You look too young to have 10 children!

It's funny to see/hear the reactions people have when they find out how many children we have! Usually, the first comment is "You look too young to have 10 children!" Then, the second one is "You mean, they all came from YOUR body?!?!?" I'm very grateful that my husband and I still look young at my 40 and his 46! :o)
People often ask me about my diet, exercise, etc. So, I thought I would answer some of those questions now. Actually, I will tell you by listing my top 4 priorities for anyone, but because I am pregnant, I'll also talk about what's important for pregnancy.
Tip #1: Spend time with the Lord everyday in prayer and his word...nothing is more important than this. When I neglect my time with the Lord, my day usually is lousy...on days I've spent time with the Lord, my day goes so much more smoothly, because I'm more likely to see people and things from God's eyes, than from my own...need I say more?
Tip #2: Drink lots of water! I have not always drunk lots of water. In fact, for a good portion of my life, Coca-Cola was my preferred drink! I finally weaned myself off of Coke, when I read one of Dr. Mercola's articles about what happends to your body when you drink soft drinks...in fact, soft drinks are #2 on his list for worst foods to eat/drink! Yikes! You can read the article here: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/03/10/soda-pop-dangers.aspx
Then, after I got over that addiction, I moved to coffee...now, I'm not one of those people who can drink coffee black...I always said "I have my milk and sugar with a little coffee, lol!" Well, this wasn't so funny, when I realized I really did have an addiction to coffee and sugar! Not to mention, all of the negative side effects of coffee and sugar!
I realized I needed to clean out my system and rid myself of these cravings (addictions). So, I found a natural cleanse last year by Nancy Desjardins (I needed to do a healthy cleanse since I was nursing), http://7daysugarfreediet.com/, and by the end of the 7 days, I was free of my addictions for coffee and sugar, plus I lost 8 lbs.!
I still eat some sugar and coffee occasionally, but not very often. I've replaced most of my sugar with Agave Necter, which is so much better on your sugar, etc.
Water is the perfect drink and if you can drink filtered water, that's even better! Water will keep you from getting dehydrated and is so healthy for all parts of your body...plus, it's cheap! :o) Water has so many other benefits...one of them being curbing your hunger, if you drink a glass before a meal...So, drink LOTS of water!
Tip #3: EXERCISE! It doesn't matter how much, just do a little (or a lot, depending on your energy level) each day! This isn't easy...many days, I have to make myself, but I know that once I've exercised I'm going to feel so much better! It's best for me to exercise first thing in the morning, because it gives me energy for my whole day...plus, I get it over with and don't have the "I've still got to exercise" voice inside my head all day. My favorite form of exercise are T-Tapp fitness, www.t-tapp.com, because it is healthy exercise and anyone can do it and you don't need much space at all! It's great...plus, it's "rehabilitative fitness" and is designed to work your muscles from the inside out...very effective...you can get in shape without having weights and I like that! :o) ***Note: In my pregnancy with baby #9, T-Tapp saved me! I learned the simple tasks of "tucking my tail bone under," having good posture and keeping my feet turned straight (or even pigeon toed, a little) when I walk. Just the simple exercise of keeping my tail bone turned under during pregnancy (while walking, sitting, standing...you name it!), it kept me from having back pain in the last trimester of my pregnancy! I couldn't believe something so simple, could be so powerful! :o) It also helps to firm your tummy and when your pregnant, it's harder to feel your abs, but when you tuck your tailbone under, you can rest assured that your abdominals are also at work, LOL!
Walking is the best exercise for anyone, that almost anyone can do! I can't always walk outside, and I've been doing a Leslie Samsone dvd the last two weeks and I love it! I do the 5-mile dvd and I can do 1 mile a day or 5 miles a day and it's so much fun! When I get tired of listening to the same thing day after day...I do the dvd, while listening to my "Curves Freedom Fitness Music" while I do the dvd and it works out great! :o) http://store.afa.net/p-10000018-curves-freedom-fitness-cd-vol-7.aspx. I love this music, because it's Christian music/lyrics with a perfect beat for exercising to keep you going!
Tip #4: Eat healthily! I know these things seem basic, but they really do work! If I exercise without eating healthy and vice versa...I will have trouble losing weight. But, when I combine them, the pounds come off! I am eating more protein than carboyhydrates, eating the healthy carboyhydrates found in greens and other foods and eating whole grains instead of "white" flours, rice and potatoes. I no longer buy salad dressing because the store-bought kind is filled with perservatives, fillers, etc. Plus, homemade salad dressing is so easy and cheap to make!
Please here me saying this: make your health changes slowly and don't try to do everything at once; otherwise, you'll get discouraged and fail. When you make your changes slowly, you WILL see progress and that's exciting! :o) When you combine all of these things: Having a Quiet Time with the Lord, Drinking water instead of other junk, Exercising and Eating healthy, you will be healthy spiritually, emotionally and physically...I've discovered that I'm the best servant of God, wife and mother when all these things are accomplished. On days when they're not, I forgive myself and start over the next day! :o)