The Truth Saves Lives - And it Brings Freedom [Medical Medium Healing]

"Chronic illness is growing at an alarming rate. Even with the massive amount of organic food being cultivated now, even with the awareness about removing processed foods from our diets, even with the newest healing modalities, sickness is present like never before. No one is escaping illness, not unless they have the right information to stop the ticking clock. "

"This is not a lifestyle book. It's a lifetime book. In a sea of false truths, this is about saving lives." ~Anthony William, Medical Medium

This is truth. This quote is from the new Medical Medium book, "Cleanse to Heal". I have read this book cover to cover, and now with the #cleansetohealbookclub I am going back through each chapter to take it in again, one powerful morsel at a time. This is an incredibly powerful book. It's not like any other book out there. This book is truth. It's living words, and it comes from God. 

I don't say that lightly. I  say it because it's important, and it's truth. I have read just about every health book out there before I came to the Medical Medium information. I spent 20+ years of my life seeking the answers on how food could be our medicine and what was the right way to eat for optimal health. I devoured all of the "science" on both sides of the food wars - from The China Study to Weston A. Price to Atkins to GAPS and on and on and on. 

I overhauled my familys' diet multiple times in my quest for optimal health. We ate organic, we went gluten-free, dairy-free, corn-free, we tried traditional foods, fermented foods, ACV, probiotics, SCD, GAPS, raw food, raw meat, the blood type diet, protein power, Atkins, Paleo, the candida diet, Autoimmune Paleo, Low FODMAPS AIP, low oxalates, vegetarian, and I'm pretty sure there are even more that I am forgetting. 

But in every single one of those belief systems, across the communities of people seeking to be the healthiest they could be, I noticed that in each one, people were still getting sicker and sicker. People were losing the battle for optimal health. Losing function. Losing health. Why did Autoimmune Paleo need to exist, for example, if Paleo was the all-time optimal way of eating on the planet? And why were SO many members of that community having to give up more and more foods and turn to autoimmune Paleo if it was so ideal?

By the time I found the Medical Medium information, I was down to only being able to eat a handful of foods and I was sicker than I have ever been in my life. I had an entire page of chronic illness diagnoses including autoimmune ones, and I had volumes of symptoms and conditions that had taken my whole life and all of my functionality away. I was allergic to the world, homebound, suffering from physical as well as mental illness, and very close to no longer being on this planet. 

The truth is, none of those belief systems actually had answers to why we were all getting so sick. They were all playing guessing games and using US as the guinea pigs. Worse, using us as a way to line their own pockets - not just in book sales, but in supplement lines, powders, foods and other products that are supposedly for health. Medical Medium calls them carpetbaggers - opportunists, snake oil salesmen that prey on the chronically ill for their own profit. It's not only selfish, it;s dangerous. It's playing with people's lives and causing them betrayal after betrayal, breaking their trust again and again. 

But when I found the Medical Medium information, it made SO much sense. It filled in every blank where all of the science had left off. It filled in blanks for the questions science had never bothered to ask. And little by little, all of that other information fell away. It became noise in the background because the Medical Medium information actually had answers. And not only were there answers, but it actually worked. And not just for Me, but for millions of people around the globe who are finally healing their chronic illnesses when nothing else ever did. REAL healing, not temporary bandaids. 

That's what the truth does. It works. It brings healing. It brings peace. It erases all of the confusion and noise and stands above the rest. It goes by word of mouth. It's not backed by some interest groups seeking to make a profit off of people's suffering. It's backed by results. It's backed by people actually healing. It's REAL. And it MATTERS. 

For me, I don't even pay attention to any of the other noise out there anymore. I don't need to, because I'm no longer confused and searching desperately for answers. I've found the answer. When you truly understand how bodies REALLY work, what's REALLY going on in there, what pathogens and toxins we are affected by and why. Why foods that used to be survival foods and staples have become unsafe, what foods really do cause healing and why and how. When you have that, you have peace. You have healing - not just of the body, but of the mind, spirit and soul as well. Of the broken trust and the betrayals. You gain trust. You gain faith. And most of all, you gain FREEDOM. 

And I have that now, and it's thanks to all of the incredible dedication and hard work of Anthony William, Medical Medium. He, in these books, has given me the answers that have given me my life back. Given me the healing foods back. Given me peace and freedom. And I want you to have that too. You deserve it. You deserve to heal. You CAN heal. 

What's Up Wednesday #52 - House Hunting with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities

It's always tricksy with my chemical sensitivities, trying to find a living space that's safe for me. Since my chemical sensitivities were at their height in the height of my chronic illness, we've found ourselves needing to find a new space more than once. I've learned a few things along the way about being the canary in the coalmine and why it's important. 

In case the phrase isn't a familiar one, "Canary in the coalmine"  is an allusion to caged canaries (birds) that miners would carry down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide collected in the mine, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners, thus providing a warning to exit the tunnels immediately.

The toxins that my nervous system cannot tolerate include all manner of petrochemicals: plug-in air fresheners, scented candles, perfumes, colognes, detergents, fabric softeners, fragrances in lotions, makeup, deodorants, pesticides, solvents and propellants like turpentine, shellac, butane, propane, natural gas, gasoline, diesel, exhaust fumes...the list goes on, but you get the picture, right? The thing is, I AM the Canary in the Coalmine. These chemicals don't only affect me - they affect ALL of us.

I show the symptoms - like dizziness, migraines, headaches, brain fog, fatigue, pain, confusion, inability to focus. But for ALL of us, these chemicals get into our livers and accumulate there, making our livers sluggish and fatty, preventing them from performing their over 2000 functions that keep us alive every day. Our heroic livers. Always protecting us, keeping us safe. I don't know about you, but I want to do everything I can to HELP my liver do it's job. Even heroes need support. 

Because of Medical Medium and all of the information he brings to us from Spirit, I know just how to support my heroic liver and therefore myself. I know what these toxins do in the body and how to get them out and counteract them. I am eternally grateful for that, because it makes my experience with house hunting an empowering and doable one rather than one fraught with anxiety and panic.

I know when I can and can't go into a space, I know to bring plenty of adrenal snacks for the extra processing my nervous system is taking on, and I know when to rest and take a break.

I see my sensitivity as a gift. Like a spidey sense. A superpower if you will. With it, I know what dangers are present in the environment and I can take the measures I need to to keep myself and my loved ones safe from absorbing too much into our livers and overloading them. It can be intense navigating such a toxic world when you are highly aware of what dangers lurk around every corner, but it can also be empowering. I talk about all of it in the video, have a look!

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back...One Step Forward Again

Sure enough, once we moved to the new RV Park, within just a couple of hours I was already feeling so much better and less pain. And after being here a couple of days now, still maintaining that improvement. Pain in my body is almost gone really, and fatigue as well. I do keep waking up with a headache, but it does also mostly go away once I've been awake awhile. I'm not sure exactly what that's about.

It's been raining here nonstop and that affects me differently, but not nearly as adversely as those power lines. I just get a little more tired and sleepy and want to snuggle under blankets and have much less humidity in the air. But I'm functional. 

I had an amazing day visiting my family yesterday - a day that makes me wish hard that our time in this city could be for longer than it is. It feels SO short this time. It's been several years since we've all seen each other and there is so much to catch up on. Would that we could be here a month so we could really start to tackle it.

I still have many limitations that prevent me from being able to see all the people I wish I could see here. People have to make changes to see me - they have to be scent-free and willing to come to us in the RV park, because other than my Mom's house I'm not sure where I could be safe. I have to be extra super careful about what I eat and making sure to take all of my supplements (and getting in extra) so my immune system can handle all the stress of new and different situations.

Traveling while healing and detoxing is not exactly ideal, but it is doable if I just make sure to prioritize my health and really be careful about listening to my body's needs and taking care of them.

Before when we've visited the way we would handle being able to see many people at once is we'd have a gathering somewhere - usually a kind friend would offer their home or we'd meet at a park or something, and invite friends to come, so we could have a time of seeing them. But my body cannot handle that this time - there are too many variables that could happen in a group (like scents and colds and such), and for my health I just cannot do that anymore.

I'd like to think there will come a time when I will be able to again. Once I've healed enough to have reached a stable space and be back in the world safely and fully again. I have real hope that it will happen in time.

Until then I am mindful, paying attention, making sure I'm eating the most healing foods (as outlined by Anthony William in his books, "Medical Medium" and "Life-Changing Foods", as well as in his blogs and podcasts). I'm eating lots of raw, since my body seems its best with that - and potatoes at night. I drink my celery juice and heavy metal detox smoothie every morning, along with my supplements and herbal tinctures. I don't think I've ever been SO diligent about making sure everything that goes in has a healing purpose since I did the Medical Medium cleanse. And that was just the foods, no supplements then.

But it's important - this is how I get through all of this okay and continuing to heal. I couldn't have done this at all a year ago. I am so grateful for all of the healing information I DO have now thanks to the Medical Medium, because it has gotten me this far. Being able to travel at all. Being able to see my family again. Having days like yesterday with laughter, love, family, it meant everything to me.

A year ago I wasn't sure I'd ever even be able to see my family again. I'd lost hope that I'd ever find healing or get better or be able to leave my house safely again. So to be able to do all of those things with some accommodations (everyone was scent-free for me) has been a gift I'm eternally grateful for.

Photos to come in a couple of weeks, once they've been processed. 

when the power lines took me down

We finally reached the Midwest to see our families, and immediately upon driving into the RV Park we'd be living in for the next several days, we spotted the power lines.

"Uh oh," my husband said as he saw them, "Are you going to be okay here?" He knew from experience that I tend to be very sensitive to such things and they can cause me so many issues. 

"I don't know," I answered, "I guess we'll find out."

Apparently the answer is not so much. We've been there only a few days and clearly the toxin load there was way too high for this body. I've been eating cleanly, taking extra supplements to boost my immune system, getting outside for walks, and still the pain levels in my body increased drastically while we were there. That even included the all over body pain known as my "Fibro" pain - I hadn't experienced that level of pain in months. Again, the little 8 pound cat walking on my skin felt like shooting pain, and I couldn't bear to be touched.

In addition to the pain, my tinnitus went crazy, my fatigue and brain fog creeped up, aches and pains are returning all over, and in the interest of not going all TMI, let's just say there were other symptom flares as well. It was reminiscent of when I'd just begun to heal, and if I didn't know for sure that this would be temporary, it would have seriously scared me. It certainly turned me into a crabby scrappy human for a few days. Being in pain 24/7 makes it incredibly difficult to be nice and kind and positive.

This has always happened to me when I visited this metropolitan area. Allergies go haywire, I get really sick, pain increases. In that area in particular, I found myself extra sick and unable to get out of bed the last couple of times we visited. I hoped that because this time I was armed with the healing foods and all of the amazing information Anthony William, the Medical Medium offers, I'd be better able to withstand the onslaught. 

But this body in its current healing state was no match for the toxin load of those EMFs and whatever else those power lines emit. I'm doing my best to keep it at bay as much as possible and I think I am actually, despite everything that is happening. But it's a good reminder of just how affected we can be by our environment. Allow me to be the canary in the coalmine, it seems to have been my job these past few years. I'm used to it now. I've accepted that this body is extra sensitive, and that many things that others do with ease and oblivion to the dangers, I just cannot. 

Despite all of this, I am so grateful to Anthony William for all of the information he continues to offer for our collective healing. Without it all I never would have even been able to travel at all. Or if I did, I'd be stuck in the RV 24/7 while I watched my family go places. I'd have been too sick to join them at all. Despite all that happened to my body from those power lines and whatever else is in that area that takes me out, I am still stronger and healthier than I was at my sickest. Even in all of that pain. I still am functional on a level I never was back then. So my sickest NOW is still BETTER than my best then, just 10 months ago. And that is pretty amazing. Setbacks like these now just remind me how amazingly far I've come, and that I now have the tools and knowledge I need to recover from these setbacks fairly quickly.

Healing is not a straight upward line, it veers sometimes. There are setbacks. Things happen like travel and stress and power lines and pesticides being sprayed nearby, and we get knocked down. But not all the way down. Not anymore. And we know, armed with this powerful knowledge, how to get back up again.

This setback is temporary and I know that, so it's okay. This too shall pass. We're in a different park now today, in the heart of the downtown area. Amazingly, despite being in an industrial area, my pain is already subsiding. I'm already feeling more clear and energetic. I wasn't 100% positive it was the power lines that were taking me down there, because there were so many other possibilities as well. But the proof is in the pudding, isn't it? It didn't take very long for that pain to abate once we were away from them.

It blows even my mind. I don't know what I'll feel like tomorrow after a full night's sleep, but right now as I prepare for bed several hours after being away from those lines, there is no doubt in my mind that those lines were sapping my health away and causing everything to flare. My tinnitus has drastically reduced again since being away from them, as well, as well as ALL of the other symptoms that were flaring.

I'm so glad I have the healing foods and supplements to recover myself from this. Because I want to be able to see my family and enjoy my time with them while I'm here, not spend it sick and recovering in bed like I have had to in the past. And now I get to.  

no sign of land

I have two posts partially composed about how we're about to move into the RV, and here are some photos to show. They were waiting for me to add said photos, because I want to show you a before/after scenario, and that means spending some time in photoshop as well as making sure I take photos at roughly the same angles.

But life seems to have other plans. Plans like making our already overly-complicated lives even more complicated. And just when we're seeing light at the end of the tunnel, the tunnel collapses and traps us inside. I'm finding it difficult to see it any other way right now, because it just feels like no matter how hard we try, this is just never going to happen.

Here's what all chronic illness sufferers never tell you (or really, we do, people just don't really ever hear us or "get" what this really means): Life with chronic illness feels like drowning with no sign of land. I'm not talking about the illness itself. Those of course all have different symptoms and manifestations.

I'm talking about life around chronic illness. Being a caregiver. Needing care. Trying to take care of all the daily tasks of living while also holding down a full time job and being a caregiver. Trying to take care of all the daily tasks of living and just never being able to. And watching medical bills destroy your savings, then watching them accrue and accrue as credit card debt because there is no more savings with which to pay them. And this is WITH excellent insurance.

People don't see all of the costs associate with a chronic illness that insurance won't cover: traveling everywhere for medical care, places to stay if one needs to travel, all the copays not covered, all the extra out of pocket expenses, all the supplements, treatments not covered by insurance, deductibles, all the things that need to be done to the home to make it suited to life with chronic illness.

(Example: "We don't cover bed wedges (needed to sleep in a semi-upright position to combat my dysautonomia an improve my BP). Those are to see if you need an adjustable bed (which they WILL cover, at 80%).  And... ALL my meds need to be compounded, but insurance only covers 50% for compounded meds. I have six prescriptions, none are less than $20 a pop, some are more than twice that. PER MONTH. And...my geneticist is a 3.5 hour drive from my home. So each time I see him, I have to pay for the gas, wear and tear on my car, and exhaust myself driving the 3.5 hours to visit him. My MRI/CT scans were also 3.5 hours away, and covered at 80%. I had to pay the rest out of pocket, which was close to $500. And on and on.)

This is just MY health care costs. I have a friend who has two children in my same situation, plus herself. Three people in her family have these kinds of health needs and expenses. Every month. And no outside help.

And there are ZERO resources to help with this. No support services or outside help - when you live with chronic illness, unless you have some spectacularly amazing friends and family, even if people were there to help in the beginning, pretty soon there is "assistance fatigue", and everyone returns to their normal lives. People think, "Oh, someone else is helping them, I don't have to," or maybe they just can't be bothered, I don't know. And they forget all about the people with chronic illnesses. And I won't lie, we really do need the most help.

Meanwhile the partner, who has been unwillingly inducted into the role of "official caregiver", is stuck doing the job of seven people. Cook, housecleaner, caregiver, 40-hour-a-week day job (because we have to pay those medical bills and keep a roof over our head and food in our bellies), errand person, advocate, driver, and don't forget able-bodied parent. My husband has also been handyman, painter (of the RV), lawn maintenance person, and more. He is freaking EXHAUSTED, never gets fun time for himself, always has the most ridiculous "Honey Do" list ever, and he has zero support system.

 I at the very least have an online community of support - others like myself - and even though some of us DO know each other in real life, it's super hard to have any sort of get-togethers and human contact due to various health issues. We have a couple of families we see semi regularly, who are able-bodied, and I love that they will come here for visits because of my issues - they are amazing people. But it's mostly their kids and the Moms and I who are friends, not so much the husbands. SO *I* have a sort of support system. My husband does not. 

When we DO get help from a friend, I am crying with gratitude. It's crazy amazing what a non-fatigued, able-bodied person who isn't bogged down with taking care of a chronically ill family is able to accomplish. I mean, the contrast between what they can do and what we can do is mind-boggling. And vast. I am grateful that we have anyone at all who will come and help us try and make some kind of dent in this. She drives almost four hours to do it, too, once a month. Her son and our son play together while we do as much as we can in one weekend. It feels super important to mention that I have this, because 1) I am so incredibly grateful for this kindness. And 2) Not everyone with chronic illness even has this. 

And not even what I meant to post about. But is also necessary backstory to what I did mean to post about.

Which is why we were in the RV for about 4-5 days, then had to move back into the house.

I know.

But now that's the next post.....

traveling with chronic illness and allergies, or how to give yourself a panic attack, part 2

We did it. Or more, I made the lists of everything that needed doing and then stayed on top of checking off whether they'd gotten done. And my husband did them all. I helped where spoons allowed: doing laundry, packing the kitchen stuff, the food and electronics and my and my son's clothing. My husband packed everything else, and made sure the house was clean and the chickens were fed before we left. And he tetris packed that car. 

I drove, because winding roads make me carsick, and my son loves it when his Dad rides in the back seat with him. The two of them held the animals on their laps. We had called ahead and requested our room not be cleaned with chemicals, but instead with vinegar and baking soda before we came. It was thankfully only a two hour drive, and it was BEAUTIFUL. I swear, Oregon and Washington are two of the most beautiful places I have ever encountered in my life. I LOVE the Pacific Northwest SO much!

We got to the hotel and went inside and....no harsh smells. I couldn't small the pool! And I can ALWAYS small the pool. It didn't feel overly humid inside either - which hotels with pools tend to do. So far so good!

We had a pet room, which meant other pets had stayed there before, and I could smell the faint smell of dog - but it wasn't bad, and again, no harsh chemical smells other than the sheets, which they promised not to bleach. But those would soon come off. The window opened out to the Columbia River, and the view was lovely - railroad tracks and then water, and the sound of....barking? Sea lions! Incessant barking, but not sharp like dogs....comforting in its consistency somehow, in its constant noise. Background noise. I was going to find out where they were later for sure!

So while this hotel isn't *perfect* (we are in a pet room which has previously had other pets here and my eyes were kind of burning the first day and night), it is as close to perfect as a hotel could be for our price point. No chemical smells, no over the top reactions, soundproofish rooms, HUGE suites - we have a kitchenette area, two beds, a sofa and extra tables - this hotel is BRILLIANT. There is space for the litterbox, the dog crate, all our food, our kitchen stuff if we're frugal about the space, and all the toys, electronics and clothes. 

And. Frenzie's eyes have been watering nonstop since we moved into our house (carpet, gas oven/stove).....by afternoon of the first day being here they were completely cleared up. And no more sneezing - she has been sneezing constantly for as long as here eyes have been watering. So I bet my house IS part of what is making me sick, not JUST the regular Portland mold and moisture.  I knew it was an issue, because Frenzie's eyes have never watered like that anywhere we have lived, plus she is sneezing ALL the time...she is our canary.  

Also, how amazing is this?

My friend M gifted me her scooter while I need it, and it was at S's house. Since she wasn't coming to the conference because of chronic lyme, she suggested I ask C 

9other mutual friend coming to conference and basically running it in S's place) to bring it, WHICH SHE DID - AMAZING. S's eldest helped get it into the van, because they have brute strength apparently!

So my husband and C unloaded it, but no cord for recharging...but the website it came from was listed on the scooter. So I called their after hours number, and they didn't have one, but gave me the # of another health supply place here in Astoria. It was/is RIGHT up the street from the hotel.

The after hours tech met my husband at the store, and gave him a cord we could borrow while we are here! How amazing is that?!? It's a $120 cord and he's just like, "Here, I trust you, go ahead and take it for the weekend."

Of course we will bring it back! But what kind of alternate Universe have we entered here? What an amazing gift, all of these people doing all of these amazing things so I will have more mobility. And needed, because there are sea lions on the docks, just happily barking away, day and night, and clearly they WANT us all to visit them and bask in their fearsome glory.

what we're looking for in an RV - geek out edition

We have our RV search narrowed down - WAY down. It took a couple of months of scouring every RV classified site I could find: eBay, RVT, Craigslist, and even some facebook groups.

Ebay is wonderful because many of the sellers there seem to have it down as far as representing a rig with photos. So you can really get a sense of what a rig looks like inside without seeing it in person.

RVT, like Ebay, is thorough because it gives listings from across the US, and is only RVs.

Craigslist is better for local listings and private buyers, IMO, but has also been a great resource for investigating rigs. Just with many less photos.

Sadly, dealers seem to be the best at taking ALL the photos, because they've done it so many times and know what people want to know. Yes, I really DO want to see that floor, and what all the cabinets look like INSIDE, and what the storage bins look like INSIDE. You just really CANNOT take too many photos of an RV - there are so many different things that photos can show, sometimes even better than looking at it in person, believe it or not. Because in person you get swept up with being in the rig, and the seller, be it private or dealer, will be talking to you and distracting you from really taking a close look. With photos, you can look all you want, and there's no one taking your attention from what you're seeing.

Of course, you can't SMELL through the photos, or REALLY feel what it's like to walk through that pass way, or shower in that shower, so seeing rigs in person is definitely valuable, too. Of course! And if you can manage to get a test drive, all the better, because driving comfort is SO important!

With my limited spoons, and actually seeing RVs in person being really really difficult on me (salesmen LOVE cologne! And used RVs tend to have lots of interesting smells - spending a day in them takes me out for a week), I have LOVED the internet options that are out there. We only go to look if there is a rig we're REALLY interested in - and of course when there is an RV show.

All of this looking around has given me an idea abut what rigs have floor plans we like, and has even let me know what we prefer. Going to an RV show and looking at different rigs also helped us feel a sense of the space and design to give us an idea of the type we want.

For us and our needs and comfort, it's a Fleetwood Bounder. I've been drawn to them from the beginning, not really knowing why. But closer inspection has given me allthereasons: the layout and design, the storage both inside and out (there's so much!). As diesel pushers go, this is the one that for our price range, seems to come closest to actually having full time living in mind when they were designed.

We already decided we want a diesel pusher. They can be more expensive to maintain, but they are also more durable and long-lasting and in our opinions, more suited to full-time living. The engine is in the back which makes the drive quieter (we can talk to each other without walkie-talkies!), and also adds to the ability to get up those hills. Diesel engines can last a million miles, so mileage on a used diesel, at least engine-wise, isn't very relevant. And they tend to have a much better resale value.

The features we find most important are:

~ door in front of rig, for maximum living room space
~ 2 slides, for more room when parked
~ counter space! what we love about the bounder is see up there? pull-out extra counter space! since we don't really eat out the kitchen is of utmost importance. I gotta have space for my Vitamix!
~ big fridge - this is something we could replace ourselves relatively easy, but man it would be great to have it already done for us
~ an oven. We don't do microwaves, and I don't know enough about convection microwaves to feel that they're safe (for us) to use. So I gotta have an oven.
~ washer/dryer or at least the space and hookups for them. Again, with my chemical sensitivity, is important to have our own.
~ ability to convert bed to King (almost no rigs in our price range come with a king bed, but most of them come with a queen and the modifiable space to upgrade it ourselves
~ big ol' closets in the BR (which can be converted to a bunk/play area for K)
~ enough extra closets in BR that converting the big closet won't lose all of our space for clothing
~ a good location for the flat-screen TV in the living room. In an RV where space is at a premium, it's difficult to find a good location for the TV. And given that ours is usually also hooked up to the gaming systems and HDD drive, we need space for those, too. Sometimes this might require some modification.
~ relative ease of converting carpet to wood floors. Bonus if this has already happened - it's rare, and something we expect to be doing ourselves. And by 'ourselves', I mean my husband will do it.

Then there are mechanical things as well, but inside, the space we will be living in, that is important space!
Mechanically we ask things like:

~ Have the recalls been fixed (there are a few recalls for this model and year - minor things that the dealerships fix for free, like fridges)
~ What type of generator and how many hours are on it (this should be included in the description but often isn't)
~ How old are the tires (they need replacing about every 10 years even with low miles because the UV rays can break them down - this might be changed if they were stored inside, but I don't really know)

We got a lot of great information about buying a used motorhome from the book "Buying a Used Motorhome" by Bill Myers 

Right now the Kindle edition is only $2.99! And it was so worth it! It gave us so much to think about that wouldn't have occurred to us had we just been figuring it out on our own.