Cold/Flu Remedy

     Hey, just wanted to do a quick post of an awesome herb for this winter!!!  I've told several people about this (including our accountant :-)  and I decided since this seems to be the best kept secret since I-don't-know-what, I'd share it.  OK, you want to know what the miracle cure/preventive for colds, flu, sinus infections and anything else caused by viruses, bacteria or fungi is????

OLIVE LEAF EXTRACT

     Yup, you read that right.  Apparently the olive tree has some really awesome properties, besides just the olives and the oil.  (Kind of ironic that it's a common tree in Israel- The Promised Land.  God's pretty amazing, isn't He?).  The leaves of the tree have anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties.

     Let me give you  my history with this herb......

     Four years ago when we started on our Autism Journey with dear Reece, we discovered that he had a major yeast overgrowth in his intestines (found through labs done with our DAN! doctor).  He was suppose to take olive leaf extract to fight it, but at the time, all I could find were these big, honkin' capsules that a little four-year-old boy could not (refused!) swallow.  You couldn't break open the capsule and disguise it with anything either because of the rather unpleasant, potent taste.  So, I put the big bottle at the back of my cabinet and used other methods (which, by the way, was a low-sugar diet, biotin, and major probiotics).  We kicked the yeast and moved on.  Well, when Lindy was just at a year old, I developed a major sinus infection.  I saw our family doctor, who prescribed an antibiotic, which I took and, which got rid of the infection. The side effect was that since I was still nursing her, I either had to quit for a week and just wean her completely.  Even though I wasn't ready, I weaned her.  So, a year and a half later, I was getting ready for a very sad and emotional trip to northern Nebraska to attend my uncle's funeral.  We were leaving at the beginning of the week, so that Sunday I was trying to get the house in order (Jeff and the twins stayed home) and pack for me and Lindy.  I could tell I was developing another sinus infection (the pain in my jaw, teeth and sinuses, plus the green snot was a dead giveaway), but, being a Sunday, I chose to ignore it.  We were leaving at 8 am the next morning, so no hope of going to the doctor.  On a whim, I dug out the olive leaf extract, and that morning took 3 capsules.  By noon, I was feeling a bit better, so I took 3 more.  By evening, the pain was gone in my face.  I took 3 more before bed.  I woke up the next morning with clear mucus.  I continued to take another 9 capsules that day and by  night the sinus infection WAS GONE!  I mean, completely GONE!  I couldn't believe it!  So, ever since then, I have been a firm believer in the power of herbs.  We keep some on hand at all times.  I've even convinced my mother-in-law.  As soon as I feel the beginning of a cold or something else coming on, I hit the olive leaf and I rarely develop a full blown infection of anything.  Finally, this winter, I learned how to make a liquid herbal tincture using dried olive leaves, so now my kids can have some.  

     So, there you have it.  Go to your nearest health food store and pick up some olive leaf.  It's a whole lot easier than getting sick and treating the symptoms :-)

The Evils of Soy

     OK, I just got done checking out an autism forum (gfcfdiet.com, if anyone's interested!) and there was a thread on there about the real soy story.  And that got me thinking about farming, and soy, and Monsanto and our idiot FDA.  Apparently, most people don't realize the hidden dangers and how much soy is really in our food.  For almost 3 years, we were a completely soy free family and let me tell you, it's HARD!  You have to be vigilant about labels and soy will creep up in the most unforeseen places.  When we put Reece back on a normal diet, I quit reading labels quite so closely, but I generally know what's soy-free and what's not.  But, it seems so oxymoron-ish of me because my husband, father, father-in-law and a slew of uncles, are all soybean farmers!!!  Except that I feel like us farmers are actually the victims in this whole drama.  Its a case of conspiracies and good ol' supply and demand. 
     First of all, the dangers of soy- Soy is one of the most common allergens.  Its also a hormone disrupter for men and women, and actually does not contain the health benefits touted by the advertising agencies and the USDA and the FDA and the soybean check off people.  If you read the studies closely, the ones that were done to supposedly prove that it lowers cholesterol, prevents heart disease, etc. ,etc.  you'll actually find that the results were inconclusive at best.  Did you know that, technically, soy only has FDA approval for use in cardboard boxes?  Yeah.... and that to use soy in food it has to go through such a process that its impossible to recreate in the regular kitchen?  And we eat this stuff... happily, too!  Soy is found in almost every type of food that comes in a package.  And we feed it to our babies!!!  Even if you don't/didn't use soy formula, did you know its in rice cereal?  Yup, rice cereal and oatmeal has SOY in it.  Now, you can buy the organic version and then it tends to be soy-free.  I had a friend once whose son had been breastfed and when he was 6 months old they started him on rice cereal.  She was one of those first-time mommies that tried to do everything by the modern book.  After a week or so of rice cereal and having a horrible, screaming baby on her hands, she decided to stop the cereal, but she still couldn't figure out why he cried and screamed so much during that time.  So, a week or so later, she gave him rice cereal again and again, same reaction.  She finally figured out it was the cereal, but still had no idea WHY.  OK, fast forward a few years.  Her son had had chronic diarrhea his whole, short life and after getting her husband diagnosed with celiac, she decided to also put her son on a gluten-free diet.  Still didn't help.  About this time, Reece got all of his many food intolerances diagnosed and I had started my deep research into the world of soy.  I suggested she also take out soy and dairy.  To make a long story short, she got him officially tested and it came back that he was allergic to dairy, gluten and soy.  One day, when we were talking about his babyhood, she told me the rice cereal story.  On a hunch, I out my unused box of baby rice cereal and read the ingredients.... sure enough, my hunch was confirmed.  He had been reacting to the soy in the box! 
     Unfortunately, for us farmers, if you wanna make money, you gotta grow what makes sense (or "cents!).  Right now beans are at $11 and our yield this fall were really good.  Soybeans make us money most years.  That's a fact.  The price is so high, because to put it simply, people demand it!  Oh, I know, you don't walk down the street shouting, "We want soy!  We want soy!" but you do say it with your spending habits.  Anytime you frequent a fast food restaurant or eat almost any food from a can, box, or package (including meats!) you are further fueling the demand and we answer with the supply. 
      Then, to top it all off, Monsanto makes it so easy (kinda, anyway) for us to grow it!  Round-up Ready (or genetically modified organisms) have made growing soybeans a piece of cake, until this year anyway (more on that in a bit!).   All we have to do is plant (the horribly expensive-because-you-have-to-pay-unreal-tech-fees-so-Monsanto-doesn't-throw-you-in-jail) seed, spray it a few times with glyphosate (Round-up) and viola! you have money in the bank.  One big catch is, though, you CANNOT save your seed or Monsanto will jail you, seriously.  So, you buy new seed every year so you can the convenience of "easy" money.  But, something somewhat unforeseen happened this year that's thrown farmers, seed companies, and chemical companies for a loop- several key weeds developed a resistance to Round-up.  Specifically, marestail, waterhemp, and pigweed.  Now we have to throw bigger, "badder" chemicals at it to get the same result.  Hence, resulting in added pollution, cancer, and all sorts of other modern maladies.  Plus, its more expensive.
     So, the bottom line is, if you consumers would QUIT consuming soy (do your own research and you'll see why its so bad for you!), we farmers would quit growing it and the world would be a much happier place.  And cows, pigs and chickens everywhere who are forced to eat this crap would thank you also! 


And that is my rant of the day......  Hope you learned something, or at least are intrigued enough to educate yourself on the subject, instead of just blindly following the masses.....

A Glimpse into our Daily Life

     There hasn't been any earth shattering news around here, so I thought I'd do a post of the mundane of the Donley family!  You know, "a day in the life of..."  So, here goes....

     Reece and I always get up first around 6:45.  We discovered awhile back, that when there's absolutely NO wind, we can get in Channel 8!  Woo-hoo!  And at 7 am, Curious George is on :-)  My kids have been Curious George fans since they were itty-bitty.  We have most of the books and, even at 8 years old, the twins still enjoy listening to them.  So, between 7 and 8, the girls trail in.  We all eat breakfast at various points during this time.  Usually at 8, the TV is turned off and doesn't get turned back on until the next morning.  We're just not big TV watchers.  Most mornings, I have students coming over at 9 for tutoring, so the kids all get clothes changed, teeth brushed, etc, before my students arrive.  I also make sure Jeff is up and at 'em before 9.  He works 2nd and has a hard time winding down, so his bedtime is around 2 am or so.  Anyway, while I tutor, the kids play.  When its warm (or even when its not!) the girls usually go outside first thing to visit all their cats.  Originally, we had 8, but due to various different accidents involving vehicles and coyotes, we're now down to about 4 or so.  After tutoring is over I'll do a few chores, make the kids do a few chores and start dinner.  We eat at noon and Reece goes to school at 1.  Jeff leaves for work at 1:45 and the girls and I do school while Reece is gone.  Elisa's very fast, so we are almost always done by 3.  After Reece gets home, we eat a snack and most everyone plays outside (including me!).  Yesterday, I worked on hauling cow manure to my garden from the loafing shed.  I'm working on getting my gardens ready for next spring.  Sometimes we run farm errands at various points of the day.  By "farm errands", I mean picking up my father-in-law and/or Jeff and taking them somewhere else.  During bean harvest a few weeks ago, I ran the combine some while my father-in-law took the semi to the elevator.  Once milo harvest starts (soon, I hope!)  I'll be doing that again and then as soon as we start stripping cotton, I'll be out in the cotton field running the boll buggy and module builder.  The kids, of course, always tag along for all of this!  As farm kids, they're VERY use to the interruptions and changes in routine that farming can bring.  Anyway, back to my day.... so, we eat supper around 6 or so and then we'll play/pick up the livingroom/clear the table.  Finally, we have baths, Bible story, prayer time and bed!  In the fall and winter, they are in bed by 8 pm, but in the summer, its usually 9 pm.  We have a very strict bedtime routine that has been the same since the twins were babies and we rarely deviate!  A lot of times, in addition to the Bible story, we'll read a chapter out of a chapter book.  We recently finished an abridged version of "Huck Finn".  Several years ago, we spent 9 months and read through the "Little House on the Prairie" series.  Anyway, my day sounds rather boring when its all typed out, but it sure seems busy to us!!

Zzzzzzzz....................

     That is what Reece has been doing 9-11 hours a night for the last 10 nights!!!!!!!  On the Friday after my last post, a few ladies came to my house and we prayed over Reece and anointed him with oil.  God heard our prayers and answered in a most positive way!!!  We gave up on the prescription meds and I was at my wits end with his sleeping.  Earlier in the week, I started dinking around with melatonin again, but Reece still wasn't sleeping much.  After our earnest prayer session, evenings and nights have been WONDERFUL!!!  It is soooooo amazing to see God work like that so immediately and in such a way that it gave the other ladies goosebumps.  (I was just so happy to have my energy back :-)  I've been praising God nightly for this continuing miracle. 
     Overall, Reece is a happier kid during the day, but we still have our hurdles to overcome.  I feel like our discipline needs to be stepped up a notch.  I think that, too often, we let bad behavior and disobedience slide with him and blame things on "the autism."  The Lord is very clear on using spanking as a means of training for children and it seems to be the only thing that Reece understands when administered after a bad deed or behavior.  I have been doing a much better job of keeping wooden spoons (our rod of choice) around the house and using them in a very calm, concise manner.  For instance, I'll tell him (very calmly), "Reece, you disobeyed me.  I told you to put your socks on and you did not.  Now you get 2 spankings."  I'll count out the two (or whatever number we deem necessary for the offense) and then we move on.  And, you know what?  Reece complies very happily after that and life is good :-) 
     I know this isn't a very long post (normally, I'm much windier :-)  but, its 10:30 and we have the pumpkin patch awaiting us tomorrow, so I'm thinking I better head to bed. 
    I'll leave you with a parting quote from Elisa.....

"One of the things I love most about my life is killing chickens!"

Ha, ha, ha!!  That's a farmgirl for ya..... :-)

One Note at a Time....

     Today I learned some very interesting truths about myself.  Things that I had never noticed, exactly, but that had kind of been nibbling at the back of my brain.  They have now been put into words and it was rather heartbreaking to realize....

     We've been struggling the last few weeks (but its been an ongoing off again/on again issue for the last few years!) with Reece and his sleeping.  After trying a prescription med only to have his sleeping get worse and worse, we feel at our wit's end.  This morning, Reece and I started our morning at 2 AM!  Yes, you read that right...  Reece woke up at 2 am and NEVER went back to sleep!!!  I didn't want to burden Jeff with it since he's swamped with haying and his regular job, so I dealt with it.  By the time I woke Jeff up at 9 am, I had about had it.  I was beyond exhausted, felt like I had no support (other than my dear husband!) and didn't know where to turn.  It shouldn't have surprised me when a very close friend called at that very  moment.  I almost didn't answer the phone.  I really didn't want to talk about ANYthing and I knew she would ask about Reece.  But, I answered anyway.....

     After telling her about our horrible night, she suggested that a group of women that she and I know get together and pray over him.  Just the thought of it sent peace surging through my body.  "Yes!"  I thought, "Getting these prayer warriors all together with Reece would be just the thing!"  We decided that I would call one of the ladies and she would call the others.  So, I made my phone call.

And this is where I learned my lesson....

After pouring my heart out to this woman and rehashing my spiritual journey that has occurred simultaneously with my autism journey, I realized something....I had never REALLY trusted God with Reece!

     For someone who considers herself to have a close relationship with the Lord, it was disconcerting.  See, I'm a very smart, self-educated (with a few years of college thrown in!) person and for the last 4 years, while I prayed for a miracle cure for Reece, I felt like I was the one who had to figure out what that cure was.  I was trusting my intellect and my researching skills and my love of science and medicine to make my son "normal." 

     And then she asked me something else....

     "Have you ever thanked God for the autism?  He's the one who has created Reece as He did."

     Boy!  Thanked God for AUTISM?????  Was she NUTS??  Autism was my enemy, my nemesis, my thorn, my broken bridge to the Land of Normal....  Why the HECK would I be THANKFUL for it????  But, another truth began to dawn on my heart....  I daily thank God for my son, Reece, but you know what?  Autism, no matter how much I don't want it to be there, is part of Reece.  It is part of this family and it is shaping what kind of person I become, what Jeff will become and what kind of women my girls grow up to be.  But, you know what?  God has allowed autism to become part of Reece and by viewing it as my enemy, am I telling God that what He's created is not good enough??? 

And, then finally, my last lesson that I learned....

     For the last 4 years, I have focused on the BIG PICTURE.  What will Reece be like in a couple years.... in 5 years.... in 10 years.....  yet, do I have any idea what Reece what kind of man he'll become?  No, of course not.  I have been so focused on curing him and making him normal so that he can lead a "normal" life as an adult, that I've forgotten that our lives are like a Mozart concerto....

     I was a violinist (I say "was" because the violin got put on the backburner once the twins arrived!).  I actually had a violin scholarship to college.  I was pretty good.  But, I remember the feeling when my teacher would hand me a new sheet of music.  I'd look at it, gulp, and immediately feel stressed out and discouraged... all before I'd ever picked up my bow!  But, if I broke it down, played one note at a time, eventually I got through it and each time I played it, I got a little better and a little better, until finally, it was mastered and ready to perform.  I need to remember in life, to take one note at a time, instead of stressing about being able to play the whole piece perfectly the first time through.  Only one note, then another, then another, until someday... I'll be standing before the King playing my masterpiece! 

     I leave you with my new strength that has helped me get through this day...

                         "Rejoice in the Lord, always.  And, again, I say, rejoice!"  Phillipians 4:4.

     I will REJOICE in Reece and I will REJOICE in autism and I will REJOICE  that the Lord chose Jeff and I to go through these daily struggles.  Because without these our lives would be too perfect, and how would we ever truly learn to trust?

Vinegar and Baking Soda

     I have lots of random thoughts rambling around in my head, but to write a cohesive post, I decided to talk about my most favorite cleaning products!  This was a topic of conversation yesterday between myself and my two cousins, whom I help homeschool. 
     My relationship with vinegar and baking soda started about 5 years ago, right before I found out baby #3 was on the way.  I've always been frugal (or a cheapskate, however you'd like to look at it!) and in yet another effort to shave off some household expenses, I decided to begin turning towards cheaper cleaning products, i.e. vinegar.  I didn't throw out my regular stuff, mind you, but decided to do some experimenting.  But, alas, my experimenting was cut short when Lindy was conceived and I began my 8 month journey through my personal hell, called pregnancy.  I was too sick to be creative and experiment, so what little cleaning got done (and there was very little!) was done with my usual, chemical stand-byes. 
     Enter in autism and the beginning of my new journey to cure it!  After doing lots and lots of research into autism and causes and potential cures, I stumbled across a lot of research involving the harmful chemicals that we use everyday and add to our indoor pollution in the name of "cleaning" and "disinfecting."  So, in one fell swoop, I threw out all my regular cleaners, bought some spray bottles and gallons of vinegar and forever switched over to the "green" option before "green" was cool!
     Vinegar is a disinfectant that is just as effective as most commercial products.  And it dissolves lime and makes windows and chrome sparkle.  Plus, its totally safe for the kiddos!  That was one thing that I loved the most- I could safely clean the bathroom while Lindy sat in her bouncy seat and watched.
     I also began using baking soda for my toilet cleaner and degreaser.  It also works wonders for clogged drains when mixed (in the drain) with vinegar. 
     Interestingly enough, after using vinegar for the last 4 years, my kids and I can no longer tolerate the smells of commercial cleaners.  We HATE the cleaning aisle at the grocery store and Wal-mart.  It makes our eyes burn and our noses stop up.  I think most people are desensitized to the chemicals and fragrances in these products and so they don't notice them anymore.
     If you're wondering if using only vinegar really does work as an effective disinfectant, well, I can honestly say that my family is rarely sick.  We don't have many colds and the kids usually only run a fever once a year.  We also haven't been to see the doctor for a sickness in well over a year!


     In other quick news, the clonidine for Reece to help his sleeping is a total joke.  After taking it for 9 nights, we've seen absolutely NO difference.  He still doesn't fall asleep well and he still gets up in the middle of the night.  Last night he was up from 2:30 to 5:30 am.  On the plus side, his language has just sky rocketed in the last month!!!  Don't know why, but, hey, we'll take it!  He's actually using a word for his frustrations, too- "dangit!"  I told Jeff its a good thing we don't cuss or I wonder what word he would've chosen then :-)

The Past Month

     Yeah, so I thought I'd keep up on this blog a little better than this!  But, this last month has had so much going on, I haven't had much time.
     The first thing I had going on was the twins' 8th birthday party at the end of August.  I have another post in the works detailing the party with pictures of the cakes, so hopefully, I'll feel like finishing that one sometime soon...  And then we had our annual camping trip to Noel, MO.  The details of which are in the aforementioned post.....  Oh, and before all that, Reece started back to school.  That's been, um, a disaster.  I'm afraid I'm going to have a major fight on my hands to get the school to really do what I want.  They seem to think that they don't need to take advice from a state-funded program on autism that helps small schools set up appropriate programs for their autistic students.  So, Reece only goes from 1-3 in the afternoons.  Going longer stressed him out so badly, it wasn't worth it, and besides, all they really did was babysit him, not educate him!  But, that's a rant for another time.....   So, after the Labor Day weekend camping trip, we came back and started our school.  Elisa is a 2nd grader this year, although most of what she does is on a 3rd-4th grade level.  This year I'm pulling out the big guns and using actual curriculum, instead of mostly making up my own like last year.  Some of you may be appalled that I didn't use any official curriculum last year, but, seriously, first grade isn't that hard to figure out.  She's reading well and has her math facts down pat.  We started on memorizing the multiplication table last year, which we'll finish this fall.  We also had fun doing random science experiments and we studied all 50 states.  She also read books about different people in history.  We had a blast! 
     This year, though, I decided it was time to employ my favorite books from a variety of companies.  See, even though, I've only been homeschooling Elisa for a year and a half, I've been helping my aunt homeschool her kids for the last 10 years.  Not to mention that when my mom was homeschooling my youngest brothers, she often asked my opinion on the books she was using.  So, unlike alot of newer homeschoolers, I've developed my own preferences and have no need to try out a whole bunch of different curriculum. 
     What are my favorites?  Well, we are using Saxon math (which is what Jeff did at Oxford and he loved it, too).  For English, I love the Shurley English books.  We use Apologia science (I was soooo pumped when they came out with an elementary school program.  I've been using their high school science textbooks for the last 8 years and I LOVE them!  Elisa picked Anatomy & Physiology for this year).  I decided to study world geography this year since we'd hit the US last year, so we're learning about major countries on every continent.  And, we using The Learnables Spanish.  I took Spanish for 4 years in high school and minored in it in college, but I thought, why wait until high school to begin it?  Elisa, and Lindy for that matter, would be much better off learning it at a much younger age.  This is my first year for using The Learnables, but I LOVE it!  It makes so much more sense than how we learned it in school....  And in addition to all of this, Elisa is learning cursive and I try to incorporate history into our daily lives.  For instance, we just got done reading a shortened version of Huck Finn.  We read a couple chapters every night before bed.  The kids really enjoyed it :-)
     So, that's our school, in a nut shell.  Lindy is learning her letters and numbers, and also sits in for science, geography, English, and Spanish.  I'm soooo glad Jeff has allowed me to do this!
     Besides my own kids, I also tutor my two of my cousins (who are freshmen) in English 9 and science (we are doing physical science this year).  And an acquaintance of mine is having me tutor her sophomore son in English 10 and science.  My days are very full and my scheduling is tight, but I do love teaching!
     This is probably the most scheduled my life has been since my own college days.  I'm a somewhat organized person, and I like routines, but I also enjoy having flexibility in my routines, but this year, I decided I needed to be more rigid in some areas to lessen the stress.  So, in that line of thinking, I made a weekly menu that I decorated, laminated, and hung it on the wall.  That way, I know exactly what is for dinner and supper every day and I don't have to think about it.  And, its generally the same every week, so its very predictable.  I also designed it to use up the odds and ends of meat left in our freezer, to get ready for more beef, pork and deer later in the year.  I'm trying very hard to make almost everything from scratch.  I already make our own bread all the time, but I've decided to really make an effort to make our own hamburger buns (which I've done in the past, just not consistently) and our own tortillas and refried beans.  Someday, I want to be almost 100% grocery store free......
     In other news, we've decided to experiment with pharmaceutical drugs with Reece.  If you know me very well at all, you know that I tend to be anti-drugs.  I realize they have their place, but I also think they are completely over used in our modern lives.  Reece has struggled with sleeping for years, with huge ups and downs.  We used melatonin for years with him, but over time, it didn't seem to work anymore.  This August, I tried some herbal combinations, which really seemed to work, until school started.  We think that school stresses him out so badly that he can't sleep well.  His school psychologist recommended trying Tenex with him.  Apparently, he has another client in Wichita, a 6 year old autistic boy, that started taking this for sleeping and anxiety and its made a huge difference.  Well, after talking and praying and researching it, we decided to take him to his developmental ped (who he hadn't seen in 4 years) to see what she thought.  She felt like if we could give him a good nights sleep that it would help a lot of the irritability and other autistic behaviors that we see during the day.  So, she recommended clonidine.  He's been on it for 4 nights and it hasn't made a lick of difference.  Plus, yesterday, he wouldn't eat anything!  One of the common side effects is nausea, but since Reece doesn't have the greatest communication skills, we don't know if he would really tell us how he was feeling.  Anyway, I'm really questioning using drugs on him now.....I mean, if he can't tell us anything, how are we to really know how its effecting him, other than by observation???  Its so difficult and I soooo wish there was a tried-and-true protocol for treating autism......  Or that we were Amish and Reece had never developed autism in the first place.....  Did you know the rate of autism among the Amish is zero????  That's right.... there are no documented cases of autism among the Amish.... interesting, huh?  But, we're not Amish, we're regular, normal people, and our son did become the 1 in 110 who became autistic.  So, we try our best and I'll try harder to keep things updated :-)