#1 questions I get asked SSSOOO much....."Is it hard to homeschool?"  Well, that answer is a tiny bit complicated.  The answer is YES and NO!  So before I talk about the difficulty of homeschooling, I need to preface this my saying every state is different and NY is very strict on education laws.  After living in a state that has extremely relaxed education law, I have come to appreciate the reasoning behind NYS law. So, to homeschool a child you must submit paperwork that tells the school district of your intentions.  We call this a "Letter of Intent".....easy peasy!  Next step is an Individualized Home Instruction Plan or an IHIP.  This is a basic layout of what you will teach your student throughout the year.  NY does give you some guidelines here that you must adhere to but they do not dictate what curriculum is needed. There are quarterly reports that are required to keep status on how your student(s) is doing.  And then there is a f...

How? is the question I get asked so often when it comes to my life. How do you homeschool that many kiddos? How do you work from home? How do you do both? I pretty much have two words to sum up the answer to all of those questions..........God and Organization. First, I feel like God has ordained my life exactly the way He wants it.  Who can argue with that!  He has opened the doors for me to be able to be home to raise and educate my children.  He has blessed our business with abundance and He has allowed me the opportunity to start a new business that has been such a great blessing to me and my family. Second, organization!  This is key to everything I do.  Does this mean that my home runs like a well oiled macine with everything in it's place and perfet.  NOPE!  Many times in my world chaotic organization is the best kind.  But it is organization none the less. Running two business from home and homeschooling five kiddos plus regular...

This is a song I wrote for my sister and few years ago.  Here is part of her story that I told in another post:   My sister's story Sonya Jean I wish I had one more day, I wish I had just one more day. If someone had told me that this was the way; I would have wished for just one more day. The good Lord giveth, and He taketh away, I wish I had just one more day. Such short time on Earth, you had to live; And in that time you had so much to give. A mother, sister and a daughter, A spirit filled with fun and laughter. As sickness came to take you away, I held tight to every day. I wish I had one more day, I wish I had just one more day. If someone had told me that this was the way; I would have wished for just one more day. The good Lord giveth, and He taketh away, I wish I had just one more day. So many things I should have said, Sitting there beside your bed. The most important we covered, The day you prayed and Jesus ...

Many people ask me why or how I began my journey with Young Living.  It definately was not by accident.  God had a plan and a purpose.  My husband had chronic severe migraines.  Sometimes he would have as many as twenty six or more debilitating migraines a month.  This is unbearable for anyone but especially unbearable for a self employed man who lives in a 1000 square foot home with his wife and five children.  Life was exhausting and hard. We went to many doctors throughout NY, MS, VT and CA looking for answers.  We tried all the migraine medicines, accupuncture, accupressure, chiropractic, nutrition, botox, special glasses, you name it!  Nothing worked.  We were at our wits end and had a medicine cabinet so full of drugs that my husband seemed like a zombie. I was fed up.  I knew that there had to be a better way but wasn't sure what that was.  Regardless, I knew that taking as many drugs as he was, my husband's body no lo...

Okay, so I have done lots of postings about what essential oils have done for my family, so let's chat about a few things that they can do for your family!  I am a WAHM of five kiddos that range from 4 years old to fourteen years old.  So preschool to teenagers.  Quite a gap and they all have different needs, not to mention me and the hubs!  I want to share in this post some of the areas that we use essential oils that may also bless you. 1.  SLEEP- hands down, best area right here!  When all the little(er) people sleep, Mama sleeps better too!  All of my kiddos sleep with diffusers in their room.  Sometimes we use these for sleep support oils and sometimes we use these for other "needs".  We will chat about these needs in a minute. My teenagers have found different smells that relax them and they just diffuse whichever they like.  Some of our favorites are Patchouli, Lavender, Cedarwood, Peace & Calming, Stress Away, and Frankin...

This book has been life changing for me.  It is eye opening to see how many lies we have bought into simply because society put them out there for us to ponder.  What we "feed" our minds is a very dangerous thing.  When we let society be the driving force behind our decisions and thoughts we can venture into dangerous territory. Just think about how many rules, laws, thought and agendas have changed in the years that you have been alive.  So, why would we allow something that is constantly changeing to be the driving force behind our values and beliefs for ourselves and our families?  I believe in the solid and unchangeable word of God as truth. This book uses the word of God, the Bible, to show truths that contradict what society has taught us.  We as women are especially vulnerable to believing lies I believe simply because of our passionate hearts!  How often has a loved one been late to get home or call you?  Where does your mind tend t...

Have you ever been so passionate about something that it makes you almost cry?  I have....I AM!  I am this passionate about seeing lives changed.  I am this passionate about health and wellness.........BUT I am even more passionate about kicking cancer to the curb! Cancer Sucks! Do you realize that the American Cancer Society says that 90% off all cancers are preventable!  What does that mean?  LIFESTYLE choices are killing us.....literally!  Many people have the "not me" approach to cancer or the "well, if it's my time" ideaology.  I may or may not change your mindset, but at least indulge me for these few minutes.  I would love to tell you my story and see if it at least makes you think twice about what you allow in your house, on your skin, in the air around you....and in your mouth! When I was twenty years old, I had a twenty eight year old sister get diagnosed with cancer.  Yes---TWENTY EIGHT!  Most people would think lit...

This song speaks to my desire to FIGHT!  Years ago I was headed down a road that could have taken me to such a different place.  The Lord was gracious and merciful by opening my eyes and showing me that I was still His no matter what!  This song reminds me that HE made me and HE made me the way He did for a purpose.  The voices in my head are not always the correct voices to listen to.  I have "fought" hard to change the script and I will continue with what God has planned for me.  His plans are the only plans! Fight Song

Music!  Just the thought makes me smile.  I come from a hugely talented family of musicians.  From the earliest of days I clearly remember music and instruments being a vital part of every family gathering.  Music just was!  It brought us together, it was fun, and it was what we did.  We always called it "pickin and grinnin". As I watch the last of that family generation fade into memories I am overwhelmed by the thought of the music "dying" with them.  There are very few of us in the younger generation that can play music like my dad's generation in our family.  It will be greatly missed when they are gone but the appreciation for music, family, love and good old times will always remain. I blame my dad for my deep love of all things music.  Although I truly cannot play music (or sing really), I love and appreciate so many kinds of music.  A song can transport me to so many places, it can speak to my sould, help me worship, tell ...

How many times have you been asked a question and you are afraid to answer honestly?  How often are you asked to do something or be involved in something and you say yes or maybe, all well knowing that you don't want to?  How many times have you been approached by someone offering you something and insread of just saying "No Thanks", you just smile and listen?  Why do WE do this?  Yes, I do this often.....well, I used to do this often.  FEAR!  We are afraid to seem harsh, afraid to be honest, afraid to upset someone else, or afraid that someone will get mad at us? I am a non confrontational person.  I HATE conflict.  I will just smile and say ok before I cause waves.  Or at least that is who I WAS!  I broke free from this FEAR a while ago.  I have realized that it is okay to be honest, to say NO, and to sometimes stand up for ME!  And if the other person gets upset or angry, that is on them.....not me! I am a (brutally s...

I absolutely love to read.  It is one of my favorite past times.  I don't usually read fiction.  I tend to like topics associated with health and wellness, business, Biblical, Bible studies, child rearing, home making, etc.  I also a book hoarder!  I hate to share books and because I am a "scribbler" I also do not like to use library books.  Now, don't get me wrong, we use the library for many of our reading books and home school necessities.  I just prefer my own books to be scribble-able!  Yes, I just made my own word--and it's okay....after all, it is my blog. This category will be a sort of book review list.  As I read books or as I take time to write reviews on ones I have already read, I will post under this heading.  If you have great suggestions, please comment and let me know as I love new book suggestions! My ALWAYS and most FAVORITE book: My current reading materials ;)

I hear so often "I can't get on the Essential Rewards program because all of Young Living's products are so expensive" or "Wow, you pay that much for shampoo?" Yup, I do!  BUT there are a few reasons WHY I pay that much for shampoo (and other products) First- I get my household products like shampoo, conditioner, laundry soap, body wash, face cleaners, etc from Young Living on the Essential Rewards program.  I am going to buy these products anyway and Walmart does not give me anything for buying this stuff.  Young Living gives me 20% back on all of my products!!!! Second- Because I do buy my products on Essential Rewards I get FREE products PLUS I know that these products are non toxic and work amazingly!  Buying "healthy, non toxic" products at Walmart is almost impossible! Third-  HACKS!!!!!!!!  Young Living products are so amazingly concentrated that I have learned many hacks to make them last WAY longer than most people know.  For inst...

We as mom's tend to be pretty thorough about keeping our homes clean.  It's the place our kids eat, play, sleep and live.  Most mom's I know try their hardest to keep a clean environment to ward off any unwanted side effects of a dirty environment!  I know that my floors are one of my greatest areas of issue.  Our high traffic kitchen area has linoleum flooring and the entry ways have hard wood.  This creates a lot of indoor/outddor foot traffic.  The dog also contributes to this traffic. My kids predominantly run around our home barefoot.  So I like to keep the floors as clean and "critter" free as possible.  I was astonished when I learned that my hard pressed desire to keep my kids healthy by mopping the floors constantly may have been doing more damage than good! The chemicals we use to clean our homes are predominantly doing more damage to our families than good!  I was shocked!  Watch the video below done by Dr. Jim Bob Hagge...

We are preparing for our first ever (really) camping trip.  Now, you would need to know me to know that this is a STRETCH for me!  No, I am lying.....its not a stretch it is a full blown miraculous thing.  BUT, remember, I am working on Fun and Family this year and someone convinced me that camping would accomplish both.  I, however, am quite certain that camping with strengthen my Faith more than anything.  Two adults, five kiddos, one dog all in one camper....YUP--this will make or break my Faith! I am NOT a big fan of camping.  When someone puts vacation plus camping in the same sentence it sounds like an oximoron to me.  We did go camping TWICE in the last sixteen years of marriage.  The first time was in a tent big enough to barely fit the air mattress......not good!  That was before we had kiddos.  Then we went again with three kiddos in a "three room" tent.  Um, NO....those are definately not three rooms.  It's like on...

Have you heard the new craze about all of these "cleanses"?  So, is it worth looking into?  Or is this just a money making scheme? All of my life I have had digestive issues.  I had heard about cleansing but never really thought twice about it.  I probably didn't want to think twice about it because most of them required fasting and, well, I love food! But I made a committment this year to get healthy and WELL!  This means fixing the things I know are broken or not working optimally, even if I am not "sick".  I started looking into the impact of gut health on my overall wellness.  Let's just say that I was blown away.  I went through book after book and training after training and almost every issue people deal with led back to the gut!  Imagine that. Hormones issues, skin issues, attention issues, food sensitivity issues......ALL led back to gut health.    And poop!  I learned more about pooping and how it affects every ...

OK Mama's--I know that I am not the only one who says, "What are they?" when asked about your friends.  How many of you feel like the minute that you became a Mama, friends just disappeared? Guess What - It is okay!  Yup-I totally just said that.  There are periods of my life where I felt like I had no friends AT ALL.  Of course, this wasn't exactly true, but it felt that way.  When you are a homeschooling Mama, who works from home and has ANY kiddos, where do you have time for friends??? I used to be picked on for being the "unsocial" friend.  But guess what...I may only have a handful of friends that I do not see merely enough but they are there!  When I need them, I can count on them.  Even when they live on the other side of the country. Want to know what -- most of them are online friends.  Yup--they count!  After joining Young Living I was included in a members only Facebook group that has almost been even more amazing than t...

Most people assume that because I home school five children that I love it.  NOT so much!  My reasons for homeschooling my children have very little to do with my feelings about it, and more to do with my Faith and my convictions about Family! You see, I was not a home schooled kid.  I went to public school in a relatively large school district.  My graduating class had almost 200 people.  My husband went to a very small private school in the south.  Niether of us had ever personally experienced homeschooling. When we were married, actually before, we discussed our thoughts and ideas on family size and all issues about having children.  The idea of an optimal schooling environment came up pretty quickly.  There were a few reasons that we originally decided to home school, but over the years they changed a bit. We initially felt a Biblical desire to be the key contributors to our children's education so that we could oversee what they were ta...

How am I using my Oola journey to strengthen and encourage my walk in Faith? Well, I am so glad that you asked!  The Oola journey has seven key areas of balance to worok through.  Faith is one area, but I have found a way to work through all seven "F"s and they all interlock into my faith! My favorite thing to do first thing in the morning is to wake up with a hot shower, then I like to "walk as Jesus walked".  The New Testament tells us that  " And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed" I like to do the same.  After my hot shower, I have a hot cup of coffee and my quiet time.  I use this time to read my Bible, to read a good Christian book that teaches me something, for Bible Studies, and for prayer. Since there are seven "F"s, I have assigned one to everyone day of the week.  That is my focus for that day.  I have pages in my journal set aside for e...

I am the girl who likes to be home, like never leave home, have peace and quiet, and am afraid of people ;)  I have never "sold" anything in my life (before a year ago), and I rarely tell people about things I love because I just assumed they really didn't care. I have always worked from home, but at a "real" business.  The hubs and I own an electrical contracting business and I have always run the home office.  How many hubs get to go home with the secretary 😀 Well, I am the last person I would have ever expected to fall in love with a MLM business.  I am very skepticle of things and like I said....PEOPLE!  But, as I often do, I have surprised myself.  I got started with Young Living as part of a 15 year journey to get some answers and freedom for a hubs that suffered from severe chronic migraines.  Little did I know that this company would radically change our lives! Not only have we tackled the migraines, we have learned as a family and healt...

I have five kiddos ages four to fourteen.  Only one poor boy stuck in-between all of those girls.  One thing I quickly figured out through having children is that after kiddo #1, your hormones no longer know how they are supposed to act! This caused me A LOT of issues.  Issues with sleep, temperment, libido, mom brain, and what I overall just called Mom Crazy!  I never would have guessed in a million years that essential oils could be used to support hormones and all the crazy!  But they do!  Not only mom crazy, but teenage crazy too!!!  This stuff is like the Golden ticket!  Check out a class I tauught all about hormones and essential oils. Hormones and Essential Oils To get started on your own oily journey:  http://bit.ly/christayl

Essential Oils have changed my life! Everyone sleeps better, temperments are better, Momma Crazy is gone, hormones are under control and SO MANY other things.  I could go on and on about the awesomeness of these babies! But I will just leave you a video instead...it will save my fingers and your sanity ;) Listen to this video (it is not me) and then hit me up so we can chat!  Or, if you are SOLD, like I was then go get your kit!! http://bit.ly/christayl Essential Oils 101

I started on my journey of health and wellness so long ago that I am really uncertain of when it was.  I was trained as a nurse, but still felt an overwhelming pull towards natural routes to wellness and taking into account mind, body, and soul - not just covering up symptoms. As with any journey I love to learn new things along the way.  My favorite way to learn things is reading!  I absolutely love to read!  Soaking in concepts and Revelations through the written word engulfs me.  I am totally a "marker" also.  I love to write in my books, make notes, highlight, star, and underline!  The more colors the better!!  Needless to say, I do not prefer library books for this reason. For the year 2018 I decided to challenge myself to read at LEAST 2 books a month.  Well, I am a bit behind that goal but have read some of the greatest books so far!  One of my ABSOLUTE favorites is the Oola for Women book.  The ideas in this book have ch...

As I am working through a life of balance I find two areas to be severely lacking.....Fitness and Fun.  To encourage myself to find areas of Fun I decided to make a "bucket list" of fun things that I would like to accomplish within the next 3-5 years.  Some of these are this summer, some are near future, and some will Max out that 3-5 years.  Some are on my own, and some include the entire family. *Hawaii *camping - One Trip down, one to go *The Creation Museum *The Ark encounter *Kids Pool party *Read one book a month - I MAY be reading more like two or three a month ;)         (This is totally fun for me....don't judge) *Travel *Amusement park *Young Living Convention *Silver Retreat *Elevate *Hike two mountains this summer        (this one is back burnered since I sprained my ankle) *Fire pit and smores - did this on camping trip #1 *Fireworks *Parades - Got in two so far in the Summer of 2018 *Disney *West...

I have this overwhelming issue with people who say that they are "healthy as a horse" while lighting up their tenth cigarette for the day.  My dad is one of these people.  I love him "to the moon and back", but it bothers me when he feels that he is so healthy even though he smokes a pack or more of cigarettes a day and has for over forty years! So, why is it that we feel that "health" is based upon whether or not we are sick at that moment?  My dad can go to a doctor for a physical and be told he is "healthy"- even though the doctor knows he smokes.  We can go to the grocery store and buy a box of cereal that has claims of nutrition, value, low sugar and "no high fructose corn syrup", yet you read the actual ingedient list and you see sugar as the second ingredient and corn syrup (apparently not the high fructose sort) on the same list. When did we become so dumb as a nation?  When did we learn to listen to everyone else to determi...