My Newest Blog/Business - Scents & Scentsibility, Young Living Oils

Peace & Calming has been my favorite, and I'm on my 4th bottle!
It helps my little settle into bed at night, and helps me to calm down
when I have a busy or stressful day!

I have recently begun to take my use of Young Living Essential Oils more seriously!  I have been using them for 2 1/2 years now, but have pretty much kept that to myself.  But that changed.  I have begun experiencing so many ways that these oils have improved my health and dealt with illnesses and cleaning problems and even made some of my foods/drinks taste better!

Panaway is my "go to" for all kinds of pain plus headaches too!

 I have started my new business by launching the Scents & Scentsibility Facebook Group (please join!) and also a blog, Scents & Scentsibility, Young Living Oils!   With only a few weeks effort, I have already started getting people involved, helped others with using oils in their home, and best of all I have started to get commission checks!

Purification is used daily in my home for insect bites,
 insect repellentbee stings, cuts and scrapes, infections, an air purifier and more!

On a recent blog post, Why Young Living Oils, Aren't They All the Same?, I wrote all about why I use Young Living Oils, comparing them to those you get at your local store, as well as why Young Living is a company you can trust and why their oils are the best and purest - they are the number one selling essential oils in the US!  It is a thriving and growing company that produces the brand of essential oils that more of my friends that I can even name off the top of my head are already using (and starting their own businesses too)!

Valor is my newest favorite!  It helps me "take on the day"
and tackle the mounds of work I face everyday.
With a cup of coffee and some Valor,
There's nothing I can't accomplish!
At least I like to think that way.

You don't have to start a business to use these - I didn't....for 2 years that is.  But you just need to go to my blog post all about this and check our my blog and FB group and you'll see why I totally am excited about this new development!

I use Thieves for so many things - laundry, cleaning counters,
hand sanitizing, killing germs in the air, killing germs on surfaces
when we traveland it just plain smells wonderful!
 I use Thieves Hand Sanitizer andThieves Toothpaste too and love both!

Everyday I'm learning more, and sharing what I learn, and finding ways to use the oils in our home so we can stop using over-the-counter medications and improve our health and have a healthier home!

Here's some fun graphics I posted just today - happy weekend and See you over there!

Christy is Home!

I have been waiting to start blogging about our trip to bring Christy home until she was home as I was trying to protect my family - it's not a good idea to let the world know that your children (even adult children) are home without their parents.

She is totally a Daddy's Girl!

She is such a beauty!!!

To sum it all up, our gotcha trip was amazing.  Everything went quite smoothly.  We had some excitement (like lightening hitting very close to the hotel, and small explosion from a fuse box in the restaurant and 20 rugby players in their underwear in the hotel lobby as we left) and a few minor difficulties, but God carried us through and over all I feel so very, very spoiled by my Father.  Christy has been a little miracle.  She has adjusted to everything very quickly and we are watching her adjust to being loved on by her family and relaxing and gaining more use of her right side even!

Christy sure has a great personality!  This is her "I don't like this" look.
She never liked the stroller - we'll be working on that!

Over the next couple of weeks, I am going to go back and blog about each day and what happened and the difficulties we overcame and the blessings we had showered upon us.  I have TONS of photos and videos to share with you.

For now, I've put a few of my favorite from our trip here to whet your appetite for more!

I will be posting the details of the trip both here and on my adoption blog, A Seventh Sister.

I know, Right?

I know, it's about time I get around to it!

It's been over 2 years since "11 blessings" was inaccurate, but I did change the title of the blog....

But now Christy has been our daughter for over 6 weeks and it's time to recognize that although she is not in our home, she is indeed in our family...in our hearts.

So to celebrate I finally took the plunge and got my own domain for my blog - www.thirteenblessings.com!

13blessings.com was already taken (it's a very interesting but boring blog), and so was the blogspot.com one so that pushed me into something that I had wanted to do for a long time!  Much easier to give this blog address in person, that is for sure "thirteen blessings dot com" all in words...Easy Peasy!

New name means new look, and we are going to be celebrating life around here, so I chose fireworks!  And I love purple, so this theme is perfect!

One more thing done to prepare for bringing Christy home....about a month until that happens!`

What do you think??

Awesome Fundraiser to Bless Many Families!

I LOVE these products! 

Sevenly is doing a fundraiser again this year for Reece's Rainbow, but this year the proceeds are benefitting families who are waiting to travel to bring their child home! 

That includes us! I haven't said much, but with the new regulations, we are no longer fully funded (we will be needing around $1,500 or more in addition to what we have already raised). But so many other families are far short of what they need to bring their child/children home!

 All the proceeds from this fundraiser will be divided equally between all of the families! Check it out and order some T-Shirts - $7 from each item purchased will go to these families  - these are the "almost home" families/children, and we are only one of many families in this category!

These hats are hand knit by women in Uganda

Over $3,000 has already been raised for these families already!  This campaign only lasts a week (I think it started today, but I am not sure).  

These are made in Costa Rica providing jobs there! 

Please consider purchasing something, and please share on your social networking (blog, FB, twitter, Google+) and help these families bring their children home!!!

This event ends January 6, so don't wait to order!

Really Exciting News + Birthdays!

Esther's New Jessie Doll - she loved her old one
to death, literally!  She LOVE her new Jessie!

Can you tell that Esther
Loved her New Ball! 

Our Dossier has been accepted in Priscilla's Country, and we should get "the signature"s in 1 - 2 weeks and then they'll tell us our travel dates soon after that...to know more, check out my blog post about that.  PLUS we will be changing her name when she becomes officially ours, and I announced what her new name will be too! I actually wrote that post last Thursday and it already has more page views than any other post on my adoption blog, so you really should check it out!  Right now we are thinking we'll be traveling to meet her either the last week of October or sometime early in November!

We are busy preparing for Jeremy's wedding - I finally got my new blouse to wear with my dressy black skirt just yesterday.  I have a few details to square away, but  I'm getting there!

Rachel got a couple of lovely books
from her friends!

Just this week we had the opportunity to get a lot of mushy pears and peaches and I immediately thought "baby food" and then "I won't need that this year" but then I thought of Christy (Priscilla's new name, but you really need to read my post about what her full name is and what it means!).  She is likely to have eating issues as the orphanages tend to bottle feed the children until they are much older, and then they are given baby food for a long time.  So having baby food, home preserved, would be great.  If we don't use it for her, then we can make fruit leather later!

Sam and her sister/Maid of Honor, Emily!

We've had a few birthday's this month!  Daniel turned 12 (sorry no photos, we had his birthday at Jeremy's house after church and we did not take a camera with us!), Rachel turned sweet 16 and Esther turned 5 just last week!

Sam plus her grandmother, mother, sister and friends!

We've gone to two showers for Sam so far.  I took a few photos at our church's shower.  It was a beautiful time celebrating their love story.  I was so amazed at how amazing Jeremy sounded from her sharing of their story.  He also impressed everyone by dropping by the church before the shower and leaving her a beautiful bouquet with a really cool chocolate duckie!  He has turned out to be one amazing young man, romantic to the bone - not sure where he got that from!

My hair styled with a small
Lilla Rose Flexi Clip

I'm continuing to lose inches doing T-Tapp and following the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating.  I still have a long way to go but I'm loving how I feel.  I feel a lot slimmer than I look, but I'm hoping that I will look as slim as I feel before long!

To prepare for Jeremy's wedding, I layered my hair and added some more to my bangs.  I starting to experiment with ways to style my hair.  Today I tried curling the ends.  I'm planning on an "up do" but it's fun to find out what else works, as there's still one more shower and the rehearsal night too!

And I just signed up to be a Lilla Rose Consultant!  We love our Flexi-Clips so much we want to get more without paying full retail, plus sharing them with others!  I'll share more on that later, but for now you can use the link in my side bar or Click HERE to check out all the wonderful hair style helpers they carry!

Another Teaser...

Release Date is July 20!

I will be an associate selling copies via this blog...stay tuned for links!

Please spread the word - pin this/blog this!

It will minister to so many women!

Here's a quote from my chapter/question answers:

"The very thing you fear most will not be sent your way without the grace that only God can give. When I have been in trying and difficult times, God's grace has enabled me to endure in ways that I could not have understood beforehand. So when I worry about the “what if”s, I am on my own. I experience the trials in my imagination without the grace that God will provide if and when that trial comes to me from His loving hand. God does not promise that His grace is sufficient for the "what ifs" - but He does promise in II Cor 2:9 that "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" and in Phil 4:13 "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" - He will give us the strength to do what He asks us to do, and the grace needed for each day."

Priscilla's Story Really Started in 2008 You Know...

I have an incredible, mind boggling story to share with you.


It really starts in 2008, when Esther was born into our family with that blessed extra chromosome.  But let me skip ahead a little first.

In February of 2010, an expectant mother got the news that mothers dread.  Through a standard ultrasound, it was revealed that their daughter had not only a heart defect, but also had Down Syndrome.  As she was dealing with this news, a friend sent her a link to my blog.  Esther was just about 1 1/2 years old at this time.  She found encouragement in what she read, and also lots of information.  She blogged about finding my blog Here.

I didn't find out about it for several months, as she had sent me a message on a board for parents of children with Down Syndrome and I had not visited that site in months.  I found her note just weeks before her baby was due.  When their baby was born, they named her "Verity" which means truth.

Verity, 1 1/2 years old
Katie, 9 years old

I found her blog and began to follow an amazing story of the love a family can have for a precious baby with the gift of Down Syndrome.  But it didn't end there.  Susanna read This Blog Post about the plight of children with special needs in Eastern European orphanages and her eyes were open to the truth.  This led to their adopting Katie, a 9 year old with Down Syndrome, hidden away in the top floor of a terrible orphanage.  She weighed just 10 1/2 pounds when she was ransomed.  She required specialized medical care to preserve her life as they transitioned her to good medical care and proper nutrition.

Katie and Verity, just 14 months later

Katie blossomed in her new family.  She grew and learned to do so many things so quickly. (Susanna and her family are now adopting Tommy from the same orphanage that Katie was in).

But the Mussers weren't satisfied with just saving one child.  They worked to make changes in that orphange, and changes were made.  The director was fired and fundraisers were done to provide proper medical care for the orphans there.  They spread the truth of what was going on there and so many families have stepped forward to ransoms these deprived children.  The Mussners have ransomed another child there, 16 year old Tommy. He has been home for a while now and is blooming too!

Tommy enjoying time with
his new mommy when she
came to visit!

 When I read about the things happening on the other side and world, and what a difference a loving home can make in the lives of these forgotten, abandoned children with special needs, I was inspired to act.

Tommy, 11 years old

I knew there were so many others still in those dark, filthy places where children were not properly cared for.  So I had to act - I started advocating right her on my blog and on Facebook.  I selected some children and a family to advocate for.

But God wasn't satisfied with that level of involvement.  He pushed us to consider adopting a child into our family.  This was WAY outside our comfort zone, but God was relentless.  We tried and failed to adopt a little girl from Russia (before that evil ban was put in place).  We discovered "Priscilla" in January.  We tried again in January and found success.

Priscilla, Whom we re-named "Christiana" and we call her "Christy", is the daughter we didn't know about until just over 3 months ago.  But God knew she was our daughter a long, long time ago.  Do you know how I know this?  Because I discovered something tonight.

So Christy's story starts way back in 2008, when God blessed us with Esther and opened our eyes to the wonder and joy or raising a child with Down Syndrome.  And then, way back in February of 2010,  Susanna was given her news and she found my blog,  and Christy's mommy was just finding out that she was pregnant.

So God, in His sovereignty, put into motion the events that it would take for us to discover Christy just when He had prepared the soil of our hearts to be ready to adopt.  Before Christy's mother could possibly know that she had Down Syndrome, God knew it, He had designed her that way.  But He had a plan, and that plan has been in place long before we had any idea that God had a plan like this for us.

Isn't God's sovereignty amazing?

I can't wait until the day that I can tell Christy that God prepared her place in our home for her before she was even conceived.

How You can Help Us Make the Most of our Matching Grant!

Sorry I'm only blogging about our adoption lately.  I promise to do some more of our happenings around the home very soon!  I have much to blog about, it's just with this matching grant ending soon, it's kind of keeping me busy - that and we are refinancing our home in the middle of all of this too!  Today we are preparing for our home appraisal - due to the spaghetti feed last week, and then this weekend we were all so incredibly tired, our Monday is more of a Monday than usual.

So here is a cross post from our adoption blog (once again) 8)

We have 14 days left until our Matching Grant expires.  So far we have raised approximately $6,500 since the matching grant started.  That means that with the matching grant, $13,000 of the $21,000 in future adoption expenses have been provided for!  Praise The Lord!

That leaves $8,000 in future adoption expenses yet to be covered.  So IF we can get $4000 in donations by the end of April, all our projected expenses will be provided for!

Here's how you can help us make the $4,000 in 14 days:

1. Pray!
- for expediency in the process
- for Priscilla’s health
- for money in place when needed

2. Spread the Word!
- Share A Seventh Sister Blog, especially this blog post, through facebook, twitter etc
- If you own a blog, blog about our adoption

3. Donate to our Reece's Rainbow Grant
                     (tax deductible)

4. Donate to our Paypal Account
                 (click on link and you'll see our paypal email address)
        
5. Donate via check
                  - email me for our mailing address and payment info~

6. Buy Restaurant.com Card - $50 gift card for just $20, we get $10 for our adoption!

7. Shop Amazon via Our Search
                      Use the boxin the right hand column to start Your Amazon Shopping!
                      We’ll earn a commission on everything You purchase after entering Amazon
                      through this box!

8. Place an order for our Tupperware and/or Pampered Chef Parties:
             - http://order.tupperware.com/coe/app/tup_widget.show_page?fv_page_code=fundraiser_us&fv_section_name=home&fv_category_code=shop
            http://www.pamperedchef.biz/dianetalbert?page=products-category&categoryId=71
           (email me for details on how to place the orders)


Thank you to all who have donated so far this month - it has been amazing!

Thank you to all who share this blog
post or donated in these last two weeks!

Our Adoption Blog is Up and Running!

I have begun to chronicle our adoption story through my new blog, A Seventh Sister!

I have already blogged about some of the events that have already happened with our adoption (like getting our fingerprints done).  I've also set up a "Chip In" thingy there, so if you are so inclined, you can donate directly to our personal paypal account!

I've also created a Facebook Page called "Auction for A Seventh Sister" where we will be doing auctions and other fundraisers!  Check it out.  I'm doing a few quick auctions that will end this week just to kick things off.  We welcome any donations to these auctions - you just put up a photo and a description of the item you are donating, and then ship the item to the winning bidder once I confirm that payment has been made!

Hope you enjoy following our adoption saga!