October 2024 Highlights

October 2024:

Finished apple harvest

Got on our annual drive to maple, birch, and oak country

I helped with a couple days of Dad's big wood-splitting project.

I finished canning cherry tomatoes.

Frances needs more porch or lap time as the seasons change since her buddy Gully is now gone.

Elsa and I pulled out Monopoly for the first time in decades!

August 2024 Highlight: Camping at the Lake

What is Brain Rewiring?

In my last post I mentioned how healing my limbic system (a part of the nervous system) is allowing me to slowly get back to parts of life I have been missing for a decade or more. But I realize many have not even heard of the limbic system... let alone the way it can be healed through the God-given gift of neuroplasticity.

The process of healing the limbic system is often called Brain Rewiring. So what is that?

Check out my latest newsletter at this link to learn more. 

Hannah's Brain Rewiring Newsletter

And if you find it interesting, feel free to sign up for future editions of my newsletter (only once every month or two) by clicking "Subscribe" at the top left corner of the newsletter screen or using the "Sign Up for this Newsletter" button near the end.

I keep seeing new wins as I continue to rewire and regulate my nervous system. For example: Last week I got to my 3rd restaurant in a decade!

~ Hannah

Exercise Wins!

Those who have lived with chronic illness know how nearly impossible it can become to exercise. When it takes all your strength just to sit up long enough to eat, there is nothing left for a walk.

But as I continue to heal my limbic system, I am getting back to exercise! Last Sunday afternoon I took an energetic walk down our gravel road and on Monday I attended my 4th weekly WholyFit session online. Throughout the weeks I am also reviewing WholyFit exercises whenever possible via the complementary video replays for those registered for class.

I mention this, because I want to invite you to join me (women only) for the next 6-week session of WholyFit classes available online beginning November 4th. These will be a great introduction to this Christ-centered stretching-based exercise system with 20-minute live sessions and a bonus of the video replays available for 11 weeks!

For more information or to sign up for emails about new class offerings, click HERE.

You can also email my certified WholyFit instructor, Elsa, at elsa.wholyfit@gmail.com

P.S. - Elsa happens to be my little sister who struggled with even deeper disabilities than I since an adrenal crisis and onset of complex chronic illness a decade ago. Now she is stronger than I and an amazing fitness teacher with special insights into women's physical needs through various seasons of life!

Full Days on the Prairie

Another big project is finished around here!

Dad got all the basement doors sanded and painted, as well as the bakery doors which we hadn't finished yet since building in 2010. He built a spray booth in the shed and did an amazing job!

Meanwhile, garden harvest continues (and the corn fields around us have started being harvested as well.) Maren's kids loved helping in the garden during a visit!

They also love spending time in our new basement library... still in process of being refilled.

To help me relax on Sundays, a couple of new crocheted animals have joined my baby gift collection.

And I turned some ugly apples into canned apple juice. Before skimming, the foam turned this amazing gold!

Trying New Things!

What do all these pictures have in common? 

They all show something new in my life! Some are brand new and others are exciting to get back to after a decade of chronic illness.

You can watch my "New Things I'm Trying in Life & Lemongrass" video covering all these topics and more in this weekend's Live & Learn texting event. Simply text "LiveAndLearn" to me at (218) 271-8677 to be the first to enjoy this update!

~ Hannah

Summer Camping Trip Wins!

 Our annual doctoring trip turned into an actual vacation this year!

It was the first year we could really start to explore the state park where we camp.

From meadows to clifftop paths...

We climbed the bluffs on both sides of our valley on different days.

That meant more than 200 hundred steps each way, each day!

And it hasn't been that long since our 14 steps up to bed at home required several stops to rest.

We also biked 5 miles a couple of times - part of it on a narrow foot path through the hilly woods. I couldn't believe my returning balance, coordination and strength!

Back in camp we enjoyed plenty of rest in the high heat and humidity, plus some cosy campfires.

I also enjoyed my first Mac & Cheese in a decade! Still gluten-free so far, but dairy is returning.

Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!