Seasons of a Helpmeet

Dandelion Dust

2011-06-13T08:47:00.003-04:00

Isn’t it always the case that just when you say you’re not going to do something, you end up doing it? Or just when you feel you’ve reached a new plateau in your spiritual life, the LORD shows you how miserably you’ve failed? Praise the LORD for His faithfulness and love, for without it, I don’t know where I would be.

Much has taken place in our lives recently which has provoked spiritual evaluation and change within my heart. I’ve been challenged and my personal faith has been put to the test greater than I would have expected. Sometimes, no matter if the desire of my heart is right and my life motivations seems to be in the proper perspective, I will continue to be misunderstood by the best meaning Christians. And find it odd that those, well meaning people, though it may be in complete ignorance, have a way of standing by watching as you’re drowning physically and act as though there wasn’t anything spectacular about the occurrence once you’re dead. IS God there? Sure He is, and I do know it vividly. The blessing of having a relationship with Him is that, no matter what happens, God remains unchanged. His love is unconditional and I am able to rest in Him and know He loves me enough to continue to refine me. And through thick and thin, He is The One who orchestrates my life and may at times even change the hearts of people to do or not do a particular thing, even out of character for them, just to allow an opportunity to change my direction to where He desires me to be.

I’ve always felt myself hard to offend, but truth be told, it’s not so hard if the person hits that weak area that’s the (((GONG))) in your life. It’s after that offence that I’ve had a choice to make. To forgive and love with Christ’s power, or to allow bitterness to strike and wallow in my self pity. Yet in all of these events, God means it for good in our lives. Proverbs 18:19 comes to my mind. “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.” It’s easy for pride to get the better of me when I feel I’ve been “wronged,” yet it’s comes with great difficulty to push that pride away and love unconditionally even though I’ve been hurt deeply. I hate to see a vulnerability there, but I’m thankful the LORD is faithful in revealing it as I know that before the LORD I must choose not to be offended and love others even when I’ve been hurt or misjudged.

If there is one thing I do try not to do, it’s judge others falsely. It’s a downfall in many Christian lives. It’s so much quicker to judge a situation isn’t it? Often we don’t see the picture in its entirety. We put bits of a puzzle together and form our own conclusion based up how our deceitful heart judges the matter. The LORD smote my heart recently as I went out to grab a card and a few groceries at the store. A few weeks prior to going to Hallmark, I went to the local grocery store to purchase a few items. A particular cashier, who was pleasant, yet a bit awkward, was cashing me out. She is a hard worker, and I’ve purposely gone through her line just to try to be a blessing to her because the attitude of the customers was a bit annoyed that she was too friendly and taking a bit longer than they desired in checking out their groceries. Well, I’m not a frequent shopper to this particular grocery store so I’m not always there on a regular basis. When I went to Hallmark, I saw her working there. The first thought in my mind was, “Oh, yeah, she’s probably working here because she lost her job at the grocery store.” I chuckled in my mind and went home and thought nothing more about it. UNTIL…. I went back to the grocery store and found her STILL working there! The LORD slapped me in the face. Here I was judging this woman for losing her job when she was working TWO jobs just to make ends meet. Who was I to judge her? It just goes to show that sin isn’t always an outward action, but one that is often hidden in the heart that God must bring to the surface. Matthew 7:1 “Judge not, that ye be not judge.” As hard as I may try, the LORD knows the inward wickness in my soul. He sees it far more clearly than I, and I am thankful He continues to make me aware of it though humbling it may be. Proverbs 20:27 The spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

Gleaning the perspective that God has in everything is a true challenge to me. I desire it, and often I am able to capture it, but find that it is a learning experience. When I fail, it can be quite discouraging. This brings a childhood memory to mind of when I used to love to blow dandelion dust all over my father’s lawn. My Dad has always taken great care in providing a well groomed lawn. By this, I don’t mean un-weeded…. You see, here in the part of New York that we live, the weeds are such a big part of our grass, that if we killed them all, we’d have no grass. It’d be more profitable to kill the little bit of grass we have and let the weeds fill in the gaps. I’ve often said, if people only thought of weeds as comely as they do grass, we’d have the prettiest lawn out there! Well, I vividly remember waiting until the day the dandelions came to seed so that I could pick them all and blow dandelion dust all over and watch the wind carry it like confetti into the sky. My Dad wasn’t as keen on my anticipations as I was. It was a temptation I just couldn’t resist. What kid can? I don’t know a single one. Dad would come outside and say, “What are you doing blowing weeds all over my lawn? They’re going to be popping up everywhere?” And he was right. This in turn caused me to look upon Dandelions unfavorably. And what do I say when my kids pick them and do the same? “What are you doing blowing weeds all over my lawn?” – ugh.. Like father like daughter…. And so the chain continues.

I read an article recently that mentioned dandelions in reference to the New England area and how many property owners love dandelions. They will let their grass grow along with the dandelions anxiously awaiting the time they go to seed so that they mow it down, spreading the seeds, so that they can anticipate more dandelions prior to the next grass cutting. My initial thought was, “Wow, I really need to change my perspective on dandelions.” Are they weeds? Yes, the nasty buggers are true grass invaders that pop up within a day or two of the grass being mowed. Are they also something that God created for us to enjoy? Are they purposeless? - certainly not. Many Biblical truths and life’s lessons can be gleaned from their very presence. A variety of digestive health problems, liver, kidneys, spleen,e tc.., can be aleviated by their consumption.

They can represent sin in our lives and though we may trim them back to prevent an outward appearance, they are still beneath the surface reminding us and as fast as we may cut them back, that they will eventually rear their ugly heads no matter how diligent we are in trimming them.

Yet on the other hand, we can view them in a more positive way. They can be viewed as something beautiful that God created for us to enjoy. Have you ever sat in the middle of a big lawn or field and truly looked at the dandelions cascading the grass with their yellow buds? They really are beautiful. Everyone else may look at them as ugly weeds, but I don’t see them that way any longer. My perspective has changed and now I can think of all the uses God created dandelions for in our health. Sometimes we resist the lessons in life that God means for good; how He uses these lessons, even through what seems as a meaningless dandelion, as ways to refine us. If it wasn’t for the dandelions reminding us, we’d easily forget. When we view life (even dandelions) from God’s perspective….we can truly see the many blessings in store for us no matter how difficult it is or who might misjudge us. Our God is still present, faithfully stretching us and challenging us toward Righteousness.

A Blessing and A Curse

2011-02-13T09:10:00.005-05:00

For the past couple weeks we’ve been reading a variety of books to our kiddos throughout the day. The variety did not begin intentionally. I started a couple, and then my husband jumped in with his couple, and so now we are keeping up with four or five separate stories…. It’s amazing that our children have a hard time remembering their simple chores, but they have no problem separating the sequential details of four completely different stories. Well, one of the stories we recently finished isn’t necessary a spiritual one like most we read, yet there are several character building qualities to pull out from the lives of its characters. The book is called Bud and Me (the Abernathy boys). It’s more of an adventure that’s based on a true story. What my eldest son loves best is that it’s not only full of adventure, but it incorporates history within its pages as well. Anyway….this book has really brought us back in time to the early 1900’s when technology was beginning to develop more rapidly. Horses were being replaced with cars, machines were replacing handiwork, assembly line type businesses were springing up everywhere, etc… Here I’m reading a book …. Trying….. to step away from technology, trying to recapture the past….(as most the books we read are from the 17-1800’s) And the book is talking about the excitement of new technological advances. It makes me want to jump into the pages and tell them to hold onto those” horse and buggy days” and enjoy the life of the valuable “busy work” instead of wishing for all the new inventions to arrive. All the new inventions….. You don’t want them! They only fill your house with meaningless clutter and plague the mind when they break. The more I go back to the basic living, the more I resist new technology. I suppose I wouldn’t have been any different living in those times, but, looking back, it would be nice to drive behind a vehicle that didn’t exceed 30 miles an hour.

Why am I telling you this? Well, the LORD has been working in my heart regarding a relatively newer technology we all know as Facebook. As always, there are advantages, but also disadvantages to this newer technology. It has been a source of great encouragement to me to be able to keep in touch with some of my dearest friends. Other homeschooling moms have given tips or advice that has been invaluable. I’ve recently been blessed to come in contact with several priceless friendships I made while living in Israel. They encourage me, and I am reminded to pray for them often through the use of Facebook. Prayer is a big ministry of mine. It always has been. Most people see me as a leader. I have the ability to lead things and take charge when necessary. It’s not a problem, but it’s definitely not where I prefer to be. I’m a behind the scenes person at heart. Facebook has really opened my eyes to the needs of many. The LORD I know has used Facebook despite of its many imbalances.

I have struggled and taken a step away from Facebook due to the many Spirit grieving, heartless people who claim to be “friends” and “Christians”. There are some days I wish I didn’t know what my eyes forced me to capture regarding a family or person. I’d rather be ignorant to it. I do try to always give them the benefit of the doubt, but each time I am confirmed by their actions that they indeed have lowered their standards for whatever reason and don’t mind broadcasting the filth to encourage others in the same direction. I am tired, very very tired, of watching what I thought were good Christian friends and families throw their lives away and their children to the wind. My heart is extremely grieved to see this day in and day out. I would take it upon myself to approach them in love, but from what I’m seeing, my day would be spent in accomplishing nothing else and my own family’s needs would suffer. Am I better than they? No.. I am vulnerable just the same.

It just seems that within the past year I have seen some major changes. Necklines on many of my lady friends have dropped considerably low…. And low enough to where modesty is definitely an issue. There is no shame in broadcasting their immodesty either. Why hold a standard all these years and then throw it out the window? The type of music many of my Christian friends listen to is absolutely repulsive! I won’t even go into the various ways I see their justification in this area. And what really grieves my heart are the parents who complain about their kids. I’ve seen complaints about them being a nuisance during the summer months because they are home or because they are home due to snow, sickness etc…. Let me tell you! You go ahead a have this attitude with your kids, they aren’t stupid, and just maybe they’ll have the same kind of attitude when you’re old and decrepit and need them to take care of you. These are precious, precious years you have with your little ones, Folks. There are many couples (yes, on facebook) who are hurting terribly because they aren’t able to have a child of their own. I can only imagine how your status makes them feel. Take the time you have, inconvenience yourself, drop your career, your housework, your computer, your little hobbies- TURN OFF or better yet get rid of the TV and MOVIES and pour your life into your children. They will never know God if you never take the time to shape their heart and mind moment by moment in all of your daily life experiences.

At this time, I am very thankful that Facebook allows me to block the status of those who greatly discourage me. I’ve wanted to “unfriend” many, but see that this is a wrong approach. To those who really don’t care about me, do me a favor and “unfriend” me. I’m not one of those who places another notch on my belt whenever my “friend list” increases.

Facebook also seems to be one of those annoying addictions that plague me at times. I evaluate myself and wonder why I want to know what is going on in everyone’s life. Am I secretly trying to convince myself that I’m not nosy, or do I really care for all of these individuals? My husband will tease me and say that I have” major OCD”, but I have always recognized my insane desire to tend toward this way in several areas that I fight becoming addicted to anything. I know I could be addicted to coffee and sugar if given the opportunity. I HATE feeling as though I am dependent on anything other than God’s Word to keep me going through the day. The pages of God’s precious Word and my family need to be my addiction, and Facebook has drawn me a bit away from their needs at times. And so I am stepping back from its influence for fear it may be an element of accountability before the LORD.

I love to help other people and enjoy praying for the needs of others very much. Facebook gives a great outlet for these areas of ministry. Yet, recently, I have been overwhelmed with the time spent in being that help to others and prayer warrior. I guess when I see needs in other people, I can’t just shake it off and place it in the back of my mind without praying fervently. Maybe it’s selfish, but I am just overwhelmed spiritually with the needs of many people right now that I really can’t physically or spiritually handle any more heartache in my life right now. I need to focus on the needs I am currently praying for and do my very best as a friend to pray continually for the friends who need me most. God wants us to share in the burdens of others and pray for them as though we’d desire them to pray for us in time of need. But when there are so many needs, I find myself in a prayerful depression and this too begins to affect me and how I respond to my family. Maybe I’m just not spiritual enough to handle it or maybe God never designed us to have such information at a short glance. Either way a step back is what is best for me right now.

Last, I am ashamed at how I have allowed the comments of others to infuriate me. It really is an area of weakness. If I am intending to help someone and a backstabbing comment from someone is presented for all to see, or I see that an already hurting friend has had to be subjected to a very insensitive comment, it boils my blood! I want to fight for truth, and I find it very difficult not to(at least mentally) lop their head off in a kind way using my own destructive words – which isn’t any better. I am classic for having the right position but holding the wrong disposition. It seems like a genetic downfall passed from my grandmother, father, me and now my son. It is sinful and it’s a weakness I must recognize and not allow to be fed. But I must say that the unkind words that proceed from the mouth of people who claim to be Christians make me nauseated. They feel that they can flippantly use discrediting and destructive words and fail to see they are held accountable by The One who sees ALL – Our Father in Heaven. Boy do I know who my real friends are and who my “real” friends aren’t. If I deactivated my account for a while, I can safely assume that 3/4ths of my “so called friends” would never know that I am missing. I'm finding that this world is full of selfish people who care nothing but their immediate needs and wants and no one else unless it makes for “good gossip”. People that I believed to be, at one time, mature Christians, proved otherwise. It’s as though I don’t know whom I can trust. I don’t want to be sucked into this type of mentality. I don’t want to justify selfish, insensitive behavior. I want to be a true friend that people can feel they trust. Facebook is just another book that is being placed back on the shelf right now.

For those friends that may need insignificant me, I’m still here. Feel free to phone, email or message me. I have disabled my email to receive comments on my wall, pictures, posts, etc…

All Natural Chips That Aren't Horrible For You!

2011-01-19T11:58:00.004-05:00

Often I am asked what "snacks" we give our kids. We try hard to stay away from processed anything, but it's not easy- in our day and age, it's nearly impossible. I don't know about you, but even with our family's diet primarily containing whole foods and Mommy being the one who prepares most of the food from scratch, it sure is nice to find some convenience food out there to throw at your kids on a hectic day or until you can finish preparing a meal- so that you're not hearing, " MOM, WE'RE HUNGRY!" a thousand times. My family enjoys "CHIPS". No matter how many times we try to get around taking them OUT of our diet, there they are again! When we changed our diet, we used Lay's Chips as the original brand contains no preservatives or additives. We quickly realized that the corn oil they are cooked in is most likely genetically modified, seeing that 90% of corn in the US is genetically modified. There are potatoes that are genetically modified on the market, and we didn't want to take the chance any longer in buying these chips.

Well, for the past couple years, we've been buying a brand of chips called "Food Should Taste Good". They are gluten free, certified vegan, kosher, cholesterol free, low sodium, NON GMO, all natural, contain NO artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, and NO MSG or trans fats. I certainly wouldn't rely on them nutritionally as they are processed, but it's a relief now a day to find anything processed that's both affordable and doesn't contain ingredients that will lead to a sure death down the long term road. In our area, we can find them at our local Wegman's store and BJ's wholesale Club. Outside the area, you can shop online at www.vitacost.com (and other nutritional sites) and buy them in bulk. We love the Sweet Potato and cheddar cheese flavors the best, but they have a variety out there.

Other quick, favorite snacks that we enjoy......Organic plain yogurt (sometimes topped with a little organic granola), ants on a log (peanut butter and raisins on top of celery), Snap peas, Homemade kefir, carrots, occasionally organic granola bars, organic popcorn (popped with organic coconut oil), a glass of raw milk, homemade, all natural bread (minus refined sugars and white flour), fresh fruit of any kind, frozen fruit in the summer months (makes a good alternative to Popsicles), etc...

ENJOY!

Life Changes

2011-01-14T13:30:00.006-05:00

What a glorious transformation has been made in our family life these recent weeks since Daddy has been blessed with a new, first shift work schedule. It's truly been a long and hard 7 years of late or third shift. There were too many late nights for us as parents and far too many insanely rushed mornings trying to fix three meals prior to his departure, that I just didn't have the time to dedicate in building some of those precious unique ties with our kids that required patience and lots of extra time.

I must admit that I am a "night owl" (shhhhh!) ;) I hate waking up in the morning. I cannot tell you how long it's been since I've gone to bed before 8:30pm. I was probably in grade school. That saying about "Early to bed, early to rise, makes one healthy, wealthy and wise..... " ..... well, it's so very true. It's wonderful to wake up before the birds and have "real" quite time with my LORD.

I feel overwhelmingly blessed with the husband God has given me. He works incredibly hard to provide for our family. He took a pay cut in order to take the first opportunity he had in eight years to be on a first shift schedule. I don't even think the financial aspect has even phased either of us because we know this is something we have been praying about for a very long time. It's worth every sacrifice, and we have seen and been overwhelmed by the LORD'S provision for our family in the past that we know our God is consistently faithful in His provision of all of our needs physically and spiritual. Praise the LORD for his goodness to our family. God designed our bodies to be on a first shift schedule and we are reaping the benefits and loving it!

Our life has changed drastically and for the good. There were many areas that I as a wife had to let go because my family and maintaining joy in the home was much more important and of greater eternal value. Now I'm playing catch up, but these "things" will be done eventually. I cannot express the joy it gives me to be able to have my husband's work clothes ironed and placed on hangers for 3 weeks in advance. He has always been wonderful about doing the majority of ironing of his clothes, but I have always hated giving him that chore because I've always wanted him to know and see how important he is to me. I've always desired to place his needs even before my children's but that isn't always possible- especially on a late shift schedule. I feel that I can be a more complete help meet to my husband once again. It is greatly refreshing and encouraging. I am also now able to spend a ton of time reading to my little ones. We've invested and are still investing in two series of 1800's character building books. We average about 1 to 1 1/2 books a week. They just can't get enough of them. One of the series we really enjoy is the Lamplighter books from Lamplighter Publishing Company. We've been able to take more time to play wholesome games with our kids and spend more time as a family. The little things like teaching my little 3 year old how to peel an orange today was such a treat. Meal time was something I just didn't have time to let them cook and help as I had to hurry and didn't want them to be hurt in the process. Now I am able to allow them to be more involved. Bryan is now able to go to church with us on Thursday nights too. What a relief! Our kids are so delighted to have him home at night to bring them to church and to tuck them in their beds. They always sleep better knowing their Daddy is home.

This all seems like a dream or an extended life vacation somehow.... I don't know how I ever managed for so long on the other schedule. What a huge relief!

Breakfast Shake

2010-12-22T07:00:00.003-05:00

Our family has struggled for years to find a convenient, yet healthy and affordable, solution for our breakfast meal. We have finally come up with a breakfast shake that we all love and one that is nutritious, healthy and without any refined sugars.

As a newly married couple, we noticed the sugar content in most cereals and switched over to a more healthier option. We later learned of the dangers of consuming non-soaked grains in high quantities and the many gluten allergies a vast majority of people are developing now days. We then began to buy steel cut oats (oats in a raw form that are only cut), and would soak them overnight in whey or a bit of lemon juice and water. My body was not digesting the oats very well, and I most often would skip breakfast due to this fact. Nutritionally I was suffering as we were purchasing all natural food, but could only afford to do so in smaller quantities. This shake has truly provided more energy for my husband and I, and it does hold us well until lunch time.

Our SOLUTION:

We bought a used Vitamix Blender and looked at the nutritional content of some of the more healthier whey protein shakes mixes on the market. Dr. Mercola has a wonderful mix that uses raw milk. Unfortunately, it would bankrupt our family if we wanted each one of our family members to benefit from it on a daily basis. So, we put our own together. My only drawback is that it does contain vegetables and fruits together. This isn't the preferred way as the two are digested at different rates, but all I can say is that it has made a huge difference in all of our health and in avoiding sickness already this season.

Holm's Health Shake

2 1/2 Cups of - Raw Milk
2-3 Raw/free range/ organic - Eggs
1TBS of Golden Flax seed
3/4 to 1 tsp - Raw/organic Cacao powder
2 medium handfuls - organic Spinach (about 3 cups)
1 organic - banana
1/2 medium carrot (optional)
3/4 cup - frozen blueberries (strawberries make a great alternative to change it up)
1 cup - ice

*Blend together for about 45 seconds to a minute and enjoy

For those who enjoy nuts (I'm allergic :( - add your favorite nuts and enjoy even more flavor.

This shake is PACKED with Nutrients! Best of all, our kids love, LOVE, LOVE it!

You may notice the ingredient "RAW EGGS". Yes, raw eggs! They provide a great deal MORE nutrition than a cooked egg. Heat alters the nutritional value in the egg and virtually destroys the natural enzymes necessary for our body to assimilate it properly. Scientists are now wondering if this is what contributes to one developing food allergies. Raw eggs contain High Quality healthy fats (Omega 6's) and protein that is essential for every good diet. They also contain minerals- Calcium and Zinc and provide vitamins such as A, E, D, K, B, B6, and B12.

There is a HUGE scare regarding Salmonella in connection with eggs. If I were eating store bought eggs that were produced in cramped chicken pens full of hundreds of thousands of chickens that poop all over each other and are only known to be sick when the farmer finds them dead, I would continue to cook raw eggs. There are eggs in the stores now and many local farmers take special care to allow their chickens to be free-range. Free Range essentially means the chickens are not shoved in a small pen with nowhere to move. They have a large space outside that allows them to move. They are able to eat the bugs from the ground which enables them to produce higher quality protein in their eggs. The are also much more easily checked for illness by the farmer. The risks of Salmonella poisoning are minimal. A healthy body will be able to fight salmonella quite easily.

RAW MILK is another "questionable ingredient" to some. I will do my best to expound on it another day, but like the eggs, it provides a higher quality product that is easier for our body to utilize. Heat also damages the nutritional value in milk along with the enzymes that we need to help in digestion.

All in all, I can say that in the course of a year, our family of five has not suffered negatively from raw milk or raw eggs. We have only benefited from the value of eating them raw.

Raw food is really the best if you are looking to gain the most nutritional value. Even meat! I admit I haven't come so far as to eat raw meat, but I've known my father to eat raw beef when I was a child and it didn't kill him. Raw meat is not an American custom that's for sure, and the way the farmers raise their animals dictates us to cook our meat and cook it well. I purchase from a local farmer who is all natural. We also cook our meat very slowly on a lower temperature for a bit longer to ensure we are gaining the best nutritional qualities. I was surprised to find that with the all natural meat that we buy, my body is better able to metabolize it better. From a small child, I have never been known to eat much of any meat. I just never felt well from eating it. Well, I am able to eat it without any or very little problem now as a result.

Raw vegetables are what everyone should be eating. If I've learned one thing from eating all natural, it's to eat vegetables raw and plenty of them. We try to eat a fresh salad EVERY day in our home. Snacks include more raw vegetables. I only steam the baby's veggies and process them in our Vitamix.

For those of you interested in considering a change in diet this year, my suggestion is to "THINK RAW". It will make a world of difference in your health.

Using Doctors as the "alternative" in medicine

2010-09-30T18:52:00.003-04:00

In the checkout line at the grocery store a few weeks ago, I met a man and his wife who were confidently placing their highly processed food items onto the conveyor belt. In the course of the wait, they commented on some of my unusual food items. I shared a "bit of truth" as I call it about the items. This elicited more conversation, which turned into an inviting discussion regarding natural medicine. He and his wife were so intrigued that they followed me to the parking lot, asking various questions and listening intently for my reply. This may be a common happening in the South, but in New York, I assure you that this type of adventure was a rarity. Within a matter of minutes, the man, along with the cashier, was convinced that a natural source was the better option for treating their ailing body - WHY? because it made GOOD LOGICAL SENSE. The man started thinking about what he had purchased and what was actually contained within the packages. He made the statement, "You know, I've learned more in a short conversation with you than I have from my doctor in all of my life." He then asked the question, "Why don't doctors use herbs as their method of healing?"

This question gave me the opportunity to share another "Bit of Truth" in regard to the Great Physician. You see, the key difference between herbs and traditional medicine is the means in which one places his confidence in healing the body. The medical field places their confidence in MAN and his knowledge and ability. Is some of this knowledge useful - YES! Is God limited to natural medicine? - No! I do not disagree that there is a place for the medical field, but I believe, in general, the medical field is doing much harm in their treatments because of where they place their confidence.

For those who see the value in natural medicine and herbs, the one who must be credited with aiding the healing of the body is GOD. Yes, many decide to credit "Mother Nature" and reject GOD, but in using the tools GOD created specifically to aid in healing the body, I believe one must deliberately REJECT God in the process. God designed our bodies. He created plants, food, herbs to provide nutrition and to aid in restoring the body. From the beginning of time, our world was able to survive without the use of traditional medicines, vaccinations, hospitals and medical equipment. They would like to allow people to think that we are "evolving" into a better world; that we are getting better, living longer..... When this is not true. There is more disease in this world than there ever was, and our lives are drastically shortened in comparison to the lifespan of those in Genesis.

Do we have technologies now that were not available then? Certainly, but does new technology prove that we are smarter or more advanced? It is more than likely the opposite is true. People in Genesis lived longer and didn't rely on advancing medical technology to sustain their life. I believe they applied much more wisdom in caring for their bodies than we do today. They ate nutritious whole foods and used the plants and herbs in amazing ways to heal their bodies. Their technology truly was far more advanced than ours is today. They didn't need an MRI to know that they had a compromise in their body somewhere. They were able to detect such problems much earlier by using touch and their ability to identify a compromise by vague symptoms that most people today ignore. They understood the way GOD designed the body, and they knew how to use the herbs He provided to heal the body. They didn't need a doctor. Basic herb knowledge can take someone very far in treating common illnesses. The doctors then used herbs as their primary source of healing, and they were very effective - otherwise WE wouldn't be here. The information was handed down from generation to generation, and doctors were often used in treating more advancing illness as they had more experience with a variety of treatments. Often doctors were there as an "extra body" to help the family in treating a serious condition.

God is in control of life. He is the "Deciding Factor" in who lives and who dies at any given time. I would much rather place my confidence in the God who is the Sustainer of Life than a group of doctors who believe we were once a bunch of monkeys.

Hey, take your pick. Many who read this may not have considered this perspective. I too was ignorant of the benefits of natural medicine. My advice is to not wait until you or your children or family members become so ill in health that doctors have no or limited ways to help you. Thousands of years before our time, people where treated naturally at home. Doctors were the "ALTERNATIVE" in medicine. If a doctor was needed, the condition was considered quite serious. Now doctors are the first source sought whenever there is even a mild illness. Our health care costs would decrease immensely if many parents would simply keep their children home and many adults would stay home during illness.

All our children are seen for check-up visits, But I ask you, is it "just" that we must pay an ADDITIONAL $1,200 this year in premiums and not gain any more benefit due largely to those who abuse their doctor when it is not necessary? If we are able to count on one hand the amount of "sick" visits we've had with three children in a period of almost six years, then, tell me others cannot do the same. We aren't any more special than anyone else. We also become sick. We have compromises in our own bodies; we are just able to handle 99% of what we encounter at home.

Pictured above is a GREAT resource for those who desire to read a good, down to earth, perspective on natural medicine. It is geared primarily in treating children, but it also gives a great overview on how herbs work and almost all of it can be applied to adults with the same, positive results.

Fever - Friend? or Foe?

2010-09-01T22:36:00.010-04:00

When the body becomes compromised in illness or infection, something called "a fever" presents itself quite vividly. It is a common panic of most mothers and a sheer dread for all of its victims, yet it is the fever that God designed specifically to be a "friend" in aiding the healing of the body, not a "foe" as most relate.

"A friend" you ask? Yes! "And how may I ask is it a friend?" Well, I'm GLAD you asked. When a fever is present, the medical profession will usually recognize a specific illness or infection. Their treatment for the fever is almost universally the same - "Just pop an Ibuprofen or Tylenol (or something of the like) every four to six hours ( usually in addition to an antibiotic) and you'll be fine." Fine? This is hardly the true story.

Particularly in children (adults are by far NOT excluded), there can be damaging results from the use of fever reducers. Damaging results are a potential for anyone after just one ingested recommended dose level. Fever reducers actually WORK AGAINST the body in the healing process. They may reduce a fever (or HIDE symptoms), but they are damaging to the kidneys/liver, they create toxins within the body, and put stress on an already weakened immune system. All this information given is readily available, even within the medical realm, if you desire to research. When approached, doctors (those who are honest) cannot deny that this is true.

Fevers are God's natural way for the body to fight illness and infection safely. So what do you do when you have a fever? Well, you do the "unthinkable," YOU LET IT RUN ITS COURSE! Why? You do this because it's the body's strongest infection fighter and immune system builder, and by administering drugs, you are taking away the body's natural defense mechanism ,causing the body to be further compromised. The increase in body temperature allows the unwelcomed bacteria to be destroyed and yet allows the healthy bacteria to thrive and overcome the negative bacteria. By reducing the fever with medicine, one is essentially allowing the negative bacteria to linger and the drugs to clog the liver and kidneys which aid in filtering out toxins in the body. The liver and kidneys cannot perform their designed job of flushing the body of infection or negative bacteria effectively when they are too busy filtering out chemicals and toxins from medication that has been administered every four to six hours. Most assuredly the illness will last much longer and have danger of complication when fever reducers are in use.

Are there times that fevers need fever reducers? Maybe.... But from personal experience, if a fever is treated properly and timely, it should not need a fever reducer. As of almost six and a half years of marriage, there hasn't been ONE fever out of five family members that has not been treated and broken with the use of herbs. Herbs? Yes, HERBS! Those weird and often hideous looking things that grow all around that are cut down by lawnmowers everywhere and not utilized. Why? Because many people are ignorant to the fact that they have great value medically.

With the use of herbs and a few other natural techniques, it is very possible to reduce a very high fever instantly by 2-3 degrees. It's not as easy of a task as popping a pill and going to sleep, but the benefits are far more rewarding to the body.

Pictured above is our oldest son when he had a 104 degree temperature at barely one year of age. He went into a fever induced seizure, which definitely scared us. We took him to the doctor, and she told us he had a severe ear infection. She prescribed an antibiotic and fever reducer every 4 hours. We went home. I gave him 1/5th the dose of Tylenol because of my fear. I refused to give him antibiotics. I decided to take him for a second opinion. I didn't tell the doctor of the previous doctor's diagnosis. He found NO ear infection. It was simply a VIRUS that caused the fever. We took him home, treated him with herbs and within two days he was fever free! Was I watchful of him and how his body was handling the illness? MOST Certainly! Did I notice improvement each day? YES! Otherwise I would have had him in the doctor's office for more evaluation.

Do you often wonder why your children become sick frequently and/or take a long time to recover from illness? Do you find yourself resorting to antibiotics? Well, one reason may just be the simple fact that you are not allowing the body to aid itself in healing by using its friend, "The Fever."

Some natural fever reducers when a fever is too high or uncomfortable:

1. Water - Lots of extra fluids should be given to aid in flushing the body; a bath can help bring down the temperature and comfort the patient.

2. Herbs : Several different herbs can be used to reduce and aid fevers. Here are just a few:

Yarrow, feverfew, white willow, peppermint, lavender, catnip, aloe vera, and more

3. Encourage the body to eliminate waste - drinking fluids, taking herbs for digestion, using Aloe. - when we are sick, the more we are able to eliminate, the faster we will heal as the body rids toxins, bacteria, etc.. through waste.

4. Vinegar - rubbed onto the feet

5. CST - Crainosacral Therapy.... if you are able to find a simple class in CST. You can utilize it to help reduce fevers quite rapidly.

Salad Dressings - made at home

2010-03-17T22:28:00.003-04:00

One of the common hidden expenses in our food budget happens when we stroll down the condiment aisle in the grocery store. I am as much of a guilty party as anyone else. For the past two years, I have limited our condiments, and for a long while now I do not buy any condiment that contains preservatives.

We eat a fresh salad almost every day in our home. When we were first married, we used to buy salad dressings. They weren't too expensive with just the two of us, BUT now that there are five of us, the salad dressings (especially organic all natural ones ) are too costly for us to buy. Most salad dressings are absolutely horrible for the body and negate most of the nutritional quality in the salad as all the chemicals, preservatives, dyes,sugars, etc.. cause the liver to work extra hard in eliminating the junk that it's not allowing the body to utilize all the wonderful good the salad offers. I guess you could say the body is "overworked and underpaid".

We make our own simple salad dressings at home, and it definitely has given us more room in our budget for more healthy food options. Here are two recipes that I use and that everyone seems to love. I changed the second recipe to make it more healthy for our family.

Our Family's Italian dressing:

Since it's been passed down to me, I don' t have the measurements, I eye it by the size of the salad. Here are the ingredients:

* Favorite Salad oil (canola tastes the best) we switch with this and EV olive oil

* White Vinegar

* Sea Salt

* Peppercorn Pepper (leave out if you don' t like it - will still taste great)

* Garlic powder

* Onion powder

* Fresh Parmesan cheese

Directions: Season salad to your liking; pour a good amt of oil over salad (should be enough to coat salad but not drown it); next - pour the vinegar on (about half the amt of oil); sprinkle some fresh Parmesan cheese on top, toss and you're done!

Easy as that! And it costs pennies to make!

This other recipe was given to me by a good friend of the family who died of cancer. She was an amazing cook and gave me this recipe long before I was even married.

French Dressing:

Ingredients:

*Favorite salad oil

*3/4 C white sugar (we substitute with agave nectar)

1 can of Campbell's Tomato Soup (I use an all natural preservative free kind or make my own from organic tomato paste)

*Dash of paprika or more

*1 tsp sea salt

* 1 tsp dry mustard

* 1 tsp celery seed

* 1 clove garlic

Directions : Mix, shake well, let stand overnight, then refrigerate. It keeps well.

Three Blessings

2010-03-08T22:49:00.009-05:00

This is Ethan. He is our "Gentle Giant" as his Grandpa calls him. He is a sweetheart and a loveable boy. He has two serious neurological conditions, but they haven't stopped him from developing, Praise the LORD! He was just recently potty trained. We are so excited as most kids with only half his condition don't even start potty training until they are five. He is still two and is even dry through the night time. This picture really is our true EJ. He's so proud to wear big boy underwear! :)

This is Levi. He is turning 5 tomorrow. He loves to dress up. There is rarely a time he doesn't have at least one piece of a costume on his body. He is my greatest challenge, but also one of my greatest blessings. Here he is playing cowboy even in his pj's.

Our sweet Aletheia! She is definitely our little joy bug. She is Daddy's little girl. I think she likes him more than she likes me. When she does have a fussy moment, Daddy is the best one to calm her. She is a dream baby. She sleeps all night and is content most of the day. It's so fun to have pink in the house this time!

Frugal all natural hand sanitizer

2010-03-08T22:21:00.006-05:00

Sooooooooooooooo are you tired of dry hands, the wafting smell of alcohol, and the expense of buying hand sanitizer???? I know for our family it seems like, when we need it, we are either out or we forgot to bring it with us.

Well, we have changed over our hand sanitizer to something new, all natural and cheap! Plus, we don't have to forget to buy it or wonder if we have any on hand as the purchase of two small bottles and some water is all we need. I purchased several small spray bottles, varying in different sizes for different purposes. I carry a smaller one in my purse and a medium size one in the diaper bag. I also use them now in cleaning some parts of our home.

Ready for the secret?????? Well, it's nothing too miraculous, but it works great. It's a combination of Lavender oil and Tea tree oil diluted in spring or distilled water. For small to medium bottles I put one drop of each and shake it up. For large I put two drops of each and shake. The lavender and tea tree oil are a natural germ fighter, an acti-bacterial,anti-microbial, anti-fungal cleanser. It's amazing how well it works! We've been using it whenever we've been out and with all the sickness going around here, we should have picked something up in the past two months. I give it a good shake and spray once on our hands and we rub them together. We also use it in diaper changing. No more dry hands! AND...... it costs about $ 25 a year including water! Great deal!

Also, lavender and tea tree oil, support the immune system not break it down like alcohol and the other chemicals in the hand sanitizers. You are virtually doing more harm than good in using them as they kill not only the bad bacteria but also the good, stripping the immune system of its defence mechanisms. If you feel better sticking with the hand sanitizers, save your money, because they are only doing you good mentally. You will most likely eventually get whatever illness going around due to the fact that your constantly breaking down your immune system with the chemical hand sanitizer.

We also buy tea tree oil soap to wash our hands with at the bathroom and kitchen sinks, and I just washed my floors for the first time with a tea tree oil soap - as soon our little munchkin will start to crawl and I want to be ready with a clean floor!

Coconut Oil - The best cooking oil

2010-03-08T21:49:00.002-05:00

About four months ago, our family made the decision to switch our cooking oils. We used to always use organic extra virgin olive oil until we discovered the hidden danger of cooking with it.

Ideally, it would be best if we could eat our foods raw, but I just haven't reached that point. I'm not sure if I ever will. I just don't find it pleasant to chew on a raw potato, nor do I have time to do it while I'm managing all the other fires in life. The KEY here is using oil for COOKING. I'm not inferring that extra virgin olive oil is not good. I'm just saying it is not the best choice in oils when using it with heating foods. We use olive oil on our salad almost every day.

Coconut oil is virtually the only oil (that I know of) that is safe to eat after it has been heated. When any other oil is heated, it releases toxins into the food that we eat. Coconut oil is the only oil that releases a very minimal amount into our food. It is the safest oil out there and it is great for our bodies. I could go on and on.. Here are some benefits of coconut oil that I found on www.drmercola.com . We use several of his products and many of his health suggestions in our life and we have benefited from his advice on numerous occasions. Feel free to search his website for some great articles on coconut oil. It really is amazing. It's too long for me to post.

Benefits of Coconut Oil:

*promotes a healthy heart
*promotes weight loss
*supports the immune system
*supports a healthy metabolism
*provides you with and immediate energy source
*helps keep skin healthy and youthful
*supports the proper function of the thyroid gland

*it can be used as a lotion
*it will improve elasticity in skin
*it can be used as an eye makeup remover
*it can be used in shaving applications

More..........Lifestyle Changes

2010-03-03T22:19:00.004-05:00

Here is my big boy, Levi, happily eating his organic spaghetti and salad. He ate it all too - along with his brother, who finished before him :)

Some may call it a "New Years Resolution", but I suppose it was more of a "Lifestyle Resolution" for us since January was here. My husband and I decided recently that it was a good time for an additional lifestyle change. For the past 5 1/2 years, my husband and I have been making changes to our health and diet little by little as we were able to afford them and physically handle them. We are on our seventh week of eating and living as all natural as affordable - no preservatives, no dyes, no chemicals, extremely minimal processed foods (even if they are all natural), and cutting out the refined sugars, soaking all of our grains and beans, eating as much organic meat and organic vegetables and fruits as affordable, and switching over skin care products as well.

Why??? - Well, I have personally been plagued with what I believe to be a candida overgrowth in my body. I am doing a million times better, but not too long ago, I suffered from indescribable pain that would put most people in the hospital with a morphine drip. I praise the LORD that He has given me an extremely high tolerance for pain. Yet, I can say that it is so very difficult to be the person I desire to be as a wife, mom and in ministering to others when my body is in a constant state of pain.

I've spent this time of "blog sabbatical" ;) in researching and applying everything I know to be the best in promoting a healthy lifestyle for our entire family. My husband has been a great help in supporting this. He is convinced too that this is what is truly necessary.

How do we afford it? Well, we sacrifice in areas most wouldn't. We also eat less but better. We've cut our meats down to about three times a week and increased our vegetables.

This may sound extreme for most of you out there. I wish I could see it as being extreme, but with what I've been through and the digestive disorders and immune system diseases out there now, I'm not willing to risk it any longer. I'm tired of companies putting junk in my food and I refuse to buy it on a regular basis any longer. We all have seen an improvement in our health these past seven weeks.

I continue to struggle with my sugar addiction off and on, but I refuse to give into it any longer. I set a time, maybe once every week or every two weeks, where I look forward to having a treat, but I don't over indulge. I used to never have an addiction for sugar,and recently I have been convicted about this newer habit. I was craving sugary things and even if I didn't eat them, I'd resort to eating too many fruits to satisfy my craving. I was allowing the sugar to control me. So, I got rid of it. I decided to say no to my flesh.

With the LORD'S strength, I'm going to lick this habit. I'm in the process of loosing unnecessary weight and exercising to help my body to feel better physically. Seven pounds gone and about 18 more to go. Cheer me on! I'm going to win back my old wardrobe.

Cloth Menstrual Pads

2009-12-16T22:27:00.000-05:00

Okay, I know many of you ladies are going to have the same negative first impression I did when introduced to the idea of cloth menstrual pads. Seriously, as natural as I am, my immediate thought was "YUCK!- absolutely NOT!" BUT........ after trying them, my opinion has changed drastically. Now some people just can't deal with body secretions of any kind. So this may not be for you. I deal with "P" double "O" "P" everyday. So it's no biggie for me.

I decided to try some for the first time after Aletheia was born. The instant I put them on, I was SOLD! Sooooo SOOOOO comfortable! They truly are absorbent as well. Naturally they would have to be changed more often, but they fold up nicely and slip into a Ziploc bag in your purse. The one in the picture is called "Knickernappies" - although there are several brands to choose from and if you're really ambitious, you can make your own. There are ones that are organic and have more natural fibers than knickenappies. They have a small pad that snaps into the liner and then a larger one snaps over the top for heavier days. I purchased mine at Snootybootydiapers.com. She has a fair price and I am able to build up points toward money off of other merchandise she sells.

Disposable sanitary pads and or tampons have many hidden dangers to them. They have been linked to causing hormonal problems, infertility, cervical cancer, womb tumors, endometriosis and more.... I know it is more convenient now to turn a blind eye to this, but this is more serious than you might think.

The manufacturers of these products are putting asbestos in them. Why? - because asbestos encourages the body to bleed. More bleeding = more use of the product, which = more revenue for the company. Isn't that lovely? We are being harmed for the sake of lining the pockets of these rich companies. ARGH! Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and these companies don't care.

Other chemicals include chlorine, dioxin, and the use of synthetic material rayon. Dioxin is used in tampons and is also a cancer causing agent. The rayon is highly absorbent and increases the toxic affects of dioxin as well as the chances of TSS and or a staph infection.

The reason why the EPA hasn't pulled them off the market is because they say these chemicals are only harmful over a long period of constant exposure. So I guess 6-8 sanitary pads or tampons a day for one week each month for 30-40 menstruating years isn't considered a "long period of constant exposure".

Cloth menstrual pads are not the only option. There are safer options available. Here are a few companies that offer a safer solution - Organic Essentials 1-800-765-6491 and Terra Femme 1800-755-0212, and Naturacare. If you want to further advocate, write or call the many sanitary pad companies and voice your opinion. As they say, "Money talks" - so if there are enough people switching and voicing their opinion, the companies will be force to change.

There is also another interesting option that I might try (even though I have never been a tampon user). It's called the menstrual cup. There are several companies that make them (moon cup /Diva cup). It is a cup that is inserted and collects about an ounce of liquid before it must be emptied. Sounds a bit gross to me too, but it is more natural and can save a bundle of money and time in washing (for those who use cloth). If you're interested, go to www.iherb.com and use the coupon code MUT703 to get $5 off for a total of a little over $21 dollars. This is a great price.

Well there is one thing I must say..... with all of this cloth diapering and cloth pad business, I better start looking on Craigslist for a more reliable washer and dryer :) Our twenty year old set is soon to bite the dust.

2009-12-15T22:09:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm still alive! We have just been Ohhh soooo busy! Aletheia has been such a wonderful baby. I truly am spoiled. Bryan is continuing his online classwork and I am utilizing every blessed minute of my time keeping things running. When I do decide to take a break, I've been tricked into a little nap - that usually puts me behind somehow. I had a minute, but now must finish my special gift to my husband for his 30th Birthday on Saturday. I can't say what it is yet because I found out that he reads my blog. He said to me the other night, "Honey, you really need to get an update on your blog." So, I'll have to fill you all in later.

Implementing yet MORE Systems!

2009-12-15T22:00:00.002-05:00

It truly is a HUGE blessing to have such a wonderful, supportive husband. I'm sure he must have thought we were going to be getting in "way over our heads" with the cloth diapering craze I've plunged into recently. I receive many emails each month regarding everything from homeopathic remedies, herbal medicine, natural products for the home, etc.... Many of these people think that we have "arrived" at the supposed "all natural" state. The truth is, we still have many things in our home to change before we would be considered close to that ballpark. I shutter every time I use my name brand shampoo (for myself) that I know I need to switch, but just haven't yet. And then there's the cow's milk that we keep reverting to because we just don't have the time in our schedule to drive 2 hours both ways to pick up the raw goat's milk in the dead of winter.

People say to us that they could NEVER do what we do. We are accused by both family and friends of going against the norm simply for the fact of wanting to be different. Sorry, but neither my husband nor I would waste our time in such frivolous endeavors. Every lifestyle change we have made in our life toward the more natural side has been unified and for the reason of benefiting our family's health. We want to be good stewards of our body and train our children to do the same, along with providing them with the best opportunity to be healthy as well as establishing them with good habits early.

Okay! The New System! You see it above. We never had the luxury of having an expensive nursery furniture set with matching crib bedding and accessories. I'm sure it's probably every mother's dream - even mine :) but we've been blessed to just have a room to house the new little one when we've had them. Hence we do not have a changing table (tisk tisk). So, although my mom hates it, we change the baby where we are at the moment (couch, bed, floor, etc). Although it may sound terrible, I've developed a system that saves time and yet keeps my home sanitary during changing times. We bought two caddies for baby supplies. One caddy is on the main floor and the other caddy is on the upper floor (Bedroom area). We also have a supply on a shelf down in the basement area for replenishment while I launder the items. I have a changing pad in all three areas to place under the baby, two burp cloths, two diaper covers, six diapers in each, bottom spray, cloth wipes, and a couple doublers. I have our oldest son, Levi, bring the caddies down to the basement and replenish them once a day. He places them back in their designated spot and we are good to go for another day. I don't have to worry about running up and down the stairs for diapers etc... This system is so very handy at this stage in life.

Aletheia Karis Holm - It's A Girl!

2009-11-05T12:14:00.005-05:00

Here she is! Aletheia Karis Holm - 10/21/09 (8.9oz; 21 1/2 in) We were totally surprised she was a girl! Although at the end when I was a week overdue, we started thinking that the baby might possibly be a girl. Grandpa said, after a week of waiting, "Yeah, I'm convinced it's a girl now!" "This is only the beginning - she's going to make you wait and be late for the rest of her life." Poor girl already has a bad reputation. ;)

Aletheia - means "Truth" in Greek

Karis - means "Grace" in Greek

For those who would have asked.

The LORD blessed us with a homebirth. It was the most wonderful birthing experience we both have had. My husband and I were so comfortable in our own home. The labor was very easy and all went very smoothly. Within an hour, our older two boys were able to come home and welcome her. We all have adjusted so well as the boys remained in thier own home and in their own beds. Mommy wasn't away and she didn't bring home a baby to make them feel as though they were being replaced. Such a blessing.

Many have judged and labeled us as being "foolish" in this decision of a homebirth or that I was the one pushing my husband into a homebirth, but I must say that they cannot know my husband or me very well to make such accusations. Our decision was one that was very prayerful, well planned and thought out- and based on several circumstances. My husband was the one who suggested the homebirth, and I told him that he just needed to say the word "hospital" and that's where I would go willingly. My main concern in birthing has always been a unified decision between my husband and I regarding the situation. If I or baby were to die, I would never want my husband or I to look back in regret. We know we had the best care provided and that both the midwife and the trained nurse (both who had much experience in NICU and the maternity floor in the hospital) were prepared to handle any potential problem that could have arose.

Life has been a bit hectic here. Mom is feeling normal again-Yay! There's lots of housework to catch up on, and much organization for all the baby stuffs we've pulled out. We are doing well and more blogging will follow as I have time.

Gro Baby Giveaway!

2009-10-20T18:49:00.003-04:00

Here is a link to a new promotional video for Gro Baby organic cloth diapers for anyone who is interested in checking them out.

If you post this link on two different sites (exp - Facebook, blog, parent forum etc...) you gain two entries for a free print diaper giveaway! Help spread the word of Gro Baby.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW9n...avHC7Qo

Frugal Diswasher Soap

2009-10-19T11:15:00.004-04:00

Growing up with my parents, my Dad always said that he "never needed a dishwasher" as my sister and I were his dish washers. Well, I have no problem washing dishes by hand, BUT with my husband working the late shift, breakfast, dinner and then a packed lunch must all be made before he leaves for work. On top of homeschooling and keeping up therapy with our second son, dishes were never top priority in our home. I'd be washing dishes until midnight to keep up - No Fun! When we moved into our home, my husband said that he didn't care about anything else that we had or didn't have, but that we were going to get a dishwasher. It bothered me as I wanted to be "the dish washer". Well, this is one area I am so glad that my husband insisted upon. A cheap $200 Kenmore dishwasher has been a real lifesaver when it comes to having free time to finish the rest of the demands of a household. I'm hooked. I literally believe I could have handled Amish lifestyle prior to a dishwasher, but now I'm not so sure :)

Although the dishwasher has been a tremendous help, I have resorted to the easy way of buying the expensive, chemical detergent to run it. Ugh! Frugality is kind of a side hobby of mine, but I try never to add or change an element in our household until things are a bit settled. I vowed not to look on the back of the bottle to see the ingredients, as I knew mentally I wouldn't be able to use it any longer. Well, my husband went to the store to pick up some Cascade detergent (a brand I hadn't used) and when I used it, the chemicals of bleach and chlorine were so strong I could detect my bronchial tubes closing up. It was only a matter of days when I broke my vow and did "the look". I was alarmed and decided we must try something else -as long as my Husband didn't mind as it could have been money wasted. When I found this recipe online for dishwasher liquid, I thought - "Wow, that's easy!" I've tried it and found that it works equally as well as my other dish washing detergent. We do have a newer dishwasher so this recipe may not work as well with everyone's dishwashers.

It is also much more natural than the other detergents as it doesn't contain bleach, chlorine, or other invasive chemicals the store brands list in their ingredients.

Instead of using the anti spot liquid, we pour distilled white vinegar in the spout. It works good enough for our family although not completely spot free, but I feel better having a few spots than knowing my dishes are being sprayed with chemical glass cleaner.

Here is the list of ingredients:

1. One box of Borax

2. One box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

3. Distilled White Vinegar - for spot cleaning.

Combine the first two ingredients 50/50 and add 2 Tablespoons to the dishwasher and you're done. Or you can add 1 Tablespoon of each of the first two ingredients and have the same results.

It's a little difficult to figure out the exact price per load as I'd have to empty the entire two boxes. But I estimated things a bit and found that it costs about .13 cents a load in the homemade dish washing liquid (minus the water and electricity). This is a savings of .25 cents minimum a load and up to .35-.40 cents a load with store brand detergents. Not too bad - a savings of $2.00 minimum a week if you basically only run it once a day and an $8-10 savings monthly. An extra $100-120 dollars savings in a year looks pretty good. Actually it will cover the cost of the increase in our health insurance for the year.

Making Cloth Baby Wipes

2009-10-18T13:37:00.006-04:00

As we looked into the expense of cloth diapering verses disposables, I dreaded the idea of using cloth wipes. I found that it was only truly worth the expense if we went all the way with cloth and also made the wipes. This dread was as a result of a many failed attempts at making my own disposable wipes out of paper towels and a homemade wipe solution. The solution always seemed to mildew, and I just couldn't bring myself to use it on my kids any longer - no matter how cheap it was. I tried several different ways - with the same failed results.

Well, after making my own wipes out of flannel (which someone gave me) and some cheap 100% cotton t-shirt material, I have changed my mind. Honestly, I would rather use cloth now than disposable wipes! They work better and are more practical with cloth diapers as you just throw them in the same wet bag and do not have to make an extra trip to find the garbage can (and then worry about the smell). We just dump all the cloth items in the washer, including wipes, and we're done!

Here is how I made mine. They are only wipes, so I wasn't too picky with my cutting or sewing, but I wanted them to be a quality job. I cut my material out into 9X 9 inch squares (or rather one long piece of 17 X 9 inches). I actually cut them in a way where one edge folded over so I could save on thread and not have to sew one side on each wipe up (just zigzagged it on the outside). Saved me lots of thread as I made about 90-100 wipes. That thread adds up.

After they were all cut out, I folded them in half, right sides together and sewed them like I would if I were making a pillow. I straight-stitched one half inch from the cut all the way around (except for the folded edge) - leaving a slight opening for me to flip the material so that the right sides would be facing outward. I flipped the material then zigzag stitched all the way around once and also zigzagged it in the middle to prevent the wipe from separating from itself during washing and drying.

They are quite time consuming, but easy to make. With the deal I received on the material and the other given material, I was able to make 100 double layered wipes for about .11 cents each (not including the thread I already had on hand). Not too bad comparrison to $1.25-2.50 per wipe on the cloth diapering sites.

The wipes turn out to be 8x8 in squares in size - perfect to fit into an old wipes box. This is why I decided to make them this size.

When it comes to the solution for the wipes you can decide two ways as to the method you'd like to choose. You can mix a solution together (which I will list below) and dunk and squeeze out your cloth wipes - then place them in a wipes warmer, or you can use the mix solution and place it in a spray bottle (to spray directly on child's bottom) and then keep the wipes dry.

Since we live by the Lakes region, it can be pretty humid here, so I choose to keep my wipes dry and use the spray bottle to spray on their bottoms. This way my wipes don't smell like mildew and I don't waste any of the solution that I mixed, and it's easier to travel as there is no fear of the wipes drying out and not working sufficiently. I'm also a cheapo and refuse to buy a wipes warmer container.

If one decides to buy a wipes warmer, be sure to buy one that has the heating element on the top of the box verses the bottom. It will prevent your wipes from browning and drying out.

Here is the recipe for the solution:

-Take a large bowl and fill it with warm water.

- Mix 3 drops of Lavender Oil (pure) (I recommend the NOW brand)

- Mix 3 drops of Tea Tree Oil

- Either dunk your wipes and squeeze out the water or put the solution into several spray bottles for use around the house and for the diaper bag. The spray bottles come in handy for the kids hands too. We keep one on all levels of our home.

This solution is anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal all in one. Pretty neat and natural! The oils can be on the expensive side, but they should last you at least a years time from my estimation. A whole lot better than the chemical wipes you'd use on your baby.

Cloth Diapering Freebie!

2009-10-17T11:14:00.008-04:00

The Natural Baby Company is the company we have chosen to supply a majority of our diapering needs. Our new little one has yet to arrive - even though I am beyond my due date (tears), but we have been breaking their cloth diapers in on our toddler with great success. He loves them and we love that we are able to put an organic cotton product close to his skin instead of a chemically filled disposable.

Another plus to cloth diapering is that once you become hooked, I find it becomes a hobby - Imagine, a cloth diapering hobby. Cloth diapers are just so stinkin cute (literally :) you just want to buy more!

The Natural Baby Company has offered their new biodegradable soaker package(disposable inserts for the diaper covers) for those who blog about their product.

We have yet to try their biodegradable soaker pads, but I am eager to try them and hold onto some for when we travel to the Grandparents house when the new baby arrives. Here is a link below for you to check them out!

http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/gro-baby-biodegradable-soaker-pads-p-745.html

Super Soft Lining
Certified natural, 100% Ingeo spunbound non-woven fabric.Compostable to EN13432 (EU) standard and ASTM D 6400 (USA)

Core
Biodegradable Wood Pulp fibers, contains 3 grams of SAP gel (compared to 10-20 grams in other disposables).

Waterproof Outer
The Bio-Film used (fecula) is waterproof and 100% natural.Compostable to the following standard: EN 13432 (EU)
Use
Made for use with the Gro Baby system. Remove soiled soaker pad and replace with a fresh one as needed.

Gro Baby™ System Features
The Gro Baby™ one-size diaper is a revolution in cloth diapering. Our innovative shell design minimizesdiaper waste and cost.

Grows with Baby
Adjustable Rise Snaps
Reusable Outer Shell
Removable Soaker Pad
Less waste in our landfills
Healthier for baby

Tackling Illness

2009-09-28T00:06:00.002-04:00

At the start of a new season we all usually get hit with some sort of illness. I was expecting it to happen, especially since my oldest son was having a bit of an allergy struggle already. I heard from many friends of their kids coming down with sickness.

Well, I decided to start the herbs early in order to try to boost all of our immune systems. Sure enough, Levi came down with a fever. I ran out of my favorite herb, incredibly ivy, so I was forced to use my Olive leaf in its place. I also used my trusty Lobelia, Mullein, and white oak bark, and within two days, my Levi was back to normal. Ethan came down with it the very next day after Levi felt better, but again, two days of sickness and Ethan was as good as new.

Most I know have come down with coughs, runny noses, congestion etc... Our boys just had a fever and nothing more. What a blessing! When Levi's temperature reached 102.6 I gave him Wild lettuce and messaged his foot using Crainiosacral therapy and the fever came down in less than an hour to 101.2. This may not be as effective as Tylenol, but it was enough to make him comfortable to sleep soundly.

I can't say enough about natural medicine, and how it has dramatically helped our family. I used to worry when the kids became sick, but now I don't. I truly know that God designed herbs to be His healing agent for the body. Tylenol or Motrin only deplete the immune system,toxify teh body, and mask symptoms. Herbs are designed to give the body what it needs to fight the illness and support the immune system.

Well, my chamomile and Lavender tea is gone and I'm ready for bed. More on herbs another day.

A Schooling We Will Go !

2009-09-26T21:00:00.000-04:00

The summer flew past so quickly this year. I praise the LORD that we only had to use our air conditioner on and off for two weeks out of the entire summer. Now we are in school mode. Hence the reason for my blog lapse. I'm trying to change out all the summer clothing to winter, prepare for a new baby, and homeschooling Levi as well as keep up Ethan's therapy. It's a little overwhelming.

I was just not mentally prepared to start my oldest in K-5 this year. We officially started school last October and really became more diligent this summer, but it wasn't like I was following strict guidelines or anything. I just fed Levi's appetite for learning when given the opportunity. I was thinking Levi might be ready to start Kindergarten, but I was kind of hoping I could keep him in K-4. We used Montessori mainly and then supplemented with some ABeka that was handed down to us. He did well at both, but I didn't realize how well until I opened the curriculum for K-5 and found that he literally knew the materials for 1/3 of the year very well. I realize there is a lot of review in most curriculum, but he isn't going to be challenged very much if we keep one lesson a day pace.

Today, Levi read his first 3 letter word without any help! He was sick this week and so we were a bit behind on writing. I had him work a little on Saturday and then on Sunday to have him finish up. He was copying a word and then writing it on his own and said, "Hey, Mom, I know what this word says, it says - SET" Later I gave him three more words to read, and he read them! "Run" "Hug" and "Sit" It is so rewarding to be able to teach your children to read. We are having so much fun with school. It's nice to have a kid that learns so easy. Somehow I don't think it will be the same with my second son. So I suppose I'll just enjoy this time :)

We've been busy busy with Ethan's many evaluations this month. He was evaluated again by another outside source. God truly is amazing in how he has blessed Ethan with good health. He was evaluated at 30-36 mo when he is only 29 months old! It is difficult for me as a mom to know all the ways of teaching this little boy. I start teaching him a concept and then find out later that I should have approached it from a different angle. Ethan was struggling with sorting colors and recognizing shapes. When the evaluator came. She told me that Ethan didn't even need to be sorting colors or shapes until he was three or three and a half. She told me how to go about teaching him. I didn't have a lot of money to spend so I went out and bought a big pack of multi colored beads, three double pack bowls from dollar tree, and some pipe cleaners -less than $10! We strung the beads on the matching pipe cleaners and formed a ring and placed one color ring in each bowl. I started Ethan off with two colors - which was hard for him. Within ONE week, Ethan is now sorting six colors no problem! Two days ago he handed me a shape and said, "Triangle"... I couldn't believe it. Yesterday I found out he knows four shapes! The brain is an amazing creation.

Well, that is a bit of what has been going on here. I'm trying hard to keep the house up and get things ready for the baby. So my blogging may be little these days... I'll probaby post some school pics this week. Levi and Ethan are proud of their classroom and the activities that they do each day.

Warning: Swine Flu Shot Linked to Killer Nerve Disease

2009-09-01T21:52:00.002-04:00

I don't mean to go onto the vaccination "hobby-horse" again, BUT... this article may interest some of you. The US government has been trying to make this vaccination mandatory for all children as well as pregnant and I believe elderly people. Be very cautious, Folks!

A warning that the swine flu vaccine has been linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the UK Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.

The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, was leaked to The Daily Mail, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.

It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine. GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.

The letter refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:
More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu
The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times
The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear
The U.S. Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected
Concerns have already been raised that the new vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and that the effects, especially on children, are unknown.Sources:
The Daily Mail August 15, 2009

Interesting disposable diaper facts

2009-08-28T22:29:00.003-04:00

This isn't to scare those who use disposables - It's more for those interested in exploring the option of cloth. This article I just copied and pasted from another webpage. All this information has been seen on many sites. It makes me feel a little guilty that I remained ignorant to this, but I can't live in the past.

We would have cloth diapered our first and second only we lived in an apartment building where we had to drag our laundry down three flights of stairs, across a football field and into a roach infested laundry room that only contained two sets of washers and dryers for 24 families - not possible. And with Ethan, we had to be at the hospital 10-12 times a month along with therapy appointments and other outside doctor visits. So alas, I will just start a new and forget the past. :)

Truly, everyone should take this article into consideration. I am definitely on the more natural side of things, but for those who aren't, disposable diapers truly contain these chemicals and there is no doubt their health is being compromised by them.

Read below:

Cloth Diapers are better for your baby!Your child will spend the first 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 years of his or her life in diapers. Disposable diapers are an easy way of diapering, but are the possible health hazards these diapers pose worth the simplicity? Look below at some studies that have been conducted and their scary results.

MALE INFERTILITY Disposable diapers could be the cause of the sharp rise in male infertility over the past 25 years. It is thought that disposable diapers heat up boys testicles to such a degree that it stop them from developing normal.

SODIUM POLYACRYLATE, which is linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome and can therefore no longer be used in tampons, is the super absorbent gel in disposable diapers. You can find the little "gel balls" on the skin of your baby's bottom. It is interesting to note that employees in factories manufacturing sodium polyacrylate suffer from female organ problems, slow healing wounds, fatigue and weight loss.

TBT (TRIBULYTIN) In May 2000 Greenpeace found TBT in Pampers® Baby Dry in Germany. TBT is one of the most toxic substances ever made. It harms the immune system and impairs the hormonal system. There is speculation that it could cause boys to become sterile.

DIOXIN Traces of the carcinogen Dioxin have been found in disposable diapers. Dioxin causes liver disease, immune system suppression and genetic damage. It is a byproduct of bleaching with chlorine gas and is banned in most countries. Unfortunately, the USA still allows it.

ASTHMA In 1998 a study showed that childhood respiratory problems, including asthma, might be linked to inhaling the mixture of chemicals emitted from disposable diapers.

UTI INFECTIONS IN BABY GIRLS also seem on the rise with an increased use of disposable diapers.

BABIES POORLY DEVELOPED OUTER SKIN LAYER ABSORBS ABOUT 48 CHEMICALS if you use disposable diapers & wipes and standard baby products. This can be greatly reduced by using cloth diapers and natural baby products. You can find out more about the above topics on our cloth diaper articles page or at http://www.borntolove.com/ and http://www.mothering.com/.

Diapering Decision

2009-08-25T23:51:00.012-04:00

Okay.... So I finally came to my diapering decision.... da da da daaaaaa! Agonizing, let me tell you. I've been crunching numbers for days. I came to a final decision earlier in the week of using bamboo prefolds instead of the lovely snap-preformed cloth diapers as they were more reasonably priced but were just as effective. BUT then I find out that the FTC was recalling bamboo fabric as the companies manufacturing it were claiming it was bamboo when in fact it was rayon. The process of making rayon involves the use of some toxic chemicals- so I read. So, my quest switched from bamboo to Hemp.

My main reasons for cloth diapering are: to reduce the chemicals my kids are exposed to from the disposable diapers, and to save money. Our oldest son is so sensitive to preservatives, dyes and particular foods, that we didn't want to keep compromising his system with the disposables, even if it's only at night time. "Time is money" as they say, but I'd rather invest a little of my time and have more money than invest all my money just because I want a little more time. We can all utilize our time more efficiently and this is what I plan on doing.

Cloth diapering has come a LONG way. You don't have to let Pins and Poop come between your decision anymore. There are amazing cloth diapering systems that don't involve pins and reduce the poop exposure. I'm not a big "environmentalist" but it really isn't good to keep filling the landfills with thousands of diapers a year that don't break down quickly and expect that this isn't going to cause some sort of problem in the near future.

I admit, I wasn't keen on the idea of cloth diapering (as sanitary as I am), but here is what I found. Every family is different in what they need. I don't mind dealing with pins and prefolds, but to expect the babysitters, grandparents and most importantly Daddy to be pinning a newborn is probably not the best solution for us. We are homeschooling, actively involved at church, and do need to take trips to the hospital for our son's neurological check ups. So I also was looking for something economical, yet slightly easier than prefolds.

Many people like the AIO (all in one) diapers which have the cover attached. I, mentally, can't handle knowing I'm washing a poo poo diaper with a piece of plastic attached, hoping it and the cover will be sanitary after I wash it. If I had any chance of feeling better about it, I'd have to dry it in the dryer for sure and not hang them, but due to the attached covers, they usually need two drying cycles instead of one. Not fun, and costs more in electricity as well as wear and tear on the dryer.

Mother-ease makes a great one size diaper and sells covers unattached. I've tried them and haven't had any leaks. They work great and wash well and dry in one cycle. The diaper would be quite bulky on an infant, making it difficult to fit boys particularly in their clothing - Another consideration as clothing is made for disposables now a day. Mother-ease Sandy's diapers are wonderful! But they are too expensive for my budget. So I had to seek out another alternative.

With my bigger boys, I decided to go to the prefolds. I found a reasonably priced Hemp prefold that has great reviews. It's made by Babykicks. They are very absorbent and the only complaint is that they pill - which doesn't bother me as long as they are absorbent. Hemp is trimmer than cotton and it also is much more absorbent than cotton.

The next quest was to find a diaper cover. Many of the good ones are Velcro, but I hate dealing with picking fuzz from off the back in order to make it stick good. Being washed with other fabrics, one knows this is going to happen eventually. What a pain, pick, pick, pick.

I'd prefer to use the snap covers. I found a snap cover made by an Australian company called Booroi. They make the diaper with an inside gusset that is like a pocket. All Daddy has to do is fold the prefold in thirds spreading out the ends a little, stick it in the pocket, and snap the kid up. Very easy. Almost as easy as a disposable. When these diapers are through, you can use them as great rags for cleaning.

With the new baby, I was going to use the same system, but when I found the Gro Baby System, I changed my mind. The Gro Baby System has an unattached cover that has snaps for a liner to be snapped inside. A booster can be snapped in for night and nap time. When you need to change the baby, snap out the pre-contoured organic cotton liner and snap in another one. The cover is a one size cover that fits babies from 8-35 lbs. The system is more expensive than prefolds, but it isn't too much more. It's very reasonable. The velcro on theses have great ratings and they are coming out with snap covers soon.

We will be diapering our oldest son just at night time, as he sometimes has accidents, our second son, who is struggling terribly with potty training, and our new baby. So this is going to be a hefty expense. Yet, even though I didn't start this process until the third kid, we will still be saving a minimum of $200-250 the first year and about $500 + the second year. This is including wear and tear on the washing machines, water, electricity costs, etc... Not too bad.

It's enough to pay for most of our oldest son's homeschooling materials for two years. As soon as we can set aside the money for the diapers for our oldest two, I'll be ordering them and trying them out. I'll have to post my likes and dislikes.

Help!!! - cloth diapering

2009-08-21T22:51:00.004-04:00

Why is it that some of the easy things in life seem to be so difficult. I was on the quest a month or so back trying to determine a homeschooling curriculum that would work well with my Montessori program. My oldest son loves Montessori, but he loves to see his success written down. So, I wanted to use a curriculum that involved more writing to reinforce his Montessori education. It was an agonizing decision. The program that I wanted to go with, really didn't line up with him or me. So I ended up going with a program that I felt would work for him and that I felt I would work with me even though I wasn't sold on it all the way.

Anyways... I spent hours of my time researching, phoning, looking at information on the Internet and samples sent in the mail to try and determine what curriculum to buy. Now that I have, another "easy" decision comes along.

Cloth diapering......Not a biggie, my mom cloth diapered me, right? Ohh... but now there are a million and one choices of diapers - cotton, organic cotton, bleached cotton, unbleached cotton, bleached bamboo,unbleached bamboo, one size diapers, separate size diapers, attached covers and unattached covers, liners of all different shapes and fabrics, covers of all different types, fabrics and closures, and Rahhhh! Then you find one that you think would work and the reviews are horrible. I finally find the one that I think is the best, and I'd have to take out a small mortgage in order to pay for them. I tell you, it's like walking down the toothpaste aisle. Why so many choices? I'm about to go to the store and buy prefolds and go back to the old fashioned days and unplug my computer for fear I might get stuck in the research mode again....

Anyone EVER feel like this???? Anyone have success with a particular cloth diaper that they'd dare to recommend???? :) I need help. Throw any suggestions my way, Please! I would be grateful to hear any advice. When I'm done with this agony. I will be sure to post what I find I like best.

Holm Cut Hair - Frugal Haircuts

2009-08-19T12:39:00.008-04:00

While my husband and I were in the engagement period, I took note of how often he needed to have his hair cut or rather his "bush whacked" as my husband would say. He has very thick hair that grows quite quickly. If it isn't cut at least once a month (he needs it really twice a month), he looks like he litearlly walked out of the Amazon or from a long Alaskan fishing trip. He looks like he looses ten pounds everytime I cut his hair. At $10 plus tax and tip each time at the barber, I knew that forking over almost $30 a month in haircuts would not be an expense that we could afford as newlyweds. So, I brought up the topic for discussion to see how he felt about it. I asked him if I could go with him to his barber and watch him cut his hair. He didn't mind, and so I did. I went twice and made mental notes of how the man cut his hair.

I can say it honestly looks easier than it really is, but after five years of cutting his hair and four years of cutting my kid's hair, all I've had to pay is a mere $15 plus tax for a pair of clippers and a little of my time. The clippers have directions with them as well. I use a number three clipper starting at the bottom of their hairline to about half way up their head. Then I trim around their ears without any attachments at the lowest setting(in the summer I use a #1 around the bottom to try and keep from cutting it but once a month). I hand cut the top of their hair following the natural way that their hair falls. I trim the front of their hair straight and then purposely notch it unevenly at scattered points going one direction and then the another to make it appear as though the hair hasn't been cut (learned this from my haircutting place). I then take the #3 clipper again and blend the two (clippered hair and hand cut hair) together. It works great!

Clippers are very forgiving. You can mess things up pretty bad and still smooth it out with the clippers. This is why it is best to always start off with cutting the hair a little longer - then you have room to fix mistakes or when your kids move a little and you cut where you didn't intend to.

This isn't hard. If I can do it, believe me, you can do it too. My husband has about four cowlicks in his hair and my oldest son has about two bad ones. You will notice this in the picture. My husband has said that most barbers say, "Well, I did my best." when they are done with him as his cowlicks are so bad it's nearly impossible to work with his head. I've learned how to cut cowlicks and they look better than when they are cut professionally. Levi's cowlick in the front is impossible unless I gel it down afterward, but I'll let you be the judge. My husband wasn't around for picture taking. So I just put the boys pics up.

For those who want to save quite a bit of money throughout the year, I recommend you give it a try. If you need more help, let me know and I'll post a video clip the next time I cut their hair.

Keeping up with the trends through the elderly

2009-08-14T21:57:00.003-04:00

I don't know how it happened that I've been in the professional cleaning business on and off for the past 17 years, but it has proven to be a wonderful side job growing up, making ends meet through the college years, and now a little help in easing the load on my hard working husband. Every single cleaning job that I have had, I have never advertised for. People just find me through someone or some weird situation. It's amazing how the Lord has used this to be a great help in provision over the years.

It's time to purchase school curriculum and, well, that really wasn't in the budget. So I thought to myself, "It sure would be nice to pick up a small ,stable cleaning job somewhere." Not another thought about it, but either the next day or the day after, my mom phoned me and said, "Hey, this girl at work needs someone to clean for her elderly mother, would you be interested?"

I can't tell you how perfect this job is. I love elderly people. Her home is relatively clean, organized and uncluttered. I'm there for three hours doing basic cleaning and I'm done. So praise the LORD for His provision once again!

This lady is a hoot. I'm an old fashioned cleaner. No swiffers (or whatever they are called), no mops, no chemical cleaners, no fancy dusters, etc.... I have a broom, a vacuum cleaner, an accumulation of hundreds of rags, and my all natural home made cleaners in a spray bottle. I go to this elderly woman's house and what does she have? She is like the advertiser for the latest cleaning trends. I've never cleaned for someone who uses a different cleaner on every surface of her home. She's got all the bells and whistles of the latest swiffers, swiffer dusters, hardwood floor spray, you name it. And embarrassed as I was,, the professional cleaning lady, I had to ask her how to use some of the products. We don't have a television so I've never even seen some of these new-fangled thing-a-ma-bobs. It was quite humorous to say the least.

She was very gracious. I told her that she was keeping me up on the latest cleaning trends, and she thought that was pretty humerous.

Well, now to finish some cleaining of me own before two sets of company arrive at our house today.

Our latest frugal technology craze!

2009-08-04T22:14:00.002-04:00

Do any of you find that you and your husband have a particular way that you accomplish certain tasks but that your particular ways are different? For example..... when I type a web address in the address box on my computer, I have to type the entire address out when my husband will click the arrow and scroll down the recent sites and click on it that way. We both think our way is more efficient... :) When it comes to the phone book, I drag out the big phone book to look up an address or a business or phone number when my husband will turn on the computer, wait for it to do its thing, log in, etc... in order to gain the same information. Well now we found a new piece of technology that we both love. It's called Goog-411 mobile. If you need to find a business at home or on the run or when traveling, phone 1800-goog-411. It's fast and works great. Best yet, it's FREE! My husband discovered it about 6 months ago or so and it has already been helpful to us on numerous occasions. Try it out!

Family Packing Tips (for families with young children)

2009-07-31T22:44:00.008-04:00

Family trips are a wonderful refreshing time that help break up the monotonous routine of life and give everyone an enjoyable escape from the usual daily routine, yet any mother will say that the packing at times can prove to be such an arduous task that it can almost cancel out that refreshing, relaxing, enjoyable trip altogether. As a mom of two and almost three little ones, I work hard at maintaining a positive attitude in packing. This is why I try to plan ahead and remain very organized.

About a week prior to the trip, I begin to pull out the luggage, bags, etc.... I have a checklist that I print off for each person in the house. I think of all the items they need starting from the head down to the toes when writing or adding to the list. Each child is allowed one special toy and a blanket. I have one small bag filled with car activities. Whatever doesn't fit in the bag doesn't come. We also have a bag for snacks/food/ drinks. I begin to pack those items on the list that we are not in need of at the time. Older children can obviously be responsible for their own list.

I reserve 3 days out of my schedule to plan and pack. The first day, I clean the house, catch up on laundry and any other chores, and make sure things are in order for when we return. I like to return and jump back into our regular routine and not spend two weeks stressing out trying to catch up on housework and unpack. On this day, I also pack clothes and accessories for one person in the family.

The second day, I take care of loose ends before we leave - such as mail pick up, Sunday school replacement, car ride arrangements for people we pick up on Sunday, appointment changes, bills, phone calls, etc..... I then pack clothes and acc. for one additional person in the family that evening.

The third day, the night before, I gather all the toiletries and pack them in the toiletry bag and leave the bag in the bathroom until right before we leave. When we go to the grandparents, I leave an extra set of toiletries at each of their houses so I don't have to pack any when we visit. This is a big help. I gather the extras, the camera, DVD player, etc... and place them all in a central location by an entrance in the house. At night, I finish packing clothes for the rest of the family.

Depending on when we are leaving, I pack the car that evening or early in the morning.

When I pack my kids bag with clothes, I use 1 gallon Ziploc bags for each day. I place their outfit, underclothing, socks, and accessories for one day in each bag. I label the bag with the day it is intended for if it matters. As the kids grow the bags obviously get bigger, but they can be reused. I pack only one extra outfit per child as too many extras really add bulk to the car packing. When we arrive at our destination, I don't have to dig to find things, I just hand my oldest child his bag for the day and he dresses himself and I or my husband can grab a bag for the younger ones and know that everything they need to get ready for the day is all there. It works so nicely. It's nice as if we are visiting the grandparents, they can help us and we can be ready in a flash. And if for some reason someone becomes car sick or food is spilled, you can pull out another outfit much easier than sifting through the bag for all the items separately.

Prior to our return home, I try to wash all of the clothes. I then arrange them in the bags by items. I put all the shirts in one bag, socks in another, etc... Then when I arrive home, I pop out the bags and put the items away in no time flat. Soon I will be able to have the boys help me put the clothes away as they are growing older.

The checklists come in handy especially for those little items you tend to forget, such as the cell phone charger, the camera, belts, ties, phone card, etc... There is no stressing. You just check the list to make sure everything is accounted for. Then all you have to worry about is turning on or off lights in the house and making sure it is secure prior to leaving.

I do hope this is a help to someone. I'm always open to borrowing other people's brain-work on suggestions they do. So let me know.. Any tips on packing for older kids?

Triple Berry Yogurt Parfait

2009-07-30T16:03:00.005-04:00

This is a recipe I made up several weeks ago that tastes delicious and is great for the body.We eat lots of yogurt in our house. I'd like to make my own yogurt, but at this point, we don't have access to a farm to buy the raw goat's milk due to my husband's schedule and only having one car available. We usually use the organic Stoneyfield or LaYogurt brands. This is a refreshing treat on a hot summer day.

*It is important to know that it is best to buy plain yogurt and add your own fruit before consumption. When the fruit has been sitting in the yogurt for a length of time(such as in the grocery store), it decreases the usefulness of the probiotics that help the body to maintain a good bacteria level.

Triple Berry Yogurt Parfait

1 Large container of Stoneyfield plain or vanilla yogurt

I use all FROZEN Fruit:
1/2 Cup - Raspberries - raspberries are one of the best sources of soluble fibre,helps lower "bad"
cholesterol(LDL) in the bloodstream. Like strawberries, raspberries are
also very high in vitamin C, and are classed as a superfood.
1/2 Cup - Strawberries - vitamin A, C and B6, fiber, potassium, folate and various antioxidants
and flavonoids. Your immune system needs these fighters to protect
you against diseases related to heart and cancers.
1/2 Cup - Blackberries - contain significant amounts of vitamin E. This vitamin is an antioxidant,
like vitamin C. It also contains a powerful compound called alpha-
tocopherol which helps prevent plaque forming in the arteries, thins the
blood, and therefore helps prevent heart disease. Vitamin E also helps
boost our immune system, as well as promoting healthy skin.

Bar Naked Granola - I love the kind with the raisins and cranberries.

Blend fruit and yogurt in a blender - you may have to do half and half if blender wont fit it all and then mix the two together after. I take little kitchen cups 6 oz and fill the bottom with a little granola. I then add the yogurt mixture 3/4 full and then add a little more granola on top. It tastes very refreshing. You can also put it in a bowl or in glass cups for adults and do the same. Looks beautiful. I cover them and place them in the fridge. They don't last for long.

Blueberries are also a good switch off for the fruits if blackberries or raspberries are too expensive -Blueberries are very rich in antioxidants. The antioxidants in this particular fruit reduce the buildup of “bad” LDL cholesterol, great in preventing cancer and other diseases.

Wake up, America!

2009-07-26T23:36:00.001-04:00

If this short clip doesn't bring true reality to what our nation is facing, I don't know what will. It's amazing to see that one of the earliest commands God gave to Adam and Eve was to "Be fruitful and multiply." Genesis 1:28. America continues to abort their babies, and go against the design of God in procreation. It is a scary thing to see what we will all soon face and what our children will face. Honestly, I think our president is rather harmless in comparrison to what the whole of America and this world are contributing to when the world resists God's design. Our president is only a mere reflection of the bigger picture to come. There are going to be some serious consequences to the way we Christians and non Christians alike have chosen to live our lives. There is going to come a point where we are really going to be forced to stand for Truth. Will we be true martyrs for the cause of Christ? Sadly I think we will be deserving of some of what we are going to face as we ALL have sat back and buried our heads in the sand in order to live "the American Dream". We need to wake up!

Eternity is closer than we think, but ohh how much we are going to be held accountable for. May we truly seek after the LORD and apply His wisdom to our lives and tell others about Him. Our God consciousness is gone from a Global standpoint. We aren't going to redeem this, but we need to step up to the plate and seek to present the Gospel of our LORD JESUS CHRIST to those lost ones around us. Our world may be lost, but there are souls to be won. This really needs to be a priority of every Christian family. I admit that I am guilty.

May we be able to say, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:" 2 Timothy 4:7

MSM Supplement

2009-07-24T23:00:00.004-04:00

Okay.... this is my latest kick. My mom started me on it. I've been on it consistently for about a week now. I don't want to get my hopes up yet, but my pain level has been drastically reduced the last three days in a row. My energy level seems low, but for me to wake up without dragging every eyelash out of bed and without being in tremendous pain is very rare.

This supplement is not a cure-all - unless you are problem is that you are deficient in it. It is a way to manage swelling and pain. It will benefit the body even if it isn't curing it as it will protect damage from swelling and it will help keep hormone levels where they should be when the pain is reduced. The root problem still must be sought after, but this is a great alternative in the mean time. Some people can't resolve their root problem due to surgery or arthritis or some disease and this helps them live much more comfortably. Here is some information I copied and pasted from Whole Health about it:

What Is MSM?Methylsulfonylmethane, or MSM, is a safe and natural assimilate derived from the Southern Louisiana Pine. MSM is organic sulfur--the kind your body can absorb and use. Sulfur is the fourth most plentiful mineral in the body. And, it is found in every cell of every animal and plant. Sulfur is found in food; it is most abundant in eggs and red peppers, but can also be found in significant quantities in grains, legumes, animal proteins, onions, garlic, asparagus, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and broccoli. However, most of the volatile MSM is lost in washing, cooking, or steaming. Modern food processing, packaging and preparation has robbed our food of the sulfur we need. At the Oregon Health and Sciences University, Dr. Stanley Jacob discovered that heating dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), caused it to crystallize, isolating 99.9% of the beneficial compound MSM. MSM is a pure, natural, stable, white, odorless crystalline powder without the unpleasant taste or odor of DMSO. It does not produce intestinal gas or body odor that may occur with other forms of sulfur. MSM is not a drug or medicine, and is unrelated to sulfa drugs, to which some people have an allergy. Lignisul™ is the Product endorsed by James Coburn on Larry King Live.On Monday night, April 3, 2000, CNN's Larry King Live featured a discussion on MSM with actor James Coburn and his Doctor, Dr. Ronald Lawrence, author of the book "The Miracle of MSM: The Natural Solution for Pain". Coburn, badly crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and in a great deal of pain to the point where he could not walk in 1990, discussed how MSM has allowed him to be pain free for the past year. Dr. Lawrence noted that Coburn used Lignisul™ exclusively, which is the MSM we sell. ******************************* -->
Interstitial Cystitis (IC) and MSM:Dimethyl Sulfone (DMSO) has long been used for the treatment of IC. Lately, Dr. Stanley Jacob at the Oregon Science and Health University has done pioneering work with MSM, particularly in the treatment of Interstitial Cystitis. He has found that patients better tolerate MSM. This is a huge consideration in Interstitial Cystitis since patients often struggle with severe reactions to treatments and foods that they consume. He has also found comparable efficacy for reducing inflammation and reducing pain and other symptoms. His treatments are a combination of IV, oral and topical methodologies. For those of you who suffer fom Interstitial Cystitis, we encourage you to discuss MSM with your medical practitioner and consider it as an adjunct to your IC treatment. If you decide to use MSM on your own for IC, please make sure you discuss and/or disclose this to your doctor.
How Should MSM Be Used?Results vary. According to Dr. Earl L. Mindell, R.Ph., Ph.D., "Due to its positive wide-spectrum effect, particularly in maintaining healthy cell formation, dietary nutritional supplementation of MSM is recommended at a daily rate of 2,000 to 6,000mg. The optimum effective dosage would depend on body size, age, the MSM blood level prior to administration, and the nature and severity of the condition you are treating. This means you can experiment with different doses to find out what works best for you." Sometimes, it takes up to 3 weeks for effects to be noticed.

You think you've had a bad day?

2009-07-24T08:05:00.005-04:00

Check out this picture at the end of our street of this Canadian truck that was just a tad too tall for the railroad bridge crossover. The bridge clearance is clearly marked, but I venture to guess that since this has happened with Canadian truckers in the past, they are only familiar with the metric system as the sign is posted in feet. Ouch! This might have just cost him his job. Poor guy. It could have been his life. It doesn't look like the passengers on the train were too happy either from the looks of it. The bridge is off line as it is. So I don't know what the railroad is going to do now.

Since we're on the topic of Canada, I have a funny,yet could have not been so funny story. We live outside of Buffalo. I hate driving in downtown Buffalo. It's filled with low class drivers who care nothing but getting from point A to point B in as short and usually reckless way possible. My midwife is in the downtown area. I leave 20-30 minutes early as I refuse to speed to satisfy the psycho people on the road. Well, the appointment went well and I set my GPS to go home as it was afternoon rush hour and the GPS helps me to be prepared to be in the right lane a head of time when I need to turn.

Our GPS is known for doing the craziest of things - the wrong way down one ways, down streets that don't even exist, etc..... Well, this time it decided to take me over the peace bridge into Canada. You can't turn around on the peace bridge very safely. Oye! The worst of it was that I only had my drivers licence on me. No passport, enhanced licence - nothing! Crossing the border isn't just a small deal now days. The border patrol can be absolutely grueling. I arrived at customs and told the guy, after he reprimanded me for not moving a head when he wanted me to(he gave no direction - I had to read his mind), that I hadn't intended to cross the border. He was surprisingly nice and filled out the paperwork and I had to pull over and go into the customs office and wait in line at the Immigration desk as families were going through all of their paperwork to become Canadian immigrants. This is all while Grandpa is watching my kids for a few minutes until I could get back home. Argh! The customs officer said that people's GPS devices do this all the time, and he couldn't understand it. This made me feel a little better, but I was embarrassed that I had lived in the area for over 25 years had crossed the border accidentally. He laughed and had someone escort me to the secure turn around. When it came to crossing into the US, I thought there would be no problem. I'd just hand the guy my paperwork and licence and be on my way. Not so easy. The US customs guy started grilling me (which can be procedure). I answered the questions. He then proceeded to tell me that I was lying. At that point all I could do was laugh because the whole thing was ridiculous. My drivers licence had the wrong address on it, and he had no record of my passport. He said, "I'm sorry, but I have nothing to validate your citizenship." I was like, "You have to be kidding me?" I just came from the other side of the cement wall and made a wrong turn and was given paperwork from Canadian Customs of the situation and you're not going to let me back into the country? Well, in the course of the conversation, he asked when I had last been to Canada. To which I knew the last month and date. He then asked if my passport could be under my maiden name, to which I replied, "Yes, it is!" All a pretty stupidly, scary story, but I am glad to be back home. I don't know if my husband will ever let me hear the end of it as he is the one who is directionally challenged. I'm the one with the good sense of direction. I suppose we all need a good humbling every now and then. :)

Our Boys

2009-07-24T00:20:00.009-04:00

Here are a few pictures I took of our boys while we were on vacation in New Jersey visiting my in-laws. It is hard to believe they are four and two years old already. The time just passes so quickly. I wish I could pause each moment and enjoy it for another span of time.

Levi was given a pair of cowboy boots from his Aunt that just happen to fit him perfectly. He wears them everywhere. The day after he received them, we woke up in the morning to him standing in nothing but his underwear and his cowboy boots. Precious..... wish I could have snapped a picture of that. :) Levi is my thinker. He must Analyze everything and figure out how it works. When he thinks he has figured it out, then he knows it all. Bright, determined and lovable, but ohh do we bang heads. :)

Ethan is very easy going for the most part. The two year old hormones have definitely kicked in, but he is genuinely a sweetheart that is usually easy to please. He is curious to know exactly what everything is, but as to how it works, he could care less. Logic plays no role in his mind. If it sounds reasonable then he accepts it no questions asked. He goes with the flow. Ahhh... my life saver. :)

The LORD knows what He is doing when He places certain personalities within a family. I believe the LORD teaches us as much if not more than what we teach our children.

Praise the LORD for these precious lives. I am so privileged to have them entrusted to us.

Montessori- Metal Insets

2009-07-23T22:34:00.010-04:00

The Metal Insets are a great tool in Montessori learning. They seem so simplistic, yet they really teach the child a variety of lessons. The Metal insets are designed for the child 3-6 years of age and are a language building tool. There are several aspects a two year old can learn from them as well.

The metal insets consist of five curved-line figures and five straight-line figures:
(1) circle, ellipse, curvilinear triangle, oval, quatrefoil
(2) square, rectangle, triangle, trapezoid, pentagon

Upon placing the metal insets in front of the child, you are able to prepare both a two and three year old, by picking up the metal insets by the knobs on top, the proper way to hold a pencil. You then have the child take each inset individually and place it in front of them with an inset sized paper underneath. There should be no paper seen around the edges of the inset. We use a box for our little ones as it helps stabilize the inset. As they grow older the box is taken away, and they are expected to stabilize it. The child takes out the center knobbed shape and lays it to the side. With smaller children, you can have them trace the shape with their finger and then verbalize the specific shape. You can first take their finger and trace it for them and then try to encourage them to trace it unassisted. With an older child, (after you show them what to do) you give them a pencil and have them trace the shape on the inside of the inset. After the child has completed this, he/she moves the outer metal and matches the inner piece with the shape he/she has traced.

As the child progresses, you later can have the child take a different colored pencil and make horizontal and or vertical lines from one side of the shape line to the other. This helps them learn good eye-hand coordination and master the control of the pencil.

By performing this task over and over one or more times a day, the child begins to develop handwriting skills naturally (the straight and curvy lines as well as the combination of the two). You might think a child would be board with this, but they love it! They don't see it as work, and they are learning without even realizing it. They think they are just having fun.

Our oldest son loves the metal insets. In fact they have helped him so much that he began to write letters, unassisted, at age three. This was a bit scary as I didn't want to have to correct bad habits. So I have restored to taking the opportunity now to teach him the correct way as he is in deed ready to start writing his letters. For a four year old, I think he writes pretty well. I'll let you be the judge. This was Levi's first directed letter writing. He wrote the letters on blank paper prior to this, but never on writing paper. There was no erasing and starting over unless he was intentionally being lazy or impatient.

You don't have to buy the metal insets. You can use all sorts of things at home - hollow cookie cutters (that you make cardboard cut outs that match the inside for matching), an old pair of sunglasses (lenses popped out and put to the side for matching), etc.....or you can make your own by saving the lids from coffee cans etc and cutting the shapes out yourself and poking a whole in the center and using a paper pin and spreading the ends at half way.

I tried to included a picture of Levi sitting on his exercise ball, but it wouldn't upload. I inflate it about 80%. I have found that the ball helps him to keep a better posture. It is also helpful for young kids or at least boys, as they need to move around a bit to get their energy out. This helps them to be able to bounce or squirm a little to get the bugs out of their system yet stay focused on the task at hand. Also, when they are done and you are working with your other children, you can have the child quietly roll on it to keep them occupied until you are ready to devote your attention to them with the next task.

Vaccination connection with Autism - Interesting

2009-07-20T19:50:00.001-04:00

I am in no way endorsing Robert F Kennedy Jr. He and his family are well known for their liberal views on politics, yet there have been many who have accused me and others for saying that only conservatives make all the hype about the debate over the vaccination issues. This is not Fox news, Folks. It's very rare to hear the truth coming from the liberals. I'm sharing this for your consideration as this truly is an issue of concern in the health of our children. For those who have family or friends that have a more liberal view, you may be interested in passing this video on to them for consideration also.

Lavender Oil

2009-07-18T12:14:00.005-04:00

Lavender is one of my favorite essential oils. It is amazing to see how God designed one simple plant to aid in healing the body in a variety of different ways. It also has a nautral beauty to it as it grows. Next year, Lord willing, we will have an herb garden as well as a vegetable garden. House repair and organizizing have prevented us this season from having any gardens. Our ground was tested by a company for lead and it was considered unsafe for a playground. So we need to till the ground, remove some soil, cap it and add new soil in order to grow a healthy garden. Lots of work - ugh, but it will be worth it.

I struggle with a lot of pain issues. I often mix it 5o/50 with peppermint oil and message it into my skin. It works great to take the edge off severe headaches or muscle aches. However the smell of lavender oil is quite strong. I don't mind it, nor does my husband, but you may want to ask your spouse to smell it in the bottle before you lather yourself with it.

If my kids have a cut or burn, or swelling from an injury ( or bruise) it's the first thing I grab. It can prevent infection in a cut, it can help soothe a burn and it can prevent bruising if caught fast enough. Be careful around the eyes with kids as it can sting. I try to cover the area with a bandaid just to be safe as the oil can be rubbed off quickly to other areas of the body.

Here is some general info I found that gives examples of the variety of ways lavender can be used:

For the skin - lavender helps abscesses, acne, allergies, athlete's feet and fungal infections, boils, bruises, burns, cold sores, cuts, dermatitis, eczema, hives, inflammations, insect bites and stings, lice, psoriasis, rashes, ringworm, scabies, scars, shingles, stretch-marks, sunburns and wounds.

Circulation - muscles and joints aches and pains, helps reduce cellulite, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, Lumbago, reduces swelling and pain, relaxes tight muscles, joint pain, rheumatism, and sprains.

Respiratory - Asthma (when associated with emotional trauma), bronchitis, coughs, colds, congestion, flu, laryngitis, throat infections, whooping cough, and sinus infections.
Digestion colic, improves digestion, nausea, gas, and is soothing to the intestines.

Nervous system - helps balance the emotions, it's calming and uplifting. It also helps with convulsion and epilepsy, delusions, depression, insomnia, headaches and migraines, nervous tension, trembling, panic, relaxing, stress, shock, and vertigo. It even helps with pms.
Some other uses are scanty or painful periods.

Lavender can be used straight from the bottle. Most essential oils aren't safe to use at high concentrations. But as with other essential oils you can also use it with carrier oils. Always know the safety of essential oils you use. Essential oils have different dilutions.

Baby Holm Update

2009-07-13T21:37:00.002-04:00

At my last midwife appointment, she asked me if I would like an Ultrasound performed on the baby. It was an easy choice to say that I preferred not to as it was agonizing what they did to us after Ethan's ultrasound. We were determined back then that we would never get an ultrasound done again. Bryan and I discussed it, and we both felt that we really desired to support Eileen's practice. We felt that with my last pregnancy and with the numerous miscarriages that I have had in the past, that we didn't want to compromise her practice by giving someone an avenue to shut her business down if something could have been prevented by a simple ultrasound. We told her how we felt and left the decision up to her, and she felt an ultrasound was a wise choice as there are so many doctors that would love to find a way to shut her down. She is literally the only midwife who dares to stand up in all of Western New York and try to care for women and babies naturally. It's so sad. All the other midwives in the area are no better than a bedside nurse.

Well, I had the ultrasound done today. I was very nervous about it. It was an inner stressful ordeal, especially since Bryan couldn't come with me. I went to a high risk specialist for the ultrasound. I waited in the waiting room for over an hour before being seen, but I was so thankful for the doctor who performed the ultrasound. Most of them do not explain what they are doing and every little detail that they are looking at. I am the kind of person who wants to know those details, but I certainly would have never expected it from a doctor with a position such as hers. This doctor treated me like I actually had a brain -what a wonder. She explained everything we were looking at. It was a big relief. I knew everything right there and didn't have to wait a couple days to get a horrifying phone call telling me that my child had a serious condition in which he/she could die. The ultrasound went well. The baby appears to be doing well. The baby does not have the two neurological conditions that my son has, and the heart has all four chambers and is functioning well.

The one concern is that the placenta is close to the cervix. They say it can still move. So I would appreciate any prayer on this matter. One c-section was enough for me. My bladder and bowels will never be the same again after Ethan's delivery. I have enough physical pain, I'd prefer not to add to it.

The doctor asked if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. I told her that we wanted to be surprised. She asked me again, but I said the same. So we will see. I say boy, but my husband says girl.

We are greatly relieved that the baby seems to be healthy and developing well. Praise the LORD for that! It has been so wonderful to be able to carry this life this far.

Covenant Eyes

2009-07-09T22:13:00.003-04:00

Ever since my husband and I were newly married, we have really tried to maintain a good testimony through our Internet use. As a help meet, I believe it is my responsibility to help my husband and growing boys in preventing even the accidental pornography that may come up on our computer or in the stores on a daily basis. My husband desires my help, and we are both thankful for the precautionary measures we have taken in the past. I'm not a woman that is attracted to a man's muscles etc.. - could care less- but I still don't like to be exposed to nakedness of any kind as I believe it desensitizes women in helping their family. It's pretty sad when you can't even go to the grocery store and shop for food without being exposed to pornography. So, I flip over or cover magazines in the checkout lines, avoid certain areas of the store to help my family remain pure minded. Mall shopping is very scarce. If we need to visit a mall for something, we get in, get what we need and then get out. The pornorgraphy in the Malls now days is everywhere in sight.

We tried several filters and were terribly annoyed with how they would block literally every normal site we would visit. So my husband just made me the administrator and I would give him access to certain websites that were trustworthy via my password, and any other ones I would sign him onto the Internet and be close by to help prevent temptation. It has worked rather well, but there are occasions that we have clicked onto a site that we thought was safe, but it really wasn't.

We recently invested in Covenant Eyes. We use it in conjunction with me as being administrator. It has filters to prevent much of the accidental sites we might view something inappropriate and it also sends reports of time allotments on the Internet, the sites visited and it rates the sites that are visited. I think it is a worthy investment and help in preventing temptation and protecting one's testimony.

I just thought some others might be interested in checking it out.

Our Accountability

2009-06-29T22:37:00.004-04:00

This post is more a VENTING of my frustrationsssss...... It's another matter of relying on the LORD and knowing that my accountability is to Him - and then trusting in Him no matter what the outcome.

About two months ago my husband parked our running SUV in front of the hospital and put the emergency brake on while he helped me unload the kids and put Ethan in a stroller. We have several appointments at the hospital for Ethan, so we save money by my husband dropping us off and parking the car several streets down than spending $5 a pop to park the car in the paid ramp parking.

Well, needless to say, as my husband pulled away, he forgot to let the emergency brake loose. There was a loud popping noise when he let it loose. Two hospital co-workers told the hospital security that my husband hit the car of their co-worker friend. This was totally untrue. I happened to have turned around after crossing the street to see him off. At the point of the popping noise, he was already parallel to the car he supposedly hit. The vehicle he supposedly hit had several points of damage on it. Literally at least three corners of her car were smashed from something. It was a nice car other than the damage.

The security officer took a statement made by the witnesses and they said they "heard" my husband hit the car and that they didn't actually see the accident. My husband spoke to the security guard and the guard went to where our car was parked and notated that there was no damage to our car. My husband as an added security asked for a police report. The police were phoned and they came to the scene. The witnesses then changed their story and said that they "Saw" my husband hit the car and saw the car shake. I couldn't be a witness because I was a relative. The officer refused to look at our vehicle and wouldn't notate my husband's side of the story.

Due to the uncooperative police officer a couple hours later my husband made an appointment with one of the GEICO insurance places to have the car examined and pictures taken to validate his innocence. Her car was red and there were some red specks of paint on our car causing some speculation, but the red paint on our car was Cherry red and her car was a brown maroon red. Where the paint marks were didn't even match up in height to where she said we caused the damage. Incredible.

Now this gets better. The woman, after two months, files a claim against us. The insurance company says that she has more evidence than we do. We even have security tapes from the hospital that prove he didn't hit the car, but they won't release the tapes except by court order.

So we are likely stuck dishing out for a fraudulent claim. Our insurance company knows we didn't do this but they don't want to fight for us because they would rather raise our insurance rates and put the claim on us because it is less expense on them to fight her.

The justice in this country on all levels makes me sick. I'm convinced there are many people sitting in prison that are completely innocent. How sad to see where our country has gone. We now have to prove or innocence instead of someone proving we are guilty.

I praise the LORD that our accountability is to Him and that He is the one who will bring justice to this in the end. He knows the character of my husband, and that if it were his fault he would gladly take responsibility.

It isn't over yet. I've made a ton of phone calls today trying to gather more proof of his innocence. We are onto phoning the police officer and his supervisor next.

In this day and age we need to be so wise in what we do. I fear at times for the safety of our children. This experience has made me more adamant on making sure I start a list of all my representative's phone numbers. We are going to start phoning these people over everything. This country hasn't much left to stand on, and I feel like giving up, but then again, who is my accountability to? It's to God. If we don't stand up for Truth as Christians, we are partial to blame for the state of this country. We need a revolution. The leaders of this country should be shot for what they have done- Republican and Democrat alike.

Let's get moving, Christians, and at least stand up for Righteousness and Truth. It's not going to be long before our right to home school our children will be taken away. I can see it coming. Whatever it is, it is going to hit home to everyone very soon, just as it did us- as minor as it may seem in comparrison to the rest of life.

Ahhh, I feel much better now! Thanks! :)

Bountiful Blessings

2009-06-25T21:58:00.004-04:00

The LORD never ceases to amaze me with His truly miraculous blessings. Yesterday I received a phone call from my son's physical therapist. She phoned us to let us know that Ethan was well above the developmentally delayed allowable limit for physical therapy to be covered. Often the therapists will try to focus on the area a child is weakest in, in order to keep them in a program. She had done this with Ethan and could only find a 10% delay in his weakest area - and 10% falls within "normal" range. This is truly a wonderful blessing and "music to our ears."

I don't believe I have mentioned my son's condition on my blog previously. Above is a picture of him at about a week old. If you want to know what a 10lb 2 oz baby looks like - here you are. We are so blessed to be entrusted with his life. Our LORD has been so very good to us and to Ethan.

For those who are interested, I'll post a brief story of his life and condition.

It was discovered in an ultrasound prior to birth that Ethan had two arachnoid cysts on his brain that were causing pressure on his ventricles (hydrocephalus - water on the brain) is another way to put it. It was a very difficult pregnancy relying on the LORD and not knowing what this could mean for his life. After Ethan was born, they placed him in the NICU and Guinea pigged him to death with test upon test. They also discovered that he had a heart condition and that he had ACC - Agenesis of the corpus collosum(a complete absence of the band of nerves that connects the right and left lobe of the brain). Much prayer was going out for this little one. It was quite overwhelming. I was handed papers of all sort for taking care of handicapped children, I was told by the geneticists the day after he was born to never have any more children, and the hospital refused to even let me nurse him as he had problems latching onto a bottle. My heart was broken. I was quite overwhelmed by the way everything was handled.

I wheeled myself back to my room and just gave my fears, emotions, and my little boy back to the LORD. I begged the LORD to allow me the opportunity to nurse my little boy. The doctors were convinced he would not nurse as it took them 45 minutes to get him to latch onto a bottle. I wheeled myself back down to the NICU a few hours later. I again tried to appeal to the nurses to see if they would let me nurse him. They said the same as before, but they let me. I took this sweet 10 lb baby with tubes and cords and IVs all over him and held him in my arms and began to sing Jesus Loves Me to him. It was at that moment that I knew Ethan was going to be okay. Ethan looked up at me and starred in my face with bewilderment. He recognized the song I was singing. My baby wasn't mentally retarded and he definitely had brain capacity. He recognized the very song I sang to him while he was in the womb outside of the womb now. What a blessing.

I then placed him to the breast and INSTANTLY he latched on and nursed with a vigor I have never seen or heard of after being away from me for almost 24 hours. Shortly after, the heart doc told me the heart condition was resolved and the geneticists told me his condition wasn't genetic.

Ethan is a miracle child. Kids with only half his condition are terribly disabled. None of the doctors here have seen a kid function like he does with his rare conditions. He appears normal in every aspect. It was a long hard road of 10-12 hospital visits a month on top of CT scans, MRI's, and other tests. I wondered if life would ever be normal again.

I've worked with Ethan from day one on helping him meet his milestones etc... We enrolled him in early intervention which is a State program that helps aid disabled kids. He was somewhat behind in speech and physical therapy but nothing really even to alarm the doctors. I've learned a lot from the therapists and always reinforce the therapy at home. Ethan now functions at or well above the developmental level for his age. Praise the LORD!

It is likely that Ethan will have learning problems as he matures. I notice that he processes information differently than a normal child, but he does learn and is continuing to develop which is a great encouragement to see. The neurologists tell me that he should know at least 50 words, but Ethan knows well over 200 words unassisted. Many kids with his condition don't say their first word until they are three years old or more.

Ethan is still at risk for seizures and also potentially death. But we try to look at him as a gift from the LORD and enjoy every day we have with him. The LORD is truly a Great and Mighty God that is in charge of all things.

Wedding Photography

2009-06-20T17:43:00.008-04:00

Wedding photography is quite challenging. We have been saving up for photography equipment for a while and invested in quality lenses and a camera, but we don't nearly have all the equipment to deal with low light settings and other challenging situations. So far I haven't been disappointed in the extra money we invested in lenses. They are wonderful for wedding and child photography and low light settings.

I asked the Bride and groom prior to their wedding if they would mind if I took some photos of their wedding as I am developing my photography abilities and knew it would be a great first time wedding opportunity for me. They agreed, but I wasn't going to infringe on their wedding by being all over the place because I knew they had another photographer in the family picked out. Well, it came to the night before the wedding and I went to the rehearsal and saw the building and was so disappointed in the lighting situation. It was a photographers worst nightmare. The lighting was terrible and there was unbelievable shadowing behind everyone and everything. I let the family know that the pictures weren't going to turn out like they would want. It was a shoe string budget wedding, but I tried to help them situate the alter a little better for picture sake. Their photographer that they picked out was a sweet lady, but her camera wasn't the greatest and she wasn't going to take any pictures beyond the front two rows. I was so disappointed that night.

The wedding day came and I went early to capture some pictures of the cake, etc... before people were everywhere and I would be unable to get a good shot. Literally moments before the wedding, both the fathers came up to me and asked me to take the liberty to do whatever necessary to get the best photographs possible. The lighting was so horrible that I literally had to go up on the alter and get close up shots to avoid shadowing.

The couple didn't want to drive anywhere for pictures outside. It was a perfect day for pictures outside. It was overcast and raining on and off. The other photographer and I asked a neighbor of the church if we could borrow her back yard. She did and we had 15 minutes to take photographs before the reception. Talk about stressful. All this and I had to pose them and everything with only giving the liberty to do this moments before the wedding. In this yard there was a swing set, in ground pool and assorted other things I needed to avoid when photographing. When I could get a good shot, I needed to be in the middle of the pool to take it. Argh!

Here are just a few of them. I hope you all enjoy them. Let me know what you think. I'm open to criticism.

Back in Business

2009-06-20T09:57:00.001-04:00

After a long two days of computer mending, I'm not really eager to blog much of anything. I am absolutely convinced that all the time saved on these blasted things are wasted in fixing the problems with them. We are probably considered on the computer illiterate side of things, but we are determined to fix the problems on our computer ourselves whenever possible as we know the computer guy down the street will charge us a couple hundred bucks even if it happened to be a loose wire.

We back up everything on an external hard drive to save the important information. Well, we were forced to wipe out our computer hard drive in order to de-worm it. The stubborn worm was not going to be fixed or deleted. After we got our computer back up to speed we plugged in the external hard drive - the drive that has all my babies pictures on it, all the church work, sermons, Greek exegesis and diagrams and Hebrew poetry parallelism my husband has worked so hard on, all my homeschooling stuff, you name it. It refused to recognize the drive. We phoned the company and they said, "oh, if it's the drive, we'll replace it". Sure that's nice, but I really could care less about a replacement. I want my babies pictures! It was a challenging day. I figured the worm had infected the external drive as well and corrupted all the files. I know it isn't everything in life, but we don't even have a camcorder to tape them except for the junkie one on our camera. We just have a camera and pictures of the boys growing up are so precious to me. I took the drive to my mom's house to see if it could be opened there. Praise the LORD! It was accessible. We fixed the drivers on our computer and now should be able to pull it up here too. Thank you, LORD!

There is an old story called The Snake Story and one called The Pineapple Story about a missionary to New Guinea who learned to give everything to the LORD. I was thinking of this story as I wanted to be upset at the possibility of loosing all of my precious pictures of the boys. I had to chose to give to Him what was already His and be thankful that I could still take pictures of my boys now. Pictures really have no eternal value. I can't take them to Heaven with me- nor will I want to, but My LORD knew how important these pictures were and He blessed me with the ability to be able to have them again. Isn't He Marvelous to continue to show His love? He IS!

So soon I will be posting pictures again - Yea!

Life Update

2009-06-16T21:20:00.002-04:00

Wow! May was an interestingly, insane month. Lots of church activities and church work to do, a wedding to photograph, an anniversary to celebrate, home organization to accomplish, guests to prepare for, a washing machine that decides to only work on the sturdy cotton cycle(Praise the LORD it's still working), more carpenter ant issues to deal with, plumbing problems(that are now temporarily fixed), a family conference at church, and then a computer that was attacked by a worm followed by a broken back light. Amazingly we all remained calm and contented during this entire time. Although my poor pregnant body decided to crash several times in between all of this happening.

Forgive me for not having pictures. We have to wipe out our hard drive as we had a worm that attacked our hard drive space which prevents us from downloading or uploading. Fun! It will take some time for me to fix. So much for virus protection. I am very blessed to say that the LORD graciously provided a screen to hook up to our laptop for free. The screen light went out on it after only a year and a half of use. A sweet couple gave us an amazing 20 in flat screen to accommodate our screen need. I am thrilled to be able to catch up on blogging and all the other church projects I am behind on accomplishing. The LORD truly blesses us beyond what we expect. Thank You, LORD! My husband and I are so thankful that we can still find a way to use the computer after all the trouble we've had with it.

The LORD also blessed us with more great news today. Up to this point in my pregnancy, I haven't been able to have any prenatal care, except for one visit with the midwife. The lovely government insurance that we pay so much for each pay period doesn't cover midwives. I went to four doctors and none of them would even consider taking me unless I was willing to undergo another C-section for delivery. I am not the preventative surgery type if you all haven't figured it out by now. My husband and I prayed about it and decided that we would pursue trying other ways to get my midwife covered, and if we couldn't then I would just be forced to walk in the hospital at 10cm and say, "deliver me!" - yeah, not the best option. Well, I received news that insurance will cover the midwife that I would like to go to. She is the only woman in all of Western and most of the middle New York that can legally provide home deliveries. She is most importantly someone we feel that we can trust to tell us when a C-section is truly a necessity. It is so important for my husband and I to both feel comfortable with the doctor or midwife. Last time we both didn't feel comfortable at all. We are so thankful that the LORD has provided and placed us in the care of someone we can both feel comfortable with in delivering the baby.

Celebrating our Anniversary in Frugal Luxury

2009-05-13T22:26:00.003-04:00

When it comes to Hallmark Holidays, our family just can't afford to keep up with the expense of it all.. Even buying cards for everyone isn't within our means. My husband and I don't let it get to us. Somehow, we both seem to have a rebel in us toward these Hallmark Holidays. We feel like the world is dictating us to spend money that we really don't have or need to spend. It's not as special to get a gift when a holiday demands it. We will go out on a date for our birthdays, but we don't buy presents or even a card for each other for birthdays, Christmas, Valentines, or mother's/Father's day. I don't feel deprived either. I think it's a waste to buy a $6-7 dollar card that someone else wrote just so you can stay "out of the doghouse" every holiday. I love flowers, but I would rather buy my favorite ones and give them to someone who would really appreciate them when they are ill in the hospital than enjoy them for a day or two and watch them rot in my house. I am so thankful that my husband is practical and that neither of us feel like we are missing out because we don't do all of these things. But this is what we do........

We save our money little by little around the year and go away for one night and two days to celebrate our Anniversary. This is something we both enjoy and work hard all year to do. It's worth the minor sacrifices. This year we are going to stay in Toronto, Ontario in a high class hotel with free room service and snacks, and a 315 sq ft space with all the modern luxuries. We were able to grab this for a steal of a deal. We saved $20 more from the exchange rate when we purchased the reservations too. We aren't movie goers or theatre goes either, but they have the Sound of Music playing at one of their upscale theatres. The guy booking the tickets gave us a deal of half price and put us in the best seats for the price range. Then we saved an extra $10 on the tickets due to the exchange rate. We made out better in Canada than in the US with my husband's 20% government discount. With free breakfast, we will only need to find a reasonably priced dinner (probably at Wendy's) :) I love saving money. The only downer is that the hotel parking is like $25 a stay. Is that insane or what? I guess it's worth it to have a safe spot to park your car. I think I will still ask for a discount. My motto is, Hey it doesn't hurt to ask, the worst they can say is "No" . Long story short.... We have a wedding we are involved in and finishing up and then we will be spending the rest of the weekend in frugal luxury. We do have to bring one youngin along. He/she is now kicking a lot and making his/her presence very known. :)

Finishing Projects

2009-05-13T15:43:00.005-04:00

Oye! Does anyone else have trouble finishing projects once you've been interrupted? Major interruptions in life cause my project list to grow. We've been busy this spring organizing and now starting to finish projects that we were unable to finish because of one thing or another. When we moved into our new/old home, I wanted to make our bedroom a little something special for my husband. We only had a mattress that sat on a frame with a girly dresser I had when I was at my parents house. Not very romantic at all. Our budget is always low. So, I tried to make it look appealing with very little money. The quilt I bought from Jcpenney's at 80% off retail price + I had a 15% off coupon (cheaper than I could make it). I just finished making the bed skirt and pillows with Waverly material off eBay that was 75% cheaper than my fabric store. I have a couple more small pillows to zip up with reclaimed material, but the total cost of the bedding will be less than the quilt at regular price. We were able to grab this Ethan Allen poster bed from Craigslist for $250 (originally over $1,000). It was brand new, never put together - The people had a ton of money and the husband decided that he didn't like it. The dresser we found curbside(sturdy and has deep drawers), which I need to paint still, and our ladder chairs were a steal off of Craiglist. It's not the most impressive room in the world, but it was cheap and my husband enjoys it - which is what really matters.

We finished labeling, and organizing our attic, now we are on to our basement. I am needing more space for our Montessori classroom. So it is going to be a big reworking of everything to make it more learning friendly. The garage is our last major organizational project this summer. When we have this done, I think we will all have a big sigh of relief.

How neat is this?

2009-05-11T08:33:00.005-04:00

This is totally a Grandma gift, but I love the concept. I never heard of the Tummy Tub before, but it seems like it would help calm any baby down as it simulates the feeling of being in Mommy's womb. It is also very economical on water, which I like, since I'm having our third baby. Check it out, and let me know what you think. The tub minus the base is $45. A little pricey for me. Ebay may have a better deal. Grandma found this and she thinks her grandbaby MUST have it. I hardly think it would be the first thing I'd grab in a fire, but I'm not going to kick the gift horse in the mouth. Here is a link below for the demo. And don't show it to your husband, trust me, he won't be impressed- I already tried :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbrNt24eHVQ

Our Family's Decision on Vaccinations

2009-05-11T08:04:00.006-04:00

Vaccinations for many people are not even an issue. I grew up with parents that vaccinated me without a second thought. Their parents lived in the TB, polio outbreaks and thought vaccinatios were a necessity in order to prevent disease. It has only been rather recently, the past 15-20 years, that the use of vaccinations is coming into question.

We've been asked by many to share our decision on vaccinations. I have read heavily on the subject – both sides – through internet research, several books, news articles, magazines, the library, etc…. It was hard for us to decide in the beginning until I started looking at it from a perspective of how God has designed our bodies.

We mainly believe that non-vaccinating and natural medicine is the right choice for our family based on how God has designed our bodies. Medicine has its place, and we are not totally against it when it is necessary. After using herbs and natural medicine to treat my family, we truly believe that God designed our bodies to be treated (and respond better) with the natural elements that He created – not manmade chemicals that generally mask symptoms and/or break down the immune system – which God gave us to fight disease and illness. We are lead to believe by doctors, whose foundation and basis for thinking is evolution, that man is evolving better science to prevent all these fearful diseases that once afflicted previous generations. Thus, out of fear, we heed the physician’s instruction and place our confidence in medicines or vaccinations (man’s philosophy) to keep our children from harm instead of relying on The Great Physician.

It is wrong for me to judge the motivations of others. Can one have faith that God can use vaccinations to prevent illness and not vaccinate out of fear? – I don’t know. All I know is my own heart’s motivations. This is what it came down to for me to make an initial decision. What was my heart’s motivation in vaccinating? My personal mom’s heart motivation to vaccinate was based out of fear, and who was going to take that fear away? – MAN not GOD. This is what I believe to be a big consideration in a couple’s decision in regards to vaccination. It is this same fear that dictates many to vaccinate (maybe not all). I see this fear cause many parents to completely sign off on all the major side affects these vaccinations could create without even a second thought. They would rather put their child at risk personally and believe what some doctor says only happens 1 out of 10,000 than trust the LORD to do His will in that child’s life.
None of us want our children to die of a disease. I would rather GOD allow my child to contract a disease, than to be responsible for inflicting a major side affect from a disease upon my child through giving permission to inject my child with a vaccine I know is potentially harmful. I believe and know 100% that God is in control of my children’s health. If God allows my child to die of a disease, then I believe it was God’s will for it to happen, and a vaccine wouldn’t have prevented it. God is in control of life and death. I don’t think a vaccination is going to save a child’s life if God intended that child to go home with him at a certain point of time anyway.

You may think, “Well, God gave us vaccinations to prevent the disease; so you are being foolish.” First, if God gave us vaccinations to prevent disease, then why did He also give our bodies the ability to fight the disease on their own? You may think we are foolish, but God knows that our heart motivation in not vaccinating is to please Him, and to have faith and trust Him to do His will in our children’s life in every aspect. Therefore, we know that our children are “safe” within the will of our Father, and we do not have to worry as He is obligated by our faith to do His will in their lives. I won’t say that our children will never die of a disease. They may, but we won’t feel guilty because we know that God was the one who authorized the disease, and that He has a purpose for it. If we were to allow our child to be vaccinated and they died or had a major life prolonged side affect as a result, we would feel very guilty as parents. We believe that God honors the heart that intends to follow after righteousness, and so we do ask, in faith, that He protect our children and give them health. To me, this is the best and most effective vaccine we have.

We have several friends and family members that deliberately want to remain ignorant on the issue of vaccination because they don’t want to think about it. They call us foolish, but they, in a sense are blindfolding themselves and walking out in the road in supposed “faith” that they won’t get hit. Only in this analogy they have an advantage that the drivers are sighted.
There are two books that I would like to recommend those studying on the subject to read. They are What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Children's Vaccinations - by Stephanie Cave and Deborah Mitchell, and Vaccinations, Deceptions, and Tragedy – by Michael Dye.
The first book comes from a doctor’s perspective. I feel it is very informative and not overboard on the subject. They are completely against some vaccinations or at least in the form that they are given, but they promote vaccinations in general - only when the children are older. They also recommend that families who choose to vaccinate try to have their children vaccinated without mercury and other harmful preservatives along with having the triple shots seperated (such as the MMR). These are very expensive and many doctors do not have them available. There is also evidence that they do not work sufficiently. The second book is a little overboard. Hallelujah Acres in itself is a little off the deep end for me. The book even talks about vaccinations being a government conspiracy. It may or may not be true(I tend to be a conspiracy theorist), but I believe this is a little out of line to be authorized in the pages of this book. Although I wouldn't put it past our government to try to control the population and economy through vaccination extermination. It’s almost as though they scare you into not vaccinating. I recommend this book based on the extensive research that is in it. I believe the documented statistics are very alarming and the personal stories of parents who have children that suffer every day with the side effects of vaccinations is very important for parents to read. Many of these parents plead to people not to vaccinate due to the suffering their families have had to endure from one vaccine. Thus, I recommend both books highly but with some reserve.

There are also many logical reasons why we do not vaccinate our children. I will just list some that I feel were most important in making our decision.

First, to my knowledge, there are no statistics or ways for doctors to know how effectively vaccinations will work if they work at all in some cases. This is mainly due to the vaccination companies not having any regulations as to how strong or weak to make a vaccination. The vaccination may be too weak and not help your child out at all or for very long. The vaccination may be too strong and cause harmful side effects in your child. I’m sure certain children are more predisposed to having side effects than others, but this non-regulation of the vaccination companies could be what is causing some of these side effects. These companies need to have regulations on the potency of vaccinations before our children are going to be injected by one. Autism is on a rampage, and despite what people want to say, there are many connections with autism and childhood vaccinations. The reason being is the mercury and other preservatives in the vaccines. Yet without the preservatives, the vaccinations are often useless by the time they finish the processing and shelf life before injection.

And for all those who say, “But they have taken out the mercury in the vaccines.” – I say, “Prove it!” The doctors can’t prove it. I’ve asked. If the doctors can’t prove it, the vaccination companies can’t. And if they have taken mercury out of them, what have they put in place of it to help preserve it? -possibly another harmful chemical? If they have taken out what they say is the only harmful element in vaccines (mercury) then why do they still have you sign off on the vaccines?

Second, studies have shown that once the body has been treated with a vaccine, the immune system is actually weakened substantially more than if the person had the disease naturally. Therefore, God equipped our bodies to fight disease better naturally than unnaturally. People who have been vaccinated are generally more sick than those who have not (this is proven by documentation and my own personal experience with our children). Our children have been in two doctor offices and both doctors have said that our children and those who didn’t vaccinate were the healthiest in their office. Your children could be susceptible to infections and other illness and not have the immunity to fight them off due to the vaccine overload. And we start giving vaccinations to children in the US the day or day after the child is born.

Third, doctors and vaccination companies promote vaccinations so highly for the main reason of gaining revenue. I’m sorry, but we’re not too eager to give our child a potentially dangerous vaccine when we know its main purpose is to line people’s pockets. Do you think they are out for the best interest of your child? (Hardly) It is astounding the amount of money that is made off of vaccination companies. People put stock in these companies, and these companies make tons of money. Enough money to bribe doctors and to pay off all the lawsuits that arise every year from parents whose children suffer lifelong problems from their vaccines. Why does the government want you to sign off on the vaccinations? It’s for the sole reason that they do not want to be held responsible for the side effects the vaccines may cause. They want the parent to take responsibility.

Fourth, studies have shown that 90 some percent of the children who get the vaccinated diseases, have ALREADY BEEN VACCINATED. Most of these children are public school goers as well (Children who are most up to date with vaccines) People think that their children are protected, but they really aren’t. I have had my two pediatricians agree with us regarding the vaccinations. They did recommend a couple, but also felt that vaccinations were not the best choice, particularly in small children. This alone brought up warning flags in our minds. The two pediatricians we have had have been men who truly care for our children and respect our right not to vaccinate. They also by law provide and encourage parents who desire to vaccinate. They understandably have us sign papers to cover themselves legally, but they never pushed the issue with us beyond what they are told to do.

We actually had a pediatrician in the very beginning of our first son’s life that was very pro-vaccinate. We understood that, but asked that she respect our wishes to not vaccinate. She said she would. We went to her office when our oldest was a couple months old and when we reiterated that we didn’t want to vaccinate, she said, “How could you not vaccinate? You are putting other children at risk!” To which I replied, “Well, if those children are vaccinated, then they shouldn’t be at risk, correct?” Or are they? She didn’t know what to say. Needless to say, after she lied and told us our son had an ear infection that he did not have and tried to scare us into using antibiotics, we left her office after confirming through another doctor that she lied to us. This doctor was out for her own best interest not ours. I caution you – There are a lot of them out there just like her.

Our last main reason for not vaccinating is for the reason that we have a family member who died from vaccinations. If anything helped raise the importance in our minds of studying this whole issue, it was this very event. The baby was a little over a month old. The baby had just been getting over an illness. He was a good, content, and happy little boy. The doctors were eager to give him his vaccinations as he was already a couple weeks overdue. The doctors reassured that the baby would be fine. Within an hour or so after the vaccinations, the sweet content little baby was no longer sweet and content. The baby was miserable and screaming on and off all day. The doctors said that this was “normal.” By the next morning, the baby was found dead in his crib. The circumstances were all too circumstantial for it not to be the vaccinations. The clinic the baby was taken to was a government clinic. So the autopsy was “inconclusive” as to how the baby died – interesting? He was the 1 out of 10,000 that died from a vaccination. One out of ten thousand may not seem like a lot, but when your child is that one, the ten thousand doesn’t make a difference, does it?

The issue of nosodes came up to me. Nosodes are more of a natural form of vaccinating. They sound appealing and seem like they are safer considering they do not have mercury or other dangerous preservatives in them. I believe that nosodes first came out and were experimented by veterinarians on animals. I am not highly versed on nosodes, but out of the minimal research that I have done, Nosodes are not known to be effective, and often lead to animals being perpetually ill as a result. I’ve talked with doctors about them, and I haven’t found a doctor yet who is willing to administer them due to legal issues that may result. I lived in North Carolina and now New York, so it may depend upon where you live.

Bottom line for us is that our kids are not in daycare; they are homeschooled and have a limited chance of getting some horrible disease to begin with. I believe parents who choose not to vaccinate need to inform themselves of the symptoms of these vaccinated diseases as a majority of the disease that are contracted have NO LONG TERM side effects if they are treated properly. Yes, even Polio. My recommendation is to keep your home clean and your children’s hands washed, and you will prevent a great deal of illness of any type.

Easy Tick Removal

2009-05-07T10:13:00.003-04:00

Ticks and I don't get a long. I've had only two experiences with them, and that was enough. We don't have a tick problem in the area of New York that we live, but when we traveled to Maryland for vacation, we visited an island for 30 minutes and come home with ticks all over us. My sister-in-law and I each had a newborn at the time and my oldest son was only two. So we were a little freaked out about the whole situation. Our husbands family tends towards moles and so it was quite difficult to tell the difference between a mole and a tick. Basically the whole experience was so nightmarish that we never want to venture toward that part of Maryland ever again. When I received this email, I thought it would have been nice to know this easy way to remove ticks back then. Hope this helps someone out there. :)

Spring will be here soon and the ticks will soon be showing their heads. Here is a good way to get them off you, your children, or your pets. Give it a try.

Please forward to anyone with children... or hunters or dogs, or anyone who even steps outside in summer!!

A School Nurse has written the info below -- good enough to share -- And it really works!!

I had a pediatrician tell me what she believes is the best way to remove a tick. This is great, because it works in those places where it's some times difficult to get to with tweezers: between toes, in the middle of a head full of dark hair, etc.

Apply a glob of liquid soap to a cotton ball. Cover the tick with the soap-soaked cotton ball and swab it for a few seconds (15-20), the tick will come out on its own and be stuck to the cotton ball when you lift it away. This technique has worked every time I've used it (and that was frequently), and it's much less traumatic for the patient and easier for me.
Unless someone is allergic to soap, I can't see that this would be damaging in any way. I even had my doctor's w ife call me for advice because she had one stuck to her back and she couldn't reach it with tweezers. She used this method and immediately called me back to say, "It worked!"

Delicious Bean Dip Recipe

2009-05-06T14:34:00.006-04:00

Excuse the picture... it was taken after we indulged. :) I don't know why I use this recipe more in the spring time. Maybe because it's hardy, quick and easy to make while I'm trying to get my spring cleaning done, and our spring clothes switched out from our winter ones. It's probably more of a fall recipe. Anyway... it's a must try. Everyone loves it. It's easy and church folk rave over it. I use it as a quick lunch meal lots of times.

I try to use all natural ingredients and items without any preservatives to make it more healthy. The fat content is definitely high. I always double the recipe because it goes really fast. When I double it, I don't double the cream cheese. I think it tastes just as good with 8 ozs. You can do as you wish, but it helps keep the fat down. You can also add the other ingredients to your leftover homemade chili and turn it into a hardy dip.

Bean Dip and Chips
Hormel Chili - 1 15oz can (or leftover homemade chili) Cream cheese - 1 80z package Green onions - one bunch (chopped) Green chilies - 1 can (diced) Cheddar cheese - shred Preheat stove 350 degrees - Mix first four ingredients in baking dish and bake 30 minutes. Stir and sprinkle a good amount of cheddar cheese on top. You can bake further, but it melts as you stir it in with the rest of the ingredients. buy your favorite tortilla chips and enjoy!

A Clean, Orderly Home

2009-04-24T12:36:00.010-04:00

A clean and orderly home is what most people desire whether they want to admit it or not. I truly believe we all struggle with it. Some struggle more than others, but we all do struggle. I have several friends that are diluted about my house. They think that I have a perfectly clean and orderly home all day,every day year round. Maybe in comparison to some people I do, but it is far from perfect. I have many areas of improvement and in need of new ways of structuring my home better. I love to clean and organize. It is therapy for me. I tend to be a little OCD about it at times. But I have learned a great deal about what I need personally to help me keep my home orderly and clean. I would like to share several things/systems that have helped me, AND I would LOVE to hear feedback of any systems that help other ladies. My kids are young, so I'd love to hear about systems used with older kids. I'm always looking for new ways to improve my home.

I'd like to say to those who refuse to think my house is less than perfect, I won't mention names, (I'm sure they will be reading this) that everyone has different talents and abilities and backgrounds. My mom and grand mom and down the line were all meticulous cleaners. I started at a very young age cleaning with my mom, and we worked together as a small cleaning business when I was a teenager. I've also cleaned professionally on the side for about 12 years. So all this being said, I've had a little more experience than the average person in this particular area. Don't compare yourself to me.

Some things I have learned about cleaning a home when I have small children:
1. Structure and a Routine are vital - Lists, timers, keeping a schedule are all helpful
2. It is impossible for Mom to do it all
3. It MUST be a team effort - Kids and Dad involved too
4. There is a system that WILL work for YOUR family - you just need to identify your needs
5. A husband that sees consistent results of order and your happiness will be more than willing to enforce the order.
6. When you have done your best and the house is still a mess, be content with that and move on
7. NEVER GIVE UP! - you'll really be sorry when you do.
8. Don't over expect - if you have 6 kids, expect that your home is not going to be perfect. It's called LIFE. But remember that there can and must be order among the seemingly chaotic home.

Rules we have in our home:
1. No one leaves bedroom area until beds are made, rooms are spotless, laundry is collected, and we have family devotions.
2. After all meals, unless we are strapped for time, dishes are cleared and cleaned (mom or Dad puts most of them away)
3. One toy per child out at a time - and we enforce it!
4. Toys must be put away in the proper designated place before a new task in the day is started (exp.... Going outside, watching a movie, meals, bedtime, etc...)
5. Shoes are off at the door
6. Coats and shoes are hung and placed in child's designated section
7. If we haven't used something in a year, out it goes.

8. Whining, crying, and badgering without a valid cause(such as a broken extremity) is never tolerated- These are used for manipulation and control and wastes too much time
9. Since we don't have money to buy gifts for each other, Dad and Mom always try to have a little date night each week - even if it's just sharing a cup of coffee and a donut or enjoying a meal at Panera Bread.

10. Privileges are given ONLY when these rules are followed - this gives motivation

Our Systems:
1. Family closet: We copied this from the Duggar Family. We have a closet in our basement that houses all the family clothes. Mom washes, drys and puts laundry away within feet of the washer/dryer. We use open metal racks on casters to hold the clothes, labeled Rubbermaid bins to hold socks and underwear, and have rods hanging from the rafters for hangables. I only have to bring sheets and towels upstairs to put away. Nice and Easy and saves LOADS of time.

2. Timer System: I set a Dual timer (can be used to set two different events at one time) in 5, 15, 30 or 1 hour increments depending on the task needing to be accomplished. Unless the task is in dire need of being completed, we stop and take 5 minutes to clean it up and move on once the timer has beeped. This keeps us on schedule, in a routine, and accomplishing what needs to get done.

3. Label System: I dymo label everything, within reason. This way Daddy knows where things are and where things go. The kids toys, we print off pictures and tape them onto the containers; so they know which toys belong where. We have signs in our attic designating certain areas and then the boxes and containers are labeled with specific items contained inside. All children's clothing is placed in containers sorted by size (exp... 0-3 mo, 24mo-2T, 8, etc..). Each person in the home has a toiletry caddy that has their own toiletries in it. They are responsible for keeping their items in the container and placing the container back in its labeled spot. Toothpaste is not shared, each person has their own bottle in their caddy. Same with hair brush, etc.. - limited sharing. You get the idea. We make a designated spot for everything. We do this with our Montessori schooling as well. I love the labels. They seem to bother the conscience when the item is purposly put in the wrong place.

4. Children help whenever possible. Our kids are little and there isn't a ton of things for them to do, but I expect them to help me when they can. They help me wash the floors, they help me fold the laundry or hand laundry to me. They help me put the laundry in the dryer, they make their beds as best as they are able, they put their dirty clothes in the hamper, they clean up after themselves, they put their dishes in the dishwasher, they put ONLY their dishes away, they throw things in the garbage, they dress and undress themselves.. etc..

5. Mail system: I hate paper! We have a plethora of mail. With a child that is considered special needs, we get mail from insurance companies, mail from each doctor, developmental evaluations, reminders of appointments, you name it. The list goes on. We have a wooden mail sorter with only TWO spots. File Mail and Shred Mail. We get the mail and it goes into one of these bins immediately. I'm bad about this one and wait to file the mail until it's overflowing, but at least it has a designated spot and we have to deal with it.

6. Calendar System: In our dinning room, yes dining room. We have a good size wipe off calendar. Tacky, I know, but it works for us. It is right above our phone table and near the mail sorter. So, any appointments or phone calls that have information we need to write down is recorded on the calendar. This helps my husband and I to be on the same page. We started this when our son Ethan had 10 doctor appointments each month. We realized how much it really kept our sanity during that time and now use it all the time.

7. Caddy organizer system: We have a hard time keeping keys, wallets, work badges, cell phone etc.. in a place where we can find them easily. It would take too long to find each item individually when we would leave. So, when we moved into our home, we bought two power charging caddies - one for downstairs and one for upstairs. When we come home, we place everything in these caddies.. This way we know it is in one of the two caddies and are not searching the entire house for these items. We also keep our cameras, mp3 players, etc.. in these and when we need them, they are already charged and ready to go.

8. Cleaning System: I try to keep the house up all the time so I don't ever need to go into an all house cleaning spree. I used to have a list of which day I would clean which room. Now I do it automatically. I usually pick the room that is the worst. Bathrooms are spiffed up and sanitized each morning( toilet, mirror, sink, tub, rug shaken out) not a major cleaning. Rugs are vacuumed in the main living areas every day and sweeping and quick kitchen floor cleaning are done each day. Bedrooms are the easiest, so I take one day and clean the entire upstairs and bathroom. The living and dining room are another day, the kitchen is another, and the basement the last. The fifth day is saved for organizing (mail, things that didn't find their home, reorganizing toys that may not be in proper spots, taking a look at all the systems and making sure we are sticking to them). The weekends are free except for minor cleaning.

Major cleanings - moving heavy furniture, windows and window wells, cleaning under area rugs, washing comforter bedding, etc.. is done once a month.

Spring cleaning - includes washing all woodwork, drapes, in and out of containers and drawers, walls, ceilings, etc.. is done twice a year.

9. Meal Planning System: This is one I am still working on and haven't implemented into our routine yet. I am really bad about this (Shame, Shame!). I am classic for creating new recipes by just making meals out of what I have in the pantry. Our son's diet has prevented us from doing this routine as his diet is so ritual it consumes a lot of time. Snacks are gone seemingly overnight and so it's hard to keep my house well stocked on a low budget. My plan is to put all of my favorite recipes on a recipe program on our computer and when I go to the store, I hit the recipes I want and it makes a grocery list for me. I also need to make the time to have a seasonal grocery list. One that has plenty of variety, but repeats itself for four months at a time. So I can buy in advance and stock up when there are sales and not have to write an agonizingly long list before I go shopping.

10. Financial System: Having a strict budget is essential for our family dynamics. This is my husband's area. He categorizes all our expenses on Microsoft Excel. Overtime or night differential money is never money that we use to depend upon. We usually invest this money, put it into savings, or put it away for an emergency. We choose a lower health insurance plan and save the difference between the two plans for use in natural medicine or doctor co-payments. If we don't have the money for it, we don't buy it. We discuss all purchases that are out of the norm before buying the item no matter how big or how small.

Gifts are our biggest struggle. We keep Christmas very simple, and we do not celebrate hallmark holidays. Birthday gifts we leave up to the grandparents, and we take the kids somewhere for their birthday (park, McDonald's, play place at mall, Etc..)

Special church functions that require money, we do it if we have it. We have a small church so it can be a strain financially to provide food and meals constantly for all the different events in the month/year. We keep things simple and cheap. I'll fill a small crockpot with a frozen veggie and season it, bring a good sale item from the store, or I'll make an unusual flavor of popcorn for kids events. When we can't afford it, I simply say, "No" or "It's not within our means" and I don't worry about it. Some people have the concept that we just need to give by faith and pray that the LORD would provide specifically for these things. I say that God has already provided us with a means of provision and we need wisdom to utilize it as best we can. There are times God does provide for these events, but I am not going to beg God to provide for these extra things when half of them are not necessary. We don't need a 9 course meal every time we go to church for an event, and kids don't need a snack or a treat every time there is a class. Yeah, I'm one of those moms who hate candy. I don't want my kids to have it.

11. One in one out system: Unless we are in need of clothing or shoes or something that is a necessity. If something comes in the house, another thing must go out. My husband actually pushes for two things to go out. If someone gives them a new toy, one must be given away or thrown out. If we are showered with a bunch of dollar store toys, I give them 2 or 3 days to play with them and they disappear while they are sleeping. If I buy a new shirt for my husband, the one it replaces is torn into rags or thrown away if it is not rag-worthy.

12. Spray bottle system: I keep a spray bottle filled 50/50 with white vinegar and water on each level of the home, along with a bag of cleaning rags. If there is a spill or little hands are dirty from outside or from eating, the bathroom is grungy, the dryer has lint accumulating on the top, etc.... you name it.. I am ready quickly with a rag and bottle to clean it. This helps save time digging or going all the way downstairs to find a bottle to clean up the mess, and it helps keep the home clean as messes are taken care of in a snap. I also like using vinegar and water because I don't have to worry if my kids get into it. I can leave it in a location that is more convenient and know they are safe.

Okay... as you can see I love systems. They are so helpful for our family. I'm sure we have more that I can't think of, but these are the major ones. Since we have implemented all of them over the years, our lives have truly been consistentantly less stressful, cleaner and more organized. We keep to the systems because we see the benefits and like a peaceful, happy home.

Spring Carpenter Ants!

2009-04-24T08:04:00.004-04:00

Spring is definitely here! We found this out real quick. After replacing our old windows with new energy rated ones, we decided that replacing the front door would finish off the exterior of the house nicely and help further insulate the front of the house. Our neighborhood is nice, but it isn't in the running for any awards. We didn't want to out shoot the neighborhood and buy a fancy entry door that we knew we wouldn't get our money out of. So, we choose a tasteful glass door for $300 bucks.

It wasn't long after that we found that this cheap $300 dollar door was going to cost us a whole lot more than $300 dollars. After ripping out the old door, we noticed some rotted wood underneath. No big deal, it's a 1920's home - pretty understandable. The more we tore out the more we realized that we had a bigger problem than we thought. It wasn't just dry rot; it was carpenter ants!

Praise the LORD they weren't termites! This little family virtually destroyed the foundation to the floor of our porch. It's a good thing we jacked up the porch to level it out before we had the new windows installed. It made the job easier. Needless to say, siding, aluminum, and all the other "maintainance free" items we put on our home, are not as "maintainance free" as one would think. It's what is under the maintainace free stuff that is the big worry. Well, we learned a lot about carpenter ants after this whole experience. I thought I'd share a little.

Once we literally ran into the ant nest, my dad, impulsive as he is, goes and grabs the ant spray and hoses them down. I stopped and thought to myself, "humm.. if carpenter ants were that easy to get rid of, then why do people have such a hard time keeping them away?" I'm glad I stopped and did some Internet research. My dad didn't know, but what he was doing was probably the worst thing you could possibly do.

Carpenter ants grow in colonies and often have sister colonies or satellite colonies other places in the surrounding area. Unless one knows the exact location of the heart of the nest, it is best not to spray the little worker ants. The Queen ant knows how many fellows are in her nest, and when she detects that some of them haven't returned, she goes into extra baby making mode. She will reproduce at a higher rate in order to replace the ones lost - causing the colony to grow even bigger than before. Serious Problem!

Thankfully, we did find the heart of the nest and were able to kill find and kill the Queen and king of the nest along with the rest of the family. So we did spray. If we were unable to find the nest, then it is best to set bait with poison in it and kill them off slowly. The ants will bring the bait back to the nest and eventually they will all die from feeding from the attractive bait.

Another problem with carpenter ants is that once they have started tunneling through the wood in your home, even if you find the nest and kill it, other ants will find the "ready made" home and continue where they left off. So, it is also important that, if you can, you must remove all the wood that has been eaten by the ants to prevent more damage in the future.

We still may have to worry about other ant colonies that might be around our home, and once have a problem with carpenter ants, it is best to have the exterior of the house sprayed and monitored for more problems. We learned the areas to watch in particular and what we needed to get rid of around the yard that might attract them.

I keep a pretty clean home and we've never had them in the house, which is a good sign, but there are several areas to watch for ants. Ants love water, sugar, and wet wood, paper items. If there are more than 10 ants at a time in your home at one time (other than if you have a food issue in the kitchen) you can be assured that you have problems. If you see them inside the home, you may have bigger problems. Ants love to tunnel their way along electrical lines in the home. So, small hole can be drilled along the electrical outlets and powder bait can be inserted to help kill them. Areas such as wet basements, dish washing machines, and bathrooms are big areas of ant attraction. Outside there should be no wood laying around the house - particularly if you already have problems. Fence posts, tree stumps, vegetation close to the house and trees in general are all places outside that they like to satellite to and build their nests.

Okay, if you read this far and have no problems with ants, I commend you! You may have completely wasted your time, but maybe not. It's always good to know about these things a head of time.

We've replaced much of the floor in our porch, and have to do more demo to see how far the damage has extended, but at least we killed the nest at this point. The F-U-N in home ownership! It's definitely a blessing, but can also be a curse at times.

Down and Out :)

2009-04-09T23:17:00.002-04:00

You all are probably wondering what happened to me. Forgive me. We have all come down with the flu. I being already week from experiencing terrible nausea from the pregnancy haven't been able to keep up as faithfully as I need with my natural medicine routine. So it has been pretty bad. If you think of us, pray please. I went to the hospital Saturday due to being dehydrated, malnourished, and sick. The hospital was so dirty, and our deductible was high that we decided to get 4 IV's and go home instead of staying. They told me I had the flu. I'm still in a very weakened state - totally exhausted. And I am trying to care for my two boys who are sick as well. My husband has it too, but must go to work. Please pray that the LORD would heal our bodies quickly. I'm also worried about our little baby as I haven't been able to eat or drink like I need to, to even sustain my body.

Thanks to all!

Mercury found in Corn Syrup

2009-03-24T18:14:00.004-04:00

This article is a must read for everyone! Our family is pretty much off of all corn syrup on a daily basis. For those of you who think that they don't eat or feed their children corn syrup, I challenge you to look at the ingredients of EVERYTHING you buy. It's scary. It can even be found in Toothpaste! And please don't resort to replacing corn syrup with other sweetners such as sweet and low, splenda, aspartame, etc.... Bad NEWS! If you have a sweet tooth, Stevia or raw honey may be a good solutuion for you. Once you make the switch, it won't be long before your body won't even crave the sugar any longer. I realize the article is long, but believe me, it's worth the read if you haven't read about this.

==============MERCURY IN YOUR CORN SYRUP ! =========================

Mercury in any form is an extremely potent neurological toxin. Organic mercury compounds such as methylmercury readily cross the blood-brain barrier and damage brain tissue.As you probably know, there has been much concern lately about the mercury in dental amalgam fillings and vaccines. The FDA monitors mercury levels in fish, poultry and livestock because fish meal and fish oil containing mercury are often used in animal feeds. However, there is no surveillance program for mercury contamination in food ingredients like corn syrup. No problem was ever expected, so nobody ever looked.Then one day in 2003, it came to the attention of the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) that in the eight companies making something called chlor-alkali in the United States, there was a mercury-related problem. Specifically, each of these companies had been losing 7 tons of mercury a year, and nobody knew where it went! Several chemicals are required to make high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and what these chlor-alkali companies were making is called mercury-grade caustic soda and hydrochloric acid. These chemicals are sold to other companies, who use them in the manufacturing of corn syrup. The chemicals help to control acidity.The FDA wanted to find the missing mercury, and their investigation led them to Vulcan Chemical Company in Wisconsin, which was the only company to find out where its missing mercury went. The "lost" mercury wasn't actually lost at all. They found it in their chlor-alkali products – so they began to worry that it might be in corn syrup, too! The agency commissioned a small study (Default 2009) to measure the amount of mercury found in samples of corn syrup produced by three manufacturers. They examined a total of 20 samples: ten from Company A, five from Company B, and five from Company C. Default found that 9 of the 20 samples (45%) contained mercury. However, the distribution was not even: For Company A, 9 of the 10 samples (90%) had NO detectable mercury. However, 8 of the 10 samples (80%) from the other two companies DID contain mercury.It was concluded that Company A probably used the better “membrane grade” caustic soda (which does not require mercury), while Companies B & C were using “mercury grade” caustic soda. This could not be verified with either A, B, or C, since information about the source of ingredients is secret. The fancy term manufacturers use is “proprietary information.” Moreover, when university researchers wanted to do a larger follow-up study, and tried to get more samples directly from the corn syrup manufacturers, the companies refused to cooperate.According to the US Department of Agriculture, Americans eat an average of 49.8 grams of HFCS per day. The authors comment that people drinking a lot of corn-syrup sweetened beverages could easily be getting more than this average. As part of the study, the authors contacted manufacturers for more information on how much corn syrup is in their products, but were told (again) that this information is “proprietary.” The authors say, however, that by using the reported average daily consumption of 49.8 g HFCS per person, and their own measurement of mercury in their samples, they were able to estimate that the average daily total mercury intake from HFCS could range from zero to 28.4 micrograms of mercury per day. That is just a bit more than the amount of mercury in a flu shot or a tetanus shot (25 micrograms). The amount considered safe by the EPA is .1 microgram/Kg body weight – this means that a 200-pound man could safely be exposed to 9 micrograms of mercury from all sources every day. While the flu or tetanus shot exceeds this “safe” level, you don’t get one every day. But if you or your children are eating a lot of products with corn syrup, you better hope that your brand’s manufacturer bought it from Company A – or you may well be getting up to three times the “safe” level just from your food . . . EVERY DAY.I was wondering how to compare this amount of mercury to the amount in a can of tuna – as you probably know, the FDA has recommended restricting the amount of tuna you eat. While the amount actually in tuna varies by source location and type of tuna, with Pacific light canned tuna having the least, the average is .35 ppm (or .35 mg/kg) according to the FDA at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html. If my arithmetic is correct, that translates to 60 micrograms per 6-ounce can of tuna. Well, it’s nice to know that the amount of mercury in your daily dose of corn syrup is probably a little less than the amount in a whole can of tuna. But if you are eating it every day, it is a lot. And if you are eating both (having a soft drink with your tuna sandwich, are you?) then it is even more. The authors warn, “Quantitative information on long-term effects of inorganic mercury compounds on humans does not exist.” In other words, like cigarettes, it won't kill you today, but what will it do to you over the next 20 or 30 years? And what will it do to your children over the next 50 or 60 years? Nobody knows. Calling for more research, the authors conclude: “Mercury contamination of food products as a result of the use of mercury contaminated HFCS seems like a very real possibility. With daily per capita consumption of HFCS in the US averaging about 50 grams and daily mercury intakes from HFCS ranging up to 28 micrograms, this potential source of mercury may exceed other major sources of mercury especially in high-end consumers of beverages sweetened with HFCS.”If you would like to read the entire article, see it at http://www.web4health.org/Default2009.pdf. Although corn syrup is not eliminated by the Feingold Program, we mark products containing it in our Foodlists, and we recommend new members avoid it when beginning the diet until they know how sensitive their children are. Now there is another good reason for all of us to minimize our exposure to corn syrup. Pay attention to items marked in the Foodlist, and read your ingredient labels.Shula Edelkind, EditorFeingold Email NewsletterFeingold Association of the United States http://www.feingold.org http://www.ADDdiet.com http://www.school-lunch.org 554 E. Main Street, Suite #301Riverhead, NY 119011-631-369-9340

Prego Update

2009-03-22T19:02:00.004-04:00

3-26-09 update - I had to have an ultrasound on my kidneys and during the ultrasound, the technitian took a peek at the baby. The baby is moving around and has a strong heartbeat. Great news! Just wanted to pass it along to you all.

Older post:

Thanks so much for your prayers. I truly need them at this time. It took me a while to add up all the little details of what has been going on and come to a conclusion as to what is exactly my problem. My midwife and I believe I have a kidney and or bladder infection. She is suggesting antibiotics due to my history of miscarriages. I have had previous problems with these type of infections and now wonder if they might have attributed to some of my miscarriages. I'm tempted to take the antibiotics, but I am trying some natural things first and eagerly awaiting my naturopathic doc to phone me back with any more advice. I think I pretty much know what I can and should do, but at this point, I need to focus on what is most effective right now. So, I'm cranberrying, lemoning, watering and herbing my poor body to death - well, lets not hope to death. :) Appreciate your prayers, keep praying. I'm willing to take the antibiotics if necessary, but I don't want to cause more potential problems later. I'm going to have to contact my regular doc for some testing to verify our strong suspicion.

A Corn-fed Nation - Interesting read

2009-03-20T15:15:00.001-04:00

A Corn-fed Nation

By: George F. Will (Found in the Buffalo News-via Washington Post)

WASHINGTON — Tom Vilsack, Iowa’s former governor, calls his “the most important department in government,” noting that the Agriculture Department serves education through school nutrition programs and serves diplomacy by trying to wean Afghanistan from a poppy-based (meaning heroin-based) economy. But Vilsack’s department matters most because of the health costs of the American diet. If Michael Pollan is right, the problem is rooted in politics and, in a sense, Iowa.
Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food,” says that after World War II the government had a huge surplus of ammonium nitrate, an ingredient of explosives—and fertilizer. Furthermore, pesticides could be made from ingredients of poison gases. So since 1945, the food supply has increased faster than America’s population — faster even than Americans can increase their feasting.
Agricultural commodity prices generally fall. But since a rare surge in food prices gave the Nixon administration a political scare, government policy, expressed in commodity subsidies, has been, Pollan writes, to sell “large quantities of calories as cheaply as possible,” especially calories coming from corn.
“All flesh is grass” says Scripture. Much of the too-ample flesh of Americans (three of five are overweight; one in five is obese) comes from corn, which is a grass. A quarter of the 45,000 items in the average supermarket contain processed corn. Fossil fuels are involved in the planting, fertilizing, harvesting, transporting and processing of the corn. America’s food industry uses about as much petroleum as America’s automobiles do.
During World War II, when meat, dairy products and sugar were scarce, heart disease plummeted. It rebounded when rationing ended. “When you adjust for age,” Pollan writes, “rates of chronic diseases like cancer and type 2 diabetes are considerably higher today than they were in 1900.”
Four of the top 10 causes of American deaths — coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer — have, Pollan says, “well-established links” to diet, particularly through “the superabundance of cheap calories of sugar and fat.” What he calls America’s “national eating disorder” is not just the fact that Americans reportedly eat one in five meals in cars and that one in three children eats fast food every day. He also means the industrialization of agriculture, wherein we developed a food chain that derives too much of its calories — energy — not from the sun through photosynthesis but from fossil fuels.
Corn, which covers 125,000 square miles of America, fattens 100 million beef cattle, and at least that many bipeds. Much of the river of cheap corn becomes an ocean of high-fructose corn syrup, which by 1984 was sweetening Coke and Pepsi. Disposing of the corn also requires passing it through animals’ stomachs. Corn, together with pharmaceuticals and other chemicals has made it profitable to fatten cattle on feedlots rather than grass, cutting by up to 75 percent the time from birth to slaughter. Eating corn nourished by petroleum-based fertilizers, a beef cow consumes almost a barrel of oil in its lifetime.
Vilsack’s department is entwined with the food industry that produces a food supply unhealthily simplified by the dominance of a few staples such as corn. This diet, Pollan says, has made many Americans both overfed and undernourished.
Hippocrates enjoined doctors: “Do no harm.” He also said something germane to a nation that is harming itself with its knives and forks: “Let food be thy medicine.” That should be carved in stone over the entrance to Vilsack’s very important department.

Prayers Appreciated

2009-03-17T23:43:00.002-04:00

My Dear friends in Christ,

Many of you have been so good to continue to keep my pregnancy in your prayers. It has meant a great deal to me. Thank you! Since about 5pm tonight, I have been experiencing a great deal of pain in my abdomen and back. These pains (or contractions? unsure?) are not a good thing. We finally got the nerve up to tell family and our church. So, it's going to be even more difficult for me to deal with all of this if we loose another baby. So if you would keep me and the baby in your prayers, I'd appreciate it. If the LORD decides to take the baby, please pray that He might protect me for the sake of my family and that it would happen quickly. Thanks!

Homemade Laundry Soap

2009-03-14T15:14:00.002-04:00

Make Your Own Laundry Soap! - Funny home videos are a click away

This is great! I've been wanting to make my own laundry soap for a long time. Ithink it helped me to see how it was done instead of reading a long instruction list and figuring it out on my own. This is a great recipe. Easy too. I'll be using organic, natural soap and a little lavnder oil to give it a nice smell. It costs about $1 for one batch and it lasts 3 months for a family of four. Not too bad. I only pay about $4 a month, but I'd like to know what is in my soap. The Arm and Hammer Soap is the most difficult thing to find, but I phoned the company and they said that if you can't find it in your area, they will sell it to you for $3.99 a box and send it free of shipping costs if you buy at least 3 boxes. I haven't tried it yet to see how well it works. I have a friend who is trying it for me now. So, I'll let you know how it works. She did say that it went faster than she said it would go on the video.

Carlson's Fish Oil

2009-03-13T22:17:00.002-04:00

For all of you fish oil fans out there - Carlson's fish oil is some of the best on the market. It's wonderful for a variety of health issues and is good for all to take as we all need fish oil and our body doesn't manufacture these benefits on it's own. I don't have time right now to list all the benefits. I just wanted to spread the word that it is currently on sale on Amazon.com for 50% off retail price and only .99 cents shipping. Fabulous deal! Grab some up - just remember that it has a relatively short shelf life. We go through about a bottle a month and that is when it is used liberally. It doesn't taste fishy at all. They have lemon and orange flavored. The lemon is cheaper than the orange at Amazon.

Off with the Old - On with the New!

2009-03-07T11:30:00.003-05:00

I'm back! No great Hooray! Challenging times the past few weeks. The boys have been sick- requiring lots of attention with the herbs. I let my Levi go to church too soon and, he ended up with a double ear infection. I caught it in time and he is doing better now. His birthday is Tuesday, So I'm keeping him in so we can have a good celebration on Monday without any more relapses.

We had another big project with our home this week. We were approved for an interest free Grant for the replacement of our windows and removing harmful lead paint from the premises. It is a big blessing. Our 1920's home was so drafty with the old windows. They had not been kept up and were too far gone for repair. We wanted to restore the home to it's original condition, but it would have been too costly and time consuming for an out of pocket expense. I miss the character of the old windows, but I am planning on

re- purposing them into our home decor somehow to keep some of their sentiment.

We had a nightmare of a week with the contractors. I am so thankful that we had my parents home to impose upon during all of this. I am a person who holds people accountable to the job being done properly. Oye, and they failed miserably when it came to properly removing the lead based paint. We were told by the contractors and I phoned the health department ahead of time to know the guidelines of lead removal. They did not use the proper safety precautions nor did they use a sealed vacuum cleaner to clean up the mess - which means lead dust contaminating the entire house. This could harm not only my children, but our unborn child. We phoned the company and presented the problem and nothing was changed. They have a county guy come due lead tests, but they don't test the entire house.

I don't usually hope people fail at anything, but I am really praying they fail the lead test for the sake of other pregnant women and small children in the future. They need to take lead paint seriously particularly when they are being paid $2,400 dollars to do it right. So, I am going through the entire house wearing a special lead dust mask, gloves, and vacuuming with the proper hepa sealed vacuum cleaner and then washing everything down after that. During the process of cleaning, I found two expensive blinds that they broke and they broke two supports under our bed. It's times like these that I feel like voicing my complaints in a rather irritatedly, verbal way. Restraining the flesh and acting in the spirit can be a bit challenging . I was actually very upset the other day that instead of going into a rage of expressing my frustration, I just went out and bought all the workers a dozen donuts. Ha ha! It is sad now days that people cannot be trusted to do an honest job.

The company just thinks I'm a total neat freak. I told them a head of time that I wasn't going to allow for muddy boots on my carpets. I don't have time to hand scrub mud from my carpets. They assured me that they would take their shoes off and have an inside and outside crew. That didn't happen. So, I phoned the company and asked for them to resolve the problem. I felt like I was babysitting the whole operation. Needless to say, we won't be recommending them to anyone else - even though they came highly recommended to us. For this very reason I like to learn and do everything I can by myself as I know the job is done right and have only myself to blame if it is not done sufficiently.

I'll post a picture of the house a little later.

The Little Boy Blues

2009-02-25T00:46:00.003-05:00

Sickness has finally reached our house. My poor EJ not only has a cold, but a double ear infection as usual. He is so prone to them each time he gets a cold. There are times I wish others would stay home when they are sick. Life is a bit challenging right now, but I'm thankful I can have lots of snuggle time with my boys.

BraggApple Cider Vinegar

2009-02-21T15:13:00.002-05:00

I posted this too early.. ahh! that's okay. Our family has been using Braggs apple cider vinegar for the past 5 years. Whenever we have a cold or other illness coming on, we gargle with it and drink a Tbs of it. It has prevented many illnesses and also lessens the illness considerably.

My dad has a compressed disk and nerve pain from this compressed disk. He will soak a cloth in the vinegar and lay it on his arm and shoulder and the pain will diminish greatly in a matter of 10-15 minutes.

We used it for small infections too. It works wonderfully. In fact, it's the only thing I think I've been able to convince many members in my church to use.

This is off the http://www.bragg.com/

Ingredients:
Certified Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is unfiltered, unheated, unpasteurized and 5% acidity. Contains the amazing Mother of Vinegar which occurs naturally as strand-like enzymes of connected protein molecules.

Information:
Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is made from delicious, healthy, organically grown apples. Processed and bottled in accordance with USDA guidelines, it is Certified Organic by Organic Certifiers and Oregon Tilth; and is Kosher Certified. Bragg Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is full of zesty natural goodness. It’s a wholesome way to add delicious flavor to salads, veggies, most foods, and even sprinkle over popcorn.
Apple Cider Vinegar has been highly regarded throughout history. In 400 B.C. the great Hippocrates, Father of Medicine, used it for its amazing health qualities.

INTERNAL BENEFITS:
EXTERNAL BENEFITS:
Rich in enzymes & potassium
Support a healthy immune system
Helps control weight
Promotes digestion & ph Balance
Helps soothe dry throats
Helps remove body sludge toxins
Helps maintain healthy skin
Helps promote youthful, healthy bodies
Soothes irritated skin
Relieves muscle pain from exercise

Natural light photography!

2009-02-21T12:12:00.004-05:00

Photography in general has been an interest of mine since I was in high school. My father is an artist and has taught me bits and pieces here and there of creating the best environment for photography as well as dealing with situations that can potentially hinder a good photo.

I've been wanting to become more skilled in photography for a while. My in laws like my pictures better than the studios we have been to. So, It would really save money to take my own pictures of the kids at least.

I also want to help our church out in creating a more professional looking brochure and possibly a website too. Finances are tight here in New York. Jobs are scarce, or rather good ones. So it's cheaper to use me than to pay someone to put it together. I'm working on the church directory currently. I'm so glad that I can take pictures of the families and upload them into my computer quick as a wink and finish the directory. I use my directory to pray for the families in our church. So it's nice to have a picture to look at.

Natural light photography is my favorite. I love the challenge of taking pictures of kids in this type of setting. It is challenging in a low light setting, but rewarding when you can capture the child's personality and the natural lighting all in one. Here are a few pictures of my boys in this setting.

Levi is so infatuated with cowboy hats and guns. I let him watch a Mr. Buttons DVD called "Ambushed", and ever since, he literally walks around the house, EVERY waking moment with a hat and some sort of gun in his hand. He usually has his horse by his side along with his daddy's belt around his shoulder and waist. I have no idea what gene pool he came from. He is such a strange little guy, but I love him.

Ethan loves bubbles and boxes. Our house usually has at least one or more boxes laying around for them to play. He wasn't too happy in the other picture. That's what is fun about photography. I used to think their hair and clothes had to always be neat before I took a picture. Now I don't worry about it. I actually like the photos better this way. I can show EJ later the turmoil he put his Mama through :)

Great Deals!

2009-02-21T11:52:00.003-05:00

This deal was found at the thrift store. I ran in for a quick minute when I saw a huge bin of brand new handmade knit hats and gloves for sale dirt cheap. I picked up three sets of hats and gloves for only $2.50 total. What a blessing. I have NEW hats and gloves for the boys for the next several years.

I try to stay ahead of schedule when purchasing needy family items. I hate to be at the mercy of retail prices. Most of our clothes are handed down from several people. So this greatly reduces the things we have to buy, but I still like to buy quality at an extremely low price- who doesn't? Right?

We were at the Outlet mall when I saw some hats and gloves at Old Navy for $2.50 a set. I knew it was a good deal, but we didn't have the money at the time. I held them for a long time as I knew it was going to save us money in the long run. My husband didn't encourage me to buy them. So, I just set them down without a word because I knew it probably wasn't wise at that time. God provided three sets of hats and gloves for the same price as one set at the mall. Amazing! Thank you, LORD!

SHOCKING!!!!!

2009-02-17T19:13:00.007-05:00

I think I'm more in shock over this than I was when Bryan proposed to me. You know how you look at your engagement ring the night you were engaged to see if it's still there because it's hard to imagine you are finally engaged? Well this is exactly what happened to me Monday night.

I wasn't feeling so well for several days in a row. My husband had off Friday through Monday. So, I was a little discouraged that I couldn't make his weekend special. I was determined to do something special for him on Monday even though I was still in great pain. So we took the kids to Burger King- which we rarely do. They played in the play place (Yuck!) but they loved it. We loved watching them. They ate the junk food and absolutely loved it. It was fun.

My husband has been dreaming and crunching our financial numbers trying to afford his dream car - a Honda Pilot. We had two accidents with our civic and Geico refused to replace the parts with Honda genuine parts. So we were not too happy with that. Our car was devalued and it wasn't even our fault as someone hit us and we had to pay the deductible on top of that. We needed more room as it is very tight and it didn't handle very well in the snow at all :( . The cars are so light weight now days. There were several times this season that I became stuck in a driveway or stop sign. When you have two kids and you're by yourself, it almost as bad as having an old clunker as it's just about as reliable. So with all the factors we were kind of thinking of getting rid of it. If we didn't live in snow country we probably would have kept it until the very last minute.

I wanted him to do something fun on his day off. So I said, why don't we go look at that Pilot we saw in Kelly Blue Book. We went to the dealership with two children tagging along - totally not serious about buying a car. We told the guy that. He said, "Well, let me see what I can do." He came back with a price that we knew we could not afford. My husband said, "I don't want to waste your time because we really cannot afford this vehicle." They came back with "the bottom line price" - which we still could not afford. Then they asked us what we could afford. My husband laid it all out (Mr... Financial Mind) and told them this is what they'd have to do in order for us to buy it. They came back with another offer and again my husbands said, " I don't want to split hairs, but this is all we are able to comfortably afford, we aren't in a hurry, we are just looking and saving for a bigger vehicle."

Long story, I know, but the LORD allowed us to talk the dealership down on this car by $4,300. We had to trade our car in, but they gave us Excellent condition trade in for it(which never happens when it has been in an accident). We were able to buy the Pilot for trade in value good condition. My father in law works for a different honda dealership and he said that they couldn't even have bought the Pilot now with the low market at auction for the price we paid for it. And what is even better is that we talked them down half price on the $100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty. Again, this never happens. My father in law told us that he would never sell us a car this cheap.

It sure would be nice to put a new baby in one of the extra seats. Still praying and waiting on the LORD. Although I'm at my sixth week and my morning sickness has kicked in much stronger- which is a good sign.

Moral of the story, "Don't take your husband to a car dealership on his day off." No seriously, we had been praying for the LORD to provide something a little bigger that we could use to transport people to church and a little more comfortable for the family and we didn't want to be at the mercy of the dealer and be forced to buy something too quickly.

What a blessing. The Honda finance manager couldn't believe that they sold us the vehicle for that price either. We got rid of our civic and bought a Pilot all in less than 20 hours. It was the easiest car purchase we ever made.

The story on how we got our civic was Amazing too. It was a totally different story, but the dealership actually took a $2,000 loss below invoice price in selling us the car.

We often underestimate the power of God in changing circumstances amazingly to provide for our needs. I feel spoiled with this new car. People will probably judge us as they did when we bought our civic (crazy, huh?), but we know that God knows our motivation. We are accountable to Him not to anyone else. May we use this blessing to be a blessing to others.

The REVEAL! :)

2009-02-17T09:34:00.005-05:00

I'm still 25% hidden, Sherri. My husband laughed when he read your comment. I'm a camera hog. So it's hard to get any picture of me as I enjoy taking the pictures. I'm not too fond of the camera on me- never have been. My mom has few pictures of me growing up. Maybe this will satisfy everyones curiosity. :)

My VALENTINE!!!

2009-02-13T22:08:00.005-05:00

What a privilege it is to share in this man's life. He is the dearest friend to me. I praise the LORD each new day for the opportunity to enjoy it with such a special person. I really try to treasure every moment with him.

One big praise that I have in our marriage is that Bryan and I are like-minded on literally everything. Well, maybe not on coffee :). I never thought this was possible, and even was committed to never marrying unless I could fully support a husband in every major area.

We are not the "Hallmark Holiday" family by any means. My husband doesn't even buy me a card on my birthday, and I don't care. We don't need to spend our money frivolously on candy and cards to express our love. This isn't wrong, but I'd rather him go out unexpectedly and surprise me with a little something (when it's affordable) than to expect him to buy me something because it's a holiday. I tell him not to buy me flowers as I always buy my favorite flowers for those who are in the hospital - that way I can enjoy them while I'm visiting them and someone else can enjoy them too. Valentines Day happened to fall on date night and a day that my husband has off work. So we are going to grab some authentic Mediterranean food. YUM!

Bryan and I met at Ambassador Baptist College as I was entering my Senior year, and he was coming for Graduate work in Biblical languages.

I had gone the entire 3 years of college without courting anyone. The faculty gave up on my ever finding a husband. I wasn't worried. I didn't go to college to find a husband, and I knew that God could provide the man that I needed in His timing.

College life to me was taken very serious. I worked hard and my parents helped me to be able to pay for the education. I was going to be as efficient as possible. So, I worked at the school, cleaned professionally and waitressed. I spent most of the rest of my time studying and helping out at church. It came to the third year and I was able to finish all my classwork plus more in just three years time. I was planning on graduating an entire year early when I found I was one class short. I had more than enough credits to graduate, but the dean wouldn't let me substitute it as it was a class he taught. I was quite upset about this. But I finally accepted it and decided to take some other classes I wanted to take but didn't have the time. It was in the fall of 2002 that I met Bryan. I would have never met him if it wasn't for that one "stupid" class. :)

God is so good. I often feel guilty asking Him for anything more as He has given me so much. I am thankful for a man who loves the LORD, who loves me and his family and shows his love to all three genuinely every day.

I took this pic of my Sweetheart with the new camera!

Tragedy

2009-02-13T08:19:00.002-05:00

This seems unimaginable, especially when it happens in your back yard, so to speak. Flight 3407 from Newark, NJ to Buffalo went down in Clarence, NY last night at 10:30 pm. I believe it was due to ice.

My husband came home so happy that he never invited his mom to come from NJ to visit us this weekend. I believe they talked about it, but my husband never pushed the issue. She very well could have been on this plane. So we do praise the LORD for His protection.

The plane crashed streets away from where a family in our church lives. I can't even imagine how many families are going to be affected by this disaster. It is the first commercial aviation disaster in history for the Buffalo airport.

Keep these families in your prayers. There is no news as to if anyone we know was on the plane. We know several people who frequently travel to the area that could potentially have been on the plane, but not likely.

Camera Ordered!

2009-02-10T22:47:00.004-05:00

Wow! The day has finally arrived. I've researched, and priced around at legitimate companies, researched some more, saved money. I even phoned the photographer who took our wedding pictures and he suggested Canon and said the model we were looking to purchase would be a great SLR. We have to save up for some additional IS lenses, which are mucho expensivo! But this is something we will really enjoy. Our Levi's birthday is next month and EJ's is the following. So it would be nice to have some special pictures. I also have a wedding to photograph in May. So I have to become acclimated to the workings of this camera really well before the big day. The battery only holds 30 minutes of charge which kind of stinks. So, I think I'm going to have to save some more for a couple extra batteries.

Keep praying

2009-02-10T21:06:00.003-05:00

Thanks everyone for all of your prayers. Even those who know from church! (Shhhh) Most of the day Sunday I was at the verge of balling my eyes out as I felt a drop in my hormone level. I tried getting a hold of the doctors but no one would take me seriously. Today I checked my temperature and it had dropped. I was discouraged. I just went upstairs and prayed telling God that it was okay for Him to take this baby and that I gave this child back to Him as He knows best. I thanked Him and praised Him for the two wonderful children He has blessed us with and for a truly glorious husband. I fed the kids and tried to eat but I didn't feel good. I was bothered by the smell of whatever my husband was snacking on. He said, "Well, I think you definitely have some sort of hormones going on in there." My temperature has risen back up to 99.4. So I am a bit encouraged this evening. No bleeding as of yet. Keep praying! I left a message with a highly recommended midwife today. I was told she doesn't deliver anymore, but that she has done deliveries only very selectively. I'm praying she might be able to help. Thanks again, Everyone!

Photography!

2009-02-09T23:26:00.006-05:00

Photography is one of my side passions. I love piano, but since I had to sell my digital one when we moved up North, I don't have the opportunity to get my anxieties out in tickling the ivories anymore :( . I particularly love to photograph children in natural light settings. Children are extremely difficult to photograph, especially when they don't know you are trying to take their picture. I can't wait until we are all saved up for a Digital SLR (Single lens reflex) camera. It is stunning the picture quality you are able to capture. You can be worlds away, but can take pictures with a telephoto lens as though you are two feet away. Here are a few of my photos lately. I love to go to friends houses and take pictures of their families in their natural setting. They are some of my best pictures, but I'd rather not display them on the Internet to protect their safety. So I'll stay with family photos for now. Some interesting angles here. None of the kids had any idea they were being photographed. Love it!

Herbs - White Oak Bark

2009-02-09T22:13:00.006-05:00

It has been a rough day today. I phoned my doctor to see about coming in for a visit as I could sense a drop in my hormone level on Sunday. He didn't take me seriously and said I should go for some tests and come in at the end of the next day. I scheduled the appointment and then realized that by that time it would be too late for anything to help. Plus I would have shelled out $60 in co-payments without anything to show for it. I'm in the process of looking for another midwife. I heard of someone who has a good one South of me. There is a good general doctor I found who actually cares about his patients. He actually stopped taking insurance due to how the insurance companies would dictate how he practiced medicine. His wife spoke with me for 45 minutes on the phone. I would love to go to him, but he charges $180 an hour. I'd have to remortgage my home to pay for his visits. So, I am taking my herbs and just trusting that He will sustain this life if He so chooses. My symptoms seem to have diminished- not a good sign- but they are still present- a good sign. I always try to trick myself into thinking, "well, maybe it's a girl- that's why I'm feeling so good." My mom and sister only had girls and they had no sickness at all. God is good all the time. I'm thankful for each day of having life.

Anyway... I went food shopping today and over did myself a bit. I rested the rest of the day. I haven't done a thing. I put two chairs apart facing back to back and put blankets over them to make a tent for the boys to play. they played all day with it. It's still set up. So, I'm blogging some more about herbs as I can't seem to load the videos I wanted to load earlier.

I know that I can't start off by saying that White Oak Bark is one of my favorites again. So, I'll just say it's one of my right-hand herbs I just cannot do without. I use it for intestinal issues, infections, colds, fevers, etc...It works very effectively.

White Oak trees are found primarily in the North Eastern part of the US and Canada. They originated in England. We have a good many in my area. They are lovely looking trees, big too. The wood is highly valuable, and durable. It is superior to many other oaks in that it is resistant to rotting. Maybe it has something to do with its bark. I'm not sure.

The bark on this tree is where all of the healing properties are contained. I use a condensed liquid form(http://www.liquidherbs.net/), but you can actually take the bark off of the tree, place it in water and boil it for several hours to make a tea. Or make a poultice to help externally for wounds etc....

White oak bark is an astringent substance that is used for controlling inflammation from either internal or external varieties. It can be used to reduce a fever, as an antiseptic for cuts or large wounds, and is wonderful for the digestive system. It repairs tissue damage amazingly. It is wonderful in treating diseased gums or teeth. I couple this one along with comfrey as a preventative for my teeth and gums.

It is great in reducing kidney and gallbladder stones, PMS, relieves hemorrhoids, gout,bladder issues, can cures a goiter, helps diarrhea, varicose veins, supports the kidneys, liver and spleen, expels pin worms, and can reduce any kind of inflammation.

For the tea:

simply place a few strips of the tree's flesh in a pot with two or three cups of water and boil it until most of the water has evaporated. The longer you boil it, the more potent the tea becomes.

For external use:

Most people use a paste made from White Oak bark. You can purchase it already packaged or you can create it yourself if you live in an area where white oaks are indigenous. To make the paste, mix the White Oak flesh with root powder and glycerin, then grind it into a paste. Spread the salve on the area you wish to treat and you should experience near-immediate relief.

Tooth & Gum Oil - For receding, rotting gums and teeth, diseased dental bone

Ingredients:
* 10 oz Echinacea Tincture

* ¼ cup Tea tree oil

* 4 oz Bayberry tincture

* 2 oz Oak Gall (or 3x oak bark) tincture

* 2 Tablespoons Cayenne tincture

* 2.5 dropperfuls Peppermint oil

* 2.5 dropperfuls Clove oil

I do hope more people out there fall in love with herbal medicine. It is truly amazing. Herbs work TOTALLY DIFFERENT in comparison to medicine. Medicines usually strip the body of it's natural healing elements. It covers up symptoms and only nullifies the affect of the problem until it causes a new symptom rendering more medication. There are also many side effects from medicine use. I challenge you to read the side effects- over 1/4 of the time the very problem you are trying to relieve is listed as a side effect from the drug.

Herbs in general, aid in healing the body naturally. By this I mean, they give the body what it needs nutritionally in order for the body to fight on its own. They boost the immune system. They can be used in preventing a problem as well. Each of our bodies are prone to different illness based on various factors(diet, area of country, genetic tendencies, etc.). We need to determine where our weaknesses are and try to support them naturally as much as possible.

Some ways to find out your bodies weaknesses are muscle testing (which I have never had done) and iridology/sclerology. I have had iridology and sclerology done. I didn't tell my naturopath anything of my history before she looked at me. She only knew that I struggled from pain in my shoulder. She found weaknesses in my liver, lymph system, and lungs. My mom has lymphodema, I had asthma too. It really made sense. I now try to support those areas of my body to prevent future problems. I do a liver cleanse and always use lemon as a support to help clean my liver. I take herbs and now celaracize (explain later) to support my lymph system and lungs as well. I do feel much better than I used to feel. Our family is very healthy. If we manage to catch something, it is always to a much lesser degree in comparison to other who have it around us. Herbs have proved to be invaluable to our family. We rarely go to the doctor because we usually know what the problem is and how to fix it. It is nice to have the confidence medically to treat your family.

Antique Irons

2009-02-09T16:27:00.004-05:00

Take a look at these antique irons? Aren't they wonderfully unique? Actually, I remember growing up with them in my house using them to prop open doors and the old wooden windows just a tad to let in some cool air. We didn't grow up with air conditioning. So it is rather hot here in the summer.

I was a glutton for punishment this time. I was arranging my husband's theology books when I thought that these irons would be both helpful and look great as book ends. I'm sure that I am not the only one who has thought of the idea- turning the old into new. I phoned my Dad and asked him if he could keep an eye out for them sometime when he is rummaging around in the attic. I wasn't expecting them the very next day. He told me I could have them- all five of them. So, I guess we'll find a place for all of them. I'm thinking that they might make good weights for exercise or even a good weapon for home security- Ouch!

There's one thing I told my husband soon after we were married. I told him to never try to scare me. The reason being is that my natural instinct is to "shoot now and ask questions later." He's taken me seriously on that one. A guy in school tried to scare me and I decked him before he had a chance to say "boo". I felt bad, but he should have counted the cost before he ventured into his foolishness.

It's kind of neat to have another piece of my Grandmother in the house. These irons were originally here back in the 60's. Now they are back. My dad told me that they would keep several irons heating on the wood burning stove all at once as they didn't hold heat for very long. When they were hot enough, they would grab the handle with a thick towel and iron until it needed to be heated again and then alternate between them all. This sure does make me happy that I have an electric iron.

My grandfather built the shelves where the irons are sitting. He also put the lovely knotty pine on the walls. Blah! We painted all the knotty pine and it give a great texture to the walls with a much more modern country feel. Can't beat the price of free!

Herbs - Comfrey

2009-02-06T23:42:00.006-05:00

Comfrey is one of my favorite herbs. I don't care much for it's taste, but I can see that God designed this herb to help the body in a great many ways.

Several countries, including the USA have banned the sale of comfrey as they say it is "potentially toxic to the liver." Hogwash! I think it's a ploy to keep people dependant on the medical field. My kids are the healthiest in all the doctor offices we have ever been. They have never been on antibiotics and have never died from the use of herbs. God is the one who heals, but I believe He designed herbs as a means of healing the body. I obviously wouldn't suggest drinking an entire bottle of liquid comfrey, but if we are afraid to consume it then we shouldn't eat vegetables either. The body takes what it needs from our food and disposes the rest in waste. This is the same with herbs. It's pretty hard to overdose on herbs - just as it's pretty hard to overdose on vegetables. :)

When my husband and I were newly married, we lived in a run down, but quaint apartment complex down South. One of our apartment neighbors was suffering for weeks with several broken ribs. He worked for a car repair place. So his job was very physical in that he had to go to the junk yard and cut off parts of cars and weld them together, etc... One day I finally asked him, in a southern way, why he wasn't working. I thought he might have lost his job; so I didn't want to sound like I was prying. He told me he was in major pain due to breaking some ribs. I thought, O Wonderful! Now is my chance to see how Comfrey will work on broken bones. I told him I had something wonderful for him to try. He wouldn't take it orally, but he did apply it to his skin. This man was out for a week and a half and still in major pain unable to work. He took comfrey once and the next day he was ecstatic. I couldn't believe it. In three days, he was back to work. Amazing! I had only heard how comfrey would help broken bones, but this was a neat experience to see for myself.

My Dad had a pretty bad infection in his mouth and the comfrey healed it in no time.

Also what is most amazing is this story. I have always had good teeth. I have only one cavity. After two pregnancies, due to hormone fluctuations, my teeth had a few cavities. I took the comfrey along with white oak bark and applied it to a cotton ball and placed it on the areas for 20 minutes twice a day for two weeks, and I have had no problems since. Amazing!

Between comfrey and alfalfa, I am no longer on over a thousand dollars of meds a month to control it. In fact, I don't even have an inhaler. I was diagnosed as a chronic asthmatic. An inhaler was my security at one point as it was a struggle to breathe in my daily life. I have minor attacks, but they are far and few between. I think the last one I had was in July of 2008 during house renovation. Floor sanding was not good for my lungs.

Here is what comfrey contains in regards to vitamins and minerals:

Vitamins:A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, C, E

Minerals:calcium, phosphorus, potassium, chromium, cobalt, copper, magnesium, iron, manganese, sodium, boron, lead, sulphur, molybdenum, zinc

Here are some of the uses for Comfrey:

Uses - Lungs, bone, muscle, diarrhea, digestion, poultice for skin, prevents further tissue damage, aids in the production of cartilage, tendons and muscles, it's a blood bone and flesh builder, indigestion, stomach and bowel problems, excessive menstrual flow, hoarseness, periodontal diseases, bleeding gums, thyroid disorders, diarrhea, gastro-intestinal ulcers, hernia, glandular fever, coughs, lung conditions, hemorrhaging, cancer, catarrh, anemia, sinusitis, lupus, lowering blood pressure, hiatus hernia, blood purifier, to ease inflammation of the joints and mucus membranes.

This is interesting - "The dark green colour of the leaves indicates the richness of chlorophyll with a molecular structure closely resembling our blood. Chlorophyll acts as a catalyst, to promote healing within the body of man and animals, and is a valuable blood purifier. Scientific research shows that chlorophyll helps to rejuvenate old cells and promote the growth of new cells. This action, together with comfrey’s allantoin properties (a cell proliferant) provides us with a very powerful herb. Allantoin is one of the elements that makes comfrey unique. Allantoin is also produced in the allantois gland of the umbilical cord (the link between mother and developing baby, which feeds the embryo) for promoting rapid cell growth. Mothers’ milk is also rich in allantoin (which stimulates rapid growth of the new baby) and then the element fades out. This process also takes place in other mammals. Allantoin is a leucocytosis promoter (increases white blood cells) that helps to establish immunity from many infectious conditions."

Prayerful Blessings!

2009-02-05T11:46:00.006-05:00

GOD IS GOOD ALLLLLLLLLLLL THE TIME!

2009-02-04T22:26:00.003-05:00

Some Exciting News! This just continues to show how faithful our Heavenly Father is to us. Right after I posted the last post, my husband phone from work. He has been taking some online accounting classes for about a year. His work has reimbursed him for the classes. He received an email from his work stating that they owed him $200 for the purchase of a book about 10 months ago. We had no idea this money was coming. Can you believe it?! I worked today and we found out our deductible is only $100 for collision. we are only lacking $20. Praise the LORD! Thank you , Father. I don't deserve your Goodness!

Angry and Grateful

2009-02-04T21:10:00.004-05:00

"This is the day which the LORD hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" - Psalm 118:24. I am thankful for a new day coming. Sometimes I feel that when life seems to be semi-normal the BOMB drops. Oye! I dropped it this time, and I was so angry at myself. The LORD allowed this to happen for a reason - to reach someone.

My day started with a 5:30am wake to go to clean in Buffalo. It was snowing pretty good and a little slick outside. When I arrived at the home I clean, one car was parked directly next to the open driveway to the left and the same with another car to the right. There was also a car parked directly opposite the driveway. There were two 4 1/2 ft snowbanks , one on either side of the unplowed driveway. All this making it nearly impossible for me to get into the driveway. People do not plow their driveways well and so I always need to put on the gas to zoom into the drive without getting stuck. I would have parked on the street, but I don't enjoy parking three blocks down and walking in the dark in an unsafe area. In Buffalo, you can't just curve into your drive, you have to be fairly straight when getting into the drive due to the snowbanks. Well, I manged to swing the car around, but the front corner of the car hit the snowbank. I went into reverse to prevent damage as hitting a snowbank with 20 degree temps is like hitting steel. I went into reverse only slightly as there was a car directly behind me and my bumper became caught on the icy snowbank and tore it to pieces.

The first thing that came into my head was, "O my poor husband! He works so hard, and I'm causing him to have to work harder." He and I had been saving for months to buy a camera and to have our family pictures taken. The Lord knows it could have been much worse. I was so angry at myself but grateful that I didn't hit any other cars or do any more damage to the car than I did. The lady I clean for told me, after the fact, that she can't even get in or out of her driveway about 50% of the time because of people. I thought, "And you're telling me this now?!" Argh! Now I know why Buffalonians hate the snow. I would too under these conditions.

I made a bargain with my husband that - If I could take the old bumper off and put it on again, would he allow me to install the part? He said, Yes! Rosie, here I come! At least there is something to look forward to. We just have to see if it is worth my while to do instead of going through the insurance company.

We have Geico and as soon as we can, we are changing companies. We were rear ended at a yield sign back in October and the policy was mishandled numerous times with no communication. We learned the hard way. You get what you pay for. I have probably been on the phone with Geico and all the medical places close to a hundred times. A mom of two doesn't have time to keep up with this every other day. The one agent handling our case was so rude, refusing to listen to me, that I actually had to hang up on her. I don't think I've ever intentionally hung up on anyone except for a telemarketer and that's before they even say anything.

God knows what He is doing. He always puts us in a place of relying on Him. I just need to see this disaster from His perspective. We hadn't even paid the deductible from the last claim. New York is such a lovely state. You get penalized even when it's not your fault. But, I need to praise the LORD that He allowed us to save a little bit of extra money to help.

God is Good All The Time!

Antiques!

2009-02-02T21:50:00.004-05:00

Do you ever see your parents within yourself? Oye! I do. It drives me crazy sometimes. My Polish/Italian /Jewish mother passed down her cleaning/organizing OCD to me, which was passed down to her from her mother and her mother's mother and so on. It's a disease! I'd almost rather be content with a messy house. My father on the other hand has preserved his family history since he was a very small child. The two sides do not mix well in my family.My parents disagree about it in their house. My mom wants to get rid of "the junk" but everything has a meaning to my father. So it stays.

My sister really doesn't care much about the family history, so he wants me to "preserve" it for him. So, I guess I feel a responsibility to do it since it has been expected of me all these years. I'd hate to let him down after all the work he has done throughout the years. Anyways.... As much as I like antiques, I hate the thought of the potential "clutter" that may come of this. My parents have so many valuable things in their house that I told my dad that if he planned on dying, he has to go first as I'd rather my mom get rid of the "stuff" instead of me- I'm half kidding.

Well, my dad gave us this old picture of a farm house that my Great Great Grandfather owned at one time. He was an artist and did this water color of the property back in the mid 1800's. It is kind of neat to have this piece in our home. The house actually still exists. My father and I went for a visit and they let us in the house. Beautiful! The other piece he gave us was this hideously attractive mantel clock. It seems so ugly to me as I'm not a person who has very ornate taste, but it's attractive in it's old preserved beauty. It belonged to my Great Great Uncle. These little things please my dear Father, and I'm glad that I can do something so little to give him great pride. You never stop wanting to please your parents do you?

The china cabinet the clock is sitting on was a neat find up in the attic when we moved into the house. It still has the old antique glass in it. I think it's really a bookcase, but I thought my family's antique china would look neat inside and untouched by the kids. The cabinet still had the key with it. Amazing.

And here is our latest vinyl lettering. "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it." Now we just need to get family pictures to fill the frames! Ahhh... I'm so bad about family pictures. We have two kids and haven't had a family picture taken yet. This obviously isn't antique. Ha! I'm sure you all are completely board to tears now.

Monday Blues

2009-02-02T09:13:00.006-05:00

Who loves Mondays? When I was in college, I loved them. I used to enjoy the end of a very hard weekend of working full-time hours waitressing, visitation, and cleaning houses on Friday and Saturday and then teaching Sunday School on Sunday and studying and finishing up projects before Monday came. Monday was like starting on a clean slate. All those who depended on me were non existent. I didn't have the pressure of killing myself to make sure all the overload of customers were happy with me and their orders during the weekend, I didn't have to push my poor, tired body to clean for five hours straight per house, and be sure I was doing my best job in cleaning, and I didn't have to put my whole heart into teaching Sunday School even though I loved doing it.

Monday was like a relief for me, but now as I have two little ones and a husband depending on me all week, I often see it in reverse. Weekends are a time to relax, and Mondays are a day of dread. It's all because of my fail to plan really. As they say, "if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail." I guess, I dread Monday so much that I don't even want to think about planning for it. Well, I'm going to try to change my perspective about it, and try not to make the rest of the week like Monday either.

It's funny that you can have a plethora of food on the weekend, but when it comes to Monday. The family has devoured everything- even when I hide things! I hate shopping on Mondays. They are always the day where I do my greatest cooking inventions. My husband will say, "That recipe is a keeper." I can't even remember what I created, but glad that it tastes good.

The weekends are a fun time to get out of routine and relax a little, but reality is right around the corner. I'm going to try hard to plan for Monday a head of time.

My mom gave me this little book years ago. It is titled "Meditations for Weary Parents" - by Sandra Lehman. It's funny and refreshing to know you aren't the only one feeling like you do. It is encouraging too. Although I'm not in a hundred percent agreement with it as it is not written using KJV and I disagree with a few of her perspectives on child-training. This excerpt she had about Mondays, made me laugh.

"It's Monday again. Ugh. After the fun of being with my family and friends all weekend, working , playing and relaxing together, the return of routine is downright cruel. I'm suddenly alone. My children are around, as are the pets, but I'm alone when it comes to bearing responsibility for whatever happens here.

I was so busy last week getting ready for the weekend that I never got around to planning for today. The only way I seem to be able to make it through a Monday is to plan for at least one little upper, like buying some good coffee or going on an outing to the library. I don't need much, but I have to be intentional. Otherwise, I'll be wallowing in the Monday blues without realizing why, and we all know who gets the brunt of that. The children."

I don't drink coffee, but I do have the tendency to ease into my day on Mondays. It's tough to get these old lazy bones back on schedule. I'm thankful there are Mondays as it makes Tuesday and the rest of the week much better. ;) HAPPY MONDAY, EVERYONE!

Oh, there is another book I have read recently that was good. My mom absolutely loves it. I don't feel like this woman, so it is a bit hard for me to relate completely, but it was still a good read and there are many women out there who need this kind of encouragement. It's called "The Invisible Woman." If anyone is interested in it. I'll tell you a little about it.

Timer System!

2009-01-30T13:45:00.004-05:00

This little $7 device is already a lifesaver, and we haven't even owned it for a full 24 hours yet! It is a dual timer. It can time two different events at once. We decided to time our daily tasks in increments of 15 -30 minutes a while back. We have a list on each level of the home of what we are supposed to be doing and when we are supposed to be accomplishing the various tasks.

This system isn't for everybody. To be honest, if I implemented this system a couple years ago, it would have stressed me out completely. We don't allow the timer to RULE us. We just use it as a guide in keeping us from wasting time, and to help the boys transition into the next event more easily. It's also fun to set a goal in accomplishing a task- the boys have fun trying to clean up before the timer goes off. The boys stay less idle, and out of trouble more often.

We try to have more liberty with devotion time, but wehave to be realistic. We can't spend hours and hours of our time in personal devotions and let the rest of the house remain in disorder. There must be a balance. So, I do keep myself on a time and try to give myself a few extra minutes to finish up my devotions. When the timer beeps, we clean up, then move onto the next task. It really is helping us to stay more structured. Then we reward ourselves at the end of the day if we have extra time.