My baby is turning 3!!

The day she left the hospital...MAD because we put clothes on her. 

She *still* goes to sleep this way.  Oh.my.goodness. How adorable!

 3 years ago....it seems so long ago, but also such a short time.  This bundle of joy...the smallest of my three...arrived and brought with her a whirlwind of emotions and circumstances.  Daily I am amazed by her and what she's teaching me, even at her young age of 3. 

Just a few months old at the Pumpkin Patch.

First pumpkin carving!

Happy times...look at how little my babies are!  They have grown and changed so much!

Thanksgiving...

Alivia learned to walk so early (9 months...earlier than B or C) and that was *such* a blessing!  So many people told me to "not wish for her to walk because I would regret it" and they were so wrong!  The poor child was so attached to her Mommy that if I walked into another room she would cry and cry and cry like I had abandoned her and it was so emotionally stressful on both of us, that I was grateful when she started walking.  She still cried when I left the room, but she quickly learned that she could follow me and keep up with me.

Outdoor fun...riding a bike...time with the boys.

 Ah...Daddy.  The person she has neatly wrapped around her little finger.  :-D  He calls her "Princess Cupcake" and will do just about anything for her.  There's nothing like the relationship they have.

Almost 2. 

*sigh*  Just so beautiful!

I am amazed at the beauty she has, already at this age of 2, both inside and out.  She is polite and emotional and friendly (to women, anyway!) and fully of energy and smiles.  My heart about explodes when I catch her in a moment of being still and contemplative...her beauty takes my breath away.  I thank God for her every day of my life.

"Mom, it's hot!"

One of the very rare moments when she let me put her hair up and she actually kept it up!  

Playing with the Photobooth settings on the iPad.  She loves to make silly faces.

 She's silly....she's beautiful...she's full of life and energy...she's my girl.  And she's 3!  Happy Birthday, my Munchkin!!!  I can't wait to see what you do with this world and what God has in store for you!

Is school out yet??

 

We went on a field trip a couple weeks ago to visit a local farm operation.  While interesting, I didn't really learn anything crazy new compared to what we already knew.  Except one thing:  people who sell their own "organic" stuff are REALLY proud of it.  I've seen it other times, but was *floored* by the prices of the items they had to sell...eggs ($3.50/dozen), pork chops (2/pack @ $5.00/lb), and ground beef ($6.75/lb).  I realize that it's popular (and important!) for people to eat and organic and minus all the nasties in our food.  But goodness gracious.  It sounds almost crazy that people actually PAY those prices....how do they buy anything else???  :(

We are nearing the end of our "school year" but we're still not done.  It's weird...I don't feel like we're ever "done" with school.  There is always another portion to learn.  Something else we could have covered better.  Another avenue we could have taken to learn something different.  But, we need a break.  We need to stop for a few weeks and let our brains rest.  The basement is nearing completion (one of these days it WILL be finished) and I just keep hoping that when I finally get it organized and we can go down there and shut the rest of the world out, we'll be able to get more accomplished.  I truly pray that is true.  I want to be able to do our science experiments and know we can leave them where they are and not have to clean the table to eat supper.  (KUDOS to anyone out there who intentionally schools at their table, as opposed to desks.  I don't know how you do it without going bananas!)

One thing that will happen this summer is camp.  The boys have chosen to go to a new camp this year where a majority of their friends from church also go.  Then the week after that, Brent wants to go back to LECYC.  They both love camp and are so anxious to go and learn and spend time with friends.  Summer (Christian) camp is one of the best things we've ever started for the kids and I'm so thankful we've been able to do it!

My New Passion

So, as of yet, I've had no one indicate they are following.  That's okay.  At this point, I just want to write.  And share what's inside of "me."

In the last few years, I've become more and more interested in Essential Oils.  A good friend introduced me to them and sent me a blend she created to help Clayton through some of his anxiety attacks.  Since that time, I've purchased things like Lavender, Tea Tree Oil, Clove oil, Lemongrass, Coconut Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, and little vials to put my blends in.  When Alivia was a newborn and I needed baby Vicks for her, I used the store-bought brand.  She *hated* it! Cried!  When I would put Lavender in her bathwater, she would scream.  Same thing when we used the Lavender lotion after her bath.  So we discovered that she was insensitive to the Lavender...thus, I couldn't use the store-bought version of baby Vicks.  So I had to come up with my own...I used coconut oil and eucalyptus oil and put it in a little container.  Worked very well!

Now, several years have passed.  I have used Tea Tree Oil (TTO) on my pimples and it really makes a difference in their severity.  We've also used an oil from Young Living called Thieves...a moderately expensive oil blend, but it works! {Interestingly, there is a recipe to create this using other oils!}  Clayton always gets "barky" when he gets remotely sick (even something as simple as allergies) and I can put the Thieves on his chest (about 4 drops) and it calms his breathing.  A-Mazing!

Well, this same friend from above has recently introduced me to doTERRA International...  The thing that got me most about these oils is they are certified to be safe to take internally!!  I signed up, got my kit and have been messing around with it all week.  I hope to be able to post my progress here and toss examples out there for anyone wanting to know.

Another thing I'm VERY interested in...kinda goes hand-in-hand with EO's...is making my own hand lotion and hand soap.  I've been doing some research on purchasing beeswax (suggestions on where to buy a good quality product??) and I hope to start that over the summer.  I have seen some great recipes for using EO's to make scented gels (think of those Renuzit cones, only these would be in small jars) and also for making candles.  The possibilities are endless!