Preventing the Flu: Part One

                                                                                               (Photo Cited)


Its influenza (flu) season and this year has been particularly awful. Yuck. I am working hard at keeping these germs at bay and keeping my kiddos healthy and happy. I wanted to share a couple supplements and things we are doing to stay healthy.

1. Eating wholesome and fresh foods! Eat the rainbow!!

2. Washing our hands! I have been religiously washing my toddler's hands, getting under their finger nails. We are also working on learning to sneeze into our shoulder not our hand. Also, we use natural soaps not anti-bacterial soap, specifically stay away from triclosan. Stephanie at Keeper of the Home has a great blog where you can read more about hand-washing here: http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2010/10/harmful-handwashing-the-dangers-of-antibacterial-soaps.html.

3. Cod Liver Oil/ Butter Oil (most important supplement I believe you can take!)

4. Vitamin D (we need sunshine around these parts!- you will get this in the CLO/BO I recommend)

5. Elderberry syrup. We make our own and save lots of $$$. I also know exactly what is in ours and feel comfortable taking it while nursing and giving it to my baby.

6. Vitamin C (my kids get a half of emergen-c packet every day and I take a whole packet)

7. SLEEP (it is so important and with that I am signing out)

Book Number One: The Language of Flowers

I just finished my first book on my book list, I am already feeling ahead of the game. This usually doesn't happen till' February folks, but this book was too good to put down. "The Language of Flowers" by Vanessa Diffenbaugh is about a young girl named Victoria who "graduates"out of foster-care system at the age of eighteen. She is left completely alone, homeless, with walls carefully blockading her ravaged heart. The only thing she has besides her small backpack is an understanding of the language of flowers, what different flowers mean and the way they were used to communicate during the Victorian era. This is the language she has used during her years in foster-care to communicate mistrust, hate, solitude and the language had become her refuge and escape. Its a beautiful and raw book that takes you right into the mistrust and pain of her heart as she confronts brokenness in her past and ultimately begins the journey of healing. You will cry.
*I personally wouldn't recommend it to anyone under sixteen as there are a couple sexual parts in the book. 

Hello 2013

                                                             Good Morning World!


Well, Truth in the Tinsel was awesome but I obviously didn't keep up with blogging during December. There is always next year though, right? Right. I was going to do catch-up blogs, but I decided to just press delete on that idea and step into 2013.

Wow. A New Year. New Mercies. New Resolves. Always Grace. So much grace. I have a lot of resolutions this year, some spill over from last year but there's not shame in that. I probably should think of a different word than "resolution", I have two toddlers, I am too flexible to be "resolved".


                                                            My 2013 Intentions

1. Run KC Marathon in October (This is happening!) Its on before 30 bucket list and I am running out of time :-)
2. Finish becoming CAPPA Doula Certified
3. 2013 Book List
4. We are going gluten free in 2013! ~ we have some health issues that we need to address in a more focused way.
5. Ferment everything, HA (kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha- i am going to conquer you)
6. Sticking with my Tot School/Preschool schedule (this is a whole post in itself)
7. Work on my child photography (I have a couple friends that are helping me)
8. I am reading through the Bible this year (Now, I have done this a couple times throughout the years but never like I am going to this year. More on that later...)

I know I have ten but thats all I can think of for right now, at least its an even number. :-)

Advent Day Nine

                                                           Joseph: A Righteous Man


We read together:

Matthew 1:18-24;

^"18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. ²⁰ But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. ²¹ And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His nameJesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

²² So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

²⁴ Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife."

                                 Working on Joseph ornament and got the Mary ornament to compare to


I asked Sissy, how she thought Joseph felt when he found out he would be the earthly father to Jesus. She said, "He was happy." :-)

Advent Day Eight

                                                         He will Shine Like the Sun

We read together: 

Luke 1:57-80

New King James Version (NKJV)

Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷ Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. ⁵⁸ When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.
⁵⁹ So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. ⁶⁰ His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”
⁶¹ But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶² So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.
⁶³ And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. ⁶⁵ Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ And all those who heard them kept themin their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zacharias’ Prophecy

⁶⁷ Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸ “Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
⁶⁹ And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
⁷⁰ As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
⁷³ The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴ To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

⁷⁶ “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited^[a] us;
⁷⁹ To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰ So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

    Our sun ornament

Advent Day Seven

                                                             Mary's Song

We read together:

Luke 1:46-56

The Song of Mary

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
⁴⁸ For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
⁴⁹ For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
⁵⁰ And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
⁵¹ He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
⁵² He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
⁵⁴ He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
⁵⁵ As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

                                                      ignore the lack of makeup and wet hair :-)

Advent Day Six

                                                            Mary and Elizabeth

We read this together:

Luke 1:39-45

³⁹ Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, ⁴⁰ and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 

⁴² Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed areyou among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³ But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. ⁴⁵ Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.”

Then the craft we did today was pregnant Mary and Elizabeth ornaments. This has been Sissy's favorite craft so far. 

                                          Sissy painting Mary and Elizabeth 

                                         Afternoon snuggles with Moses (Nana's dog)