I love this guy!

Horse Happy Girl!

Anna was completely delighted to go horseback riding today in Garden of the Gods park with one of her favorite friends!  Let the birthday celebrations begin!

 

 

 

Balanced Meal

Trying to decide whether to call it parental failure or creative genius that my child considers this a "balanced meal"

You just might be a redneck . . .

Fun with one . . .

We enjoyed some half birthday fun with our Daniel last night . . . even if I do feel a bit guilty about beating him at Phase 10!  Too many french fries, plenty of games and a fun movie - with an even more fun 13 1/2 year old.  We are blessed!

The freedom to go to church (in our country) is a privilege . . . EVEN in THIS!  Snow is still coming down strong, day two!  SO thankful for our new church home! (and yes, Daniel is in shorts - please don't say it!!)

My youngest two kids were coming home from the dentist today chattering happily (in the car) about classic literature . . . who knew?!

We enjoyed our first (fake) fire of the season tonight.  A few deer even stopped by to sniff our dinner!  A trip to the jumping pillow in the dark and a game of Texas HoldEm rounded out a fun night (especially since we used Easter candy instead of poker chips!) . . . AND (earlier in the evening) Kevin got to play with his new Christmas toy - a video camera drone!

 

 

 

 

Spring Break Road Trip~ March 2016

We just returned home from an early Spring Break road trip.  What a blessing this trip was!  We've dreamed for YEARS of going on a cruise as a family.  This was, in many ways, a dream come true! It was made even more special because we were able to 1) share it with Auntie Penny and 2) we were able to see some extended family in the days before the cruise.  Penny and the kids (and adults!) have voted unanimously to do it again, if at all possible! (and talk Taylor into coming along next time!)

A few highlights (I posted FAR too many on Facebook, you can see more there if you'd like!)

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bake Recipe!

3 cups dry oats (quick oats, old fashioned or gluten free)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (or raisins)

Combine butter, brown sugar and eggs.  Mix well.
Add remaining ingredients, mix and pour in a greased baking dish.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, serve warm (but cold works too!!)

YUM!!!

If I were a "hardcore prepper-type", I'd seriously be stockpiling these two oils (among others!) - because if I ever ran out of them, it really WOULD be the end of the world!!

A few nights ago, I had the start of a sore throat.  Usually one or two sprays of my homemade "Thieves Spray" stops it dead in its tracks.  On this occasion though, I noticed that my trusty Thieves spray didn't work its usual magic.  And, I didn't just have "slightly scratchy and a little bit sore" going on in the back of my throat.  I had that burning lump of fireball down low in your throat, when you try to swallow it away, but it persists . . . the kind that narrows its eyes, clenches its fists and threatens to take you down for several days.  I was actually a little bit worried!  Enter my trusty "heavy hitter" Oregano oil.  I put 4-5 drops in a capsule, with a little bit of coconut oil, swallowed it with some water and went to bed.  In the morning, I was good as new! . . . and in fact, had completely forgotten that I'd ever been concerned.  Yay oils!

Essential oils never cease to amaze me!  Thieves, in particular, has a very fun history.  You can read more about it at my oily website www.yldist.com/lisagrenier.  You can research Oregano oil online or ask me for more information.  I am almost ALWAYS happy to talk about my beloved essential oils, just ask!

Work night at youth group

I am SO incredibly thankful for our church!  If you read our Christmas letter, you know that our sweet little church closed at the end of 2015 and we approached 2016 needing to find a new church home.  We are SO thankful for the nearly seamless transition we have enjoyed moving over to New Covenant Church in Larkspur.  It is literally a stone's throw from our house, but we have never actually attended church there in all these years.  I'm sure I will be doing another post at some point in time about it, but for now, suffice it to say that we are utterly grateful for this body of believers.

Some pix from a recent 'work night' at youth group and an action shot of the youth worship 'band' practicing ~ they are awesome! I think they had as much fun with the "ghost busters style" vacuum than they did anything! Silly boys!

Sweet Samuel is Eleven!!

Our sweet, Star Wars loving Samuel turned 11 yesterday!  We have enjoyed having some friends over for a sleepover/celebration.  I have also learned that everything takes a LOT longer when you have no clue what you are doing (such as this cake!).  R2D2 is semi-recognizable, Chewbacca, not as much.  But, Sam was gracious on both accounts!  So thankful for this boy!

FIVE days! . . . and 49+ reasons you might not have thought of!

There are just 5 days left to grab a Young Living starter kit for 10% off!!

The kit includes 11 of the most wonderful oils on the planet, an awesome diffuser, several samples, wholesale pricing on any future orders, direct access to me!!, a private network of help/ideas AND best of all, NO ongoing commitment or strings attached! . . . WHAT are you waiting for???

Leap before midnight on Feb 29th and you'll also get an additional $25 cash back gift from me ON TOP OF the sale price! (when you sign up as a wholesale member with a starter kit). This is like stacking discounts at Kohls - only better!

Do you realize that breaks down to LESS THAN $12 per bottle of oil (tax and shipping INCLUDED!) with several samples AND a 3-in-1 diffuser/humidifier/atomizer (an $83 value alone) essentially tossed in for . . . free!??? One of those oils is Thieves (which kills 99.996% of all airborne pathogens and bacteria after just 20 minutes in the diffuser . . . another of those is FRANKINCENSE - which nearly walks on water . . . do you KNOW how much Frankincense costs??!!).  They gave this oil to baby Jesus, people! WOW!

No one, NO ONE, in their right mind can turn that down! (sorry, but it's true!). Young Living produces the finest quality oils 'out there' (for the past 20+ years). If you've ever wanted to dip your toes in the world of essential oils and find out what all the fuss is about, NOW is the time! Each bottle contains 85-100 drops of oil, so this collection gets you around 900 drops. Oils are extremely concentrated and a typical application is 1-4 drops, so the starter kit will last you awhile. They will certainly last you long enough to play around, experiment on your family, fall madly in love with their oily goodness and wonder what you EVER did before you knew about oils.

Best of all, you will not be going into using these oils blind.  You will gain immediate access to an exclusive oil group that will really help make your jump into oils easy and enjoyable. It's the same group I started with almost 2 years ago (except now it has about 50K people in it)

Just in case you are STILL confused and you think that I'm trying to sell you expensive oils that you really don't believe you'd ever use . . . here is a short list of things that people are using essential oils for:

congestion
runny noses
sore throats
coughing
insomnia
skin care
sore muscles
itching/rashes
sugar cravings
appetite control
warts/skin tags
bloody noses
ear infections
inflammation
fighting infection
pain relief
stress reduction
first aid
sinus drainage
massage
headaches
toothaches
acne
hot flashes
menstrual cramps
tummy troubles
libido
restless legs
hormone balance
hair growth
toenail fungus!
allergy relief
anxiety
mood/emotions
focus/concentration
diaper rash
teething
clarity
room deodorizing
sunscreen
bug spray
general disinfecting
soap making
lotion making
candle making
cooking
baking
cleaning
laundry

and this is NOT even an exhaustive list!  Really, the possibilities are endless!

Contact me! or go to www.yldist.com/lisagrenier for more information . . . OR don't. and run the risk of kicking yourself later (as you try to figure out WHAT YOU COULD POSSIBLY HAVE BEEN THINKING when you passed up this offer!).  You've been warned, lol!.

P.S. - You don't even HAVE to become a "half crazed, oil-obsessed, take them with you everywhere, junkie" to benefit from this collection of oils! . . . but no one will hold it against you if you do!