Memories Monday

In true spirit of memorial day I am going to do a post on something extra special. My son Ryland was born 4 years ago today and he was given up for adoption. All I have of him are memories and I wanted to dedicate this day's blog entry to him. He is very special and close to my heart. I love him always and especially on this day, he is in my heart, mind and all my thoughts. This post is going to be short but I wanted to share a picture of him it's one of my most favorite ones!

Simply Deals Sunday

Ok so I've dedicated sunday to deals I find, yep that's right if I find a deal, you are entitled to it too. I'm in no way affiliated with any of the products or deals I suggest or randomly happen upon. I would however LOVE to talk about two products that I absolutely adore, no lies, I absolutely adore both of the products I am about to tell you about.

First up is Live Clean Baby. For anyone who has a baby or a child you will understand my appreciation and greatfulness of this product. Its Hypoallergenic/pediatrician tested, has certified organic botanicals, it contains no SLS and is Sulfate Free, its 98% plant derived, and paraben free. Its also Petroleum Free, DEA Free, Phosphate Free, Pure Vegan, never tested on animals, has recyclable packaging, and biodegradable ingredients. Best part about this product is that it contains no nasty chemicals in it and is safe for your baby. Its an amazing product and my son just LOVES this product. I was introduced to this by my good friend Nikiyah whose blog you can find here she's an amazing lady. The website for Live clean products can be found here



The second Product I want to talk to you about is Too Faced Skin Primer. I swear by this stuff, it leaves your face feeling sooo smooth. My friend Suzanne sells this in her shop, which is called made you blush! I love this lady she sells so many awesome things in her shop for products. You can find her facebook here and Too Faced website is here

Oh the joys!

Ok so this post will be a bit short, or maybe not. Firstly, I found out that my nephew made it through his transplant and is doing well. So well in fact that they took him out of sedation immediately. What a little trooper he is, and I am so proud of him.

Ok next up, I've noticed lately that my son is very defiant and destructive. Now I don't know if this is just a phase but he doesn't listen as well as he used to, and he's been destroying his toys lately to my utter disdain. He's just not listening, I hope he grows out of it because I'm gonna be at my wit's end and soon.

To my utter shock, I lost my whole portfolio of pics on my computer today, which makes me angry because I had MANY pictures on my computer that never got backed up to a website. I'm so mad that I didn't back them up myself, how aweful that all my memories of my son are GONE!!! Well at least the ones that never made it on to facebook anyways.

Close to my heart

So this blog is going to be about the things that are closest to my heart. I post a lot about things that are important to me but I want to touch on a few things here that I've been thinking about today.

First off, I got a call from a woman who is like my second mother, her daughter Kylie (whom is like my sister) has a little boy Named Nova, who was born with a debilitating liver disease, he needed a triple transplant of the liver, pancreas, and small intestine. We just found out today that as of Midnight, Mountain time, he will be recieving that transplant. As sad as it is that a child had to pass on so he could recieve this, I am also very thankful to God that this child was an EXACT match in the 1st stage of testing so they are going ahead with it, I'm so very very happy for Kylie. I could not imagine what it would be like to have a child who was in NICU and then PICU from the day he was born, living with a life threatening disease, not knowing whether they would get a donor or if they would lose their child. Nova was not supposed to make it, but he did, just like his mother he is a fighter. The best part of this gift is that Nova's father's birthday is today, what a wonderful, wonderful gift to recieve on your birthday, the gift of life for your child. A child who has spent everyday for the last year in a hospital due to this disease, a child that will now have a chance to live a full life!



My second reason for deep reflection and writing this blog post today has to do with the first, I always try and find the good things in life, joy in the little things, the news of my nephew Nova(not biologically mine, but mine none the less) getting a transplant it reminds me of the truly amazing and great things in life, even if they are small and simple. I'm reminded daily by my DS how amazing, amazing life is, by the smile on his face, the wonder in his eyes when he plays, how his face lights up when mommy or daddy come home from work. How much he loves us, and how all he needs is a simple hug and he's all better when he is feeling down. I think people should stop and reflect life and the world as a child sees it, in its simplicity.



My third reason for this blog today is to reflect a little bit on Our soldiers, now I know a lot of people don't agree with this war going on and don't support our troops, but that being said, Our troops whether Canadian or American or where ever they are from, took an oath to protect their countries, no matter what the cost. Whether it be their life, or through injury or whatever, they are protecting their countries with everything they have, and with memorial day upon us for my friends in the states I just wanted to write a little tribute to the soldiers not only from America, but all soldiers, I have a cousin right now who is in Afghanistan. I think about him daily, he is never far from my thoughts or my prayers. He went there to help rebuild a country in ruin, he volunteered for that mission. And I am praying that unlike so many soldiers that have died in the line of duty, that he will have a safe return. I appreciate my soldiers and I thank them for the job they do. A job that is often thankless and under appreciated. I hope that you all reading can also stop and take a minute to reflect and have a moment of silence for those fallen and still fighting.

And with that I am off, I hope you all have time to have some reflection and are able to stop for a minute and reflect on what is truly important in life.

Fabulously Frugal Eating

So who doesn't love a recipe that costs $2 per serving? I know as a person who is always looking for ways to save money I'm very appreciative when I find things that are frugal, cheap and easy to make. I have several friends who are parents, they are busy, have large families or are struggling financially in this economy. Well I just found a pretty tasty looking recipe on a blog that I'm subscribed to and I'm going to give it to you here, but you can find her blog here and please note that this is her recipe and not mine.

$2 Chinese Noodles

Though this recipe makes use of premade packs of ramen, the addition of garlic and sesame oil and fresh ginger makes them so much more than your basic bowl of noodles. Served aside my knockoff version of Panda Express Orange Chicken, Kumquat Kissed Orange Chicken, something magic happens. The flavors combine together to create a rich, flavorful meal. Very much worth the extra time it takes to go homemade. If you've got a crowd to feed as I did, you'll want to follow the recipe below exactly. Three adults and five children ate plentifully off of the amounts below. If, however, you're serving a smaller crowd, feel free to decrease the amounts as needed.

3 packs Top Ramen, chicken flavor

3 packs Top Tamen, beef flavor

2 T. sesame oil

2 T. olive oil

1 package frozen stir-fry veggies or chow mein medley

2 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated

Remove the flavor packets from the ramen. Fill a very large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add ramen noodles. Boil 2-3 minutes, or just until softened. Drain. Return pot to hot stove, add sesame and olive oils. Add the garlic and ginger to the oils, allow cook for about 1 minute, then add veggies and flavor packs. Once veggies have fully thawed, add hot noodles back into the pot. Stir carefully until noodles are well coated with oil mixture. Serve immediately. Or, you know, for breakfast.

So there you have it folks a delicious looking recipe and it also includes a link to the Kumquat orange glazed chicken. Check her out, she has some AWESOME recipes there. I've also been reading a lot of blogs about repurposing old things to new. And I just wanted to share with you a picture of my awesome project I did last night before I go. Its a cross with John 3:16 written on it.

Wordless Wednesday

The importance of living green.

Have you ever noticed how as of late, we have more people who are sick more often? Have you ever wondered why that is? I know as of late I've been questioning this very thing, and I'm positive its because of the chemicals from the products we use in everyday life. I've been sick for 4 days or so now and I've really started thinking about the products I've been using, and it seems like 98% of what I use, is nasty, chemical ridden stuff, as much as I try to recycle all the time, I'm still buying products that are not only unhealthy for me but also for our environment. We should look for products that are certified organic. I'm making an oath to myself to use products that are cleaner and greener for me and our environment. More home cooking, more repurposing, more composting, more upcycling, more homemade, more home grown. And I'm sending out a challenge to everyone who reads my blog to do the same. So who is with me?

So from today I'm starting a 30 day challenge for myself, I'm hoping others will join me in my journey to change the world we live in to a healthier world!

Hey all

Okay so I thought I would write my intro post since well I haven't written anything yet. So here it is. I'm Krystal, mommy to a beautiful baby boy named Corbyn and I have a wonderful man in my life named Andy. We live our lives simply, honestly and with as much love involved as we can. Yes we have days where we would like to strangle each other, I'm sure everyone has them, but we love each other. I'm a Christian and I try to live my life in a Christian way. I have very strong beliefs but don't ever tell me I'm wrong because you will get an earful. I don't push my beliefs on anyone who isn't open to hearing it, and I respect people for their beliefs. Andy and I believe in Attachment parenting and gentle discipline. We don't spank. That does not mean though that my child is a brat. He's not, our approach to discipline helps build our trust and respect between our members. And I firmly believe that we should treat our children as equals and by that I mean we should all remember that our children have feelings too, if we respect their feelings and boundaries they will respect ours. Some people may think that is a bit lax, in reality it works for us. Now on to the fun stuff. The reason I chose the name for my blog. That reason is simple, I believe that life should be lived earnestly, honestly and Godly. That's not to say we are a perfect family because we are not, we have our ups and downs just like everyone else. We do however recycle, I sew and crochet and I love to bake. I hope you enjoy my blog because that's what it's here for, your enjoyment.