Almost Done!

The rooms and furniture are done!!! All that's left is a few more bags of clothes to run through the dryer to kill any eggs if they happened to get there...and then put it all back. I have been enjoying getting closets organized and will post a few pics :) Above is when we dumped everything into trash bags, clothes, towels, bedding, everything! We were so blessed to have help in the drying and folding process. It's alot when you do everything at once!

We have spent two nights now back in our room! We were able to purchase a new mattress and boxspring thanks to my parents :) Even though we had fun "camping out" moving our sleeping spot a few times around the house, it is nice to be back in our cozy room. It's still under a heap of stuff but hopefully today it will be put back.

Camping out in the guest room

A beautiful sight- Andrew arriving home with the new mattress

Getting Organized!

Fresh Air

While the babe was napping, Weston and I gave the front of the house some TLC since it has been neglected during this debugging process. We trimmed plants, got rid of extra pots and not so pretty plants that had been hanging around and then gave everything a hose down...Weston's fav part of course! In a few more days we should be ready again to have folks over!

Let it snow!

The bug killer came in the form of a fine white powder that needs to applied to all surfaces- let's just say this is pretty interesting! I'm a girl who likes a clean floor so this is really throwing me off :) I pray and pray it works like it says it does and is worth the mess. If this happens again I may just go with the chemical sprays and call it a day!! Weston however loves the mess and Gabe is unaffected as usual by all the chaos around him.

Thank you so much for those who have been praying for us and to those who have stepped in and lent us a hand when we were beginning to think that we couldn't do this! We are so touched by these folks- students too from High School! Amazing hard workers...showing us a picture of the gospel in a sacrifice of love for us. So kind. The helping hands took days of work off of me and I am truly grateful! We still have a few more days- maybe a week, but I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel! I am having fun getting really organized again and moving things around to better suit our needs now that we have been in the house a few months and know how we use the spaces...so making things clean and more functional! Yay

These floors used to be dark brown and shiny :)

The toy shelf now has a basket designated for each kind of toy :) Inspired from a few really organized friends! ( Carly and Deidre)

The sweetest little bug I have ever seen!

2 Rooms Bug Free & a Lesson for Me

Proverbs 16:9

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

The lesson I am learning now is that I may have planned what the next few weeks were going to be like, but all that has to change and that's ok! I was hoping to decorate for fall, go to a wedding, be really involved in a Bible study retreat, visit a friend, clean out the garage since the house was finally cleaned and organized ( ha!) and finish a few DIY fun projects I have waiting and can't wait to get my hands on! BUT.....God has other plans for us and that is OK!

In Bible study yesterday morning we learned that the Thessalonians had joy despite severe persecution- so convicting! Especially when I got home and had a little breakdown of tears being simply overwhelmed at the prospect of cleaning every inch of this place, while caring for the boys. Our High School Bible study was so sweet to move the location from our house to the Brannons home to give us another night to clean last night and we have enlisted the help of a couple students for tonight since I simply can't tackle this thing by myself and was trying to be super woman!

So the progress thus far : more headway in our room, all boys toys cleaned with alcohol and the family room has been sanitized! That involved vacuuming and steaming every inch of the couches and chairs in there, taking apart book shelves and spraying them, spraying base boards and wall, curtains, blinds and throwing the pillows in the dryer for 20 min to kill anything that may be on them. YAY!

One room bug free

The guest room is officially the room that is the "safe" room ( hopefully!) after much work and can be the house of all our belongings that get cleaned over the next few days.

-I removed all the bedding and re- examined the trundle bed mattresses and am pretty sure that they are just fine. Whew! But just to make sure I de- bugged anyway. So I threw all the clean bedding in the dryer with lavender sachets from Trader Joes and steam cleaned the mattresses with the steamer I got today.

- I moved all the furniture and stuff out of the bottom of the closet and vacuumed the room and closet and then sprayed the surfaces with Meyer's lavender cleaner that I got today as well as new pillows.

-I wiped the bedframe down also with the cleaner as well as the chair and table that were in the room. Since the cleaner has lavender oil it stays on the surfaces hopefully deterring any stragglers from venturing further.

- When Andrew came home he took a load to the dry cleaners that I couldn't wash without ruining ( our new bedspread and the boys crib bumpers, etc)

The room is sparkling clean and smells awesome...a positive side to all of this is that my house will be cleaner than ever and full of the smell of lavender which we love here :) I also have been saving a ton of Bed Bath and Beyond coupons for about a year now and was able to purchase everything with a coupon which was great too.

Until tomorrow...

Rich Little Buggers: Bed Bugs

Well these bugs would be rich if they got all the money they will be costing us to get rid of them...Yes we have bed bugs! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Can you hear my scream??? This is going to be quite the adventure so I thought I should document it as we go. It will be the biggest and most consuming project I have done to date and am learning a ton already. I won't give you all the details, you can look online yourself to learn all about these horrid creatures if you desire. But I have been getting weird bites for the last couple months thinking they were from outside, playing in the yard with the boys. But after looking online two days ago to see if my friend's mysterious rash was from bed bugs, I discovered that I had bed bug bites, ran to the bedroom and sure enough the evidence was there. Little tiny "rust" stains on our bed and boxspring, evidence they had found a happy home! We probably picked them up from our traveling adventures this summer. So Gross!

Step 1. Get the mattress to the curb! Yes, we have to buy a new mattress and box spring $$$$

Step 2. Today I will be removing ALL the clothing from our bedroom, dressers, closet etc and rewashing it all and moving it to a room that is bug free until our room is completely de-bugged

Step 3. Order all natural killing product from Dirtworks.com and anxiously await it's arrival

Step 4. Head to Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase a hand steamer, new pillows and lavender cleaning products. ( bed bugs hate heat and lavender) I need to steam all couches, chairs and carpets and spray the cabinets and closets, drawers, floors etc with lavender essential oils.

So that's today's jobs!! Stay tuned....

Recently Heard....

I haven't been very good at writing down all the funny things that Weston says....and now he is getting better at saying things the right way which is great but also sad at the same time to see my baby growing up so fast! So I thought I would write down a few of the baby phrases he is saying these days: I will put what he says first and then the proper translation :)

earial gulk = cereal with milk

num num num nums = M & M's

I hoke u mama = hold me mamma

peas I hep u = please help me

duu beee = excuse me

boopa = grandpa

I wuv wee = I love you

dis one dat one = I want that one

And lately he has been confessing his guilty conscience which is great!

After telling him not to bring his bubble blower fan(which he calls an airplane) in the house he reports to me..." Mama air pane house" in a tattle voice tattling on himself. And then yesterday I heard Gabe cry and I came in the room and Weston says, " Bubba kick brother" while pointing to his shoe...Poor Gabe. He will be old enough to kick back soon and Weston better watch out!

But our favorite thing these days that he is doing is that he will say thank you and I love you on his own without being prompted sometimes which just melts our hearts because we know it is sincere. I handed him his snack yesterday and he looks up at me with a smile and says "Gank Gu mama!" Aww I just love this kid!

God is in Charge - a message of comfort from Daniel

I found it so interesting that our president chose to read from scripture as he addressed the nation on the anniversary of 9/11. For all the efforts he has made to be "spiritually neutral" (which isn't possible) he made a clear statement to me, anyway, that when it comes down to it the only source of true comfort and truth is found in pages of God's Word- the Bible.

The Bible is timeless even though it was written long ago and is able to meet us where we are today. We saw this on Sunday as one of our pastors, Nathan Busenitz, preached a message to comfort us as we remembered 9/11.

1. God is sovereign over foreign attack

Dan. 1:1-2

2. God is sovereign over future events

Dan. 2:20-21 "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding."

3. God is sovereign over fiery persecution

Dan. 3: 16-18

4. God is sovereign over federal government

Dan. 4-5

5. God is sovereign over the forces of nature

Dan. 6:22, 24

Even though tragedies happen, nations rise and fall, we can have hope because one day the Lord is coming again to make it all right.

Dan 7:14 " And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."

And then I read another comforting passage this morning in James. God is in control and everything happens in this world for a reason even when we don't understand- but God understands it all...and blessed are those who suffer and endure.

James 5: 10-11 " As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. "

10 months already!

Chicken Lentil Soup

I know it's not quite soup weather, being the 3rd day in a row over 100 degrees, but I'm excited for it! This turned out super yummy and I had it a few days in a row for lunch.

1/2 onion chopped

2 carrots diced

3 cloves garlic minced

3 cups chicken stock

2 cups water

1 bunch spinach chopped

1 cup chopped rotisserie chicken

1 cup or so dried lentils

Place lentils in a large pot and cover with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Cook until lentils are almost tender. While lentils cook, in a saute pan with olive oil cook up the onions, garlic and carrots until onions are tender, about 5 min. Once lentils are tender add the onion mixture to the pot as well as the remaining ingredients. Simmer 30 minutes and you are done! Season to taste and enjoy :)

Homeopathy...heard of it?

I hadn't until recently and I must say that I am a believer in this alternative to conventional medicine now! Don't get me wrong, I am not abandoning doctor's appointments and (gasp) I will continue to have my kids get their vaccinations, but I am so thrilled that there is another way when things don't seem quite right with the MD's prescription or diagnosis.

Here are a few examples in our family of conventional medicine failing us :)

A little under 2 years ago I decided to get some dizziness checked out with my general doctor. I was not impressed. She barely listened to me for less than 5 minutes before she was writing up a prescription for me. I had Weston with me ( about 2 months old) and he was the main source of the doctor's attention. I don't blame her, he was pretty cute! But she had me out the door in no time. As I was leaving I asked is this medication safe while breastfeeding??? Her face dropped and she gasped NO! "Your baby would be sleepy and lethargic if you took this"! UH....ok. Good thing I asked right?! So a long story short, I had a battery of tests and no answers...

Our niece Ava was getting sick every three weeks and the doctors didn't know why...

After having Gabe I had a few issues from the pregnancy that wouldn't go away ( sparing the details here)...

And then just recently Gabe has had a " mystery" cough since June that is thick and horrible, that makes him gag and throw up and choke at night. The pediatrician (who we LOVE) put him on two inhalers for a month to experiment and see if it helped and that he maybe has asthma...

Back at Christmastime, we went for the first time to a homeopathic doctor in Livermore, CA after hearing great things from Andrew's mom and sister who had been greatly helped by homeopathy. I was ready to try something different. It was a little weird at first but I liked his whole body approach and all natural remedies. I was tested for food allergies and other things and he and his nurse listened to me for over an hour!!! Everything just made sense that they said...common sense.

When I follow the diet that is better for me my dizziness is much better and within 2 days of taking the remedy for my post pregnancy issue it was gone! I was shocked! After months of pain, it was gone and naturally too!

Our niece tested for a milk allergy and she no longer gets sick every three weeks!

And as for Gabe- We just took him to the homeopath on our last trip up north( 2 weeks ago) and he also tested for a milk allergy. In June I started supplementing breast feeding with milk based formula- hence the coughing! Makes so much sense! They said the inhalers are horrible for his little lungs, full of steroids and chemicals, and he doesn't even need them. They said within two weeks of no formula his cough should go away. He hasn't coughed in days! I now give him rice milk and a calcium supplement. He is eating all the food groups now so he doesn't need the formula anyway. I am also giving him flax oil to make up for the lost fat and calories that would be in the formula.

I would encourage everyone to give homeopathy a try! It looks at the whole body and the lifestyle instead of putting a bandaid on a specific issue. I just chatted with Dr. Bobritsky the other day and he told me a story of a mom who brought her baby in with seizures. The baby was on seizure medication and it still wasn't helping and the baby was only 3 months old...so sad. He looked at the baby for a few minutes and could tell right away that the baby was dehydrated. Within two days of giving the baby water as well as breastfeeding the seizures stopped! When Gabe was just born he also told me to give him water..Gabe went from pooping every 2-4 of days ( which made me nervous) to every day and sometimes twice a day! My doctor said not to give your newborn water. So interesting!

Anyways- thx for reading my findings. I think it's so interesting and wonderful! Thanks to my mom-in-law for getting us hooked!