2 yr old version of 'ABC's'

Glad to see this little gal back to her normal self again.  Here is a song for you!

She's better

So, so very thankful that our girl's fever is gone!!  I switched my homeopathic remedy last night from Belladonna to Gelsemium (Belladonna was for a perspiration fever and hers was a dry fever) and soon after that her feet started warming up which had been ice cold for the past 3 days.  Never had a fever to that with the kids....hot head and body but cold extremities.  As bedtime approached, her fever starting dropping.  I didn't give her any Tylenol last night and kept checking on her.  She slept through the night with no temp from what I could tell and she has been fever free all day today!  So thankful to God for her healing.  Three days of a high fever was getting me concerned.  I really don't like when fevers get close to 103 let alone 104.5.  Praying that baby girl does not come down with it and the rest of us stay healthy and well.  Keep those hands washed!!!!  The flu is a bad one!  

The flu has hit

I was hoping to avoid the flu this year, but it seems to have hit our household.  Our 2 yr old has been dealing with it for the past 3 days now and it has not been fun....for either of us!  Her fever usually hovers around 102-103 throughout the day and goes up to 104 by bedtime (although today has been the worst and her temp is staying up at 104 for most of the day).  During the day I use essential oils (lavender, myrtle, myrrh, tea tree) on her feet/back/neck to help lower the fever and give her immunity a boost.  She is getting lots of elderberry and some colloidal silver throughout the day, and I'm using homeopathic meds to treat the fever and illness (belladonna and now gelsemium).  At night I give a dose of Tylenol so I can get a little sleep and she can be comfortable for a few hours.  Her temp goes right down and she sleeps soundly...and I don't have to be constantly checking her temp!!  Right now I'm letting her fever do its thing during the day while I monitor it.  She isn't eating but does get some fluids in her (I'm also filling her juice with sodium ascorbate - powdered Vitamin C)  From what I have heard the fever last for 6 days so we are only half way through.  I am fervently praying that baby girl (who will have her first birthday in 2 weeks) does not come down with it!!!  I'm diffusing our Thieves essential oil blend (called Immune Strength) in the baby's room and throughout the house during the day to help boost everyone's immunity, and we are all taking elderberry and colloidal silver.  Hopefully this will pass quickly and without complication.  It's so hard seeing her look so pitiful!!

Birthday girl

Twelve years old!!!  Happy birthday to our oldest!  You are becoming such a beautiful and lovely young woman.  You are such a help to us and a blessing to our family.  We are so encouraged as we see you maturing and seeking to grow your faith and relationship with God.  We love you so very much and are so excited to see what your future holds!

Happy New Year

   We were party poopers.  We didn't stay up till midnight to ring in the new year, but here it is and we are looking forward to what God has in store for us to come!  We did start the year with the high hopes of reading through the Bible in chronological order this year along with our 2 oldest.  Here is the plan we are following (BibleReadingPlan)  I've only ever read straight through so this plan will be interesting I think!  The kids are also using this chart to visualize how much of the Bible they have read as they progress (BibleChart)  They will mark off each chapter as they read it and will hopefully be a great tool to keep them motivated.
   We are 112 days into our school year so far and the kids are enjoying their lessons.  Science has really been exciting this year.  We went through the human body and are learning about weather right now.  Next we will be learning about Earth and the Universe.  It's been really interesting!
We are also going through New Tribe Missions 'Creation to Christ' which they love.  Each lesson starts off with a skit and they get such a kick out of it.
We are working through Sally Michael's books and are currently going through God's Battle.
For Math this year we are trying A+Tutorsoft and it is working out well.  Math always seems to be a struggle anyway but this seems to be working well for us this year for all 3 kids.
English and Reading are through Rod and Staff.  I really like their reading program from Gr 2-5.
Our oldest is reading through Noble Girlhood with Mommy.  This has been a wonderful study for the 2 of us that has extended over a year now.  We are taking our time through it and discussing it in great detail.
We have finished up Govnt/Civics and Geography.  We continue to learn and review Phonics with each grade level either through Explode the Code or Apples 2 (depending on age).
I never have to worry about Independent Reading time.  These kids LOVE to read and devour books.  We have really been slacking with our foreign language since we moved.  We are going through Rosetta Stones Spanish but need to get back into it again!
   Other than school, I've been trying my hand at different things.  I made my own natural face cream and it is wonderful!  I infused rose petals, lavender, calendula flowers and rosemary in some coconut oil for 3 days.  Then added some jojoba oil, grapefruit seed extract, a little beeswax and some aloe vera, then added some sacred frankincense oil to it.  I really like so far.  I've also made some immune boosting tinctures and elderberry syrup (which is a constant around here).  We've also had homemade bread everyday for the past 2 months!  I love that I can put the ingredients in before bed and set the timer to have warm bread by breakfast.  I made several batches of shortbread cookies which turned out way tooooo good!  I attempted fudge but it didn't turn out creamy enough.  Still tastes good but didn't get the best results.
  We continue to walk daily and I have almost reached my weight goal.  I have been feeling so good and clothes shopping is a joy now :)  I can't remember the last time I purchased a size small skirt but have recently added 5 new size smalls to my closet.  That is great motivation to keep it up!!!  I have 5 more lbs to lose to reach the goal I set for myself but would ultimately love to reach a final weight of 10 more lost lbs.
  That's about it around here!  We are all healthy, happy and blessed!