While I was growing up my family tried to live a pretty healthy lifestyle. There was no nicotine, alcohol or any other drugs in our home, My Dad and brother raised our own meat, milk and eggs (we all got to help in that process a little), the majority of our produce came from our organic garden and we had a pretty low-stress family life. Doctor visits were very rare and for the most part any sniffle was treated with time and good old fashioned remedys. That was a really good start for life!
When I got married I was of course suddenly in charge of the meals in my new home and in charge of being "nurse on duty". Home life was in many ways like growing up but we didn't raise our own meat or animal products. I did have a garden every year (except one when we moved during that season) but most years we were a long way from producing most of our produce. My in-laws did give us a grain grinder so I slowly learned about all sorts of whole grain foods.
As time has gone on I have become much more interested in health matters. I guess that is only natural as my parents had many books on the matter and I enjoy reading and then my Mother-in-law is basically a health food guru, and many other things in life have caused me to learn more about health matters.
In many ways this learning has been very fun as I like to read, I love to experiment (like stopping buying cleaning items and making everything instead) and I have a high desire to live to the highest potential possible for God's glory. However sometimes I just end up feeling frusterated! I hate to admit that but it is true. Sometimes on a certian subjects I can get as many different ideas as books I read and then some more when I talk to my chiroprator, mother-in-law, mother and a whole bunch of other people. I hear No dairy vs. any dairy vs. raw dairy. Then there is the whole debate about which fats are okay or wether you should eat any at all. It goes on and on and on....
Sometimes I wish I were like some of my friends who follow recipes as written (using white flour and all the sugar called for), drink pop and eat whatever they feel like on a regular basis. I feel amazed that they don't even seem to ponder whether that is the best for their bodies. They don't seem to have those questions about
what is really right concerning how to eat. This post doesn't really have a conclusion as to what is the perfect diet, I am not sure if that is possible to know. To be honest I am still trying to figure things out in that area.
However I do know what really
works for me. I might not have the answers in black and white on how exactly I should care for mine and my families health, but you know what? That isn't really what matters most. This life is only temporary. We aren't going to live forever no matter how well we take care of ourselves. So though I still think living a healthy lifestyle is something that pleases God (since we are taking care of the body He gave to us) I think also realize that our major concern needs to be that we are making sure that we are ready for our eternal life.
And you know what really works for me? There is no guessing! We have
one book that comes from God and in it He tells us all we need to know to be prepared for eternal life. If we look at all the books that people have written on religion we might get as confused as I sometimes feel about how to live healthfully but when we just simply read and follow God's word in the Bible we can prepare for life forever with Him.
"The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:8
We got some light snow through the morning then it started to sleet/freezing rain for a while. I measured 8" around 3:00 this afternoon. There's a crusty, icy layer on top of the really dry snow. 
We actually didn't go out to play in it today since it was sleeting most of the day. We'll go out tomorrow but it'll be a challenge to build a snowman with dry snow that is topped with a layer of ice. 
We had a fun day inside where it was warm and cozy. Jon and the kids worked on puzzles at the dining room table.
They threw baseballs back and forth.... luckily soft baseballs. 
Jon's outfit was so fabulous that I had to take a picture of it. I asked him to pose. Don't you love it? 
Then I mixed some strawberries and blueberries to make a fruit crisp for dessert. It turned out okay but I'm not going to post the recipe since I need to tweak the recipe.
