optimal health — So I’m going back to my roots, back to ground zero - that seems to be my theme this year.

Maybe you’re feeling the pull too.

This Christmas, I wanted to be very intentional with gifts. My goal is simple. I want them to either elevate my health or elevate life experiences.

I definitely don’t want just more stuff. I think we all have enough of that weighing us down. We think it will make us happier, when in fact it seems to have the opposite effect.

I have found that you must make space for the new in your life. Space for happiness, for breathing room, for creativity, and for what’s mosts important.

Before I had Georgia, when I went through the nesting phase, I was throwing things out left and right. Making more space for a baby and less room for the material things. But not just more space in our home, because when you get rid of the junk and the unnecessary items, you’re also making more room in your heart.

So I’ve been getting more “clear” about how I wanted it to feel in our home. So with that, I didn’t want just any kind of “stuff” coming in our home for Christmas. I want more intentionality, more joy, more life.

Your health is a beautiful thing, a beautiful gift. I think a lot of people have learned that this year. I can’t wait to teach Georgia how to respect her body, how to listen to it’s wisdom, and just how crazy, awesome God made her. I want her to have a deep appreciation for this gift.

Most of us have gotten a little too comfortable. Let’s not forget the most fundamental skills that are turning out to be pretty handy these days; the art of homemaking, homesteading, + survival skills.

We have lost these important + basic skills over the generations because we have become complacent.

So I’m going back to my roots, back to ground zero - that seems to be my theme this year. Maybe you’re just looking into it or feeling that pull too. I hope these items bless your health and life.

I couldn’t believe this when I looked further into it.

So much more is in your water than you think. Go to this website and you can look up what heavy metals are in your water by searching by your zip code. Type in your zip code, click GO, and then click “view utility.” Scroll down and check out what is in your water. After I looked up our zip code, I asked Clay to get me a Berkey Filter (with the fluoride filters) for Christmas. For our little family of 3, I went with the traveling size, the smallest, because it’s what worked for us, plus they are on the pricey side. But guys, remember, your health is priceless.

I turned 34 this year. What. A. Blessing. But let’s just say, I’m looking for ways to look and feel younger. This next item is for anyone wanting to stand up to the test of time and aging. Looking young and beautiful from the inside out. This powerful trio of capsules, body serum, and botanical face serum is straight liquid gold. I got the full size kit, but this travel size is much more affordable. It’s doTERRA’s yarrow pom travel collection. Liquid gold for that glowing skin.

Along those lines, I’m not getting any younger, and the fine lines are setting in. Until these beauties came along. I’ve been wanting this for a while. The Gua Sha and ridged rose quartz roller. The Gua Sha is an ancient technique that helps rejuvenate the skin through light pulling + lifting massage motions using a smooth gemstone tool. The roller promotes lymphatic drainage, detoxifying skin tissues and boosting blood flow to feed the skin from within. The combo of this technique plus the yarrow pom is a dream for my skin.

I’m a bookworm eat heart. And I cannot wait to drive and listen to Matthew McConaughey’s book, Greenlights. I can only sense this is a magical kind of read. It’s currently in the audio bank for the car rides.

If you know me at all, I love a good matcha latte. But what brand should you try? And what are the benefits over coffee? Heavy metals can be hidden in matcha because it soaks it up through the ground. If you haven’t tried, check out my blog post Here to see if matcha is for you, including my recipe. A quality matcha is important. A highly trusted brand is Matchaful. Here’s the one I ordered. Matcha is loaded with antioxidants too, a major plus.

The froth level on a latte makes or breaks it for me. So I asked for a Milk Frother to up my latte game. This one is reasonably priced and is an easy clean up. Plus you can make hot chocolate with it. Win Win.

Clay and I got a book around the time we got 40 acres of land this year. Still, by far, one of the best gifts in my life. The land, not the book. But the book is pretty good too. We plan on becoming much more sustainable in the coming years. This book, Encyclopedia of Country Living, explains so much and is so helpful with getting started on our own land.

I’m really looking forward to having a big garden one day on our new land, but I’m going to be starting very small this spring. So I’ve got this compost bin in my cart to prepare some soil.

Last, but not least…I have a new-found passion of snow boarding. Guys, I literally have dreams about this all the time! So Clay surprised me with my own snow boarding boots!! AHHH! Pumped is an understatement. These will last me forever and hopefully means we are going every year from here on out!

I hope your holiday season is full of love, joy, and God’s mercy!