Vicks Vaporub cold remedy

I heard this from a friend last spring and thought it was too good to not pass on ... and being that the weather is changing and we already have one kid with a cold ... I thought I'd repeat this very helpful info!

And by the way, with all the new warnings about kids cold meds, this seems a safer way to go!

Also, we have tried this and it works well every time. Haley was up half the night the other day with a cough and stuffy nose, but the next night we did the socks trick and she's been sleeping soundly every night since.

SOMETHING WORTH REMEMBERING.
>
> Stops coughing, works 100% of the time
>
> Sorry, no graphic for this one, and don't laugh, it works 100%
>of the time,
> although the scientists at the Canada Research Council (who
>discovered it)
> aren't sure why.
>
> To stop nighttime coughing in a child (or adult as we found out
> personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the
>feet at
> bedtime, then cover with socks.
>
> Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5
>minutes and stay
> stopped for many, many hours of relief.
>
> Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than
>even very
> strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely
>soothing
> and comforting and they will sleep soundly.
>
> I heard the head of the Canada Research Council describe these
>findings on
> the part of their scientists when they were investigating the
> effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in
>children as
> compared to alternative therapies like accupressure. Just
>happened to tune
> in A.M. Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough
> medicines in kids often do more harm than good due to the
>chemical makeup
> of these strong drugs so I listened.
>
> It was a surprising finding and found to be more effective than
>prescribed
> medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a
>soothing and
> calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep
>soundly.
>
> So, if you have grandchildren, pass it on. If you end up sick,
>try it
> yourself and you will be absolutely amazed by the effect.
>
> What do you have to lose?

The sweetest prayer!

Tonight as H was praying before bed she made my heart just absolutely melt when she said this, "and please be with Grandpa S. up there in heaven with You, please help him to feel at home and be comfortable and to not be missing Grandma S. too much."

Oh the sweet prayers of children ... just makes me want to cry!

...sigh...

Fall Family Fun

This past Saturday we had what I like to call a 5 Star day. By that I mean, beautiful weather, tons of fun, and a great day together as a family. We went to this fabulous place and enjoyed just about every great aspect of fall all rolled into one day!

Gourds a plenty!
Punkin's too!

Awesome corn maze with clues and a map. If you were to see it from the air it was shaped like a huge spider web with spider in the middle.
Country farm market, the smell inside was amazing, like homemade apple pie in the oven!
Horse drawn wagon rides
Feeding the birds and ducks
Cute smiles
On our way home we took this tiny little ferry (only held 5 cars) to get across the river ... on the other side of the river is this cool old Castle way up on top of the hill.
Here we are on the ferry
Bob and the girls
Oh, and I almost forget we did pick apples too! Stay tuned to my next blog to see what I did with all of these!
And here's our littlest punkin' checking out the big pumpkins.
On the way home we stopped for farm fresh ice cream, could a day get any better than that?
I give it 5 Stars!!!

Just because ...

So who says I need a specific reason to post new, cute pics of my kiddos?

Yelling

"I never knew the depths of my anger until I had children. I wanted, always, to be in charge of what happened and didn't happen in my life. Children, I discovered, didn't care about my agenda." (Christine M. Field - from the book Help for the Harried Homeschooler)

I didn't write that, but when I recently read it in a book, I felt as though the words were taken straight from my own thought life. Scary. Scary to read something and feel like you are looking right in the mirror and feeling as though you've been caught. Caught being a bad Mom, caught not acting as the Lord would want me to act, caught in my sin.

I am not a yeller by nature. I don't like conflict and do everything possible to avoid conflicts. Hubby and I have never had an "argument" in 11 years. We have disagreed, we have discussed, but we have never yelled and fought. I have snapped a few random times when I was tired and cranky, but felt so guilty afterwards that I determined not to do it again.

Why then is it that I can yell, scream and lose my temper with my kids without giving it a second thought?? While thinking about it I came up with two reasons. First, they are powerless to defend themselves. Second, they quickly forget and forgive me. Well, let me add a third ... I sometimes feel justified in yelling because they aren't listening or obeying as they should.

"The enemy would love nothing more than for us to yell so much that our children's hearts close up to us and to God." (Christine M.Field) -- WOW, even scarier. The thought that one day they might just decide to tune me out, and not only me, but everything I've ever taught them about God ... just scares me to death. And makes me want to change.

Actually, I have to admit, since I'm being so transparent here, that several months ago I started praying that God would really work in my heart. That He would help change me, help me to stop my yelling, screaming and loss of temper. And I can honestly say, it's been helping. I still have my moments where I get upset, but I am in MUCH greater control than I was 6 months ago. I couldn't do it without the Lord. My sin nature wants to yell and scream any time the girls do something that goes against my 'plan' for the day, or anytime they refuse to obey and listen. But I catch myself with the thought that they are going to tune me out altogether if I continue on this path. And that they are looking to me as their example of someone who loves the Lord.

So, I want to say thank you Lord, praise You that you are not finished with my yet, but continue to mold me and grow me daily. And I will leave you with this verse, one that has been very helpful to me over these past few months.

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverbs 15:1

"Firecracker"

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Josh Turner, something about that deep voice is just amazing! Plus, he's got a lot of cool songs that I just love. Anyway, the girls are often listening along when I have country music playing and the other day we had fun dancing and laughing outside while having a campfire. Josh Turner's new song "Firecracker" came on and it's a great, fun, upbeat song for singing along and dancing too. The main line in the chorus says "my little darlin' is a firecracker!"

So I put the girls in the bath the other night and walked away to get towels and PJ's ready ... then I hear H singing in the tub "my little DAUGHTER is a firecracker" ... over and over and over again! I peeked my head around the corner and said "what are ya doing?" She of course got all embarrassed and stopped singing. I thought it was so cute that she thought the song said "daughter" instead of "darlin'" !!!

Kids say the funniest things ...

Jilly was walking down the stairs very slowly and sleepily the other morning.
"Good Morning Jilly!" I said.
"I can't walk too good because my legs are still sleeping!" she replied.
Too cute!

***********************************************************************

This one's a little more embarrassing, but still funny ...
We have this favorite farm we like to visit. They have great fresh veggies and plants, a great ice cream stand and also some animals which the kids love to visit. They have chickens, sheep, pigs and cows. The girls always love to run right up to the animal pens to say hi to the animals.

So we went there a couple weeks ago with some friends and had a picnic lunch, then the kids roamed around while the Moms finished our lunches. Haley and a friend came running back up to the picnic area saying "MOM, we decided to name the cows! You know the big one with the big horns??? Well, we are going to call him HORNY!!"
Oh my goodness! I just about died laughing ...

A few days later we took my Mom there and Haley very proudly went right up to the cow pen and started shouting "HI HORNY! Horny, come here! HI!! HORNY, HORNY!" Of course this also had my Mom and I in hysterics.

So how exactly DO you go about telling a six year old that HORNY is not an appropriate name for a large bull with horns? :)

Looky, looky ...

Look what I got today!!! You have NO idea how excited I am!
My digital camera broke right after the 4th of July so I have been borrowing from my Mom ever since. As a scrapbooker and Mom who loves to take photos I have felt absolutely LOST without a camera these last 4 months! So I am beyond excited to finally have a camera again, just in time for the great fall colors, and holidays coming up soon. And yes, I did get the PINK one! :)

The 5 Love Languages

So in our MOMS study this year we are going through the book called "The 5 Love Languages of Children".
The languages are:
Words of Affirmation
Physical Touch
Acts of Service
Quality Time
Gifts

So you basically figure out which language your child is and how to best love them and relate to them as a result. So today we took the "test" to see which language that we ourselves fit into. I could have guessed before I'd even tested and was correct when the test came out that I clearly am a "words of affirmation" kind of girl.

Unfortunately my hubby tends to show his love more in the acts of service department ... he is a wonderful hubby, doing laundry, dishes, cooking, etc ... but rarely ever giving words of affirmation. Now, before anyone thinks I'm using this as a chance to grumble against my hubby ... please don't take it that way!! I love him dearly, he is the best hubby I could have ever hoped for, and he is truly my best friend and soulmate.

I guess this just has me thinking ... if your 'language' is something that your hubby is clearly not good at ... how do you remedy that? Some friends and I joked over lunch today that we need to make a sign and hold it up periodically "Honey, remember, I'm WORDS OF AFFIRMATION??!!" Do we tell him? Do we not? Does being a woman after God's own heart mean we put our 'language' needs aside and simply serve as Christ has called us to? Does 'speaking' to him in his love language eventually lead to his speaking yours?

I'm curious to hear others thoughts on this subject!

Packages in the mail!!

Yippeee! I love days like today! I rarely get snail mail, let alone any packages, unless it's something that I've ordered and was expecting. But today I came home to the surprise of TWO packages for ME!

The first one I knew was coming, from a sweet friend I've never met, but know from our alumni website. She gave me a water bath canner - can you believe she just GAVE it to me?? All I had to do was pay for the shipping. I'm so excited to get busy making some yummy apple butter and other canned goodies. Now you all know what you're getting for Christmas, right?! :)

The second package was a total surprise, of which I have one of my best friends to thank. Sarah has been telling me about this great homeschooling book the last time we talked on the phone, and today it arrived in the mail! YAY! What could be better than a great book from a great friend about a great subject?! Yes, today was indeed a great day! Sarah and Tali, if you are reading this post, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!