Reclaiming My Health

I wanted to write this blog post in hopes that it might help a friend or a friend of a friend who might be going through what I have been through these past 2 years. In the following post I will tell my story, how I was diagnosed, how I found functional medicine, and what I did (supplements I took, diet I followed, products I used) to help me be well on my way into remission. 

Let's start with the basics. I've always considered myself a pretty healthy person. Not like, Cross Fit or Beachbody healthy, but I'm a pretty big fan of vegetables, I used to exercise at least 4 times a week, I have never smoked and I do not drink. In my eyes, that was being healthy "enough". But in the beginning of 2015, I got a rude awakening. 

A few months after having my daughter, Annelise, I got incredibly sick. The first thing I noticed was that I was so lethargic ALL THE TIME. Most afternoons by about 4pm I had a hard time staying awake. I specifically remember one Sunday morning I had the hardest time getting out of bed. I felt like I had ran a triathlon in my sleep (I’m just going to pretend like I even have a clue what that must feel like), and all I wanted to do was go back to sleep. My whole body ached like I had lifted weights the entire day prior. My face was swollen on one side, the same side of my tongue was swollen and my lymph nodes under my ears and on my neck were swollen. I got out of bed and barely got to church services that morning, and as soon as I got home at about 11:15am, I went straight back to bed and slept until 4pm that afternoon. I stayed up for a few more hours and laid back down at 7pm and didn't wake up until the next morning. I also started losing clumps of hair in the shower. Just a ton of hair. And started having night sweats, which aren't normal at all for me because I'm usually the one freezing cold at night and under all of the covers. I felt as though my body was falling apart and I couldn’t understand why. I chalked it up to just having a baby and maybe my hormones weren’t quite back to normal. And maybe I was just sleeping during the day because of waking up in the middle of the night with a hungry baby. But still, something didn't feel quite right.

Soon after the day that I had to sleep all day, I noticed chronic fatigue. I wasn't myself. I didn't have the energy and I would beat myself up because I knew I wanted better for my kids and husband and knew that they deserved better too. Something I specifically remember was my "tired" feeling different than normal tired. Friends would ask how I was and I would say tired and I remember them saying, "yeah, me too. I just went to the mall and then grocery shopping and I just want to head home, take a shower and veg out on the couch". And all I wanted to say was - "no, you don't understand. I don't think I'm going to be able to get out of my house today, or in the shower, or off of my couch for that matter." I wanted to say - it's MORE than tired. But it was so hard to explain to everyone. Because other than my hair falling out, which happened only in the shower and during blow drying mostly, I didn't LOOK sick. That's the thing with invisible illness. You feel alone sometimes because you have to cancel plans, skip out on things you would normally do because you don't feel well, but all you get is "but you don't look sick". So in the following days I called and made an appointment with my Primary Care physician to discuss my symptoms. (I will add a list of ALL of those symptoms later, below.)

While waiting to get in to see him that week, I started to notice lumps that were coming up under the skin on my hands. They would come up and then disappear after a few hours, but they were always a little tender and painful and that is how I would notice them. It looked as though my veins would have a clog and get huge and swollen under my skin. I would have more pain under my ears and this time it would shoot down the sides of my neck like it was in my salivary glands. I started having pain under my right armpit and then would get a tingling or numb sensation in my right arm that would go all the way down into my ring finger. I started having excruciating pain behind my right knee. Pain in the back of my neck. Pain and aches in my abdomen. I would have muscle spasms, again in my right arm. I felt full all of the time even when I hadn’t eaten. But I also ate “comfort foods”, no dieting or cutting back, and no exercising because I always felt so tired and weak yet I noticed I was still losing weight. That was definitely a red flag to me because I’ve had a hard time my whole life losing weight even when I was dieting and exercising.

 When I finally got in to see my doctor, he ordered a complete blood count to see if we could narrow down what was going on. When the results came back here is what we found:

White blood cell count : LOW out of range

Red blood cell count : LOW out of range

Platelets : LOW out of range

Mean corpuscular hemoglobin: HIGH out of range

Red Cell Distribution Width: LOW out of range

%Monocytes : HIGH out of range

%Neutrophils : LOW out of range

%Lymphocytes : HIGH almost out of range

#Neutrophiles : LOW out of range

Autoimmune Diff : ABNORMAL

Anti-Nuclear Antibodies: POSITIVE

This set the ball rolling. Obviously, something was VERY wrong. The doctor referred me to a rheumatologist who specializes in autoimmune conditions to see if I possibly had lupus, multiple sclerosis, or something similar. What the antinuclear antibody test tells you is that basically your body has turned on itself. I hated that thought. I hated lying in bed at night and thinking that something really bad was going on inside of my body and there was nothing I could do about it. That my body was attacking itself but I didn't know why. I just had to sit and play the waiting game to get into doctors appointments and wait for test results.

When I finally got in to see the rheumatologist, she ordered more blood tests. The results this time were as follows:

Positive Anti-Nuclear Antibody:  1:320, Patterns – speckled and homogeneous

Urinalysis : White Blood Cells in Urine HIGH 5-10

Immunoglobulin 2: HIGH out of range – range goes up to 489, I was 727

Immunoglobulin 4: HIGH out of range – range goes up to 153, I was 372

Semi-Quantitative Anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide test: NORMAL

ANA9 test: showed that I was NORMAL and did not test positive for Lupus, Sjogren’s Syndrome, Mixed connective tissue disease, or  Scleroderma.

To make an annoyingly long story a little shorter, (but not much) this autoimmune "specialist" couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. She sent me to an oncologist who started throwing out words like lymphoma and she did a blood smear on me and more tests. But nothing. So I had a friend that kept mentioning my thyroid. But I thought - that couldn't be it. Because I've had my thyroid tested and nothing. But after no other answers, I went to see an ENT. 

When he walked back into his office with blood test results he said, "you are in low in this and that, and oh, you already know you have Hashimotos, and ...." 

HUH? WHAT? I have WHAT? No, I didn't know I had Hashimotos. An autoimmune condition where my body attacks my thyroid. Finally, we were getting somewhere. I finally had a diagnosis. This was in February of 2016. About a YEAR after I got really sick. He also said that because of my antibody number, he thought I possibly had another autoimmune condition but didn't exactly know which one.

So this is where functional medicine comes in. No offense WHATSOEVER to my friends in the medical field, but we have had some of the worst experiences in our 9 years of marriage with the medical field. From a doctors office sending Adam someone else's paperwork for his cancer treatment (with the other patients name marked out with a sharpie (we could still read it) and a > sign added to the dosage), to my OB telling me my water hadn't broke with Connor (and it had) to doctors misdiagnosing, not catching things, or being just plain rude. I was pretty much done with seeing conventional doctors if at all possible. I also wasn't content with "you will have this your entire life and will have to take a pill each morning to control it." That wasn't good enough for me. I was too young to be this sick & I wasn't going to accept the answer that there was nothing I could do about it.

So I began my research in functional medicine and that's when I found Dr. Amy Myers. She is a functional medicine practitioner in Austin and has people from all over the globe come and see her. She's that good. Reading on her website her explanations of what effects our immune system, our gut health, and how detox could reverse some autoimmune conditions was life changing. So I ordered her book "The Autoimmune Solution". I started on the autoimmune protocol diet at the beginning of  March 2016 and stayed on it without cheating until the end of January of 2017. The diet is basically NO grains, oats, rice, pasta, corn, eggs, dairy, potatoes (sweet potatoes are ok), tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, sugar, nuts and seeds, processed foods, fried foods, legumes, and caffeine. So for 11 months I basically ate meat, veggies, small portions of fruit & bone broth. Lots and lots of bone broth. (SO good for gut healing!!) For the first 4 months or so, I'm not even going to lie, it was rough. People with Italian in their blood don't really eat to live, they live to eat. And you are supposed to be able to reintroduce foods back in, but I didn't just to stay on the safe side. We also now eat all natural, organic unless we are away from the house and then we do the best we can. My goal was remission. It always has been. I wanted to go to my doctor, have my antibody count under 35 and know that I did the research necessary and maybe took the hard road, but was able to put this disease in remission by myself. So back to the diet. After about month 4, it was a breeze. I was just used to it and I started to feel so much better so I knew I could stick to it. What threw me off was traveling a little around Christmas and New Years and getting so burned out while watching family and friends eat yummy foods, and I started cheating with dairy, potatoes, corn and sugar in January. Either way, my antibody count since starting the diet had decreased significantly. When diagnosed, my antibody count was 398. 11 days into the diet, I went back for more blood results and it was at 182. And it has continued to drop with every blood test.

Along with the diet, I took supplements to strengthen my immune system as well as heal my gut. When I first started, these are the supplements I took: Tons of Vitamin D & B12, L-Glutamine,
Resveratrol, Microb-Clear, Curcumin, and a ProBiotic. I've slowly figured out what helps and what doesn't so I'm currently taking a Multivitamin with Zinc, Copper & Selenium in it, the extra Vitamin D & B, a probiotic, and DHEA. Once I started taking the 10mg of the DHEA I realized that my hair stopped thinning and falling out so much. 

Then came the detox. I started realizing all of the toxic things I had in, on, and was putting in my body. So I changed all of my products to all natural. From toothpaste, shampoos, and deodorant to even makeup. I will list below all of the natural products I use for anyone interested. I also went and had all of my mercury fillings removed by a biological dentist. If you want to know more about getting all of the unnatural things out of my body, it's a little more sensitive material, just email me and I will fill you in on that. I also started using an infrared sauna for detoxing which was one of my favorite things ever, and started taking Methylation support to help my body rid of any toxins it might have had left. 

So to wrap up this story (do I hear slow clapping? I do, don't I?) my antibodies were slowly declining this entire year. It was a hard road, often so stressful trying to figure out what to take, what to cook, how in the world we were going to get the extra funds to get some of these things done. But it was all worth it. I had an appointment for blood test results this week and I'm really happy to say that my antibodies went down another 29 points since the last visit. Which means, if I keep going at the same pace I have been, in 6 months they will be under 35 and I will have put my Hashimotos in REMISSION. 6 MONTHS.

If you have been sick but no doctor can figure out what is going on and your symptoms sound a lot like mine (full list below), contact me, I would love to chat with you and help you. If you already have an autoimmune condition and you want some more info on the diet, supplements or detox, again, or if you would like to know some of the causes of autoimmune conditions that I have found out in the past couple of years that you wouldn't even think of because they aren't talked about ... I'm here and I want to help. There ARE other options than just accepting that it's a life long disease and you have to take a pill. And there will be ups and downs, but if I can be in remission just 1 year after diagnosis and 2 years after becoming really sick, then there is a lot more to functional medicine than the conventional field wants to let on. Oh, and stress management is a huge key as well. 

So below is a list of symptoms I had to start with as well as natural products I've been using. Let me know  if you have any questions at all! 

SYMPTOMS

Fatigue

Hair Loss

Night Sweats

Headaches

Memory Loss

Brain Fog

Pain under armpit

Pain under ear and down jaw line

Lumps on hands

"Moon Face" (round puffy face)

Back Pain

Heart Palpitations

Neck Pain

Numbness/Tingling in Arms into fingers

Swollen Tongue

Eczema

Swollen Face upon waking

Itching

Bloating and feeling full

Muscle Weakness

Joint Pain

Muscle Spasms

Sensitivity to Sunlight

Low Blood Pressure

Kidney Pain

Dark circles under eyes

Swelling of Liver

Melasma of the skin 

Thinning of outer eyebrows

Severe Knee Pain

Would get exhausted in hot shower

Poor sleep / Never feeling rested

Swollen Lymph nodes

Vertigo

 ALL NATURAL PRODUCTS

Toothpaste - My Magic Mud (it is made out of charcoal, coconut oil and bentonite clay and I LOVE it. It is black and turns your mouth all black, but it is all natural, helps with sensitivity and also whitens.)

Deodorant - Schmitd's Rose and Vanilla

Shampoo & Conditioner - I've been using Acure but thinking of switching to PureHaven because I have heard it helps with hair loss and thinning. 

Body Wash or Soap- PureHaven Lavendar soap

Moisturizer & Lotion - Pure Haven Dream Cream (this works wonders on eczema and psoriasis you might have) 

Makeup - W3LL People out of Austin Tx - LOVE!

Medicine & Calming - Essential Oils

Other than that, I don't use anything else on my body.

Here's to healing and growing, and reclaiming my health!!

Thanks for reading!

That "harmless" little killer.

I could have been like my Dad.

Laid back. Always calm. Always cool. Never worried.

My dad has such a calm spirit about him. In fact, I can only remember two times in all of my life that I have ever seen my dad angry. One of those times is when my brother and I proceeded to pillow fight while my grandparents were over after my dad told us not to. The other, was an instance where I put a fork covered in peanut butter in the dishwasher. It makes me laugh to think about it, now ... and even then, he wasn't really all that mad.

And worried? Well, to tell you the truth, I've never seen my dad worried. Not once. Not in the slightest. Everything that happens has some kind of logical answer, will fix itself, or isn't really a reason to worry in the first place. I love this about my dad. I know he is level headed and that if I need to talk to someone about a stressful situation, he's my guy.

But I'm not like my dad.

I'm like my mom. And bless her heart, she stresses. But before I elaborate on that, I feel like I need to explain why.

You see, my mom is selfless. She is a people pleaser. She wants everyone to be happy. I can't even tell you how many Holiday Meals have been spent with everyone at the table enjoying their food while my mom was running around the kitchen making sure that everyone's drinks were filled and their plates were full. She is giving. She is thoughtful and considerate. She would spare her comfort so that everyone else could have theirs. She has always been that way. Not that my dad isn't a giving and selfless man, because he is. But he just does it in a different way. My mom stresses. And she hurts when other people hurt. Which, I got from her as well. Which means she worries herself sick when one of her children has an illness, or she hasn't heard from a friend in a while. And she hates for people to be upset with her. It tears her up inside, all the while, pretending like it really doesn't bother her.

I'm like my mom.

And today, as I was driving home from work, I was thinking about stress. Not because I am feeling it right now so much, but because my Relays are about to begin... and every year, I try to make everything work out perfectly and make everyone happy and figure out where that extra $40,000 is going to show up from in order to make my goal, to the point that I break myself down physically and emotionally. I let myself get so busy that I almost forget to take care of things in my personal life, like paying bills or going grocery shopping.

But this year,

I refuse to stress.

Not because I am going to work less or not try as hard. No way. I'm still giving my 100% to my job. I'm blessed to have this job. In fact, the other day I was asked by a medical professional what I do for a living and quietly waited for my answer like it was going to be lame. But when I told her that I worked for the American Cancer Society her face lit up, and her eyes got big, and she said - "Wow. That's great. What a fantastic job to have." Yep, I'm lucky to have my job, and it won't be because I slack off that I don't stress this year. But because I refuse to stress. It's a choice. It's not something that my circumstances or those around me make me do. I choose to stress. It's me. And with all of the illnesses that can be brought on by stress, and thinking about how many years I can take away from the length of my life just by stressing, not to mention the happy moments I take away in the WIDTH of my life .... I'm not doing it.

I refuse.

I'm going to think of my dad. I'm going to strive for his calm spirit. Knowing that you can only do in a day, what you can do in a day. And I'm going to pray for wisdom and patience and say one of my favorite verses over and over again in my head.

Philippians 4:6-7.

And I've already started fighting back against stress this year, so I am ready!

Here are some things I am doing to make sure that my body and soul reacts accordingly to my most stressful time of the year:

Eating Healthy.

The truth is that what we eat can help us cope with stress. Unhealthy eating puts stress on your body as it contributes to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and other health conditions. When your body is stressed, your emotional state becomes increasingly fragile as well. I've made a decision. It started because of medical reasons, but I'm making it my lifestyle because of health and personal reasons (not religious or political reasons)- I'm officially a Vegan. And it's great. I feel wonderful. Do I miss milk, you might ask? Not so much. Because blueberry Special K cereal in a bowl of vanilla soy milk... is Yum.

Exercising.

Exercise releases chemicals in your brain that help promote feelings of well being. Physical activity can provide you with an outlet for frustration and stress. Even a brisk 30 minute walk in the morning can make you feel ready for the day! I start my day off with either Zumba, 30 Day Shred, or just walking and some weights. You might have to wake up earlier to fit it in, but it is well worth a stress-free day all day!

Getting good sleep QUALITY.

I always thought it was how MUCH sleep you get that mattered, but that's not entirely true. Poor sleep quality increases ragged emotional states and can lead to increased stress. Working to relax before bed time can improve the quality of your sleep.

and lastly... just a few little tricks that help me relax...

like -being more aware of my breathing and taking deeper breaths, listening to my favorite music, taking bubble baths, laughing with my co-workers (thanks Ashley and Karla!), reading before bed,

and last but certainly not least -

Remembering to be like my dad. :)

So let the Relays begin!!

[And stress AND cancer can both EAT MY DUST. ]

Move Over, Jillian!

Ok. So I have a secret that I want to share with all of my lady friends out there. Especially the ones that are the "rollercoaster weight gainers". Yep. I'm talking to you. I used to be one of you.

I remember what it was like trying to diet. I alternated between 3 very unsuccessful techniques and it never got me anywhere.

Unsuccessful Diet #1 : The Starve 'Til I Pig Out Diet

You know, it's the one where you barely eat anything all day. And right around bed time after you have felt good about yourself all day, you realize... "Wait a minute. What's that I feel? Hunger?" So what do you do? You sneak into the kitchen at 10 or 11 oclock at night and stuff your face with cheetos puffs and those irresistable frosted suger cookies from Wal-Mart. A month of doing that every night, and you're wondering why you haven't lost any weight.

I've been there.

Unsuccessful Diet #2: The Burn Out Quick Diet

This is the one where you decide you aren't going to eat anything but salad and tuna fish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sure, it goes great for about 2 weeks and then you start to feel it, the burn out. Your tastebuds crave something different. And who do you end up going back to? Uh huh. That's right. Those cheetos and cookies again. Or maybe you are one of those that curls up on the couch with a big bowl of ice cream. My bowl? Filled with velveeta shells and cheese. Hits the spot every time!

Unsuccessful Diet #3: The Work Out Will Work It Out Diet

If you even want to call this one a diet. It goes more like this: I'm going to work out hard every day and then I can eat whatever I want! That should work, right? Huh. WRONG. Believe me, I've tried it. Infact, I tried it with Ms. Michaels' 30 Day Shred video and continued to eat my stuffed crust pizza and coke floats. After 30 days? Well, I looked more curdled than shredded, if THAT tells you anything. It definitely doesn't work if you don't eat right while you are working out.

So why am I telling you all this you might ask??

Because I have found the PERFECT diet.

It was by accident, really. But it works. In fact, I've lost a total of 23 lbs so far since the week before Thanksgiving. This one isn't anything special that you have to purchase off of the internet. And NO, your food doesn't come packaged in the mail. The best part about it, is that you don't even have to TRY to lose weight. It just magically happens. This one is called the:

My Gall Bladder Quit Functioning So I Can't Eat Squat Diet.

Sounds good, right?! I should go National with this.

I can see it now.....

{This is what my book cover will look like.}

Juuuuuusssst Kidding.

But if you've got the will power to stick with it, I suggest you try it if you really have given up on losing those few extra pounds. It works. Not only is this diet for losing weight apparently, but it will make you healthier than you have ever been in no time. I have more energy, and feel better than I have ever felt in my life! I wish I would've started eating like this a LONG time ago.

Most diets have lists of things you CAN'T eat. Well, this one is a little different. In fact, it is so strict, it's just easier to list the things you CAN eat:

Fresh Fruits

Fresh Vegetables

Walnuts

Soy Cheese

Wheat tortillas or pizza crust

Salmon

And the only thing you can drink, and I mean ONLY thing, is water. No tea, no coffee, no hot chocolate in the cold, cold winter. :( I've missed that...

I know it sounds blah, but it's really not so bad! I've got some great recipies (like veggie pizza and fish tacos) and would love to share them! Just email me : tbluhm19@gmail.com.

From one woman to another that knows how hard it is to lose weight, I just thought I would share something that I KNOW works! No strings attached. I think that if my gall bladder did start working properly again, I might even stay as close as I can to being on this diet because I feel so healthy.

So there it is. Easy as pi...uh... broccoli. Easy as broccoli.

Move it or lose it, Jillian.

Or, just Lose It.

I open my lungs...

...to breathe in forgiveness & love.

Tomorrow will be an emotional day for me.

At 8:30am Adam will be taken to surgery and I will be in the waiting room with so much support, and so many people that love us.

Because of all of the amazing people that I have in my life, I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about them. From the very moment that we announced that Adam had a mass in his neck and would have to have surgery, we have had nothing but constant love shown to us.
Love that I truly can not describe.

We have been given a drawing from a 6 and a 3 year old, and a note from them that said - "get better Adam". Those kinds of things are irreplaceable. It went on our refrigerator immediately.

We have been given a homemade book of encouragement with Bible verses, poems, and pictures from a sweet lady from our church congregation. On the front is a picture of sheep and the title says- "Ewe" are Loved.

I have had a friend that I haven't seen in years, offer to get me a massage because she knew how much stress I have been under lately. It really gives me hope that people who are considerate and kind are still out there. They are my friends. I really am blessed.

We have had more cards, phone calls, facebook messages, and texts than I ever expected. We have people praying for us across the state.

We have a preacher that took the time to read scripture with us, and pray with us, and even got emotional doing so. We were so moved with the fact that he has such a loving heart that cares so much for us and our well being. And his wife is coming to wait with me in the hospital tomorrow. She has been so uplifting and comforting through all of this. We love them both so much.

And we have tons of people, and I mean tons that plan on being at the hospital for Adam tomorrow. My parents, Aunt, and brother all took off of work to make sure that they get there before Adam goes in for surgery so that they can give him a hug and some words of encouragement to help him relax. We have friends from our congregation coming, friends of mine from work want to bring me lunch, friends from Athens that we haven't seen in a while and so many more people that told us that they wish they could be there, but just could not get away.


Everyone who has taken the time to call Adam just to say - "Hey, you are in my prayers, and I love you." Everyone who has written on his facebook and everyone who has written on my blog.

You ALL mean the world to us.

As time goes on and our memories fade, we will forget the presents that we were given on Holidays, the scores of games that we played, the funny things that the pets did that made us laugh, but we will never ever forget the love that was shown to us in times of need.

From the bottom of my heart,

Thank you.

Update on Adam

First of all, I just want to thank EVERYONE who has written or called us this last week. There are so many of you who are very precious to us, who have prayed for us and also who plan on coming to the hospital on the day of Adam's surgery. That means a lot to him.

He will be having surgery on October 28th to have this mass removed. The second doctor had the same opinion as the first one that we went to see. They say that there is a very good chance of this being cancer because of Adam's age and because it is SO RARE in males.

The doctor said that the average mass size that he has seen is 2 centimeters in diameter and Adam's mass has grown to be 8 centimeters in diameter. I'm frustrated that we have to wait so long to do the surgery, but that was as soon as the surgeon could get him in. We will not know until the day before - what time the surgery will be, but I will update my FB status, and on here so that everyone can be sure and say a little prayer at the time of surgery.

Again, thank you everyone who has had us in your thoughts. This has been incredibly stressful for both of us, but Adam is staying strong. He came into the room with me on Saturday and said with a smirk - "Hey, if they do find cancer, that means I'm a survivor, doesn't it?"
Being a survivor is HUGE when it comes to cancer patients and I have learned that through my job. I definitely think that it is one of those incredible blessings that I work for the American Cancer Society if this does turn out to be thyroid cancer, because like one of my volunteers told me - "God put you in the right place to make all the connections you need!!"

This just drives it home even more with me that my job has incredible value. I hope that one day when my children ask me what I did for a living I can say -

I helped find the cure for cancer.

I'll keep everyone posted on my sweet husband... keep praying! :)

Orange you glad it's Tuesday?

I am. Here are the Top 5 things I am currently really excited about:

5. HE IS WE



This band is really awesome, but you can't find them on Mixpod or I-tunes. The girl singer has an amazing voice and I really like a lot of the lyrics. Now, just to figure out how to get them on my i-pod.... www.purevolume.com/HEISWE

4. ZUMBA



The gym that I am working out at with a couple of my friends from work has ZUMBA classes, for Free! Zumba is a mix of Latin rhythms and dance moves to create an amazing fitness program. I can't wait to get started! I heard that it is really fun and you really burn fat quickly!

3. The Finale of America's Got Talent

I really hope that Barbara Padilla wins the whole thing. She not only has a voice that is out of this world, but she seems like an amazing person. A cancer survivor, a mother, and an all around classy woman in my opinion. Oh, and she's from Houston, TX! Go Barbara!

Watch Her Here.

2. Softball Team

We are getting to play on our Church Congregations softball team starting this Thursday! I haven't played since High School, but I know that it will be a blast. Plus, I'm married to a True baseball player, so even if I'm not so good, at least he'll keep the Bluhms above water! :)

1. Getting to see my old friends!

At the end of this month I'm meeting up with friends, some that I haven't seen since 3rd grade. I'm so excited to see all of them and to see where life has taken them. They are all such sweet girls and I've missed having a close friendship all of these years so hopefully we can all catch up and I know there will be some very funny memories discussed on this night.


Have a great Tuesday everyone! :)

Dear Bathroom Scale...

Dear Bathroom Scale,

You are no longer my friend. There are two fundamental rules to being my friend and well... you've officially messed things up.
First, you have been saying unkind things to me lately. I mean, hello!?!... I visit with you every morning. I invest time in our relationship. I'm quite considerate of you. I work out and watch what I eat... kind of. All I need is a few words of encouragement. A few I tell you ... is that too much to ask? But no, during our last month of visits you just kept being rude and flashing numbers that quite simply bum me out.
Second, you can't seem to keep a secret to save your life. Those two brownies I ate yesterday .. okay, maybe more than two ... but I asked you to keep that a secret. But nooooo, missy prissy, you just had to tell the whole bathroom this morning about the upward movement of the numbers. I really wanted to like you. But, alas, I think we must break up. I'm moving on to bigger and better things.
No, wait, not bigger ... smaller and better things.
Yes, and if I ever find them, maybe we can be friends again. From now on, instead of standing on you, I will stand on the truth of God.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! -Psalm 139: 13-17

I subscribe to the "Proverbs 31 Woman" magazine and yesterday this month's came in the mail. This was the first article in it, written by Lysa TerKeurst, and I thought it was the cutest thing, so I wanted to share it with all of you!

Have a beautiful Tuesday! :)

Dr. Do-Little. Literally.

Thank you everyone who has called or written to check on Adam. Since his last visit with the Dr. we have found out,... well... squat ....about his heart condition. It has been over a week now and the Dr. has not called Adam back to tell him the results of his thyroid test or to even check up on his heart. All he told him at the visit was to take it easy as far as physical labor for a while and to not drink much caffeine. (And so Adam leaves and immediately goes to the corner store for a Coke. He's good at listening to Dr.'s orders.) So, we are wondering if the Dr. has forgotten about Adam's poor heart all together or if Adam went to Dr. Do Little's office by mistake. Again, when we hear something, we will update everyone.

If I only had a .... Heart?

Today Adam is going to the Doctor to see what is wrong with his heart. Lately it has been skipping beats and making him short of breath. It has really been scaring us, because his mother also has a similar condition and she has to take medication for the problem. I've been trying to take care of him in every way that I can by taking away his third or fourth glass of coke or cup of coffee. It's not an easy task! Getting caffeine away from Adam is like taking steak from a tiger! Ggrrr!! Down kitty! :)

We ask for your prayers today as he goes in for a check up and we find out what is wrong. Hopefully, it will be something minor like stress, or too much caffeine. Whatever comes our way we are determined that we are going to learn patience and trust through all of this. God values our trust in Him. And how do we develop trust? By spending time in His presence, through reading His word, through worship, and through prayer. Jesus told the disciples, " Look at the birds...they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet yet your Heavenly father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26)

In this worrisome time in our lives, Adam and I have decided that we are handing our worries over to God. We are going to rely wholeheartedly on the Lord to take care of him and his precious heart. I will keep all of you updated on what the tests have told us.