In addition to my normal routine of oils, and the ones mentioned above, I also diffused Peppermint and Wild Orange constantly. They smell amazing together, they are uplifting and calming.

Throughout the year, I also managed to really detox our home to get rid of the remaining products that cause us to feel awful. As I learn more about chemicals and how bad they are for us (we already know that chemicals are toxic and toxins cause cancer), I can’t help but toss items as I come across them.

We can’t eliminate 100% of all toxins from our life as we breathe nasty fumes and such each day but I will do everything I can to eliminate the products that we keep in our home and ensure I’m doing everything I can to protect my family from these things. I started 3-4 years ago and immediately removed the following items. If you are interested in getting rid of some super toxic items in your home, I recommend you also immediately remove the following items:

• Dryer Sheets
• Laundry Soap (Tide and Dreft are the worst)
• Candles, Plug-ins and wax burners
• Cleaning products (if they burn your nose and you have to (or should) wear a mask, you should NOT be using them or have them in your home)
• Shampoos and scented hand/body soaps
• Perfume and Cologne
• All food containing MSG and Red Dye 40

I did manage to remember to take a picture in Moms driveway while we were in Iowa over Christmas. Sorry I didn’t smile with my teeth (braces).  Speaking of braces, third time is a charm, right?  I shouldn’t have to have them much longer. The goal of getting them this final time was to fix the front tooth, that had gone astray after my permanent retainer broke years ago, and also fix two back teeth that were crooked (which could be causing issues with my TMJ). I’ve found an oil that has really helps when I’m having pain from my TMJ and another to help me relax at night, so I don’t clench my teeth. For the most part, my weight has plateaued. I’m an emotional eater and with the stresses of life, I ended up gaining 10-12 pounds. My weight always fluctuates 5 lbs here and there but for the most part, I’ve maintained my weight (with these extra pounds). I haven’t had to go up in clothing size so I remain happy with my results. It’s been 3 years since my surgery and I’m still so grateful that I took the steps to take control of my health and get healthier. I have no regrets on how I chose to do this. Now I just need to drop those pesky pounds I gained and maybe a few extra.

This year, I plan to learn more about plant-based nutrition as well as get my blood sugar under control. I’ve had trouble since high school with low blood sugar and I was having some pretty significant symptoms again, so I had my doctor run labs which confirmed my suspicions. It’s constantly low and then I also have major crashes. When it should be 120-140 (two-three hours after a meal), it’s only 45-55. I naturally have really low blood pressure as well so to add the low blood sugar is a bit annoying. They say to eat something sugary to bring it up quickly, but I don’t want to!  I want to reduce our sugar intake and remove processed foods completely. There is just no good reason for all these chips, granola bars and junk!  If I could just get my son to eat more veggies!!  I’m tracking my sugar every few hours right now and will continue for the next 30 days.

Wishing you a blessed New Year!  Bring on 2020!

xoxo,

Trina

A New Decade

Twenty Twenty… a year that seemed so far away just 13 years ago when Jayden started Kindergarten and we realized he’d be graduating in 2020.

One decade ago the kids were just 11, 10, 8 and 3. They were all just kids, not even in high school yet and now we have 2 in college, one graduating high school in 4 months and our baby girl is a teenager and in 7th grade.  So much has happened these past 10 years.  Matter of fact, 10 years ago is when I started this blog. I only ever intended to write to keep our family up-to-date on what was happening with us and at first I was so good about writing often, then life got super busy and I just don’t make the time for it like I once did. Writing has always been so therapeutic for me and I’ve always really enjoyed it.

I thought it would be fun to take a little walk down memory lane…

2010 – It was the year of traveling. We made 3 trips to Iowa that year. Twice for weddings and then for Christmas. It was Taryn’s first Christmas in Iowa. We had gone each year up until the year my Dad passed away and then we stayed home for 5 years. She was only 4 years old at that time and we’ve only missed one year since then. I traveled to Canada multiple times for work and of course we hit up the beach a couple of times. We enjoyed going to the Renaissance Festival and to San Antonio.

2011 – This year started out rough. After the loss of several friends (we went to 4 funerals in 2 months), I was laid off. Jeff had a major health scare with his heart which, thankfully, the ER was able to get under control and I’m so grateful it happened when it did. It was Jeff’s turn to be out of town a bunch this year except he didn’t just leave for a week or two here and there, he was gone for MONTHS at a time. God is always so good though, it was all perfect timing as I wasn’t working for part of it so I could run the kids where they needed to go and hold down the home-front. The kids and I drove to Alabama and surprised him while he was working and made a mini vacation out of our time there. I also had a health scare this year which landed me in the hospital and after spending 12 weeks recovering from that, I was finally well again. We went on a family vacation with my Mom, brothers and their families to Florida which was awesome. We also spent time in New Orleans with Jeff's parents.

2012 – This year was a little tough. From kids injuries and surgeries (Kiarra and Jayden) to my own knee injury and surgery, it was just rough! On a happy note, we bought a new house that year and the kids all changed schools. They really enjoyed their new schools and having friends to play with again. I, on the other hand hated the house and was plotting to sell it 😊. Taryn started Kindergarten this year! Tamia started high school, Kiarra was in 8^th and Jayden in 5^th grade. The only time Jayden and Taryn would be in the same school was the 12/13 school year. We purchased the house thinking Tamia would be living with us but the court system took too long and she ended up changing her mind (which is totally understandable). I was on a project at work and was extremely busy. Jeff was still managing his crew and thankfully didn’t have to be out of town like the previous year. The best thing that happened this year was that Jeffs brother and his wife had their very first baby girl. We had a sweet new niece to love on!

2013 – Jeff worked out of town quite a bit again this year so I was on my own to hold down the fort. Thankfully, the kids were a bit older and could help out. My oldest nephew graduated high school and we were able to be in Iowa and be present for that. Jeff’s grandmother passed away towards the end of the year which was super sad. It was the only blood grandparent he really knew, and he was close with her. We sold our house in Firethorne (that I hated) and moved into a tiny apartment while they finished building our new one. This is the third house we’ve built and I questioned myself on why we torture ourselves in this way. It’s not really a fun process. Parts of it are fun, but it’s a frustrating and long process. It was a crazy time with getting Kiarra into the new high school even though we didn’t live in the right zone. She wanted to play volleyball and so we had to jump through so many hoops to make that happen (all because the new house was taking forever to be built).

2014 – Hands down, one of the worst years of our lives (there is no testimony without a test). I want to keep this all as positive as possible, but the reality of life is that things are not always positive.  The entire year was and still is a blur. I have documentation of what occurred, my blogs, and I recall the many sleepless nights so I know it was rough. We haven’t completely gone public with our story but for those of you close enough to us, you know our story and the danger one of our children was in. One day, I hope to go completely public with the story. Jeff tore his Achilles just 1 week before we moved into our new home (that was delayed 4 months due to rain and holidays). This brought on a whole new level of stress as I was now the only driver. Kiarra was playing club volleyball, Jayden was playing basketball and Taryn was in dance. It was a crazy 14 weeks! The highlight of they year has to be that we had another new family member join us, another precious niece. Speaking of nieces, my niece Makenzie graduated from high school this year and we were able to be in Iowa for this. I got to catch up with a friend I hadn’t seen or talked to in 10 years. It was a great trip!  This is also the year I realized I needed to find a new job. Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as we started to pray about it, I had 3 people that I’d worked with previously all reach out to me. Within a month of first praying about this, I was working for a new company! Before starting the new job, we took a quick trip to Destin which was exactly what I needed. Jeff and I celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary!! Jayden started playing football for the very first time and he got his first pick 6 (ok, this was pretty awesome too!!).

2015 – What a difference a year can make! Overall, 2015 was a good year! Kiarra turned 16 and got her drivers license. She also started her very first job at Baskin Robbins and was the cutest and friendliest ice cream scooper in all of Katy TX! We threw her surprise birthday party (which didn’t end up being a surprise but still so much fun). The hardest part of this year was that my Moms very best friend of many many years was diagnosed with brain cancer and unfortunately passed away. It was so sad. Jan had the best laugh of anyone I’ve ever met and always had a way of brightening our day. She was kind and compassionate and such a fighter. We all miss her.  Kiarra played in her last high school volleyball game which was bittersweet.  I met a new friend at my job and she has become so dear to me, I don’t know what I’d do without her. I ended up quitting that job and starting a new one and on my very first day of work I flew to The Netherlands to meet my team and learn my job. I had only ever been to Canada so this was an awesome experience for me. I only wish I would have planned better to take the family with me.

2016 – Another tough year where I really had to lean on the Lord to get me through. So much tragedy and heartache.  Is this really what it’s like to be an adult??  On a positive note, we got another little bundle of joy to snuggle. Jeffs brother and his wife had their third baby girl. This is the year we began leading a small group in our home again. We were blessed with more friends who have become family. Small group is my favorite time of the week! The best part of 2016 is that our oldest daughter Tamia graduated from high school and she invited us to be there for it. It had been a while since we’d seen her and so we were thrilled when we got the invite. My Mom sold her house and moved in with us before moving back to Iowa. We were also able to be in Iowa for my Morgans, graduation (my other nephew). This is the year I dove into Essential Oils because I finally took the time to educate myself on them. It's funny how things happen, because just after my Mom moved away, Jeff's parents moved to Texas! It is so nice having them here so close us. In the fall, Tamia started college, Kiarra started her Senior year of high school, Jayden a freshman in high school and Taryn in 3^rd grade. Jeff turned 40 in and I threw him a fun 70s theme party where everyone had to dress in that decade. It was so much fun!  At the end of they year, I had surgery to begin a new health journey which you can read about here (Journey to Health, Volume I and Journey to Health, Volume II). Volume I is a long blog but if you’ve ever struggled with your health or your weight, I encourage you to read it.

2017 – I rang in the new year at home recovering from surgery and Jeff and the kids went to a friends. Kiarra was also recovering from having her wisdom teeth out which soon took a turn for the worst. She ended up getting a horrible infection which caused her to have to go into emergency surgery to have the infection removed. It was awful and a very long recovery but after a couple of months, she was fully healed, and the swelling had finally completely gone down. This was a year I had anticipated for many years. Kiarra was graduating high school!!  Senior year is full of activity after activity. Homecoming, Prom and many many ceremonies but the day for graduation came quickly and was over in a snap. I’m forever grateful that my immediate family was all here to celebrate this day. She had planned to go to community college for her basics but then God had different plans for her. Tamia was doing well in college and had a change in her degree and career path. She has always had the biggest heart and is the sweetest human being with a servant’s heart. She is now going to be a teacher!!  A wonderful career that she will be perfect at! Throughout the year I had lost about 90 pounds and had to buy an entire new wardrobe. I was able to do things I hadn’t done in years. Hurricane Harvey hit this year and it was devastating to our community.

2018 – We kicked off this year with sending Kiarra off to college. It was hard yet so awesome at the same time. I didn’t know what it would be like to have her away and I hated it. I still prefer everyone to be home under one roof playing games and acting like lunatics but yea, yea, yea… they have to grow up. 2018 was a challenging year. Emotionally I was unstable, and I was trying to be strong and not let her being away ruin me. I wasn’t prepared for her to go away yet I knew she was where she was supposed to be. We continued to host small group in our home each week. something that I really enjoy. My grandfather passed away at the beginning of the year which was tough. He was my last living grandparent. We got to see Tamia multiple times this year which was so awesome. Jeff and I took our first trip alone (since our honeymoon) and we went to Utah. We had a wonderful time at the annual doTERRA conference and spending time together. The Lord knew what he was doing when he provided needs to allow us to go on that trip together (not that I ever doubted that). We needed that time and I’m so thankful we took it.

2019 – The years just seem to go faster and faster. This year started off rough, as I was hospitalized for Sepsis and very ill. I have been recovering all year from the massive amount of antibiotics they gave me but through this process, I’ve learned a tremendous amount about my body and my autoimmune disorder (as well as natural solutions and rebuilding my immune system). We had so many blessing this past year I can’t even begin to count them all. Just a couple of days of being released from the hospital I attended a women’s retreat with the ladies in my church where we learned about being anchored in the Lord (Wow!! Powerful and timely message). We knew 2019 was going to be a BIG year, and it sure was!! To summarize, Kiarra turned 20 and although not a major milestone birthday, she’s no longer a teenager. I turned 40 and we spent the week in Las Vegas. Jayden turned 18! Tamia turned 21! Jeff and I had our 20-year wedding anniversary! And last, but certainly not least, Taryn turned 13! Speaking of Taryn, she also started playing sports! She’s always been a dancer but has put that aside. She tried out for volleyball and made the A-team and is currently playing basketball, also on the A-team. She is playing club volleyball and is also planning to try out for soccer. Jayden had a great football season, their team made it to third round of playoffs. He injured his thumb the first week of football and we finally saw a doctor in November. The MRI confirmed he had torn ligaments and he just had surgery to have it reconstructed. That took him out of playing basketball, as well as track. He has a cast now and is expected to have a full recovery. Kiarra finished up her second year at CFNI as well as a couple of classes at DBU. Once she finished at CFNI next year, she plans to attend DBU full time to get her degree. Tamia is also still trekking along in school. She’s been student teaching and should finish up next year as well. We’ve seen more and more of her this year and it makes us so happy when we are all together.

Well, here we are 10 years later. 2020!  Through all the years, and all the ups and downs, I’m reminded of Gods love for us! He is always there, through every situation, He is there.