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Controlling Asthma with Essential Oils

21 Aug

IMG_6131This post has been a year in the making…you may laugh because I haven’t actually posted anything in over a year, but anyhow, I really have been contemplating this post since last August:)  You see, it was last August that my (actually our family’s) journey with Essential Oils began.

I have two children with asthma.  My 2nd and 3rd child have had struggled with asthma since they were infants.  Now, there asthma was not “diagnosed” until they were a little older, and we actually never went through rigorous testing to call it asthma; it just became apparent from symptoms, treatment, and frequency of attacks that we called it asthma.  (That is such an ugly word to anyone who struggles with the dreaded disease!)  Well, my 3rd child was much more severe than my 2nd, and when he was around the age of 15 months, he would go from sniffles to retracting in 18 hours!  We began Pulmicort on him twice a day (a pretty hefty dose of 0.5 mL each time) and this kept his asthma manageable, and I was thankful!  However, one of the side effects of Pulmicort, which is a low dose steroid delivered to the lungs via nebulizer, is that it can stunt the growth of the child.  Within about 6 months, I did notice that this was happening…and I HATED it!  Don’t get me wrong…I was THANKFUL the medicine had controlled his asthma; I just hated what I knew and saw it was doing to his body.  I hated that I was putting something into my child’s body that was causing him to not grow like he should!  I hated that I was putting something into my child’s body that was not natural.  I hated giving him medicine EVERYDAY!!  I just wished his body would be whole without added medicine!  (I should also mention that he had been on a gluten free diet most all of his life and had also gone soy free at one year, and he also saw the chiropractor regularly from birth.)  I wanted him off the medicine so bad, but felt stuck!  I knew he had to have the medicine to breath, and I knew he had to breath to live.  I also felt that taking a low dose steroid everyday was better than a high dose steroid at his monthly attacks like he had done for 3 months prior to starting the Pulmicort.  I was TORN!!!

Well, fast forward 21 months to August of last year….

I had tried without success to get him off of the Pulmicort for several months.  I would take him down to once a day and a few times even get him completely off of it.  But, low and behold,  within two weeks, the ugly asthma would rear it’s head and then we would be on not only Pulmicort, but Albuterol also, and even have the fear of needing an oral steroid to rescue him from an attack.  It was so discouraging.  I got to brainstorming and had remembered an Essential Oils sample that a lady who sells Young Living had given me to try with my husband’s headaches.  I got to thinking that maybe, just maybe there was something out there for asthma, too.  I went to scurrying the internet, and found a blog about asthma and Essential Oils.  (I tried to link the blog, but it is no longer available.)  In the blog it talked about using Breathe Again to treat asthma.  I was skeptical, but hopeful at the same time.  It seemed too good to be true in my mind that I could get my son off of his daily nebulizer with a simple Essential Oil blend.  I didn’t know anyone personally at the time that had ever used Essential Oils, so I felt a little weird to even consider that it could help him.  Well, I took the plunge (and I say plunge because therapeutic grade oils aren’t cheap!) and bought a starter set with Young Living and a bottle Breathe Again.

Here’s where it gets really amazing!!!

I got the oils in on a Saturday (August 18th to be exact…I can remember the date because it was that big of a deal to me) and decided that it was all or nothing!  My son was in the middle of a cold when they arrived, and I was nervous to drop the Pulmicort cold turkey since he was already coughing a little, but I listened to my heart (not something I do very often) and took the plunge.  On that Saturday, I stopped doing breathing treatments. I began rubbing Breathe Again on his back and chest every morning and every night.  That’s it!  I didn’t really think it would work…. BUT IT DID WORK!!!!  To make a long story short (ha!  You all are probably thinking it’s too late, the story is already long:) we have been a full year with only one flare up this winter with a  nasty chest cold that required any treatments at all, and then I only used about 3 Pulmicort and 5 Albuterol treatments!  I cannot even put into words how amazing that is for my son.  He was chained to a nebulizer from the time he was 4 months old between Albuterol and Pulmicort to treat his asthma, and now he has gone a whole year with hardly any!  I am also happy to say that after being off of treatments for the past year, it seems that he is catching up some in his growth.  (He sure is eating us out of house and home…so he better be growing:)!

I tell this story mainly to help others who may be out there looking for another solution besides medicine.  I am not against medicine, but I do believe that if there is a natural way to treat or heal, then that is the better option for our bodies.

This is not my only amazing story with Essential Oils, but the one I am sharing with you today.  So, it is also because of this amazing, life-changing story that I have decided to start selling Young Living Essential Oils and helping others have healthier lives, too!  I am thankful to God for these oils and want others to experience the amazing ways the oils can help them as well.

If you would like to know more or have specific questions, please feel free to talk to me or email me at youngliving@amandaketchum.com.  Also, if you are interested in signing up with Young Living, I would love to have you on my team!  My member ID is 1497647.  Just put that number in the “Sponsor ID” and “Enroller ID” spots.  I am glad to answer any questions that you may have about Young Living or Essential Oils.  (If I know the answer, of course!  If I don’t, maybe I can find it on the internet:))

You may wonder about my 2nd child and her asthma.  That will be another post, another day, but I will suffice it now to say that when we travel we almost leave the nebulizer at home:)  I have to say almost, because I am too superstitious to actually leave it.  I just know that the first time I travel without it, I will need it and not have it!  Maybe someday…

Brooke’s 6th Birthday

6 Apr

Today was Brooke’s 6th birthday.  It is hard to believe that it has been 6 years since her birth (I know I sound like every other parent, but it is true!).  It goes too fast!  We try to make birthdays special at our house.  I think this will be especially important since we have 4 kids.  At least they are guaranteed one day a year just for them. (Well, nothing is fully guaranteed with 4 kids:)

IMG_2746Her last picture as a 5-year old…she was a little upset because she had left Holly (her American Girl Doll) at church.  She loves her dolls like they are really her children.  (It should be noted that daddy went to church at 10:00 p.m. and searched for Holly so she could be safe in bed with Brooke…what a sweet dad!)

Today proved to be a special day for Brooke.  We chose to have her “friend” party next Saturday since her best friend, Grace, is out of town this weekend.  She didn’t want a party without Grace:)  So, today we celebrated as a family + Ashley!  The weather was PERFECT!!

Brooke's Birthday 1

The day started with donuts per Brooke’s request. (Gluten free, of course…which means they cost a lot more than regular donuts, but tasted a lot less! Ha!)  After breakfast, we had gift time.  Brooke got a new bike and PINK legos (pretty smart on Legos part to start making pink ones because I am pretty sure that is the only reason she wanted them…Ha!).

We then took a family bike ride/run around the neighborhood.  She loved her new bike!  But what girl wouldn’t?  It is pink, purple, sparkly, and has streamers coming out of the handlebars???  I think I want one, too!

Brooke's Birthday 2

Lunch was at Los Amigos per Brooke’s choice.  She ate at Los Pinos for her birthday last year and enjoyed the hat, song, and ice cream so much, she wanted to go Mexican again.  Los Amigos won over Los Pinos because of the buffet…we were all hungry after the bike ride!

Brooke's Birthday 3

We then made a quick stop at the Library to get her library card!!  Our library requires you to be 6 years old before you can get a library card.  She has been awaiting this day for a long time.  It is a special “rite-of-passage” in our house:)

Brooke's Birthday 4

We then headed to Draffenville to play putt putt golf at Maggie’s Jungle Golf.  We have been looking forward to a trip to Maggie’s for a while now…always a fun time (even though I am terrible and probably came in last!).  And, you can’t go to Maggie’s without snow cones!!

Brooke's Birthday 5

After the putt putt, we enjoyed more sunshine at Mike Miller Park.  (Notice the picture of Josh on his phone??? I caught him!!  He really wasn’t on his phone much…but I caught his quick check of the golf scores:)

Brooke's Birthday 6

After the park, we headed home for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, popcorn, and birthday brownies!!  (Who wouldn’t love a supper full of that junk food??)  (The picture of Caleb is to show you how excited he was about us singing “Happy Birthday”!  He loves it when we sing…he always thinks we are singing to him!)

After typing this post, I can’t believe we did all that in one day!!  We had a wonderful day celebrating Brooke, but are all worn out tonight.  Why is it that after such a fun day, every kid has to have at least one break down??  Oh well, they are all in bed now, and I am getting ready to head that way too!

I am so thankful for my little girl!

Biking at LBL

29 Mar

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Last Saturday, we ventured to LBL with two loaded trucks (we don’t travel anywhere lightly:) to take advantage of the beautiful weather and try a new family activity – bike riding!!  Now, some may think that bike riding doesn’t seem like a very doable activity with our family of four small children, but they haven’t seen my bike riders!!  Brooke and Austin can ride forever!!!  We ended up riding/walking over 8 miles (up quite a few hills, too), and they never complained and lead most of the way!  Landon and Caleb hung out in our new bike trailer that Caleb got from Santa.  They had a great time, and Caleb even took a nap!!  Landon loved how fast it felt like he was going (no surprise to all that know Landon! Ha!)!

Family Bike Riding 1

We were all excited that Wes and Ashley came with us, sporting their brand new bikes!!  We are really enjoying have Aunt Ashley live with us and also enjoy having Wes around, too!

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We stopped by the lake a little into the ride to have a picnic lunch and do a little geocaching.  So much fun!

Family Bike Riding 2

After finishing the bike ride, we went through the Elk and Bison Prairie (a trip to LBL isn’t complete without it…no telling how much money I have given them to look at the same Elk and Bison:) and then to the Murray park.  After the long, fun day, we ended with burgers, fries, ice cream and root beer (it was so good it had to be mentioned too! Ha!) at Culvers – YUM!!

Family Bike Riding 3

We had a great day and hope to do it again, soon (if the weather would cooperate!)!!

“Ketch-ing” Up:)

18 Feb

I thought I had better do a post just to catch up on all that’s been going on around here since it has been a while since I last updated!

IMG_0928Happy Valentine’s Day!!

Austin has been playing Upward basketball.  He plays on a league at Beulah Baptist Church (which is next to nowhere on the other side of the universe…at least it feels like it early on Saturday mornings…Ha!)  He has a game every Saturday at 9:00 and practice on Thursday nights.  Josh is his coach, and he loves his daddy coaching him.  Landon is the assistant coach (at least he thinks so!).  Brooke is the self-proclaimed photographer and cheerleader. I am the water woman (at least that is what I feel like toting so many water bottles around…it just couldn’t be that you bring Austin a water bottle without bringing one for Landon and Brooke!)  And I guess Caleb can be the mascot:)

Mr. Dickie and Ms. Ann have been great spectators, making it almost every week!  We have also had Nana and Papa at two games, and Wes and Ashley even made a game! He is a good little baller, if I do say so myself!  He sure does love it!

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 Brooke started gymnastics this past Tuesday night, and she loved it!!!  We had a major countdown (almost hourly) starting 9 days before when I signed her up!!  She actually told me on Sunday that I shouldn’t have told her about it until Tuesday because she has been too excited!! Ha! We now have a new vocabulary in our house that includes: pencil, candlestick, cartwheel, bridge, and strong arms…strong arms was by far her favorite which includes her holding herself up on her arms on the uneven bar.  Bless her heart though, she is her mother and father’s daughter…not limber at all and a little scared to just throw her body into a handstand or cartwheel.  I guess we will see just how good these instructors are:)

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Landon has had the flu type B:(  Bless his heart, last week, he didn’t feel too good and ran a high fever.  We sent him to Missouri with Nana and Papa (since they had already had the flu) on Friday night to try to keep it away from Caleb.  It was hard on Mommy to send a sick child, but he couldn’t wait!!  He did great and got to come back home on Monday after being fever free for 24 hours.  We all missed him, but are thankful that no one else has gotten sick.  He somehow thought up the idea of bringing us all a present home.

IMG_0452Before going to the Dr. on Friday:( 

IMG_0462Had to have a picture with the water bottles!!

Caleb has just been growing!!!  He is such a sweet, easy-going baby!  It is a good thing too because he sure does take the abuse, I mean loving, from his siblings!  I won’t mention too much of his statistics or what he is up to because I plan to do a post later this week for him being 5 months old…where does the time go???  Caleb also went swimming for the first time last month.  He really enjoyed it and was so relaxed!!  He also got a new-to-him, borrowed Jumperoo that he enjoys hanging out in it a little each day.

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IMG_0926What happens when you have an 8-year old brother!

Josh and I did a marriage seminar this past weekend at Union Hill Church of Christ near Hardin, KY.  This was a first for us, but had a lot of fun doing it together!!  (This was also another reason we had to send Landon to Nana and Papa’s for the weekend.)  Josh also spoke on the FHU lectures last Monday.  He did a fantastic job, as I knew he would!  It is always fun to take the kids to FHU and reminisce of college days…it was too bad our time got cut short this time with Landon getting what we know now was the FLU!

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Maybe that gives you a little idea of what we have been up to…at least the “blog-worthy” material:)

 

 

Through My Daughter’s Eyes…

30 Jan

For Christmas, Brooke got a real camera from Santa.  She was so excited on Christmas morning!!  She is still excited and LOVES to take pictures with it.  I am thankful for the camera, because, honestly, sometimes I am too lazy to get my camera, so it is nice to ask her to get up and get hers (just keeping it real!!).  

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Such a beautiful girl!!

 

It has been pretty interesting to see life through her eyes, aka pictures.  I thought from time to time, I would share some of her pictures with you on this blog.  Some will be funny and some will be impressive!  She often captures parts of life that I missed as we go through the day, so it is nice to experience it through her lens…

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Not sure what I was looking at…or what in the world I am thinking!!! But, I sure am rocking some family-matching, purple, fleece pjs…Ha!

 

She took individual pictures of everything they got for Christmas...even the socks:)

She took individual pictures of everything they got for Christmas…even the socks:)

 

Her other gift (besides the camera) from Santa...

Her other gift (besides the camera) from Santa…

 

Matching pjs!!  (I really don't sit around in my cute pjs all the time even though this is the second picture I have posted of me doing just that! Ha!)

Matching pjs!! (I really don’t sit around in my cute pjs all the time even though this is the second picture I have posted of me doing just that! Ha!)

 

Dad has to stand right by the tv so he can hear over all the noise:)

Daddy has to stand right by the tv so he can hear over all the noise:)…

 

"Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married!"  Oh, the important, camera worthy events of a five-year old girl!!

“Going to the chapel and we’re gonna get married!” Oh, the important, camera worthy events of a five-year old girl!!

 

Our pretty snow! (This is one of the pictures I am glad she got because I was too lazy to get my camera out...)

Our pretty snow! (This is one of the pictures I am glad she got because I was too lazy to get my camera out…)

 

No words!!!

Aunt Ashley – No words!!!

 

Crazy bed head...Brooke told him to stay in bed so she could get her camera and take a picture...he was happy to oblige:)

Crazy bed head…Brooke told him to stay in bed so she could get her camera and take a picture…he was happy to oblige:)

 

Sweet Boy!

Sweet Boy!

 

Looks like he is thinking, "Another picture!?!?"

Wish I knew what he was thinking…

 

Her trusty dog!!!  Oh the things she take pictures of!!!

Her trusty dog!!! Oh the things she take pictures of!!!

 

She LOVES to take pictures of Austin at Upward basketball!

She LOVES to take pictures of Austin at Upward basketball!  She is convinced that she will get that awesome play (whatever that is in 1st – 2nd grade basketball:) captured in her picture…a true photographer!

 

This is how I usually look...doing 200 things at once...

This is how I usually look…doing 200 things at once…

 

Fell asleep in mommy's chair.  This NEVER happens, except that it did just this once:)  So cute!!

Fell asleep in mommy’s chair…this NEVER happens, except that it did just this once:) So cute!!

 

Ready to be a teenager...she can already take funny pictures of herself to post to Facebook! Ha!!

Ready to be a teenager…she can already take funny pictures of herself to post to Facebook! Ha!!

 

Butterfly tattoo!  Too pretty not to capture in a picture...

Butterfly tattoo! Too pretty not to capture in a picture…

 

Hope you enjoyed her pictures, too!  Of course, this is the edited version…the picture of daddy with his shirt off just couldn’t make the blog:)

Once again, I have no idea why my pictures won’t center…I am dumb when it comes to all of this!!! Thankful for a husband who will lose sleep tonight trying to figure it out:)

4 Months Old!!

22 Jan

Wow, Caleb is 4 months old already.  He was 4 months on Sunday, January 20th, which was also my Grandma Green’s 85th birthday!

Caleb and Grandma at her party on Sunday

Caleb and Grandma at her party on Sunday

(Don’t know why this picture is not in the center, but I give up!!!)

Caleb being 4 months means I am 1/3 of the way done with breastfeeding him (funny way to think, but it is what I do every three hours and once in the middle of the night…).  I am both happy and sad about this….I am happy because I am on a special diet and have to think about everything that goes into my mouth and I am constantly on the clock, but I am sad because he is my last, and I have truly enjoyed being able to breastfeed and “bond” with my children.  Ok, enough of THAT discussion…on to what he is doing now:)

4 months 2

  •  You are 15.6 pounds (50 to 75 percentile).
  • You are 26 1/2 inches (75 to 90 percentile)…obviously a Ketchum!
  • You can hold your head well now and like to sit in your Bumbo seat.  You still like your swing and bouncy seat, too!
  • You finally enjoy tummy time a LITTLE more.  You are actually going on record time (like 7 minutes:) right now as I post this blog!!
  • You rolled over from your tummy to your back…only once, but we are counting it:)  We know you are advanced!! (What do you know, you rolled over again while I was typing!! Of course, I haven’t actually seen you roll over yet because usually I have to rush to get something done while you are lying on your mat.  If you were the first child, I would be a little upset about missing a milestone, but since you are the fourth, I am just glad you are happy and need no other proof beyond you ending on your back to know that you rolled over:)
  • You like to blow raspberries and slobber all the time.  It is so cute. (Well, the raspberries that is, not the slobber. Ha!)
  • You get scared around new people and don’t like daddy’s silly/scary faces and noises.  Daddy called you his “tender foot” last night, and I think that nickname may just stick!
  • You only drink breast milk right now (every 3 hours and once at night), no solid foods yet.
  • You sleep pretty good.  You only get up once in the night to eat and take decent naps.  You especially like to nap in your carseat in the middle of the living room where all the noise is.  I guess that quiet just isn’t like home.  Ha!
  • You laugh out loud and especially like to laugh at your brothers and sister!
  • You still love your bath! Daddy gives you a bath every night.
  • You can hold things in your hand and get it to your mouth.
  • You like to suck your thumb/fingers, but we are fighting you and sticking a paci in whenever we see you!!
  • You are still a great baby and are very happy if we keep you fed:)
  • You enjoy Baby Einstein and Praise Baby.  We are thankful, because they buy us time when we need to get something done!

4 months 1 small

Caleb – 3 Months

20 Dec

Caleb is 3 months today.

How can that be???  He is such a sweet baby…still!  We are enjoying him sooooo much!

Yes, life with 4 is CRAZY, but him being such a good baby makes it less crazy:)  So, what is he up to???

He is smiling all the time and even laughing some.

He is “talking” with his coos and squeals alot, too! 

He sleeps from around 9:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., getting up once to eat around 2:30 a.m. 

He is 14.5 pounds and 25 inches long.

He loves his swing!!!  He will take great naps in it (for which I am very grateful)!!

He loves his brothers and sister, but may be a little scared of Landon at times. Ha!  Austin does great taking care of him and rocks him alot for me.

He can hold his head pretty well, but hates his belly, so no tummy time for him. (I struggle with this one because my mind says he needs his tummy time, but my heart says he’ll be fine without it…I usually listen to my heart on this one.)

He LOVES bath time and will start fussing (which he hardly ever does) around 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. wanting to get his bath and nurse.  Then, he likes to lounge around in Daddy’s arms for 45 minutes to an hour before falling asleep.

He still sleeps in our room in his pack and play.  This is mainly because his big bed is in Brooke’s room, so I don’t want to move him until he is sleeping through the night.

I have probably bored you with this information (unless you are Nana, Nandy, or Ms. Ann:), but I wanted to have it to look back on someday.

Now, I have some pictures to share of him today that I took of him by the tree…so sweet!!!

Love this one!!! He looks like a baby doll!

And…because the other 3 could not be left out…

Pure Sibling Joy!!!

(I must give props to Josh for my new Canon SLR camera that took these pictures.  He gave it to me as an early Christmas present so I would be ready to take plenty of pictures at Christmas!  Thanks, Josh…I LOVE IT!! )

12.12.12

12 Dec

In honor of today (probably yesterday by the time you are reading this…) being such an unique date, I thought I would post a blog of 12 pictures (1 from each month) of the past year.

 I had a brilliant idea of taking a picture by the clock at 12:12 today, but thought that would be dorky, so surely my family wouldn’t want to do it too…

But, I must have married at just my level of dorkiness (probably not a word, but when you are dorky, you can make up your own words) because Josh looks pretty enthused with the picture too! Ha!  Only problem is you can’t really see the clock, so maybe it just looks like we are taking a picture by the stove holding the iPad…families do it all the time:)

On a side note (just because I want you to know how special I am)…I turned 8 years old on the 8th day of the 8th month in 1988.  You are impressed, I know:)  Also, my mom didn’t put it in the paper, but wishes now that she would have, so I am kind of still dealing with that…kind of.

With no further ado….the pictures!

January

We went to see the eagles at LBL…such a fun trip!!  Can’t wait to do it again this year!

(Yes, we have a diva for a daughter!)

February

So sweet…they love sharing a room!

March

We visited an animal farm…thought about leaving the kids:)

April

Brooke’s 5th Birthday – wearing her princess dress that Nana made her!

May

Josh graduated from FHU with his Masters of Divinity (he’s really smart now)!!!

June

We had to put Rebel, our dog of 12 years, down…he was almost 15 years old!

July

Landon’s 3rd Birthday!

August

We built a treehouse as a family.  One of the most fun (or is it funnest?  I never have figured that out…) projects we have ever done!

September

Caleb is born!!  Wow…our family looks big now!  

(This picture was right before Landon took Caleb’s head and turned it towards the camera because we said to look at the camera:)

October

Went to the pumpkin patch with Pa and Nandy!  We love fall activities!!!

November

Austin’s 8th Birthday!

December

Caleb’s first golf outing…crazy that it was in December. 

We have had a wonderful year.  God has blessed us beyond what we could have imagined almost 13 years ago when we began our lives together.  I am so thankful for my family (even on the crazy, stressful days…which seem a little more often now:).

Sweet Boy

10 Dec

Austin, my 8-year old, is such a sweet boy.  He made my week on Friday night when I was getting ready for our progressive dinner with our church group.  I am still at an awkward stage with my clothes since having Caleb.  I have lost most of the baby weight, but my hips haven’t gotten the memo to go back to regular size (I am just hoping they get that memo!!).  I am happy with my size, but I don’t fit in many of my clothes (and everyone with four kids (which isn’t a majority of people) knows that you don’t have the time or money to buy new clothes).  It just frustrates me when I go to get ready and “nothing” fits (I put that in quotes because some things fit, just not what I want to fit).

Anyhow, on Friday afternoon when Josh came home from work, I was feeding Caleb and as Josh and I were talking he could tell that something was bothering me.  He asked me what was wrong, so I told him how I had picked out an outfit in my mind to wear to the dinner, but when I tried it on it didn’t fit…and it bothered me.  (I really wish it didn’t bother me, but I am human and it did.)  Austin was looking at me the whole time I was telling this to Josh, and I could tell it was making an impression on him.

Well, after I finished feeding Caleb, I went to the bathroom to finish getting ready.  Soon after, Austin comes in and stands at the sink looking at me.  I acknowledge him, and then he said some of the sweetest words that I won’t soon forget.  He said, “Mom you will look good in whatever you wear.”  At this point, my heart melted, and I almost cried (and I don’t usually cry unless I am mad so this really touched me).  We then had a discussion of how I shouldn’t worry about what I look like and that other things in life are a lot more important.

Austin often tells me how pretty I am or how nice I look.  I am so thankful for my sweet, 8-year old boy!

 

Wonderful Weekend

9 Dec

Tonight, I wanted to share a few highlights from our fun weekend.  It started on Friday night with a progressive dinner with the young adult group from church.  (A progressive dinner is where you go to one house for appetizer, a second house for the main course, and a third house for dessert.)  This was the first time that Caleb has had a babysitter.  We are so grateful to Ms. Ann (who is like a grandmother to our children) and Brenda who kept all the kids for us!!  It was so nice to be out without any kids!!  The kids also had a great time and it was nice to have adult conversation and eat without fixing three other plates:)

After the dinner, we came home and prepared our home for company.  Mark, Lori, and their three kids spent the night with us on Friday night (yes, it was a crowded house with 11 people in the house but it was FUN!).  The kids got to stay up until 11:00 p.m. (which never happens unless they are with Papa and Nana:) and us adults stayed up until 3 a.m. talking!  What. where. we. thinking???  Josh is still not recovered (but he is 4 years older than me)! Ha! (It also helps that caffeine gets me through a sleepy day, but does nothing for him:)  If I had it to do over…I DO IT AGAIN!!  I thoroughly enjoyed visiting with Mark and Lori and love and appreciate their Christ-like attitude and example.  It was good for us to share with another minister and his wife.

On Saturday, we enjoyed spending a little more time with Mark’s family and then prepared for more company.  We had made plans to have our homeschool families over for a little Christmas party Saturday night.  We were sad that one of the families couldn’t join us because of sickness, but we still had a fun time.  Josh made a ton of smoked chicken leg quarters that were so yummy! (I now look forward to having them in the freezer to pull out and heat up on days when I don’t feel like cooking.)  The kids loved playing and us adults enjoyed visiting.

Today, we were able to have a great day of worship with our family at Seven Oaks and topped it off with a trip to the local Mexican restaurant with some friends from our young adult group after worship tonight.

We have been so blessed to have quality time this weekend with people we love and admire.  I hope your weekend was enjoyable for you, too!

 (I didn’t take pictures this weekend…guess I was too busy enjoying the company, so I just inserted some of my favorite from the last couple of weeks.)