Bon Voyage!

Well in 11 days we will be headed on a Christmas Cruise! Crazy I know. Now before you start thinking wait? I thought they were starving seminary students? Well we still are. My dad and stepmom are the ones giving us this wonderful trip. The whole family is heading on this cruise! It's going to be interesting that's for sure. I have never been anywhere Tropical for Christmas and I am sure it will feel different. In fact I am just going to pretend its NOT Christmas until we get back! (on the 26th.) Josh and I will have our "Christmas Eve" that night and wake up to our Christmas morning the 27th!

So anyway I am excited it will be great to get away with the family and here are the places we are visiting!
Cayman Islands

Cozumel Mexico


Roatan Honduras


Princess Cays, Bahamas, That's our ship I think!


So maybe I just need to buy a Bathing suit with Santa on it or something! Now I have so much to do in 10 days, register, renew my greencard (just get the paper work in! I am safe to travel still!) Figure out about our car :( We got in an accident on the way home from Boston in the snow Saturday night. It was not fun. We are ok but our car is not! And pack!

Christmas Favorites

I love this time of year. I mean I don't know what part I love the most, but I just love it all. Family, the ambiance, the parties, the colours, decorations, the music, the food! It's all grand! Here are a few of my favorite Christmas Traditions!

1. Christmas Music:
I love the classics, The Drifters, Dean Marin, Elvis, Brenda Lee, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and throw in a little Mariah, Christina, and Celine of course.


2. Christmas Movies: Ohhh I love the Claymations, Miracle on 24th street, Elf, The Santa Clause, White Christmas, and Its a Wonderful Life

3. Warm drinks such as Egg Nog, Cider, Coffee, Hot Chocolate


4. Christmas Eve Hors dourves. After the Christmas Eve service we come home and make all sorts of Hors Dourves, and watch a Christmas movie. It's a family tradition since as far back as I can remember.



5.Stockings. My family always opens them first. It's always full of fun things like chap stick, gum, candy, and cool mini Maglights. My family has always known how to do a good stocking.

What are some of your family's favorite traditions?

Turkey Day

So this Thanksgiving is going to be different, and special. Seeing as none of us Seminary students have any money to fly home we are having thanksgiving together! The lovely family I nanny for is going away and is graciously letting us use their home for the day!!!! We get to have a fireplace, big tv for the thanksgiving parade and football, and lots of counter space, and.....A DISHWASHER! Something none of us have. Anyway we all split up the food items and I am in charge of the turkey. NERVOUS! I have only roasted a turkey once in my life, and lets just say it was a source of stress that day with Josh's dear family(Come on I was newly married and had the pressure of cooking the turkey on my first thanksgiving with His family? It was stressful!)So needless to say I have done my homework and actually have a schedule all ready to go so this thanksgiving will be Stresssss free. I am following the instructions of the lovely Pioneer Woman (if you haven't checked her out you simply must!)
She reccomends Brining the turkey so that is what I am doing! So Here is my Turkey Day Schedule!

Wednesay

11:00 pack and bring everything to the Faris house
11:30 start cooking brine solution and let cool
12:00 pop that bad bird in the solution
1:00 cut up celery and onion for Stuffing put in bags in fridge
1:30 rip up bread for stuffing
4:00 Make Pecan Pie
6:00 Matt and Kristen come to set up table put up white lights on windows, get house ready!
7:00 p.m relax with my hubs maybe build a fire! WHOO HOO!

Turkey Day!
6:00 am remove Turkey from Brine and get ready for oven!
8:00 am cook celery and onion in butter for stuffing
9:00 am put on that Macy's thanksgiving day parade!
10:00 a.m baste turkey with butter ever 1/2 hour and back in oven!
& lovely friends arrive with their goods!
11:00 am assemble stuffing and put in oven & watch thanksgiving Friends episode!
1:00 make gravy
2:00 Eat our lovely dinner!
2- whenever: relax by the fire, football, miracle on 34th street, oh and give my friends their big surprise!

It's going to be a great Thanksgiving. And that Bird better be Beautiful! Wish me LUCK!
Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy your time with Family and if your like us Your Friends that have become like Family!

How's Your Soil

No one likes being sick. I know this. I used to get sick ALL THE TIME. Now I am used to people thinking I am a crazy person for eating the way I do now. But let me tell you one thing I don't get sick very often. And if I do I usually know its a reaction to a bad food I have eaten and I quickly take the steps neccesarry to get well. In this cold and flu season I highly encourage you to follow these steps if your sick. Or hey have it your way and ignore me, think I am crazy and see how you long it takes for you to get over your cold, only to get sick agian soon. I don't think I know it all, but I have been given some very valuable information I desire to pass on. Its critical to your health. You may not feel it yet, but one day you will.

1. WATER. Seriously its so important. Just by upping your water intake when you are sick you give your cells a chance to hydrate and fight off the illness. Also effects allergies a TON! I have been very allergic to cats all my life. The family I nanny for has a cat. The days I am hydrating, eating well NO symptoms. The days I eat sugar/cheese/bread. and don't drink enough water I can hardly breath there is so much mucus. Gross I know. Dehydration = mucus. Water = no mucus.

2. No Sugar. Sugar is found in so many things, your bread, your ketchup, you name if it comes in a box it probably has sugar. Sugar blocks your cells from absorbing Vitamin C and then innables your immune system. If you eat sugar you can't fight off the illness.

3. Supplements. You should be getting all your nutrients from the foods you eat, but alas this is not possible in this society. So the most important ones you should take are: Probiotics, Fish Oil, Vitamin D, Vitamin C (at leat 1,000 mgs of C when your sick)
Also I've mentioned before Dr.K's perfect Greens for health I take a scoop of this in water or a smoothie every day during Cold and Flu season.

4. Rest, turn off the Tv/computer/phone and get some sleep.

5. No Dairy or grains. Your body has a hard time processing both of these. Here is a link that helps explain why we were never meant to process this stuff.Here But at least while your sick, lay off them. Try my broccoli soup or bonfire turkey soup recipes, or smoothies and anything not from a package.


Of course the best way to prevent illness is to take care of your self before you get sick. Louis Pasture who spent most of his life defending the germ theory (germs enter your body causing you to get sick this is the idea that you "catch a cold) against Claude Bernard's idea that the environment is everything and that only when your body is broken down you are succeptable to it. After all, there are billions of microbes and bacteria inhabiting our guts, our blood, our whole body. Why do we sometimes sicken from them, sometimes not? When a bacterial or viral agent is “going around,” as we say, why do some people sicken and others remain healthy ? Louis Pasture on his death bed renouced his theory claiming " Bernard is right the seed is nothing the soil is everything!" Meaning only when the body is broken down and not functioning well does it allow the bacteria or microbe to take over. SOOOO it is important what you do. How you eat, move, think. What you put in your body is either making it more succeptable to sickness, or making it well. Think about that every time you eat something. So How's Your Soil? Is it ready to defend your body or weak and broken down?

Its ok if you think I am crazy, but hey I am feeling great!

Tune in next time as I share what is in some of the foods your feeding your kids! Scary. Check out my amazing Chiro's blog and Bonfire Health for more info. and this Post about swine flu

Friendship is a gift!

To echo my friend Emily's post, friends are truly a Survival kit. She talked about how God put us all in each other's lives right when we needed each other. Life in seminary is surly a roller coaster of ups and downs, rich times of blessing, times of being poor and money strapped, joys of learning, decision making and following God's lead, sorrow of being away from friends and family and quite lonely at times in seeking a life of ministry. In this time when we are facing hardships and trials God provided an amazing group of friends for us. Friends who know the balance of having fun and loving Jesus at the same time. We had a great time this Halloween in Salem a city that is filled with evil on a night like this, and we were able to join together as people who love God and have fun dressing up and rejoicing in each other. I loved how Emily said it "So, we all raised our glasses that night around the table to Friendship; knowing we were put in each others lives as our very own survival kits." I am thankful for them. And the blessing that they are! It's the best part of Seminary for sure.

Hello Lord

Hello Lord, it's me your child
I have a few things on my mind
Right now I'm faced with big decisions
And I'm wondering if you have a minute, cuz
Right now I don't hear so well
And I was wondering if you could speak up

I know that you tore the veil
So I could sit with you in person
And hear what you're saying but
Right now, I just can't hear you.

I don't doubt your sovereignty
I doubt my own ability to
Hear what you're saying
And to do the right thing
And I desperately want to do the right thing
But right now I don't hear so well
And I was wondering if you could speak up

I know that you tore the veil
So I could sit with you in person
And hear what you're saying but
Right now, I just can't hear you.

And somewhere in the back of my mind
I think you are telling me to wait
And though patience has never been mine
Lord, I will wait to hear from you
Oh Lord, I'm waiting on you

Right now I don't hear so well
And I was wondering if you could speak up

I know that you tore the veil
So I could sit with you in person
And hear what you're saying but
Right now, I think you're whispering

Broken Hearts.

I was reminded of this song from my dear friend and mentor in my life, Naomie. I spent my life looking for someone to fill my heart, looking everywhere for satisfaction. I had my heart broken over and over again. People, relationships, my apperance, they all let me down. But every broken dream, or others who broke my heart, just pointed me on my way to Christ's arms. God sent Jesus to bind up the broken hearted. He picked me up out of the pit I was in. I still get lost on my way a time or too but I am reminded of Christs Love and that only He can fill that empty place. Even Josh can't fill that in me. If your hurting today know that His arms are open wide. He wont let you down.
And hope does not disappoint, because the LOVE OF GOD HAS BEEN POURED OUT WITHIN OUT HEARTS through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:5



Thank you Jesus for fulfilling every desire, and that true satisfaction is found in you.