Introduction to Essential Oils

A Story of My Introduction to Essential Oils

I was in my third trimester of my first pregnancy when I was first introduced to essential oils. I was having this strange hot pain in my throat that I didn't know how to deal with. Yep, you guessed it. I was having heartburn for the very first time in my life. I had never had indigestion before so I had no idea what this fire-y pain deep in my throat was. A friend of mine asked if I was open to trying essential oils for that and to help me sleep better and brought me some samples. I ended up using them and then forgetting about them for awhile.

Fast forward a few years, and my interest in natural remedies had skyrocketed. I became concerned about eating foods that are so processed, using antibiotics so much, and popping pills for anything and everything. I also became a full fledged germ-o-phobe. I hate to throw up (I actually have a fear about having to throw up) and I also haaaate when my boys are sick. So, I did some research, bought some apple cider vinegar and grapefruit seed extract, and decided to try essential oils again (so crunchy and hippie I know). I went to a specialty vitamin store and bought essential oils to blend together to use.

It worked. Not just once, or twice, but several times over a period of 4-5 months. Each time, the boys would start to get sick, and I used the oils, Brandon and I would say that maybe it was a coincidence and not really a bad cold since they immediately got better. After around the 6th or 7th time of our boys NOT getting sick when they were STARTING to get sick, we tentatively said we thought the essential oils worked. By this time, I was also diffusing lavender essential oil every night before bed to help promote good sleep.

I branched out and tried a few other oils to help with other things and by this time, I'm hooked. We've been at the pediatrician's office much less than previous winters, and you know with 2 toddlers that is a feat in itself.

So far I've used essential oils to help with sleep, anxiety, allergies, stomachaches, headaches, rashes, cough and congestion, energy, Brandon's tummy troubles, to boost our immune systems, and to take the burn out of a burn. I'll be sure to write a separate post with how we dealt with the stomach bug using essential oils, too. We mostly use essential oils topically (usually diluted with a carrier oil like coconut oil or olive oil) or by putting them in our diffuser.  The kind of essential oils I use can be also ingested because they are therapeutic grade, but not all essential oils are created equal and I do not recommend ingesting just any oils. I decided to go with that brand of essential oils because they are certified therapeutic grade and in my research thought they were the best fit for me. Plus, I like that I can earn rewards to use and get free oils, plus earn commission.

Because we have seen such positive results from using essential oils, I've been able to help many of my friends with health concerns or other issues they are facing and would love to help you too. If you purchase essential oils from my site (contact me to get the link), I will receive a small commission, and it will go to help my family. I appreciate each and every one of you who have (and will in the future) help support us! Plus, I can't wait to help you change your medicine cabinet and see how natural remedies like essential oils can help your family too.

If you liked this introduction to essential oils, and would like to know more, please feel free to contact me and I will be happy to help get you started or answer questions. Plus, if you sign up under me, you can start earning commission too and be eligible for rewards on every purchase! Just ask me how.

And So It Begins...

Today is the first day of the rest of our lives... with Humira, that is.

We received word late last week that our insurance company had approved the Humira injections for Brandon! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!

Just to recap, or in case you missed it, these injections cost $6,000 to start, and the monthly maintenance dosage cost is $2,000, so for insurance to approve this and help with the cost is amazing and SO very very needed!

For the last 2 weeks, we have prayed diligently over Brandon and the decisions we've needed to make regarding this medication. As with any medication, there are side effects. We are primarily concerned about the side effect of Lymphoma and any side effects with regards to fertility in the future. Let me state right now, NO we are not trying to get pregnant right now. However, we have decided that we may want to try for a third child at some point in the future (the distant future as Brandon calls it ;) ). With that being said, those are serious concerns for us. Brandon's doctor immediately called out the fact that there is an increased chance that he could develop Lymphoma, which is a type of cancer. The "c" word scares me, and I really don't want to even think about this part of the whole deal. (If I ignore it, it will go away, right?!) We also don't know how the Humira could affect our trying to conceive another baby one day, or if there could be birth defects that result. The other factor to all of this is that his body could potentially not respond to the medication and we would be back at square one.

Despite these concerns, Brandon has felt a peace about beginning this medication. He is trusting in the wisdom of his medical team and that the Lord holds his future. We may not know what tomorrow looks like, but we know with certainty that the Lord our God is the perfect author of our story. He has written the beautiful pages of our lives and continues to create a most complicated and precious storyline that is one we hope to look back on and be proud of.

Today we received 6 pens of Humira on dry ice on our front doorstep. We were both giddy and a little sweaty-palmed as we opened the contents of what feels like the fate of our future. So today, we decide to document our experience and show the very real side of what life will be like in this home. Brandon will begin his onboarding of Humira with 4 injections today, and will continue with 2 more in 2 weeks and one injection every 2 weeks for the rest of his life. If that sounds as scary as it feels while I'm typing it, it is. While we may view Humira as our lifeline to normalcy and a life without pain and discomfort it is only because it is the object of our attention, and we know that our true hope is in Christ Jesus and that He holds us and loves us through every step.

Enjoy our very first VLOG (that would be a VIDEO blog :) and just a word of caution, it may not be suitable if you're squeamish around needles!):

A Day of Hospital Tests and Just As Many Questions As Answers

As most of you know from reading this, today Brandon had an MRI at UNC Hospitals. He was scheduled to have an MRI at 9:00am and then see his doctor immediately following.  I could tell he was nervous and got up bright and early to get to work before he had to be at the hospital. He told me this morning that his main concern about the MRI was having to drink contrast, because it causes major discomfort in his abdomen, and plus it tastes disgusting. Well, he ended up having to drink the contrast not once, but TWICE, because it wasn't showing up clearly enough on the scan.

MAJOR BUMMER.

I told him "you can do anything for a short amount of time" because that's what my mama always told me growing up anytime I had to do something difficult or uncomfortable.

After the MRI, Brandon went right to clinic and was seen by his doctor. There he was told that most likely he would have surgery on Monday, and then he was whisked away for bloodwork, and back to the clinic.

Yes, our hearts stopped...

It turns out that we have good news and bad news.

The good news is that Brandon doesn't have to have surgery (today, at least) after review of the MRI, or an abdominal stent put in (think balloon heart catheter, but for your intestines).

The bad news is that Brandon has a very aggressive form of Crohn's disease and his MRI showed that his intestines are highly inflamed. The doctor said that about 20% of Crohn's patients have his type of Crohn's disease: Stricturing Crohns, which basically means his intestines are constantly inflaming and forming scar tissue.

If you're following along, you're probably putting 2 and 2 together. Brandon has a flare up, scar tissue forms, repeat repeat repeat, Brandon has surgery, Brandon has flare up, scar tissue forms, repeat repeat repeat, until when? Until he has nothing left? Until he's been cut open more times that we can count?

So what's the plan?

The plan is to immediately begin a steroid regimen to try and decrease the inflammation. Long-term, the plan is to have Humira injections multiple times a month. The nurse is working on getting insurance approval for this therapy though, because initial injection costs are $6,000 and regular monthly maintenance costs are $2,000. We are praying that insurance will pay the majority of this cost, because once Brandon begins this kind of therapy, he can't stop it and begin it again because his body will develop antibodies to it and it will be ineffective.

This worries me. There are only a handful of drugs out there that will work with this kind of condition. And there is a 50% success rate with each one. And even if one of these drugs works for him, there are lots of side effects.

We are swimming in information from today. It seems like so much to know all at once, and we want to make the right decisions, not just for right now, but for long term. We have so many questions about how to manage this condition and what is best for Brandon. Please pray with us over several things:

For complete healing... but if not...

That the inflammation would go down with the course of steroids and that no further intervention is needed to get over this flare.

That the insurance would cover the cost of the injections.

That his body would respond positively to the injections and the other medication he will be put on.

That he would suffer no side effects.

We are so thankful that we have such an army of prayerful friends who are joining us and lifting us up. We are surrounded by friends and family who have shown us love and concern and have kept encouraging us all day long. My phone battery is dead already because of all the messages I received constantly all day. You all are the best. We love you so much! You don't know just how much your kind words mean to us.

We want Christ to be glorified through our lives and how we respond during trials like this one. We are grateful, desperately grateful, for His grace and mercy because though the last year has been nothing like we ever imagined, we are far more blessed than we even know. We sat at home tonight and soaked up our beautiful family. We can only hope and pray that God is using this to mold us to do great things for His glory and that others may come to know the source of our strength, for we are not along.

I was reminded today of that beautiful promise when I heard a certain song on the radio and thought of this verse:

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

A Fairytale Wedding + A Crohn's Update & Prayer Request

I've struggled for awhile with what to blog about, so that's why my posts have been scarce since Brandon's hospitalization. It feels like every time I want to sit down and start a new post, I can't quite seem to come up with the words.

I guess I'll just dive right in this time so I won't have time to think about it.

This past Saturday, Brandon's brother Brad got married. Last week was an exciting week because it was spent...

Putting last minute touches on Jessica's garters that I was making:

Finishing up sewing the boys' bowties:

Completing the burlap ring bearer pillow I made for Paxton to carry (picture to come later), getting pedicures with the bridal party...

Going to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner:

And of course anticipating the big day on Saturday. Brandon was going to play golf with the groom and other groomsmen Saturday morning and I was going to spend my *birthday* morning (yep! My birthday was on Saturday, the day of the wedding!) with the boys and waiting for my mom and Deryl to arrive.

All was going great (wedding crafts completed - check! pedicure - check! rehearsal - check! golfing - check!) and the boys decided they wanted to treat mommy to a pancake breakfast :)

Around lunchtime, Mom and Deryl arrived and took the boys and I out for lunch and when we got back home, the plan was for me to change into my dress, doublecheck we had everything we needed for the wedding, and leave in time to get pictures with the bride and bridal party before the wedding.

Here's my opportunity to use that creepy line in suspense novels...

Then the phone rang...

Yeah, I did it. I said the creepy suspense novel line. Whatever. But seriously, the phone rang.

Anyway, Brandon called and I immediately knew something was wrong. He, in a very strained voice, asked if I had left yet because if I hadn't, I needed to come pick him up ASAP. He was having severe pain - hospital level pain - and wasn't sure he was going to be able to get out of the bathroom without help, let alone stand alongside his brother at the wedding later.

This wasn't the plan. The plan was to meet at the wedding, have a glorious time celebrating 2 people we love so dearly and for everything to go smoothly. The plan was to dance the night away, eat wedding/birthday cake, and cry happy tears at how great mushy-gushy love stories are.

The plan was for life to be normal after surgery... The plan was to have a bit of a BREAK after mountains of medical debt, months of turmoil, and years of pain...

But instead, I found myself throwing clothes in a hospital bag in my floor-length dress I had already changed into, grabbing phone chargers and socks for just in case, and barreling down I-40 to get to my husband as quickly as possible.

In the span of less than an hour, I had made arrangements for Paxton to get to the wedding (you know, just in case Brandon and I were stuck in the ER somewhere), packed a hospital bag, and talked with him several times to check on him before I got there. On the way to drop Paxton off with Cole (thanks Uncle Cole!!!), Paxton sensed something was wrong and immediately told me that we should pray for daddy's tummy:

"Dear God, can you please help my daddy's tummy feel better? He's real sick and me and mommy are worried about him. If you could help his tummy feel better and help us get a great night's sleep, thanks! Amen!" (He always prays that we'll get a great night's sleep... guess we pray about that a lot!)

Brandon was weak. Really, really weak, and in lots of pain. Luckily, he had pain medication leftover from after surgery and he took some. And then took some more. (And maybe a little bit more.) He was literally sucking on pain pills because he couldn't swallow anything and keep it down. My poor, sweet husband was determined to make it to that wedding. I know that all he could think about in that moment was not letting his little brother down. He thinks so much of Brad, of what a strong young man he's grown into, and wanted so desperately to be able to stand beside him on such an important day.

We called on prayer warriors to get us through the evening and pretty much expected to be heading to the hospital after the wedding ceremony. Our church was asked to begin praying, and we had tons of family and close friends on the job as well. Brandon was a little loopy from the pain meds, but made it through the ceremony and we were able to stay for the reception too, only by God's grace! Brandon was hungry (and nauseous from having pain medication on an empty stomach) but wanted to just go home and see if he could sleep. He spent much of the next day in bed or in the recliner and tried eating small portions at a time to see how his body would react.

See, he had been in a Crohn's flare for the past week and a half but was able to control it by limiting what he ate and trying not to overdo it. He kept saying that he knew something was different and that it didn't feel right. He had been using essential oils before each meal and that seemed to really help but he knew something was off. The pain the day of the wedding was "blockage" kind of pain and to be quite honest, that terrifies me.

Why? Because there's no way we could possibly have to go through what we went through last year so soon, right? He wouldn't have to have surgery... again... would he? We couldn't possibly have more medical bills and more pain and more time out of work, right?

Right?

This week has been spent trying to arrange doctor's visits so we can avoid an ER visit and of course UNC doesn't have an appointment until July, and this integrative natural doctor's office we're trying to get in with doesn't have anything until August. OK... really?!

But today, the nurse for Brandon's doctor at UNC called him and said that they are moving appointments around in the morning because he needs to be seen ASAP. He was immediately put on the schedule to have an MRI at 9:00am tomorrow and to see the doctor in clinic right afterwards. If you know anything about big hospital systems like UNC, you know that the doctor must be concerned, because things just don't move that quickly.

We are worried. When the doctor moves patients around just to see you, you get a little nervous. I've caught Brandon several times tonight, eyebrows furrowed, with eyes lost deep in thought. He's worried about taking the time away from his job to have the appointment, he's worried about the appointment, and he's worried about his health.

I'm worried, because my husband is worried. The good news in all of this is that we don't have to worry.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself, Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:34

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, in prayer and supplication, present your requests to the Lord." Phillipians 4:6

"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you, he will never let the righteous fall." Psalm 55:22

We are asking that you, our friends and family, join us in prayer tonight, and tomorrow as Brandon spends the morning in testing (they mentioned possibly needing to do a scope too!) and with the doctor. We are specifically praying for peace, wisdom for the doctors, positive results, and a simple longterm solution.

There is much more to our story I'd like to share but it seems as though I've written a book. Maybe, if you'll let me, I'll share bits and pieces in the weeks to come.

17 months

Our Maverick turns 17 months old this week. Where did the last 17 months go? It rushed past me like a gust of wind and was gone before I realized what hit me!

I tried to be one of those moms who was so put together and took a picture every month with a sign or a sticker on his onesie that told what month it was... but it just didn't work out. I have a girlfriend who does themed photo shoots for practically every holiday and I am so impressed with her. I don't know how she does it! I can barely make sure that each kid has a clean pair of pants to wear the next day, let alone plan themed photo shoots for Valentine's Day, Easter, and St. Patty's Day! (Just a note: I am working on being this organized, but this is serious work people... serious work.)

Maverick is 17 months old and quite the character. He is running circles around us (and climbing them around us too!) and says a few words, like Mama, Daddy, puppy, blues (blueberries), night night, bye bye, hot, more, and down. He can also sign the word more in sign language. Maverick will eat pretty much whatever I give him, especially if he sees it come right off of my plate. He likes to dump his water out of his sippy cup onto his high chair tray and swirl it around with whatever food bits are on there to make a big mess. He also likes to throw food on the floor and will look us directly in the eyes as we tell him no and still throw it on the floor. He can now go up AND down the stairs, and can even go under the baby gate to get up the stairs.

Paxton and Maverick love playing with one another and they are such sweet brothers. They also love to wrestle one another... or I should say that Paxton loves to wrestle Maverick to the ground and Maverick will go along with it until he's had enough. Maverick thinks its funny to take Paxton's toys when he isn't looking and then watch as Paxton throws a fit or freaks out that Maverick is sitting there calmly with all of Paxton's Star Wars figurines, or both of his light sabers. This kid is a trip! He's also about 5 times as stubborn as Paxton. Lord, HELP US. #butseriously There are days when I don't think I can tell my child any more "don't hit mommy" and then that chubby little hand comes flying through the air and connects with my forehead. I've tried acting like I'm crying and sad, I've tried popping his hand, I've tried fussing, and now I've moved on to grabbing his hand and giving it kisses and shushing him and saying "no no, don't hit Mavvy"... any help here, people??

If we can come to an agreement that I'm the mommy and he's the baby, and he will give up just paaaart of that stubborn streak, I know we'll go far. But, its not like I don't know where he got that from... oops!

But, stubbornness aside, I knew this month would hold special meaning for me with Maverick because I nursed Paxton until he was 17 months old and I wanted to nurse Maverick at least that long. I'm not one to make a huge fuss about whether women breastfeed or formula feed their kids, because quite frankly it isn't any of my business, nor do I have a say, and plus, I breastfed and formula fed Paxton. Maverick was exclusively breastfed and I was so glad I was able to do that this time. I felt a lot more knowledgable about breastfeeding this time around and I was very determined to save us money by not having to buy formula. Plus, I very selfishly relished every moment that I got to be with Maverick while I nursed him and felt like that time was such a gift. Not every woman can breastfeed and I could have been one of those women.

You're probably thinking that 17 months is a long time to breastfeed a baby, and you're right. It is a very long time. But don't worry, I'm not laying him across my lap at the dinner table and nursing him at every meal. I nurse him just before bed each night and I'm already sad because I can tell that we are weaning more and more each day. I honestly don't know what I'll do when the day comes that I'm not producing any more milk or he doesn't have an interest. It is such an intimate time I share with my baby, and even though he's getting older and bigger, he's still my baby and I don't plan to let him nurse until he's 5, just until it naturally fades into the background. I've been holding my breath these last few months because I was afraid he would naturally wean himself before he was 17 months old and I had that silly number in my mind just because it was what I did with Paxton.

Paxton naturally weaned himself at 17 months because he got a cold and couldn't breathe through his nose, so by the time he could nurse again, he wasn't interested, and I had stopped producing milk. It was days after we stopped nursing that I became sad and the realization that we had stopped hit me. I was mentally prepared, but I've been mentally preparing myself with Maverick for months now. If Maverick is my last baby, then this will be my last time experiencing this special bond with a child. If you're a nursing mom, or ever have been, then you probably know just how wonderful it can be. Sure, there were times when I had blistered and bleeding nipples (TMI?! maybe... but fact of life, yes.) and I cried before he even began to eat, but I stuck with it, was proud of myself, and came to love and even crave that time with my baby. It's like the ultimate in feeling needed. And, babies are awesome, so putting the 2 together, you come up with a pretty amazing feeling :)

I can't believe I wrote this much about nursing my baby, and I'm sure some people will think that 17 months is entirely too long, but I've cherished every moment of it and I know I'll cry when this part of his life is over.

Here's to a wonderful 17 months with my sweet Maverick, and a lifetime of joy with you to come!

DIY Iron On Baby Onesies

DIY Iron On Baby Onesies

I knew when I decided to throw a baby shower for one of my close girlfriends, that I wanted to do a little something different since this was her second baby. I didn't want to play all the usual baby shower games, like guessing how big around her belly was by cutting lengths of ribbon or guessing which candy bar was melted in each diaper (this game is just so wrong! haha!) since those seemed more like first time mom baby shower games. I also knew I wanted all of the guests to be able to create something for the mom-to-be to take home and keep. I talked with a friend of mine and we decided to go with making onesies for the baby. I thought iron-ons would be easiest, but the iron-on appliques are so expensive! When you're throwing a baby shower and thinking about buying a onesie for each guest to decorate, plus an iron-on applique for each guest, the cost per person really adds up! SO, my friend suggested that we create our own designs and iron them on with iron-on transfer paper.

Have you ever used iron-on transfer paper?! It will change your life.

You will want to take every plain article of clothing, every blank cloth object you own, and every scrap of undecorated fabric in your home, and iron on cute designs. #butseriously 

How to DIY Iron On Onesies:

My friend printed off several cute designs from her computer on plain computer paper (like the cute little birdie above), and we cut them out and picked out fabric from the scraps she brought - you don't need much fabric at all to do this kind of a project. Then we ironed the transfer paper on to the fabric and pinned the cut out pattern to the fabric so we could cut the fabric out in the shape of the pattern. After the fabric shapes were cut out, they were ready to iron on to the onesies (transfer paper side down of course!). Voila! You're done and have a super cute iron-on onesie done with contact paper and your favorite fabric!

This was such an easy and fun project to do at a baby shower! We all had such a fun time while we were picking out patterns and fabrics for our iron on projects and then creating adorable keepsakes for our littlest love on the way.

Have you ever used iron on transfer paper? The ideas for craft projects with transfer paper are endless... onesies, bibs, lovies, blankets, burp cloths, diaper bags, washcloths, etc! Eeek!

Thankful Things Aren't Worse

After my last post about ending our crazy 2014, I got an overwhelming amount of responses from you. It took a long time to go through and process the comments, messages and texts from everyone and I've spent a long time thinking back through what I wrote.

My reaction to a few of the responses was immediate guilt. I confessed to Brandon that I felt guilty for even writing any of our story down because we could have had it so much worse. Memories of my friends who lost precious babies flashed through my mind. I thought of one friend who said goodbye to her sweet mama this year and my problems immediately shrank. My mind drifted to those that I know who are battling cancer - who are weak and tired and sick from chemo and radiation and surgery.

A friend of mine sent me a message and told me this:

It's hard to bring yourself to a place of such faithfulness that you can be thankful that things aren't worse, instead of wishing they were better. There's a big difference between the two! 

That struck such a chord with me and I hope she doesn't mind me sharing it. I struggled with this before this year... I would find myself wishing things were better (or different) instead of thanking God that things weren't worse. After the year we had, I've found I don't have time to wish things were better, but I've been overwhelmed with praise and thankfulness that we've had the trials we've had, and not worse ones! To my friend who put it so eloquently, thank you!

I think I will silently relive pieces of our year for a long time... how could I not?! The moments I wrote about feel so fresh and real that they could have happened yesterday. I think we're supposed to remember moments like those so we can grow and move forward. 

In one short year, I saw my husband both confident in the hard work and long hours he was putting in at work, and weak and begging for help from a post-op hospital bed. Have you ever seen your other half so vulnerable it makes you cry? It is a humbling moment for sure. I wiped salty tears from my cheeks while I watched my tall (dark and handsome too!) sweet husband writhe in that hospital bed, begging me to make it stop. He never spoke above a whisper, but quietly pleaded with me to help him. The wires he was hooked up to led to machines that beeped and hummed with what seemed like the very sounds of his pain. I grieved for I could not make it better. 

Parts of our year seem fuzzy around the edges, almost like they were bits of a dream, instead of what we really went through. I think God dulls the sharp edges of the harsh times, so that we can still stomach the memories of them, long after they're over. To be quite honest, I still can hardly believe that I spent several nights pumping breast milk for my baby, and laying on a fold out hospital chair-bed to sleep, inches from my husband's IV pole. 

Was that even reality? 

It was ours for a brief time, and I can't seem to express my gratitude enough for God's grace to us during the past year.