Except this year... today it is 30 degrees. THIRTY! In DECEMBER! also? NO SNOW. None.
I don't really mind the no snow thing... it makes driving easier... I've always hated driving the long straight Midwest roads in a snow blizzard. Where is the road? Where is the deep ditch. CAN NOT SEE.
But my boys. Oh, how they are longing for the snow. They have still been sledding... who needs snow when it's below freezing, you have an awesome hill and a bucket of water??
Boys are awesome.
We started decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving...
It's one of my favorite traditions... staying home, avoiding the black friday madness, drinking hot cocoa, looking at our Christmas decorations, deciding where we'll put them this year, playing games.
We have these little wood blocks that spell out "Merry Christmas." Every year we put them out somewhere... and every year someone re-arranges the letter to say something else... as fast as I can fix it to say "Merry Christmas" some sneaky boy/husband changes it.
I love it.
It's hard to believe that last year we had five stockings hung for each of our children... this year we have eight for each of our children/foster children. Eight kids. Wow. I laugh when I am reminded that five of them are five and under.
One would think it's a total nut house... and it is... but it isn't. It just feels normal. :)
In other news...
Keziah has been having a lot of stomach issues lately... TONS of tests later we have determined she does not have celiacs disease! Hooray!! But it looks like she has developed a sensitivity to lactose. We've all discovered the yummieness of Rice & Almond milk. SO GOOD! And because of Hope's very "moody" skin issues we've all started using Dr. Bronner's soap (the lavender & tea tree ones), discovered how amazing tea tree oil is and have stopped using shampoo! (we still wash our hair with Dr. Bronner's & apple cider vinegar/baking soda)
Isaiah has become VERY involved in several clubs... one being at the library. They call themselves the Library Ninja's and have been doing a lot of fun things including filming a commercial for the library!
When I was going through the pictures I asked him why he was making this face... his answer? "Because a GIRL put her arm on my shoulder!!"
And sumo baby... the newest member of our family...
while listening to our Frances England Pandora station this song came on by Israel "IZ" Kamakawiwo'ole captivating sumo baby...
I googled the song and showed sumo baby the video... he didn't even blink... he was all "MY PEOPLE!" it was adorable.
Since then sumo baby has had several theater reenactment performances of IZ right here in our home...
So there you have it. All the latest news... No snow, sledding anyway, Christmas decorating, cherry is smart, eight kids, rice milk, almond milk, no shampoo, library clubs, girls=eww, sumo baby fun. :)
4 Beautiful words:
Ha! That girl is my 14 year old niece, LOVE IT!!!
Tell me more about the shampoo! I have scalp psoriasis and my moms been telling me for years to put apple cider vinegar in my hair! But the baking soda should eliminate the odor right ?? Do you mix together?
i know a lot of people do it different ways... I mix some (maybe 3 tablespoons?) baking soda with water & (approx)6oz apple cider vinegar in a 16 oz squirt bottle for the kids hair... Keziah has curly hair that gets really knotted up so I condition the body with 100% extra virgin olive oil. for me - I just massage baking soda into my scalp while my hair is wet and then pour apple cider vinegar over it... letting it soak for awhile before rinsing it out with water. I know some people massage their scalps with food grade aloe.
your hair will go through some adjustments as you switch... it gets really oily at first... google "no poo" there are tons of articles and blogs about it and all the benefits!
Maggie - this blog is super helpful... http://simplemom.net/how-to-clean-your-hair-without-shampoo/
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