WooHoo and BooHoo

As many of you know I have been suffering from chronic feet problems for years and more recently, a lot of inflammation and pain not only in  my feet, but my legs, toes, knees, and fingers.  I have feared that I probably have arthritis but have not had an official diagnosis.  Mornings are the worst, many mornings I have a hard time walking and everything hurts. I can't take the Advil fast enough.  I have been researching and experimenting with different diets for about 6 months.  Well, I have finally found a strong connection.  WooHoo!  It's sugar and any refined carbs--BooHoo!  I have found that if I have almost no carbs--very small servings and usually whole grain if any and NO sugar, I get up in the morning and although my feet hurt I am in almost no pain.  I have tested this over the last few weeks and consistently if I have a good low carb, no sugar day I wake up feeling good.  If I have sugar--the pain is back in full force.  It's as simple as that.  So--I'm thankful to be on the road to recovery and to have found something that works.  WooHoo! But, did it have to be sugar?  And french fries?  And pasta?  And rice?  BooHoo!!!  On a positive note--I am losing weight.  I might even make it back into the 140s--haven't seen that in a long time--at least two years.  Actually I saw it for a day while I was on Weight Watchers but I quickly gained back.  I can button my all time favorite pair of jeans!  WooHoo!  I know I will not be able to just never have sugar--I will cheat but I will also know that there will be a consequence for cheating.  That is strong motivation--I even turned down french fries yesterday--my all time favorite.  I'd take fries over a brownie any day.  So, I'm learning some self-discipline and for that I am also thankful.  I had become out of control in the area of food so it needed to happen.  

Thankful For My Feet

Yes, you heard me. I'm thankful for my feet (at least I'm working on it). Lately I've been saying and thinking that I hate my feet. Understandable considering the pain and stress they've caused me. However, God convicted me last night of this attitude. So, I started thinking about how I can be thankful for my feet.

• I can walk, it's painful but I am able to walk. A paraplegic would probably happily take my feet.
• My feet haven't completely quit on me even though I'm forcing them to carry about 15 -20 extra pounds.
• In this weakness, I am humbled and drawn closer to God and His strength.
• I have compassion on others who I see walking with a limp.
• I save lots of money on all the shoes I don't buy. Before I had these problems with my feet I had lots of shoes--I love shoes. Particularly big clunky ones (family--remember my black shoes that were repaired with shoe goo that Dad gave me money--can't remember how much--to quit wearing) and loud ones (family--remember my palm tree tennis shoes?). So, now, I only have a couple of pairs of shoes I can wear. I don't even look at shoes in the store.

Lots to be thankful for!

Homeschooling, My Feet, and Some Rain in No Particular Order

Two more days before the big day--the beginning of our homeschool year. This is a big year because Joe is now enrolled in "Patterson Prep." He will be starting Kindergarten with high hopes of learning to read. Grace is starting 2nd grade and Hannah 4th grade. It's hard to believe this is my fifth year of this. I've definitely come a long way. I started out pretty stressed about doing it all (and still am to a degree) and quickly found out that that was pretty difficult. I've relaxed a lot, I could stand to relax more but I've made progress. I still cringe when someone asks my kids to tell them about something they are learning. Too often the answer is a dull stare and "I don't know." or "I can't think of anything." Once and only once a wonderful thing happened when Hannah was asked that question. My uncle asked her to tell him about something she was learning. She was in first grade and we were doing a history curriculum called Story of the World. So, I brace myself for the dull stare and inability to think of anything and instead she comes out with, "we are learning about Mesopatamia and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Mesopatamia means middle and it is between the two rivers...." It was awesome! My shining moment! Never to be repeated! I am teaching my children to respond with something other than "I don't know." Not just to school questions but also to any question addressed to them by an adult. I want them to feel comfortable really talking to adults so I am always reminding them to think of something to say when asked a question or spoken to. They are making progress. Slowly. But progress. Anyway, I am looking forward to Monday and some structure. Let's hope it goes well!
So, we have had some serious rain here in the last two days. Our rain gauge goes up to 10 inches and is overflowing. We need to go out there and empty it but it won't stop raining. Actually, it's not raining right now (finally) but it's dark and I don't trust our backyard in the dark. So, we'll empty it tomorrow. I'm not sure if Tropical Storm Fay has officially passed or if we are just getting a break, I've heard we can expect more rain tomorrow. Thankfully we've had no flooding. Almost everyone I know has had some sort of flooding. That new roof is paying off!
Update on my feet--I went back to MaryAnn my Physical therapist friend today. She was very happy with how well my feet are responding to the therapy she did last week and the exercises I've been doing this past week. The swelling in my ankle is down and I have kept most of the mobility I obtained last week. This week she worked on a different section of my ankle. It was crazy painful but I was happy to endure it if it is going to help. She also taught me some new stretches to keep my back and hips aligned right. Apparently, my pelvis was all out of whack (contributing to my problems) and she got me straight and hopefully I can stay straight. I am SO thankful for her help! I really think I am on the mend permanently. This is no less than thrilling for me. I have lived with pain for so long. Actually, today was the first day in months that I've gone all day and taken nothing (except for my week of foot rest) for the pain and it's almost 10 pm and my feet feel fine. I can't say they don't hurt a little but I can walk and the pain is significantly less than what it usually would be. Praise God for MaryAnn and her willingness to help me!!!