I'm an amateur! I stink at this whole blog design template thing. I will keep playing on it when I have time. HA! Time doesn't grow on trees around here...
I promise not to leave it with painful combinations of flouresent colors.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Thursday, November 22, 2007
A helpful home remedy
Well, it's the season of snot, and sore throats in the Northern Hemisphere. I thought I would put my favorite home remedy here for anyone to try. For sore throats and especially for coughing that needs to be broken up, I make oregano tea. I got the idea from the book Home Remedies: What Works: Thousands of Americans reveal their favorite home tested cures for everyday health problems. This book is from the makers of Prevention Magazine. They asked their readers to send in their favorite home remedies, and then checked them with doctors and scientists. So you not only get the remedy, but the reason why it would work, along with safety guidelines. This is my favorite cough remedy, and I've added a couple other things to it.
Pour boiling water over 1/2 tsp or less of dried oregano. Watch it while stirring, and as soon as the water is a nice yellow color, strain the leaves out. I use a mesh strainer, although I have also put the oregano in a coffee filter and wrapped it with a twist tie. Do not over steep it till it is dark yellow. YUK. Add honey to taste.
This really helps to sooth the throat and also keep the fluid "Coughable". I used to get bronchial infections, and sometimes bronchitis every year with my colds and flues, and now I use this to keep it loose, and I haven't had a secondary infection since I started doing it.
Now for my own additions: If you have anise, (Tastes like lichorich) it gives a wonderful throat numbing sensation, and I have also added bay leaves crunched up for a mentholy type of feeling. But the thing that does the trick is the oregano. Both of my additions, in my opinion, greatly improve the flavor.
When one of my kids gets sick, I make this, and all of a sudden I hear fake coughing from every one else cause they want some too. It helps with that TICKLE THAT DRIVES YOU NUTS AND KEEPS YOU FROM SLEEPING!!! AAAAUGHH!! You know what I mean.
The other thing I must do to avoid those pesky sinus infections is a bit more extreme, but it works as well. If you don't mind feeling like you are drowning yourself deliberately.
Happy Cold Season!
Pour boiling water over 1/2 tsp or less of dried oregano. Watch it while stirring, and as soon as the water is a nice yellow color, strain the leaves out. I use a mesh strainer, although I have also put the oregano in a coffee filter and wrapped it with a twist tie. Do not over steep it till it is dark yellow. YUK. Add honey to taste.
This really helps to sooth the throat and also keep the fluid "Coughable". I used to get bronchial infections, and sometimes bronchitis every year with my colds and flues, and now I use this to keep it loose, and I haven't had a secondary infection since I started doing it.
Now for my own additions: If you have anise, (Tastes like lichorich) it gives a wonderful throat numbing sensation, and I have also added bay leaves crunched up for a mentholy type of feeling. But the thing that does the trick is the oregano. Both of my additions, in my opinion, greatly improve the flavor.
When one of my kids gets sick, I make this, and all of a sudden I hear fake coughing from every one else cause they want some too. It helps with that TICKLE THAT DRIVES YOU NUTS AND KEEPS YOU FROM SLEEPING!!! AAAAUGHH!! You know what I mean.
The other thing I must do to avoid those pesky sinus infections is a bit more extreme, but it works as well. If you don't mind feeling like you are drowning yourself deliberately.
Happy Cold Season!
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my faithful readers! We will be eating our feast tomorrow with a missionary family here, and I am making a couple of pies and flan. Last night we had hot cocoa, cider, and everyone put something in the Thanksgiving box. This is a box with a slot, that we will put things we are thankful for throughout the year, and around Thanksgiving, pull it out and put the things in a scrapbook. This will be the first year we do it officially, although I've been putting stuff in the box periodically. I want the kids to look back at the year and see how we can be thankful in any situation.
Which brings me to my own thankful list. I could do the long one, involving all the members of my precious family, every good thing that happened to us this past year, every thing I have that I enjoy. I'd be remiss not to include every single unpleasant thing that happened to us also, because God not only says He can make good come out of "all things" in the lives of those who love Him and are called to His purpose, but He also commands us to give thanks in every thing. So I can include the "junk", because of the grace He provided in it, the good He will do with it, and the lessons I learned about Him from it.
But instead of all those things, I'm going to just say I'm most thankful for my Lord Jesus. Without Him, all those things in life are vanity. He brings purpose to not only my blessings, but also my trials, and He brings confidence and peace in the face of my fears. I can trust Him with my eternity, my immediate future, my family, and even my failures. I've been eaten up with the need, the hunger to know Him better, to be His friend. He's been mine, that's for sure!
I've always thought that Thanksgiving is the perfect context to introduce the Christmas season, Let's carry that spirit into our celebration of Christ, and not forget His mercies to us!
Which brings me to my own thankful list. I could do the long one, involving all the members of my precious family, every good thing that happened to us this past year, every thing I have that I enjoy. I'd be remiss not to include every single unpleasant thing that happened to us also, because God not only says He can make good come out of "all things" in the lives of those who love Him and are called to His purpose, but He also commands us to give thanks in every thing. So I can include the "junk", because of the grace He provided in it, the good He will do with it, and the lessons I learned about Him from it.
But instead of all those things, I'm going to just say I'm most thankful for my Lord Jesus. Without Him, all those things in life are vanity. He brings purpose to not only my blessings, but also my trials, and He brings confidence and peace in the face of my fears. I can trust Him with my eternity, my immediate future, my family, and even my failures. I've been eaten up with the need, the hunger to know Him better, to be His friend. He's been mine, that's for sure!
I've always thought that Thanksgiving is the perfect context to introduce the Christmas season, Let's carry that spirit into our celebration of Christ, and not forget His mercies to us!
Friday, November 16, 2007
"Mommy, Mommy! Come see!"
"ONE OF THE GOBBLES! HAS BABY GOBBLES! THEY'RE SO CUTE!!!!!"
Rebecca, on the growing turkey family on the ranch.
Rebecca, on the growing turkey family on the ranch.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Veteran's Day
Tonight I was watching a moving tribute to America's veterans, and my daughter walked in and started watching with me. She asked me, "What are those crosses for? They're very beautiful!" (Yes, she does talk like this, at five years old. "Very beautiful" is one of her favorite things to say.)
I took a while answering. I don't like her to see me cry. Finally I just dove in. "Those crosses are markers where they bury the bodies of soldiers. The soldiers had to go fight and stop people who want to hurt America. Those people hate that we can chose to do what we believe is right, and they want to make us worship their God, or kill us if they can. The soldier's job is to stop them, and they are fighting, and getting hurt, and sometimes they get killed. When they are killed, their bodies are sent back in a coffin with a flag on it, and they take it to this graveyard. They fold the flag up and give it to the soldier's family, and then they put the soldier's body in the ground."
She sat in silence as pictures flashed across the screen. A young boy not much older than she was, wearing a suit, receives a folded flag from white gloved hands. A young woman lays her head on her husband's coffin. A weeping couple at their daughter's funeral.
"Mommy, why are they crying?"
I said, "Honey, they lost someone they love, because that person was a soldier who was killed. It makes me cry too."
She looked at me, "If it makes you cry, don't watch it!"
"The Bible says there is a time to laugh, and a time to cry. And it also says we should weep with those who are crying. Sometimes it's good to know something and be sad. Then we can pray for someone or try to help them."
She watched the rest of it with me. It wasn't a conversation with earth-shattering revelation. In the interest of keeping it G-rated, I didn't give much more information, but information that was important. I think she understood enough though. While I was tucking her in bed she said, "Mommy? Can we pray now for the soldiers?"
Yes! Let's pray for them, past, present, and future! I don't have the words to express my gratitude to them for their gift of love and sacrifice. I thank God every day that each generation of Americans has seen heroes like this, giving freedom to the next generation. God bless them, protect them, and give them victory today!
I took a while answering. I don't like her to see me cry. Finally I just dove in. "Those crosses are markers where they bury the bodies of soldiers. The soldiers had to go fight and stop people who want to hurt America. Those people hate that we can chose to do what we believe is right, and they want to make us worship their God, or kill us if they can. The soldier's job is to stop them, and they are fighting, and getting hurt, and sometimes they get killed. When they are killed, their bodies are sent back in a coffin with a flag on it, and they take it to this graveyard. They fold the flag up and give it to the soldier's family, and then they put the soldier's body in the ground."
She sat in silence as pictures flashed across the screen. A young boy not much older than she was, wearing a suit, receives a folded flag from white gloved hands. A young woman lays her head on her husband's coffin. A weeping couple at their daughter's funeral.
"Mommy, why are they crying?"
I said, "Honey, they lost someone they love, because that person was a soldier who was killed. It makes me cry too."
She looked at me, "If it makes you cry, don't watch it!"
"The Bible says there is a time to laugh, and a time to cry. And it also says we should weep with those who are crying. Sometimes it's good to know something and be sad. Then we can pray for someone or try to help them."
She watched the rest of it with me. It wasn't a conversation with earth-shattering revelation. In the interest of keeping it G-rated, I didn't give much more information, but information that was important. I think she understood enough though. While I was tucking her in bed she said, "Mommy? Can we pray now for the soldiers?"
Yes! Let's pray for them, past, present, and future! I don't have the words to express my gratitude to them for their gift of love and sacrifice. I thank God every day that each generation of Americans has seen heroes like this, giving freedom to the next generation. God bless them, protect them, and give them victory today!
Friday, November 09, 2007
Wooo Hoooo! Home again!
We had a great trip! Our van even got some R&R with the mechanic and she is running smooth and high on new shocks and struts. Mexican roads have never felt so good! Wind blew much fine, red dirt into our house and I'm sweeping, wiping, and sneezing it up while unpacking, so the next few days will be pretty busy taking care of that.
I LOVE BEING HOME!
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