Purification..my second favorite oil!

Second oil of the week? Purification! Second family member? Jack!

Let's talk about Jack a bit. He's my second born, my wild card with a joyful heart that kindness just bubbles over from. I seriously love being his momma. Just like his brother this kiddo is prone to "the cough" especially when it is seasonally related from a post nasal drip.

Like I said yesterday, Thieves oil works great when they are sick sick. But when I know we are dealing with seasonal stuff it's Purification that grab.

This powerful blend has Citronella, Rosemary, Lemongrass, Tea Tree, Lavadin, and Myrtle oil in it. The scent is bright fresh and lemony

Rosemary is known for its benefits to respiratory health and its anti inflammatory properties.

Tea Tree oil is antimicrobial!!! What in the world!?! I am constantly amazed at how God designed these plants. Y'all he wasn't just making a beautiful world for us to live in, He was creating with purpose because He truly cares for us!

Because I'm a big believer in researching these oils for yourself, I dare you today to search out these oils in this blend and read up! You'll be amazed at what you can find.

At this point in my research is when I discovered that there are really two main oil companies. You can find flaws with both, but in the end I chose Young Living because it was right for OUR family. I felt confident in their Seed to Seal promise. What you can buy at Whole Foods or your local health store is not what you can purchase from YL. Most oils in the stores are overly processed and include fillers making them weak, causing you to use more and still not see the same results. After everything we went through with Will I knew we wanted quality and a product I didn't have to worry would have extra "stuff".

So, let me tell you how we use Purification around here:

*Diffuse in the boys room when allergies are threatening.

*Diffuse in the house, especially the kitchen if I'm trying to clear out a cooking smell. This oil is excellent for purifying the air, not only does it knock out any lingering smells but thanks to the antibacterial and antiviral properties you are actually getting cleaner air!
*A little testimony; my SIL had fried up a TON of bacon one
morning. (my brother was on some sort of high protein kick,
haha) and the smell of bacon had permitted the entire
house. She added Purification to her diffuser and when he
arrived home there wasn't even a hint of fried bacon!

*Apply topically to bug bites. We live in a very buggy area and Jack especially is targeted by those pesky mosquitos. A drop on the bite and the swelling and itching are gone within a few minutes!

*Apply topically to repel mosquitos. When I'm on the ball and can actually remember this trick, it works wonders and smells so much better than that nasty Deet stuff. 

So far, both oils I've shared with you come in the starter kit, plus you get a diffuser! I don't like ending my posts with a sales plug, but if you want the oils this is how you get them. Just please know that I'm sharing from my heart and wouldn't be on here if I was just trying to make a dollar  It's an awkward balance of being open with y'all about what our family has experienced and telling you how to buy the product. Can it even be done gracefully? lol

xxoo
~koIf you'd like to purchase a starter kit please follow these simple instructions:

* Go to: https://beta.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start

*Please make sure you've checked Wholesale Member (and not retail customer---you will not get wholesale prices as a customer)

*Select "I was referred by a Young Living member, and I have his or her member number."

*Enter 1685363 in the sponsor ID and enroller ID areas

*Fill out your info

*Select your kit ($150 Premium Starter Kit is the best value. You get 10 oils plus a home diffuser in this kit)

*You can say no to the Essential Rewards--in fact, I recommend this until you've tried the oils and know if you like them or not.

*At this point you can add more to your order if you'd like

*All finished!

If you do sign up, I can invite you to a private group page that will be a huge resource to you and has helped me learn so much!

Have any question? Please feel free to ask me here or message me.

Finally Confident!!

Hello hello!
I've kept fairly quiet the past 8 months as our family has incorporated essential oils into our daily routine. 

My reservation with going public was that so many already had and I wanted to make sure that when/if I did I could say without reservation, THESE OILS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE! 

Starting today I will introduce one oil a day that our family has benefited from as well as share with you how a specific family member has benefited. 


First oil of the week? Thieves! First family member? Will!

I'm sure all you moms can relate, it is awful to see your child suffer! We will do anything in our power to stand between suffering and our children. Our mister Will is a string bean of a 7 year old and being our firstborn, pretty much had a room waiting for him at the ER from the age of newborn to six. He caught every cold, every cough, every bug we came in contact with. Then the seasonal (all the seasons) allergies hit him and the wild ride of fighting off allergies plus bugs begun.

This is what a NORMAL MONTH looked like for us: a nasally sniffle on DAY ONE, me wondering if we have another cold or could it be allergies, the doctor would tell me to make sure he was never off his allergy meds. Zyrtec, Claritin...you name it he's been on it. DAY  THREE, the cough....oh the cough....a wet rattle that would attack mostly at night, dark circles under his eyes from lack of rest, my stomach in knots because medicines are not working, we add to the allergy meds an over the counter cough and cold, trying to dry that cough up. DAY SIX, no one is sleeping, the coughing is making him throw up....we head to the ER. Hello breathing treatments for the next week and a prescription antibiotic. By WEEK THREE you would find medicine lined up on the counter, a list of when he was receiving what, air purifiers on high all over the house, and a momma who felt like she was FAILING her child. I would look at him and burst into tears, what in the world was all this medication doing to his kidneys, he's such a skinny thing and I felt like everything the doctors were telling me to do only kept us in a vicious cycle. By the end of the month we would enjoy a few healthy days and then it would seem we were right back into DAY ONE.

Sometimes at night I would hear him cough and my mind would race....are we starting the cycle again??? The fear is what drove me to research, the research is what drove me to find a natural option.

You see, in the middle of all of the drama of just trying to keep him healthy, everything we added into his system to "help" of course has a long list of side effects. Will developed a rash around his mouth and our pediatrician told us "that may be a side effect you have to deal with from the allergy medication".....ummmmm a permanent rash??? No thank you! There were other side effects behaviorally too. Not monumental but just like y'all know every detail of your child, I knew my normal Will was slipping from my grasp. And at the moment I wanted off this roller coaster.

We started by dropping the allergy meds and switching to an herbal remedy. Poof, the rash was gone within a week and has NEVER returned.

Then we looked further into essential oils and this is where I feel God gave me that "momma nudge". I just knew we were on to something.

I'll stop here and say, I am not a doctor, this choice we made with Will involved a lot of prayer. Please don't yank your kids off their inhalers because I'm saying this works. Read up, ask questions, start small, stay consistent. Consistency is key.

Will has not stepped foot in the doctor's office or ER since last February! LAST FEBRUARY!!!! I seriously have to hold back tears when I type that. I am armed with knowledge and faith that God made these plants for us, these oils were created by Him with a purpose and it is making a night and day difference for my family.

There are 2 oils we are never without in our home and the first I want to share with you today is THIEVES. This oil blend has clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus and rosemary in it. It smells like Christmas and is one powerful oil that can help fight off germs and boost your immunity. In fact it gets it name from grave robbers who coated themselves with this oil during the black plague and it kept them from getting sick. Pretty impressive.

Now when I hear a sniffle or the start of a cough, I don't panic, I don't worry about how all the rounds of medicine will take it's toll on him. Not at all! Instead, I thank God for healing my kid and grab my Thieves ;)

We diffuse it, put it on the bottoms of his feet (did you know your feet have the most absorbent pores?) and if I'm really thinking he is starting to get sick a drop under his tongue twice a day (I would say 6yrs and up on this and do it to yourself first, its like a cinnamon altoid on steroids)

We can stop a cough, sniffles, sore throat in a matter of 2-3 days! No ER trips, no antibiotics, no prescriptions whatsoever! No pesky side effects and my boy is rested and peaceful!

Another more precautionary way I use Thieves is by applying it behind their ears (kinda near those glands your doc feels on your neck) before heading into a public place like sunday school or ummm Chuck E Cheese ;) It is a hot oil so it is recommended that you dilute it when applying. We don't, but I have to put it out there. My boys tell me it makes their neck feel warm, not the end of the world.

I was going to go into how each plant oil works in this blend but you can google that ;) This post is way longer than I anticipated. If you have any questions though, feel free to ask them here and I will do my best to answer them or at least send you to a source I recommend.

And if you are wanting to start this journey with me you can follow the steps below :)

xxoo
~ko

If you'd like to purchase a starter kit please follow these simple instructions:

* Go to: https://beta.youngliving.com/vo/#/signup/start

*Please make sure you've checked Wholesale Member (and not retail customer---you will not get wholesale prices as a customer)

*Select "I was referred by a Young Living member, and I have his or her member number."

*Enter 1685363 in the sponsor ID and enroller ID areas

*Fill out your info

*Select your kit ($150 Premium Starter Kit is the best value. You get 10 oils plus a home diffuser in this kit)

*You can say no to the Essential Rewards--in fact, I recommend this until you've tried the oils and know if you like them or not.

*At this point you can add more to your order if you'd like

*All finished!

If you do sign up, I can invite you to a private group page that will be a huge resource to you and has helped me learn so much!

Have any question? Please feel free to ask me here or message me.

North Carolina Home Sweet Home

Moving in....

It's physically and emotionally exhausting!

But we are here! 

Tackling the walls of boxes before us and checking off some DIY updates to the house as we go!

I always love sharing with y'all how we make these duty station houses feel like home

and this go around may be the most epic yet!

We are loving the area and the community is more wonderful than I dreamed it would be!

I'll be in and out of here until the house is settled but I truly can't wait to share with y'all what has been taking place in our home and in my heart!

xxoo

~ko

PS. It's a Jack-In-The-Box! Best paper stomper this side of the Mississippi!

In Limbo

The littles and I have been at my parent's for over a week now,

Mr. Doozie to NC to start work and all of our home goods to a storage facility.

So here we are,

in limbo....waiting for our house on base to be available. 

I am blessed with sweet, kind, generous parents that have opened their home to us during this time. My crew has taken over their empty nest and they couldn't be more gracious about the invasion ;)

Yet, it's still a strange place to be; 

in-between homes, back under the roof you were raised but with children of your own, routines off kilter, living out of suitcases, living in limbo.

So this is where I am, where I will be for the next few weeks. I'm trying to take advantage of the freedom of being houseless. Pool days, lazy mornings over coffee, a nursery set being sewed, I'm even reading fiction (gasp)! We are missing Mr. Doozie oh so much! But I'm hoping that when the boys look back on this summer they won't remember the displacement as much as they remember their summer vacation spent at Mimi and Papa's. 

It's Move Week

Move week for us is always exciting but it's also crazy exhausting.

I enjoy moving around the country, tackling the task of making a new house feel like home, unpacking boxes feels like Christmas to me...

But the one part I wish I could skip over is all the prep that comes before the packers show up.

Compiling a "do not pack" list, 

making sure we set aside enough to get by before our household goods show up, 

dissembling furniture and agonizing over the decision to let the movers pack heirlooms...

We live in a sate of limbo and I'll be honest it's not a pretty state to see me in.

Bless, Mr. Doozie's heart, he carries me well; writing check-off lists for rooms and dishing outs lots of "it's all good" or "hey, in the end who cares if they pack my running shoes with your ball gowns" 

Ummm...maybe we could leave out that last one ;)

We each have our strong suits and while this part of moving is not one of mine, it is for him.

I'm thankful for this team I'm on.

My New Favorite Breakfast-Bulgur Wheat "Porridge"

This y'all, is fantastic!

My new go to breakfast in the mornings with the bonus that my entire crew loves it!

You can serve it warm in the morning for breakfast

or cold in the evening as a hippie dippy dessert (think rice pudding).

This makes a big batch but then we eat it over the course of a few days.

Enjoy!

Bulgur Wheat "Porridge"

Ingredients:
1 cup quick cooking Bulgur Wheat (I like Bob's Red Mill brand)
2 cups cold water
1 (13.5oz) can full fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon agave or maple syrup
1/2 tsp of each- cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
(you can also sub a nice full teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice if needed)
1/2 cup golden raisins (or any other dried fruit)
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Combine the bulgur and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for 12-15 minutes till tender. Drain excess water and then add the coconut milk and spices and stir well. Serve in bowls and top with nuts and fruit! Easy peasy, delicious and healthy!

And while we are talking about it 

let me just tell you how fantastically healthy bulgur wheat is for you! 

It's a nutritional powerhouse, google it, you'll be amazed!

Family Pictures!!!

We are starting a new tradition!

Nearing the end of each duty station we will schedule family pictures at whatever spot has become special to our family. A great way to document the boys growing up and all the amazing parts of the country we have lived in!

We were blessed to be able to work with Chad Diblasio from DiBlasio Photography. He captured exactly what I was hoping for and I'm so excited to share photos with y'all today!

The pictures were taken at our favorite local farm where we get much of our produce from as well as our Christmas tree each year (anyone remember the post about the Great Christmas Tree Fall of 2012??). The boys have learned so much about farm life out there and a bit of our hearts will be left there when we move. 

Enjoy the photos!