Update!

Quick update on some of the things we have been up to. It will hopefully be brief since there is a lot of stuff.

First here are some pics from Little H's actual eye surgery. This was where they went in and reattached the retina.

Here's a pic from our Christmas trip down south.

A pic from the boys Great Grandma A's funeral.

We celebrated Mother's Day.

We went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point.

Celebrated Grandpa A's birthday.

Little M got stitches. A first for this family of four rowdy boys.

We took the boys up for Day Out With Thomas only to find it wasn't happening this year. They had fun seeing the trains though.

The twins graduated from preschool.

We went to the memorial ride for Great Grandpa Guthrie.

We took the kids up the canyon for a small dinner camp outing. They were so excited about it. They wanted to stay and build a fire. They even started gathering firewood and Big H kept telling us we just need to hit two rocks together to start it. We'll  have to take them camping sometime.

And Big H FINALLY caught some caterpillar. . .and then let them go. We tried to find some new ones, but they were not the easiest caterpillar's to see.

Big H had a small dance performance. I didn't think we could make it but he was so excited to go we rushed up there. Then he just froze on the stage. Little H kept saying, "Ugh! He didn't do a good job!" I tried explaining how we should handle the situation, but he still went right up to Big H and said, "You didn't do a good job." Big H was excited about it though. 

We also enjoyed one of the warmest Memorial Days we've had in a long time. We all got terribly sunburned though.

On Memorial Day we also hunted caterpillar's in the park. Big H was very insistent on finding one. Which is why I was shocked when we finally found some and he let them go.

Thanks to their Uncle Brady, Aunt Jessica and Grandpa and Grandma A the boys finally got to movie into their new bedroom.

They love their super hero lair.

Farmall Boy. They fight over this tractor non-stop.

We enjoyed Art City Days a little this year. I took the kids to the carnival. Baby S rode his first Carnival ride. 

We also enjoyed The Fireman's Breakfast.

And we enjoyed fireworks later that night.

The ducks and the chickens are now out in the yard, and eating a ton of food. Sadly we are down to one duck.

This yellow duckling got stepped on, and died  shortly after.

So we bought this duck (the bigger one).

The little duck stayed pretty small even though it grew. One day it got injured and couldn't walk or swim right. I rubbed some Dr. Christopher's Bone and Tissue on him and she started to walk again, but would still trip and stumble a lot. She could swim, but I don't think she could get out of her pool. One day when I refilled the pool the boys threw her in. I should have checked to make sure she got out, but I didn't. Little M found her dead. I felt so bad. Now we have one duck. Duck's don't do well on their own, but I don't think I can handle raising any baby birds right now. So we'll see if we can find a duck to be a companion to ours. 

I think that about covers what we have been up to. That is all aside from all the craziness of normal everyday life. 

Some Essential Oil Info

While I am supposed to be reading and researching for homework I am instead reading about essential oils. I blame the friend that asked if there was anything to helped with plugged up ears j/k ;)-- by the way the book recommends Helichrysum, Purify, etc. and one recommendation is Balance which I'm sort of feeling would be a good place to start. 

I got all of this info from Modern Essentials Usage Guide.

Here is a list of oils to keep on hand for emergencies.

Clove:
For topical pain relief and pulling toxins from the body. Good for acne, constipation, headaches, nausea and toothaches

Frankincense:
Enhances effect of other oils. Helps with clarity of the mind, focus and concentration. And helps with all skin recovery issues. Also helps keep scar tissue from forming. Reduces physical and mental fatigue and it helps with anxiety, hyperactivity, impatience, irritability and restlessness.

Lavender:
Use for pretty much everything. No really, when in doubt try some Lavender. But what it has listed here is that is helps with agitation, bruises and burns. And the list goes on. . . .leg cramps, heart irregularities, hives, insect bites, neuropathy pain, pain inside and out, bee stings, sprains, sunburn, sunstroke, insomnia, depression, PMS and it's a natural antihistamine. PHEW! And I bet there is even more uses than that. Go get yourself some Lavender right now, or just ask me to order you some

Lemon:
 Arthritis, colds, constipation, coughs, cuts, sluggishness, sore throats, sunburn and wounds. Lifts the spirit and reduces stress and fatigue. Counteracts acidity, calms an upset stomach and helps with elimination. 

Lemongrass:
 Good for sore muscles, cramps and charley horses. Apply to bottoms of feet to warm them in the winter.

Melaleuca:
Another awesome oil that has a ton of uses. Some of those being bug bites, colds, coughs, deoderant, eczema, fungus, infections, microbes, psoriasis, rough hands, sliver(combine with clove to draw them out), sore throats and wounds.

Oregano:
Heavy duty antibiotic (take internally or put on the bottoms of feet). Also good for fungal infections and for reducing pain and inflammation of arthritis, backache, bursitis, carpel tunnel syndrome, rheumatism and sciatica. There is a note at the end that says, "Always dilute".

Peppermint:
Good for topical pain relief. Good for circulation, fever, headaches, indigestion, motion sickness, nausea, nerve problems and vomiting. 

AromaTouch:
Anti-inflammatory, stress relief and relaxation. 

Breathe:
Allergies, asthma, anxiety, bronchitis, congestion, colds, coughs, flu and respiratory distress.

Deep Blue:
Pain relief. Bruises, arthritis, carpel tunnel, headaches, inflammation, joint pain, migraines, muscle pain, sprains and rheumatism. 

DigestZen:
For all digestion issues. Also works on diaper rash.

On Guard:
Disinfectant. Eliminates mold and viruses and helps boost immune system. 

Purify:
Helps with airborne pathogens, cuts, germs, insect bites, itches and wounds. Also helps boost the immune system. 

TerraShield: 
Deters all flying insects and ticks from humans and pets. 

Even if you don't want to use oils here and now, and prefer to use modern medicine I would still highly recommend stocking up on some of these oils. All of these oils will last longer than you will, aside from lemon because citrus oils don't last like the other oils do. Modern medicine is awesome, but someday these may be all you have, and it would be better than nothing. :)

And now the next section still taken from the same book.

How Essential Oils Affect the Brain.

According to the American Medical Association if you could find an agent that would pass the blood-brain barrier(membrane between the circulating blood and the brain that prevents damaging substances from reaching brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid) they would be able to cure Alzheimer's disease, Lou Gherig's disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.A a category of chemical constituents known as sesquiterpenes are known to go beyond the blood-brain barrier. These sesquiterpenes can be found in essential oils like frankincense and sandalwood.

Sesquiterpenes als help increase oxygen to the limbic system of the brain, particularly around the pineal and pituitary glands. This leads to an increase in secretions of antibodies, endorphins and neurotransmitters.   

Also in the limbic system of the brain is a gland called the amygdala. This gland is said to play a major role in storing and releasing emotional trauma. The only way to stimulate this gland is with fragrance or sense of smell. This means that essential oils are a powerful key to help unlock and release emotional trauma.

The more I study the more I am fascinated by how our emotional self and physical self are so greatly tied together. I would even say spirituality is tied in as well. Being emotionally and spiritually healthy can be aided by being physically healthy. And being in poor emotional health can cause poor physical health as well. Emotional health can be aided by physical things like oils that help with brain function. It sort of blows my mind, but the more I study the more I believe it's true.

Double the Boys Double the Birthdays

The twins birthday crept up on us this year. It actually fell on the day that we planned to leave for Vegas. I asked Craig's sister-in-law if they wanted to celebrate their birthday with us, and she offered to have a hot dog dinner, and s'mores at her house. She even put it all together.

We just brought the cupcakes.

I was so thankful for all she did! The boys loved it!

Got to love Baby S's s'more bum.

And their cousins gave them kites, and other fun toys. They were so excited to fly those kites, and luckily Henderson was windy enough for kite flying.

Then there was poor Little H's crash on the side walk. He was so upset at everything! I think his head really hurt.

When we got back from Vegas we had a small party with my parents, and my brothers fam. We finally gave the kids their gifts from us. They were so excited! A Bat Cave and Superman play set, and new cape shirts.

Then we sang Happy Birthday!

My mom then brought down the present she bought.  They had said they wanted transformers, a Batman robot and a Spiderman robot. The were pretty happy with what she found.

The big robots walk and talk and make all kinds of noises. One of the phrases they say sounds like, "I HATE THE DISHES!" Craig says they are saying, "I'M IN POSITION!" But I'm still sure it's, "I hate the dishes!" That sounds more like something a robot would say don't you think ;)? Or maybe I just enjoy getting some empathy from pushing a button. "Me too, robot man! Me too!"

The boys also got some money and cards from their Grandpa and Grandma Stratton. They were thrilled. Little H went on and on about the kitty card from Grandma. He loved it!

They also celebrated their birthdays at preschool.

I wanted to fill this with a lot of pictures, but I had to shut the computer down about 10 times just to try and get to this point. The program doesn't like to load the big picture files, and it kept freezing. I was also going to send it to be printed, but I put it off till the night before, and we ended up just printing it off at home (I was hoping I could whip it up fast and get it printed that night, but 10 shut downs later I realized that wasn't going to happen).

They also got a treat from The Bishop in Primary.

It was a pretty special birthday for some pretty special boys!