Just Pure Lovely

Happy Autumn!

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(Photo by me, somewhere in North Carolina, October 2008.  My brother and his family are in the canoe)

An Open Email to Our Oldest Two Kids

B and b,

Thank you for loving each other. 

It's the greatest gift you could give me.

I love you both.

All the way to the moon.

And back.

~ Mama

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Rebekah's Senior Pictures

Rebekah asked me to take her senior pictures.  

I don't do that picture-taking business, for money, for people.  I don't do let's-meet-at-6-and-hope-the-sun-is-just-right, and I really stink at flash photography and indoor lighting and fake poses.  I'm more of a hey-I-have-the-camera-with-me, look at that dappled light, kids, get out of the van, quick! kind of gal. 

For some reason, though, when Rebekah asked, my mouth said yes, sure, I'd love to. 

It's just that Rebekah likes Michael Buble and Jesus and writing, so I like Rebekah.  She's my type of gal and so if she wants me to take her senior pictures and if God will stop the sun in the sky just right, and if all the pictures can be taken outdoors... 

...yes, sure, I'd love to.

I was  nervous the days before we went out on our little photo "shoot." Shoot,  I've never done a photo shoot before.  All the what ifs? went through my mind.  My mind can be quite ridiculous.

As with most worries, I didn't need to worry.  God blessed us with not only a beautiful 17-year-old whose inner beauty shows up in her outer beauty, but He also blessed us by holding the sun in the sky just right. 

All I had to do was click a button.

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Customizable Organic Clothing for Babies

I found a fun company with organic baby clothes!  Apericots was created by a group of friends who wanted to give you an "environmentally conscious and unique alternative to all the lame baby clothes out there." 

Living next to a cotton field, I like cotton, but .... living next to a cotton field, I like organic cotton even better.  Apericots offers baby clothes that are eco-friendly in their trendy designs or your own customized design.

There are quite a few baby onesies on the Apericot site, both short-sleeved and long-sleeved. I love it that the designs are also customizable.  You can enter your own text, their art, or your own photo.  Here is the long-sleeved onesie I designed in honor of our favorite football team:

You're all Gators fans, right?  Right?

While I was having fun, I created a short-sleeved onesie for a little girl:

Other products I like are this super cool baby hat that can tie up in a knot (or not) and one-size-fits-all cloth diapers.

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Here's a 15% off coupon for the Children's Place (closed)

UPDATED 10/29/2009:  Thank you to everyone who printed The Children's Place coupon and by so doing gave me $1 (as an affiliate, I got a kickback)!  The offer is now over, but look for more in the future. 

p.s. I still want this outfit for our little gal!

Note:  This offer - to print the coupon and help JPL out -  expires soon.  I'll take down this post when it is no longer valid (today, I think).

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How to Have Healthy Kids (or, How We're Doing It)

Raising healthy kids is the Topic of the Day every day lately, isn't it? 

When our oldest two were little tykes they were So Often ill.  Around ages 6 and 4, sometime in the year 2000, they became healthy.   I know, it could be that their immune systems finally became strong, but get this:  Our younger two, born in 2000 and 2003,  have never had a sickness even worthy of a doctor visit.  And our older two have never needed to see a doctor since 2000, either, except for a broken bone and poison ivy up the nose (sorry). 

While they do catch the occasional virus that floats around, these kids rebound within a day or two, without medicine. 

So...why are these kids so healthy now? 

I wish I could put my finger smack on the One Reason so I could help other parents out.  I'd probably become a millionaire in the process, helping my hard-working man out. 

So although I can't tell you the One Thing that worked, I'll give you a list of things that changed around 2000, when the kids became Super Duper Healthy.  Pick one, if you can, or all, and see if your crew starts fighting mean piggy and non-piggy viruses, too:

• we quit buying soft drinks at home (they'd still - and do - get one at a party or while eating out sometimes, but the consumption went way down by cutting it out at home)
• increased our water drinking - by a huge amount!  They can have only one glass of milk and one of juice each day.  For the rest of the day, water is it.
• the kids get a lot of outdoor time - sunshine and fresh air and dirt.  They may not go out every day, but it adds up to several hours each week.  Sunshine = Vitamin D.  Dirt = microbes that keep your gut healthy (sorry, that's kind of gross)
• we started homeschooling the kids.  They still share classes, go on field trips, take lessons, so there is no lack of contact with other children, but their contact is never in a small classroom indoors with a couple dozen kids the same age.
• we switched to mostly natural, sometimes organic products.  We are Not  Rich, so we are not purists in this(or any) area.  We can't always justify the extra cost of organic apples or a cow from the local pasture, but we do at least stay away from:
• • hydrogenated oils
  • weird words on labels that we can't pronounce
  • high fructose corn syrup (Halloween candy excluded.  You know.)
  • high-sugar foods.  No more Little Debbie snacks in the house, no more sugary cereal (one box for the birthday kid, though!), no more junkier-than-not snacks
• when they don't feel well, these things have cured them above any medicine we used to pump into their little bodies:
• • water
  • rest
  • sunshine/fresh air
  • herbal salves or essential oils (I really should blog about this someday - it's just some hocus-pocus stuff I make that is as simple, honestly, as making a pitcher of sweet tea)
  • occasionally, we'll use something all-natural (homeopathic) that we purchase (I'm looking forward to trying out Boiron - there's a $1 off coupon, here)
• we stopped going to the doctor as much (in 9 years, they've gone for one broken elbow and 2 poison ivy cases that were so bad they were threatening breathing - yes, I think that kid finally learned not to touch it!)
• we stopped taking medicine from a bottle. We would, if we needed to, but haven't actually had a need for it, since essential oils work so well (I really should blog about this)
• we don't buy chemical cleaners.  In the bathroom (sink, toilet), I wipe daily with antibacterial wipes.  I guess those might be "chemical," but they don't spray chemicals around, making us breathe that (cancer-causing?) stuff.  On the floors, I've tried essential oils + water or Clorox's natural products + water.  I also went through a bleach phase, but that was smelly.  So was the vinegar phase. On the windows, I just use water and one of those micro fiber terry cloths.  In the bathtub and shower, I'll use essential oils + water or Clorox's natural brand + water and scrub it good with a scrunchie.  It's amazing how clean a house can be with just plain old water, really.  Or, water and a little soap.
• we get a lot of rest.  We don't overschedule our days.  We don't set the alarm clocks daily.  And if anyone feels sluggish or gets a tickle in the throat, that person is encouraged to go take a nap.  

That's what's working for us, but I'd love to hear from you, too...

Do you have healthy kids, too?  Please share what you do.

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My Shadows

 

It's captured moments like this one that make the effort of raising her for a dozen years - and her for half a dozen - absolutely worth it. 

When they, and their brothers, were younger and I was the one tying shoelaces for all four, I often quoted Shadows to myself...

Shadows

I saw a young mother
With eyes full of laughter
And two little shadows
Came following after.

Wherever she moved,
They were always right there
Holding onto her skirts,
Hanging onto her chair.
Before her, behind her-
An adhesive pair.

"Don't you ever get weary
As, day after day,
Your two little tagalongs
Get in your way?

She smiled as she shook
Her pretty young head,
And I'll always remember
The words that she said

"It's good to have shadows
That run when you run,
That laugh when you're happy
And hum when you hum -
For you only have shadows
When your life's filled with sun."

~Author Unknown 

My life is filled with sun.

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I saw a young mother
With eyes full of laughter
And two little shadows
Came following after.

Wherever she moved,
They were always right there
Holding onto her skirts,
Hanging onto her chair.
Before her, behind her-
An adhesive pair.

"Don't you ever get weary
As, day after day,
Your two little tagalongs
Get in your way?

She smiled as she shook
Her pretty young head,
And I'll always remember
The words that she said

"It's good to have shadows
That run when you run,
That laugh when you're happy
And hum when you hum -
For you only have shadows
When your life's filled with sun."

~Author Unknown 

My life is filled with sun.

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First Pony Ride

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"Baby"

Photographed (by me) in 2005.

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Giving Away CDs

I love it when I have the opportunity to be generous! 

Here on Just Pure Lovely I'm giving away CDs from two musicians: 

• Harry Connick Jr.
  
• Jonny Diaz (to five winners!)
  

And over on Freely Educate I'm giving away a CD from this artist:

• Joshua Bell
  

October 23rd is the deadline for all 3 giveaways.

I love it when I have the opportunity to be generous! 

Here on Just Pure Lovely I'm giving away CDs from two musicians: 

• Harry Connick Jr.
  
• Jonny Diaz (to five winners!)
  

And over on Freely Educate I'm giving away a CD from this artist:

• Joshua Bell
  

October 23rd is the deadline for all 3 giveaways.