Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Christmas 2014




We survived Christmas! What a crazy, CRAZY, time of year. If I am honest, Christmas is not my favorite holiday… It’s overwhelming, daunting, expensive… the list goes on. Yet, every year I am fulfilled by how wonderful the holiday actually is, once you get past the stress. It’s filled with family, food, and giving. A beautiful, stressful, perfect holiday.

We were so blessed to be healthy ON Christmas. Oliver came down with a nasty illness. He was tired, feverish, coughing, crying. It was terrible and lasted forever. I think it was a good 10 days before we were acting normal again! We had to miss our trip to Tulsa to see family for Christmas and an 80th 
birthday party. Very sad.

Sick Baby

We nursed Ollie back to health with a strong liquid diet because he refused to eat. Rotations of elderberry, raw honey, FCLO, raw probiotics, kombucha, green smoothies, bone broth, coconut water with Himalayan salts, and keifer. We made homemade cough syrup with fresh ginger, raw apple cider vinegar, lemon, and oil. Then had a rotation of essential oils to help the healing process. Detox baths with magnesium to help the body aches, and avoided fever reducers to allow his body to fight the illness since his fever wasn’t high! I am very thankful to have been able to avoid prescription medication or antibiotics this round! I know we won’t always get that lucky, but thankful for making it through this illness!

Christmas Eve Eve we were able to get attend a beautiful church service with family. Christmas Eve we spent going to another church with family and celebrating the Christmas we missed in Tulsa. Poor Oliver still was not 100% and spent most of the night throwing fits. –sigh-

Christmas day we started with our traditional breakfast my mom makes every year. Homemade cinnamon rolls. They are to die for. TO DIE FOR YA’LL! I love this tradition so much. Even if we don’t spend Christmas day with my family my momma always makes sure we have some of her cinnamon rolls. It’s the perfect start to the day. Then for lunch we were able to spend with my sweet grandparents and aunt that was in town!



This brings me to my favorite gift exchange every year. My sweet sister a few years ago gifted me a jar. A memory jar. Throughout the year, who ever has the jar, writes down their favorite sister memories then gifts the jar back on Christmas. This has become a tradition I SO look forward to each year. When it's my turn to have the jar I leave it in our living room, write down notes throughout the year and drop it in the jar. It's so fun to read all the things we did together throughout the year. My sister is amazing you guys. She is seriously my best friend and I love our relationship. The older she gets the closer we seem to get and this jar is such an amazing representation of an intentional relationship. This year when I opened the jar, I just started tearing up. I cherish our relationship so much and love this new tradition we started!


The day after christmas we had ANOTHER family gathering. (Big family!) It was filled with music like usual, which Ollie loved! I come from one very talented musical family. Total bummer I didn't get that gene..Maybe Ollie will.... 




We have had such a blessed Christmas! I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all the blessing we have received this year! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!



Opening gifts, yet his favorite was the Mario tooth brush we got him! :)