Thoughts

I've been meaning to blog but so much seems to get in the way; housework, kids, husband, meetings, exhaustion...you know what I mean. I've been wanting to share my newest, er, obsession. If you haven't seen the movies "Food Inc." and "King Corn" you need to. They will open your mind about the foods you're consuming and if you're anything like me, they will have you walking away wondering what on earth you can possibly eat! I'm reading the book that goes with the movie "Food Inc" (thank you Katie) and it has even more information to digest (pun intended). The amount of preservatives, additives, corn syrup, etc. that's in most of the foods we consume is mind blowing. It's a new journey for our home. We were always committed to buying organic milk but that was about it. Sometimes fruit and eggs too, but I made my grocery list each week based on coupons and deals. What I'm learning now is that there are some major repercussions associated with eating that way. As a result, I'm barely eating meat these days. My rule (for me) is that I can only eat meat that is grassfed (beef) or cage free, farm raised (chicken). Both must be without hormones and antibiotics. And the biggest thing is that I'm probably only eating meat 2 times a week, if that. It isn't that big of a deal for me, but for Gabe it is a change. I've never been a meat lover and of course, I'm married to one :) But, he's humoring me and he even watched both movies with me. He's been transformed and that is really exciting to me. So, yes, we are spending more on groceries considering that we buy almost everything at Whole Foods or Trader Joes. But, to me it makes sense. If the food that we normally eat as Americans is making us sick, then eating better quality foods with less ingredients is worth my money. That's where I'm at currently and I'm sure I'll post more as I learn more.

The other topic of interest is that we are leaving in 2 days for California. SO excited but today we are having the snow storm of the century here and I'm praying that we are still able to get out of here on Monday. We cannot have a repeat of 2 years ago... I've been thinking about my trip a lot too. Gabe and I have decided we really want to just take it easy there. We want to rest, enjoy nature, be with family, relax, see friends, and eat good food. Not asking too much. Trying to focus on what Christmas really means for us as a family. In our little home, we have made a conscious decision not to make Christmas all about the gifts. Of course we are getting things for the girls, but not going overboard-on purpose. Maddie's been to at least 2 birthday parties for Jesus so far :) and in our home, that's what it's all about. 1 year ago yesterday, you may remember that Gabe and I were baptized together. It was such a special evening and the memory of it brings a smile to my face. I'm so thankful that I know Him and that He loves me!
Merry Christmas!