Our Road to "Organic" Living: Where do we get our food?

While our transition to a more organic lifestyle has stretched to many aspects of our lives and home, the kitchen is where our "organic" journey began. There are so many toxins, chemicals, pesticides, hormones in today's food; all of these toxins in our body are causing problems! We want the things we put in our bodies to help our body, not hurt our health. Our goal is to eat only REAL food!

Our family also started noticing several problems with food allergies and intolerances. The food allergies sped us along on our journey to "organic"; because of this, we probably traveled farther down the "organic" path than we ever imagined! We hoped to buy from local farmers or organic for all of our food sources, I just didn't realize it was possible!

Many people ask, where do you get all of this "organic" food?

• Local Farmers
• Timmons Family - We purchase beef from a local family (they also raise chickens and pigs).
• Dairy Co-op for cow milk, goat milk and eggs (6 families take turns driving to a farm in Missouri to pick up the week's milk for the group)
• Farmer's market or local produce stand (our town only has these Spring-Early Fall)

• Gardening - We grow our our produce in our backyard raised bed (Square Foot Gardens).
• We buy seeds from Baker's Creek Seed Company
• We buy starter plants from Azure Standard*, the local farmer's market, and occasionally Home Depot. 
• We grow spinach & lettuce, root vegetables (radishes, beets, carrots, potatoes), tomatoes, peppers, herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, cilantro), sugar snap & snow peas, butternut & spaghetti squash. It's amazing what you can grow in your backyard!!

• Local health food stores (Kountry Kupboard and Health Food Store-Stone Street)
• Grains, oats, oat flour, gluten free items, vitamins
• Azure Standard - this is a once a month order. Several families order by a certain date and pick up their order at a local meeting place, once a month. Let me know if you're interested in ordering this month and I can give you the details. Here are some of the items we purchase through Azure:
• Fresh and frozen produce (often at less cost than Sam's Club!)
• Goat milk products (yogurt and kefir)
• Elderberry powder and juice
• Nut butters
• We've purchased organic chicken here, but found it cheaper at Sam's Club.
• Starter plants for our garden
• Dairy free coconut milk ice cream (they have a lot of dairy free food options)
• Molasses, raw Apple Cider Vinegar (Can also be found at Kroger)
• Soaper's Choice - This is where I get my coconut oil in bulk.
• Raw is the healthiest type and has lots of great health benefits (I put this in smoothies, baby formula, & use to make chocolate). ID# 59507SC 
• Refined - great for baking and frying ID# 59707SC
• Country Life - This is a special order that needs to be arranged with our local contact. I purchase grains, nuts, seeds from them. Can also get organic canned goods, cereals, beans, produce and other bulk products.
• Sam's Club - We still get several products, some produce (onions, bananas, etc), and organic whole chickens from Sam's Club. 
• Amazon - Great place to order diapers (I didn't go "organic" in the diaper department), paper products, batteries, teas, water filters, vitamins/supplements for our homemade goat milk baby formula, gluten free items, soaps and ingredients for homemade laundry detergent.

I hope these resources help your family make the switch to REAL organic food!

More blogs in this series coming soon... 
"REAL" food and organic cleaning supplies!

One fun day:)

I'm so thankful the boys are starting to feel better and the weather is nice again! I feel like all is well with the world again when we can get outside to play! Here are some fun pics from our day:)

Art project!

6 years old, self portrait

Self portrait - he dyed the string brown for hair!

Samuel - 2yrs self portrait

Getting creative with shapes!

Timothy sleeping in swing, Evan reading, Ben playing ball and Samuel jumping!
Very typical:)

A quick nap before soccer:) He loves his swing outside!

Sweet Timothy loves to be outside:)

Samuel had fun playing soccer too!
Always jumping:)

Go lightning! They won 5-0!

They played hard tonight!

defense

goalie!

So proud of my soccer players!

Going "organic": In the bathroom

I have to admit, switching our bathroom and toiletries over to "organic" was the area that I was most intimidated by in our transition. Interestingly, it was probably the easiest area to switch, once I had all the research in front of me. I wanted to use products that were natural, paraben, sulfate, aluminum & dye free. Your skin is your largest organ and absorbs everything that you put on it! It is said, that you should only put on your skin, what you would put in your mouth. I didn't want to spend a large amount of money on "organic" products that still have numerous ingredients. I wanted simple, natural (literally from nature) ingredients to use on our bodies.
Here are a few of the products we use and where to find them:

• Raw Unrefined Coconut oil - great for your skin (and edible too). I add Young Living Essential Oils to coconut oil to up the benefits. 

• Lavender is incredible for skin health 
• Frankinscence is amazing for skin health and maintaining a youthful appearance!
• My favorite face cream is Lavender, Frankincense and Myrrh in unrefined coconut oil (I use morning and evening).
• I also occasionally use Young Living's Beauty serum for dry skin... it smells wonderful!

• Shampoo/Conditioner
• For babies, we've used Kidscents Bath Gel or Burt's Bees Unscented. The homemade body wash (with Gentle Baby oil) would be excellent for little ones also!
• For babies/kids, we have used California Baby shampoo & conditioner
• For kids and adults, we use Giovani Tea Tree Oil and Peppermint or Young Living's Lavender Mint or Copaiba Vanilla shampoos are excellent too!
• For truly all natural shampoo, mix baking soda with water (can add a little Melaleuca oil or other essential oil)
• For truly all natural condition, rinse hair with Apple Cider Vinegar---it will really make your hair shine!
• Soaps
• Face and body soap, Young Living Lavender Rosewood soap is part of my daily regimen and what we use on the kids at bath time.
• Hand soap, Dr. Bronner's liquid Castile soap (I fill about 1/10 of foaming hand soap bottle with soap, 8 drops of Thieves or Purification essential oil and the rest water)
• Thieves Dish Soap is incredible at cutting grease while being safe and soothing on skin

• Toothpaste - one of the worst toxins for kids and adults is fluoride. When taking toxins out of your health regime, be sure to get a toothpaste that is fluoride free (especially for kids who sometimes forget to spit it out;)
• Thieves Aromabright toothpaste is our family favorite! 
• My boys also like Young Living Kidscents Slique toothpaste, which has a citrus flavor.
• My husband like Thieves Dentarome toothpaste which targets whitening teeth.
• Sunscreen - Tru Kid Daily Suncare It is a mineral sunscreen with 20% zinc. This is such good stuff, even adults who battle skin cancer issues are asking what kind and how to get it! 
• This past summer I made an awesome homemade sunscreen with shea butter, beeswax, lavender oil, carrot seed oil, myrrh and zinc oxide powder. It worked incredibly and even my red head didn't get color!

• Lotions
• For baby, kids & adults, I make our own body butter and diaper creams. I use my Luxurious Body Butter recipe and add oils for different uses 
• Gentle Baby oil for diaper cream
• Lavender and Frankincense for a soothing hand and body butter
• Lemongrass and Cypress oil for invigorating body butter that supports the circulatory system
• Deodorant - Due to store bought antiperspirants being one of the most toxic products on the market, and the close proximity of application near lymph nodes, this was one of the first products I swapped out for "organic" many years ago. 
• Young Living's Meadow Mist Deodorant is wonderful. 
• I also make a homemade recipe with:
• 3 TBSP coconut oil
• 2 TBSP shea butter
• 3TBSP baking soda
• 2 TBSP arrowroot powder
• 10-15 drops of Purification essential oil (other oils of Lemongrass, Thieves, Lavender & Cedarwood)

• Bath salts (Epsom salt or Sea salt) - Put in our baths to detox our bodies.
• Add lavender, Stress Away, peppermint or other YL essential oil for a soothing detox bath
• Shaving Cream can be replaced with Coconut Oil - here's the "how to"
• Makeup
• I personally use Younique's BB Cream and LOVE it!!
• We love Lavender lip balm, or our own homemade recipe. 
• Here are several "Sprays" we also use and love. 

I would love to hear about your favorite body care recipes and organic products! 

Share your favorite and I'll send you a sample of one of my favorites!

Series: Our journey to "organic" living

About a year or two ago, I talked with an old college friend about wanting to switch our house, food, lives... everything, to "organic". We talked about a few ways we could make the switch, a couple different products to use, but also about the fact that this would be at least a year long process. For economic reasons (and our sanity) we couldn't quickly make the switch to organic everything for our entire family. Several of the things I wanted to accomplish in our big switch/transition was:

• to buy local/organic meat, produce and dairy, 
• get rid of processed foods, chemical colorings & flavorings and give our family REAL food that increases our health instead of causing sickness
• Get rid of the chemical and toxin laden bath & body products and use natural soaps, lotions, detergents & toiletries.
• Use natural cleaning solutions, instead of harsh chemicals with toxic fumes.
• Find natural alternatives to our medicine cabinet
• Give our kids a better and healthier start in life with the products they are exposed to and the foods they consume daily.

Making this switch all at once would be costly and overwhelming, so I took one step at a time. I'm happy to share that we have had great success in our big switch! While we haven't switched every single aspect of our lives to "organic", our family is healthier and happier with our new "organic" lifestyle!!

Several friends and acquaintances periodically message me for ideas and resources about making this switch. This blog series will take you on our journey to "organic" living and give you several helps and resources that we have found along the way.  If you're interested in getting rid of some of the toxins in your life and switching to a more organic lifestyle, I hope this blog helps! I would also love to hear feedback, tips, and resources from you!!

Stay tuned for blog posts on our transition to "organic" living in several areas: the kitchen, the bathroom, the medicine cabinet, cleaning supplies and much more!

*Disclaimer: I will link many products in this blog series. I am not receiving compensation for these posts.

A seven year old's love for the Word

I was blown away, challenged and incredibly blessed by prayer time with my boys tonight...

There were only three of us praying together, since one of the babies really needed to get to sleep. My six year old prayed, then my seven year old prayed and I finished in prayer. I noticed my seven year old, Evan, was in a different position from when we started and was laying on the ground. 

After prayer time, Evan said, "I prayed in 3 different ways." He then demonstrated

1. Standing with his hands raised

2. Kneeling with head bowed

3. Face down in prayer

I asked him where he learned those ways. He responded, "I read about it in my Bible."

1. Daniel kneeled down in prayer

2. After Moses was angry with the Israelites, he fell on his face before God

3. Paul told, I think, the Galatians to lift their hands in prayer (actually 1Timothy)

I was blown away, blessed, challenged, and thankful for the love God has given Evan for His Word! I pray God will continue to give him and his younger brothers (and me) a love and hunger for His Word! I pray God will grow our boys and use them mightily for His glory!

Snack time ideas for my house of boys!

A recent topic among several friends has been... Our kiddos are always hungry!! What are healthy foods & snacks that we can feed our growing guys throughout the day?! 

3 out of 4 boys being silly:)

As a mom to 4 growing boys, I feel like I'm constantly cooking trying to keep their bellies full! I love to cook and freezer cooking has greatly helped for dinner, and even some breakfast meals. However, prepping snacks throughout the day for these boys (one with food allergies to dairy, soy and wheat) has been a challenge!! When my older two boys were younger, they often snacked on graham crackers and goldfish. However, we now try to avoid processed food and food dyes, so I'm learning to be creative with snack time! Here are a few of our favorites...

• All of my boys LOVE my Homemade granola! They eat it plain or with milk (like cereal). My hubby and I eat granola every morning with our homemade yogurt and fruit.

• Fruits and Veggies! It seems so simple, but here are our favorites...
• Fruit salad or cut up separately (apples, oranges, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, watermelon)
• Tangerines, we call them Satsumas:)
• Carrot sticks
• Apples or bananas with peanut butter and raisins
• Peanut banana roll-up (peanut butter & banana rolled up in a tortilla, cut in slices) 
• Raisins
• Cherry tomatoes

• Natural stove popped corn. The boys love it and it fills their bellies until dinner. I've tried a fun variation of Cinnamon Glazed Popcorn that was really yummy too!

• Pink hummus is a fun snack for Valentine's Day or any day! The secret ingredient is beets:)

• Fruit smoothies are great for lunch or snack time! There are so many recipes out there, but I really stick to our favorite "shake" smoothie.

• Fruit breads: banana bread, zucchini bread, pumpkin spice bread, apple carrot muffins. I typically substitute  applesauce or coconut oil, instead of butter or vegetable oil in my breads. I also substitute oat flour or whole wheat flour in these breads and it turns out wonderfully!

• String cheese

• Boiled eggs

• Cashews, pecans

• These Homemade cereal bars are so yummy!! My boys ate these up in one day! 

• While my boys aren't crazy about these Homemade fruit snacks and Sour gummies, but I'm sure other kids would LOVE them!

• Weelicious.com is a great site with lots of kid friendly recipes.

I would love to hear snack ideas from you! 
How you feed your crew healthy snacks/meals!!

Open Adoption

Many people that know us and know about our adoption have asked or said to us, 

• "Did you really want an open adoption?" 
• "What is the difference between and open and closed adoption"
• "I think if I ever adopted, I would want a closed adoption."
• "What exactly does an open adoption look like?" 

To those who have asked... 

I am so glad you did because I enjoy getting to share about the blessing of our open adoption!

Closed adoption is history

Decades ago, closed adoptions were the norm. Adoption agencies encouraged closed adoptions and many people used to hide the fact that children were adopted. In closed adoptions, there was no shared information or history much less contact or relationship between birth parents and adoptive parents. This perspective did not take into account the possibility that birth parents still love their child, or that the child may one day want or need to know their birth parents, biological history and heritage. 

Why Open Adoption?

Thankfully adoption specialists saw the error in this thinking, and open adoption is more of the norm today. There are exceptions, where open adoption is not safe or possible (see disclaimer). Also, sometimes birth mothers choose to have a closed adoption, and then adoptive parents have no choice in the matter (except to pray for her and ask God to grow that relationship in His time). There are also some adoptive parents who think that they want a closed adoption, because they don't want to deal with uncomfortable relationships/conversations or they truly don't understand what an open adoption can mean (for all parties involved). 

Do Your Own Research

As we read many adoption books (Dear Birth Mother, The Connected Child, Whole Life Adoption Book) and had conversations about adoption, the more we realized that an open adoption is the most selfless and beneficial type of adoption for all parties (our child, the birth mother, and us). It is important for the child's well being and we want our son to know where he came from, his biological heritage, as well as our family's heritage. We want him to see who he looks like (because he looks a lot like his birth mother:), to know where he got his love for drawing and art, and to ultimately know his roots. We want him to feel free to ask questions, have correspondence with and someday meet his birth mother, while feeling our full support and encouragement in these endeavors. 

Every open adoption looks different

Many people have questions about open adoption and what that means... keep asking! We'd love to dialogue with you!! Every open adoption is different, and there are several different levels of openness which are determined by adoptive and birth parents in each situation. In open adoptions, some share only first names, some meet only once or twice before birth, others email/text back and forth, and some have ongoing person to person visits. Some open adoptions, where physical contact with a birth parent would be detrimental to child's well being (see disclaimer), may just mean sharing the story and history of their birth parents with the child in an age appropriate manner. One of the beauties of open adoption is that it can be designed to fit each family's specific desires, as well as change and grow as adoptive and birth parents get to know each other. 

Our little sweetie

Our Adoption

We are blessed with an open adoption, and have a great relationship and ministry with our son's birth mother. Our open adoption began with a lunch meeting one month before he was born. We began our emailing relationship and have continued to email and share pictures and stories back and forth. We've even created a special blog for his birth mother to follow along with his growth. His birth mother loves him very much and looks forward to seeing him someday and we hope to have a face-to-face visit with her in the future. As Timothy grows up, I'm so thankful to have a relationship with his birth mother. She is a huge part of his identity, and he looks a lot like her too! I'm thankful that we'll be able to connect him to that part of his history and heritage in the years to come.

*Disclaimer: The majority of this conversation is aimed at private adoption, where birth parents choose an adoption plan. In other adoption cases, where parental rights may have been terminated by the state for the safety of the child, open adoption is either not possible or it takes on a completely different meaning. In instances where birth parents are in prison, no longer living, reside in a foreign country, or are a threat to the child, open adoption may simply mean sharing as much as possible about the child's biological family history and adoption story in an age appropriate manner. 

I LOVE to hear adoption stories!! We are still learning and would love to hear how other adoptive parents relate to and communicate with their child's birth parent(s).