Why We Hide

A week of absence, and I'm back. No offense, but some days cuddling sweet (and sassy) little girls is WAY more fun than blogging, so that's where we were. 
Now, I am here and it's warm outside! Well, warm is probably a very relative term. If I were still in Alabama, I would consider this weather "chilly", but here in Missouri where we are finally seeing the last bit of snow melt and kissing the negative wind chills goodbye, I'm claiming that with the temps in the 50s, it's time to pull out the bathing suits! OK, maybe not bathing suits but I'm running in tank tops!
Here's a little topic that's been on my mind, and hopefully something we are almost done with for this season- Germs! and why we hide when we have them.
Once upon a time (before my family discovered the beauty of essential oils) my oldest daughter had SEVERE lung issues. She didn't have a chronic disease or anything that made you think she had such fragile little lungs, but she did. And her immune system was shot from all the meds trying to determine what was wrong with these fragile little lungs. If anyone in the same room with her at church or gymnastics had the slightest runny nose or cough, within 3-5 days she was struggling to breathe, up all night with coughing fits, and we were all sleepless and miserable. I would remember that little child whose parents brought them out into a closed space with other kids and wonder "WHY?! That was so inconsiderate!" But maybe it really wasn't. Maybe it was just ignorance on that parent's part because they had super healthy kids with perfect little lungs and an immune system that could fight off anything. I understand that now that my kids are capable of fighting through bugs with not much more than an aggravating cough and runny nose. However, I remember our days not too long ago when we weren't so fortunate. This is why we hide at home when we have little germs. Even if they don't make my kids super sick, I don't want to share with another child who may not have the same immune system that my kids have now.  Those other children may have baby brothers and sisters at home, or even premie brothers and sisters whose parents are trying so hard to shield them from germs. 
So, when you don't see us for extended periods of time because my kids have "colds" this is why, why we hide from the world so we don't share germs. Here's to hoping sunshine and warmer weather will help us kick our snot to the curb for a while! 
Happy Monday!

Look a Little Closer

I'm starting a new journey with food today, for 2 weeks (and possibly forever) I am removing gluten and dairy from my diet. When I was pregnant with Emersyn, I started getting little dry patches on my hands which eventually spread, and now we have determined it's eczema. Eczema is an outward sign of an inward problem- related to food. So, now I'm tired of the ugly, red hands and excited to find the root cause so I can avoid it in the future. Plus, this has caused me to look at every ingredient on every food label and really question some of the things even we were eating. It's scary when you stop and pay attention, and we weren't buying what most would consider "junk" in the first place. It's amazing how many foods contain milk products.
Here's a challenge for ya, just take a look at the ingredients of some of the products you eat everyday and Google whatever you don't recognize or can't pronounce. Find out what you are eating, be aware and pro=active in your health. There are plenty of food companies who aren't trying to poison your family to save a dollar; while you may pay a dollar more, just think about the health benefits for a minute, and go buy for your health!
Here's a funny for you, in case you missed it on my Facebook page last week. I have eaten a lot of my words when it comes to things I swore I would never do when I had children. A lot of it has to do with diet, but one thing I have kept to my guns about is hot dogs- they turn my stomach and my girls have never had one, ever. (Nobody's judging if you and yours eat them daily, just one of my "things") So, we are walking through the grocery store when my oldest (3 years old) starts proclaiming her love for hot dogs, and how she loves them so so so much. I was a little horrified but so tickled at the same time. This is the same child who tells everyone her name is "Ruth Haney Rose" (her name is Emersyn Ruth Haney and her sister's middle name is Rose). She's hilarious. We compromised and came home with all-natural turkey sausage "dogs". She was thrilled and hugging and  kissing the package all through the store. I just prayed over them before I served them, I couldn't handle to peek at the ingredients :)

Happy Monday, friends!