Stop the Presses!!!

I normally update on Sundays, but this was just too exciting! My oldest even told me it must go on the blog!

In January, I entered my older two children into our local Science Fair for Homeschoolers. When I entered them, I wasn't sure if we were going to make it as our schedule is crazy! Just last night, I decided I need to dispel these myths that Mamas need to be perfect in order to successfully homeschool their children! I need to write about just how crazy it can be around here. Oh if only y'all knew how scatterbrained I feel most of the time!

But, anyway......

My son won 4th place and my daughter took home a 1st place ribbon. :) They were both ecstatic and it gave them good experience.

Neither Andrew nor I have participated in a science fair before, so it was a learning experience for us as well.

Jared did his project on Creating Carbon Dioxide by using yeast, sugar, and warm and cool waters. The experience was a great confidence boost and he was eager to stay at his table with his display, even after the judges were finished.

 Morgan's was called Mysterious Mold. It took two weeks for us to grow enough mold to "inoculate" various other foods.

 The outcome was interesting.

Giving Them Back

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there. 1 Samuel 1:27-28

About an hour after my 4^th baby, Camden, was born, my oldest daughter, Morgan, asked, “Mama, are you going to give him back?” She was only six and I’d just given birth, so I wasn’t expecting such a deep question.

Camden’s conception and dedication were especially significant for me.

After having three children, we decided our family was complete. A few years later, I ached for another baby to Mother, but we found conception wasn’t coming easily. 

I knew our family had another child to come, but didn’t know how or when and all I could do was trust His timing and will for our family. I also felt we were dealing with the consequences of taking things into our own hands, trusting our own wisdom. I prayed for forgiveness and knew I would not take conception for granted again.

And a week after submitting a letter of infertility to our adoption agency, I learned we were expecting!

 

So when we dedicated Camden, my perspective was different compared to our other children's services. While I knew we were publicly declaring that we would raise them in the ways of Truth and not the ways of the world, I had a better appreciation of the service.

Andrew, Matthias, Sara Elizabeth

As we dedicated our 5^th child, Matthias, yesterday, I was again reminded how blessed we are to have been entrusted with five precious souls: two beautiful girls and three boys who, Lord Willing, will be strong Spiritual leaders of their families. Parenting is a huge responsibility and we don't take this charge lightly.

As our Pastor read, “Children are an heritage of the Lord,” it reaffirmed that we do not “own” our children—they have been entrusted to us to bring up in His ways. Our job as parents is to train them up in the way they should go. (Proverbs 22:6)

While there are moments in which I want to hang on to them and say, “NO! These are mine,” I know that there’s no better place for them to be than in the center of God’s Will.

Sharing with Raising Mighty Arrows, Raising Homemakers, Hearts 4 Home, The Time-Warp Wife, Growing Home, Far Above Rubies, Raising Arrows, The Better Mom, These Five of Mine Plus Two,  The Modest Mom,

Can't. Stand. Up.

Perhaps it's from all those years of ballet keeping my hips turned out, but I frequently pull my left hip out of place.

I had my first bout in college. After an exam and x-rays, my doctor prescribed anti-inflammatories, which I took every day for about four months.

When Morgan was 9 months old, I yanked that hip out again while playing with her. Dreading those months upon months of drugs and pain, I called up a massage therapist friend, hoping to get some therapy started. She said, "Sweetie, massage is great, but I think you need a chiropractor."

Not only had I never been to a chiropractor but I'd heard they were psychos, eager to mess with my beloved and extremely important spine. I wasn't going to follow all those ignorant folks who loved their chiropractors so much that they couldn't help but visit at least once a month, if not multiple times a week!

But the pain was great, so I found a sitter and put down the $30 to see if it'd help.

©iStockphoto.com/leezsnow

Honestly, I screamed during the adjustment, and in fact was in *more* pain. I wasn't happy with my friend, who denied my massage and advised my torture.

I let her know that, too.

A few hours later, I felt better but stiff and still sore, so Morgan and I settled down for a nap. That evening I felt fine. No more pain, walking completely upright, and without a single dose of anti-inflammatories.

So, after weighing months of pain and hundreds of dollars in drugs against $30, a 5 minute visit to the chiropractor, no pain meds, and one day of resting, I knew what my future treatments would be.

Some insurance companies will even cover the costs.

I even received regular chiropractic care during my last two pregnancies and they made a world of difference in my comfort.
 
Is chiropractic care appropriate for every ache and pain? Certainly not. If you decide to seek out chiropractic care, a good one should refer you to the appropriate individual, if he or she feels your condition is beyond their scope of care.

How do you incorporate chiropractic care in your life? Do you use it for aches and pains? Or do you see chiropractic care as part of an integral part of your family's overall well-being?

Sharing with The Modest Mom, The Better Mom, Raising Arrows, Raising Homemakers, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, These Five of Mine Plus Two, Hearts for Home, Little Natural Cottage, Growing Home, Far Above Rubies, Raising Mighty Arrows, and The Time-Warp Wife

Two Easy Family-Friendly Raw Breakfasts

I'm frequently asked for quick and simple raw meal ideas, so here are a couple of the smoothie varieties my children love. 

Blueberry Smoothie w/ Granola

This blueberry smoothie was made with 1 Tablespoon raw Tahini, about 2 handfuls of fresh blueberries and another 2 handfuls of raw almonds, 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup, 2 bananas, and 2 cups water.

Even though the base ingredients have an initial expense, I can make several smoothies with 'em. So in the long run, they fit the budget, but most importantly, pack a LOT of nutritional benefits.








The granola was just an extra for us this morning, the smoothie is complete on its own.

 The finished product! No leftovers in sight!

Green Smoothies

As for green smoothies, I often say I follow the, "I-have-five-children-nine-and-under-and-no-time-to-fuss" recipe.

A typical smoothie for us starts with 2 cups of filtered water, some vegetables (spinach, kale, romaine, sprouts, cucumbers, peppers, celery, whatever I can find), until I have about 4 cups worth of actual smoothie.

Secondly, I throw in the fruit (apples, pears, melons, bananas, again, whatever I can find), including some kind of frozen fruit (berries, pineapple, whatever is in the freezer) to keep it frosty.

Lastly, I include a scoop of protein powder. I've used the Protein Powder from Sun Warrior (Vanilla) for years, but have tried out others recently.

Sometimes I'll add in some coconut oil, ground flax, etc.



The cool thing about not having a strict recipe is that we never have the same flavors twice.
Our smoothies are rarely even the same color twice.

BTW, I'm sure there's a proper order to adding things into the blender, but as I've mentioned before, I'm pushed for time around here so just start throwing things in at random.

No wonder my blender died.








Update: I've since invested in a Blendtec blender. I found one refurbished but it's held up even to my abuse. It wasn't cheap, but well worth the investment, especially when making smoothies for lots of littles.

Here are some links to favorite books and resources for raw/smoothie recipes and info:
Rejuvenate Your Life! Recipes for Energy by Serene Allison
Rejuvenate Your Life! Recipes for Energy CD by Serene Allison
Rejuvenate with Serene DVD by Serene Allison
Coconut Butter Recipes by Serene Allison
The Big Book of Green Smoothies by Robin Openshaw

Sharing with The Modest Mom, Raising Homemakers, Raising Mighty Arrows, These Five of Mine Plus Two, The Time-Warp Wife, Growing Home, The Better Mom, Little Natural Cottage, Far Above Rubies, and Raising Arrows.

Top 10 Natural Helps (Part 1)

A "from the vault" post, but one some found useful.

And another disclaimer--folks, I'm not a doctor. :) I cannot diagnose, cure, or treat any illness or disease. :) I can only share info I've found while on one of my obsession-fueled quests for information.

When I began formally studying nutrition, I made a list of the "Top Ten," according to the author Dr. Andrew Weil.

A couple of months later, I created a 2nd list! I'll re-visit those soon, too!

©iStockphoto.com/Dimitris Stephanides

My favorites have expanded even more since, so there will be a Part 3, complete with pictures! You'll see the inside of my own "Natural Medicine Chest," which has a good variety of things suitable for our whole family. :)

And then there's the list of my favorite Essential Oils, Homeopathics, and pictures of my making a homemade herbal first-aid salve. This could go on for awhile!

While my summaries are mostly according to Dr. Weil's Guide to Optimum Health, I know there are plenty of other thoughts, ideas, etc. that can be added, so if you know of benefits not listed, feel free to add input in the comments section.

When I originally wrote this, I was pregnant with my 4th child, so any references to morning sickness are from that pregnancy. I didn't want to get anyone excited. :) No news of Baby #6 (yet!)

Before venturing out on your own, I highly recommend seeking out the services of a qualified Naturopath. If you live in or around the Ozarks, I can suggest one for you, otherwise asking at a local health food/natural living store is a good place to start.

A small sampling of what's in my own "medicine cabinet"

1) Echinacea: helpful for shortening the duration of colds and simple infections. We keep Echinacea in our home in a tincture form and it is truly helpful during cold and allergy season. As soon as I hear a sniffle, he or she gets about a dropper full.

2) Chamomile may be used as a stomach soother, helpful with colic and for relaxation. I drink it at night when I feel queasy (have I mentioned that's starting to set in just a small bit? Just every now and then I'll feel it).

3) Peppermint is a stomach soother and is helpful for Upper GI distress and IBS. I thought this was neat, because when I was pregnant with Elena (my 3rd pregnancy), I naturally wanted and ate a lot of peppermint when I had morning sickness. I had to drink two cups of peppermint tea just this morning.

I also have a bottle of peppermint oil that I use to flavor herbal teas.

4) Garlic, preferably fresh. Garlic is helpful for blood pressure, cholesterol, and can even be recommended as a blood thinner--so I'd say all around heart health with this one. Garlic is also considered the only "true" nutritional anti-biotic.

5) Ginseng includes a warning that it can interfere with sleep. It's known to increase longevity and energy. Dr. Weil also notes that it's good for the elderly.

6) Ginkgo, which increases blood circulation and increases mental stimulation, but only if the person's lack of mental clarity is a result of poor circulation.

7) Ginger and Tumeric are both anti-inflammatories. Ginger is also a stomach soother which helps with motion sickness and nausea. We have a bottle of encapsulated Ginger which we find useful. Tumeric is a good partner with Ginger and helps to work with hormones dealing with immunity.

During my 5th pregnancy, I found candied ginger (NOT to be confused with ginger flavored candy) very useful during the early bout of morning sickness. 

8) Gentian helps to stimulate the digestive system.

9) Tea Tree Oil is a staple in our home. I have a good size bottle of 100% pure Tea Tree Oil, which is used quite a bit. It's a disinfectant, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial which is great for first aid for small cuts and bites, etc. Elena is our bug magnet, especially mosquitoes.

I also have a bottle of a Tea Tree/Lavender combo, which we use equally as much.

10) Milk Thistle is a liver tonic. It's also recommended to help with Hepatitis viruses and strengthening and protecting the liver.

Do you have additional info for any of the items listed above? If so, please share in the comments section or visit the group on FB. :)

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