fire arm training

We want our boys to learn to use weapons with skill.  We also want them to be safe and wise as they use them.

They have a good example here.

Newborn photos

I was blessed to win an infant photo shoot when Eliana was born.  Here are some of my favorites.  She's 5 days old in these.

She's changed so much in 3 short months!!

We love her so much!

Pink Drink Plunge

As promised on Facebook, here is my Plexus story/experience so far. 

Let me preface this by saying that, first of all, I am generally a MLM, (muli level marketing) skeptic. I tried running my own business through a MLM several years ago, and it wasn't the best experience. Since then I've mostly avoided them because of my experience.  While I'm still not a fan of aggressive sales, I am a fan of finding things that I love, and once found, I'm happy to support my friends and family who happen to be selling the products.  I have found a few MLMs that sell products that I love.  Plexus is one of them.  I think one of my biggest mistakes in MLMs the first time around was that I was talked into marketing something that I really had little experience or interest in.  It was a good product, but it was just not me.  Health and wellness does happen to be a passion of mine, and Plexus really does fit into my world.  

Recently a friend re introduced me to Plexus.  I had heard about it some over the last couple of years. My cousin's wife had amazing success dealing with post baby weight, and I've been curious about it since that time.  My friend's son experienced healing from some frustrating skin conditions.

Since having baby girl, I've been having some health struggles which have been frustrating to me.  I'm going to be very honest here, and I apologize in advance if this is too much information.  My main issues were:  

*weight gain post-partum, and then an inability to lose the 25 to 30 pounds that I had hanging on after baby was born.  I was exercising, stressing about everything I ate, but nothing was working.

*periods every 2 weeks (since 5 weeks post-partum)

*crazy mood swings every other week before a new period would begin (my poor husband)

*bloating (felt constant due to the frequent PMS)

*gas

*some insomnia

*I also battle hemorrhoids which have gotten worse after each delivery.  Thankfully I found a magnesium supplement which has helped with regularity since baby was born.  If my stool is not soft and regular, I'm miserable.

I began my Plexus journey after winning the a week's worth of the pink drink in an online contest, and finding that these products could help balance my blood sugar and address the estrogen dominance I seemed to be experiencing.  They target gut health, also, and I know a healthy gut is important.  I was skeptical, and nearly talked myself out of it.  I wanted to try the triplex which includes the pink drink, pro bio 5 and the cleanse.  I went ahead, signed up, and placed my first order.

I am still not on a full regimen yet (easing into it), but in the last 3 weeks of drinking the pink drink daily along with taking some pro bio 5 and cleanse, I have noticed the following:

*weight loss.  It has not been fast, but I am losing weight!  I had not thought it was possible, but I am slowly seeing the baby weight come off.

*I went 3 weeks between this period and my last!  I'm so thrilled to see this improvement. 

*My mood was great all of last week, and it was a humdinger of a week, too.  It was just very busy; homeschool/mothering 5 kiddos Monday through Thursday, husband worked part of the weekend, we were gone most of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, etc.

*I have not noticed bloating.

*I have not noticed nearly as much gas

*I have been sleeping very well, and actually I have been dreaming like crazy!  

*I have also had the energy to get up at 5am at least 3 mornings per week to exercise and spend time in God's Word before the crazy day begins. I could probably do every day, but some mornings babies decide to join me, and if I have a rough night with kiddos, I let myself rest. :)

*My regularity is great since I have been taking magnesium.  Since cleanse has magnesium in it, I am going to try just taking it once I run out of my other magnesium to see if it can do the job.

There you have my experience so far!

I did sign up as an ambassador.  I figured that if I did have good results, I would probably at least want a discounted rate, and if I was happy enough I may even tell others about it.  That's what I'm doing!  I'd like to have my husband and son try the products next because they both struggle with some gut issues.  If you have any interest in trying these products, message me on facebook, or contact me however you would like.  One of the reasons I took the Plexus plunge was the 60 day money back guarantee.  We are careful spenders here, and so I needed the money back option for the skeptic in me.  If you don't love it or experience positive results, you can get your money back.

For now I am enjoying feeling better and happier!

If you would like to order any products on your own, visit our family site at: http://shopmyplexus.com/larockcrew/

Loving Fall!

When I was a child growing up in Illinois the fall was always busy with the harvesting of corn and beans.  I'm sure the farmers are busy getting ready to harvest and harvesting their crops as I type.   There are farmers in Virginia, (farmers who farm crops like corn and beans), but it's on a much smaller scale here.  Our soil is rocky and often has clay.  It's not rich and dark like the soil in Illinois.  Here in Virginia, especially where we live, there are apples in the fall!  Apple farming is not as common as it was maybe 20 to 30 years ago, but there are still many farms.  Over the weekend some friends were processing apple butter in a 50 gallon kettle.  In years passed, they have cooked it over an open fire and stirred by hand.  This year, they used a propane burner, and had automatic mixers made to fit their kettle.  

The boys enjoyed observing the process.  

They even got to add some apples.

Conrad had fun with his friends.  This family has 7 kiddos, chickens, pigs, and lots of room to play outside.  My kiddos love hanging out with them.

Baby girl caught some beauty sleep while we were there.

I am thankful for fall!  It's been nice to not be nauseated all the time like I was this time last year.  I'm really enjoying the days with my brood.  

Growing up!

I was kind of "slow" to lose teeth, and Sam seems to be following in my footsteps.  He's 8 now, and just lost his first top tooth.  He's pretty excited, and always looks forward to a gift and note from the tooth fairy.  In the last note exchange, he asked her if he could keep his tooth for science, and she was more than happy to oblige.  Sam really enjoys science!

Learning by doing - home schooling boys

3rd grade experiment-based chemistry.  They all love it!

2-year-old loves to sing the Sing Spell Read Write songs with Isaac.

Marcus learned about early writing on his journey through history, so we wrote his name in cuneiform.

They all enjoyed carving in the clay.

Susan Wise Bauer's book, The Well-Trained Mind has been so helpful to me as I plan schooling for my kids.  I don't do everything she suggests, but her ideas have blessed our home school so far!