What is a doTERRA Essential Oil? Purchase the best essential oils at mydoterra.com/tew

Boosting My Families Immunity Naturally.

I stumbled upon a way to help my family's health with essential oils.  Most of your probably don't really know what an essential oil is (I know I didn't) so let me fill you in.  They are the essence of plant extracts used medicinally:internally, aromatically and topically.

  They are 50-70 times more potent than if you had used say the zest of 1 lemon.  One bottle of my essential oils contains oils from 45 lemons sourced from Sicily Italy.  The best part, they are even found to be effective against a virus!! Yep that's right I said virus! (Oregano Certified Pure Theraputic Grade by doTerra)   Amazing Stuff.

Here is the thing: Our bodies can heal itself.  God made us pretty much perfectly that way.  The catch is we are enduring FAR more stress and other toxins to block the communication of our cells so they can keep us healthy and running on all cylinders so to speak.  The toxins create confusion in cells and we end up getting sick, and sickness leads to some other failures in our system's optimal upkeep creating a snowball effect.

Now to the AMAZING part...I have used these oils in so many capacities this month I just can't hide it under a bushel anymore.

• I made Sloppy Joes with essential oils - tons of flavor with one tiny drop 
• I cleaned my house floor to ceiling with them - doTerra Lemon Oil
• I have boosted my kids immunity against colds/flu symptoms - On Guard+ capsules, OnGuard
• I have used Melaleuca on my son's eye (very red)  applied oil on his eye brow & the next morning - no red - yep!!! (warning never put essential oils in eyes, nose or ears)
• I have helped my husband battling an ear infection - placed behind ear with Basil oil
• I have got my kids to sleep and stay asleep with Lavender, Cedarwood, and Vetiver Aromatically at night.
• I have helped my husband stop snoring with Balance and Serenity on his feet before he dozes off - I swear by this. I have had to put earplugs in all of my 11 years of marriage, until now.  Love these oils!
• I have taken the Life Long Vitality multivitamin with whole foods and essential oils for months now and see an amazing difference in my energy level as well as my immunity.

My lesson in all this is God is so good.  He made us perfectly, as well as gave us the tools we need for optimal health right at our fingertips.  I trust  natural cures.  No side effects is the best benefit of healing your body with essential oils. DoTerra is emphatic about purity and potency. They are amazing people with integrity!  They treat their farmers well with their sourcing all over the globe making sure it is a WIN WIN always.

If you are interested in knowing more about essential oils please comment below I would love to share more resources with you.  If you do only one thing that your future self will thank you for, order up the Life Long Vitality Vitamin.  www.mydoterra.com/tew.  And follow me and my health adventures at The Essential Well on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

Heaven Come Quickly in a bottle of essential oils.  Certified Pure Theraputic Grade. doTERRA.

I am not a doctor, this is my journey through boosting our bodies immunity and creating optimal wellness using essential oils as supplements.  *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease.

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Friends. Christian Unity & Blessed Mother Theresa

I have had a month!  In an effort to "prove" to a Non-Catholic that we "KNOW CHRIST;" I accepted an invitation to another church for a bible study.  It was a beautiful disaster day one: there were multiple attacks on my faith in the idle chatter of the small group. "The bible says only to call God the father"  "Did you see the drawing of the Pope as a super hero" (something Pope Francis publicly denounced the Vicar of Christ rejected super hero worship) "Did you know they can only confess to a priest."  The leader of the study put the kabosh to the spiritual gossip by saying she only found the Catholic Faith to be very "Christ-Centered" (cue crickets)  I never announced I was Catholic and didn't really even see the need.  I was wrong not to introduce myself as an outsider.  I really needed community; I had been home solitary for most of the past two years with our youngest two children and felt isolated.  I was so eager and ready to get out of our home that I accepted the invitation as God answering two prayers:  God I need girlfriends and I really want a Bible Study. There was child care at the bible study; so any excuse I had was removed.

After I had left the small study room I told my friend who had invited me that I didn't know if I could do "this."  I told her I was a woman of Christian Unity and the things the others were saying about my faith; well I felt attacked.  Isn't that always the way the Accuser works.  He doesn't want unity.  The devil invites, entices and evokes confusion and disunity.  This is the devil's ultimate plan for Christ's Church and His followers. Disunity, in our families; Confusion and Fighting amongst our Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  He stirs the pot of difference and sits back and cackles. (cue evil laugh)  (Please make sure you have seen the Evangelical video of Pope Francis his message of Christian Unity is beautiful and heartfelt and unprecedented. Video - Christian Unity)

I prayed for fortitude and wanted so badly to help my friend Know ...that I am a Christian and I am "saved" through my Catholic Faith.  Perhaps the lesson God was helping me to learn was... He knows my heart.  He knows how much I love Him and how thankful I am for his unearnable gift of salvific grace. (Yeah, Catholics believe you cannot earn your way into Heaven.  We read our bible too, in case you bought into that farce as well.)  God knows, and only God's judgement counts Eternally.  So why am I parading into another church, and trying to "fit in."  I made it through the entire study - by the Grace of God.  Believe me, it wasn't in my comfort zone to want to be around women that didn't and wouldn't accept me as I am.  If you are amongst convicted Evangelicals or Fundamentalists as a Catholic there is a target the size of the moon, that says..."please convert me or I will burn in Hell!" That is my impression anyway.   I also learned that if you are going to speak; speak in truth and with Love.  So the final day of our small group I was attacked for the final time.  This time they had weeks to premeditate how they were going to "help" me see the light.  The angle they took was by saying that Mother Theresa clearly didn't "know Christ" if you read her diary. {Mother Theresa's Beatification Process} (WHAT???) The head of the bible study was using Blessed Mother Theresa's dark night of the soul as grounds for one of the most amazing Catholics of our time burning in hell. It Broke my HEART!! I was left speechless and couldn't leave that room fast enough.  I wanted to shake the dirt off my sandals and RUN!!  Of course they followed up that comment with a swift "Does anyone need to be baptised?"  (NO! NO! NO!)  I left with as much grace as I could muster.  I invited my friend, who had invited me, to the next bible study I was going to do in my home by Jeff Cavins,.  The Great Adventure Bible Study - Salvation History

I have since given much thought to what I should have said.  The bottom line is when you are on foreign soil speaking up and rocking the boat when all I really wanted was to find some friends outside the home for a trip to the library or the park; confrontation wasn't my agenda.  I left empty handed.  I felt like I connected with a few new women.  God reminded me the following week that I already had friends:  I got together with my friend from Catholic High School the following week for our Youth Group Mardi Gras fundraiser.  I had a drink with my friend who lives around the corner  and we saw our friends who we spend all summer with at the pool at the high school basketball game.  My friend that I made during our competitive soccer season called and we will be reunited soon cheering on our boys during their freshman year of high school soccer.  It was as though God was saying; I have given you friends.  Did you forget?

Then Thursday I got to see my favorite friend who fills my soul and  is the most gracious woman of God- and is not Catholic.  She is my soul sister, and the first time we opened the bible together I found out her bible says that the Roman Catholic Church is the "Whore of Babylon."  That was 6 years ago, we got past that bump and I couldn't imagine life without her.  So only God knows how the mission to find a friend will end. My mission instead will be to please Him and be sure HE knows that I live a Christ-centered life; so that the judgement that counts will be Everlasting and Eternal.  All praise and Glory to Christ our King!  Blessings for your 40 days of Lent.

More on the Dark Night of the Soul Mother Theresa's Dark Night of the Soul Part I
                                                       Mother Theresa's Dark Night of the Soul Part II

Disney Christmas..As devout Catholics??

My husband and I came to the conclusion that spoiling our children with material goods (they simply do not need) as celebration for Christ's birthday just wasn't what we wanted to do this year for Christmas.  So we decided to surprise our children with a trip to Florida to see Disney World.  I was the only one who had actually been to Disney World (twice before for a cheerleading competition and dance team performance- yes I was a dancing machine back in the day- and have been known to cut a rug in my kitchen with the kids while my Jaw Bone blares).

So back to the "surprise" Disney trip... B found out in September (have I mentioned I am a terrible liar- he guessed).  It was impossible for him not to tell his twin brother (Q)..of course.  So 2 out of 5 were privy to our plans, and then our 9 year old (I) found out a week before we left; after mass while we were talking to friends...ooopsy!!! So Now 3 of the 5 kids were excited about sun while we were enduring wind and snow.  The last to find out was D (age 5) we told him we were going to a "pool" for a few days during Christmas Break.  That seemed like a perfectly legitimate reason to have 7 filled-to-the-brim suitcases sprawled out in his parents bedroom.  The morning of our flight we told him the pool was a little farther and we would have to take a plane.  On the way out of the Orlando airport I mentioned we should go the same way as Disney World, our 5 year old son heard and repeated "DISNEY WORLD???" slack jawed.  The cat was out of the bag; and the trip was henceforth referred to as...  "My Disney dream come true"....by little D.  I made sure my kids (the 18 month old, the 5 and 9 year old) wore tattoos with our cell phone numbers on them (you can personalize and purchase here safety tat website)  And D cried ...so hard that he HAD to wear the tattoo.  Of course, God is so good and a sweet woman mentioned how much she liked it on the monorail that morning.  This was Disney Day one, and later that day my usually mild mannered baby had a complete melt-down on the same monorail.  It was seriously one of the worst tantrums I have witnessed (and I have 5 kids!)..just know that when you travel it will not be without a few crosses and hiccups.  Plan on them, then you aren't disappointed when they occur.  You will also have more to "offer up," as you will be having (mostly) the time of your life.

The Fam, making monkey faces with Rafiki @ Animal Kingdom

All together we took 13 days out of our "over-scheduled" life and enjoyed each other's company.  I feel like we spent more time together that week than we do during the rest of the year in our hectic life, of course this is not true but reconnecting as a family was the best gift of this trip.  We went to Disney 6 days total. The crowds were crazy for these small-town folks, so we would go early and once the crowds got heavy we left and went to another park:  Epcot, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios.  We also went to Sea World, and the beach twice (Christmas Day at Clear Water Beach and New Years Day at CoaCoa Beach).  A day at the beach is the closest thing we have to heaven in my opinion.  It just doesn't get any better than sun, sand and tranquil waves.

 Momma and her 5 gifts in front of the Basilica in Orlando, FL

The best part of our trip was an amazing Basilica Mary Queen of the Universe just a few miles from our condo, which made it convenient to make it to mass the 4 times it was required while we were gone.The Basilica is stunning: the nativity scene was amazing, the art, the stations of the cross...the mother and child garden are all places I could spend the entire day. I love the uniting of God and His Gifts!  It made my heart gush as a Catholic that at every mass we attended every pew was packed! Filled to the gills, with people from every walk of life.  I am sure many different countries were represented, different languages, all united with praise of Jesus Christ our Savior in our hearts.  The same mass resounding in the heavens, the same readings, the same Eucharistic Celebration.  The ritual of giving thanks and praise for the grace of our sins being forgiven.  It ignites my faith!

So the answer to the first question, can devout Catholics do Disney for Christmas?  I am going to say yes, definitely YES!! Be sure to plan,  Mass Times  will help you  find a place to worship. We realize our family, our children, our time together, our life is all a gift.  They are gifts to be celebrated.   All praise and glory to the giver of all gifts, GOD, our Heavenly Father!



If you are not Catholic but you wish to understand more about the Catholic Faith, I recommend the video Breaking Ground.  It is a Pastor and a Priest sitting down and discussing what we can learn from each other.  It's beautiful  and I think we are called to Christian Unity.  Let us not focus on our differences but rejoice in our common love of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.  We are united in Christ, our Savior!Video Link

Green Chili on a Cold Day. BRRR

You'll Need:
3 T oil (I used vegetable)
2 Lbs Cubed Beef
1/2 C Tequila (tenderizes)
7 Green Chillies
1/2 Onion
2 Jalapenos
1 Bulb Garlic
Masa flour (corn flour treated with lime)

Garnish:
sour cream, cilantro, finely sliced jalapeno, shredded white cheddar
finely diced: avocado, onion, and tomato

About an hour of prep starts with the beef.  In a Frying pan on high heat sear the meat in 2T oil.  Cook until it's just pink inside.  Add 1/2 C Tequila and reduce liquid. I just pour anything that is complete into the crock pot.

Set the oven to Broil. Place 7 Green Chillies on a baking sheet with a full clove of garlic (roasted garlic rocks!)
Broil 'till the skins are brownish and the garlic is translucent (if it's brown it is no longer roasted it is burned and there is a very BIG difference- so no brown garlic).  Let the chillies and garlic cool a bit, until you can handle it.  Use a paring knife to remove the skins from the green chili's, remove seeds (you may have to rinse under the faucet as the seeds are stubborn). Remove the stem.  Chop to desired size ~ (I like them about the size of my thumb nail). Peel the garlic, chop off the hard tip, and finely chop.

More chopping....chop up your onion, and your 2 jalapenos.  I have kids so the seeds were spared this time ~ If I were just cooking for the adults I would add about 1/2 the seeds.  Any hew...1 T oil in the pan that cooked the beef, we are reusing so we aren't scrubbing dishes - it's a crock pot recipe after all.  The whole point is being able to put your feet up and read a book. With medium heat, cook the jalapenos and onion until the onion is translucent.  I also add all of my seasoning to the onion and jalapeno mix.

Add all ingredients to the crock pot, set for 6-10 hrs on high.  My future sister-in-law got a crock pot that turns off automatically to Warm.  I have one too, I highly recommend this.  If you are gone for too long you don't want a burned up mess when you were anticipating a no-fuss easy dinner.

For the last hour add the Masa flour to thicken.  Enjoy and I hope you got to read, sleep, exercise or play with your kiddos with the extra time this easy meal carved out for you.  Heaven help whoever eats the last helping of this coveted meal.

My Christmas Gift to You... It's even the appropriate colors.

Budget Friendly Advice for the New Year: Get some great produce at an even better price:  BoutifulBaskets.org  We get our fruit/veggie baskets every two weeks.  They are AWESOME and we pay $15 seriously for about a laundry-basket size of produce.  Happy New Year, May 2014 Be Heavenly!

Guilty: Coconut Cupcakes Guiltless: Liver Detox Juice & the Teachable Moment

Another satisfied customer- Lil D and his 2nd cupcake

My son, D asked to make cupcakes...So we delved into cyber space and found a yummy recipe (see link below).  I was excited about the prospect of a teachable lesson.....you know the ones you dream of before you actually become a parent and realize all your day dreams were delusional.  In real-parent-world, we are lucky to get the floors clean, toilets less disgusting and our kids dressed and out the door to school on time in semi-unwrinkled and clean-ish clothing with something (anything) in their stomachs. 

Coconut Lovers Cupcakes

So the cupcakes were perfection, I found the recipe on Pinterest. Super simple, and delicious.  My lil D had 2, wanted 3, but ended up compromising with 2.  He is SMART and I love him so I let him get away with murder more than what I intend.  He is so darn cute and cunning!

After you eat that cupcake if your are anything like me, you feel guilty.  Why did I do that?  I wanted to loose a few pounds.  Guilt the gift that keeps on giving....and giving.  So feel less guilty with this awesome liver detoxing recipe:


 
You will need 1 lemon (slice off peel), 4 ribs celery, 1 beet (keep the leafy tops), spinach, kale, and some wheatgrass with  a piece of ginger and an apple (or two).  Juice those babies up and slurp it down.  Now you have done something your future self with thank you for, no guilt included.

Teachable moment:  While I was cutting the apple up for the juicer (I saw a worm hole on the outside) I realized the teeny tiny worm had barreled into this apple and followed it's adventure...the little bugga went straight for the core of the apple.  It did a little dance, it turned this perfect little apple BLACK on the inside. This apple was rotten to the core.  The apple was hard, perfect, on the outside... had I not inspected the apple I would have had a mouthful of rotten, black smut!  I think this happens in our life as well.  We are well intended, lets eat something healthy...  Lets sit down and watch, read, listen to _____________________It's only a half hour, a few pages, it's got a great beat.  Pretty soon we are polluting our souls with rap music about...Do they kiss their mother with that mouth??? I wonder?  The black core is never seen.  We ingest the worm of sin and do not give it another thought;  until our thoughts become our words and then our actions. Truth from the grocery chain owner...Frank Outlaw.  I am sure he had sold his fair share of apples in his day.

  Do not fool yourself.  Jesus came so that we may live and live it more abundantly!  He came that we may be changed!!  He never once said, "Don't worry folks I got this.....Sin away!"  He came and preached repentance.

So let us Confess, Repent, Live Abundantly! 

Confess your sins, so that the worm (the serpent) does not have the final say.  

Have a Heavenly Day!

 

Are you looking for more teachable moments?  Matthew Kelly's Why Am I Here? is fantastic! It's very relatable for children; our 4 year old loves this book!  We love the lesson he is getting regarding being THE BEST version of himself and making choices that reflect his decision.

 Why Am I Here? By Matthew Kelly

Sushi -The Cali Roll

I learned to make California Rolls the other day...I am always so excited when I can learn a new trick in the kitchen.  I have been making sushi on the traditional bamboo stick thing-a-ma-bobber, that helps with the perfect roll.  However I am impatient and a little sloppy so when our friends came over with a plastic roll mold I knew I had to revisit the sushi making world with my new weapon, tool, sushi roll mold.  Here it goes:

you will need the above essentials.  I found my roll mold at amazon

Kai Pure Komachi Large Sushi Mold

Cook your rice, make sure it's sticky sushi rice

 

unroll this weird clear stuff off of the Krab (with a K)

finely chop the Krab meat

Add Mayo (to taste)

So this is what I would have never guessed to add to the rice, but when I googled sushi the Japanese literal meaning is "sour tasting;" who knew??? Add this to the rice to taste.

place toasted nori sheet in the mold first

add rice to the first mark on the side, then cucumber, avocado, and the Krab mixture, more rice and pat it down a bit to be sure it's tight.  Be gentle with the Nori sheets.

fold the nori sheet over, put the mold on top, flip the mold

and open it on the other side.

and out comes this tasty morsel!!

Slice them up with your sharpest knife or a

serrated knife to prevent the rolls from being misshapen (see below).

Be sure to keep the roll width fairly wide too. 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few other sushi recipes to try out while experimenting:  sushi recipes @ yummly