52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Twenty-One

I am always entertaining at my house.  We host weekly family dinners, all of the holidays and many-get- togethers with friends.  This week our act of compassion is going to be inviting our neighbors over for a BBQ.  They have 3 kids, we have 3 kids, it will be a perfect time to let our kiddos play, and for us to get some adult conversation.  

What will your act of compassion be this week? 

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Twenty

Summer solstice has recently occurred and I thought it would be fun to take bubbles to the neighbor kids.  I included a little note with the bubbles that read:

Spring has sure “blown” by.  Enjoy your summer!

~The Councils

What act of compassion can you perform that relates to summer?

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Nineteen

This week is starts off with Father’s Day.  To honor our daddy’s we are going to host a BBQ.  My husband bought 26oz porterhouse steaks and we are going to have them over for some quality family time.  This is a great event that can be turned into an act of compassion.  It isn’t every day we get to honor our dads and really appreciate what they have done for us.

What will your act of compassion be this week?  Will it involve your dad?

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Eighteen

With Spring here our daily schedules are filling up quick. Between play dates, family dinners and raising 3 kids, I am on the go ALL the time.  Not to mention Spring and Summer activities drain our checkbook every year. The next few weeks are very simple acts of compassion.  They are free and anyone can do them. This week my oldest son and I are going to write a letter to my sister who lives many states away.  My 2 ½ year old can color a picture to send her.  Not only is writing a letter good practice for my sons handwriting but it’s nice to stay in touch with my sister who I don’t see very often.

What free act of compassion can you perform this week?

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Seventeen

Random acts of compassion can be just about anything.  So this week we are going simple and I am making cookies to send to work with my husband.  I have all the ingredients on hand and my kids love to be my cooking partners.  What an easy way to make someone’s day!

What easy act of compassion are you going to perform this week?

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Sixteen

It seems as though all of my friends are pregnant right now.  Of course not all of them are, but let’s face it, that is the season of life that we are in.  Our good friends had their baby this week and so our act of compassion is making a dinner and taking it over to them.  I know, after having 3 babies myself, that cooking is the last thing on my list to do with a newborn around.  I love to cook so coming up with a complete dinner is an easy task for me.  I opted to make a chicken pot pie, because it’s a complete meal in one.  It can also be frozen and used at a later date in case our friends already have dinner plans. 

What is going on in your life currently that you can use as an act of compassion?

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Fifteen

With our neighborhood pool just having opened up this week, I decided to make our weekly act of compassion revolve around the sun and visiting the pool as much as we can.  The first day we went this week I loaded up our wagon with cold water, Coke and juice boxes.  Once we got to the pool I went around an offered everyone a cold beverage.  Not sure how people would react to such a thing I wasn’t really sure how much to take and was rather afraid I would be hauling a lot back home.  To my surprise people were really thankful, and the “cherry on top” was I got to meet more of my neighbors.

P.S.- We came home with only 2 bottles of water and 1 Coke can.  Not too bad if you ask me!  

Spring is great for doing random acts of compassion.  What will yours be this week?   

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Fourteen

This week starts off with Mother’s Day.  It has become a yearly tradition for my husband and I to take our mom’s out for brunch.  Even before I started the “52 Random Acts of Compassion Campaign” we (as a family) were already doing acts of compassion throughout the year.  The difference is this year I get to blog about it and add it to my list of acts of compassion.

What can you do this week for your mom(s) that can be considered an act of compassion?

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~ Week Thirteen

This week, I offered up my skills of working with children and the fact that I am a stay-at-home mom and offered to help my friend out by watching her son (for free) while she went on a field trip with her older children during one of the last weeks of school.  I am still in awe of how some acts of compassion can be so easy, yet make you feel good about giving and make someone else feel blessed.

What will your act of compassion be this week?   

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Twelve

Unfortunately, one of the places that I manage to make many trips to per week is the grocery store.  Now, that is no easy feat with three kiddos in tow.  However, I am not afraid of using a little bribery to make the trip a bit easier.  Jacob (my middle son) is into balls.  Any type of balls, small, big, soccer, bouncy or squishy.  My oldest son Malachi likes the vending machines where you try and grab a stuffed animal. Luckily our local King Soopers (Same thing as City Market and Kroger) has a vending machine of bouncy balls and a vending machine of stuffed animals.  So, the deal is, you behave while I shop, meaning no tizzy fits, no whining, and no begging for stuff you don’t NEED, you get 2 quarters to spend on the vending machine of your choice. While visiting the store this week and stopping at the vending machines on the way out, I realized that we could easily do an act of compassion right here at the machines.  I decided to leave 2 quarters at each machine for a child to run across and use.  I wish I could have stayed and seen the excitement on the child(rens) face(s) when they discovered the quarters, but I obviously have to get home to put groceries away, and my youngest son is starting to let me know that he is hungry.  I know that if it was one of my children who discovered “free” quarters, they would have been elated.

How can you take a daunting or weekly task and turn it into an act of compassion?          

Recipes for Essential Oils~Inspirational Sketchpad~Volume One

Wild Orange Body Lotion

      ·         1 bottle of unscented body lotion or cream
      ·         20 drops Wild Orange essential oil
      ·         ¼ cup Grapeseed oil

Blend all ingredients and place back into original lotion container.  Wild Orange is known for its rejuvenating properties. This recipe could easily be altered, by changing essential oils, to offer properties that you are looking for. Example, use Lavender for a relaxing bedtime lotion, or Peppermint for a cooling lotion to use after being in the sun all day.   

Citrus Face Mask

·         5-7 drops of your favorite citrus essential oil (Lemon, Wild Orange, Lime or dōTERRA™ Purify)

      ·         3-4 teaspoons honey

Combine all ingredients and apply to your freshly cleansed face.  Leave on for 20 minutes and then rinse off with lukewarm water.  If you have acne prone skin replace the citrus oil with Melaleuca essential oil.  If you are looking more for a relaxing nighttime mask, use Lavender essential oil.

While these recipes are fairly generic and can be altered to fit what you need, I am always curious as to what other people have created with their essential oils.  Please send me your “recipes” and I will be sure to include them in a future Inspirational Sketchpad posting. 

Recipes for Essential Oils~Tea Time

As I have posted before essential oils can be used in a vast array of ways. One of my favorite ways is to put a few drops in my herbal tea.  I use a basic tea, such as Lipton (or orange pekoe tea) which is very basic, and then I add essential oils.  Now the type of essential oil you add, depends on what benefit you are looking for. 

Here are some common Blends:

For Tranquility
     ·         Lavender
     ·         Roman Chamomile
     ·         Bergamot

Immunity Protection

      ·         On Guard (dōTERRA™  Blend)
      ·         Lemon or Wild Orange
      ·         Peppermint

For Help Breathing (Allergies or Cold)

      ·         Peppermint
      ·         Lemon or Wild Orange

Wake-Me-Up

      ·         Lemon
      ·         Grapefruit
      ·         Wild Orange
      ·         Ginger

Spice Tea (my ultimate fave)
      ·         3 cups almond milk
      ·         Honey (to taste)
      ·         Ginger essential oil
      ·         Clove essential oil
      ·         Vanilla extract

In a small pot or saucepan, heat the almond milk and then whisk in all ingredients.  This is a great drink for a chilly morning or for the Holidays.  

When adding essential oils to tea they can become very overpowering.  To prevent this I always suggest that you take a toothpick and dip it into the top of the essential oil bottle and then stir it in your drink.  If you want more flavor grab another toothpick and repeat.  Be sure not to dip the toothpick that has been swirled in your cup of tea back into the essential oil bottle.  Doing so will damage the properties of the essential oil. 

What type of essential oil tea recipe would you like to see?  Leave me a comment below and I will post a recipe for you?

 

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Eleven

Easter is this week, Sunday April 20^th.  The kids and I took some printable business cards and wrote “Happy Easter” notes on them.  We then delivered containers of cotton candy to the neighbor kids with the personal note from my kiddos.  It was fun and we got some sun and exercise while doing it!

What will your act of compassion be this week?    

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Ten

I had my son this week on Sunday April 13^th.  Now that I am a “new” mom…again, I came up with an idea that was easy for us to do while I was getting in the swing of having 3 kids.  I have several friends who volunteer at the Humane Society and also a local rescue shelter for ALL animals.  I am constantly hearing about how they need food for the animals or even office supplies like tape and printer paper.  The local rescue center has it set up where you can call in and order supplies from PetsMart and they send someone by weekly to pick up donations.  So to make it easy on me this week (and prevent me from having to lug 3 kids to the store) I called in and bought a bag of dog food and some cat food.  It was the easiest thing to do and it will help the rescue center out greatly.

What easy thing can you do this week as an act of compassion?        

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Nine

With me being due next week I am in the middle of what they call the “nesting stage”. I have been a cleaning machine these past few weeks.  For the most part I am on top of keeping our closets organized.  My husband is always buying new clothes and I am always telling him he has to get rid of the same amount that he buys.  Me, well I don’t buy myself clothing very often because I am always finding other things I want more. With that said, I very rarely get rid of kid’s clothes because I keep them all as hand-me-downs.  After all I have 2 boys and I am pregnant with my 3^rd boy. But, because I am in the midst of doing random acts of compassion I figured this was a good time for each child to pull out 3 outfits or 6 pieces of clothing, and same for my husband and I. After this chore we ended up with 2 large boxes of clothing to donate.  Yay, for cleaning out the closet AND for doing an act of compassion.

This time of year many of us do what we call “spring cleaning”. How can you take your spring cleaning and turn it into an act of compassion?      

Time to Get Caught Up...

Hi all~

Between having a baby and my computer completely dying on me I have not been able to post my blogs.  I have continued my weekly acts of compassion and have made note of what we (as a family) have done.  I will start to post them and get caught up this week.  Please be sure to join me as we continue the “52 Acts of Compassion Campaign.” I will pick up with week 9, where I left off, and this week will conclude my missing weeks up to week 20. To all those who follow my blog thank you for sticking by me while I had some technical difficulties and for those of you who are new, Welcome!   

God Bless

~Consistently Delightful

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Eight

With me being due with baby number 3 anytime now I have created a few “quick and easy” acts of compassion for us to do these next few weeks.  This week it is going to be our goal to give everyone we see a smile. They are free, don’t take any extra time and chances are the person you smile at will smile in return.  Smiles are a silent way to say “hey, have a nice day!”

 

 What will your act of compassion be this week?     

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Seven

My family’s act of compassion this week is going to make care packages for a few soldiers.  This may not be something that everyone can do because of cost but there are many ways to put one together very affordably.

Following is a list of items that are great to send:

·         Commercially prepared snacks and/or treats. Examples would be, gum, nuts, trail mixes, granola bars and snack crackers. (Canned goods and home baked goods are not safe to send)

·         Toiletries. Examples would be (sample or travel size) lip balms, lotion, hair gel, shampoo, soap, dental care, nail files and eye drops. (Hotel samples are not allowed)

·         Entertainment items, such as puzzle or game books and small craft kits.

·         Random items such as pillow cases, pre-paid phone cards, air fresheners, laundry detergent, small flashlights and stationary.

Unfortunately there are also many things that CANNOT be sent overseas to our soldiers and they include:

·         Home baked good

·         Glass bottles

·         Aerosol cans

·         Canned food

·         Expired food

·         Candles, lighters or lighter fluid

·         Hotel samples

·         Contraband items (tobacco, live plants, knives or nudity)

·         Prescriptions

·         Used or dirty/stained clothing 

If you need more ideas of what to send in a care package, both “Google” and “Pinterest” offer many great ideas.  Remember that these do not need to cost a lot, in fact, chances are you have a few of these items laying around or hanging out in your pantry.  The United States Postal Service has even made it easy to send care packages by offering free boxes with a flat rate.  As of March 26, 2014 the cost for flat rate boxes starts at $5.80 (for the small box).

What would you include in a care package?        

Uses for Essential Oils~Frankincense

Most of us have heard of Frankincense and not in the essential oil form but from the Bible.  One of the three Wise Men presented Frankincense as a gift to Jesus the night he was born.  “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11 NIV)  Back in biblical times Frankincense was considered fragrant, rare and precious and to this day it still is.  Using Frankincense in an essential oil form has many benefits because of its many properties including anticatarrhal, anticancer, antidepressant, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antitumor, expectorant, immune stimulant and sedative.  Frankincense essential oil has many uses including counteracting Alzheimer’s disease, breathing issues, and concussions, as well as, improving vision, the look of scars and wrinkles.  With its antiseptic and anti-infectious properties it works great on wounds, fighting plaque and even getting rid of warts.  Many times you aren’t sure what oil to use for what, and so I always follow this rule, “When in doubt use Frankincense!” 

In your medicine cabinet, Frankincense oil can replace:

·         Tylenol or other pain relievers

·         Mederma or other scar reducer creams

·         Freeze Away or other wart removers

·         Neosporin or other antibiotic ointments

·         Abreva or other cold sore treatments

·         Anti-aging face creams

dōTERRA™ Franincense Oil~$93.00 15ml

To Order dōTERRA™ Products Please Click Here

Application Methods for Frankincense Oil

·         Applied neat (with no dilution) Dilute 1:1 (one part essential oil and one part carrier oil) for children or those with sensitive skin.   

·         Diffuse or inhale aroma directly

·         Place 1-2 drops under the tongue or in a veggie capsule and take internally

What’s even better? When using Frankincense oil there are no side effects, no drug interactions, it is all natural and proven to be effective.

Watch for future posts on “recipes” that use Frankincense oil, including an all natural headache remedy and an anti-aging face cream.  Need a recipe sooner?  Leave a comment and I will post one right away! 

What do you use Frankincense Oil for?    

St. Patrick's Day 2014~The Leprechaun Came

The night before St. Patricks's Day

Setting up the Leprechaun traps before bed

The morning of St. Patrick's Day

It appears the that the boys caught the Leprechaun but it was all just a trick!
 



The Leprechaun outsmarted the traps; all that the boys discovered in them were toy Leprechauns. 

 Then we discovered feet prints...they led all the way to the living room... 

 

The Leprechaun spilt his entire pot of coins all over our living room floor!

No fear!  The boys cleaned up the coin mess very quickly.

 

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Six

This week our act of compassion is going to impact our whole neighborhood community more than just an individual.  With Spring well on its way the wind has also started to rear its ugly head; that means trash and debris blowing everywhere.  With the warmer weather our family starts taking more walks and so this week on one of our walks we are going to clean up our neighborhood.  The plan will be to take our wagon with us so we can put our bags of rubbish in it and haul it home.  I like this idea because not only are we “serving” our community, but I can also teach my boys to take care of Mother Nature. 

What will your act of compassion be this week?      

St. Patrick's Day~Leprechaun Traps

It is no surprise that my 8 year old is full of questions.  That is the season of life in which he lives right now.  He inquires about EVERYTHING; from the most important assets in existence to things that don’t make sense or are irrelevant in daily life.  With St. Patrick’s Day less than a week away it was no surprise to me when he started asking me things about leprechauns.  How big are they?  How do they get inside?  Why do they like coins?  Of course while he is firing these questions my way I am trying to drive through rush hour traffic on a Friday night.  If you are like me, answers to such questions don’t always come easily, but I manage to answer most of them.  For those of you who follow my blog know that every year for St. Patrick’s Day I cut out green feet and make a trail from the boy’s bedrooms to the living room where I dump coins all over the floor for the kids to pick up.  Malachi (being old enough to remember) is convinced that a Leprechaun visits every year leaving them these coins, thus, the reason for so many Leprechaun questions.  This year let’s just say a very curious 8 year old is determined to catch that leprechaun!  So this year I will still cut out feet and leave a trail, but we are also attempting a new project of creating leprechaun traps.  I must say as a mom, I also enjoy these projects.  My oldest can create his trap by himself with little guidance, however, my youngest (he’s 2 ½ now) still needs quite a bit of help which allows me some creativity time as well. 

Here is how I pitched the whole scenario to my boys:

*How to catch a Leprechaun*

You will Need:

1.       Shoe box or like sized box with a lid

2.       Glue and/or tape and scissors

3.       Gold coins

4.       Shamrock Stickers (or other St. Patty’s Day themed stickers)

5.       Gold fabric

6.       A pencil

7.       St. Patrick’s Day themed scrapbooking items

8.       Confetti or glitter

 How to Make it

1.       Decorate the box to look festive

2.       Fill box with coins and other items that will attract a leprechaun (Look for leprechaun traits   below)

3.       Leave the trap set up by the front door the night before St. Patrick’s Day

Filling up the Trap



With Gold, Green and Colorful Things



Getting Close to Being Done!



The Finished Product

 

Leprechaun Traits

·         They are very greedy

·         They love coins

·         They love the bright colors of the rainbow

·         They especially love the color green

It only took the boys about an hour to make their traps and they came out looking great!  Now we wait and we will set the traps out this Sunday night before bed.  Let’s hope we catch a couple leprechauns (but not before they scatter coins about the living room)!

What types of activities does your family do for St. Patrick’s Day? 

P.S.- I will post pictures of the traps set up and with the trapped Leprechauns next week!

Spring is Just a Week Away!

It is probably no surprise to anyone that I eagerly await spring; starting at about the first snowfall we get during the fall or winter seasons.  As much as I love snow, I absolutely loathe having to shovel my driveway, can’t stand driving in it and I am not a fan of the cold temperatures.  In all actuality, springtime still brings snow and cooler temps, but the anticipation of warmer days makes it a much better season and the diminutive snowstorms we do get don’t last long, nor do they bring much snow.  I love spring for many reasons; warmer weather, sunnier days, stays lighter later, leaves begin to form on trees, flowers start to pop through the ground, and the barbeque comes out of hibernation.  Some of the littlest things in life are the biggest to me, such as opening up all your windows in your house on a warm spring afternoon.  Nothing beats the smell of a fresh air circulating through a house that has been closed up for the last 4-5 months.  This last weekend we had 60 degree temps and tons of sun so my husband and I (as in mostly my husband because I am sporting around an 8 month pregnant belly) put the swings back on the swing set, brought out the kids toys from the garage, got the bicycles down from overhead storage (to discover every tire needs to be fixed), made an appointment for someone to come aerate our lawns, washed off patio furniture and put the tiki torches back up along the fence among many other things.  To some, this might sound like “work” on a day off, but to me, this is a break.  Preparing for something I love like summer is never considered work in my book.

This time of year I also start to plan the layout of my vegetable garden.  Besides the many things mentioned above, I just love having a garden.  There is just something about having fresh produce all summer long and being able to share my bounty with my neighbors!  In the past I have tried starting my veggie plants from seeds but with no feat.  I am very successful in getting the seeds to sprout and growing the plants indoors but then when I go to plant them outside in the warm soil something goes awry.  It has been suggested to me that they weren’t acclimated to the outdoor temperatures or the plants were still too feeble.  Not to mention my little plants are nothing compared to the size of the plants you buy from your local nursery or garden center.  So after taking all that time growing my own seedlings, I end up buying much larger, healthier looking plants and go from there.  Well, this year I am determined to change that habit.  I have educated myself, and by educated I mean I have Google-d “planting seeds” and “starting your garden from scratch”.  I have found dozens upon dozens of great ideas, advice, tips, hints and suggestions for beginner gardeners. So this last weekend I ventured out to my local nursery and bought greenhouse trays and seeds.  After returning home my youngest son and I got busy right away planting those seeds. 



Seeds and Greenhouse Trays

My son loved helping me put the seeds in the soil pellets!

Now we wait and see...

Needless to say, my spring fever is almost unbearable this year. I guess I will sit back and try to enjoy the last week and a half of winter. *Sigh* 

What is your household doing to prepare for spring?      

Uses for Essential Oils~Helichrysum

(Pronounced hell-ĭ-cry-some)

I just recently was introduced to Helichrysum essential oil and have discovered its vast array of uses.  Helichrysum is a plant related very closely to the daisy and the oil comes from the flowers.  Like most essential oils Helichrysum is antibacterial and antiviral, but is also an expectorant and mucolytic.  It also has anticoagulant, antispasmodic and antioxidant properties. Helichrysum essential oil can be used to help control bleeding to helping control cholesterol levels.  Other common uses for Helichrysum include, tooth abscess, detoxification, earaches, eczema, psoriasis, tinnitus and viral infections.  Helichrysum essential oil can also chelate heavy metals from the body making it a great blood cleanser.            

In your medicine cabinet, Helichrysum Oil can replace:

·         Tylenol or other pain relievers

·         Mederma or other scar reducer creams

·         Cortosone or other topical steroid creams

Application Methods for Helichrysum Oil

·         Applied neat  (with no dilution)  

·         Diffuse or inhale aroma directly

·         Place 1-2 drops in a veggie capsule and take internally (make sure you are only taking therapeutic grade Helichrysum oil internally, like dōTERRA brand)

 

dōTERRA™ Helichrysum Essential Oil~$100.00 5ml

To Order dōTERRA™ Products Please Click Here 

 

What’s even better? When using Helichrysum oil there are no side effects, no drug interactions, it is all natural and proven to be effective.

Watch for future posts on “recipes” that use Helichrysum oil, including regenerative face lotion. Need a recipe sooner?  Leave a comment and I will post one right away! 

What do you use Helichrysum Oil for?    

52 Acts of Compassion Campaign ~Week Five

With spring just a week away, I thought it would be fun to have my boy’s paint a couple of clay flower pots and then plant some pansies in them to give to their grandma’s.  Pansies are very hearty flowers that love cooler temps and so they are perfect for the spring and fall.  I noticed that my favorite garden nursery advertising that they just got theirs in so now is the perfect time to plant them.  This act of compassion is perfect because both of my boys love to paint, and I love to plant flowers; sounds like a win-win situation!

 



Painting the flower pots!

Perfect! 
 

If gardening is not your thing and you prefer to do something a little more easy, you can change up this act of compassion just by buying a bouquet of flowers from your local nursery or grocery store and then delivering it your loved one.  Either way it is sure to brighten someone’s day!

What will your act of compassion be this week?

Uses for Essential Oils~Oregano

Most of us are familiar with oregano because we have a jar of it in our spice cabinets.  It is a spicier herb and is used frequently in Mediterranean and Italian food dishes (think pizza).  What most of us don’t know is that Oregano is a very nutrient dense spice, containing vitamin K, manganese, iron, fiber and calcium. With that being said you can imagine the benefits of Oregano essential oil.  It has antibacterial, antifungal, anti-parasitic, antiseptic and antiviral properties.  With common uses ranging from curing athletes foot to calming whooping cough.         

In your medicine cabinet, Oregano Oil can replace:

·         Tylenol or other pain relievers

·         Tums or other heartburn remedies

·         Dayquil or other cold medications

·         Pepto Bismal or other anti-nausea medications

·         Cepacol or other types of throat lozenges

·         Freeze Away or other wart removers

dōTERRA® Oregano Essential Oil~ $32.00 15ml
To Order dōTERRA® Products Please Click Here

 

Application Methods for Oregano Oil

·         Dillute 1:3 Use one part of Oregano oil and 3 parts carrier oil.  I always suggest fractionated coconut oil (Note: Oregano oil can cause skin irritation)

·         Diffuse or inhale aroma directly

·         Place 1-2 drops under the tongue or in a veggie capsule and take internally

·         Use as a flavoring for food

 
What’s even better? When using Oregano oil there are no side effects, no drug interactions, it is all natural and proven to be effective.

Watch for future posts on “recipes” that use Oregano oil, including an all natural sore throat spray and an Athlete’s Foot cream . Need a recipe sooner?  Leave a comment and I will post one right away! 

What do you use Oregano Oil for?