Blessings!

I have gone from trying to run on zero, to feeling like I'm up to my eyeballs in blessings! (I don't often use exclamation marks, but get ready for several in this post.) I'm still the same person, I still have three toddlers, my house is still messy, I'm still cleaning up throw up (Jack and Ben just started), but I'm bursting at the seams with happiness and gratitude.

Reason #1: A few weeks ago my sister-in-law (fist bump Lindsey!) introduced me to a podcast called Power of Moms Radio. I had never listened to a podcast and honestly the thought made me think of when I was a teenager in the car with my parents and they wanted to listen to the news on the radio. I never wanted to listen to the news on the radio. But Lindsey said she thought I would like it, so I gave it a shot.

BOOM! I loved it within the first couple of podcasts. At Lindsey's recommendation, I started with "What Really Matters" and "How Do You Feel Successful As A Mother" and I've been devouring them ever since. It was just what I needed right when I needed it.

Their main focus is on "deliberate motherhood" which I love. Don't just be a mom because you have a child, be actively engaged in motherhood. They have great advice from their own lives and that they have collected from people who leave comments on their website. 

The podcasts range from bigger things like mommy burn-out, to how to teach your children gratitude, and even small (but still important) things like laundry (Jayce walked in while I was listening to laundry one and still hasn't let me forget that I was listening to a podcast about laundry!). Big things and every day things with lots of ideas.

They have really great articles on their website here:

https://powerofmoms.com

I've read a couple of them, but mainly listen to the podcasts. I love listening to the podcasts because it's something I can do while I'm folding laundry, doing dishes, or even sometimes while I'm making dinner if the kids are happily entertained with something else. I haven't had the time/energy to read much lately, so it's been great to listen to something encouraging.

I've never felt put down by the podcasts either. It is a very welcoming and open community. They never push any one thing or make you feel mom guilt. They "get" it. If you're a mom out at sea with no life jacket, here is your life line! Just start listening.

Reason #2: This is embarrassing. I've been dreading telling anyone because, 1. I'm silly, 2. Because I was worried I'd quit, and 3. I am not a fad-diet fan and I'm afraid that's the first thing everyone will think of when I say that Jayce and I are doing the Whole30. 

Let me defend myself! Food is something that I've been really interested in for about 3 years now. Just about everything I know I've gathered from books, documentaries, and blogs. If any of you have looked into food before you know what it's like to feel like you're in an information whirlwind. There are so many theories out there about what's "healthy." So. many. 

I could go on for a while about food, so I'm just going to skip to the Whole30 thing. I kept hearing about it, but kept brushing it aside because I'm not into "fad diets," I'm into life style adjustments. Well, turns out the Whole30 isn't supposed to be about weight and it's not supposed to be something you have to do forever if you want a certain body shape. That wasn't my only reservation though.

I was also really hung up on the whole "no grains" thing because I kept going back to the Word of Wisdom and thinking, "How can there be anything good about cutting out 'the staff of life'??"

The reasons why the Whole30 kept popping up in my head were because I'm not happy with the feel of my body and I like the whole "let food be thy medicine" thing, I've heard firsthand accounts of the benefits people have experienced, and I'm totally addicted to sugar and processed carbs and overeating. 

The Whole30 is supposed to be a reset so that when you reintroduce sugar, grains, soy, and dairy into your diet you can see what they do to your body. This way you can see what quantities are best for you and what not. Plus, I'm hoping it will help me reset so I form better eating habits in general.

What sealed the deal was when I was sitting in church and started going through my scriptures with food on my mind and I just felt so good about doing the Whole30. It sounds ridiculous to say this about food, but I just felt so at peace and good about doing the Whole30. Not like I'm saying everyone needs to do the Whole30, but it's what I need to do right now.

We are only on day 4, but so far I've just felt really empowered by doing something hard. I've wanted to quit five times, but I keep recommitting myself. I can do this for 30 days. Maybe the only thing I'll gain from this is just knowing that I can do something that's really hard for me. If so great! I think that's worth 30 days of my life! I'm not expecting to go down a pants size (although that would be pretty sweet) but I am expecting to learn a lot about my body and that excites me.

These are just a couple of things that have made me feel more in control of my life and I just had to journal them. They are both answers to prayers I've been praying for months now. I feel so much gratitude to my Heavenly Father right now for being mindful of my life.