Monday, October 31, 2016

Plexus In A Nutshell

If you read the story I shared on my blog a couple weeks ago, you know why I am so very grateful for Plexus. I am not alone in my gratitude, however. There are hundreds of thousands of other people whose lives and health have been transformed by these products. Just type, "Plexus and ______" into your Facebook search bar and fill in the blank with any health ailment to see the multitude of testimonies that appear. 

Why? Because Plexus products, through an intelligent combination of science and nature, address the three main ROOT causes underlying so many struggles: gut health, blood sugar stabilization, and inflammation in the body. I had no idea how important these root factors were until I started studying them! As a result, people are getting healthy from the inside out! (Natural side effects may include weight loss, renewed energy, stronger immunities, and improved mental health.)

What will your story be?  #guthealthforthewin  #katrinasplexusstory



Saturday, October 29, 2016

Half-Way There!


Well, well, whaddya know?!  We're already at the half-way mark!  20 weeks yesterday!  
I finally had to pull some maternity clothes out of the basement.  
Thankful to be feeling good and for all the sweet little flutters I feel throughout the day. :)

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Fall Family Fun

A couple of weeks ago, we enjoyed a beautiful fall afternoon at the Noble Family Farms where my children had an absolute blast!

JoJo heading down a slide...


...right into a pile of corn!

Adoniah doesn't get too many chances to swing, so he wasn't very sure about this part!

Off to the next activity!

A construction site that was my boys' version of paradise!

Isaac and the chainsaw.


A giant Jenga game for Mom and Dad!


Working hard at the construction site!

On the race track...


When did he get so big?

Daddy helps the short-legged one.

In the mini-corn maze!

We had to find 6 pumpkins hiding in the corn.  Isaac thought this was really fun!

Here's number 3!

The last pumpkin discovered! (Although it looked more like an onion.)

"Mommy, take my picture!"

The corn pit was a big hit!




Like a giant sensory box!


Heading up the hay mountain.

Enjoying the view at the top!

The little drummer boy.

Another fun climbing structure.

Where's Isaac?

Josiah made it to the top!

Each child got to pick one final activity to do again before we left.  Isaac picked the construction site. Josiah picked the slides.  (Not pictured were some giant slides going down hay piles that were a hit with JoJo!)

Time for the pumpkin patch!

We had such a fun time here, and will definitely be back next year!

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Why ProBio5?

As I mentioned in last night's post about my research regarding gut health, the importance of probiotics cannot be underestimated! They bring good, healthy bacteria to the digestive system to combat the bad bacteria and restore a proper balance of healthy gut flora, among many other things. Probiotics can be found in some foods (such as those which are cultured or fermented), but taking a quality probiotic supplement is highly advisable!

While there are many quality probiotic supplements on the market today (and several that are not effective), I want to tell you what I've been learning about the Plexus ProBio5 product. It is set apart and unique from all the others in several ways:

~ 5 different strains of the best, live probiotics available (thus the name), including ones that are anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory 

~ Enzymes, especially one called chitosinase, which target the troublesome yeast cells I talked about yesterday (you know - the ones that cause all those health problems?) and break down the hard biofilm surrounding those cells, thus allowing them to be KILLED OFF. Without this process, a probiotic will not be nearly as effective.

~ Grape seed extract, which is anti-fungal

~ No refrigeration required, because the organisms in ProBio5 are freeze-dried and designed to activate only when they reach the gut. Many other quality probiotics may boast billions more live organisms, and require refrigeration, but this is because they activate and die in warmth...including the heat of one's tongue or stomach! Thus, they need a whole bunch more organisms to ensure that at least some of them make it to their intended destination. With ProBio5, all the live organisms will go to work in the gut where they will be most effective.  

~ Bonus ingredients such as Vitamin C and Vitamin B6

One fellow Plexus ambassador went to a local drug store to do an experiment. Her findings showed that to get all the benefits of ProBio5, a person would need to buy at least seven different products from the standard array of options on the pharmacy shelf, costing around $75 or $80, and requiring 10-12 capsules a day. Compare that to ProBio5's one or two capsules a day and a price tag of $35 for a months' supply. Pretty amazing! 

It is highly recommended to combine ProBio5 with Plexus' Bio Cleanse magnesium supplement to help flush all the bad bacteria out of the body while replacing it with the good. I can attest to the effectiveness of this combination, as can myriads of others!

One last thing I'll leave you with that I found really interesting is this video called The Proof Is In the Pudding. It's 4 1/2 minutes long and well worth your time for a great visual as to the superior quality of ProBio5 compared to other probiotics on the market! 
https://youtu.be/vslEkjPG514

If you want to order any of these highly effective products, let's get in touch!
With that, I'll say good night and go take my ProBio5 for the day! ;)

Monday, October 24, 2016

The Importance of Gut Health

For the sake of providing information for friends as well as knowing more about the products I'm taking and promoting through the wonderful health and wellness company I shared about recently, I have been studying gut health in my {very limited} spare time this past week. Although I knew gut health was super important since 70-80% of our immune system is headquartered in our gut, I have been learning so much! Forgive me if this bores you, but I just had to share! Did you know that candida yeast overgrowth in the gut is often the main culprit responsible for the following ailments?

- Digestion troubles (such as constipation, IBS, bloating)
- Headaches, migraines
- Skin problems (such as acne, athlete's foot, nail fungus)
- Food allergies
- ADD/ADHD, difficulty focusing
- Lyme disease (originally from ticks, but perpetuated by an unhealthy gut)
- Depression and anxiety
- Recurring yeast infections
- Autoimmune diseases
- Hormonal imbalances

Does any of this sound like something you or someone you know is struggling with? No wonder a healthy gut leads to a healthy life! Factors that trigger or perpetuate gut inflammation, which goes hand in hand with candida yeast overgrowth, can include: prescription hormones (including birth control pills), antibiotics, processed foods, increased amounts of refined carbohydrates (i.e. candy bars, cookies, cake, soft drinks), increased alcohol or caffeine consumption, and stress.

One of the best ways to combat candida yeast overgrowth and restore gut health to our bodies is by limiting/avoiding those trigger factors on the above list and by taking a probiotic. But not all probiotics are created equally! Trust me, I know, because I've tried many of them out there! I'll tell you more about one of the best on the market in the coming days...so stay tuned!    :)#guthealthforthewin  #sharingiscaring

Friday, October 21, 2016

Of Preschool Memories and Wall Murals

Last month, Isaac took a real interest in learning about the planets, astronauts, rockets, and all things space.  One morning, we expanded one of our AYOPS art activities beyond just a window hanging of the earth into a creation of the entire solar system.  We used coffee filters, liquid water colors, and plastic pipettes for a fun and messy art project!  Our planets were not to scale, but we did try to make them the same colors as a book from the library showed us.

Saturn, by JoJo. 
(Minus the rings.)

The special flare!

Jupiter

Our planets drying outside.

And here they are on display.

Isaac showing you the book we referenced for this project.

Scenes like this make me smile.

I love that my kids love books!

Writing and drawing in paint.


Practicing letters.

A cursive "a".

Dress-up time!

My silly boy. :)

He cracks me up!

Two silly boys!

Sorting marbles by color.

Playing "library."



Isaac repairing a bird house he found in our shed with nails he found in Daddy's cabinet.

Uh-oh...a mischief-maker on the loose!

Somebody enjoyed the dirt today!

Make that two somebodies!

I do believe the bath tub is calling his name...


The following pictures show what our friend, Rachel Horvath, and I worked on recently at church during a visit she made at the church's request; a project I like to call:
Operation: Paint the Children's Wing

The left side of the hallway shows what the "before" color and style of the hallway was, minus the flowered wallpaper border that had already been taken down from the top of the walls.
To get things started, Rachel (our visiting artist for the week) picked out this happy light blue color seen on the right-hand side to serve as the base coat for the various murals to be painted on top.  It immediately brightened up the hallway and made it look so child-friendly!

This is the first mural Rachel painted.  That bulletin board has to stay where you see it in order to accommodate legal paperwork required by the state for the daycare that our church houses, so we tried to come up with a design that would incorporate the bulletin board.

A Fruit of the Spirit tree seemed just the thing!

I love how she made it wrap around this corner.

And sunflowers add a cheerful pop of color!

Here, Rachel is painting detail work on a picture of Jesus and the children, the second mural she tackled.  

We both learned and grew great a lot through this project.  Rachel had never painted people on a wall, and I had never painted letters.  As it turned out, I ended up doing all the lettering for all three walls we worked on, and she did an amazing job with the people (and all the other incredible detail work)!

I was really happy with how this Books of the Bible wall turned out considering how nervous I was to attempt it in the beginning.  For the girl who's never been able to draw or cut a straight line in her life, I thought there was no way I could paint 66 (plus!) words up there without making them crooked, but brick walls have a way of helping keep things straight. :)  I prayed over this wall as I worked, and God made it turn out all right!

The Old Testament
I promise you can read those words written in yellow much better in person.  For some reason, the lighting of the picture makes them look difficult to read here.


The New Testament

And here is the picture of Jesus and the children all complete!  I ended up helping Rachel toward the end so we could get the mural finished before her flight out the next day (hello 2:00 a.m. finish times!), and she proved to be a great teacher!  Painting alongside of her in this project gave me a renewed appreciation for painters.  I thought it would be like filling in a coloring book - only with paint - but was I ever wrong!  There's so much more that goes into the whole process from brush type to brush stroke, to amount of paint, and texture, and...wow.  She amazes me.

Doesn't it look good?

Three walls down...a whole bunch more to go!
(Rachel, come back!!)