Refreshing and inspiring company

Wonderful friends share their best and most difficult times. There's no doubt about it. Over a cuppa and a cuddle with the baby, you can learn a lot about each other. The children also thrive with the company of others, especially if it includes running about in clean, fresh air, patting the neighbour's calf over the fence, jumping on trampolines and climbing a hay stack. ☺

Yes, that's grass on it's nose, as it was being pushed through the fence.

I feel honoured to know many inspiring people. The family we visited yesterday was no exception. Through many of the lessons that life has handed them, they've learnt a lot. Our most recent conversations, beside homeschooling, has included how foods affect our children. It affects them in behavioural ways as well as with notable health symptoms and the rate at which they can learn.

So, after lots of discussion and having waited for the book to come in from the library, I finally have my nose in "Fed Up" by Sue Dengate. I'm only 3 chapters in, and although a lot of what I've read I kind of 'knew', so many of the examples I'm already reading are ringing true in my own family. I've been chatting with hubby about what I'm already learning and wondering how we'll go applying these lessons, but I can see that a few more discussions are going to need to take place before a firm stand on a course of action is going to be employed.

I'll give a brief summary of some things we've already endured: Maestro suffered dreadful colic as a baby, for close to two years. In recent years he has also suffered many blood noses and itchy throats. Whilst he naturally chooses to avoid milk products, there could be other reasons which are producing these symptoms also. Mariposa has also suffered, intermittently recovering on occassion, from eczema, not unlike hubby and her paternal grandmother. She also has a craving for sweets, which we try to avoid, but sometimes we notice her asking for something sweet several times a day.

On a slight tangent, another book hubby and I are working through is Food Inc. A friend with our church group has bought a copy for every family, and we'll be discussing it together over the next few weeks. I'm sure we'll have many interesting things to share. I am also hoping that anything I learn from Fed Up can be shared in these discussions as we all learn to be more aware of how we feed our bodies.

So, I'm on a learning curve and very thankful for the inspiration received from my friend for taking this journey. I'm grateful that I'll have someone to talk with when we start the changes, too.