Connor & Madelyn keeping us ever-entertained!

First you will see Connor learning how to feed himself. Very impressive if I must say so myself! You'll be amused by my smootie-eating, bed-head girl all the while. Later the video clip will fade to Madelyn in the place we sometimes find her sleeping these days. Although she's not obeying our "stay in bed" orders...it's pretty darn adorable!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Adding a little Essential Oil News

So, I haven't ever blogged anything about my new hobby of learning about essential oils and using them for our family's health. We love the DoTerra products because they are certified pure by two 3rd Party research sites. So today I just came across another great article out there with scientists being amazed at the antiviral and antibacterial properties of Essential Oils, so I thought I would just go ahead and add a link to the article.

Study: Plant Oils Highly Effective Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/health/Study-Plant-Oils-Highly-Effective-Against-Drug-Resistant-Bacteria-89708912.html

This article talks a lot about Thyme oil specifically...and actually I just bought Thyme oil for the first time this month. Lots of my friends have found it to be helpful with the croup cough that seems to be going around (thankfully we haven't dealt with this in our home...fingers crossed). Anyhow, then I remembered that the supplements that Gary and I have been taking every day actually have THYME oil in the EO Mega blend. Very cool! Probably the thing that makes the doTerra supplements most unique to anything on the market right now is that they have these CPTG (certified pure therapeutic grade) EO'S in the omega capsule. So pure that they are safe to ingest...and therefore our bodies are getting the awesome benefits of eo's internally every day. Loving it! I really think this is a huge reason we've continued to stay so healthy over these many months of trying the supplements and oils.

Just a little food for thought!

www.mydoterra.com/karina

HardiPlank!

We drove over to the house on Sunday afternoon (Easter) and this is what we saw! The siding is fianally being attached to the house giving it a much-more-finished look. And we were also excited to see that the drywall and mudding is practically done inside the house. Wow.
M/I Homes went with a siding option in our neighborhood called HardiPlank. I've had a lot of people ask me exactly what that is, so I just looked it up. Just for the sake of a little education (it was interesting to me), I'll go ahead and add some of the description below about what this strange sounding HardiPlank really is!

This is the view of the back part of the house. I'm standing in the kitchen area and looking into the Great Room.

And here I am standing in the Great Room and looking back at the kitchen area. You can see where the pantry will be straight ahead. And the doorway to the left of the pantry leads into the dinning room.
The Bonus Room

And here's Gary checking out the HardiPlank siding =)

HardiPlank’s Composition

First, what is HardiPlank made of? HardiPlank falls in the fiber-cement siding class, which means that it is a combination of cellulose fibers, along with cement-like materials. In other words, it’s partly wood, partly cement. Break a piece of HardiPlank and inside you will see a brittle core interlaced with wood fibers.

HardiPlank: A Green Building Material?

In this day and age when everything is about green and sustainable, HardiPlank can make a strong argument for being such. The cellulose fibers that are used in HardiPlank do not come from endangered species of wood. The cement and sand used is certainly in great abundance. And no toxic materials (i.e., vinyl) are used in the production of HardiPlank.
Another oft-ignored aspect that makes HardiPlank a green building material is simply that it lasts so long.

Is HardiPlank Fire Resistant?

Yes, fire resistant, but not fireproof. But no siding is ever truly fireproof. Even brick, when used as a veneer siding, does not completely protect a house from fire. And while a true masonry-built building would be fireproof, we do not include this as solid brick walls are not type of siding.
HardiPlank does not contribute combustibles towards a fire. Vinyl siding, being a petroleum product, significantly feeds the flames. Wood, obviously, is a highly combustible product. So, the best way to look HardiPlank is as a type of neutral building material, as far as fire resistance goes.

HardiPlank Looks Much Like Wood

The main reason why many homeowners do choose HardiPlank vs. vinyl siding is because it looks very much like wood. No, it’s not a dead-ringer for wood. Also, unlike vinyl siding, HardiPlank can easily be painted. You can either go with the neutral color that HardiPlank comes with, or you can paint it. And there is nothing strange or unusual about painting HardiPlank. It is just the ordinary type of DIY painting you might do during the summer or by hiring a paint contractor.

So friends...there you have it. Just in case you were curious!

Our home...progress rolling right along!

Actually...the house is now completely drywalled...if you can believe it! All four of us drove over to see the house last night and the crew of drywallers were still there finishing up. It was awesome to see them in full-swing working on our house. I carried Madelyn in with me (with their permission) and carefully walked around while dodging all the spare nails on the floor. And it was pretty awesome seeing our house with WALLS! Really made it have such a different appearance. But because I was holding Madelyn and because of all the guys working on the house, I opted to not take inside photos. So...below are a few pics from last week after the plumbing and electric were finished. The kids love exploring in the house, but it makes Gary and I extremely nervous with all the nails and wires. SOON...it will be all walled up and ready to explore without so much caution!

This is our great-room with the fireplace still in construction.

The kids in the laundry room. This is the door out to the garage, and will most-likely be the main entrance for our family.
Daddy and the kids. Heading home! (the trim on the outside of the home was painted white this past weekend while Gary was at the house adding extra insulation).

Madelyn and Gary waving "HELLO" out her bedroom window. I love this!

Here was a photo of the house from our trip over last night. You can see the white trim...and the awesome blue sky. See, Ohio isn't always gray! =)

Some Highlights from March

March was a wonderful and busy month for our family. As you can tell from my lack of blogging...I was busy in other ways! But that doesn't mean I didn't capture some great photos to give a little photo-journal of our month. I also have a lot of great/funny photos of the kids, but I decided I would add them separately. So, the photos below are in random order...but I'm sure you'll enjoy them regardless of the chronology!

I received this African Violet plant from my mother-in-law back in March 2007. It's a very special plant for me (especially because somehow I've managed to keep it alive). My violet only blooms about once each year and this year it started blooming on March 15th. Thank you Jesus for this special gift and your continual reminder of new life.

Here's what our African Violet looks like today (March 31st). It's blooming like crazy and the petals have this amazing sparkling/iridescent shimmer to them. So pretty. Also forgot to mention above that I think it's also cool that this AFRICAN violet finally bloomed the same week we had African guests staying here in our home!

Madelyn got her FIRST HAIR CUT this month. She begged and begged for it. And as we were driving there she suddenly got scared and thought it was going to hurt her. I explained that even tho they are "cutting" her hair, she wouldn't feel a thing. Well, I don't think she believed me, but she decided to be brave. Right when this sweet lady announced that she was about to make the first cut, Maddy reached out from under her cape and grabbed onto my hand. It was so precious that it made me start crying and I had to turn away so that no one would see me. She squeezed my hand for the remainder of the hair cut...and was so brave. I was very proud of her.

Here she is after the cut. So pretty.

My birthday celebration at the always wonderful Red Lobster (family tradition!)

We were so blessed to have Jonathan back for my birthday weekend. THANKS JONATHAN! Connor and Madelyn absolutely loved having time to love on their uncle!

Maddy eagerly helped me make my first smoothie with my new blender. THANKS GARY!

Hilarious photo moment on my birthday evening. Classic.

Here I am on my birthday morning...Thursday, March 4th. The day started out well with sunshine and a free Starbucks birthday latte. Yum!

Hands down, the biggest highlight of the whole month was getting the privilege and honor of hosting one of the touring Invisible Children teams. We had a group of 6 of them here from Mon. March 15 - Thursday March 18th...and savored every moment.

What an amazing opportunity to meet Boni (below) and Leo from Uganda. It was a treasure to hear their stories and see how God has such big plans for their futures.

Here's Boni being funny with his ex-3D glasses!

As you can clearly see, my kids quickly fell in love with the whole IC team.

Back Row: Ivory, Tyler, Madelyn, Meredith, Connor & Leo. Front: Boni & Tessa

We miss them already and pray for our paths to cross again on this side of eternity!

Buckeye Gymnastics

Madelyn has been taking gymnastics classes for about 1 year now...and a few months ago we started at Buckeye Gymnastics (yes, the same place I used to coach preschool gymnastics many years ago.) Well, she just loves it. She's in the "Wee Bears" class, and Sunday night was her graduation from this class up to the "Gym Bears" class which she will start next Sunday evening. Here's a little photo journal of her class with Miss Kristen.

Attentive listening during warm-ups. I'm such a proud mama.

"Mom, check out this V-sit!"
Miss Kristen asked Madelyn to come and help demonstrate how to do this backwards roll over the mat. She was super cooperative (not always the case) and I was super proud mama once again!

Check her out!

Who doesn't like bouncing on a mini-tramp?

Mid-jump off the "vault"

A dive into the cheese pit!

Madelyn has been working on doing backwards rolls all by herself.

Maneuvering around the bar stations is one of her favorite parts of gymnastics class.

At the very end of class, all the kids sit to get their special stamps and get a high-five from Miss Kristen. (Maddy is holding onto the medal she got at the end of this class). Way to go Madelyn! We are SO proud of you!

Disney on Ice - Dreamy, Magical Memories

What a special time we had on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 28th) at Madelyn's first big Disney adventure. Gary bought tickets for the special event and we invited Maci, Jon and Janie to join us...knowing that Madelyn and Maci would think it was the coolest thing ever to dress up like little princesses, put on makeup (thanks Aunt Janie!) hold sparkly, flashing butterfly wands and bask in the glory of watching all the Disney characters dancing and singing on the ice right before their very eyes. And as for us parents...the best was looking over and seeing M & M sitting there with wonderment in their eyes and their jaws were literally hanging open. It was precious. Madelyn hasn't been exposed to many of the Disney movies yet...but believe me, now she wants to see them all! Today we checked out The Little Mermaid and Mulan from the library and Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast are on reserve. Disney overload, here we come!

Maci (Princess Belle) and Madelyn (Princess Snow White) before the show.

We were so excited to see Madelyn's best friend from school, Ava. She was showing off her Ariel shirt. The Little Mermaid is her favorite!

Check out these psychedelic butterflies mom!

Mickey, Minnie & Goofy taking center stage.

It's hard to see that Snow White was in the center of this circle. Madelyn mostly asked "Where's Snow White" when she wasn't on the stage. And when she was out there, Maddy just sat spellbound in her seat. It was absolutely adorable!

Walking back to our car in the Arena District. (We were standing here waiting for a train that was passing us by...hence the distracted face by Madelyn!)