Finally getting some sleep thanks to Lavender!

As long as I can remember I have always had trouble falling asleep.  It seems that no matter how tired my body feels, my mind will not shut off.  I don't know how many nights I have laid in bed for hours, thinking of all the tasks that need to be accomplished the next day, new projects I would like to work on, shopping lists, meal ideas, how to solve world peace...okay, so maybe not the last one, but it does seem like anything and everything is on my mind the moment my head hits the pillow.

But not anymore!  Nope, this girl is FINALLY able to fall asleep within MINUTES (usually 5-10) of lying down.  How is this happening??  

Lavender, my friends!  Lavender!  

Every night before bed I rub one drop of Young Living's Lavender Essential Oil on each of my feet and then put a little on my pillow.  The oil calms and soothes my mind and body, helping me relax so that I can fall asleep.  I am so thankful for this oil!  I can finally get a good night's sleep and feel well-rested and refreshed when I awake.  Something this momma definitely needs!

__________________________________________________________________________

"Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) has a fresh, sweet, floral, herbaceous aroma that is soothing and refreshing. Because it is the most versatile of all essential oils, no home should be without it. Lavender is an adaptogen, and therefore can assist the body when adapting to stress or imbalances. It is a great aid for relaxing and winding down before bedtime, yet has balancing properties that can also boost stamina and energy. Therapeutic-grade lavender is highly regarded for skin and beauty. It may be used to soothe and cleanse common cuts, bruises, and skin irritations. The French scientist René Gattefossé was among the first to discover these properties when he was severely burned in a laboratory explosion. Lavender may also be used to enhance the flavor of foods" (source)

Contact me for more information or to order your lavender!

 

Everyday Essential Oils

As you may recall, my husband and I recently became Independent Distributors for Young Living Essential Oils.  This has by far been one of the best decisions we have made for ourselves physically, emotionally and financially.  We love the oils and use them everyday!  

Here are a few ways we use our oils:

• Ryan takes peppermint with him to work and inhales the aroma whenever he needs an energy boost.
• We put a few drops of peppermint in a glass of water when one of us has an uneasy stomach.
• We rub Peace & Calming on our sons feet to help him calm down before naps and bedtime.
• I put a few drops of lemon in the bottom of the trash can to minimize odors.
• I use lemon and lavender in some of my homemade cleaning solutions.
• I put lemon in my water to purify it and to give it some flavor.
• I use lavender as a deodorant.
• I use Valor for my TMJ.

For more information please visit our blog and leave a message! We'd love to help you on your way to a better you!

Life Update

Hello dears,  I don't even know where to begin...

...so much has changed so far in 2013:

January welcomed the birth of our son, Tyler.  He has been an absolute joy and wonderful blessing to our lives.  I love spending my days with him.  He started sleeping through the night (8-10 hours) when he was 7 weeks old and usually wakes up smiling and cooing.  About a week before our son was born we had an 18-year-old girl move in with us.  She had been converted to Christ, but had fallen away as a result of her environment.  She wanted to get back on the right track with God and she already had a place in our hearts so we offered her a room in our home.  The first few weeks were very rough, especially as I was dealing with all the emotional ups-and-downs of being a new momma.  For the most part, everyone gets on very smoothly and I've come to really enjoy having her around.

February was a blur.  I don't remember anything too significant happening during that month.  I spent most of my time taking care of and cuddling with our precious little boy...which I absolutely loved!

March was fairly uneventful as well.  I started blogging again and have realized that it's too much to keep up with a schedule.  I'm just going to blog when I have the time...which won't be as often as I would like.  I have SO much that I want to share with you though!  I have still been able to do a few projects here and there.  Hopefully I'll be able to share them with you soon.

April brought a visit from my parents...aka Granny and Papaw.  Papaw taught Ryan how to replace drywall and install a shower surround in our upstairs bathroom - which we hadn't used since March of 2011 because water had gotten to the drywall and caused mold to grow and we just hadn't had the money to fix it.  So, with our tax return we finally fixed our upstairs shower...I LOVE having our shower back!  Especially having another person in the house!  Papaw and Granny might have spoiled our little guy just a bit.  But that's alright.  That's what grandparents are for, right!?!?

This month also brought a great surprise!  On the 15th I received this message from Jenn at Clean&Scentsible:

 

Hi Jessica!

Congratulations!!! You are the winner of the $1000 custom closet organization system from Easy Closets!! Please confirm your email and I will forward your information to Easy Closets.   I hope you enjoy your prize!  We would love to see what you do with it!

Jenn

I couldn't believe my eyes!  I read, re-read, re-read, and re-read the e-mail again.  Then the tears started.  We had won!  I sat at my computer for at least ten minutes, still in amazement that we had really won this amazing prize!  Our master closet is a major need of some organizational help.  This is perfect for us!  - A special and huge "THANK YOU" to the amazing hosts of the Spring Cleaning Challenge and this amazing Giveaway:  Clean & Scentsible, Ask Anna, Clean Mama, I Dream of Clean, A Real-life Housewife, and Spring Cleaning 365.  And of course, I want to thank Easy Closets for sponsoring the giveaway and making this prize possible!  I will definitely be sharing our closet makeover with you all!

As exciting and wonderful as the beginning of the month was, there had to be a challenge waiting for us:  Ryan's overtime stopped.  Initially they told him it would start back up in a week.  A week came and went and overtime still wasn't starting back up.  By the end of April we came to the conclusion that overtime isn't going to start back up anytime soon, perhaps not until November.  This is very bad for us financially.  We made some ignorant decision in the past and now we're paying for them.  Ryan was working 16-20 hours overtime a week.  We need for him to work at least 12.  Thus April was an emotionally and spiritually challenging month for us...and we're still trying to figure things out.  Which brings us to...

May.  Today is May 6th and this has already been the longest month ever!  On May 2nd we got Ryan's first 40 hour paycheck since the winter holidays.  Needless to say this kind of woke both of us up.  We have to do something to bring in a supplemental income.  I am going to be opening an Etsy shop as soon as I have a small collections of items ready.  This is something I have been considering doing for some time now, but our financial situation has given me a final push to really put things together and take the plunge!  I'm really excited and hope this can help us so Ryan doesn't have to get a second job.  On May 5th we took an even bigger plunge and signed up to be distributors of Young Living Essential Oils!  Ryan and I are very excited and cannot wait to receive our oils!  As soon as I have more information I will share it with you.  Until then, please feel free to visit www.youngliving.com for more information.  You'll be glad you did!  Backing up to May 2nd:  This was the first night that little man slept in his crib...in his own room...away from mommy and daddy!  He slept all through the night...just like usual!  This pushed me to work on his crib bedding some more.  I had finished the crib skirt in April and so on Friday, May 3rd I made one of his crib sheets.  More on those two projects later! 

My current "To-Do" list is ginormous and the amount of "free time" that I have is anything but!  However, I know I can make it through.  I serve a Mighty and Powerful God who has always been there to be the strength that I need to survive the tough times, a wonderful, loving husband to encourage, help, support, comfort and just be there for me, our precious son to make me smile when I feel like crying, a wonderful spiritual family close in proximity and physical family who are close at heart.  I am blessed and so very thankful that God considers me and that He has blessed me so bountifully.

As you can see there's a lot going on at the Pugh home.  Lord willing, I'll be able to share bits and pieces with you along the way.  Thanks for listening and being a source of support and encouragement for me!  You're wonderful!

Our Little Man

Two Weeks Old

Now I just need to take his 3 Month photos!

Have a wonderful day!

Prayer Part 1: Why should we pray?

Obviously, there are many reasons why we should spend time praying, today I would like to focus on one I find to be critical to our spiritual well-being.  I believe we should spend quality time in prayer is to deepen our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Being a mother, I am developing a greater appreciation for communication.  Our almost-three-month-old communicates via facial expressions, body language, cheerful coos and upset cries.  It breaks my heart when he cries and I don't know what is exact need is.  I try to read the cues he gives me, recall his patterns, and logically assess each situation.  Sometimes, no matter how many attempts I make to comfort him, he remains upset.  He's a baby.  Babies cry.  This is normal.  And that's okay.  However, when I see him smiling up at me and we look deep in each others eyes, my heart absolutely melts.  Sometimes we have long "conversations," which brings a great deal of joy to my heart.  I love spending quality time with our son.  Even though he cannot communicate with me verbally using words, we share with one another and grow closer every day.  I am striving to develop a strong relationship with open communication now, so that when difficult things come up, he will be more apt to share them with me.

Our relationship with God works the same way.  We cannot grow closer to God unless we consistently spend time talking with Him.  Just as I want to know what our son thinks and feels, God wants to hear from us, His spiritual children.  He longs to share in our joys, as well as our sorrows.  Sometimes we only turn to God when times are rough, and that is definitely a time when we should be seeking His comfort and strength.  But just as I enjoy the "happy times" with our son, God wants to be a part of - and be thanked for - the blessings that make up our "happy times."  When we openly talk to God and thank Him for all that He has bountifully blessed us with, our appreciation for Him grows.  We "see" how generous He has been towards us, even though we haven't always been loyal to Him.  

Talking with God means we not only spend time in prayer, but time reading His Word, as that is how He communicates with us today.  We learn about His character, His desire for us and His plan for us through reading and studying the Scriptures.  I cannot meaningfully communicate with our son unless I take time to learn him, his moods, his likes, his dislikes, etc.  The more we strive to know God and the more we let Him into our lives, the closer our relationship will become.

Remember, God is ALWAYS there.  He has given us EVERYTHING we need to know about Him so we can have a close relationship with Him.  He is just WAITING for US to COME to HIM.

Take time today to talk with God.  Let Him know what is on your heart.  Read and study what is on His.

Loving My Husband

Since Tyler entered our lives and my role expanded to include that of "Mommy" I have really had to keep myself in check so that I am not neglecting the role I took on December 2, 2010, when I vowed to love my husband until death do us part.  (See this post for a in-depth study of this command.) This was very challenging for me at first.  Tyler's needs were such that the majority of my time was devoted to him.  That really hasn't changed much, and I don't expect it to anytime soon.  However, my super-wonderful, tender-loving, oh-so-understanding husband has needs, too: spiritual, emotional, and physical.  If I am to keep this vow (I'm only focusing this one for now...though I vowed much more on that blessed day) then I must make time to fulfill his needs.  

Occasionally this means that Tyler has to wait for one or more of his needs to be met.  No, we don't leave our son screaming for a bottle, sitting in a messy diaper, or crying hysterically just so we can have some "alone" time.  We love our son dearly and we both understand that his needs are often more pressing than our own.  Generally speaking we are able to wait until he's cooing in his bouncer or sleeping soundly before we take time to focus on each other.  

There are times when I shift my focus from Tyler to Ryan in an effort to show Ryan the love and attention he needs.  For example, I might be in the middle of feeding Tyler a bottle when Ryan calls on his lunch break.  For those of you who have ever fed a 2-month-old a bottle, you know it requires two hands - one to hold the baby, and one to hold the bottle.  So, when daddy calls, the bottle gets put down and the phone is picked up.  Daddy and I have a brief conversation - usually less than 3 minutes - and then I pick up the bottle and finish feeding Tyler.  Yes, Tyler may fuss a bit while the bottle is out of his mouth, but he is okay.  Some days Ryan really needs to hear my voice to help him make it through the day at work, especially when he generally works 6, 10-12 hour days a week.  Instances like this happen several times throughout the day.  I'm in the middle of doing something with Tyler, Ryan needs my attention, I give him my attention, and then return to finish caring for Tyler.  Tyler is home with me all day and he knows his mommy loves him.  It's good for him to see the love and devotion Ryan and I have for one another and to understand that he is not the center of our world.  God is the center, then we have each other, and then Tyler.

Sadly, there have been a few times when Ryan has called me out for paying more attention or talking nicer to Tyler than I am him.  Recently I have been striving harder to continually reaffirm my love for Ryan.  I don't want him to ever question or have any reason to doubt my love for him.  This has made our marriage stronger, more fulfilling and over-all more enjoyable.  The more I love Ryan, the more he loves me, and the stronger our love grows.  It's a beautiful, God-pleasing experience.

I hope this has encouraged you consider how you can shower your spouse with some extra time, love and devotion.
 

Becoming A Living Sacrifice

It's week 2 of March and I have yet to post.

So, here is my spiritual post for last week.  Enjoy!  :)

____________________________________________________________________________________

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." - Romans 12:1

Even though Paul was initially addressing the brethren in Rome, his plea still sounds strongly for us today.  Paul's plea is this:  give your lives completely to God.  This means we lay down our selfish ambitions to take up the cause of Christ:  "to seek and to save this which was lost" (Luke 19:10).  Once we make the decision to be baptized and to put on Christ, we must start doing the work He has called us to do.  This means we sacrifice our time, energy, and money to help further His Kingdom.  Activities that once consumed these valuable resources must take a back-seat, if not be tossed out of the vehicle all together.  Christ gave the ultimate sacrifice when He died on the cross, all He requires of us is that we live for Him.  This is our reasonable service.

Back to Blogging!

Hi Everyone!

I'm very excited - and a bit nervous - about blogging again!  I'm excited because I have missed working on projects, writing about them, and hearing your feed-back, but I am nervous because I'm not sure how well I'll be able to manage being a wife, mother, homemaker and blogger.  I'm going to give it my best shot though and start slow.  My goal will be to post once a week, at least for now.

Hopefully, this schedule will be enjoyable for you and doable for me.  I may periodically post on other topics throughout the month, but these four will be my main focus.  Look for my first Spiritually minded post next week!

May you all have a blessed day!

Our Newest Addition!

As I'm sure you've noticed, I've been a bit MIA since my last post on January 10th.  I have a very good reason for my absence.  In the morning on January 16th my husband and I headed to the hospital for my induction at 7:30.  Little Tyler Shane Kenneth came into the world 17 hours later at 12:26 am on January 17th.  He weighed 7lbs. 7.5oz. and was 20.5" long.

Tyler is 2 weeks old today!  I can't believe how fast time as flown since his birth!  He is such a beautiful blessing and we thoroughly enjoy having him in our lives.

I've decided to take the month of February off from blogging.  I want to take time to focus on my new role as a mother and balancing it with my roles as a wife and homemaker.  If all goes well, I'll try to be back in March.  Right now I don't have a plan for how often I will post or what I'll be posting about once I return.  I'll try to come up with something and share it with you once I return.  I will try to keep responding to comments throughout February, so keep sharing your thoughts!

Thanks so much for being wonderful followers!

God bless and I'll be back in March!

You Are What You Eat, Spiritually Speaking

As the saying goes "you are what you eat," even when it comes to things of a spiritual nature.

In Luke 4:4 Jesus quotes from the book of Deuteronmoy saying, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."  God's Word is our spiritual food.  If we are not taking in (reading) His Word, chewing (meditating) on it, and digesting (applying) the teachings and principles He has laid out for us then how can we expect to grow and mature?  Just like our physical bodies need physical food to grow our spiritual bodies (heart and mind) need spiritual food (God's Word) to grow, too.  And when you think about it, eating is something we do every day...multiple times a day even!  Should we not be opening our Bibles, studying and meditating on the words God has spoken to us at least that often?  Of course!

In 2011 I made a commitment to read through the Bible in a year.  I didn't quite get it finished in 2011, but did finish early in 2012.  In 2012 I chose to read through Diligently Seeking God, an excellent daily devotional written by Gary Henry.  There were several mornings where my husband and I would read through it together while he ate breakfast before heading off to work.  This helped us both grow closer to God and to each other.  Also, in 2012 my husband and I decided to read through the Bible in a year together, starting in Genesis and finishing up with the Book of Revelation.  This was especially encouraging and strengthening for both of us.  He has a greater understand of New Testament Scripture and so he was able to help me better gain a better understanding of these passages.  My strength was in the Old Testament, particularly the Books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), the Books of History (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther), and the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel.  I was able to help him understand the history of the Children of Israel, which also improved his understanding of certain New Testament passages.

This year I have decided to read through the New Testament, so I can better understand His Word and be better equipped to teach others.  Here is the reading plan I am using.  Also, my husband and I are reading through Gary Henry's book Reaching Forward in the mornings before he goes to work and have started to read through entire Bible for the second time using this reading plan.

Here are some other sources for Yearly Bible Reading Plans:

• E Word Today
• 52 Week Bible Reading Plan
• Blue Letter Bible
• Bible Plan
• Bible Gateway
• One Year Bible Online
• Various Reading Plans 
• Bible Class Material - 5 day/Wk Reading Plan

*NOTE:  I do not agree with the all teachings of all these sources, or all the methods used in the various reading plans.  I am only encouraging you to use them as a source to find a reading plan that helps you take time to read God's word.

I know we're already 10 days into 2013, but it's never to late to make a commitment to spend more time reading His Word!

A day late...

Snowy Christmas Wish List Printables

This year my husband and I decided to buy each other gifts for Christmas.  Even though we don't celebrate the holiday as Christ's Birthday, we've decided to start a few family traditions from this winter holiday.  My husband suggested we each make a list of some things we would like so that the other person would be able to choose things the other would really appreciate and enjoy.  

So of course, I "had" to make a cute little printable for our wishlists!  I even decided to share them with you!

Both of these should print nicely on 8.5" x 11" paper.

Design Credit:  Fancy Frame from Ginny @ Organizing Homelilfe

Fonts Used:  Janda Happy Day "Christmas Wish List" & Edwardian Script ITC numers

Have a wonderful Holiday!

Love,

Linking at:

The Sunday Showcase Party @ Under the Table and Dreaming
Our Favorite Things Link Party @ My Life's a Treasure
Making the World Cuter Monday @ Making the World Cuter
Made by You Monday @ Skip to My Lou 
Mop It Up Monday @ I Should Be Mopping the Floor
Tutorials and Tips Link Party @ Home Stories A to Z
Take-A-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts
Titus 2 Tuesday @ Cornerstone Confessions
Lil' Luna Link Party @ Lil' Luna
Home Decor and Organizing Link Party @ Organize and Decorate Everything 
The Creative Spark @ Clean and Scentsible
Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts
Whatever Goes Wednesday @ Someday Crafts
Delightfully Inspiring Thursday Party @ Delightful Order
The 36th Avenue Party Time @ The 36th Avenue
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Finished Friday @ All Our Days 
Feature Yourself Friday @ Fingerprints on the Fridge 

Maternity Photo Shoots

My husband and I are blessed to have a beautiful young lady in our lives who loves photography and who takes gorgeous pictures!  She's not a "professional" as some would use the term, but I would definitely say her work is of a professional quality!  We did two photo sessions with Shelby, one in mid-November and the other in early December.  Thanks to the every changing and unpredictable weather here in Indiana we're wearing sweaters in the November shoot and short sleeves in the December shoot.

Now, without further adieu, here are our beautiful maternity photos!

Aren't they wonderful?!?!  We certainly think so!

Lord willing, we will finally meet our little guy in less than six weeks!

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Love,

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a blessed day filled with love, laughter and praise to our wonderful Father above who has blessed us with family and friends to make memories with.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Today I'm also sharing my Thanksgiving Mantle:

Have a happy and blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Love,

Making Peace

God desires for His children to be of a peaceful nature.  As the verse in Matthew states, those who make peace will be blessed and will be called sons of God.  Isn't this something we should be striving for in our everyday walk?  Don't we want to be called "sons of God?"

Romans 12:18 gives us this instruction: "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men."  God understands that sometimes peace may not be possible, but it had better not be because of the choices we are making.  As much as it depends on ME, I must strive to live peaceably with all those who are around me.  Others may make peace difficult or impossible.  But that's their choice.  They will have to answer to God on behalf of their decisions and I will answer for mine.  We must do everything we can to live at peace with all men so that we may not become separated from our Father.

In Romans 14:17 Paul says, "Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another."  This means we need to actively be seeking to act and speak in such a way that peace may be attained.  Our hearts must be in the right relationship with God in order for our actions and speech to be such that enable peace.  This eliminates argumentative, proud, deceitful, pouty, and woe-is-me attitudes.  We need to focus on the goal:  Heaven, and being more and more like Christ our Master.

Here are some other passages that encourage us to live in peace:

• 2 Corinthians 13:11 - "Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you."
• 1 Thessalonians 5:13 - "...Be at peace among yourselves."
• Hebrews 12:14 - "Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:"
• 1 Peter 3:11 - "Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it."

May we all seek peace and pursue it, today and everyday!

Baby Shower!

This past Saturday I was blessed with an opportunity to gather with my momma, sisters, MIL, SIL, GIL and many of my sisters-in-Christ to celebrate the up-coming birth of our son.  We shared a light lunch, played some games and learned some interesting facts about babies, birth and pregnancy.  To wrap up our time together I opened the many gifts baby and I were showered with.  I was very emotional and couldn't read all the sweet things people wrote in our cards because they would bring on the water-works. 

I feel so blessed to have so many family and friends that love us, are excited for us, and wanted to provide things to help us as we bring our little guy into the world.  Even some who weren't able to come sent gifts!  God is certainly to be praised!  Generous and loving hearts are such a blessing!