Brad's Graduation

The family had an interesting trip to Seattle to attend a celebration for Kelly's brother Brad who graduated from the University of Washington. The picnic was right in Grady's old stomping grounds near Greenlake, in the heart of Seattle. There we saw hundreds of people.. walking their dogs, jogging, skating. Not too many children unlike when Grady and I were growing up in the area. Kinda eerie really. But lots and lots of dogs! We felt very obvious and out of place. Here in liberal Washington you NEVER see plain people, anyone wearing a covering. I mean absolutely never.. At one point my father, who is known to be QUITE the outspoken character, was loudly exclaiming "why dontcha just take a picture?" Our children were such a blessing to us though. They just shone of the Lord Jesus. At one point Ashley and Amanda rounded up the boys and they took off to the other side of the lake to hand out tracts. They had many decent discussions and many not-so-great discussions. We were blessed that they felt led to do that. Then it was time to go on to our next destination which I will leave for the next post.

Kelly's brother Brad and father Mark

(taken last year)



A heron along with a troop of turtles (can you see them?)

My Grant-ly boy

Kelly's dad with Hank

Some of the family

Cousin Dana

Mandy visiting with grandpa

The boys and Gracie at the lake

My big boy

cute picture Ash! :)

Gracie's New Trike~

One of the things we love about the Kersey's rental is the lovely deck off of the top floor. It is huge! With the warm weather finally here, we are spending more and more time on it.. Grady and I had decided that a bike for Gracie and a sandbox for both little girls for the deck would help keep them entertained this summer while I pack the house and liquidate. I found a trike at our local consignment shop for $8! We are still hunting for a sandbox. Grace has had such a great time learning to pedal fast! :) She has even gotten to take her 'bike' to the mailbox with sister Mandy a few times this week. Here are a few pics from that walk~

Our precious little Gracie ♥

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'Doing School'

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one![b] 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.




Homeschooling is our life here. It has been for 13 years now. It is by far the most important aspect of our lives apart from our close walk and relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a way of life and, in our opinion the only way to fulfill the principles laid out in Deuteronomy 6. Although found in the Old Testament, this principle seems to still be very alive and very close to the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ. Certainly in order to teach the words of Christ to our children, we must BE with our children most of the day. I thought it would be fun to highlight here a few things we have done this week in our "Schooling"










After studying Asia for a few months, we decided to have an Asian luncheon, using only chopsticks! The children and Mama had a fun time purchasing food at the local Asian market. The young lady who worked there helped us find some yummy items including; rice crackers, bean sprouts and sauce for our chicken stir-fry, green tea and some very delicious cucumber kim chee. We had such a fun time! In Japan, families sit on the floor and eat on a low dinner table. So we used the coffee table for our meal.. the children had fun telling Dad all about daily life for families in Japan. This for us was school for the day! Well OK~ maybe a bit of math and English also. :)






A taste of the Orient~






Recently both Gracie and Ryan have been learning about different kinds of ants and their behavior, habitats and social inner workings. Sister Amanda reminded Ryan that we have an ant hill just down the road from us and suggested they take Gracie on a walk to go see it. On their way out the door they grabbed a handful of shredded coconut to throw onto the hill in order to watch and see what the ants did with the loot.






Gracie (you can see that the ants weren't the only ones to get a coconut snack!)





ant hill



The kids didn't gain much new information by watching the ants and the coconut but they sure enjoyed the time spent with one another..


We love educating our children at home. We definitely aren't the smartest tools in the shed nor do we wish to be. I am not a born teacher for sure. I do know this.. anyone can 'catch up' in community college if need be in regard to English, Science, Math etc. But we never again get to raise our children. Once they are gone, they are gone. What do we want them to learn? We do know one thing, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy [is] understanding. Proverbs 9:10


May the Lord guide us in the raising of His children! ♥♥♥♥♥

God's Remedies

Grady has been suffering from a very irritating eye infection for 2 months now. We have tried rose water which burns and for him did not work. Around here, we only visit the doctor on rare occasions such as tetanus shots (you know, those rusty nails!) and for serious illnesses which we determine should be checked out by a physician. Currently we do not have health insurance but even in the past when we were insured we hardly ever visited the doctor. The Lord has so graciously taken care of us! The Internet is such a wonderful resource for home remedy recipes and practices. Also, there is a wonderful book entitled "Be Your Own Doctor" by Rachel Weaver http://www.amazon.com/Your-Doctor-Rachel-Weaver-M-H/dp/0971266905/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307389591&sr=1-2ur-Doctor-Rachel-Weaver-M-H/dp/0971266905/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307389591&sr=1-2 which provides amazing options for those who prefer to seek natural remedies first. In addition, we are so blessed that our local midwife, Laura Hamilton http://www.hamiltonmidwife.com/MeetLaura.html is also a nurse practitioner who has a vast amount of knowledge on the subject.

I spoke with her recently about Grady's eye infection and she gave me a few great tips in regard to home remedies:

For minor eye irritation: Steep chamomile leaves and flowers in boiling water and then do an eyewash with the 'tea' twice or three times daily


Chamomile

For eye infections- Mix Eyebrite http://www.puritan.com/eye-nutrients-003/eyebright-470-mg-003430?scid=6831&cm_guid=1-_-100000000000000096469-_-7927748191&cm_mmc=Google-_-Eye_Bright-_-eye%20brite-_-Exact+Ad_7927748191&gclid=COuy7sGHoqkCFQImbAodZXuqug with 1/2 cup water of steeped and strained red raspberry leaves and 1 teaspoon of goldenseal. Use as an eyewash for 1 week.

Red Raspberry


Goldenseal

For ear infections-
1/4 cup mullein fresh edible flower
3 garlic cloves
olive oil

1 To Prepare:.
2 Chop the garlic into small pieces. Place the garlic and mullein flowers in a small glass jar with a lid. Cover the mullein flowers with olive oil and allow to set in the sun for several days, or heat over very low heat for 4 hours. If you are using fresh mullein flowers, cover your jar with cheesecloth rather than a lid to allow moisture to escape. Strain the oil through cheesecloth and store your oil in a small dropper bottle in the refrigerator.
3 To Use:.
4 Warm the oil to body temperature by placing the bottle of oil in a glass of hot water for a few minutes. Insert 2-3 drops in the affected ear 2-3 times per day.

Mullein


Bronchitis: Put 2-3 drops of Oil of Oregano in a bowl of boiling water (1/2 cup).
Cover your head with a towel and breath in the steam for 10 minutes. Good for congestion, bronchitis, asthma and sinusitis.
Rub some drops of Oil of Oregano on your chest when you are congested.


Other great uses for Oil of Oregano:
Rub 600 mg of Oregano Oil, depending on the area and the pain, per day 3 times 6 drops on your body where you have arthritis, athletes foot, back pain, bites, neuritis, eczema, ringworm, head and body aches.


Mersa, bites or infections:
Use tea tree which is a natural antifungal. (be careful not too use too frequently as there has been some research that it may have adverse affects over a long period of time, especially in developing boys)

Nana's Green Goo; Healing Salve For Wounds:
And then of course is my favorite that my mother created: We use this for anything from wounds, burns, diaper rashes, dry skin, infections etc. We call it Nana's Green Goo! It is really ugly but is absolutely amazing at healing 'what ails ya!' :)

1/4 cup pure beeswax
1 cup infused comfrey oil (see recipe for the infused comfrey oil below)
20 drops of tea tree oil
1 heaping teaspoon of goldenseal powder
3 tablespoons olive oil

First, make the infused comfrey oil. In the top of a double boiler, cover 2 oz of dried comfrey leaves with 2 cups of extra-virgin olive oil. Cook covered over simmering water (in a double boiler) for 60-90 minutes. Strain the comfrey oil through a paper towel, pressing down on the leaves. ( You can keep the extra leftovers in the fridge for up to a year)

Method:
1.Mix goldenseal powder with the 3 T olive oil
2. Shave or cut the beeswax into small chunks. In a small saucepan, warm the infused comfrey oil and beeswax.
3. Heat the beeswax/comfrey oil mixture until beeswax is just melted, don't let it boil.
4. Remove saucepan from heat, add tea tree oil and olive oil/goldenseal mixture. Then pour the salve into a sterilized container and store in a cool dark place for up to a year.

We use this for absolutely everything!


Nana's Famous Green Goo~








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Natural Home Products

We have been experimenting with new recipes for our common health and beauty products. With moving to Belize we are trying get our favorite recipes nailed down so that we are able to bring enough ingredients to supply us with natural products until we can locate a supplier. Some of the products we have enjoyed making are:

*Hand Soaps


*Laundry Soaps


*Deodorant


*Baby Diaper Salve


*Baby Wipes Solution


*Burn and Wound Care


*Shampoo


*Toothpaste


*Hand and Body Lotion

*Lip Balm


Recently I had to make a new batch of our deodorant. This time I modified the recipe and added beeswax which I think turned out much better. The beeswax seems to hold the deodorant together:


Kelly's Deodorant Recipe:


1/3 Cup Baking Soda


1/3 Cup Coconut Oil


1/3 Cup Corn Starch


1 Teaspoon Beeswax

Few drops of your favorite essential oil (we have used lavender, citrus and tea tree)

Using a double boiler, melt over low heat. Pour into containers (we use small Rubbermaid or Tupperware containers) Let cool and apply liberally on underarms. If it seems too 'chunky', just reheat ingredients and add a bit more coconut oil.. If it seems too 'greasy' for you, simply reheat and add a bit more cornstarch. I find that with this recipe it is just a matter of preference of consistency. The beeswax seems to stabilize it and really improves on this wonderful recipe!




Simply melt ingredients together, pour into small containers and cool~ This time we used rose water instead of an essential oil. ♥



Here are some of our other favorites:

Lip Balm:
2 tablespoons light olive oil
1 tablespoon beeswax pellets or grated
1 vitamin E capsule contents
1/2 teaspoon melted honey (adds sweetness and texture)

melt ingredients and pour into small containers. let cool and enjoy!


Deep Moisturizing Lotion (this is a bit greasy but wonderful for very dry hands)
2 tablespoons beeswax
1/2 cup grapeseed or almond oil
2-3 tablespoons of distilled water
10 drops of citrus essential oil (or your preference of scent)

Heat the wax and oil together in a double boiler until completely melted. Use a hand blender to whip. Slowly add water and continue to aerate, then add fragrance. It will turn white, thick and goopy. Allow the lotion to settle for at least 15-20 mintutes. Scoop into a lotion container of your choice. Apply small amount to any dry spots.

Hand Lotion: (for everyday use)
2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon grated beeswax or pellets
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup almond or grapeseed oil
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/8 tsp baking soda
essential oil of your choice
1/4 cup distilled water

Melt beeswax in double boiler. When completely melted, add honey and the oils. Stir mixture with a wire wisk. Once it is well combined and melted, take off the burner and pour mixture into a mixing bowl. Dissolve the baking soda into the water in a small cooking pot. Bring water to a boil and then add it to the ingredients in the mixing bowl. Blend everything together with a wire whisk until the mixture cools, at which time it will thicken. Using the wire whisk, stir in a few drops of essential oil. Pour into lotion containers.

Enjoy! In the next post, I will mention a few natural remedies for ailments such as burns, infections, respitory issues, allergies and infections.

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Tickets!

After praying, planning, waiting, crying, praying, planning and replanning, the Lord has opened the doors for us to move to Belize! We are flying to Cancun, MX on the 23rd of August, taking a bus to Chetumal, MX where we will meet up with our very sweet and special friends who will help us through the border and customs. That is about all we know right now. Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to leave.. and may we glorify the Lord in all we do!

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..and Fauna

It has been such a blessing to live here at the Kersey's house. Being a master gardener, Terri has a beautiful garden in the back yard which Ryan has been dutifully weeding and planting (more on that in another post) Additionally, they have a very beautiful 2 acre grassy sloped back yard. The upper back deck looks over the grassy lawn which boasts of a magnificent evergreen forest beyond that. It is our own private wilderness oasis! Our view is spectacular~ On the deck we have placed both a traditional bird feeder as well as a hummingbird feeder. From our living room the children and I have been watching with amazement as scores of birds, native as well as migrating ones have come to eat. We have been trying, without success to snap photos of the visitors.. we finally gave up and snatched bird photos from google to display our friendly feathered friends.. Here are just a few of the types of birds we have seen so far this season:

Our deck with a few Evening Grosbeaks

Tree Swallows~

A lovely male house finch~

Ruby-throated Hummingbird~

Chickadee~

Black Headed Grosbeak~

Beautiful male Evening Grosbeak~

Goldfinch~

Red-winged blackbird~

Stellar Jay~