Phew!

Little Astronaut was sick from onset to today 12 days! Ugh ...so glad it's over but we learned so much in that time. This was his list of supplements...

Fenugreek Tea (once a day)
Echinacea (2-7x a day)
Golden Seal (2-7x a day)
Vitamin C (3x a day)
Euctalyptus (chest rub, neck, foot rub)
A Zinc chew (2x a day) 
Garlic (3x a day)
And as many fluids as possible

Needless to say I'm tired but thankful. The last couple days he had only a dry cough and an on and off fever. So I was thinking we may have been fighting a bacterial infection after all...but! Low and behold yesterday he said his ear hurt. I never thought I would have been happy about an ear infection but I was! It meant he was successful in fighting his first thing  and on to something else. That issue should be gone by tomorrow and this brings me to my next few posts...an Herb of the Day series! Aren't you so excited!? I think Fenugreek may be first...only because it's kind of fun to say. {Grin}

In His hands...

Food heals. That's what I tell people. That's what I believe.

But when my son starts struggling to breath we turn to the Lord and thank him that I saved the inhaler for emergencies.

Little Astronaut was struggling to breath Tuesday morning. Then that afternoon...and then again that night. When he gets sick we have to watch him because he has gotten croup a few times. The humidifier has really helped us avoid medical intervention. But this time it was within minutes he was not able to speak between breaths. Scary. I pray. We used his emergency inhaler and 3 hours later it happened again. I pray. And a wonderful friend of mine flew to my house with her nebulizer and saved me a trip to the ER. We had to use it again that night.

God can heal us right? I know it. He says it. I believe it. 

The next day he's so much better. We take him to our doctor and she says...Hmmm...there's definitely something going on in there (listening to his breathing you could hear the mucus). We'll treat it as bronchitis. It's probably viral but I'll prescribe you antibiotics. (I'm thinking...yeah right) I ask if there's a way to test if it is bacterial so I know if he needs antibiotics and she says no. She obviously knows me (and other mom's like me) and says with a smile I can wait 48 hours before I give it to him. She prescribes a nebulizer, Albuterol and a steroid. She gives him a breathing treatment there (Albuterol) because his oxygen level was low. 

So we leave and I head to our local health store. I'd been reading about Fenugreek; an herb that dissolves mucus, so I get that. I'd also been reading about Ginger; an herb that increases circulation and get that. We go home and there I am...

Food heals. That's what I tell people. That's what I believe.

Do I believe it enough for my son?

This is not a cold, the flu, chicken pox...this is serious.

I call a mom that has become a mentor to me and I surprise myself and breakdown on the phone with her. She prays. I feel peace. I call my husband. I walk into the kitchen and mix Simply Oj with Echinacia and a cup of Fenugreek tea...I give it to my sweet boy and I pray. I pray some more. I pick up our nebulizer and Albuterol for emergencies and wait.

Today is Thursday and Little Astronaut is doing wonderfully.

Thank you LB. Thank you TE. Thank you for being there for me. Thank you dear friends whom I can reach out to and you pray.

What I've learned from this...
I am not in control. No matter how much I know and read; I'm not The Healer. 

The minute that Little Astronaut gets congested we will start treatment immediately with herbs and vitamins. And I will not be afraid to use our emergency medical supplies.   


**I'm not telling you what to do with your kids medically or herbally. I just wanted to share what the Lord was reminding me... He's got the itty bitty children in his hands {Grin}**

A Mother's Prayer...my prayer

Dear Lord,

         So far today I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, I haven't lost my temper, I haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or very indulgent. I'm very grateful for that. But in a few minutes, Lord, I'm going to get out of bed, and from then on, I'm going to need a lot more help. Amen.

New Additions!!

We have 4 new additions to the family...baby chicks!!

This is Hawk. My son named her of course because

she looks like a hawk, duh mommy.

 She is a Black Sex Link (hybrid dual purpose) chick. About 3 wks old.

 She is a bit skiddish and a bit ornery.

This is Delia or Dellie.

She is a Delaware chick (dual purpose). About 3 wks old.

She's not thrilled to be held but deals with it.

And this cutie is Ducky...she has stripes like a duck

 but you can't really tell in this picture.

She is sweet and doesn't mind being held.

She is an Americana (dual purpose)

 and will lay blue eggs! She's about 2 wks old.

BTW naming a chick Ducky can be a bit

 confusing for a 2 year old. {Grin}

And if I have a favorite this one would be it...

This is Rhodie. She's a Rhode Island Red

(dual purpose) and about 2 wks old.

She doesn't mind being held either and has a tip of red on the

end of her beak which is so cute.

So! This is our new adventure as a family. We are so excited to have our own free range, no antibiotics, no hormones eggs soon. And of course they are so fun to watch which is an extra treat. {Grin}

Something I Love...

About home schooling....

The other day Little Astronaut says, 'Mom, can we learn about castles?'

A quick trip to our online library...and

Can you guess what we're 'studying' about for the next couple weeks??

That's right. Castles.

Why? Because my son wants to.

Is that so GREAT or what?

What A Waste!

I am not a Tree Hugger. I am not a Save The Planet or forest or ocean person. But I HATE waste! I LOATH...yes I said loath in 2011...the Buy and Trash Lifestyle America has embraced. Flip on the tele. Nothing is good enough. Isn't that what they're telling us? Isn't that what we are teaching our kids and feeding ourselves?? That what we buy today will be less than next year. Your phone, your clothes, your decor, your video games, your Rubbermaid lunch thingy, even your cool BPA Free water container. I think we have lost the reality that these things have to go somewhere when they are discarded...the trash. In a big hole in the ground...forever...doing nothing...going nowhere...forever.

This bugs me. Can you tell?

Call me crazy...this is what we have changed:

We use glass not plastic for almost everything.
Why? Because there are no toxins in glass and you can use them over and over and over again. And food just looks so much better in glass, all pretty and shiny.

We use our own grocery bags (when I remember to put them back in the car!).
Why? Because you can use them over again, wash them, buy really cute/fun or masculine ones, and sometimes get 6cents off (each bag) your grocery bill!

We recycle cardboard, paper, and soon plastic.
Why? Because it's so easy and you'll be amazed at how your pick up trash can is only half full each week or less.

We donate instead of trash. And buy used when we can.
Why? Because someone's trash can be someone's treasure. And! It's so much cheaper to buy used of course :)

We buy from the bulk section. 
Why? Because it's so much cheaper! And! there is so much less packaging (to waste).

Our newest thing is using reusable produce bags.
Why? Because throwing those flimsy plastic bags away drives me nuts and I detest food in plastic.

I first planned on sewing fabric ones with drawstrings but then the checker would have to take them out of the bag for their #s and you don't want a frustrated checker so I decided to look for laundry bags with zips but I was at the Dollar Tree and found a four pack or mesh bags with drawstrings. So $3 later I have 12 bags and didn't sew a stitch!

I didn't one day wake up and say 'We are going GREEN!' It happened one thing at a time. I want to be a good steward with what The Lord has given us; with our health, with our money, and with his glorious land. We can not save our planet. Because of sin we are living on an earth that is slowly dying just like us but that doesn't mean we throw caution to the wind, right?

Here's a link on making your own grocery bags:
http://tipnut.com/35-reusable-grocery-bags-totes-free-patterns/


Check out this video and be inspired!

Finding Joy In Your Father's House

I came across this book in The Vision Forum Catalog....

By age fourteen, Jasmine Baucham’s little-girl dreams of becoming a mommy were supplanted by bigger visions of winning the Pulitzer Prize or an Oscar and appearing on Oprah. She began viewing the calling of home and marriage as second-rate. Then her world was radically challenged by the Scriptures, as she went from craving personal renown to craving to please the Lord through delighting in his design for the joyful home — an even bigger dream, she realized, than stardom.

In Joyfully at Home, Jasmine writes with verve and transparency about her own struggles and triumphs as a young woman, encouraging other girls to embrace a vision for the home as a hub of ministry and discipleship and as a training ground for life ahead. With humor, humility, and heart, Jasmine tackles the tough questions girls face, offering practical counsel on how to overcome false views of marriage, husbands, and singleness.

I want to encourage young women . . . to be enthusiastic and vibrant, purposeful and driven, meticulous and passionately focused in pursuit of the Lord's will for their time at home. —Jasmine Baucham

Why do single young women choose to stay at home? Can they be fulfilled and content under their father's roof? What do they do with their time? Jasmine Baucham has written a winsome, compelling, and hard-hitting book which will encourage and inspire all the women in your home! Joyfully at Home will challenge your thinking and help you honestly answer the really tough questions. —Beall Phillips


After reading this I sat back and thought...whoa.

My mom remarried while I was in high school. She had a new marriage, a full time job, and 3 younger children. She may not have intentionally pushed me out but I felt like I didn't have a place at home. So I left and got my first apartment a week before I graduated. I came to the Lord shortly after that and moved back home. Met a boy, fell in love, moved out, and married him 6 months after meeting him. I can look back and say...Yeah, I was seeking a home. I needed to feel needed. To be a part of something. And thankfully God brought me my husband.

Before I read about this book I've said the following...
My kids will work at 16.
My kids will leave the house soon after they graduate.
We won't push them to go to college but they have to do something.

I brought this up to a friend of mine. She was home schooled, her family loves the Lord, and she's still at home. I told her about this book and that I'd never even thought this was an option in a family. I ask her,'Were you guys encouraged to stay home until marriage?' And this is what they were taught...

Pursue your passions.
Seek God always.

They weren't told they had to leave, or to go to school, or to find a job. Pursue your passions. Seek God always. Go from there...that's it.

That's all there is isn't there? In life I mean. Doesn't God give you the desires of your heart? The desires of His heart for you? Should we lean not on our own understanding??

How is this not obvious? How is this not what we are teaching our children?? Guess what...

We will not push our children out.
They will always have a place in our home...until they marry of course :)
We will give them the tools to pursue their passions.
We will encourage them to seek God always.

Thank you ST your family has inspired me in more ways than one.