My Man Cub...

Happy Monday!!!

Love, 

Mama Bear

doTERRA Essential Oils Part One: "Shouting From the Rooftops!"

I remember this moment so clearly--- I was up in the wee hours of the morning feeding Luke and I had a peaceful Mom moment. Instead of drifting in and out of sleep from pure exhaustion like I do most nights, I was thinking of all my many blessings and counting them one by one. 

And then it came.  A thought- an urge even to become a doTERRA Essential Oil sharer. I have been extremely shy about the fact that I use them. In fact, most of my close friends and family don't even know I use them! I'm not one to try and "sell" or "push" products on people. That has just never come naturally to me. But as I have used Essential Oils over the past year, I've decided that it's time to buck up and be a sharer. 
Because honestly, these oils are just too good to keep to myself.

"So Jess, what's so great about Essential Oils?"

I'm so glad you asked!!! haha! I little education goes a long way in the use of Essential Oils, so please stick with me as I give you a little background lesson. 

First off, when I first heard about Essential Oils I thought to myself--- "That's hippie stuff!" and "That's what we have doctors for!".  

So, by no means am I out to fight against modern medicine. I need it. I use it. I take my children to the doctor. I am so grateful for doctors!

That being said I hate taking medicine or giving it to my family for any and every little thing. I hate not knowing what to do when I'm up late with a coughing, feverish baby. 

Essential Oils have enabled and empowered me to take charge of my family's health by using natural remedies/preventative healthcare. 

I am a Mom and I'm shouting it from the rooftops- 

"I LOVE ESSENTIAL OILS!!!!"  

"So what are Essential Oils exactly?"

DoTERRA in Latin literally means "Gift of the earth." So you can think of these oils like nature's medicine.
These oils:

-Support your body by minimizing symptoms and addressing root causes.

-Are one of the most effective forms of natural medicine. Essential oils are natural aromatic compounds found in plants. They are essential to the life of the plant and to us. Plants are used in many different ways for helping and healing, but the most concentrated way to use them is in the form of essential oils. 

-Essential oils have hundreds of molecular compounds. For example, lavender has over 200 known compounds...meaning it has a myriad of healing properties. You may wonder how lavender can heal many different problems (which may be completely unrelated to each other...burns, allergies, bug bites, sleep, etc.), and the reason is because of its many molecular compounds. And you can't reproduce THAT in a lab. 

-Essential oils are used safely and without harmful side effects (great news for everyone, and especially pregnant ladies!). 

-They cost pennies per dose, can be administered in your own home (less trips to the doctor's office? YES please!), no co-pays or time wasted at the doctor's office. 

Essential Oils are Powerful:

-They are 50-70 times more powerful than herbs.
-They inhibit the growth of bacteria and viruses (that's more than your average antibiotic can say).
-They enter the bloodstream within 30 seconds. 
-They are the plant's own natural medicine cabinet.

doTERRA Essential Oils are 100% Pure: 

-Essential oils are derived from plants by extraction processes. The most commonly used is a steam distillation process. The other is a cold pressed extraction process. Many companies produce or use essential oils, but not all essential oil products are equal. In fact, some could be very toxic and harmful to our bodies.

There are different grades and it is important to be aware of the distinctions.
-The lowest grade of essential oils are synthetic. They are produced in labs that have copied the components of the oil. These oils are very low quality and are used in lotions and perfumes.
-Next are food grade essential oils. These are used to flavor foods like lemon in salad dressings or cinnamon chewing gum.
-The next grade, intended for a health benefit, is therapeutic grade. This has held the standard in the essential oil industry for the last 30 years. These are the oils that are found in health food stores and used in the health industry. These oils have served well, but now things are even better.

DoTERRA has established a new standard in essential oils called Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade (orCPTG). DoTERRA set this standard by demanding the highest quality in all aspects of growing, processing, and distributing essential oils. DoTERRA is committed to obtaining oils from the original source. So they buy oils from growers that they select, train and monitor from all over the world. For example, Lavender comes from France and Frankincense comes directly from Oman. After the oils are obtained, they are processed in the manner best suited to that plant. Then they undergo third party testing in two independent labs to certify each batch of oil is pure. There are no synthetics, impurities or chemicals. If a batch does not meet this high standard, it does not make its way into bottles.

"Once I get my hands on them, how do I use them?"

1. Aromatically! All you have to do is take a whiff! They can also be diffused into the air effecting all the people in your home.

2. Topically! This is my favorite way and frankly the only way I used oils for a long time. Simple rub the oils on the forehead, tummy, bottoms of feet, ears, chest, or back of the neck. Application to the bottoms of the feet enter the bloodstream and affect the entire body in less than 30 seconds. No, I'm not kidding. :)

3. Internally! Take under the tongue, in a gel capsule, in water, or in food.

We put them on the kids every night before bedtime. Here I am actually putting some Lavender on Luke's jawline. It really seems to help with teething and settling down for a good nights sleep.

The girls LOVE my oils. They love how they smell and feel. 

Happy feet ready for a little OnGuard doTERRA oil! (I'll speak more of specific oils later but just so you know we don't go a day without OnGuard! LOVE IT!)

"Alright! I'm ready to learn more!"

I was hoping you'd say that! hehe! Because I'm ready to share more! I'd like to share my experiences with doTERRA Essential Oils with you! I'd like to share what I have in my medicine cabinet with you! I'm new to doTERRA and still have lots and lots to learn but I'd love to invite you to come and learn with me! Let's share our Essential Oil knowledge and shout from the rooftops together! 

I will be holding my first doTERRA class at my home on    Thursday, April 3rd at 8pm.
 (hopefully that will give you all a chance to tuck the kids in bed and come on over.)

To all those who plan on attending, please facebook message me or email me at aggiepains@gmail.com and I will send you my address! And for those of you reading this from faraway places (like Houston... or Dallas haha), I would love to share more information with you! Just give me a ring or email me and we'll make a plan. ;) 

Thank you all for reading and stopping by!

Luke's Blessing Pictures

Taking these pictures had been giving me anxiety for weeks! Weeks I tell you! I wanted them to be outside and every time the weather was nice enough, we had a million other things going on! Thank goodness I got these before he grew out of his blessing outfit. 

On our way home from this photo shoot I was feeling super bummed thinking I didn't get any good ones. It just got dark so quickly! 

But as soon as I got home and got them on the computer, I realized that I was so wrong!

I love them! They definitely have a different sort of hue to them. The sunset was particularly orangey on this day. But, I just adore them.

I can't tell you the feeling that comes over me when I look at these pictures. 

They make me cry with happiness and joy. 

I love being a Mother. 

But not just any Mother. 

I love being Luke's Mother.

A little bit of guilt is mixed in my feelings as well. I so suffered emotionally during this pregnancy. I was constantly thinking, "Is this really going to be worth it?".

Without a doubt. Best decision and worth it ALL.

This little guy has always been there for me.

I have felt his spirit during races and during hard personal times. 

He's a mighty one he is!

That may sound silly to you, but it's true.

I've ALWAYS wanted a little boy. 

And I've ALWAYS known I'd get one. ;)

Hopefully two. Did I just say that out loud? hehe.

I love this smile!!!!! 

He's just beside himself with laughter! I can hear it when I look at this picture!

He loves his Daddy.

Money shot. Love the light. Love the clarity. Love that smile!

This is one of my favorites. 

He looks like such a little man in this one...

"What's Mom going to make us do now?"

Tyler: "I don't know son. But you'll get used to it."

haha!

Drool= Mommy swooning

You don't have to understand it. haha!

I love this series! These are the ones I thought would be trash. The sun was just about gone.

But nope. They are the BEST!

hahaha!

I just love that little baby profile!

Swoon...

These may all look the same to you... but they are NOT. 

So different.

Handsome boy...

Kiss me face...

Pure joy face.

Thank goodness for Texas sunsets

 and handsome baby boys!!!

Christmas Day!

Christmas in our own home was..... 
a dream come true.
I'd come downstairs every morning to this beautiful sight...

I've been collecting ornaments and tinsel for the past several years always storing them away in boxes until I had my own tree to set up.
This year I got to go through them all and put them on the tree.
Seriously, who needs Christmas presents?
I adore our Christmas tree.

Rachel and Maggies stockings... made by their Great Nana! So special. I love them!

A Payne tradition!!! 
Every year they put baby Jesus in a manger at the beginning of the month, and as they do kind acts of service and love they are able to add straw to the baby's manager. 
I love this idea!!! Tyler built our little manager and we did this at the end of every day.
On Christmas morning before we can open presents we first sing "Happy Birthday" to baby Jesus and of course, give him lots of kisses... :)

Rachel and her bow and arrow. She seriously has been asking for this since the summer!
She surprises me with things like this... so girly yet tough too.
She was thrilled!!!!

And of course we went on a family run after breakfast had settled a bit! And I got to try out my new jump rope at the park! Sweet!
Baby Luke enjoyed his ride!

Tyler pushed the girls in the double stroller, and I pushed Luke in this... We were a sight to behold running through our neighborhood!
I love my family.

I wish I had gotten more pictures. Honestly, I'm proud of myself for getting all of these! Luke was only two months old at the time and I was seriously sleep deprived! Oh newborns! haha!
Christmas wore Maggie out! I found her dead asleep on the ottoman with Luke's blanket in the midst of all the family room noise. She was out cold. 
This is my favorite picture of the day...

MERRY CHRISTMAS YA'LL!!!

Christmas Eve

So the plan for Christmas Eve was to make homemade pizza... but 5 o'clock rolled around far faster than planned, so we headed to Fuddruckers instead. ;)

The girls certainly didn't mind...

My little baby enjoying the view from his carseat... I can't believe how much he's grown since then!

I caught this picture of my man... I'm so in love with him. And this picture. ;)

After dinner we drove around and looked at Christmas lights!

One street was just amazing so the girls and I got out of the car and walked around while Daddy and baby stayed warm in the car.

So magical... I love Christmas.

Love this one of Maggie...

Who would have guessed! Santa was there! And here they are putting in some last minute Christmas wishes...

Such a happy memory recorded. I'm SO glad we have these pictures!

After this we headed home and read the "Cajun Night Before Christmas" and the Christmas Story from Luke... and then we sent the kids off to bed to dream... 

Main St. Bethlehem

I can't tell you how excited Tyler and I were to have our own Christmas together this year. 
Truly, this is all we wanted. Just a quiet Christmas starting new traditions as a family. 
This is one for the record books! It's called Main St. Bethlehem. 
It's in a little town and every year they recreate the town of Bethlehem. 

We went with a big group from church! This was so much fun!

It was extremely crowded and I had my 80mm lens on... so the pictures are pretty bad. 
But I just had to post pictures anyway.
Rachel sifting wheat with a local...

It was very dark- only lit up by candlelight. 
They had everything--- stables, inns, marketplace, Roman soldiers, shops--- it was so amazing.

It was reverent and quiet. People only spoke in whispers. The girls were enthralled. 
In the distance they spotted the star... 

This was a wonderful moment for our family. Finally finding Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus. 
My two crazy girls were actually quiet and just gazed at them for a moment. I could tell that they caught the true meaning of Christmas in that moment.
This is one tradition that will live on every year for the Payne family! 

Christmas Cookies 2013

Christmas Cookies! 
The tradition that always survives. The tradition that trumps all the others. 
The day where I don't care how many cookies I eat! 
I'm going to have a million blogposts all labeled, "Christmas Cookies".
That could get confusing. Maybe I should start adding the year. Yes! Yes! I'm changing that right now! Give me a second....
Ahhh... there!
Confusion problem solved.
I'm one smart cookie! 
That was a joke.
You know you laughed. Don't deny it.

Okay, moving on... As you can see from the girls expressions, they were beyond pumped for this! 
It's everything kids dream of--- sugar, frosting, sprinkles, colors, mini candies, and cookies!!!

Oh, and Texas goes with any season.
Kind of like wearing black sunglasses. They go with everything. ;)

I love to see how every year their cookie decorating skills improve!
Rachel was a dang pro! 

So meticulous. 
She gets this from me. 
It's a blessing and a curse. Trust me.

Maggie--- not so much.
The one single requirement for her cookies to be to code is lots and lots of pink sprinkles! haha!

Ta-Da!!!! 
Now lets go deliver these bad boys before I gain a zillion pounds!
So good! I just can't resist.