I have pondered this question more times than you can maybe comprehend, and have often reflected back over the many varied experiences I have had during my fifty years here on earth. There are so very many times when I feel very thankful to have been guided and blessed to have begun to learn what helps to create both VITALITY and peace within these mortal bodies. Our bodies truly are a gift to us, and can aid us in our progression. They are a very marvelous creation created by our Heavenly Father.

It is amazing that three years have been lived since I have chosen to eat only living, whole, natural plant-based foods.
My intense passion has not dulled as I continue to learn and search for truths to help myself, my family, and those around me. I believe the first step we take in learning is to become aware there is something different. This is what ignites a reason for us to make changes. (It is so important to remember that the only ones we can really change are ourselves) Sometimes an awareness comes through experiencing pain ourselves, or seeing others experience pain.

It was thirty years ago when we had our first little boy. I found myself asking a similar question to the one I just read in a book compiled of LETTERS written by Marjorie Pay Hinckley. The book was compiled by her children. A letter written in 1945 to her husband, Gordon, while they were away from each other for a short time, had a paragraph that said...
"It is bedtime. I want to get some steam going in the bedroom tonight again and hope that tomorrow everyone will feel better. I sometimes wonder just what is wrong with the way I am caring for these children. I simply can't understand why they should be sick so much. There must be some reason, but I am too tired to figure it out tonight."
I can remember, very clearly, looking at our first little boy and feeling a very profound responsibility that whatever I prepared to feed him is what he would have to eat. My husband's parents had previously given us a Christmas gift of two books concerning health. The two books were, IS THERE ANY SICK AMONG YOU? And another book entitled HOW TO GET WELL. In 1976, after reading those two books, I can distinctly remember sorting through my kitchen cupboards and giving away all those supplies that I felt were not helping us to create health. Even after that time, I often had sick children. The first two had bronchitis, the third had pneumonia. I can remember trying to doctor the pneumonia by putting garlic on our third child, Spencer's, little feet. (Spencer is the dad on my blog site holding his little daughter with the green mustache.) Spencer was only 4 months old at the time. I can remember the oxygen tent that he was in when we finally chose to admit him into the hospital...after I had tried many more 'natural' remedies. I can remember not wanting to give him all the pink antibiotic that they wanted me to give him. The week I took him home from the hospital the other two children came down with chicken pox. That was 25 years ago. I continued to search for answers to why the children were sick so often.)

I have begun to understand that our bodies are somewhat like an antenna and that the questions we truly desire answers to will be picked up from the area around us...that our questions and the answers we are seeking to those questions will vibrate to the same resonance.
I believe that all the answers to the questions we have will be found, over time, if we continue to search and to put forth the effort to know. I believe that somehow those questions are in our energy field and that slowly the pieces come together. It was an 'ah-ha' feeling I experienced a few years ago as our 6th child went for a high school sport physical and we realized that he had never before been to a doctor for any illness or sickness. We then realized that neither had our 7th child been to a doctor for an illness, nor had either of them taken any antibiotics. I consider that a real blessing in their lives.

I had wondered about food and what to eat even before I had children. During my high school and college years I tried many various diets hoping to keep my weight stable. I enjoyed creating recipes and helping others to feel comfort through things I would cook for them. I realized early that feeding people seemed to make them happy. I really enjoy seeing the ones around me happy. I can remember making beautiful and delicious treats for others, but not eating them myself because I was concerned about my weight, or because of some diet that I was on at the current time. I really have always loved the experience of helping to create pleasure through food. I believe it was a way I could use my nurturing instincts. I still have a few of the recipe books that I collected in high school for that very purpose. I didn't always eat well, however. In between experimenting with (it seemed like,) every new "diet" that would come out, I would eat a lot of treats, for instance.... I can remember getting 35 cents for lunches when I was in junior high school. Back then you could buy candy bars for a dime. I would buy 3 candy bars and 1 package of lifesavers for lunch. That is what I would eat. When I was 18, the dentist told me that my teeth were decaying so quickly that there was a good chance I would have false teeth by the time I was 20! (Maybe that played a part in my husband's decision to go back to dental school —after we had three children.) I had also been diagnosed with scoliosis during a screening test in the ninth grade.

As life moved on, I continued to study about health and nutrition. I used to grind our wheat and make our own bread. I studied sprouting and made wheat grass clear back in 1976. I also bought a champion juicer during that same year, that I still have and use today. I also studied a little more about exercise and fitness. I had taken a Kenneth Cooper EXERCISE FOR LIFE class in 1973 at BYU. It was an aerobic fitness class. It all seemed so true to me. With the help and support of my husband and family, I have been able to keep up a personal aerobic program ever since. It has almost been 32 years now. It has greatly aided me in keeping up with my very active and growing family.

We experience so much in this mortal lifetime that moves us toward learning. There began to be times when my body would get unexplained fevers. As time progressed, the fevers began to come more frequently. While I was still experiencing these random fevers, my husband and I were in quite a serious car accident. This car accident occurred nearly 13 years ago. It caused me to be in a hospital bed for approximately a month. It helped me to further realize the blessing of our mortal bodies.
I believe that I had often taken that blessing for granted. Our youngest, and eighth child was then only 6 months of age when we got in the car accident. I can remember the other children rotating days to stay home from school to help me, and to bring Kelsi to me when she needed to nurse. It was quite an experience for me to lay there and to see others moving about with ease. I could see all the things that needed to be done around me, and I was unable to do them because of so much pain. I was blessed to have so many wonderful people around me that helped us during that time. It increased my love and appreciation for those around me, while giving me an added reason to keep my body functioning and able to serve others as others, were then, so selflessly serving me.

As I continue to reflect back, I can see that my need and desire for knowledge has been picking up speed ever since that time.
It was about a year after that when I spent about a week in the hospital undergoing many, many tests. My fevers had become more severe and more frequent and the medical world could not figure it out. These fevers had made it difficult to plan much of anything and to function normally because I never knew when the fevers were going to occur. My husband was extremely busy at the time between his church calling, providing for our growing family, and his helping with many of the children's extracurricular sports and activities. After a week of testing, the diagnosis was "fatigue". I can remember thinking, "what a dumb diagnosis!" I guess my body had become gradually tired over the past 20 years. I had spent all 20 of those years, minus 2 months, either nursing a baby or expecting a baby. Often those two functions overlapped.

I have not had any more children since that hospital stay, although I had planned on having a few more...before the doctors had spoken with me about their suggestions for my health. They had strongly advised me to regain my health and strength so that I would have the energy I needed to care for the eight I had already.

Next, I began to experience some depression. I went to our uncle, a doctor. He told me that with my family's history of depression, I would probably need to be on an antidepressant for my life..even as they suggest that a person with diabetes needs to take insulin. I went ahead and took the prescription. It was only ten days later that I was in the emergency room of the hospital with intense stomach pains. They gave me an I.V. with Demerol in it. My husband was in the room and noticed that I had gone into a deep, deep, deep sleep and was beginning to turn blue. He quickly notified a nurse in the hall, and they frantically reversed the doses to try to revive me. I was told later that everyone was panicky, except my husband, who was the one that kept shaking me to keep me breathing. I decided, the next day, that I would never again take an antidepressant....and I haven't. My husband has since said that for me....it was exercise or Prozac. I have been ever thankful for the exercise habit I had created over the years.

About 4 years ago I began doing some strength training, along with my aerobics, in order to keep my bones strong. I had read about osteoporosis and didn't want that, so I added a weight bearing workout to my daily exercise routine. It was just a little over a year later, through a random bone density test, that I found out that I had osteopenia... the beginning stages of osteoporosis. Wow! I was surprised. My bloodwork had shown that my tryglyceride count was 31. The doctor told me he had never seen any test result that was better in that area. He then said to me, "You won't have to worry about dying of a heart attack, only worry that you can get around without a cane." At this time, there was no base line to compare the bone density test with. I didn't want to take a supplement, so I decided to just keep eating the best I knew how and retest later. I had also been re-examined that year for my scoliosis...it was a 34% curve. The doctor was surprised that I was still standing up straight! (which I still am-thanks again to a good exercise program, along with many other blessings)

In October of 2000, as I was going about doing my best to be a mom, I realized that my emotions were really being challenged. I began to feel that I had no control over one of my boys. (Of course, a parents job is not to control a child, or anyone else for that matter.) My job, as a mom, was actually to guide him and to help him realize who he really was and always had been. I became more and more aware, as the days went by, and as I continued to struggle as a mom in my relationship with this son, that I must have some anger issues that I was allowing him to trigger. It became quite serious, I can remember days of feeling suicidal, days when I would be useless to the rest of the family, and the rest of the family still really needed much nurturing. I could see what was happening, but did not know what to do about it. I even had a little counseling. I went to the author of COLOR CODE...Taylor Hartman. I can remember one day, over four years ago, when I made a resolution to do whatever it took to rid myself of any anger or negative emotions that I must have been carrying around...unaware of. I went to a variety of alternative people to help facilitate healing... rolfing, iridology, energy work, zoning, and many others. As I read and studied. I began to have a desire to cleanse internally. I read Dr. Bernard Jensen's book, TISSUE CLEANSING THROUGH BOWEL MANAGEMENT.

I was working on cleansing from the inside out. It wasn't long after I read his book that a very strange thing happened one Thurs. in May, in the year 2001.
I awoke that morning about 5am, an hour earlier than my alarm was set. I felt a little uncomfortable, so I went ahead and got up and got my exercising done. The discomfort continued as I got the kids off to school. I asked my husband to give me a priesthood blessing before he left for work. He called at noon to see how I was doing. I was still trying to make it to a hair appointment at 12;30, but the pain was getting a little intense. I could not find any position to get comfortable in. My husband called to see how I was feeling. I told him to call back in about 15 minutes. I was still trying to decide if I could possibly keep my hair appointment. I made the decision to call the gal that does my hair and tell her that I could not make it to my app. that day. My husband called back. I told him I was not going to go and asked him if he could please come home and help me. He had ridden his bike that day. He said he would come home. I asked him how long it would take. He told me it would be about 45 min.. I told him that was too long. He decided to ask one of his assistants to give him a ride, which they did, and he arrived home about 15 minutes later. (I still feel a little bad for the patients that were sitting in the chairs waiting to get their teeth worked on.)

When Evan arrived home, I asked him to please take me to the hospital. The first interesting thing about that is that I usually don't even go to a doctor. The second interesting thing is that I don't go anywhere in a bathrobe, and there I was, ready to go...in my bathrobe. Evan was a little shocked at the events as they were occurring so quickly. It was as if I were being guided as to what I should do, without knowing why. By the time we arrived at the hospital, I was "trembling" with pain. This pain made our eight childbirths seem easy, easy, easy!

We arrived at the hospital. Our neighbor was the ER doctor on call, and the surgeon, on call, was our friend. The surgeon helped to give me another priesthood blessing before going into surgery. I can clearly remember being told, in the blessing, that this experience would help me to have empathy for others. I can remember thinking that was a 'dumb' way to gain empathy..in my opinion! They proceeded to do the tests to diagnose the problem, and by about 2 o'clock, I was in surgery. It was more complicated than was expected and they had to do a big, long abdominal incision...after attempting to remedy the situation by blowing up my abdominal area to allow them to work inside. My colon had become detached from the abdominal wall, and had folded over, causing a complete blockage. They were able to fold it back in place and stitched it back to the abdominal wall. It could have been so much more serious if not taken care of so quickly. I was glad I hadn't been out back packing somewhere. They told me it had been a life — death situation. Anyway, by the time the kids came home from school, I had undergone a major, emergency surgery. They were shocked! I was thankful, then, for the medical profession and their skills, and will always appreciate the skills they have to save lives.
That surgery caused an after effect of bowel adhesions, causing my digestion to be slowed down. Up to that point, I believe I may have taken the body's digestive process for granted. I began to read and study more about food and digestion. My rate of learning was stepped up very quickly, many notches from this point on. This intent to heal physically was now accompanied with the intent to clear myself emotionally, which I already had underway in my life. It was about a month after that when I realized I would eventually go to the Ann Wigmore Health Institute to study health there. (The year was 2001)

I continued to read. (I do my reading for an hour each day as I exercise.) I read a lot. I began to study the PH of the body. I began to understand the concept of the importance of feeding our body "living food". I became fascinated. It was if my passion had been awakened. I didn't seem to be able to learn enough...fast enough. I would read one book and it would lead me to another book. I began to order videos and watch them as I cleaned and worked in the kitchen. I would get c.d.'s and listen to them in the bathroom as I got ready each day. There was no one around, that I knew of, that ate that way. I was on an uncharted path. I was constantly, both then and now, praying for guidance and discernment as I learn and study new ideas. I began to understand how what we ate could help change our vibrations and our abilities to heal, both physically and emotionally. Within a short time, I realized that I no longer chose to eat anything heated or processed. I have such an intense desire to achieve my highest vibration that I still choose to eat only those foods that I believe will help me achieve that goal.

I believe our bodies need all the enzymes that are packaged, naturally, within the food we eat. Each food actually is created with it's unique enzyme distribution coding. Anything heated much over around 115-120 degrees no longer contain enzymes. Everything in our body requires an enzymatic process. I still prepare some other foods for my family because I learned my lesson well... that it is not my place to control any other person. We were born to have agency. I am striving to become the best person that I can be, and hope that will effect others around me, for good. That is a BIG project by itself. Many people began to come to my home wanting to learn. They wanted me to teach them. I wasn't sure how. I felt a need to get further training in order to be able to more easily share the information that I felt I was being blessed to learn.

I was able to go to Cherie Soria's LIVING LIGHT CULINARY ARTS INSTITUTE during the month of May in 2003, That was an intense 35 day course. I slept in a tent. (I think I still hold the family record for the number on nights slept, consecutively, in a tent.) My wonderful husband drove me there...set up my tent in a luxurious manner...with nightstand, a vase of flowers, with a picture of my family there in full view and then drove all the way back himself. 35 days later he drove back and picked me up. It was there that I certified as a raw food chef and an instructor. I was able to attend the raw food festival that same summer as a presenter doing a demo. I now teach food preparation classes, informational classes, help to supply needed equipment and supplies for the most efficient food preparation. I also spend time in personal trainings to help individuals personalize the LIVING FOODS LIFESTYLE into their unique lives.

I had another bone density test in March of this year (2004). The test results showed that I had a 50% increase in bone density. The technicians were shocked! They asked me what I had been taking, and were a little surprised to find out it was daily wheat grass juice, as well as our daily fresh green juices...along with all fresh, natural, living, and organic foods..fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

Presently, my daughter and I are preparing to leave for Puerto Rico...finally. It has been over three years now that I first felt a need to go and receive training at the ANN WIGMORE NATURAL HEALTH INSTITUTE there. I am anxious to complete a certification course there. I feel it will add to my ability to better understand the healing powers of our body as we continue to supply them with those things that we were created to nourish ourselves with. I have witnessed how eating this way has allowed people to function at their own personal and individualized maximum level.

Like I mentioned earlier, Kelsi, my 12 year old, will be attending with me. She has a great desire to learn, and has chosen to eat only whole, live VITALITY FOOD for over three months now. It is quite an amazing thing to observe as she takes her lunches and interacts with all of her peers. I admire her for her desires and the way she teaches people by her example. She is an inspiration to me, and has many, many friends that respect her. (In fact, last year at school, she was awarded the Sadie Morgan Award for being the friendliest and caring girl in the 6th grade.)
My husband does a wonderful job growing our own wheatgrass and preparing it, daily, into juice for our family, as well as making live, fresh, green juices for us daily. He has been labeled 'the juiceman'. Because of Evan's selfless efforts, our family has a continual supply of fresh sprouts and rejuvelac. Before Evan became a dentist, he worked as a fieldman for U and I sugar assisting the farmers. He also grew up on a farm and seems to be quite good at keeping things growing. He laughs sometimes and says that dentistry is his second job. He says his main job is at home. He does work very hard and is very supportive. We have had many discussions and "heart-to-hearts" dealing with this knowledge. Change is not always easy and can cause us to stretch and to grow...kind of like "growing pains". We have eight children that we love, along with their wonderful spouses and almost five beautiful grandchildren. I still cook food for some of the ones at home... for the supper meal. (I choose to do that because, I believe, it involves choosing as compared to forcing...which can cause resentment. We are created to have agency, and then to be responsible for the consequences.) However, I've found that I have been "cooking" less and less as their tastes and desires change. I end up throwing away most of the sweets and processed foods that work their way into our house, just because they become old and stale. Our family's tastebuds seem to be waking up as we continue to feed ourselves with these living and flavorful foods. Also, our bodies become more balanced, emotionally and physically as we begin to supply, through our food choices, the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that our bodies crave. Our hunger begins to quiet down. I have come to learn that when, through our food choices, we take care of the QUALITY, our magnificent bodies will take care of the QUANTITY. Our bodies begin to require less food because we are supplying the nutrients to our body that we were divinely designed to fuel ourselves with. Our bodies begin to feel satisfied. I have a strong belief that we have all been created to be beautiful....men and women alike. I believe that VITALITY FOOD helps us along our path to be all that we can be.

Pres. Brigham Young once said, "Let the sisters take care of themselves, and make themselves beautiful...Were you to see an angel, you would see a beautiful and lovely creature. Make yourselves like angels in goodness and beauty." I believe VITALITY FOOD is "beauty food."

Like I mentioned earlier, there are times when a person can begin to feel like a fish swimming upstream as we interact with others of our friends and families, along with the general public. I have felt that feeling many times. but it seems like it is then balanced by listening to so many people tell of their body's challenges, and I feel a strong desire and need to be able to share a little of the truths and knowledge that I feel I really have been blessed and guided, (as well as propelled rapidly forward at an ever increasing speed) to learn - through many varied and unique promptings. I feel the rewards come as I continue to watch health, as well as the level of hope, increase in so many people's lives as they begin to live their truth.
President Gordon B. Hinckley's admonition to all of us, I believe, applies also to our bodies' nourishment, through what we feed it, when He said:
"I have been quoted as saying, 'Do the best you can.' But I want to emphasize that it be the very best. We are too prone to be satisfied with mediocre performance. We are capable of doing so much better"
(Standing Strong and Immovable," Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, 10 Jan. 2004, 21)

In the Book of Mormon, Alma tells us..."First we must have a sincere DESIRE to believe. Phrases such as "AWAKE," "AROUSE YOUR FACULTIES," "EXPERIMENT," and "EXERCISE A PARTICLE OF FAITH" are action words that suggest sustained effort on our part.
To keep our Spirit growing, Alma says we must NOURISH it by "FAITH with great DILIGENCE, and with PATIENCE. He then promises that the rewards of FAITH, DILIGENCE, PATIENCE, and LONG SUFFERING will bring forth everlasting life.

As we receive inspiration...those spiritual feelings should further enhance our desire to strengthen our own convictions.
"As we pray, ask for help in understanding the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Then do your best to be worthy to receive those promptings. As you recognize or feel the impressions and whisperings of the Spirit, then ACT upon them."
(Elder Donald L. Staheli...Nov. 2004 Ensign, pg. 39)

Now is the time to ACT.
I feel a responsibility to be able to discern truth and then to share it.
I am doing what I am doing out of a concern for those around me. I now not only have a desire to try to keep myself and my family healthy and vibrant, my concerns seems to have spread to everyone I associate with.

I have never aspired to have a so-called "job". My life is very full at this time with my family responsibilities and involvement in my church. As you will be able to see on the slideshow on this website, we, as a family are able to do a lot of activities together...backpacking, biking, boating, jogging, hiking, etc. We are so thankful for the health and strength that we enjoy which allows us to all play together. My intention is to understand how to better balance my time and energies to accomplish that which I feel is needed to be done, I have a great desire and passion to share with those that have a true desire. One of the reasons I feel so strongly is because when I first began learning about living foods, I didn't know anyone who could help me learn. I had to dig deep and to learn from, like I said earlier, being led from one book to the next, to videos, to c.d.'s, etc. I have acquired quite an extensive library as I have read, devoured and studied all the information that I could find. I have then individualized it and sorted out those parts that I believe to be true. My wonderful husband and family have supported me as I have traveled to various places to study and gain further experience and knowledge. I prefer to stay in my home. I love it here at home, and feel this is where my first responsibilities lie...as a wife and a mother. I am available and so willing to help others in any way that I can as they continue to become all that they can and were created to be.
David Wolfe, in his book EATING FOR BEAUTY says,
"One of the greatest aspirations in life is to elevate ourselves to the highest state of physical, mental, and spiritual beauty, to discover and draw out our dormant levels of excellence; and to become strongly attractive — even magnetic."
I have watched as an interesting thing really does happen. When a person stops eating "just anything"...when one introduces discernment into one's food choices, both a physical and a spiritual transformation begins to take place. I also strongly desire the promised blessings given to those who choose to follow the counsel given to us in section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants (a book of scripture)
I believe one more key to rid ourselves of our negative vibrations (collected by each of us through our various experiences) is through fasting. We have been told that some things "go no more out but by fasting and prayer". We are created to be happy...to have high frequencies. We feel most peaceful when our frequency is high because that is the kind of frequency we originally came from. The choices that we make in our eating patterns can be an aid to help us on our way, to enhance, or to reclaim, this gift in our lives.
Victoras Kulvinskas, in his book SURVIVAL IN THE 21st CENTURY says,
"The you of today is creating the you of tomorrow. Spend energies in becoming the person you want to be instead of struggling against the past images and addictions. The more good you do, the less time and energy you will have to do the things which hinder your personal growth. Don't persecute yourself too severely when you fail. Be compassionate with yourself. Praise yourself for your successes and keep moving. With perseverance and determination you will daily become more and more the person you want to be. Love yourself daily and continuously for what you are now."
There are innumerable ways to prepare living food to satisfy our body's desires, along with meeting many of our innate needs for comfort in this mortal world. Something we all collectively participate in, one choice at a time...on a continuing daily basis, is the eating of food...hopefully, it will be VITALITY FOOD!