Someone sent this to my comments section of my last post!! I enjoyed it so I thought I would share it.
Again, it has been so long since I have posted. I always think I am going to have more time than I have. High expectations of myself, eh?
Here are a couple more of the gratefulness emails I get. I sure LOVED a few of them. The one below is where I want to be each & everyday. I believe there is a part of me that is already in this place so I am searching for it to bring it forth with the hope that applying this principle will be a SNAP!
“I have reached a point in my life where I understand the pain and the challenges; and my attitude is one of standing up with open arms to meet them all.”
~Myrlie Evers
Next, is another one that has been VERY inspirational for me to ponder upon. Of course, my “source” is my Savior, Jesus Christ and if I truly give my burdens to Him, he WILL carry them for me. How cool is that? We can never fully reach that peaceful space within ourselves or as a whole as living, loving beings without the opportunity to purge ourselves of all the false lies and perceptions we let creep into our thoughts and actions. I am still learning how to completely understand this principle of looking for the miracles each and EVERY moment of everyday when I know I am so PROFOUNDLY loved by someone else SO MUCH!!
“If planetary peace seems beyond our reach, recall: Miracles are natural when we rely on the Source of All to carry our burdens with us. Then, even peace is possible.”
~Nan Merrill with Barbara Taylor
Peace Planet: Light for Our World
For those who might be interested, I received an email a couple of weeks ago from a woman who was asking basic questions about my diet & wanting to know what I ate everyday. I asked her if she wouldn’t mind if I posted our conversation here and of course, she didn’t. So here it is! I know there have been others who have also been interested in what I eat while I have been pregnant.
Hi Rachel,
I have been encouraged by your site and blogs.
I am most interested in the fact that you are currently expecting a baby and maintaining your all to very high raw food diet. I personally am near to progressing to an all or very high raw (most likely) food diet AND just found out this morning that I am expecting our 5th child. (And this will be our 3rd home birth to try.) We praise the Lord!
If you have the time, I would very much appreciate and be interested in knowing what a “typical” day of food consuming might look like for you. If you have any extra tips or pointers on pregnancy and raw food. Or any other concerns to keep in mind. I could sure use the encouragement.
You are an inspiration!
May the Lord bless you and your family!
Thanks for the help,
Melissa
Melissa,I am so glad you have found my blog and are enjoying it. Thank you for your kind and loving words of support and encouragement! Congrats on the pregnancy and trying to eat as much raw as possible. Especially at the beginning of pregnancy, this can feel like an impossible feat at times. I am also pregnant with our 5th. It’s been so interesting for us because we were sure we were done. Our youngest will be 6 when this baby is born. So a pretty big gap there! My oldest is 12. But it’s FUN that all my kids are so excited.
I am pretty basic in my diet. I started eating some cooked foods (even though I consider them questionable cooked foods sometimes because I know the majority of enzymes are still intact) about 3 months before I got pregnant and after eating pretty strict all raw for 5 years. Before that, I had been eating 80/10/10 (a raw diet advocated by Doug Graham) for about 18 months. I am still intrigued by the fact that my husband and I have used the same birth control for 13 years. All of our other children were planned. We have NEVER had an accident baby. During the time of eating all raw, there were some slip ups intimately. While eating 80/10/10, I had lost some weight but I was eating the needed calories. I did feel GREAT while eating that way. I started dealing with some pretty powerful emotional issues and so I incorporated a few lightly steamed veggies and such. It was during this time that I put on a small amount of weight from the extra starch consumption, and wouldn’t you know it, a month later I was “accidentally” pregnant. I still find that funny! I think it just taught me the importance of doing the BEST we can each and everyday and listening to our bodies and hearts with what we need to find that place of inner peace and joy!
Anyway, my diet varies somewhat week to week by what is in season. Recently I found cases of oranges at a local grocery store so my mornings start out with fresh squeezed OJ mixed with my powered greens. Then that is followed by a quart to 2 quarts of green drink which usually consists of fresh, organic spinach, bananas, frozen peaches or mangoes or whatever. Lately, there have been some DELICIOUS fresh mangoes at Costco so I’ve been eating a lot of those. Then I eat a large salad which has been so good with my raw sesame dressing but I do sometimes eat vegan dressings I purchase at the local health food store. So….if I do eat anything cooked, I usually do so at the end of the day. Recently, that has been some steamed green beans or broccoli. My husband and I have to travel to Las Vegas for his job on a regular basis and so off and on I have incorporated a baked potato here and there. Oh, and like I said in my last post, I have eaten a handful of organic local eggs throughout the pregnancy and am really enjoying that.
I think what has worked the best for me throughout this pregnancy is that I decided to really “tune in” and listen to myself in all regards, not just physically. When it comes to my diet though, when I made the decision to be less strict, I decided to have FUN with my food choices and just be grateful for EVERYTHING I choose to eat.
I LOVE a stricter all raw diet and enjoy what it has offered me but….I LOVE the way I am eating now too! Be gentle and kind with yourself. Strive to remove guilt for something you eat and just listen to inner knowing of what is best for you right now in your life. Guaranteed, things will change in my life. I am VERY open to that and hope that as I want to learn and be more, I will stay in a place of grace and ease with myself. I believe that the way I am eating now is VERY healthy for me and my growing child. To believe otherwise would only create inner turmoil that I choose to not have present inside me.
So….I hope this has been at least somewhat helpful. Thanks for your questions. I LOVE to answer them and help in anyway I can. God bless you on your journey. I hope you find what you are searching for throughout this pregnancy and birth. If you have any more questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Peace to you,
Rachel
Life has been SO FUN and SO NOT FUN over the past few weeks. I still have days where I feel it’s so HARD and then days where I feel it’s so LIGHT, EASY and REFRESHING! Emotionally, I feel that I have learned and grown SO IMMENSELY! New ideas and thoughts keep surfacing. Sometimes keeping up with them can feel a bit overwhelming but then I just relax & meditate and listen to find exactly what I need to be learning at that moment.
As of right now, I am (I think) 27 weeks pregnant. In a week or so, I will start my 3rd trimester. I apologize once again for the slack on my part in still not taking a picture. Anyone who lives here locally and wants to see how I look is WELCOME to stop by and see my growing belly. Like I stated in the last post, I had been sick and lost some weight. I have had days where I have felt a bit more nausea off and on so for about the last 2 weeks, I have eaten almost all raw all the time and haven’t had much of an appetite. It again returned with full force about 2 days ago so I feel like I am eating us out of house and home.
My current weight is around 135 which still makes my weight gain around 10-15 lbs. I still feel SO GREAT, most days. My belly is getting a bit awkward. Rolling over in bed feels like a feat at times. I did try to get a maternity belt for my hernia but it didn’t really do much. It isn’t really bothering me yet. By the end of the day, I do have that lower belly ache that comes with the growing belly but other than that I feel SO BLESSED and HAPPY! I truly feel God’s & Heavenly Mother’s love poured out upon me throughout this pregnancy. I feel Them reaching out to take care of me and my dear baby so that we can both be HEALTHY, PEACEFUL and STRONG.
At the beginning of my pregnancy, I must admit that I did have some good fears in regards to my body and what it could handle. I poured my soul out to Them and have found the safe haven of LOVE, COMFORT & SUPPORT I have been looking for. What gratitude I feel for this! I just felt the need to express it with all of you!
Lastly, I was SURE this was a girl. After much deliberation between my dear Chris and I, we decided to involve my midwife in the birth. It has really helped to relieve pressure from my hubby so he can feel more peaceful at the birth which is VERY important for me and him.
My midwife is so CUTE! She is VERY EXCITED I am pregnant again and can’t wait to see the baby! I have seen her twice and at the last visit that heartbeat was 144. This is my boy’s heartbeats. Up until that moment, the thought of a boy hadn’t really even entered my mind. So….now I am thankful that I can prepare myself and find that space of love and acceptance if we have a boy. I know that may sound weird but I was sure from personal, spiritual experience it was and is a girl. I am second guessing myself now. We will just have to wait and see, eh?
Abundant peace to all,
Rachel