Fall-ism

As we approached our friends' home tonight I commented, "look at the pumpkins!" To which R (5) added, "Yes! And the gourds!" Then L (4) chimed in, "Yes! Look at the gourdgeous!"

Big News- Part 2

There have been lots of exciting things going on here lately. . . including my feeling sick and tired. These are always wonderful signs to me, signs of new life.

Our family is blessed to expect another child, due around the first week of May, 2010. Happily, we are already at week 14, and counting. There are more stories to share soon!

Psalm 127:3-5 "Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!"

A Note on Antimicrobial

I have been switching us over to natural cleaning products as well as skin and hair care products that are more natural and less toxic.

One of my friends was assuring me that her brand of skincare products was safe and effective and she sent me to a site that many makeup companies use to "prove" the safety of their products and the "need" to include certain chemicals in their composition. I found it interesting because you don't NEED to use chemicals to prevent bacterial growth. Thieves blend is antimicrobial, as are other essential oils, and even coconut oil (which I use in homemade toothpaste). My toothpaste has no chemicals in it and it does not mold. www.cosmeticsdatabase is still a good source for information.

This is just an encouragement that you don't need to use harsh chemicals in order to kill germs or ward off bacteria in your home. There are simple, healthier ways to do the same thing.

Here is a page from the YoungLiving website that I've found very helpful:

"Cleaning with Essential Oils

It can be daunting to live a healthier lifestyle, and one of the last areas you may think to change is your cleaning products. Most modern cleaning products require certain chemicals and surfactants (or cleansing agents) to make them work, and you should know what they are and their potential affects. It’s also important to find ways to limit your exposure to these toxins, and learn about safe, effective alternatives.

Here’s a quick run-down of some common cleaning chemicals, along with some of the many places you may see them:

* DEA (Diethanolamine)—Found in more than 600 home and personal care products, such as shampoos, conditioners, bubble baths, lotions, cosmetics, soaps, laundry and dishwashing detergents. Suspected of carcinogenic activity (causing or contributing to cancer) or of being potentially dangerous or hazardous to health.
* Propylene Glycol—The main ingredient found in anti-freeze; also common in shampoos, deodorants, cosmetics, lotions, toothpastes, processed foods, baby wipes, and many more personal care items. Implicated in contact dermatitis, kidney damage, and liver abnormalities; can inhibit skin cell growth in human tests and can damage cell membranes causing rashes, dry skin, and surface damage.
* Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)—Industrial uses include concrete floor cleaners, engine degreasers, and car wash detergents. Also found in shampoos, liquid soaps, conditioners, cleansers, toothpaste, and children’s personal care products. SLS is found in nearly all toothpastes, and is absorbed through skin contact and retained for up to five days.
* Talc—Chemically similar to asbestos, talc has been inked to ovarian cancer. It’s found in many body and baby powders, as well as many cosmetics.
* Alcohol—Most mouthwash products have a higher alcohol content than most alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, etc). Mouthwash products with alcoholic content greater than 25 percent have been linked to cancers of the mouth, tongue, and throat. Alcohol acts as a solvent inside the mouth, making tissues more vulnerable to carcinogens.

Essential Oil Cleaning Solutions


It may not be possible or cost effective to avoid all of these chemicals in your cleaning and personal care products, but there are plenty of ways to reduce your family’s exposure to them. Using therapeutic-grade essential oils, as a natural household cleaner, is a safe, effective alternative to many store-bought cleaning products. Some of the best essential oils for cleaning include cinnamon, clove, eucalyptus, thyme, spruce, lemon, lemongrass, and grapefruit."

By His Own Admission

R (5) is our child who has a sinful tendency to "forget" what we say. He is the child that has the hardest time sticking with a task and finishing it to completion. The children all have daily chores, which are even posted. R seems to need constant reminders to finish his chores. He is also the funniest and his dimpled smile and winsome ways often give him an advantage.

Last night, after helping clean up following dinner, R said candidly: "Some days I'm really helpful; other days I don't do much at all."

Oils for the Home

Some of my friends have been asking me for more information on oils, so I would like to direct you to Young Living's helpful site. It is www.youngliving.com .

As I learn more about the history and use of essential oils, I find myself more and more excited. We use some oils directly on our skin, we diffuse some in our home. Citrus oil is great in water to drink; not only does it taste great, but it aids digestion. Peppermint oil has been great to soothe headaches. Lavender is calming for my children and good for our sleep. Thieves has been used all over our home, from toilets to kitchen sink, counters to mirrors- and I have been very pleased with the results (and the scent!). Thieves took old stickers off of a mirror, too, as well as taking care of a few old stains.

Here is some more information on the Thieves household cleaner. This comes directly from Young Living's site (please note the many ways you can use Thieves! I love to have ONE nontoxic cleaner for my whole home and no other bottles and containers under my sink anymore):

"The improved Thieves® Household Cleaner has increased cleansing power and an even safer, more sustainable formulation. The new formula contains ingredients from renewable plant and mineral sources, vegetable-based surfactants compliant with the Green Seal and EPA Design for Environment (DfE) standards, and even more Thieves and lemon essential oils for extra cleaning power. Bottle is 100% recyclable.

Dilution ratios: light degreasing 60:1; medium degreasing 30:1; heavy degreasing 15:1; floors 100:1; walls 30:1; upholstery, fabrics, carpet spotting 40:1; carpet 100:1; glass 320:1; pots and pans; 100:1 hand cleaner 1:1."

THE Big News- Part 1

Last night was an all-out celebration in our home. We found out that Daddy DID, indeed, officially PASS the VA bar exam!

Thanks to a tip off from my friend Mrs Martin, and the site of VA board of bar examiners, I was finding out that he passed just before he walked in the door. (He had been checking the site methodically all day at work.) I quickly hung up the phone and ran to the door. As B stepped in, Liv walked down from upstairs (dressed in full costume regalia) and stated matter-of-factly, "You passed the bar, Daddy."

B was confused, as he had JUST checked the site before leaving the office, 15 minutes prior. The boys all scrambled downstairs and we joined in a rowdy chant of "You did it! You did it! You passed the bar exam! Hooray for Daddy!" This was followed by actually proving to B that his name was on the pass list, and then a gusty Doxology.

What a HUGE accomplishment. B passed the bar exam after MUCH hard study, long hours, and a family separation we do not care to ever repeat. He is now a VA attorney. . . and we remain his grateful family.

Wanting My King to be Exalted

These words for Elisabeth Elliot are too good not to share today. Even though submission is something I'm comfortable with, her explanation of it really struck me today. Submission is choosing Christ's will over my own; exalting HIM as the king (and not, as Philippians 3 says, having my god as my belly and taking glory in my shame). It also means cooperating with my husband, recognizing his God-given position as leader of our family, and elevating his needs above my own.

Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: Keep A Quiet Heart
Scripture Reference: 1 Chronicles 11:10

What Do You Mean By Submission?


"People are always asking me this. What is this business of "submission" you're always talking about? We're not really very comfortable with this. Seems kinds of negative. Sounds as though women are not worth as much as men. Aren't women supposed to exercise their gifts? Can't they ever open their mouths?

I wouldn't be very comfortable with that kind of submission either. As a matter of fact, I'm not particularly comfortable with any kind, but since it was God's idea and not mine, I had better come to terms with what the Bible says about it and stop rejecting the whole thing just because it is so often misunderstood and wrongly defined. I came across a lucid example of what it means in 1 Chronicles 11:10, NEB: "Of David's heroes these were the chief, men who lent their full strength to his government and, with all Israel, joined in making him king." There it is. The recognition, first of all, of God-given authority. Recognizing it, accepting it, they then lent their full strength to it, and did everything in their power to make him--not them--king.

Christians--both men and women--recognize first the authority of Christ. They pray "Thy will be done." They set about making an honest effort to cooperate with what He is doing, straightening out the kinks in their own lives according to His wishes. A Christian woman, then, in submission to God, recognizes the divinely assigned authority of her husband (he didn't earn it, remember, he received it by appointment!. She then sets about lending her full strength to helping him do what he's supposed to do, be what he's supposed to be--her head. She's not always trying to get her own way. She's trying to make it easier for him to do his job. She seeks to contribute to his purpose, not to scheme how to accomplish her own."

Annual Fun Run

The annual Dr. John Stephenson Youth Run was last Saturday. The three oldest ran again this year. There were about 50 runners in each group of boys and girls for each age. L (4) finished 13th in her age, running 1/4 mile. R (5) finished 8th at 1/4 mile and O (7) finished 5th in the 1/2 mile. I was positioned with T (2) near the finish, which was a great place to see the last 1/8 mile. L had a very serious and determined face, though I could tell she was maintaining an easy jogging pace. R was much the same, with a determined glint in his eye and yet not giving running his fastest. To their credit, it IS downhill there, and they had been running quite a distance. O was in a tight clump of boys that all finished within two seconds of each other. From where I was, it looked like he would take third... but right at the bottleneck at the finish line he very politely allowed the other boys to go in first. (I guess you can see that competitive spirit that comes out when we want our children to do well!) Overall, we were pleased again with their excitement and pleasure in running. (Oh, and L won a gift card for ice cream, so that was very exciting.) It was a fun family morning.

Two Runners

Evening Joy Bringer

We have one child (age 5) who prefers to stay up later at night and sleep a bit longer in the morning. As he isn't usually given the opportunity to sleep later in the morning (because the 2 other boys he shares a room with are usually up at 6:30 and haven't mastered their "quiet voices"), we maintain his 8 p.m. bedtime along with everyone else. (Actually, T (2) is generally down earlier.)

Even though we SEND him to bed, this boy also has a tendency to wander back downstairs- always with a good reason, of course. Usually there is something he just HAS to tell Daddy.

Last night as B and I were savoring our first two minutes of quiet, I saw R appear at the top of the stairs. That is where he began his conversation, "Dad. . . " I watched in amusement as he continued down the stairs, talking his way back into the living room where we were. B responded to R and then R started in on a new line of conversation, wandering over to my sewing basket, lifting the lid and curiously peering inside. Satisfied, he turned back to us and said, "Well, you know... I was listening to the c.d. in Liv's room today and at the fourth song it starting skipping terribly."

Oh, yes. And we assured him that fact was of concern, but he really MUST go to bed now. He gave a quick nod, and skipped back upstairs. I am assuming that his love tank was filled by that personal interaction and now that he was heard, he could rest. It also caused me much giggling. This is the same boy that walked downstairs with me an hour earlier, an apple in his hand. He had two apples after dinner (he loves when we get apples through the CSA!); one seemed to turn pink inside as he ate it and the second seemed greener inside. "Mom," he said. "I've had two mysterious apples!" I leaned over and kissed his head while I gave him a squeeze and told him how much JOY he brings our home.

Preparing For the Flu

Have you heard tremors of the FLU?

Families around us are getting sick and moms are asking me what to do to protect themselves this flu season. There are great alternatives to shots that can boost your family's immune systems and help them ward off and fight through sickness.

This article is the best place to start. It's titled Fuzzy Math. If you are wondering about the risk/benefit ratio of being vaccinated for the flu... this should clear things up. Mainstream media is tricky to figure out and this puts the numbers out very clearly.

We are preparing for the winter season, too. For us, this means continuing to eat our JuicePlus+. It has been proven in several studies to boost the immune system. (One of my favorite studies was done on law students in FL. Those who were eating JP+ were sick less often than those not eating JP+ and when they did get sick, it didn't last as long as the sickness did in the other students.) I know that we are protecting ourselves every day we eat well and we do even better with JuicePlus+. We are continuing to change our eating habits to include ever more fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Protecting our health starts by feeding our cells properly! We keep extra JuicePlus+ on hand, too, so that if we are starting to sense something coming on (or see it going around) we can double up.

Our family has also been using essential oils more and more. I am excited about the antiviral properties found in the plants God created! I love using these natural oils instead of harsh chemical cleaners (which are toxic to my family!) and am only just scratching the surface on understanding the protective and healing power of oils. Here is just a little bit of information on Thieves from my friend, Jaime:

"The use of essential oils for medicinal purposes dates back thousands of years and more recently, through scientific study, we know the power of essential oils on airborne pathogens.

During the 14th century, the plague spread across Europe. It was estimated to have killed a third of Europe's population while spreading to Asia and the Middle East. It was also known as the "Black Death" because one of the symptoms, acral necrosis, caused skin to blacken from sub dermal hemorrhages. So terrorizing was the disease that it killed within a week, usually 3-4 days, wiping out entire families. “The pestilence was so contagious that those who touched the dead or the sick were immediately affected themselves and died".

During this time, there was a group of four thieves who were able to not only go near the dying and dead, but were able to touch them. The thieves robbed the bodies of the inflicted and did not become ill, themselves. They were caught in 1413 in Marseilles, France. When they were tried, the magistrate offered leniency if they exposed their secret to resisting the infection. The thieves disclosed a concoction of aromatic herbs, including cloves and rosemary, which they rubbed on their hands, ears, and temples in order to avoid contracting the plague.

This recipe was recreated in Young Living’s blend, Thieves®, which contains the oils of clove, lemon, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, and rosemary. It is highly antimicrobial. When tested at Weber State University, it was found to have a 99.96% kill rate against airborne bacteria.

We have an entire arsenal of Thieves essential oil-based products to keep ourselves and our environment healthy such as Thieves Essential Oil, Thieves Cough Drops, Thieves Mouthwash, Thieves Spray, Thieves Hand Soap, Thieves Hand Sanitizer, Thieves Hand Wipes, and Thieves Household Cleaner. In addition, our new supplement, INNER DEFENSE contains the essential oils used in our Thieves blend plus Thyme and Citronella. This is a very powerful supplement for health and wellness support.

Use Thieves in your washing machine, dishwasher, wash down counters and bathrooms, diffuse in your environment, put on cotton balls and stick them in your air ducts at home or in your car. Add lemon essential oil to increase your protection against airborne pathogens."

Flu shots don't make sense to me, but availing myself of the medicines God has created DOES. I am consistently amazed by His creation.

Mealtime Song

Just a note of encouragement on a whim. Mealtime is often hectic around our house, with hurried trips back and forth from the kitchen and loud reminders such as "need napkins still" or "please bring T's bib!" It's also challenging to get everyone in their seats at the same time (without someone eating!), AND quiet and ready to pray.

It used to bother me, each "delay" to the meal as we waited for someone or something. Then, I had an idea- and it changed everything. (I can't really take credit for this. The Lord was so gracious to inspire me!)

Now, when the meal is mostly ready, and we are at the point of sitting down (and getting back up again inevitably!). . . I start our hymn of the month. We always get in at least a verse, which is great practice and review for all of us. Plus, I don't feel so restless because even as we scurry around we ARE accomplishing something (sowing truth in our hearts!); not just waiting.

I have found that I even WANT to find other details to attend to so that we can keep singing through the entire song! It has challenged my impatience and turned it into something lovely. The children seem to quiet down more quickly and the food is left alone while mouths sing. We love to hear Daddy's deep voice joining us in song. This has become a wonderful, peaceful and joyful routine where once there was disorder.

On Chiropractors

Chiropractic care is something that I have always been mildly curious about. It probably started with my long-time friend Kim. She educated me about chiropractic care when I was in middle school by taking me along when her family went for their regular appointment. This was novel to me.

Over the years my interest in wellness has grown. While I have not spent a great deal of time researching and studying chiropractic care, I have always had my ears up and my eyes open when it came up in conversation. I noticed who was availing themselves of this kind of care. I noticed when (my dad goes for back pain and my friend went during her pregnancy; another friend goes for preventative care). My curiosity grew.

Recently, I have had several positive experiences with chiropractors, outside of their offices. In building relationship with them, we have established rapport and trust. I'm even more open to hear what they have to say. I desire to know about things that will improve my family's health. And I appreciate honest dialogue and a chance to ask questions.

All of this led to an appointment on Monday for myself and the children. As we drove there, I explained the kind of behavior I expected. I also admitted that I wasn't quite sure what the appointment would entail. When I told the children that they were also going to be involved in this, I was met with exclamations of joy and excitement.

"Oh good!" R (5) exclaimed. "Who is going to get twisted first?"

This same boy, after our (two hour!) consultation told me he thought it was great. I asked the children on our way home what else they liked about it. "The toys!" one cried. "Everything!" several voices chimed in. Then R added, "I liked the feel of his hands."

On Mothering

This is my opinion.

Motherhood is devalued in our culture. It isn't enough to be a wife and mother; we have to qualify ourselves as "working mothers" or "just a mother." Of my friends and acquaintances who have children, only a very, very small percentage of them are not working outside the home.

I would like to talk about working outside the home, but this is one of THOSE topics that I breathe out trepidatiously, knowing my readers may be offended. For a very good look at the subject, I defer to Kelly, whose blog sums up motherhood and the Proverbs wife very well. She is entrepreneurial, and yet has what I perceive as a very godly understanding of her role as a mother.

My role is first as a wife and then as a mother. I do not have to be the provider. That is not a job that God has given to me (and I'm so thankful!). My husband is the provider for our family. And yet, God has given me skills and abilities that I can use to benefit my family and my society. I will continue to invest myself in others' wellness, but with a keen eye that my priorities are still God first, family second.

Motherhood is vital. It is not just laundry and dishes and occupying children throughout the day. It is spiritual warfare. Here is Carolyn McCulley (Radical Womanhood) on the subject:

"You are engaged in spiritual warfare, battling against beliefs and philosophies that slander God's name and tarnish His gifts to us. You are standing against those who believe heinous lies, like the most merciful thing that a large family does to one of its infant members is to kill it." By giving life and nurturing life, you are reflecting the life-giving characteristics of our holy God! Made in His image, you are reflecting Him when you care for the lives He has created."

Oh, may I have eyes for eternity! May I be grateful and joyful for the responsibility and privilege I have! May I be content to do my humble work. May I know Jesus more and make Him known.

Napa Cabbage

This is another CSA discovery. We've never had napa cabbage before, but we loved it! I cut the whole cabbage (minus the icky outer leaves) into wide ribbons and put it all in my 9 by 13 stone. This I topped with:

1 Tbl. honey
3 Tbl. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbl. oil
salt and pepper

I actually used a bit more of all of that because we had a VERY large head. It was covered and cooked in a 400 oven for about 30 minutes.

This Sweet and Sour Cabbage was excellent... so good I had to share!