A New Season

One of my favorite things about my husband is that he loves Easter. Easter has long been my favorite holiday. I love the tradition of kids dying and hunting eggs. I love Peeps and Cadbury Eggs (although I have not had a single one this year.) I love gathering with my family for a meal. I love the slightly twisted play that my mom has the kids do depicting the Easter story. I love Easter Sunday service and celebrating the resurrection and singing songs like “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Wondrous Cross.” I love the somber reflection of Good Friday and the joyfulness of Easter Sunday when you are greeted at church by excited voices exclaiming “He is Risen!” However, for all that I love Easter, my husband loves it more. The man’s joy for Easter far exceeds his excitement of any other holiday. You see, for him Easter was not always a special holiday, but when his life changed and he met Jesus, this day became the most important day of the year. When we first met, I didn’t really get it. Thankfully, his enthusiasm has rubbed off on me and hopefully our children will get the Easter bug too.

From our home to yours, we wish you a peaceful and joyful Holy Week!

Since my last post, several people have asked for an update on the juicing fast. I did promise a report on what I discovered. First off, I made it all 10 days. I will admit that due to being in environments where I was without juice I did cheat three times. I ate two apples (two different occasions) and had stir fry veggies one meal. It’s not like I busted out the Girl Scout cookies in the back of my pantry, but it was technically cheating so I felt it was only fair to fess up. After ending the fast I decided to continue to stick with the plant based diet and juicing at least one meal a day and so far, I think this is the right thing for me. I’ve have meat once since I started this life change and I’m not quite sure I want to say that I will give it up forever… but I’m leaning that way. So for three weeks I have been practically completely free of processed sugar, caffeine, dairy, starch and meat. I am surprised that I have more energy than before and actually find that I crave veggies and fruit when I do feel hungry. I should add that nuts have been good for taking off the edge. For the first time I cooked with couscous and lentil beans and well, they were not as awful as I had expected. Actually, we were both surprised that they were pretty yummy.

For those of you that asked for info on juicing here are some helpful sites:

* If you are interested in doing a reboot this site is helpful in providing a plan, juice recipes and for support and encouragement: http://www.jointhereboot.com/index.php?lang=en

* My basic and favorite green juice recipe: http://myjuicecleanse.com/juicer-recipes/mean-green-juice-recipes/

* Tons of juice recipes: http://juicerrecipesnow.com/
*** Be careful when searching the internet for recipes. It's easy to be attracted to the all fruit juices. They are delicious, but the have a lot of sugar and you should be sure you are mainly consuming the "green" vegetable juices as they provide the nutrients you need. After I finished the juice fast I have decided to make smoothies out of fruit instead of juice. I just had a problem with all the waste... it's too yummy to throw away. 

I feel great. Of course just about anything feels better than when you are loaded with chemo… but really, I feel awesome. My face completely cleaned up.  I am sleeping better than I have in years. I have increased energy throughout the day. And I have lost about 13 lbs. Thanks to so many of you that have written and encouraged me in this change. (Also I was gifted a 4 month supply of Juice Plus+. I will share about this product after I have had some time to witness its effects and be able to share my thoughts.)

I have not heard back from the geneticist yet. I carried my cell phone in my pocket almost all last week waiting for the call. In fairness they said it would take 2 to 3 weeks and this Wednesday will make 3 weeks so I am not freaking out or anything yet. I am just eager to get on with whatever our next step is. Sadly, one of my first cousins has recently been diagnosed with breast cancer too. Due to the amount of cancer in our family, her doctor had her take the BRCA gene test up front. We heard that her results were negative which is great news… I am hoping it is a good sign for my results too.

In the mean time, I find that I have more to do in a day than time allows. The kids are forever busy and keeping me on my toes. This week I am planning to get my vegetable garden planted and finish with the landscaping update that I started a few days ago. There is just something spiritual about gardening. It is therapeutic and healing. Breathing fresh air, playing in the dirt and watching the miracle of life (yes, even if it be plant life) is uplifting to my body and soul. It’s hard to believe a month ago I was sick in bed feeling miserable.

I am so, so thankful for this new season!

Listening To Thieves

Three men hung crying (naked)

Rain spilling down

Through their feet

But one man spilled blood

Three men hung talking (naked)

One was groaning

The other searching

For the third man’s

Knowing

Three men hung praying (naked)

One was cursing

The other pleading

And the third was

Calling Out

Three me hung dying (naked)

One tasted fire

In his carcass wasted

The other was carried

By the third

-Kevin Max Smith