Sickness

Well, what do you know. We get back from TN and two days later I have a sick kiddo. Dillon was completely fine last night...nothing wrong at all that I could tell! But he woke up in the night with extreme congestion and fever. Poor little guy!

If you're into natural remedies, here's what I'm trying.

Red Clover Tea - It's a great blood purifier and is believed to stimulate the immune system.

Elderberry Syrup - The elderberry is said to be antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory. The dried flowers, made into tea, are great for treating fevers, flu, colds, broncitis. Extracts made form dried berries are used for cold and flu treatments and also for preventative measures. Elderberry syrup is frequently recommended as a cold and flu remedy and use to alleviate nausea and calm the stomach. Caution: Always use dried or cooked parts of the Elder bush. Raw parts may cause adverse reactions.

Elderberry Syrup:
1 C dried elderberries
2 C boiling water
honey

Place elderberries in a 1 quart jar. Pour boiling water oe rthe berries. Cover and let steep for 8 hours. Pour mixture into a stainless steel or glass pan and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain our the berries and discard. measure the liquid and add an equal amount of honey. Reheat and stir until honey dissolves. Cool. Pour into a clean glass jar. Seal tightly and store in refrigerator. For cold and flu prevention it is customary to take 2 tsp of syrup twice a day. To treat an already acquired cold or flu the suggested dosage is 1 T four times a day. It workds best if treatment is started as soon as symptoms appear.

Eucalyptus Bath - good for congestion

Foot bath with dry mustard - good for congestion (add 1 T dry mustard to enough hot water to cover ankles in basin or sink.

All the above information was taken from a church member's cookbook that contains information about herbs and natural remedies as well! It's called Eden's Bounty, by Ruth Abbott and Diana Inman (the church member).

My own natural remedy is green drink. I just add 4-6 leaves of kale (excellent source of Vitamins C, K, A, as well as manganese and fiber - it's a great immune system booster!) to a smoothie type drink that includes blueberries, banana, strawberries, or whatever other kind of fruit I have.

Hopefully we'll be on the mend soon and it won't make the rounds to the rest of us!

Happy Thanksgiving to You and Yours...

"in everything give thanks..." 1 Thess 5:18

I am truly thankful this holiday season! Let me tell you why!

- We're heading to TN very early tomorrow morning! It's always to so nice to get away from home so that there isn't so much to do. We have lots of family and friends there so we're bound to be busy, but it'll be a different kind of busy.

- Chaeli gave me a massage today! It was one of those tired pregnant days and she was so kind to rub me all over. And I gotta say, for a five year old, she does tremendously! I felt so much better when she was done!

- Family time all week long!!!

- Health (although I gotta say that at almost 32, pregnancy is different than at 26!!)

- Hearing my kids recite memory verses every morning during worship does my heart good. And hearing them sing hymns all throughout the day is so cheery! They can be quite vibrant about it!

- cheap gas!!! Who would have thought it would be back down to 1.71 in town!?

- Two wonderful churches to be a part of and pastor!

- Good friends...(that's each of you who are reading this!)

- A warm house, enough food, clothes to wear, vehicles to drive...God truly does take care of us. He provides so much more than even necessary!!! God is good!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours! What are you thankful this season??

Holiday Recipe - Day 7

Tofu "Egg" Salad

16 oz firm tofu, mashed
1/3 C vegenaise
1 T Bill's Best Chiknish
1/3 C diced onion, optional
1/3 C dill pickle relish, optional

This is soooo yummy! Usually we just use the first three ingredients and absolutely love it! We use it on sandwiches most often, but it's also good with chips and crackers.

Baby Shower

This past Wednesday evening one of our churches had a baby shower for our little one! I felt so blessed! It was a double baby shower for another girl who is due in only a month...and she's having a girl. It made the baby shower very special and fun, in my opinion. They did a great job decorating and we played the most hilarious game!! It was a matching game. And when someone matched a pair, such as contractions, mommy's tummy after delivery, epidural, etc, they got a very appropriately named candy prize. Here are a couple of the prizes...

Matched pairs:
contractions - a good and plenty box of candy
epidural - lifesavers
mommy's tummy after delivery - jelly bellies
baby's laugh - snickers
triplets - 3 musketeers

...and so on! It was soooo funny!

What a fun time we had and I felt so blessed by the things I received. Thanks to anyone from my church who reads this!!!

Holiday Recipes - Day 6

Apricot Oatmeal Cookies

2 1/2 C quick-cooking rolled oats
1 C chopped walnuts or pecans
1 1/2 C brown sugar
2/3 C soy margarine
1 tsp vanilla
2 T cornstarch
1 T water
1 C unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 C dried apricots, finely diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In large mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, margarine, vanilla, and water. Mix well, then add the rest of the ingredients.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet, placing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly, then remove from the cookie sheet.

These are delicious!!!! They are soft and chewy and oh so good! We even substituted cranberries in half of them and that was good too.

Giving Thanks

Sometimes life just seems to get us down, and it's at those moments that we must remember to give thanks in ALL things! Today Ruth at http://www.wordkeeperinja.blogspot.com (what is wrong with my link button!!?!) wrote about giving thanks when all else fails. And it's so true! It just seems to brighten my disposition when I make a conscience choice to give thanks and dwell on the positives in life!

So here are my ten things that I am thankful for tonight!

1. my heating blanket is on and waiting for me!
2. a healthy growing baby inside of me
3. a computer, even though it gives me hassles
4. a husband who loves me!
5. Sabbath!!!!
6. God, who personally cares about me!
7. potluck tomorrow...it really is easier than making a whole meal
8. naps
9. early mornings
10. hymns...I just love to sing hymns and they lift my spirits as well

"in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Holiday Recipes - Day 5

Once we found this recipe, it istantly became a family favorit. It also gets compliments EVERY time I serve it. This would be great for one of the days around the holidays when feeding a crowd (I'm so sorry they got eaten up before I remembered to take a picture!!).

Burritos
6-8 Flour Tortilla's
8 Vegan cheese (I just use cashew cheese, sauce form)
1/2 Onion, Chopped
Chopped olives
1 1/2 cans Refried Beans

Layer the beans, onion, olives, and cheese in equal amounts among the
tortilla's. In a 9x13 casserole dish, place them side by side and
then make the sauce:

1/4 cup Butter/Margarine
4 Tbsp Flour
2 Cups Water
2 tsp Chicken Seasoning
1 tsp Lawry's Seasoning
1 Cup Vegan Sour Cream
4 oz Mild Green Chilis

Combine butter and flour in a saucepan over medium heat. When it's
hot and bubbling add the rest of the ingredients and stir until thickened.
Pour the sauce over the burritos in the 9x13 pan and cook at 350
degrees till hot and bubbly - usually 20-30 minutes.

Absolutely and without a doubt, YUM!