Friday, July 16, 2010

Swimming!!!




Emma's first time in the pool!














She didn't know quite what to think of it :-)









All nice and warm :-)



Monday, July 12, 2010

I love this little girl!!!

My wonderful husband showed me how to get these pictures off of my phone (which I seem to have with me more often than my camera.) I try to keep my family updated with Emma's pictures and we do most of it through texting :-) Here are some of my favorites.

Her first time in a highchair!

With Mommy at one of our conventions for CollegePlus

The most simple kitchen utensils never fail to be a baby's favorite toys :-D

First time in a grocery cart. (I need to get a cover for the cart! Thankfully I was able to strap her in so that she wasn't putting her mouth on the handlebar. Yuck!)

My little buddy!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Duggars!

Wow, what a blessing! Justin and I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. and Mrs. Duggar last night. They were speaking at Vision Forum's Baby Conference and we had the privilege of going out for supper with them and some other friends. Mr. and Mrs. Duggar's example as joyful and God-honoring parents has really been an encouragement to both Justin and I. I never thought I would get to meet them!





Friday, July 2, 2010

CollegePlus!

These pictures are from two different homeschool conventions where we represented CollegePlus. I keep forgetting to take pictures but we finally got some :-)










Sleeping beauty :-)










Down time with Daddy

























Family Fun!


I have been organizing my pictures and found these from our quick trip to Maine back in April.



Playing with Daddy on the airplane














You would think she was having fun with Auntie...

...and Uncle Levi!

Who ever thought one little girl could keep so many people entertained for so long!

Emma and her Great-Grammie Moody


Big smiles for Aunt Leigha :-)


Playing with Mammaw

Going for a walk with Auntie Ollie

Great Resource! www.vitacost.com

A dear friend and I were talking about health "stuff" this afternoon and I was telling her about this website that my mother-in-law showed me. You know, we live in a time when there are so many chemicals in our food, cleaning products, detergents, soaps, shampoos, makeup, and even toothpaste! Some folks think that it is crazy to be so concerned about this stuff but if you started researching what we are consuming and absorbing on a regular basis you might get concerned as well!

Consider the fact that once something is on your skin it only takes 15 minutes for it to be in your liver. If you are using dishwasher detergent that can kill a baby if he ingests it, cleaning products that warn you to use gloves and not get in in your eyes (and yet we breath it and touch the surfaces that have just been cleaned with it), lotions, shampoos, makeup, etc... that have all kinds of unhealthy chemicals in them, what do you think our bodies are dealing with all the time even though they are always fighting all of the germs around us?! I was in the hair salon asking them what I could use for shampoo to fight the hard water here at our apartment (because it was doing nasty things to my hair.) They recommended one product but when I looked at the back it said to apply with gloves. I just couldn't bring myself to put something on my head (which is ever so close to my brain!) that I can't touch with my hands! Call me crazy if you want, but I really think that a lot of our cancer and such these days has a great deal to do with all of the junk that we are putting on and around our bodies everyday without even thinking about it.

So over this first year and a half our our marriage Justin and I have gradually been switching over all of our soaps, shampoos, toothpaste, cleaning products, laundry detergent, and such to natural alternatives. It takes time because they are a little more expensive, but if you do it gradually and shop around you can find decent prices. I have actually found that Wal-Mart has started carrying a lot more options as well and are sometimes cheaper than the health food stores.

Anyway, this website that I have been using has great prices and is almost always cheaper, sometimes by quite a bit. I have started looking for everything that I use and have been amazed at all that I have found. So without further ado, here is the website and a list of some of the things that I have found on there. Hope this is a blessing to you!

Products I have found:
Avalon Organics (I love their shampoo! It is not as runny as a lot of natural shampoos are.)
Clean Well hand sanitizer

Giovanni (This brand seems to have the most options when it comes to hair products here are the ones that I have tried and liked: shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, hair mousse, finishing hair mist, frizz control.)
Jason
Alba
(great sunscreen and tanning lotion)
Bug spray (we use the Quantum Buzz Away)
Seventh Generation (laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, dish soap)
Tom's of Maine (deodorant, toothpaste, floss, bar soap)
Hand soap (there are lots of brands)
Baby shampoo (They have several organic options that are so much cheaper! I just bought the
Rainbow Research Baby Oh Baby® Organic Herbal Shampoo, but haven't tried it yet.)
Liquid Stevia (a natural sweetener and great in plain yogurt if you want to avoid the sugar)
Burt's Bees (I like their chapstick and lipstick)
Air Scense (natural air freshener spray)
Spry gum
(My favorite gum alternative. The only regular gum that I have found without *aspartame is bubble gum and I'm just not a big bubble gum person. With the Spry gum you are also not dealing with the sugar in your teeth. It tastes great although it doesn't last as long as regular gum.)


www.vitacost.com



* aspartame is really, REALLY bad for you. More to come later...

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Horsmans Come to Texas!




My in-laws came to visit several weeks ago when my brother-in-law Kyle graduated from ALERT, but I am just now getting the pictures up. Enjoy!


The fathers praying over their sons at the graduation

The whole family except for Jarrod, Christy's husband, who had to work. Jarrod and Christy are expecting their first child in August. We can't wait to meet the little one!

The girls :-)

A very proud Auntie Ollie

Enjoying a picnic with MamMaw. (It was a very windy day!)

You would think Emma's grandparents enjoy her!

Waiting in line for the bull ride :-)

Daddy's girl

The rodeo we went to was a lot of fun. Thank you Mom and Dad for taking us!

Girls Get-Together

A few weeks ago the guys at Justin's office had a guys' night so we had a girls' night at our apartment!

(I was taking the picture and Emma was in bed. :-)

Would a girls' night be complete without chocolate?!!!

I found this recipe online and it was absolutely delicious! Here is the link in case you want to try making it yourself.
http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/