Simply Renovated

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sipping on sweet steaming tea and resting for a minute or however long I have before the next child bends low over the toilet bowl and heaves as his tiny frame shakes.  Ahhhh 'tis the season I say.  

There is thieves diffusing in two different rooms and sheets sprawled on couches, chicken broth simmering and mouths to be wiped, bowls to be cleaned and laundry to be done.  

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I was woken up in the dark of night to a voice yelling my name.  He was sick.  Every hour he was needing me.  Then a second one woket...the one we call smalls...needing a little more of me.   Now I'm up more than once every hour.   My friend wrote a blog about serving God in the mundane in life.  Her words are beautiful and you can tell from her writing that her heart is so pure.  She is describing in her blog a very beautiful woman of our church doing the things unseen to make sure the building is a "go" for Sunday's service.  She describes humble service and what it entails.  This read was such an encouragement to me because sometimes in the midst of mundane work here at home I get selfish...real selfish and think I deserve things because I do so much.  I get this way because what I do goes unnoticed.  It goes without recognition.  I continue to do this and it continues to go unnoticed.  Motherhood.

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And yet, as good as it feels to be noticed, it is 100% completely wrong of me to expect it or feel deserving of it because that is not what Jesus modeled for us...

Jesus came to serve...not to be served. So mom changing yet another dirty diaper, mom wiping the toilet seat one more time, mom doing the dishes again, mom making dinner once again just to have the kids complain about it, mom changing the soaked through sheets once again, mom nursing your child for the 10th time today, mom coming home from a full days work just to put in more hours...give thanks...you're being trained to be like Jesus. 

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And just because I think my friends blog is worth the read...I'll put it here again.

How we get through the cold/flu season

There is truth to some medicine but I personally not a fan of pumping my kids full of medicine every time they come down with something.  So here are some of my natural "go to's" during this season.

Homemade disinfectant complete with vinegar, water, organic liquid soap, lemon slices and thieves blend.  This year I added pine, clove and cinnamon to my cleaner to give it a winter-y smell!

 

Homemade chicken broth...mmmmmmm....sooo good!  There is nothing better during the flu than sipping on some steaming hot chicken broth and it makes every homemade chicken noodle soup incredibly amazing!!!! Here is a great step by step picture recipe for organic homemade chicken stock! 

Kombucha!!! yeah...not for everyone! But I found a recipe that my kids and myself truly enjoy and it's a great way to get us all good healthy probiotics! A great recipe is right here and my favorite way to flavor it is with Zinger Raspberry tea bags!

 Lastly....besides diffusing and rubbing thieves and coconut oil on your feet...never underestimate the power of a steaming hot bath with thieves and Epsom Salts in it...I am convinced it cures it (or maybe it's my little excuse to get away ;) ).