Welcome to another Monthly Scoop post – June 2022 edition! While the month of June was LOADED full of wonderful, fun, yummy recipes (and some new and exciting things with KJ & Company!), it was also a very hard month personally in regards to my health. Let’s jump on in!

Monthly Happenings

KJ & Company Updates

Let’s start with the fun things happening around here at KJ & Company, shall we?

Something that I’ve dreamed of doing for awhile has been put into play here at KJ & Company – I hired a copy writer to help me write out all my blog posts! Now, I’m still developing the recipes and photos, but my amazing copy writer, Brittany, is taking the actual blog posts and bringing them to life! I absolutely LOVE the humor that she sprinkles in – I feel as though it really highlights who I am as a person and adds a pep into the step of the KJ & Company posts. Not going to lie – I don’t miss writing the posts one bit haha! It has always been my least favorite thing to do and not my personal forté, so bringing on Brittany who excels at it is a no brainer.

All of the June recipe blog posts were written by Brittany! So, you’ll need to go read them, giggle with them and give them some love! You’ll also notice that every blog post has a section that says “Why KJ Loves….” and that section will always be my own words, so you can’t completely get rid of me, haha!

What June recipe was your favorite? There’s so many yummy ones to choose from!

Monthly Happenings Continued…

Personal Updates

Now, onto the personal side of things – June was a hard month on many different levels.

To start things off, both John and I got sick at the beginning of the month. He had something along the lines of strep throat and I had a double ear infection. Which is also not the funnest way to celebrate your 8th wedding anniversary, but we made the best of it! 🙂

Back in January, I started experiencing some GI complications that I was supposed to have a procedure on to help get some answers. But, since I had a double ear infection, the procedure got postponed. Which then unfolds to everything that happened after that…

Since I had a double ear infection, I was put on an antibiotic. I’ve taken antibiotics in the past before with no problems, but that wasn’t the case this time around.

I ended up getting an infection from the antibiotic called “C Diff.” Now, I’ll spare you all the unfortunate details of what C Diff causes (if you want to know more about it, feel free to look it up on your own haha). Essentially, C Diff is when all the good bacteria in your gut gets wiped out and the bad bacteria takes control. Taking an antibiotic can unfortunately cause this.

I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy if I had one.

Before we knew what it was, we made the decision to go into the ER because of the severe abdominal pain and fever I was experiencing. At that point, I was also not able to keep any food or water in me, so I was definitely not doing well. They ended up doing several different tests and scans, but the C Diff test takes awhile to get results back. I was admitted and treated as though I was going to have a colonoscopy the next day to hopefully get some answers as to what was going on.

But, once the test results came back, all of that was cancelled and it just becomes the battle of getting the C Diff under control, managing the symptoms and trying to stay nourished. I spent a few nights in the hospital before I was sent home and ended up losing 14 pounds in a little over a week. One of the crazy things about C Diff? An antibiotic can cause you to get it, but the only way to get rid of it is to take a different, stronger antibiotic. Crazy, right? I was sent home with an antibiotic to take every 6 hours for 2 weeks. (PS: still didn’t get out of having to do a colonoscopy, though – have to go through all that in August!)

Another unfortunate side of C Diff is that is very contagious. The safety precautions that need to be taken are using a separate bathroom/shower, bleaching it after every use, using plastic plates, forks, cups etc., not preparing food, cleaning surfaces often and washing your hands like crazy. This had to be done during the 2 week time period of taking the antibiotic, and then was highly recommended to do for an extra week afterwards just to make sure. Not only is there the possibility of infecting others, but you can also re-infect yourself.

All of this to be said, this was not a physical battle for me, but a deep mental and spiritual battle. I’ve never felt so torn open and exposed of all my weaknesses. I am a germaphobe to begin with, so having this was one of the hardest things I have gone through. Fear ran deep. Fear of getting those I love sick. Fear of contracting it again. I felt like a walking, contaminated germ.

But God used it for His glory. I needed to be reminded of how deeply I need Him, and still need Him, to get through every day, hour and minute. I can’t do things by my own strength – only His strength, peace and comfort can guide me. I was left with no other personal strength option but to continually cry out to Him for His help. And He did. Our God is a good, amazing and faithful God. I’m crying as I write this because it is so humbling. God is so good. We are never, ever alone no matter what we face in life. There is no place, no circumstance or day that we are ever alone.

Paul David Tripp says it perfectly in his devotional New Morning Mercies:

“God knows what you too are facing. He sees well the brokenness that is all around you. He is not in a panic, wondering how he’ll ever pull off his plan with all these obstacles in the way. Don’t be discouraged. God has you exactly where he wants you. He knows just how he will use what makes you afraid in order to build your faith. He is not surprised by the troubles you face, and he surely has no intention of leaving you to face those things on your own. He stands with you in power, glory, goodness, wisdom and grace. He can defeat what you can’t, and he intends these troubles to be not enemies that finish you but tools of grace that transform you.” June 25

As of July 1st, I am officially out of my 3-week safety precaution time period and can start living normally! Not going to lie, that is hard as well to transition back into. Going from extreme cleaning precautions to being “normal’.

I can cook again…and we can actually eat it! Everything that I had to cook during that time period for work and client photographs had to be thrown away. I will officially be getting back into the kitchen “normally” this week!

I could not have done this month without my husband John and my family. They showed up in ways that make me want to cry again just thinking about it. They showed me pure love and understanding and helped me in ways that I will forever be thankful for.

Originally, I was going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to share this story. I was experiencing things on levels that I had never experienced before. Ultimately, and with the encouragement of John, I decided to share in hopes that my story can in some way help. Help those who are going through something similar to know that you are not alone and the feelings you are feeling are valid. That it’s okay to feel the fear – I pray and hope that you turn to God’s strength and goodness to help you overcome it.

Some More Monthly Happenings…

Even though there were so many hurdles and obstacles this past month, sprinkling in “normal life” things made me feel whole and like a human again. 

John and I started golfing together a lot and absolutely love it! It’s a great way for us to not only get outside, but spend really great intentional time together doing something fun. We’re hooked! 

My family also took us to a College World Series game which was so great to finally get to experience – we’ve never been even though its always been just an hour away! 

Spending lots of time out at the farm with the Ques and Amos filled our cups. And of course with our girls, Darbs and Char 🙂 Animals truly are a gift and blessing from God. It’s amazing to witness his love through them. 

June Recipes

June’s recipes were loaded full of fresh, fun Summer flavor! From easy & healthy weeknight meals, to perfectly sipp-able cocktails.  As always, I strived to create fun, delicious recipes with easily accessible ingredients that you feel comfortable making in your own kitchen. Click on your favorite recipe below and get to cookin’! If you make any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you! Shoot me an email, post a comment or share on social media tagging @kjandcompany or using #kjandcompany

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