Saturday, October 11, 2014

My Baby is 5..........how did that happen???

The older I get the more I understand something that I've heard all my life..........Time FLIES!  I remember being a child & thinking that Christmas would NEVER get here.  Now Christmas seems to be coming faster & faster each year!!  So, I'm trying very hard to seize each & every moment with my girls & my family!!  The song "Don't Blink"  will bring me to tears everytime.  
I feel like I was just in the hospital having Aubrey, somehow that was 5 years ago!!!  I'm so thankful each day for her sweet self.  She marches to her own drum & she truly completes our family!! 
 My heart............these three right here are what keep me going!!

Our Homeschooling Fun

When we decided to homeschool our girls, I found myself worrying about how to teach them enough.  Then I realized that our children are learning every single day...........from the time they wake up until the time they go to sleep!!  Now, obviously this is not formal education type learning, but still a very vital piece of the education puzzle.  I still have days that I worry that I'm not doing enough.......but I think that is normal for new homeschool families.  So, while we're doing our studies, we're also finding lessons in daily activities.
The girls love to go to their Daddy's vet clinic.  There are always lessons to be learned there.  In science, Ava has been studying caniforms (dog-like carnivores) & feliforms (cat-like carnivores)--these are 2 large subgroups of Carnivora.  So she gets to see lots of science application at the clinic.  When we were there last week she told me that Breezy & Mr. Big are feliforms!!
 We've also enjoyed a recent trip to a local orchard.  We were able to see many different kinds of apples & pumpkins.  They also had some other seasonal vegetables & some potted plants. 
 My girls LOVE going to the zoo.  This is what we do for their birthdays instead of having a party.  We let them choose what to do & they always want to go back to the zoo.  So they were really excited about last week's field trip.  While we were at the zoo, we had to check on Lola & see how much she had grown since our last visit!
 Ava was eager to take notes to go in the science journaling notebook that we have. 

Then we came home & mapped the animals we studied on our world map!!  The girls thought that was really cool!!

End of Summer, Start of Fall

Fall is my very favorite time of year!!  I love when the weather cools off & the leaves change colors.  I love wearing sweatshirts & fixing all kinds of yummy comfort food that comes with the cooler weather!!  Fall also lends itself to more family time..........that's always a plus! Well, here are a few of the things that we've had going on at close of summer leading into the fall.  I hope you enjoy......

I invited my Young Living team to my house for an Essential Oil 102 Make & Take class.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy it.  We made sleep cream, pain cream, sugar scrub, & anti-aging serum.  I love that we can make all these things from 100% natural & pure ingredients.  I also made Lavender cupcakes to serve at the make & take..........I thought they turned out pretty well..........the lavender adds a lovely flavor.

Summer also means that the garden crops are waning.  I didn't have as many jalapenos as I wanted this year, but I had enough to do one big batch of pickled peppers & an even bigger batch of cowboy candy.  If you've not tried this, you don't know what you're missing!!  We've not found anything yet that we don't enjoy it with!!  Yummy, delicious sweet heat!!

We ended the summer with a few get togethers with our church family.  I love how close these kids are.  They really enjoyed this evening playing badminton!
With the perfect weather we're enjoying right now, one of the kids' favorite games is Red Rover.  After most every church service you can see these lines form.  I'm so thankful for these sweet memories!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

A new journey..........


Well, the past month has brought yet another change to our daily lives.  We started homeschooling about 6 weeks ago!!  This has been something that we started discussing when I knew we were expecting Ava (so almost 9 years ago).  It finally was time to make it come to fruition this year.  The girls are completely excited & seem to be thriving.  Ava is in 3rd grade this year & Aubrey is in kindergarten.  Here are a few pictures of how our typical days progress......
We start most days with calendar & story time.  We sing some songs & try to get our day off on the right foot. This picture was taken during our first week of school.
When the girls get tired of sitting still & doing paper work, we break for chores or snack or playtime.  Then hit the work again after a break.
 One of the many things I love about homeschooling is the flexibility it provides & the extra time I seem to have.  I love that school goes with us wherever we go......whether we're running errands or
 hiking in the woods!  :)  Ava was pumped about her first field trip.  Daddy took her on a hike.  She took her camera & brought back all sorts of scientific information for us to talk about.
 We do have to have test times from time to time.  Gotta make sure mommy is doing her job!!  Once again, I'm so thankful for my Young Living Essential Oils. Ava doesn't handle tests well.  They make her incredibly nervous.  So, I pull out the Valor & Peppermint essential oils for test times.  The Valor promotes confidence & the Peppermint helps with focus. 
Thanks for taking a peek in on our day. 

Monday, September 1, 2014

A Temporary NEW Premium Starter Kit!!!


Want to take advantage of this offer..........HURRY!!  Here are directions on how to become a member:  http://mydropsoflove.blogspot.com/2014/07/how-to-become-young-living-member.html

 

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Essential Oils on the go

When I discovered Young Living essential oils, I could not believe all the benefits!!  I mean I got interested in them because the benefits of natural wellness.  BUT I didn't expect the amount of health & wellness support...........there is seriously an oil for EVERYTHING!!  That was one of the best surprises that I've found with these life changing oils.  

In this house we use these oils daily.  We use several different oils each day for a variety of reasons.  We also use them all ways that they can be used.......aromatically, topically, & internally.  For this post, I'm going to be focusing on aromatic use of essential oils.  We LOVE our diffuser at this house.  We go to sleep with it on every night!!  What if you had a way to take the benefits of essential oils with you everywhere you go? My girls & I have started making clay diffuser necklaces.  My girls love that they get to help me out with my oils & they love wearing the necklaces & having people ask about them & buy them from us.  I thought I'd share with you the process of how we make these necklaces.  First things first......gather the necessary supplies.  I use Sculpey baking clay, hemp cord & a variety of stamps.  You will also need something to cut your pendants with......I chose to use an old hairspray top because it is a circle & is about 1"-1.5".  Since making this picture, I have also found other shape cookie cutters that are in that same size range & we're loving using them.  To me, that is the perfect size. 



 When you have all your supplies gathered, then you get your clay out & roll it into balls.  The balls should be roughly 2-3 inches.  Once they're rolled into balls, you're going to flatten them (just like you would do with cookies or biscuits).  Flatten each ball to about 1/8" thickness.    

 
 Once flattened, you're ready to get your cutter & cut the clay.  Using your desired shape, cut the clay out. 
 
 Once the clay is cut you'll need to get a skewer or stylus.  Use this to make the hole in the pendent where you'll thread your cord.  You will also want to take the extra clay from around your pendant & make a small ball with it.  This will be used for your clasp.  Using the skewer, make a whole in the clasp ball & in your pendant. 
 
 Now it is time to move all clasp balls & pendants to a baking sheet. 
 
 Finally you'll bake your clay necklaces.  Bake them at 275* for 15 minutes.  When they're done, let them cool on baking sheet. 
 Once your pendents & clasps are cooled, you'll be ready to string your necklaces for wearing.  I'll be honest with you, this part has been trial & error for us & I'm still trying to perfect it.  :)  Because of this I do not have any pictures of the strings.  Basically, I've cut my hemp cord to approximately 25"-27".  Depends on how long you want your necklaces to hang.  You'll need to cut shorter (more like 20"-22") for small children. So, what I do right now is to cut the cord & then fold it in half.  I thread the looped cord through the hole on the pendant & fix the ends through the looped end to secure the pendant.  That part works great.  The part I'm trying to perfect is the ball clasps & loops for clasps.  I take one loose end & tie it in a loop to go over the ball clasp piece.  Then I take the ball clasp & tie it onto the other loose cord end.  I hope this make sense.  In a later post I'll try to share a picture of how the ends & clasps look. 
I hope you've enjoyed this little informative DIY post.  I'd love to hear from you if you decide to make your own diffuser jewelry.  Have a great weekend!!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Better from the farm..........


I may not be a seasoned farmgirl YET......but I have already figured out that some things are just better straight from the farm.       
LOVE LOVE LOVE how my farm fresh eggs look.  Not sure if the picture does it justice or not.......but these yolks are SO YELLOW!!!  And the flavor of these eggs is so rich & yummy!!  We've had chickens & gathered our own eggs for several years now (even in town we had 2 laying hens).  But this year, let me tell you......our food has been so good.  We've grown all our own veggies & eggs & even some of our meat!!  This way of life is harder & certainly not for the lazy or faint-hearted but so very worth all the hard work!!