My Invisible Illness Update Part 4 ~ An Answer to My Prayers

I know I have been away from blogging, 7 months to be exact. I had shared with you about my health struggles, and I have been blessed, many changes have happened since then.

In the last video, I shared with you that I had just arrived in El Salvador. Well, the news was not great, and the doctor told me that my organs were all about to collapse. I wasn't surprised really. I arrived in a wheelchair, and I knew I was in trouble! I lived in El Salvador for 2 months while Dr. Zelaya helped me get better. He uses a treatment known as Biological medicine. I have talked about it before here on the blog. Go to the link, and it will take you to Dr. Zelaya's website.  At the end of my treatment, I found out I had a small lesion in my brain, my nervous system needed to be treated and that my pancreas was causing many of the problems I was having. He concentrated on these, and by the end of the two months, I was almost a new person. I knew I had to come back for more treatment after a year, but I left El Salvador walking, on a strict diet because my pancreas produces an enormous amount of insulin and to keep it working properly I have to feed it every 3 hours but after being so sick these are adjustments I didn't mind making!

I went back to El Salvador two more times and the treatments seem to work well but on and off I continued to have these "seizures" and on and off I would have issues with my pancreas. I would get in touch with Dr. Zelaya. He was so kind to give me a phone consultation because he knew my case so well and I was able to keep going that way, but by the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 that's when I hit a dead end and nothing seemed to work. That's when I decided to share my story through the video blogs. That was 7 months ago. Around that time I came across a natural product I had used over 15yrs ago to loose weight. I knew the product was good because I also knew that their product line also had products to help people with diabetes and other conditions. I had seen people in my business group at the time get off insulin, I knew this was a good product. I don't want to make the story too long but after my aunt insisted and put me in touch with a Rep. from the company I decided to give it a try and see what it would do to me. The products had gone through some changes (like it always happens) and I was going to give it a 3-month trial (that's what I told my husband).

UPDATE: LINKS to Parts 1-3 of My Invisible Illness Blog post
Part 1 My Invisible Illness
Part 2 My Invisible Illness
Part 3 My Invisible Illness

I started taking some of their products in June and my "Test" was going to be "MY MONTHLY". Yes, every month just a day or two before my period I would have a seizure.

These are some of the products that I am taking now.

The first thing I noticed was that the first two days I was DEAD TIRED! I didn't know what to think of it but when the third day hit I had the energy to hit the roof! When the time of the month came around I had a few symptoms that felt like I might have a seizure but nothing happened! I was literally holding my breath! I'm going on 6 months now and my life is almost like it was before I got sick. I haven't had ONE SINGLE SEIZURE! NO ISSUES WITH MY PANCREAS!

I just got back from a vacation trip to El Salvador and I didn't even see Dr. Zelaya. It was all fun and vacation!

I just joined a gym and have started exercising.


I decided early on to join 4Life (This is the company I buy my products from) because I needed to save money while consuming them. Now that I am better, I will start to sell them and will start using other products to better my physical health and will at times share some updates with you.

Shhh... Just started taking this today (IT'S SUPPOSE TO HELP ME LOOSE WEIGHT while I exercise) and I will be sharing my health journey with you in a future post.

BTW My Fibromyalgia is also better now. This truly has been an answer to so many of my prayers!

Mother's Day Gifts from the Heart

Every year my children ask me the same questions, "Mom what do you want for Mother's Day?" The older they get the more I miss those handmade simple gifts I use to get when they were younger. Those hand prints on a sheet of paper or on plaster of paris, their favorite book or toy wrapped in tissue paper given to me as a gift because they wanted to make sure I knew it was their gift to me! As time passes "it's the little things", "it's the thought that counts" as people say that really matters and not the amount of money spent on a gift. Today I want to give you ideas on Mother's Day gifts from the Heart.

For me, for it to be from the heart means that the person has paid attention to who I am and what I love. It means that they took the time to either make it themselves or to search for it and bought it (let's face it, not everyone is crafty). Gift cards DON'T qualify here, even if they know I love a certain store, gift cards are a no, no. I love, love gift cards but I noticed that my family started to just give me gift cards and stopped thinking about what I loved and that meant they stopped paying attention to who I was. We all started doing this as a family and gift giving became very hard until my husband brought it to our attention. He hates gift cards and gift bags (he loves gift wrapping). He says they don't show that you care about a person and it's and easy way to just get out of taking time to buy a gift and wrap a gift. Yup, that's my husband for you. I know not everyone feels this way, I'm just sharing with you what we do as a family.

Mother's Day for me is all about spending time with my Children. They let me choose what restaurant we are going to go eat and what we will do on that day. I know it's crazy to go out to eat on this day and as I get older I'm starting to change my mind about this one. I'm sure that in the coming years I will start to request for them to cook for me or something, but for now this is how it is.

After all that...here are some gift ideas

If the Mom in your life loves taking notes at church and writing notes to her friends, how about buying her a collection of pretty journals Or how about buying a plain one and decorating it yourself! I bet she would love that! Here are some ideas I found on the internet. These can be found at Walmart, Barnes and Noble just to name a few.

 

Every year, one of the most special gifts my husband gives me is this.

He can very well go and buy these chocolate covered strawberries but he doesn't. He wakes up very early in the morning and goes to our local super market and buys all that he needs to make them fresh before I wake up on Mother's Day and on Valentine's Day. If I have to serve at church that day he wakes up super early to make sure I have them before I leave at 7:30am. this is the best gift my husband can give me. He has other gifts for me that day, but this right here is the best! It didn't cost much you see, it took time and effort and it came from the heart.

Why not try doing something like this for the Mom in your life this Mother's day?

A few years ago My daughter Lilly went on Pinterest and made me a Body Scrub. I love that she took the time to do this for me, specially since she is not a crafty person. She made her dad drive her to all these places (she didn't have a license at the time) and she put it all together. Are you the crafty type, maybe not? As a Mom, It makes it so much more special to receive a gift from you because we know the effort it took for you to make it.

This is just a picture sample. I used up all my daughter gave me :)

Does Your Mom love drinking Tea? How about putting together a Tea or Coffee Basket? I love anything Tea! Buy a beautiful Basket, buy her favorite teas, some yummy cookies that maybe you baked yourself (she will love homebaked cookies) a beautiful new cup or tea pot and walla, you have a gift that tells her you paid attention to the things she loves. 

 

Here are some sample baskets

Photos, you can't go wrong with photos EVER! A mom will never say no to her kids photos and she can never have enough photos of her kids. Put them in a nice picture frame or get your siblings together and take pictures together. Oh your Mom will really love that! Do I need to say more about this one?

 

Here are just a few photos of my kids

I really hope these ideas have helped you come up with ideas to show the Mom in your life how much you love her. It's not about the money you spend it's about telling her how much she means to you and how thankful you are for her. 

Do You have any ideas I haven't shared here today? We are just a few days away from Mother's Day and I would love to here how you celebrate Mother's Day!

To my Mom celebrating Mother's Day in Heaven...

Feliz Dia de Las Madres Mama, La Extrano Mucho!

This Post is Linked to Chic on a Shoestring Flaunt it Friday 303

My Invisible Illness Part 3 ~ Let's Continue My Story

James 1:1-13  When very hard times hit us we find ourselves powerless to understand and ask why? the adversary (the devil) is quick to throw hesitation, suspicion, questions into our minds.

We find ourselves interrogating God's goodness, God's judgment in allowing these things to happen. We may even be bitter, beside ourselves with God for allowing this to happen to us and wonder if He really understand our situation. But God's word confidently reminds us that God does understand.  Things don't just happen  to the Christian with no meaning or purpose.  God is in control and as Paul reminds us no one or nothing can separate us from God's love Romans 8. Even the most difficult of circumstances.

My mindset is "Don't ask, Why me?" but  "Why Not Me?".  You may not agree with me, but this is how I see life. I don't like having a victim mind set. Poor me, why is this happening to me? That's just not who I am. Christians go through hard times, hard trials too. We are not exempt from them.
Having to recount the last 6 years has been hard but it has also been a reminder of God's faithfulness in my life and the full circle life can take if we just let Him lead us. 
I don't have all the answers to my condition and I may never have them, but I do have a God that gives me strength for every day. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever".
Psalm 73:26

On this next video I touch on the subject of Fibromyalgia but I don't do a good job on listing the specifics symptoms. Here is a list of my symptoms and the link for you to look for more information: 

Symptoms

• Pain that is described as a dull ache that starts in the muscles and is widespread throughout the body. Some days are worse than others. 
• Tender points around the body. They are called tender points because when you press on them, they hurt. There are 18 possible tender points: back of the head, area between the shoulders, front of the neck, top of the chest, outside of the elbows, top and sides of the hips, insides of the knees.
• Fatigue you can either have trouble sleeping or sleep too much and with it have conditions such as restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea. Always feeling like you are always tired.
• Fibro Fog having trouble concentrating and remembering things, mix up words when speaking and get confused more easily. This is what is called "Fibro Fog"  because the mind feels "foggy". The doctors don't really know why we get this. They have different answers. They think it could be lack of sleep or the effect of the Fibromyalgia pain on the brain.
• Headaches half of the people with Fibromyalgia get headaches or migraines.
• Painful periods women with Fibromyalgia suffer with more painful periods and even may develop Endometriosis.
• Sensitivity we are more sensitive to bright lights, loud noises, large crowds, etc.

If you want to have more information on Fibromyalgia and Chronic pain click on this link. There is so much out there this is just one of them. If you like my videos on youtube, would you be so kind to give me a thumbs up! If you have a comment or question a story of your own please go a head and ask, share.

Gentle hugs
Christina

Part 1 of this Post: Link
Part 2 of this Post: Link

This Post is Linked to Chic on a Shoestring Flaunt it Friday 303

My Invisible Illness and Health Journey Part 2 ~What is life like Now?

If you didn't read Part 1 of this Post Here is the Link

First of all I want to thank everyone for your encouraging messages and my prayer is that if just one person is encouraged and finds hope in Christ by my story, than the purpose of these posts and videos has been accomplished. I pray that when you hear my story you know you are not alone and that God is right by your side. Isaiah 41:10 tell us, "Don’t be afraid, because I’m with you; don’t be anxious, because I am your God. I keep on strengthening you; I’m truly helping you. I’m surely upholding you with my victorious right hand.”   
You may not fully understand why you are going through this trial but, He does and their is a greater purpose. 

What is life like now? Just one month ago I came back from Hawaii with my family and we had a great time. We rented a car and most of our activities were the beach and resting (isn't that what a vacation is suppose to be?) The picture I posted above is from that vacation. Before a month ago I was able to go to Disneyland on a monthly basis and handle being there for half a day, I would call that a successful day (we had annual passes). Most of the time my family watches me when we go out. I don't notice when I start to get sick, but they've been my faithful nurses (specially my daughter) and they notice my changes in mood and behavior and they quickly take me out of whatever place we are at just to make sure I don't go into a full on seizure in public. Most of the time I make it to the car :) This next video gives you an update on life now:

If you have a comment or question a story of your own please go a head and ask, share. 

Gentle hugs, 
Christina

Part 3 of this Post: Link 

This post is featured on Chic on a Shoestring Flaunt it Friday 301

It's All in Your Head! My Invisible Illness and Health Journey ~ Seizures - Part 1

It's been a while since I've been here. A lot has happened. Thanksgiving came and I had family visiting and that kept me very busy...more than expected, but I was so blessed to have that time with them. After they left I really didn't have time to recuperate because Christmas was right around the corner and I was hosting it at my home and very glad to do it as well. Why in April am I sharing this with you? To share the journey I've been on ever since December.

My health took a turn for the worse and unfortunately even after I took my usual treatment, things have not gotten better. My seizures have returned and my pain is out of control, even the hairs in my head are hurting, my scalp...yes, my scalp is hurting!
After years of insistance, I've decided to listen to my daughter and share my story through video vlogs. She believes there are people out there that will benefit from it and I pray my story will bring them the hope that only Jesus can bring in the middle of so much unknowns.
I will share these vlogs here through youtube videos. It is so much easier for me to record and not type and specially on days when my pain is so bad that I can't move (though uncomfortable because I'm not use to speaking to a camera).

Today I'm sharing the first video on how it all started. Please excuse me since it's my first one. I will be taking it slower, giving more detail information with the ones to follow.

If you have questions, comments, please feel free to leave them here or at my youtube channel.

Here is Part 2 of this Post Life Now

This post was featured on Imparting Grace at Home No. 199

Protein Breakfast on the Go ~Pumpkin Pie Shake

I found this recipe on a Trim Healthy Mama FB group. I don't know who came up with this recipe but the person that shared it was a member by the name of Candace L. I know we are in August but I use this recipe year round and I love it! This can be a Low Carb, High Protein, Low Calorie, Trim Healthy Mama Recipe. If you want to make it Low-Cal, you can use Fat Free Half and Half instead of the Heavy Cream and Fat Free Cream Cheese instead of the Full Fat Cream Cheese..Enjoy!

Recipe:

4-5 Ice Cubes

1/4 cup Heavy Cream

1/4 Almond Milk

2 Tablespoons Protein Powder

1/2 cup Pumpkin Puree (NOT Pumpin pie mix)

1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice

Sweeter to Taste (I use Stevia or Truvia)

1/2 teaspoon Vanilla extract

2 oz Cream Cheese

Directions:

Add Heavy cream to ice

Almond milk with 2 Tablespoons of Protein Powder

Pumpkin Puree, Pumpkin Spice and sweetener to taste

lastly add the cream cheese and blend all together


Breakfast never tasted soooo good! Who needs Starbucks? This will keep you full for hours!

Enjoy!

What I Wish I knew 25 yrs Ago When I got Married part 2

I want to apologize for taking so long in posting Part 2 to the What I Wish I knew 25 yrs Ago When I got Married. If you haven't already, You can read Part 1 Hear. Life took over at The Herrera household and 3 of us got very sick. We are out of the woods and I'm slowly trying to get back into the swing of things. August is full of college paper work and deadlines but I am determined to finish this series!

On July 28th  2015 My husband and I celebrated 25 years of Marriage and I can't tell you how amazing it felt! We decided to exchange new wedding rings and to kind of recite our wedding vows. 25 years ago we did not know what we were getting in to! My husband says that that's the way it's suppose to be. 25 years later repeating those weddings vows with stories that came along with them had a totally different meaning. We laughed, surprisingly enough, I didn't cry and we enjoyed a great evening. My husband said it meant a lot to him that we did that, just the two of this time.

Here are some photos from that night. I hope you enjoy getting to know me and my husband. Here is the second and last part of the Marriage series. Blessings!

UPDATE: SORRY BUT MY BLOG HAD SOME ISSUES AND I LOST MANY OF MY PHOTOS.
THE PHOTOS THAT WERE HERE HAVE BEEN DELETED. BECAUSE OF THOSE ISSUES I HAD TO MIGRATE TO A NEW BLOG AND TRANSFER ALL OF MY DATA BUT MANY OF THE PHOTOS WERE LOST.

These are our new rings. So blessed by my husband. My husband has been asking for this Tuscan ring for quite a while. I don't think this picture does it justice, since it's kind of dark.

Our nice attendant gave us this dessert when he found out we were celebrating our 25th. Anniversary. One thing I realized every time we shared how long we had been married with strangers was that they were surprised. The reply we kept getting was, "Wow, that's an accomplishment!" All we kept replying was, "Only by the grace of God!"

25 years together (and they said we wouldn't make it) I don't blame them though, I was a wild child back then and look...you've made an honest women out of me, Hahahah! I love how you look at me and how you tell me you love me EVERY DAY! I love how you make me a priority in our lives. We've always said that we started as two and we will end as two. Even when our kids came along, we made sure our weekly dates stayed the same...even if they had to come along. Life hasn't always been easy, but I'm glad it has been with you. I'm so blessed to be known as Mrs. Herrera Mom. I'm blessed to be yours. I'm blessed you are mine. I can't wait to spend the best days of our lives for the next 25 years. I love you Alex. You will always and forever be #myforeverboyfriend #25yearanniversary #loveconquersall #chooseloveeveryday[/caption]

Here we are 25 years later! This was my Instagram post.

Now back to "What I wish I knew 25 years ago"

4. The Internet

25 years ago we didn't have to deal with the internet and social media the way we do today. This can be a blessing because we get to stay in touch with our friends and family from around the world but it can also be one of the biggest temptations all couples young and old face today. I personally know of marriages that have been destroyed because a spouse has found their long lost "high school sweetheart" on Facebook and has realized that he or she is no longer in love with his wife or husband and has left her/his and the kids to be with this other woman/man.  I am making it as real as possible to show you the dangers of getting in touch with your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend on these social sites thinking it's no big deal because you are happily married. "Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)  Ladies, all the devil needs is a tiny bit of an open door. We may think we are strong but the flesh is weak. Let's not leave room at all for any temptation or misunderstanding with our husband. If you do have  an old high school friend on Social Media make sure that if they communicate with you they do it publicly on your profile for everyone to see. I don't see any need for an ex to be sending private messages. If they do, show them to your husband. If we have nothing to hide, we shouldn't have any issues showing them to our husband. The devil is the god of the secret, why do you think that is? We must protect our marriages at all cost!

FB Page Andie T: Stay off all social media for the first year of marriage. You don't need satan to manipulate you into thinking you don't have all that you need.



5. It's not My Husband's duty to make me Happy

Wow! That was quite the eye opener for me. I seriously couldn't believe it! I thought it was my husband's duty to make me happy! How dare he not make me happy? For years I made myself miserable and it meant that my dear husband was too. Think about it, putting the burden of your happiness in another human being? Another sinner, imperfect, trying to figure life out human being in charge of your happiness....let that sink in for a moment....Yeah, that's when the light bulb moment happened to me too. You see as human beings there are different things that make us happy right? Today is one thing, tomorrow is another and on and on. So when I put another human being in charge of my happiness and he can't deliver what happens? I want to change him for another that might be able to deliver! Be careful!!! Marriage is not about my happiness and it's impossible for my husband to carry the burden about my happiness. Marriage is about honoring God and seeking His will and mutual respect and love. We find our JOY in serving each other. "But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful." (Psalms 68:3)



6. Divorce is NOT AN OPTION

The Bible also tells us this “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”(Malachi 2:16)  God hates divorce and warns us to not be unfaithful! I have personally never experience adultery but, I know that when I had the mind set that divorce was an option my marriage was not working. Every time my husband and I had issues I saw the big EXIT sign with big red letters flashing, telling me to run. That is the worse thing I could have done! I was killing my marriage little by little and I didn't even know it! One day I made the decision that this was no longer going to be an option and it had to stop. I made a commitment not only to my husband but to The Lord and it was until death do us apart. The Lord knew that day 25 years ago everything we were going to live, the good, the bad and the ugly! All that is to come, God knows it. There is no Plan B! I have seen marriages that have been saved by the grace of God because of the commitment they made to each other and to God and in spite of the pain of adultery, addictions and other problems in marriage, these marriages with help and serious counseling have been fully restored. Your marriage doesn't have to end in divorce even when adultery has been involved (I do have to say that I'm no advocating for woman to take abuse or serial cheaters, but that when a man has truly repented there is hope for restoration in a marriage). The Bible also tells us "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32) Stop making divorce an option!



7. Dirty Laundry Anyone?

As women we love talking to our friends about all that is going on in our lives and many times we fall into the "complaining/dirty laundry mode". Don't don't tell me you don't do it. This is something I use to do all the time when I was younger and I didn't realize that at times I was making my husband look bad. As wives we have the responsibility of covering our husbands, on keeping their privacy...private. If you feel there is something that is hurting your marriage or you have an issue that needs to be dealt with go to your pastor or a mentoring couple that will give you good biblical advice. If it is venting you need, go to  your husband, not to  your friend. Not too long ago I found myself complaining about something dumb and oh my goodness I didn't realize it until I was done! I felt terrible about it. It was with a very close friend and I knew she was not going to judge my husband because she knows him well and she knew I was under a lot of stress but that didn't justify my fault in the matter. It wasn't anything big and what I said turned out to be kind of funny, but still! I'm a big advocate on friendships for women. I believe that as women we need those connections. God has put those needs in us for a reason, but we also have to be careful that these friendships don't take the place that only our husband is to have in our lives and that the relationship I have with my husband stays protected and private...always! Too much talk leads to sin.
"When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his lips is prudent". (Proverbs 10:19)



25 years later all I can say is, I'm still learning and I still make mistakes. Don't be so hard on yourself and don't think you know it all, because I guarantee you, you don't! If you are blessed enough to have older woman around you, ask them how they did it. Believe me, we are more than happy to share with you, what we know and what we are still learning. If you have any questions, please leave me a comment. You don't need to be subscribed to my blog to leave a comment.