We had “Gramma” Patty over for dinner Wednesday night.  She was our neighbor when we lived at the lake house.  You can always count on her for laughs and lively conversation!

Tags: photos

We recently brought all our music down to the living room, from the upstairs bonus room. It was too cold to practice up there.
It makes for an interesting living room, but seeing the renewed interest in practicing instruments is well worth it!

Skylar has taken an interest in guitar. She’s been practicing her first two chords.

Tags: photos

He turned 12!
Chase chose French Toast for his birthday meal, before chocolate cake and gifts.

Tags: photos

Tell me about your church.  Is it non-denominational?  Are there any podcasts available?  Any info really, just wanting a feel for it.

The church we go to is non-denominational and relatively small, about 40 people.  There’s a wide range of ages, with singles, families and some elderly people.

We meet in an elementary school in the city of Flint, near Kettering University.  The members there really have a heart for the people of the city, to reach them with the gospel.  We seek to encourage and enable each other to live missionally.

There are some pod-casts available, at our website www.damascusroadflint.org.  I’m still working on re-doing this site, so the podcasts may be unavailable for a time until the update is finished.

We begin at 10:30 by singing one or two songs.  This is typically followed by a time of prayer, usually with several people praying.  The preaching is usually over an hour.  (We have been especially blessed by the sound doctrine that clearly follows the gospel.  It is bold, orthodox teaching that is also culturally relevant.)  We are going through the book of Romans right now.  We usually sing another song or two before we have communion, closing with a few more songs.

Music is a mix of contemporary songs and old hymns.  Instruments are keyboard, guitar, bass and drums.

Yes, you can wear jeans… or a suit.

I remember you saying that you haven’t taken your children to the doctor’s, except once for a pneumonia check, for 6 years?  Do they not ever get sick?  Or do you just know how to treat them yourself?  If so, how did you learn this?  Where do I start?  I only have a couple children and it seems like I am at the doctors all the time!

My children do get sick.  And there are always health needs that need tending to!  Right now, Carmen has two infected fingers and Cruiz has an earache that keeps returning.  I have learned how to treat things myself.  I began voraciously reading anything I could find about natural health, both online and in books.  I also took a few online courses, although that is not necessary.

I would suggest getting some good books to refer to, specifically for essential oils and homeopathics.  (Those are what I use most often)  The books I recommend most often are listed on the Resources page.

I am by no means an expert, but I have found some things that I wouldn’t want to be without!  I used to do a ‘Dr. Mom’ post every so often where I shared what the latest health issues were and how I treated them.  Maybe I could start doing that again…

Do you have a television?

No.  And I am so glad we don’t.  We do have a DVD player that technically we could hook up for watching t.v.  But we don’t.  And did I mention I am so glad we don’t?

P.S.

* I know this post is shorter, but it was just one of those weeks.  Don’t worry, I’ll get to your questions!

* I’ve received some repeat questions.  To read similar past posts, click on ‘Answering your questions’ located under the categories.

* Someone has requested that I post a weekly menu.  I am mulling that over, trying to decide if I want to have it as part of the weekly ‘Answer your questions’ post, or just give it it’s very own day.  AND if I should post the last week’s menu or the upcoming week’s plan.  I KNOW.  Just make a decision and go with it, already!

* To leave your question for next week’s post, you can email, leave it in the comments, or message in Facebook.

Tags: questions

I am practicing my true job as mother, which is to make myself unnecessary.

Once a week, my oldest daughter Skylar spends a night and an entire day at our farm.  She helps with chores and odd jobs, and is rewarded with time to ride her horse, Spotless.  It is the highlight of her school week.

It’s strange to have her gone.  As a home schooling mom, I am accustomed to having her home with me.

She is my biggest helper.  She will voluntarily bake 3 loaves of bread or a batch of brownies without me asking.  She can change the baby’s cloth diaper as quickly as I can.  If the baby is fussy, she will scoop him up and feed him a little snack.  She loves to ‘teach’ her younger sisters their phonics and handwriting.

When she returns home from her time at the farm, she seems even more mature each time, if that is possible.  She recounts with a satisfied smile what she did to help, what she learned, and so on.  She is more patient with her siblings.  She eases back into her chores here at home with renewed enthusiasm.

I get a new glimpse of the young woman she is fast becoming.

So today I am missing her, while thankful for the opportunity she has to not only hone her own skills, abilities and talents, but also to be a blessing to others.

What a joy.

Tags: family, parenting

Tags: photos

We are away from home this week, so there wasn’t a regular Family Night.   We did enjoy a wonderful meal with some friends though!

I have neglected posting about our last couple of Family Nights, due to so much time working on the new web designs.  I am finished (besides a few touch-ups and link fixes) with this site, my personal one, Robb’s extra work one (The Green Stewards).  I still haven’t gotten our church one finished, as the podcast plugins are giving me hassles.

Anyways, back to Family Nights.  For both of the last ones we just had a normal meal.  No eating off the table!  One night we had ‘live television’ interviews.  We interviewed each other, asking simple questions, while recording it.  Then, while the children cleaned up the meal, I made all the clips into a movie.  We watched the interviews while we ate dessert.  What a riot.

The other night we each took several slips of paper.  On each paper we wrote a family member’s name and an adjective that described them.  Then we piled all the papers in the middle of the table.  Taking turns, we would draw a slip of paper and read the adjective.  Everyone else (besides the person who had written it) would have to guess who the adjective was describing.   Some of the words the children chose were so funny!  The only rules were that the adjective chosen had to be a kind one.  Ahem.

Tags: Family Night

Siblings… how many do you have?

I have two sisters.  One is four years older than me and lives here in Michigan about an hour away. The other one is two years younger and lives in Wisconsin.  Both are married, with families.

Robb has one younger sister. Her and her husband live nearby.

How long have you been into ‘natural’ living and was there something specific that spurred that change?  Were your parents into natural living?

Neither one of us were raised within a natural health or diet lifestyle.  We started to change our eating habits and lifestyle about six years ago.  There were several things that spurred that change, and they all happened at around the same time.

1. I had always given my children vaccinations, so my oldest had all of their shots plus boosters.  Then my third child had a mild, but scary, reaction to her first set.  I had been late in taking her so they did a couple extra to ‘catch up’.  She developed a traveling rash, fever, a strange high-pitched cry and just seemed ‘different’.  Strange acting.  My pediatrician assured me everything was fine and that it was in no way connected to the vaccinations.  I started Googling her symptoms and long story short - We never gave another one of our children a vaccination.  Through researching that, I came across a lot of things that piqued my interest and spurred further reading about natural health.
2. We moved into a home on 5 acres.  That meant plenty of room for gardens and animals, so we began to look into growing and raising our own food.
3. We had the opportunity to obtain raw milk.  We were surprised to learn that many believed it to be dangerous and unhealthy, so we began to research it.  Not only did we continue drinking it, but we began to try to find ways to support farmers who provided it.  (We eventually got two of our own dairy goats that we hand-milked daily.)

My family members in particular have changed into a more natural lifestyle.  My mother, who I thank for introducing me to the medicinal use of essential oils, even owns a natural health and wellness center, Migun BodySense.  My younger sister and I share a love of cloth diapering, babywearing, and food habits from the Weston A Price Foundation.

You mentioned last week that you don’t give Tylenol to your children. I found the alternatives you gave interesting and will definitely be looking into them. I assume you don’t give them Motrin, etc too? My question is, why? Is it harmful in some way?

There is always some risk involved in giving your child any medication or pain/fever reliever.  That is stated clearly on the package.  Most problems are caused by overdosing, but some children are just more sensitive and prone to problems like liver damage.

Fevers should not be viewed with fear.  The fact is, fevers are not necessarily a bad thing.  They are the body’s natural way to fight infection or sickness.  Most fevers are harmless, although uncomfortable.

Fever relievers may help a child sleep or help ease the aches that come with some sicknesses, but does absolutely nothing to combat the sickness they are dealing with, and in fact gives a false sense of wellness during the few hours the fever is ‘hidden’.  You just may be taking away the only thing that is keeping your child from becoming worse!  A parent should seek to know why the child is feverish, not simply attempt to cover up the fever.

In my personal experience, I stopped using both Tylenol, Motrin, or any store brand fever/pain reliever quite a few years ago.  When my first child was around 18 months old, he had a mild fever for a week.  Nothing else seemed to be wrong, and I assumed it was teething.  When it continued and seemed to get worse, I called the pediatrician.  (That was back when I actually had a pediatrician and trusted them 100%)  He advised Tylenol and Motrin to be dosed interchangeably so that medication would always be in my son’s system and the fever wouldn’t be allowed to return.

I did that for a few days and then called again to make an appointment as whenever I stopped the medication, my son’s fever would immediately return.  The doctor briefly examined him and told me continue what I was doing.  I questioned that, since I had already been giving him Tylenol for over 2 weeks by then.  He assured me there was no harm.  I did so with much doubt.

Another week went by and my son’s strange fever continued.  I made another appointment.  This time when I was told nothing was wrong with him, I asked the doctor, in tears, to do a urine test to rule anything out.  I just knew something was really wrong!  I was told that was silly, and basically patted on the head and sent out the door.

Within that week, every hour or so my son would suddenly scream for several minutes and then be fine.  It was terrifying.  We took him into ER that day.  While being examined he was playing and laughing, and the nurse was basically telling us that there was nothing wrong.  And then he did the screaming thing in front of her, and she understood what our concern was all about.

I don’t remember all the particulars then, but they ordered a catheter to get urine.  I was told to leave the room.  After being ignored and disrespected so many times I finally had enough gumption to refuse.  I replied that no one was touching my son unless I was present.  So I stayed and watched two nurses try for several minutes to insert a tube into my little son’s penis.  It was heartbreaking.  They simply could not do it, and realized there was a blockage of some sort.

Ended up he had a Urinary Tract Infection that had progressed to the point that it was blocked.  It still makes me so angry knowing that if the doctor had done a simple urine test weeks before, when I requested one, it would have been immediately diagnosed and treated.  Instead, the doctor had treated me like and idiot and told me to dose him with pain/fever reliever which only covered up the fact that something was seriously wrong.

My son was fine after antibiotic treatment.  I shudder to think about the liver and other organ damage that could have cost him his very life.

So, yeah.  I’m just a little testy when it comes to certain topics.

My favorite ones are the kinds with red dye in them.  Because we all know how great dye is for children.  Especially a sick one.

If you do choose to use pain/fever relievers please be informed about the risks.  Never give more than the correct dose and never give longer than recommended.  Even if your doctor says its okay.  Because he could be an idiot.

This was getting quite long…  If I didn’t answer your question today, it’ll be on next week’s post.

Email me with your questions, or leave it in the comments!

Tags: health, medicine, questions, raw milk, vaccines

My Unconventional Conventional Medical Experience (M.U.C.M.E.) ~ Part 1 is here.

The ultrasound was scheduled 4 days after my initial doctor’s visit.  As I sat in the waiting room, a dear friend called.  When she learned where I was, she offered to pray with me.

One of the first things she prayed was along the lines of, “Lord, we ask that when they look inside, they will find absolutely nothing.”

In my heart I responded, “Ha-ha! Well, I know that won’t happen. The doctor felt it. We all know it’s there, it’s just a matter of what kind it is.”

A few minutes into the ultrasound, the technician asked, “I’m supposed to be looking at the right ovary, correct?  Because there’s nothing there.”

“What?” I asked, stunned.

“Your ovary is clear.”

She did see quite a bit of fluid floating around, which she said meant several things.

1. There had been a cyst.
2. It had been big.
3. It had burst very recently.

The very strange thing about it is that I felt no sign it had burst.  I had been expecting some pain, or at least some cramping, as that is what I have read would happen.  Also, I had assumed that the mysterious paralyzing pain I had felt while pregnant with Callahan had been a cyst that burst.

But this time, nothing.  Friday night I had noticed an aching all over in my lower abdominal area, but wrote it off as soreness from the examination.

I walked out of there feeling relieved, thrilled, thankful… and very confused.   Did this mean that there is nothing more to worry about?  Why had I felt so prompted to get it checked out?  Should I look into it further?  Why would I, since it’s gone?  Was it silly to shrug it off and believe it’s over and done?  Or would it be silly to pursue answers?

I still don’t know.  But I do know this;

Remembering how I had responded to my friend’s prayer that it would be completely gone, I now felt like Sarah when she laughed in the tent.  (Genesis 18:12)

Tags: health, spirituality