Alpaca Day

Amy loves alpacas and has visions of turning our back pasture into an Alpaca farm ~ have you ever priced an alpaca?  And you need to get them in pairs because they are social creatures and do better with a buddy. 

We went to the Alpaca Festival on Saturday ~ here are some pictures.....

If you trace our family history back far enough ~ Dr. Doolittle has got to be in there somewhere ~ this girl LOVES animals!

I am thankful for her enthusiasm and her tender heart! 

Monday Funnies

I love "Maxine", and on pinterest this weekend I found lots of cute Maxine cartoons to share with you!  She reminds me of so many people ~

I don't think this will work with doTERRA Essential Oils!

True!  And a good helping of Common Sense!

As Amy says "whoever named these 'fun size' was crazy!

Yep!

I couldn't resist!  We get so many neat ideas and recipes off pinterest!

Happy Monday!

Jackson Family Farm ~ debut!

Here is our new home!  So far, we will be joined in this venture with 3 of our children, 6 dogs, 20 chicks, and 1 rabbit.  Lots of room for a garden, more animals, a swingset for the grands, enough land for Greg to get a tractor, and hopefully a pool one day.  All the negotiations are done, the deal is signed, closing is in 2 weeks.

front from the driveway ~ we are going to add a large deck to the front

large garage which will most likely be Gregs woodworking shop and our ceramics studio

The barn

Back of the house

side/back view ~ the opening on the bottom left is an unfinished basement room ~ may be a bunny habitat

Front yard from the driveway to the far tree line is ours,  the fence is right across the road at the neighbors house

view of the sunroom ~ the pool table, rattan furniture, and little tikes grandbaby stuff is going out there.

Our new backyard! it extends about 100 yards past the barn. The guy on the other side of the fence boards horses.

The Stage is Set

Wow, getting a house ready for staging is a lot of work.

 Greg has painted the dining room, living room and bathroom.  Then he touched up the paint in every other room.  All the paintings and pictures came down and all those holes got spackled and touched up.  The house and the pool house got pressure washed.

We've all worked on cleaning out both sections of the attic, the linen closet, kitchen cabinets, closets, etc.  Although in theory, the stuff was neatly in all those locations and now its crammed in the garage ~ weird!  Amy was my step ladder climber and cleared out the tops of the kitchen cabinets for me.

I slogged through the muddy yard and cut the grass (our curb appeal is rutted yard), James and Will worked really hard at moving my compost pile.  Whoever buys this house will have some planter boxes filled with gorgeous compost.  The lawn has been edged and weed eated.

Yesterday morning, the whole downstairs was swept, mopped, vacummed, counters cleaned off, stuff taken off coffee tables and bedside tables, and bathroom counters.  In other words....sterile, not lived in, not cozy ~ yuck!  I ran out of places to put stuff off the kitchen counters and ended up putting my utensil crock and my dish drainer in the oven.  At least it won't show in the pictures!

This was spring cleaning on Steriods!

At one the chaos began.  A few paintings hung, lamps turned on, blinds opened, and pictures taken from all angles.  By 2:15 the chaos was done.  By 2:30 we were plopped on the couch doing nothing.

Just sitting! 

The sign goes in the yard today.  I am looking forward to seeing the pictures.

Tomorrow ~ I will post a few pics of the house we are buying!

You Asked~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And what is an Easter Egger you ask?

An easter egger chicken is not any specific breed ~ to maybe its a chicken "mutt".  As the hens grow the feathers on each one will vary ~ most will average 6-7 pounds.

They will lay about 4 xtra large eggs per week ~  and the egg colors will be blue, pink, green, or multicolored.....hence the name.

I got my information for this chicken lesson from http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/Easter-Eggers-B145.aspx..

Now ya know! 

(When the co op said they were getting them, I looked them up, after I saw the egg colors I knew we needed some!)

With a Chick, Chick here & A Chick, Chick There......

Amy and I have anticipated this day for months ~ its baby chick day!  We had fun at the co op picking up our little future egg layers ~~~~~

Amy found a little set up on Pinterest using a kiddie pool for chicks.  She put up her mesh wire "fence" around it and found our chick waterer and feeder.  Everything got cleaned and set up for our new arrivals.  Greg stopped and bought us a new light to keep the little ones warm (we decided not to use the old light when sparks came out of it when Amy plugged it in!)!

We got 15 ~ every chick may just be named chick ~  maybe my grandson can come up with some chicken names for us.  We got 5 black laced gold wyandots, 5 dominques, and 5 easter eggers.  Lots of chirping going on in our garage! 

In 20-24 weeks, we start getting fresh eggs!  Yum!

So What Do You Do?

So what do you do with all those little brown bottles of essential oils once you have a "collection"?  Research, research, research.  Companies that sell in commercial stores or online have an email address you can inquire at or a phone number you can call.  Folks that blog about oils have a comments box for your questions.  Consultants that sell for companies can answer your questions (or in my case, find the answer and get back with you, but I'm learning!).

TheFamily Physician Kit that I got when I signed up came with the following oils ~ Lavender, Lemon, Peppermint, Melaleuca (tea tree oil), Frankincense, Oregano, and the oil blends Deep Blue, On Guard, Breathe, & Digestzen.

Here is just a short list of what you can use them all for ~

Lavender Essential Oil ~ All things calming
*diffuse in a room or apply topically to calm anxiety & soothe emotions
*apply topically to soothe irritated skin and lips
*massage on back or bottom of feet & apply a drop to pillow at bedtime
*apply immediately to help calm a reaction to a bee sting or bug bite

Lemon Essential Oil ~ Clean and freshen
*add a drop to honey to soothe a dry or sore throat
*diffuse in a room to neutralize odors and elevate mood
*use to clean kitchen counters and stainless steel appliances
*take internally with water as an antioxidant and detoxifier

Peppermint Essential Oil ~ Cool and invigorate
*Use with lemon in water for a healthy, refreshing mouth rinse
*inhale deeply to invigorate lungs and increase alertness
*add to water in a spray bottle and mist body when overheated
*apply to neck and forehead with lavender to calm headache

Melaleuca Essential Oil ~ First aid for the skin
*use to clean and dress minor cuts, bites, and sores
*apply to neck and forehead with lavender and peppermint to calm stress and headaches
*apply to the bottom of the feet or take internally in capsules to support immune function
*use with your favorite face moisturizer for beautiful, radiant skin
*use aromatically or topically to help lift mood and awareness

Oregano Essential Oil ~ Natural Immune Support
* take several drops in a empty gelatin capsule for periodic immune support
*dilute and apply to bottom of feet of kid and adults as a natural defense
*use internally as part of a monthly cleansing regiment for GI health

Deep Blue Soothing Blend ~ Muscle & joint support
*apply directly to tired, aching joints
*rub in muscles before and after exercise to reduce discomfort
*use with fractionated coconut oil for a therapeutic deep-tissue massage

On Guard Protective Blend ~ Natural Defense
*dilute and gargle morning and night as a protective mouth rinse
*take several drops in an empty gelatin capsule for added immune support
*dilute in a sprat bottle to clean doorknobs, telephones, and other community surfaces
*diffuse in a room to purify the air

Breathe Respiratory Blend ~ Respiratory support
*apply topically to chest and neck to promote clear breathing
*diffuse or add to humidifier at bedtime for more restful sleep
*apply to chest or bottom of feet for seasonal respiratory discomfort

Digestzen Digestive Blend ~ Digestive support
*rub on stomach to ease digestive discomfort, nausea, or motion sickness
*take internally at meal times to support healthy, comfortable digestion
*apply to the bottom of feet of children to help ease digestive issues

Note ~ do not use any essential oils or blends in eyes, ears, or nose.

Also, these are  only recommended suggestions on how to use the oils and blends ~ this is not to take the place of medical advice but simply for your information.

Our experiences with the above oils ~

I use lavender daily (actually not my favorite scent) ~ I have it in a small spray bottle diluted with distilled water on my bedside table.  Spray on the bottom of my feet when I got to bed and get a deep, restful nights sleep ~ no more Tylenol pm or melatonin.  This works for me.  The little bottle is mostly filled with water then 4-5 drops of lavender.

I use the Lemon daily ~ I drop 3-4 drops in my water glass and drink.  Yesterday I got a cool glass water bottle to use!  For me its a great diuretic.  I am still taking my prescription pill but will be asking the doctor about dropping that since I am using the other.  Lemon is also great in cleaning sprays for your home ~ nice fresh scent.

I use the peppermint ~ a drop in my hot chocolate is tasty.  Lots of folks use it in their water with lemon and I tried it several days ~ for me it gave my lips a tingly, burning feeling ~ quite unpleasant.

We have the Melaleuca in a roller bottle with other oils and distilled water to use for scrapes, bug bites, etc.

Frankincense is in a roller bottle I carry in my purse.  Through my research, I discovered that its good for dizziness symptoms.  Apply to the bone behind your ear and down the sides of your neck.  I use this for the "lightheaded symptoms", also carry my prescription pills for the more serious symptoms.

Oregano is used in our "morphine bomb" and "z pack" recipe.  We use it in a capsule with other oils ~

Deep Blue is my favorite ~ not only does is work well for aching muscles and joints, it smells awesome.  The oil came in the kit but we also sell a lotion.  After a minute or two on the skin, it has a warming effective.

We don't have a lot of experience yet with the On Guard or the Digestzen but we are working on it.  We did use the on guard in a capsule for Amy to take after she spent the night with some friends of ours (their daddy was sick), I am also going to use it in a foaming hand soap and homemade laundry detergent (we have a concentrated liquid version also).

Almost forgot about Breathe ~ I've been using this to help with seasonal allergies (yay! its springtime!)....one drop on the bottom of each foot...within a minute I can smell it.  It is helping me with the seasonal stuffiness.  Last night I put a couple of drops in my spray bottle with the lavender ~ slept all night and woke up unstuffy.

Trivia.....why put on the bottom of your feet?  One drop of essential oil can nourish every cell in your body.  From the bottom of your feet it enters your blood stream within 30 seconds.

For any of these oils you can visit my online store at ~ http://www.mydoterra.com/donnajackson3/.

Whats on My Kindle

I found the following books yesterday on Amazon.  We've got the Amazon Prime deal that's $10 a month, and you can check out as many books as you want in a month ~ up to 10 at a time.  And a multibook set offered together counts as 1 book!

Now to get to reading ~ got a little farm on my mind!

 

 

 

 

Then on Pinterest I found the following link to a free online magazine ~

http://www.fromscratchmag.com/from-scratch-magazine-junejuly-edition/

 



The Bomb ~ Essential Oils

Sunday and yesterday, I had a lot of hip pain (osteoarthritis).  Sitting, laying, almost any position ~ standing wasn't horrible.  I can only guess that this flared up from sitting on the floor playing my with grandbabies on Friday and Saturday.  This MaMa is gonna have to find a low chair to sit in.

I thought about just taking some Aleeve which I've done before.  But then I decided to try the "Morphine Bomb" that I had heard and read about through the essential oils classes I've taken and the facebook boards I'm on and the pins I've got on pinterest.

And then I discovered my flawed plan, while I had read and heard about it ~ I never saved the information and I couldn't find it.  I went on one of the fb boards and asked for the "recipe" and was quickly answered.  The best thing ~ I had all the oils that could be used for this.  So here it is ~~~~~

Morphine Bomb

3-5 drops Oregano Essential Oil (or could use marjoram essential oil)
3-5 drops Lemongrass Essential Oil
3-5 drops Frankincense Essential Oil

Place the drops in an empty vegetable capsule and take with a glass of water.

After the first capsule I took, I could tell a difference in how I was feeling.  In total, I took 3 capsules during the day, the last one being at night.  Before bedtime, I also rubbed some Deep Blue on my hip and leg.  It all worked!  I slept all night and woke up pain free!  Oh, I used 4 drops of each oil in the capsule each time.

Here is the link to my online Essential Oils store ~
http://www.mydoterra.com/donnajackson3/

Its awesome to have a natural alternative to modern medicine.  I am very thankful for the opportunities to learn and try ~ especially with success!

Today

After the last couple of dreary, rainy cold weeks ~~~~~ today is a blessing.   It is truly a beautiful day made by our loving Heavenly Father.

I am very thankful for the beautiful weather, the warm temperatures and the trees starting to bud/bloom.

Here is one of our peach trees, showing off their blooms ~

Funtimes with Grandsons!

I was really trying to get an updated sweet, smiling picture of our 3 little monkeys -  I had to take what I could snap quickly, there was just too much to do, explore and play with.

Adorable Monkeys

Our sweet #1 grandson 

Happy #2 grandson!

Sweet, teething #3 grandson ~ chewing on a ball his daddy used to play with

time to escape!

Yummy cereal and green beans for dinner!

Brothers

Sweet is over ~ now to escap

new train!

Thomas gets a train too!

Muffin Man face....he loved Granny's sausage, cheese muffins!

Aiden & my nieces puppy ~ all was good till he pulled the puppys whiskers

So I didn't get the perfect picture ~ you know, the one of all 3 of them sweetly smiling like on the blog header.  But I got some good ones.  It is not easy to coordinate the "smile at the same time" picture with a 6 month old, 13 month old, and 2 1/2 year old.  It will be great to find out next month if #4 grandbaby is another boy or the first little princess.  We had a fun weekend playing at granny's house, eating yummy food, walking around our new property for the inspection, going to my nieces baby shower and eating barbeque at Sonny's.  Living closer to them all is going to be a dream come true!