• Simple Roots Meal Delivery

    Today I want to share a paleo meal delivery service in our area. Simple Roots has brought something so unique to farm country. Go here to read about Mackenzie and Kacy, the founders. They have a new menu each week. Their food is all locally sourced and made with REAL ingredients.

    Gyro Bowl + Tzatziki and balsamic vinaigrette

    Once you’ve decided on your meals, add your selections to your shopping cart. You have the option to select to have it delivered for a fee, or pick up at their building for free. They deliver to quite a few places, so be sure to check and see if you are included. *Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota can get deliveries!

    Each item comes with a label that lists all of the ingredients along with reheating instructions if applicable. It also tells you how soon you need to eat each meal. If you count macros or calories, you can see them right there. It really couldn’t be more simple. I love the added health tips on each meal that tell you all of the goodness you are getting.

    Buffalo Chicken Casserole + Ranch

    The thing that often keeps people from eating healthy is time. It takes more time to make your food from real ingredients. Convenience food practically doesn’t exist in a healing diet. Simple Roots takes all of the guess work out of it. I have a stack of ready to go meals in my fridge right now that won’t make me feel miserable.

    I know what you are thinking. Is the food actually good? YES! It is so yummy and filling. Too often, people think that eating healthy means sacrificing taste. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. There is magic in farm fresh ingredients. Real food is so delicious!

    Go check them out and place an oder.

    Here is their FAQs page if you have any questions that I didn’t answer. I cannot recommend them enough!!

  • Eat What You Love Book Tour

    The main event! If you missed yesterday’s post, Scott and I went to Chicago to go to Danielle Walker’s cookbook tour. It was what I wanted for Christmas, and it was so worth it to get an experience over stuff.

    We arrived before the doors opened. I’m glad we did because the line very quickly got super long. The caterers started carrying trays of food out to us. We were able to sample some of the recipes from her cookbook. Butterscotch pudding, sweet potato fries, and cauliflower hummus with carrot chips were handed out. I wanted to rip all of the sweet potato fries off of every tray that passed me. YUM! They were served with this BBQ sauce, which is also incredible.

    When we got to enter the venue, my jaw dropped. It was held at Artifact Events, and so beautiful.

    Her guest for the night was Alex. I honestly know nothing about her, but she was really stinking hilarious and she cooks. We were belly laughing through a good portion of the evening.

    Danielle’s story is so inspiring. You can go read it here, because she will tell it so much better than I ever would. She has been able to get her autoiummine disease under control through food. She has gone off all of her medicines and hasn’t been hospitalized in so many years.

    You guys, food matters! FOOD. MATTERS.

    Several years ago, my doctor started looking into my thyroid. It was enlarged, and due to so many of my symptoms, she had me go for an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed a texture on my thyroid which she said meant that eventually it was going to shut down and stop working. She wanted to treat me for Hashimoto’s disease by suppressing my thyroid until it stopped functioning on its own. I wasn’t a fan of this because all of my numbers were great on my blood work. I asked if I could try changing my diet instead. She allowed it, thankfully. I started following the autoimmune protocol very strictly. After the initial withdraw symptoms subsided, I felt really great. However, I was breastfeeding and ended up in the ER thinking I was having a heart attack. The doctors rushed me back and hooked me up to heart monitors to see what was happening because my heart rate was dangerously high. They determined that my body had gone into starvation mode. Somehow even though I was eating a TON of food, I still wasn’t consuming enough calories. I quit doing the AIP, and went back to feeling yucky and discouraged.

    I’ve seen several doctors since then who refuse to diagnose because my blood work still looks fine– though my numbers have shifted more and more. I get it. I have every symptom of the disease and the appearance of my thyroid shows its coming. So, I have determined that I am going to just eat the way I knew I needed to. Maybe I can heal my body and never have to be diagnosed.

    The book tour was so great. We both left feeling really inspired. Doctors always say that food doesn’t matter. But, it does. It matters so much.

    We left with some really great swag bags full of some of my favorite foods. We got premium tickets, because that was all that was left. They paid for themselves with all of the goodies we took home. Everyone that attends gets an autographed copy of the cookbook, which is amazing.

    If there is a tour stop near you, I strongly encourage you to go! Even if you don’t suffer from any food intolerances/allergies/autoimmune disease, it can help you love on a friend or family member who does. Plus, you get to eat delicious food and be so inspired.

  • Thrive Market- an Unsponsored Review

    Thrive Market Review
    I’m sure most of you have heard of Thrive Market before. If you haven’t, Thrive Market is an online store with organic and healthy foods that are below the price you pay in stores. Your groceries are delivered right to your door with lightning speed.  It’s super rad. They pack everything very carefully, and even pack ice packs in the summer if you order chocolate!
    Thrive Market does have a membership fee of $59.95 per year, which I feel is completely worth it. They also have an incredible program called Thrive Gives. Thrive Gives allows educators, military families, students, and low-income families to have a free membership. Be sure to apply for it if you fit the bill!
    Where we live, there are not a lot of options for groceries. It is difficult to find HEALTHY gluten free options. I have to drive 45 minutes or more to get to a grocery store that has good, clean options. With our busy lifestyle, it is rarely possible to travel so far for groceries. I looked into Thrive Market and started comparing their prices to the grocery store I travel to. The prices on Thrive Market are actually significantly lower. I thought it would just be some gimmick where they show the “regular price” marked up. It’s truly not. The regular price is the true price that you pay in a grocery store; sometimes even lower. The savings are REAL!
    What I love about Thrive Market is that they always have sales or free items with your purchase. At the top of your screen, it says “free item with every order” and you can choose which freebie. They send e-mails each day with the best deal that day. For example, this is what I got for free with my most recent order.
    IMG_0709.jpg
    They have tons of family vitamins and homeopathic medicines available from brands that I love and trust. They have amazing paleo options for snacks and baking. If you have to follow a special diet, you can sort by products that fit within those realms. I always sort by Paleo, because I try to stick as close to that as possible. They also have vegan, keto, AIP, raw, organic, and gluten free. It makes shopping so much easier.
    I highly, HIGHLY recommend signing up for Thrive Market. Shipping is always free with a purchase of $49 or more. I usually place one order a month to get the things that I want or need. There is NOTHING that I have been unsatisfied with.
    Their customer service is incredible also. I had a bag of arrowroot powder in one of my boxes that got a hole in it. The arrowroot powder got everywhere. They refunded my money for the arrowroot powder right away. I was still able to use it; I just put it in a different bag. But, the mess was a pain to clean up.
    IMG_5708
    Some of my favorite things to buy from Thrive Market:
    -Siete tortilla chips
    -Simple Mills crackers
    -Wild Planet canned tuna (the chicken is good also)
    -Thrive Market coconut milk
    -Thrive Market olive oil
    -Good Day Chocolate calm
    -Thrive Market cassava flour
    -Thrive Market almond flour
    -Thrive Market coconut aminos
    -Wedderspoon honey drops
    -Great Lakes Gelatin collagen hydrolysate
    -Bare Bones Broth beef bone broth
    -Amazing Grass green superfood effervescent tablet (I like the berry flavor)
    -Clif Kids Z bars
    -Thrive Market ghee
    -Primal Kitchen Mayo
    -Thrive Market coconut oil
    There are so many great options, and I’m sure I’m leaving things out.
    If you are interested in giving Thrive Market a try, you can use this link and get 25% off of your first purchase. You get a 30 day free membership with your first order, and you can cancel at any time. You do not have to buy a certain amount or anything like that. It’s just like any other grocery store. Shop whenever you want and don’t shop when you don’t want to.
    If you have any questions about Thrive Market or my experience that I didn’t answer here, please let me know!

  • Amazon Favorites- Wellness Edition

    Now is the perfect time to share my favorite wellness purchases from Amazon. All day yesterday, Chloe kept complaining that her head hurt. I told her it was probably from all the noise in the house. (You know the scene from the Grinch when they say “the noise, noise, noise, noise!”? That’s my house.) Anyway, I took her temperature because she felt a little warm. Hip, hip, hooray! We get fevers today!
    Addi’s birthday is tomorrow and we probably are going to have to post-pone her party. Pray for her sweet heart. She is being so kind and saying that it’s ok, but I can see in her eyes that she is sad. Last year, she was the only one who didn’t have Papa P. at her birthday and she was grieving his passing greatly. Sickness in the house this year is a bummer. I told her she’ll get TWO unicorn cakes if we post-pone, so hopefully that helps.
    Moving on.. My favorite purchases from Amazon for wellness. I need to re-stock some of these.
    Amazon Favorites Wellness Edition
    kids Vitamin D3 // No one is getting as much Vitamin D in the cooler months. This supplements in a great way.
    kids multivitamin // (this one is good, too.)
    kids probiotic // Gut health affects overall health. Don’t neglect it. You can refer back to this post for some information.
    elderberry // (my kids prefer this liquid or these) Sambucol elderberry has actually been scientifically tested and proven. You can’t go wrong with it.
    oscillococcoinum // Once flu season starts, this ends up sold out everywhere. I’d buy some now to have on hand just in case. This helps combat flu-like symptoms and is safe for kids also. Boiron is one of my favorite holistic brands. Children’s cold calm is really great, too.
    Multivitamin (women) (men) // Don’t buy just any junk vitamin. Your body may not absorb the fake nutrition, and you are basically throwing away money. Get a good quality vitamin and you won’t regret it.
    Cough Drops // These are my favorite. They taste great and actually WORK! Yes, they are pricey, but I am not popping several cough drops at a time. I’m able to use one and have it work to suppress my cough. I give these to my kids.
    Chest Rub // I honestly prefer using RC or sniffleease essential oils in the place of a chest rub, but I do have this and really like it. There’s no junk in it. I’m not a fan of rubbing petroleum on my skin. (Remember, everything you put on your skin gets absorbed into your bloodstream.) This one is great for babies and little ones!
    Probiotic // I’ve already raved about this in a previous post. But, here is a completely unsponsored plug for how much I love it.
    SinuCare // I love this if I have a cold or any congestion.
    Roller bottles // I use these all the time. I make oil rollers for wellness, respiratory support, head support, etc. in these. If you use oils, you should get some of these!
    Don’t forget WATER! Drink tons and tons of water. If you a cute cup to drink out of, you are more likely to drink more water. It’s science. (Ok, not really, but it works for me.)
     
    As I’ve said in the past, I’m not a doctor. Don’t take this as medical advice, and always ask your doctor! I’m simply sharing what we have used and love. 
     

  • Breaking Down Gut Health

    drohhiras 2

    I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

    There is no better time to start taking probiotics! So much of our overall health lies in our gut health. So often, our digestive systems are overrun with too much of the bad bacteria, which results in bloating, stomach pain, and illness. Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics are so great at balancing out our gut health. As soon as I started taking this probiotic, I noticed a huge difference. I have taken probiotics in the past, but honestly have never noticed a difference and ultimately stopped taking them. That is not the case with Dr. Ohhira’s brand.
    I’m going to just go for it. My stomach is often messed up. I experience bloating, discomfort, and yes– constipation. Listen, it makes me nauseous just thinking about sharing this with the world. But, it’s miserable, so if I can help you feel better then I’m going to share. As soon as I started taking this probiotic, all of those symptoms were gone. Regularity, something that I never thought I’d have, is now part of my life. My skin looks and feels healthier. You can even CHEW this small tab for immediate relief from upset stomach or indigestion. I haven’t personally had to do that yet, but just letting you know that it is an option!
    dr ohhiras
    Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics come in unique blister packs. You take one in the morning and one in the evening. If you are traveling, you can break off how many days you need so that you are aren’t traveling with the whole box. They don’t have to be refrigerated, which is a HUGE plus when you are limited on fridge space. I used to think that the only good probiotics had to be stored in the fridge. I was so wrong.
    Back to School Time and Fall Immunity
    It is not just germs that cause kids (and grown ups!) to get sick. A significant factor is the strength of their immune response. That starts in the digestive tract where over 70% of immune system cells reside. You guys, SEVENTY PERCENT of your immune system is in your digestive tract. Probiotics, the beneficial bacteria that live in the gut, help support the production and function of these immune cells. These beneficial bacteria can be an ally when it comes to fighting off back-to-school bugs. Because Dr. Ohhira’s is such a small capsule containing the naturally fermented paste a child can easily swallow it in a spoonful of applesauce or yogurt.
    Research and Facts: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 22 million school days are lost annually due to the common cold, with the average child contracting 6.5 colds a year. What many parents don’t know, science has proven that some probiotics can be one of the parent’s most useful tools for keeping kids healthy. A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics showed that kids who were supplemented with probiotics were three times less likely to experience fever, coughs, and runny noses than their classmates who did not receive the probiotics.
    Halloween Sugar: The Ghastly Ghoul That Will Scare Your Guts And Petrify Your Probiotics!
    How Sugar Affects the Gut: Friendly bacteria aid the metabolism of nutrients and help certain compounds get into the bloodstream. A diverse population of health-promoting flora protects the gut from the less helpful strains. In contrast, an outsize number of less-beneficial flora—which proliferate with a diet high in sugar, fat, and processed food—can cause gas, discomfort, bloating, and inflammation. How many of you live in this state? The flora can also emit chemicals that compromise the intestinal lining according to The Human Microbiome Project at the National Institutes of Health. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states probiotics work with your good gut bacteria to reduce sugar cravings and help keep your blood glucose in the healthy range if you do eat sweets.
    The Holidays: The Eating Season
    Many conventionally prepared Thanksgiving and Holiday menus, albeit delicious, are hard on your stomach. Greasy ham, fried turkey, mashed potatoes loaded with milk and butter, yams with sugary marshmallows, decadent desserts, not to mention the increased alcohol intake for some people. Even if you eat healthy the rest of the year, sometimes your digestive system just isn’t prepared for the onslaught of rich fare. Bloating, indigestion, and a sour stomach are not only triggered by how much you eat, but also by eating certain foods that are difficult to digest. These undigested substances then pass into your colon producing the gas bubbles that make your stomach swell up and create uncomfortable gas. Probiotics, when taken consistently, repopulate the gut with health-promoting bacteria for better digestion, increased absorption of nutrients, and less gas and bloating. Basically, adding a probiotic to your routine may help you avoid or lessen the complete misery that you feel after eating your delicious holiday meals.
    What makes Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics different from any other probiotic?
    Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics are not cultured or grown in a laboratory like most other probiotic products. Natural crops and spring water are fermented* for three years with 12 distinctive probiotic strains that encourage your body’s innate ability to grow its own friendly bacteria. This rich culture medium (PRE-BIOTICS) is then encapsulated along with the beneficial lactic acid bacteria (PRO-BIOTICS) that have grown together over the three-year period and the resulting nutrients from this fermentation* process (POST-BIOTICS.) All three of these working together help to result in the ultimate gut health.
    *Fermentation maximizes the natural health-promoting properties of each ingredient. The final result is an organic, living fusion that merges and encourages the evolution of your own exclusive internal bacteria. This, in turn, supports a healthy immune system and digestion of crucial micronutrients that your body needs to thrive and flourish. Hand-made in Japan with a sincere respect for nature and reverence for science, Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics will transform your health with the assurance you are in harmony with the environment.
     
    All of this to say, your gut health is SO important. Investing in a good probiotic makes such a difference in your overall health and wellness. The miserable flu season is coming up, and now is the perfect time to start taking care of your health. Cut out or reduce your intake of sugars. Add a great probiotic to the mix with your daily multivitamins. You can purchase Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics here. While you are there, pick up some of this moisturizer. It’s so good!
     
    Please let me know if you give it a try and what you think. You can also head over to MomsMeet.com and check out what other people are saying about Dr. Ohhira’s probiotics.
    acs_0149

  • Paleo Gravy

    Probably the most difficult thing about switching to a healthier lifestyle is missing your favorite comfort foods. For me, gravy is life. But, most gravy made from scratch is not clean and contains refined flour. Over the weekend, I decided to play around and find a recipe that works and was thrilled when it worked out! Creating my own recipes is always a bit terrifying, but always worth it. (I say creating my own recipes understanding that someone somewhere has probably created a similar one. If so, I didn’t find it.)
    paleo gravy
     
    Ingredients:
    1/4 cup Ghee
    1/3 cup cassava flour
    3 cups of bone broth
    salt and pepper to taste
     
    Directions:
    1. Melt the ghee in a medium sauce pan. Slowly whisk in the cassava flour until combined and smooth.
    2. Slowly pour in bone broth while you are still whisking. You want to be sure you keep whisking so that your gravy does not become lumpy.
    3. Continue cooking until your gravy is bubbly and thickened.
    4. Add salt and pepper to taste.
    **You could make this AIP by omitting the pepper and being certain that you didn’t add any off-limits spices to your bone broth.**
     
    Making gravy from scratch is so simple. I think people often get intimidated by it because of the fear of lumpy gravy with a funky texture. Give it a try! If I do end up with lumpy gravy made from broth or pan drippings, I use my immersion blender to smooth it out.

  • My New Favorite Shampoo and Conditioner

    acs_0098
    I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) to use and post my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided and this page may contain affiliate links.

    I have been on the hunt for a good, clean shampoo and conditioner for quite some time. Two years ago, I dyed my hair platinum blonde and it got destroyed. My hair had never been so unhealthy, and it’s been a long process of restoring the health and stopping the breakage. When Moms Meet contacted me about trying Desert Essence anti-breakage shampoo and conditioner, I jumped at the opportunity!
    Honestly, I always get a little afraid. What if I hate the product and have to write that?! I won’t ever be dishonest or deceitful in what I share with you.Thankfully, that was not the case. I have been using Desert Essence Shampoo and Conditioner for several weeks and LOVE it!! I’ll have a special discount for you later so you can give it a try for less!
    Here are some facts about Desert Essence Anti-Breakage Shampoo and Conditioner:
    – It is infused with an exclusive blend  that helps reduce breakage by up to 61%. There is biotin right in the product, which is what you get when you buy any vitamins for your hair!
    – It is rich in nourishing jojoba and coconut oils, aloe, and saw palmetto, which smooth and fortify hair cuticles and revitalize hair strands to minimize breakage.
    – The botanical oils and radish seed extract provide shine!
    – The aloe and moisturizing shea butter in the Anti-Breakage Conditioner help de-tangle and condition hair.
    Another fun fact- Desert Essence was the first company to bring Jojoba oil into the marketplace! So cool!
     
    The shampoo lathers up really nicely and leaves my hair feeling clean. The conditioner is thick and creamy. I love that when I am done washing and conditioning my hair, I don’t feel any build-up. Do you know what I mean? Some conditioners leave behind a lot of build-up that feels so gross and weighs down your hair.  My hair just feels fresh and clean. It feels smooth and much less frizzy than it had been. After having such badly damaged hair, it is so nice for it to feel healthy again.
    I am sure that you are wondering about the scent. I always want my hair to smell nice. There is not a fruity or spicy scent– it’s just clean and fresh. Are you noticing a theme? I really love the way my hair smells after I wash it.
    acs_0097
    Earlier, I said that I had been on the hunt for good, CLEAN shampoo and conditioner. I don’t want a bunch of hormone disruptive and unnecessary ingredients in my bath products. Every Desert Essence product is rated incredibly well on the Think Dirty app. While the anti-breakage shampoo and conditioner and not specifically rated YET, I feel really good about using a brand that’s worst score is a 4; most of the time just for fragrances that may trigger allergy or asthma problems.
    If you are unfamiliar with the score system, ten is the worst. Each product gets a score and a green, yellow, or red color for how harmful the ingredients are. Most of the Desert Essence products are a ZERO! How awesome is that! Desert Essence really cares about the ingredients that are put into their products. Each one serves a purpose. The Anti-Breakage Shampoo and Conditioner is also gluten-free.
    Now, I know that many people roll their eyes at this. “It goes on your skin. Who cares what’s in it?” Did you know that EVERYTHING that you put on your skin (including your scalp) can be found in your bloodstream after a certain amount of time; some as early as 26 seconds after application? THAT is why you should care. That is why I am passionate about products like this. We put tons of chemicals onto our skin that get in our blood stream, and then wonder why everyone is so sick and infertility is so common. At some point, we have to say enough is enough. Speak with your dollars, and only spend your money on the products that aren’t harming us and our children.
    acs_0096
    You can find Desert Essence at Natural Grocers, Lucky’s Market, MOM’s Organic Market, and many other local natural food stores. If you want to find it in your area, visit desertessence.com/store-locator. My readers can take 20% off Anti-Breakage and Smoothing Hair Care Products on dessertessence.com with the promo code DELovesMomsMeet
    Please let me know if you have any other questions about Desert Essence Anti-Breakage shampoo and conditioner. Let me know if you give it a try! I’d love to hear what you think!
    BEST SIGNATURE

  • A little Light Reading


    We are here again. Seeking a diagnosis. Seeking feeling well.
    I just want to feel like a normal 29 year old that has the energy to play with her kids. If I don’t have Hashimoto’s, I really don’t know what else could be wrong. That scares me a bit. Hashimoto’s scares me, too. I see a new doctor next Tuesday. I am going to push to have a biopsy done. Maybe he will check my antibody levels also. From what I have read, it is possible for autoimmune diseases to go dormant for a period of time, so my negative test could have been false a couple of years ago.
    If you don’t know, I have an enlarged thyroid and some chronic “mystery” thyroid disease. The last two ultrasounds that I have had done have shown that it has a heterogeneous echogenicity texture. Basically, there is a texture on all of my thyroid that shows them that chronic disease is present (how my first doctor explained it). This specific texture is almost always caused by autoimmune disease, which was NOT explained to me before.
    My doctor wanted to kill my thyroid, which according to blood work was functioning just fine, before it kills itself. That didn’t sit well with me, so I resisted. I had no idea what an autoimmune disease was. Maybe if I had been given more information, I wouldn’t have hesitated as much? Instead, I did the Autoimmune Protocol and overhauled the way I ate. I started avoiding all endocrine disrupters that I am aware of.  Unfortunately, I had to stop doing AIP when I ended up in the ER with all of the symptoms of a heart attack. After a lot of tests, it was determined that my body was starving. I was doing AIP and breastfeeding at the same time. I ate ALL DAY, and made sure to add in plenty of calories, but it just wasn’t enough. I had to quit, and eventually gave up on finding answers.  I don’t regret not going along with the doctors original plan. She seemed so unsure of it herself and kept saying that it was not guaranteed to make me feel better or work. If the doctor isn’t confident, why would I be?
    If my new doctor doesn’t find any answers, I plan to start the Autoimmune Protocol again and work toward wellness on my own.  I want to walk into my appointment prepared with all questions and ready to face any solution that my doctor suggests. Last time, I was blindsided and not given a lot of information. This time, I want to be informed. I know people act like your thyroid is useless. It’s not. It controls every system in your body. It could be why I ended up having epilepsy. It could possibly be the cause of my miscarriage 5 years ago. I don’t know that for sure, but it is possible. What I do know is that I have all of the symptoms, and I am tired of it. Literally, so exhausted.
    These are the books I have checked out from the library that have helped me learn a lot:
    Why do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms?   This is a great book that is full of medical information. It has great explanations for why your blood work may be normal while you still have miserable symptoms of disease.
    Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: Lifestyle Interventions for Finding the Root Cause  This is another great book written by someone with a lot of knowledge on Hashimoto’s. She was diagnosed at 27 years old with it, and went on a quest to find what her “root cause” was. Medicine doesn’t help most people feel completely better, and diet always has to be altered. She found what she needed to eliminate in order to fully get rid of her symptoms.
    Hashimoto’s Protocol  I haven’t opened this one yet, but will update when I have read it.
    The Autoimmune Wellness Handbook This is a great book to pick up if you have, or suspect you have, an autoimmune disease. This covers all aspects of your health that can help you heal. There are many different eating plans if the AIP diet is too overwhelming. This is a book I would really like to buy and have on my shelf all the time.
    The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook This is one that I actually did end up purchasing. It is FULL of recipes for salad dressings, sauces, main dishes, sides, snacks, and desserts. If you have done AIP before, you know that it is SO overwhelming. There are two different four week meal plans already written out for you WITH shopping lists. They give you lists of items that you will want to have on hand in your pantry to make the protocol easier. Even when not doing AIP, it is full of really delicious and healthy recipes. You can’t lose.
     
    I wanted to share this so that others in similar situations won’t feel so alone. When I found out what I may be up against, I was terrified and overwhelmed. I found a friend who had gone through something similar; though her situation was far worse than mine. I asked her what I could do. How can I take control of this? Is that even possible? She set me up with a lot of information and checked in with me often. She prayed for me. Her husband dropped to his knees in prayer when I was at the hospital. Her whole family encouraged me. I am forever grateful to her.
    I will continue to write updates as we go along again. I would appreciate your prayers that answers can be found. My thyroid has been in question since I was pregnant with Addison, and I would love to have answers.
    signature