doTERRA Wellness Advocate At Your Service

     I knew 2015 was going to be a big year of change for me. I could feel it in my bones as the new year approached. I just didn't know where God was leading me, but I trusted Him, as I always do, that He knew exactly where to take me.  I'm excited to announce that I'm officially a Wellness Advocate for doTERRA certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils. 
     First and foremost, what is an essential oil? Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant. If you have ever enjoyed the gift of a rose, a walk by a field of lavender, or the smell of freshly cut mint, you have experience the aromatic qualities of essential oils. They can lift the mood, calm the senses, and elicit powerful emotional responses. Yet the use of essential oils go well beyond their fragrant appeal.
Essential oils have been used throughout history in many cultures for the medicinal and therapeutic benefits. Modern trends toward more holistic approaches to self care and growing scientific validation of alternative health practices are driving a redisocvery of the profound health benefits of essential oils. Their unique structure allows them to pass directly through the skin for immediate systemic response to topical application. Certain oils may be used as dietary aids to promote vitality and well-being.
     I've been offered to sell a lot of things from make up, jewelry, candles, food, and skin care products.  Though the offers were inticing, there was nothing that gave me that feeling that people need these products in their lives to benefit them.  It wasn't until I tried doTERRA's OnGuard essential oil blend that I was astonished by the rapid effectiveness of the product.  Honestly, it blew my mind.  I started feeling a bit run down and the onset of a sore throat.  I put OnGuard oil on the bottoms of my feet before I went to bed and when I woke up, I felt 100% healthy.  I was so excited, and I felt like I had to tell everyone I know and love.  If there is one thing that I wish for all families, it is that their children never get sick, because what is more sad than a baby or child that doesn't feel well?  If this oil can help prevent any child from getting sick again, isn't it worth a try?
  I've been putting OnGuard oil on my 10 month old's feet every night before bed since I purchased the oil.  I also put it on his feet in the mornings before sending him off to germy daycare if I have time (usually we are running late and I don't get around to it, but if I remember to do so, I do it!).  That was in the beginning of January, and Landry has been healthy since we started using the oil.  I can't tell you how grateful I am for this oil, because it's unexplainable.  However, I can tell you a lot more about the oil and you can decide if it's something you want for your family as well.  Read my next post, specifically about the OnGuard oil blend by doTERRA if you are interested.  Happiness and health to you all.

   
    

Love is NOT a feeling, Love IS an action

     I feel so free in stating that I am no longer a people pleaser. I've struggled way too long in trying to figure out how as a Christian woman am I supposed to love everyone if I don't even like everyone?  I finally have found a balance in this dilemma that I feel is worthy enough to share with you.  It's not without God leading me to this conclusion so I'm sharing this with a thankful heart, mind, and spirit.  You, reading this, will have a different outlook, view, or opinion, and that's okay.  See, God loves variety, that's why he made us all so different, down to our very fingertips.  So I encourage you to apply this to your life in any way that makes sense to you and not just assume that I know what's best for everyone, because I certainly don't.
     How freeing is it to know that you don't have to like everyone?  We are human. You also do not have to like someone to love them.  That sounds counterintuitive, I know, but hear me out.  Love is not a feeling, love is an action.  What does that look like?  When I think of "love" and God, I think of 1st Corinthians, "Love is patient.  Love is kind." When you are patient with someone, you are loving them.  You can be patient with someone you don't like, yet that is showing love.  Does that make sense?  Sometimes I feel like I'm talking (typing) in circles.  Also, when you feel like saying something hurtful or spiteful yet you choose to say something kind instead, that is a loving action.  Just plain courtesy is a loving action, and you can certainly show courtesy to people that you don't necessarily like, yet that is still showing love.  This type of love is godly love, also know as agape love.  The defintion of agape love is unconditional love that is always giving.  If you think you'll still have a hard time showing love like this to someone you don't like, there is something you can do.  You can pray about it.  Ask God for help to show loving actions to the people you dislike and pray for their welfare. 
     There is so much growth in this.  If you truly don't like a person, yet you can show them these loving actions, than you have something to be grateful to God for, because He is giving you the grace to show these loving actions.  More than just showing these actions, this gives us an opportunity to actually get to the know the person you dislike.  As another human, you know that they have burdens and weaknesses in their lives as well.  We all are struggling with something.  Perhaps showing these acts of love will open up a door that otherwise would have been slammed shut.  God brings people into your life for a reason.  Let this be the first step in letting them in and figuring out why God brought this person into your life. 
     I hope this was helpful and I hope that some aspect of this touches your life.  I know that it has helped me feel so free of trying to be a perfect Christian and like everyone when not everyone is very likeable at times.  Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, writing soothes my soul and I'm so glad you are a part of that.  Peace and Blessings.

I have bad days too...

I thought with all the positive blogs I've been posting lately, it might come across that I'm happy 24/7 and everything is peachy all the time.  Well, that's not possible.  We all have bad days, and don't get it twisted, when I have a bad day, I'm really thrown off.  And it takes me a couple of hours to shake it off, sometimes it takes me going to bed and waking up with a fresh attitude.  Just yesterday I had a pretty hard day.  I woke up with a headache after getting very little sleep because Landry was fussy all night (I think he's having a growth spurt?).  Anyway, I woke up feeling pretty crappy (physically).  And then I saw somtething on my facebook feed that hit a nerve.  The post made me feel either left out or like I was being talked about behind my back.  Either way, it wasn't a good feeling.  Then that in turn made me angry and wishing I was at home with Landry, which in turn made me feel guilty that he was at daycare.  It was a snowball effect of bad feelings.  And for some reason, I felt like I didn't have control or the strength to stop it.  After I got home, I was exhausted from the day I had and I was trying to get dinner ready for my husband who had to leave for his second job 30 minutes after arriving home from his first...oh and also throw in the fact that Landry had to get a bath around the same time.  So it was hectic and it ended up that his dinner didn't get done on time (it was chicken, and you can't mess around with chicken that's not done all the way).  So he left with an empty belly and that made me feel really bad.  He was able to stop and pick up dinner, but still.  Then, Landry went down like a dream.  So peaceful, sleepily rubbing his eyes, he took a bottle and passed out in his crib.  After eating dinner and cleaning up and getting Landry's stuff ready for the next day (bottles, clothes, etc) I was able to relax for a little on the couch with my pups.  It's my most peaceful time of the day if/when I get time to do that.  I should have been cleaning our bedroom, my vanity especially, rushing around in the morning has left it looking like a 3rd graders art desk.  I felt guilt because I wasn't making the most of my time.  My dogs ended up tipping over their metal food bowl on ceramic tile floor making a huge CRASH, waking up Landry, who was a bear to put back down.  All of it was coming to a head.  I felt out of control.  And realistically, nothing really terrible even happened.  It was just the culmination of a bad day and I felt like I was about to explode. I held on to my patience long enough to get Landry back to sleep.  Once he was asleep I went back downstairs and let the dogs out to use the bathroom before bedtime.  It wasn't until they were outside when I finally let go of everything I was feeling that day and cried.  I call these my learning days.  Because instead of letting it get to that point I could have seeked God the second I woke up with my headache.  I could have prayed right then and there and asked God to help me through this day and to help me carry the burdens because I wasn't feeling great.  I should have asked him to help me see all the positive aspects of the day and to ignore the negative ones.  And I see this all now (hindsight is always 20/20, am I right?)  But because I see this now, I'll know better for next time.  What it also has shown me is that there truly is a lesson in every day we are given.  Yesterday, my lessons were plenty...

1) If you wake up with a headache, don't wait until noon to take motrin.
2) If you feel like something on social media affects you negatively, remove yourself from it.  Also within that, specifically in my situation, remember that the less you care about what others think of you, the happier you will be.  What matters is what God thinks and how you reflect His love in handling the situation.
3) If you feel like you are reaching a level of stress that isn't healthy, take the time to remove yourself from the situation and pray.  I should have done this multiple times throughout the day, but I made time for everything and everyone else when I should have so clearly just made time for God.
4) If something bothers you, just speak up.  Dont' hold it in to bubble up inside of you.  Confront the person that offended you or hurt you.  If you're scared to, ask God to help you through that.  Because in the end of it all, it doesn't matter what other people think of you.  You could be the brightest, juicest peach in the bunch, but there is always going to be someone out there that hates peaches.

I just wanted you all to know that I'm NOT perfect, life isn't always easy breezy...some days can really throw me for a loop.  But there is a difference in recognizing that a bad day does not equal a bad life.  I hope you all are seeing the blessings God put in your life today and thanking Him for always having your best at heart.  I know I am.



Is 2015 going to be YOUR year?

     Years past, I would sometimes feel cheated by the time the new year would roll around.  Disgruntled and disatisfied I would flip off the old year and excitedly welcome the new one with fresh and high hopes that this new year would be MY year and good things would finally happen to me.
    
      The bad news is I guess it's time to admit now, that I pretty much hate who I used to be before I knew my Lord and Savior (seriously He really does SAVE).  I was very egocentric and if things didn't go my way, well, they sucked.  I could careless if other people were happy, if I wasn't, it didn't matter.  I can't even stand my previous self now writing about me.  EW! ( <--- hope you said that in your best Jimmy Fallon voice)

     Okay, that's the bad news.  The good news is.  I love me now.  And I can say that without thinking I'm being selfish or egocentric because God wants us to love ourselves.  But more than love ourselves, He wants us to love others.  That's not always easy to do when people can be jerks (like the old me was).  What's crazy amazing is that even though I was a freaking jerk, God still loved me.  He loved me enough to call me to His attention.  I 100% believe that I was called to Him through my struggle to concieve.  I'm so grateful that He did that.  Yes, I know it's so weird that I'm actually thankful for the experience of having extreme difficulty conceiving a child, but if that didn't happen, I'd still be the self-absorbed, narrow-minded little b-word that I once was.

    The things, people, and blessings the Lord's love has brought into my life is immeasurable.  In fact, it was this way my entire life, but it was only until recently that the blindfold had been taken off.  I believe that Helen Keller said it perfectly when she said, "Character can not be developed in ease and quiet.  Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved."  That's what makes the journey of life so beautiful and people's story of success, so moving and inspirational. 

     I've been given very sweet compliments for sharing my journey with you all.  However, I can't accept them with out giving praise to Jesus.  You see, in the gospel, Matthew 5:16 says, "In the same way let your light shine in front of people. Then they will see the good that you do and praise your Father in heaven."  If it wasn't for God, this journey of life wouldn't be mine to share.  I'm connecting with you all because He loved me so much to bring me through this. 

     So there is even better news I get to share with you.  HE LOVES YOU TOO!  And this could be YOUR year that you see that.  Especially speaking to the women reading this blog who have suffered infertility for years, who have had a miscarriage or the loss of a child.  God doesn't make bad things happen to you, He's not punishing you with these circumstances.  That's life.  But what He does do is work it out for the best possible outcome.  His plan is better than your best dream of what your life could look like.  The hard part is trusting Him.  It's hard enough trusting things and people we can see with our own eyes, let alone a God that we physically can't see.  I can tell you from my own experience, placing your trust in Him is the best thing you can do for yourself.  There is nothing sweeter than being in the presence of God.  There is nothing more peaceful than placing all your worries, concerns, anxieties, and fears with Him.  He is bigger than any problem you are facing.  If you can trust in that, you can do anything with God on your side.

     Please let 2015 be YOUR year.  Please choose to accept His love into your life.  It won't matter what happens in your 2015 if you choose to spend it with God. 



Landry is NINE Months Old!

On December 28th, 2014, Landry turned nine months old.  His mental development this past month was his most amazing yet.  It seemed like over night he learned how to do so many things all at once.  He learned how to feed himself and drink from a straw.  He also is crawling like a pro, no more belly crawling.  And boy, is he fast!  Since he's started moving he hasn't put much weight on.  The last weigh in was 22lbs, only a pound up from last month.  His two bottom teeth popped up as well!  I said we should have named him Butter because, well, he's on a roll! :)

He's still not the best sleeper.  He slept through the night once or twice since he's been born.  Like FULLY slept through the night.  And there is no rhyme or reason to it.  He is however, the BEST eater.  So far the only thing that made him gag/puke was avocado and corn.  Anything else he loves and is a breeze to feed!  He doesn't spit it out or take too long.  We got lucky in that department!

 

He's in 12 month clothing very comfortably.  18 month is still slightly too big while nine month clothing is a bit too tight length wise.  He's gonna be tall I think, at least taller than me!

 

His favorite thing to do lately is pull himself to a stand anywhere he can.  Including his crib when it's bed time lol.  He loves the toys he recieved from Christmas.  Especially a toy car he rides around on and a rocking (giraffe) horse.  He actually knows how to rock himself on it, it's crazy!  I was definitely impressed.

 

His favorite food still seems to be squash, though little pieces of cheese are a close second.  He LOVES when I share my string cheese with him.  He will crawl right up where ever I am and open his mouth like a baby bird.  What a funny lil thing he is.

 

He's my pure joy and he truly makes me want 10 more babies hahahaha (though I'd lose my shit after two, I'm sure).