I swore...

I swore I would never be the person who had so much going on that I couldn't make time to help my friends and family.

I swore I wouldn't just shuffle my kids from one thing to the next.

I swore I would be able to breath.

I'm finding myself in a pickle lately, literally running back and forth trying not to get tagged out by the ball. I'm not having a pity party here, just an enlightening thought that some of the things that I thought I wouldn't do are actually making me a better person.

Like, for instance, I'm tackling the obesity epidemic at my kids school. And it's hard. Very hard. The head lunch lady, Sherlene, fights me at every turn. I also set up a Parent's Nutrition Night to help families learn how to eat better and exercise. Three parents showed up. All of them good friends. I'm starting a program where I talk to all the kids about fruits and vegetables every month and let them try new foods.

I'm not saying this to brag, but it's something that I'm passionate about and feel compelled to do. I feel like it's what I'm supposed to do. So, in that sense, it's easy because I have conviction.
But it's hard when parents say they want to help and see change, then when it's time to help they have to shampoo their hair. I'm not asking a lot, like handing out stickers to kids who eat their fruit/vegetables at lunchtime. But, as hard as it is, I've never felt more excited about the possibility of this change.

I'm also teaching doTERRA essential oil classes. There was a time when Ethan got sick, really sick with a bacterial infection called H. Pylori. It's a fecal borne contaminant that lives in your stomach and causes huge amounts of pain. And it doesn't matter what you eat or don't eat, it's painful. All the time. So, like a good mom I took him to the doctor and he prescribed antibiotics, Prevacid, and Miralax. They call it a triple combination. We did it for 2 weeks and no difference. Imagine seeing your child losing weight and in so much pain. In desperation I called my cousin Robin because I had been to a class she had. I hadn't gotten anything because I thought it was hokey. Well, long story longer, after 2 days of rubbing a digestive blend on his stomach he didn't have any pain. We continued with it for a week just to make sure the bacterial infection was gone and haven't had any issues since.

After this happened, I couldn't keep it to myself. Time and again we've used these oils and they've been amazing. They are pure and there aren't any fillers, pesticides, weeds, herbicides, additives, or synthetics. So, the medicine that God made in plants is now helping us as a family.

I want to make this clear, we still go to the doctor when we need to. But, for the most part we don't need to. Modern medicine has made many advancements and has helped many people, but it's also moved away from the home remedies that people used to use that were effective.

As for shuffling kids around, it's only on Tuesdays. Ethan has Cub Scouts at 4 and soccer practice at 5:30. But, still I don't like it, it throws off my dinner plans and I HATE that. Dinnertime is sacred to me. :)

Okay, I'm breathing, now that I've had a little venting session. Thanks for listening. And please, it makes it worth while when you leave messages! That way I know that you're reading and it's worth the effort. It seems like everyone has moved over to Facebook and Twitter and don't like to slow down and read things anymore. Is it just me???

The Little Dude is One!

Ellis' birthday was last Saturday. We didn't have a huge birthday party for him, we went out for breakfast. I can honestly say I liked that better. It was calm and there wasn't much planning to it and I didn't have to cook anything!

In his short life, Ellis has been the hardest of all the kids. He was a pretty cranky baby who didn't sleep. He didn't nurse very well and it made for some tough times. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. He started sleeping through the night at 9 months round that time I gave up on nursing and started formula. We both liked that better.

Since then, he's been really fun. And when I say fun, what I mean is....ACTIVE. He crawled and got into everything, then he started pulling up on things and got into everything. By 11 months we was walking and BANGING into everything. :) He's loud and wild and that's one of the best and worst things about him! He is brutal with other little babies, but in a Lenny (of Mice and Men) way. Not thinking he's hurting and then BOOM bloody lip (Sorry about that Sam). He's quick to laugh but is shy around new people. That's Ellis. He's a handful but also a joy.

Oh yeah, and he's cute.

I'm sure every mother says this...

It's the night before Ethan's birthday and I can't help thinking about the night before he came into this world. I was nervous, the impending doom a first baby brings. You spend 9 months getting excited for this baby to come into your life (and out of the space he's currently renting). But then the moment of truth comes and then it starts coming like a freight train and then you're looking right down the barrel and it can be a little frightening. At least that's how it was for me anyway. Add to that, moving 4 days before you give birth, that was a lot to say the least.

The delivery was less than ideal, but the end result was amazing. Ethan has always held a special place in my heart, not just because he was the first baby I ever had, but because he's always had such an amazing spirit about him. He's just good to the core, he never wants to hurt anyone and he defends people even to the point of me worrying that one day he'll get beat up for it. He loves to have a good time and is always so cheerful. He's just a delightful kid to have around.

So, cheers Ethan, I love you.

The River

Earlier this summer, there was some serious flooding in my town and around all of northern UT. Every time we would drive past the Ogden River on our way downtown, we would look at how much it had risen and watch the efforts that were made to block it from flooding the street, sandbags and huge mounds of dirt. Well, Mother Nature cranked up the heat these last couple of weeks and the river has dried up a bit. We live near an awesome place called the Ogden Botanical Gardens and the River Parkway, and the Ogden River flows right alongside it.

We decided to explore the river the other day and found a great spot to go swimming! It's shallow and the current is slow. We took our Davenport cousins down there and had a great time. Incidentally, they did find a submerged push lawn mower in there, but that's fun for the kids to explore. :)

We went back again for a second time with Bucky's parents and his aunt and uncle's family. We stayed down there for 3 hours, just sitting on the bank while the kids played in the water. It was great.

Ellis had a great time putting rocks in his mouth and causing all sorts of mischief.

Girls Camp

This last week was the first time I've been to Girls Camp since I was 17. Let me tell you, it's a lot easier being the girl. :) I was the camp director, which meant, along with the Youth Camp Leaders (ages 17 and 18), I planned everything. I should intro also by saying that I have a hard time delegating things. I feel like if I do everything than I'll know it's getting done right? Wrong. The leaders did a great job executing the things that I asked them to do and so did the YCL's. We went to Lava Hot Springs in Idaho and it was great. The weather was good, not too much girl drama, and the food was decent. :) The only hiccup was our hike. I looked it up online and it looked great, but when we got there, no trail. As in the middle of someone's field with no trespassing signs everywhere. Yeah, so we visited the Sunken Gardens. They were awesome. We also visited the Olympic Pool and went tubing on the river.

Northern Idaho

We made for the hills and went to northern Idaho this weekend. It was a bit of a struggle for Ellis to be in the car for 10+ hours, but he managed alright. :) Bucky's parents were a huge help with the kids, trading back and forth between cars and helping us keep our cool when the kids were having melt downs. We went up to ID because Bucky's grandparents, Guy and Maryellen Cash, were being honored in the Grangeville parade. Guy's dad, Guy Sr. was a world champion bronc rider and even won the Calgary Stampede. We got to do some sight seeing up in Harpster where Maryellen's mother lived and heard many stories about life in the 20's and 30's in northern Idaho. It was great. We had a good time and the kids had a blast running around the RV park where we were camping. We also took a day trip up to Moscow to see some of our friends from college. It was great to be back in that small town and see how things have changed and what has stayed the same. It really is beautiful up there, with the rolling hills and farm land.

It's always fun when Lissy comes, when Lissy comes, Hooray! Truly we do like it. I've said it before, but she's one of the most pleasant teenagers to be around.
Buck and Ethan finished up their season with a second place finish and had a great time. Both of them learned a lot too.
The weather is starting to really warm up here and I have to say, I'm not that excited about it. We've been having some rain and overcast and it made me start missing the ole AK. But, I do like getting some sun on my skin and going to the pool, so it's not all bad, right? M'kay. Have a good week everyone!