Christmas Sprit Giveaway!! {ENDED}

And the winner selected at random is.....EMILY THOMPSON!!!! 
Thank you to all who entered!  Stay tuned for more posts about essential oils!
 


So, here we are again...thanks to Young Living's December Promotion, I've received a FREE 15ml bottle of Christmas Spirit essential oil!

And since I already have a bottle of it (that seriously smells like CHRISTMAS), I've decided to share the free one!

So what IS Christmas Spirit essential oil blend? 

source

Well, it's a blend of Orange, Cinnamon bark, and Spruce!

That means, that not only does it SMELL like each of those, but it also carries the health benefits of each!

Thieves blend(my all-time fave right now) also smells like Christmas, but if you're like me...and hoard your Thieves, then you can use Christmas Spirit for making your house smell AMAZING during the holidays! (And save your precious Thieves for rubbing all over your family to keep them illness-free!)

So.

Benefits of Christmas Spirit.

Immunity Booster 
This blend is highly anti-viral!  The citrus in it also helps it stimulate your immune system.  It's also anti-infectious and anti-bacterial.

The Spruce and Cinnamon in this blend are both great for the respiratory system!  So when diffusing it, you're not only making your house smell like a cinnamony-sprucy orange, you're also assisting deep breathing of all who inhale it!

*To use this oil as an immunity booster, rub a drop or two into your feet! (I recommend once/day, but more like every 3-4 hours if your fighting illness) 

*You can also rub onto your chest to support the respiratory system, but you MUST dilute this one.  It can cause skin sensitivity.  So if you have something like R.C., Raven, or Eucalyptus, you'll want to use those instead if you have sensitive skin.

*Rub a drop or two between your hands and place your hands over your face, and breath deeply.

*DIFFUSE!  Put 8-12 drops along with water in your diffuser and experience the health benefits throughout your home.


Make Memories
Ok, don't click away just yet!
I mentioned, very clearly in my last giveaway of Frankincense that I do NOT promote relying on essential oils for any type of spiritual awareness, prayer, or meditation. I don't believe that is where we are called to turn to. 

I'm talking about memories.  

You can't tell me that scents don't create memories!

Whenever I smell my mom's biscuits and gravy, I think of Christmas!!!  (I don't think there's an oil that smells quite like that)
Fragrances have the ability to take us back to particular traditions, memories, or time periods in our lives!

So, start traditions now!

We have a fake...artificial Christmas tree.  It doesn't smell like pine, or fur.  But I remember that smell back when we'd go to pick one out with my parents!

So my children don't know what a Christmas tree is supposed to  smell like.  But they will know what mom and dad's house smells like during Christmastime starting this year!

Create an "uplifting" atmosphere
I put uplifting in quotes because that might have a different definition for others than it does for me.

This oil definitely has an uplifting fragrance.  Pretty much any citrus oil is known for its anti-depressive benefits, and orange is no different.

You can't walk into a home that smells like Christmas Spirit and not stop to say, "Wow!  What smells so good!?!!?"

So diffuse this oil, and be happy.  That is all.

Ok, HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY
The entries are pretty much the same as last time.

You have 5 ways to enter!

1. Share this post on Facebook (can be done once/day)

2. Share this post on Twitter (can be done once/day)

3. Pin ANY post on my blog to Pinterest (only ONCE!)

4. Follow my blog if you aren't already (by entering your email in the "stay up to date with us" box

5. Comment on this blog post and tell me one thing you'd like to learn about essential oils! (only ONCE!)

***Please leave me a comment or message on Facebook, or a comment below to let me know when you've shared or pinned the post.  If you aren't my FB "friend" I won't see it!!*** 


The winner will randomly be selected on Saturday, December 14th!


DISCLAIMER: I am not a doctor or medical professional.  I simply make decisions on how to care for and improve the health of my own family.  Nome of the statements on my blog have been evaluated by the FDA and any products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.    

 

He's Flying!

So, it's about time I give an update on our adoption with Tobias.

I have been hesitant to post an update these past couple weeks, just because there's a lot to say, and still a lot of waiting.

In my last post about Tobi, I mentioned that Didier thought they might be able to find Tobi's birth mother.  The Embassy was beginning their investigation on November 18th, and would interview her if they could find her.  Investigations are estimated to last at LEAST 3-6 months.

Well, ours lasted all of about 2 WEEKS!

Praise The Lord!

We were completely surprised to get the e-mail from the Embassy!
Next step, getting Tobi's passport, then his Visa.

Tobias is currently living in Lubumbashi at the orphanage, however. 

So, he is moving to Kinshasa tomorrow in order to get his passport and visa.
  
Please pray for this move for him.  He's never been on a plane or probably even left the orphanage for long in the last year and a half.  

He's leaving what he knows as home and coming on a PLANE to a brand new world and brand new caregivers and friends.

He will be there until his visa process is completed, and unless something major happens with the exit letter situation, (that I wrote about in this post,) he will then return to the orphanage to wait for Congo to resume issuing the exit letters so the adopted children can come HOME!

My real prayer is that God will move in the country to allow the children to leave with their parents.  That way, he wouldn't have to move BACK to Lubumbashi before we come to get him.  

We know that might not happen, and trust in God's sovereignty regardless!  However, our hearts' desire is not only for him to be home, but for him to go through the least amount of emotional trauma as possible.  He's only four.  This is a whole lot for him to try and adjust to without completely understanding what's going on.

So, the completed investigation is a HUGE praise, and leads to many prayer requests!!!  I'll summarize it in simple terms.

• Pray for Tobi's travel tomorrow, November 11. (they're 8 hours ahead of us)
• Pray that he'll handle the adjustment well.
• Pray that his passport will be issued in a timely manner without delays.
• Pray that his Embassy interview on January 22 will be without hiccups!
• Pray that his visa will be issued!
• And most of all, pray that EXIT LETTERS WILL BE ISSUED and that we can go PICK HIM UP AND BRING HIM HOME!!!!!!

We would soooo love for this to happen in time for him to just wait for us in Kinshasa rather than traveling back to Lubumbashi.

**If this exit letter "ban" wasn't an issue, as soon as he receives a visa, we would be able to plan our travel.**

Advent Activity Calendar!

So it's officially December!  

We are now in the month of Christmas...my favorite time of year!

I love everything about Christmas time....except for all the materialism.  

I love the lights, the spirit, the fun, the family get togethers, holiday parties, food, and most of all, taking some extra time to dwell on our gift of Christ.

We desperately want our children to grow up understanding the magnitude of Christ's birth, life, death, and resurrection.

But, in this world of materialism we know we are going to have to be very purposeful in guiding their hearts back to what truly matters.

We do this every day in what we teach them, the stories we read them, and the opportunities that life gives us every day when the girls see something that they don't understand.  We're here to explain life to them from a Biblical worldview.

We are also trying to make memories with them!  Last year we kicked off the Advent season with an Advent Activity calendar!  It was super fun putting it together and having the kids open an envelope every day with a new activity on it!

  

The girls totally loved it, so we knew we'd have to make it a new tradition!

This year, I included several activities that involve giving.  We really want to continually guide them to think of others instead of themselves. 

Which got me thinking the other day....when do kids start making Christmas lists?  I honestly don't want our girls sitting around for weeks thinking about what THEY want!  I want them thinking of what they've already been GIVEN!  And then, we should be thinking of those that have nothing and what we can do to give to them!  (Concludes mini rant)

So, making your own activity calendar is super easy and there's a ton of ways you can do it!  I didn't have clothes pins on hand this year, so we improvised.  

First, make a list of the activities you want to include. (you'll want to start on December 1st and have 25 activities)

Then, look at your calendar and map out which activity to plan on which day.  We really needed to plan ours out!

Now, what I did was cut scrapbook paper into four squares.

Then I wrote the activity on the back side of the paper.

I then folded the paper into an envelope and taped the seam shut.

Then I wrote the corresponding number on the outside.

Because I didn't have clothespins to pin them onto twine like last year, I just pinned them onto a small wreath.

This morning the girls opened one that told them they could make a Christmas countdown chain! (Who doesn't remember making those???)

Joy was super excited....so excited that she jumped for joy and hit her head on the counter.  Temporary crying ensued.

So if you'd like to make your own for your kiddos this year, I'll share our list.  It's very personal and there are soooo many ideas that you can use!

25. Make a Christmas Countdown Chain
24. Make paper snowflakes and hang on the window
23. Decorate bedroom door for Christmas
22. Open a new wrapped Christmas book and read it!
21. Collect toys from your toy box to donate.
20. Take your change to Salvation Army donation spots in front of the grocery stores.
19. Make Christmas ornaments
18. Go to the MALL!
17. Dress up for a tea party dinner (at home)
16. Open another wrapped Christmas book
15. Surprise movie night! (they'll open this one right at bedtime when we're tucking them in.  We'll have hot cocoa and Polar Express ready for them when they come back into the living room)
14. Take a glow bath! (You put glow sticks in the bath and turn the lights off...it's really cool!)
13. Go to see Frozen at the theater
12. Go to the Parade of Lights in Sutter Creek
11. Make Christmas cards for grandparents/great grandparents
10. Drive up to see the snow
9. Make Christmas cookies and decorate them
8. Open one last Christmas book
7. Get cookies ready for the mail lady and trash collector guy
6. Drive around to see Christmas lights
5. Have dinner by candlelight
4. Help mom wrap Christmas gifts
3. Help mom make homemade gifts for friends (can't elaborate on these online!:)
2. Stay up extra late at Nonnie and Papa's for Christmas Eve
1. Read about Jesus's birth first thing in the morning!

For other ideas, check out the list on this blog.  There are lots of good ideas (not every idea is good or something that I agree with or suggest!)


So whatever you choose to do this season, purpose to teach, guide, and direct your children to what really matters.  And that is the gift the our Savior has given!!!