How to Heal Lead Poisoning Naturally

Lead poisoning is something no family wants to have to deal with, but is unfortunately much too common. In addition to keeping a low lead environment, nutrition is a powerful tool that can be used to prevent and reverse lead poisoning. If you or someone you love has been exposed to unsafe levels of lead, you can treat the problem by regularly consuming the following foods:

• garlic
• Brazil nuts
• chlorella
• cilantro
• aloe vera juice

You will want to consume the foods as close to the time of lead exposure as possible. You can learn more HERE.

"When in doubt, use nutrition first." ~Roger Williams

Ways to Honor Christ This Christmas

1) Have your kids give to kids in need (PROVERBS 22:6)
2) Bake cookies for the local homeless (MATHEW 25:35)
3) Attend a new church in a community you do not usually visit (EPHESIANS 2:19)
4) Do something kind for a neighbor (MARK 12:31)
5) Give cash gifts to low-wage workers who may not be able to afford to play Santa for their children (ex. Grocery workers, hotel staff, restaurant staff) (PROVERBS 19:17; DEUTRONOMY 24:14)
6) Give away items that can be used as Christmas gifts on FREECYCLE (JOHN 3:17)
7) Visit someone in prison (MATHEW 25:36)
8) Forgive someone you've been holding a grudge against (MATHEW 6:14)

Do you have any additional ideas? Please share in the comments section.

What I've Learned About Marriage

             Photo: JERMIL SADLER

The other day the hubs and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary. It got me thinking a lot about marriage....what mistakes I've made.....and what lessons I've learned. I thought I'd share a few lessons with you below. Feel free to chime in if you any marital wisdom of your own in the comments section.

1.) Kids make marriage sweeter. Words cannot express the satisfaction that comes from producing a baby with the person you love. To see a little person who looks just like my spouse crawling around the house, spontaneously takes my breath away. It allows me to see my husband in an entirely new vulnerable light and is a very joyous thing. I try to be present and grateful in our day-to-day life, and always remember the privilege I've been given.

2.) It's important to pay attention, and act accordingly. Though having a baby is absolutely awesome, it's also extremely exhausting.  There are moments where I feel at my wits end, and my husband swoops in like superman and offers to take the baby off my hands for a little while. That's called, paying attention. Paying attention is very valuable. It makes the other person feel seen and cared for. I try to pay attention as much as I can.

3.) It's important to fight fair. Over the course of a marriage you're bound to find yourself in the midst of an occasional heated argument. How you handle these moments can determine the difference between whether a dispute strengthens or weakens your marriage. It's easy to get upset in the moment and raise your voice or use unkind words, but such treatment can lead to resentment and exacerbation of the issue at hand. I've learned it's important to stay calm, kind, and open to a differing perspective when there is a disagreement. Since learning how to "fight fair" I've been amazed at how much more quickly our disputes are settled, and how we both seem to feel much better after an issue has been resolved.

To learn what others have learned visit CHATTING AT THE SKY.

"Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day." ~Barbara de Angelis

Happy Father's Day!

Dear "Dad",

Today is a day where Baby Z and I would like to take the time out to say thank you. Thank you for getting up in the middle of the night to change dirty diapers, for doing the dishes even when you are exhausted, for taking out the trash in the rain, and for working long days and nights to provide a comfortable material existence. Thanks for tickling when you are tired, lugging around heavy baby equipment, and going through the torture that is traveling with a baby so we can see out-of-town family. Also, thank you for giving up fight nights and expensive coffee drinks to help ease our budget. Thank you, Dad. We love you more than anything in this world, and are privileged to have you as our rock. Happy Father's Day, we look forward to many many more.

Love,

Wife & Baby

6 Months

 

Dear Baby Z,

In April you entered your sixth month of life. I can hardly believe how fast you are growing. Some days I wish I could push pause to savor your babyhood more deeply. The other mamas told me this would happen, and they were absolutely right!

This first half year of parenthood has been quite the journey. To say it is hard work is an understatement. Life is now filled with a million to-dos and not nearly enough sleep, but you've certainly been worth the trade-off. Just seeing you smile and the way you light up when Daddy comes home melts my heart. And the teamwork you force your father and I to do just to survive, has strengthened our marriage in unimaginable ways.

In these past few months you have become our best little friend. You make an excellent workout partner, and holding you while I exercise is helping to tone me up. You are also a wonderful confidant, and more than once I've caught your father bouncing ideas off of you. Of course you do not talk back yet, but I think that's a part of what makes you such an awesome little buddy right now.

We are both enjoying watching you grow, learn to sit up, giggle, play with your toys, and eat solid foods. It has been as one friend put it, "a time your kid will never remember, but you will never forget."

We love you with parts of hearts we did not even know existed, and I am awestruck by how blessed we are to have you.

Love Always,
Mom & Dad

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hello everyone! I just wanted to wish you all a very very happy Valentine's Day. I'll be spending the day with family, and hugging and kissing the two loves of my life. In the spirit of heart day, I'll leave you with a few very wise words about love.

 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

~ Corinthians 13:4-7

Goodnight My Love

When I was a little girl my father used to sing me a lullaby before bed. He wasn't much of a singer, but there was no doubt his tunes were filled with love. I can still hear him singing.....

"Goodnight my love, pleasant dreams

Sleep tight, my love

May your tomorrow be sunny and bright

And bring you closer to me"

Just think I have a little girl to sing this song to now. I can hardly believe it.....life is good! :-) 

What tunes do you remember from your childhood? Do you sing to your kids?

"How long do you wanna be loved? Is forever enough? Is forever enough? How long do you wanna be loved? Cause I'm never, never givin' you up." ~Dixie Chicks

Happy Halloween!

Baby Z and I wanted to wish you all a Happy Halloween! Enjoy yourselves :-)

A Letter to Baby Z (#1)

Dear Baby Z,

Thank you for putting up with us while we forced you to play dress up and take a million pictures the other day. We know you are a person and not a doll, and that you probably had better things to do that day, like lay on mommy's chest. From the looks of a few of your pictures you did not have the greatest time during our little photo shoot. We apologize for putting you through it, it's just that grandparents and other loved ones are suckers for this sort of thing and we hope to appease them from time to time. We promise we won't let it happen too often. We love you, even if you may have felt like we didn't as we forced your little body into this outfit. Please forgive us.

Love,

Mum and Dad

The Greatest Push Gift in the World!

Introducing.......Baby Z. Isn't she lovely :-)

"I thank you for choosin' me to come through unto life to be, a beautiful reflection of his grace. See I know that a gift so great is only one God could create and I'm reminded every time I see your face, that the joy of my world is in Zion." ~Lauryn Hill

Anniversary Staycation

Typically for our anniversary the hubs and I like to celebrate by staying at a bed and breakfast. This year it occurred to me, "hey, I already have a bed and I know how to make breakfast". In light of this epiphany, I decided to plan a lovely weekend staycation. The rules of the staycation were to have fun and enjoy a large dose of good old quality time. I must say all the undivided attention was heavenly.

I decided to jazz things up a bit around the house by filling it with tons of flowers and lighting my favorite candles.

(TIP: If you want to wake up to a pleasant aroma, place fragrant flowers by your bedside. I like to use garden roses.)

We finally found time to visit CLYBURN ARBORETUM, and Baltimore's much talked about WOODBURY KITCHEN. The ambiance at the restaurant was incredible, as were the deviled eggs.

At the end of our weekend I made sure to whip out some of our favorite wedding pics.

All-in-all we had a great time.  We've got to try this more often!

"Love is.......hanging out together." ~unknown

Our 3rd Anniversary

This week I am celebrating three wonderful years of marriage to the love of my life. Every minute of our marriage has not been perfect, but it's definitely been worth it. I can honestly say when it comes to husbands I found a great catch. It's around this time of year I tend to be particularly reflective about our relationship. I ponder about where we are? Where we're going? And what I've learned so far? In honor of Emily's "What I Learned this Month" SERIES  and our anniversary, I've decided to share with you a few nuggets of marital wisdom:

1) Don't sweat the small stuff. There are a million and one things my husband does that could drive me up a wall. For instance, he never puts the toilet seat down, forgets to put in a new bag when he changes the garbage, and regularly leaves his toothpaste in the sink. When it comes to these habits I can frustrate myself and have a total meltdown, or I can accept them as is and pick up the slack. I choose to do the latter and find it creates more peace for the both of us. I try to keep things in perspective by asking myself, "Will this matter in five years?" If the answer is no, I move on.

2) Be grateful for what you have. It is inevitable that there will be times when my spouse successfully ticks me off.  Whenever I feel particularly upset with my husband, I do an appreciation exercise. After heading to bed when the hubs is asleep, I lay awake for a few minutes next to him and observe him breathing. I remind myself that one day he will not be breathing, and how if I'm alive when that time comes how sad I will be. I then pause and feel thankful for the ability to appreciate my husbands breath, and work on moving on from whatever annoyances occurred that day.

3) Treat your marriage like a job. There was a time when I was newly married that I thought marriage was not work. I believed I had found the perfect person, and somehow our relationship would magically strengthen and maintain itself. Boy was I wrong! It wasn't until I started to see marriage as a job, that I began to work at it successfully. Like any job I had a job description: bring happiness to my partner. I also had performance reviews, which entailed checking in to see how I was doing at my "job". This change in perspective worked wonders for the both of us, and I am happy to report we are both now top performers at work :-)

What about you? What marital wisdom can you share?

"I pray everyday more than anything, friends we'll stay as we begin to lay this foundation for a family. Love ain't simple, how can it be? Anything worth having you work at annually." ~Common