what's up weekly.

Guess who's back, back again, Friday's back, tell a friend.

Zinnia game still going strong in the garden.  Penelope has decided that she is going to rent some garden space from me next summer, spend her birthday money on bulk seed, and start a small-scale zinnia operation.  Small bouquets for $3, large bouquets for $5.  Start saving your pesos now.

I feel like most news anymore is going to be along the lines of, "Nothing happening other than school and more school and more school, and then also wanting to die."  Don't get me wrong, I really do love homeschooling.  I love spending my days with the kids, I love learning so many fascinating things (I always loved school growing up, but I have to tell you that public school can not hold a candle to how interesting our living books are), and I am so excited to hand my kids an education worth having.  But I am still really trying to figure out how to juggle this season of life - older kids getting older, younger kids getting older, scheduling multiple grade levels into our days, still giving the preschoolers lots of love and attention, and nursing a baby... it's all just a lot most days.

I am really gleaning a lot from Elisabeth Elliot's "Keep a Quiet Heart," and her radio show, "Gateway to Joy," on the BBN app.  It is so centering and grounding to be reminded to just keep my eyes on what's in front of me, walking in obedience and trust.  Life becomes very simple when I just focus on obeying God in this moment.  I don't have to have the big picture ironed out, I simply need to stop in the moment and ask God how he would have me trust him and accept his will for me right now.  God is so kind to his people, and wants to help us.  I have seen him show up in these small places lately, and I'm thankful.

But anyways.

Like I said, this was a very run-of-the-mill week, with a few exceptions.  On Saturday morning, our friends Brock and Josiah came over to aerate our lawn for us, in preparation for coming back and overseeding it tomorrow.  The kids were mesmerized, and even ate their breakfast on the porch so they wouldn't miss a moment of aerating glory, and God held off the forecasted rain just long enough to get it done.  Moving forward with our yard is really exciting to me, and helping me feel more and more at home here.  Thankful for these friends who volunteer their time and know-how to help us out!

Why, what would make you think that King Hosta doesn't like it in the blazing heat of our front yard?  Hmmm?  I think I'll be replacing him with some tiger lilies or something.  I'm still very much in the trial-and-error stage of landscape design and execution.  (Well, I guess I do have plant execution down to a science: just set them in the blinding sun and never water them.)

On Tuesday, I got a call from Lowe's saying that our fridge was scheduled for delivery that evening, so I stayed home from CG to meet the fridge guys.  It got all installed and we now have a working fridge upstairs again!  All the praises.

I mentioned last week that I was excited to see how God would provide the money for the fridge, and he came through!  Yesterday, Todd's boss called him into her office to tell him that they'd done some restructuring to the salary ranges in his department, and his salary would increase, effective immediately.  The amazing thing is that the amount was almost exactly the cost of the fridge.  Truly mind-blowing.  All I could do was laugh!  God is so good and so funny.

I did squeeze in a few projects this week when an afternoon opened up unexpectedly.  I finished getting the dining room bookshelves squared away and decorated.  I think it will always bother me a little bit that the fixed, immovable shelf on the Ikea Billy bookcase falls right smack dab in the middle of the vertical height..  It looks so funky.  I wish I could adjust it, or remove it, but I can't.  But whatever, a bookcase is a bookcase, and I'm glad I have two of them!  I still may rearrange some of the décor, and I'd like to add some trim and truly build them in at some point, but I'm happy with the direction in which we're headed!

Lissy's loving every second of her life right now, I can tell you that much.

I also got a shelf hung in the basement, which I (unsurprisingly) didn't get a photo of, but believe me when I tell you it looks awesome.  Also, it looks crooked, but I swear it's level, and it's DRIVING ME BAT-CRAP BONKERS.  It's some evil optical illusion.  But whatever, it securely holds our DVD player better than the narrow ledge it had been resting on before... the kids kept accidentally knocking it off the ledge and breaking it, and then we'd drop more money to buy a replacement.  So four DVD players later, a $15 shelf is worth its weight in gold.  Or DVD players.

And now I'm off to enjoy my Friday with the kids!  Strolling through Shelter Gardens, mapping the life of Mozart, and studying the paintings of the Dutch Reformation.  We fancy.

our road trip to the black hills, 2019.

Well, in true Paige Van Voorst fashion, I'm only a month late in filling you in on this year's trip to the Black Hills!  (Seriously.  We left August 16.  With the way time bends for us, that's like a year and a half ago in Van Voorst years.  Bad blogger.)

We got up at the crrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaack of dawn to hightail it out of town.  I think we left at like 5:00 a.m., which meant we got the kids up at 4:00.  Rough start, ladies.  But because these precious miracle babies of mine are so easy going (and because vacation adrenaline was running high), it wasn't too bad getting out the door.  We did instate Quiet Hours while it was still dark out, in the hopes that they'd go back to sleep, but none did, and by 6:30, everyone was digging through their backpacks and chirping happily in the backseat.

THE MASSIVE BACKSEAT OF THE KRAKEN BECAUSE, OH YEAH, THIS YEAR WE WERE RIDING IN STYLE.

Last year, we fit six kids and a preggo and eight people's-worth of food and luggage in the Kristy Chrysler, our Town and Country minivan.  It was TOIGHT.  Not fun, friends.  Not fun.  This year, we had so much space, we basically could have opened a taco kitchen back there and sold street food at all our rest stops.  Basically.

For instance, we could have sold breakfast burritos at our 8:30 a.m. stop at this playground.  Instead, we spent our time slide-stomping and doing synchronized calisthenics.  Van Voorsts know how to party.

Then back into the car with some treats.

We were supposed to make some really good time and get all the way to Sioux Falls for a late lunch at the glorious Pizza Ranch there, but I HIT. A. WALL. about two and a half hours early, and instead of listening to me whine like a girl-baby for the next 150 miles, Todd made an executive decision to stop in Missouri Valley so I could get some carbohydrates.  Luckily, there's a Pizza Ranch there, too, and I didn't end up eating off his arm in an impatient, ravenous rage, so win-win.

Pizza Ranch bathrooms are notoriously clean, however, I still prefer to change diapers in the van.  That way, when they blow out of their diapers and need a full re-dress, the poop smell can linger with us for hours.  Memory-making at its finest.

After a lively drive, we arrived at Falls Park, one of our favorite stops along the way.

Oh, did I hear you say I look like Fergie Ferg?  Pshaw.  You're too kind.

It took Laurelai approximately .02 to mistake an algae-covered puddle for a swath of grass, and she plummeted into the mud.  She was thrilled about it, but did subtly, quietly, demurely ask for a change of wardrobe, please.  (Or... something like that.)

We hung around Falls Park for an hour or two, stretching our legs and getting the wiggles out.

This photo is about 80% great.

ANNNND then back in the van.  This is always the stretch that is hardest for us - there isn't much to see or do, we're hitting a lull after being up early in the morning and after having eaten lunch.  This is the stretch where I try to bust out something fun or unusual.  So this time we had a popcorn party with some cute paper popcorn bags I found, which was a universal hit...

… and then a fake-mustache party, which was not a universal hit.

For those of us that weren't wet blankies, it was a good time.

Our last stop of the day was at a drive-in diner in Murdo, where we got ice cream for dinner.  (If you're noticing a carb-theme, you're on the money.)

This sign was a welcome sight - last year we tried to stop, but we were too late in the season and they'd closed for the year.

After dinner, Juniper finally fell asleep in the car seat.  She had been awake for most of the day, which meant I'd been nursing her nonstop the whole way.  This little moment of peacefulness was what we both needed.

And while we wanted to drive through the Badlands, the sun was setting and it was getting too dark for photos, so we decided to hit them on the way back.

It was a great day of travel - no fighting, no barfing (miracle of miracles!), and so many good memories.  Atticus and Penelope both kept saying that Travel Day is the best day of the year, and noting that this was a particularly smooth and easy one.  And we weren't even on vacation yet!  Things were off to a great start.

what's up weekly. (and juniper at five months!)

FRIDAY, FRIDAY, FRIDAY!  (Anyone hear me saying that in my best Monster Truck Rally Announcer voice?  Because that's what I was going for.)

Okay, let me just jump in with our main news of the week.  Last Thursday night, I went grocery shopping.  I buy groceries every three weeks, so when I bring groceries home, our house is kind of busting at the seams.  Then on Friday, I noticed the freezer drawer in our main upstairs fridge was kind of warm.  The ice wasn't totally frozen, and the ice cream was soggy.  By Saturday morning, the upper part of the fridge was warm as well.  By Saturday night, the fridge was caput.  Bad timing, with all that fresh food in there!

I got in touch with a friend of ours who is an appliance repairman, and after running him through some details of what was going on, he was pretty confident that it would cost more to repair than to replace.

So I moved all of the food I could to our downstairs fridge and chest freezer.  I also ordered a fridge, but it won't be delivered until next week, and in the meantime our dead fridge stinks to high heaven and I'm in a panic every time we have to carry food and beverages up and down the basement stairs.  (PTSD from the time we spilled milk on the basement stairs and wound up having to replace the carpet to the tune of $2500.  If you haven't heard that story, you should go back and read it - God is so good.)

But I suppose the good news is that I will have a brand new fridge!  (That looks pretty much exactly the same as the old one, except perhaps a bit too deep for the old fridge hole.  Fingers crossed that works itself out.)  And miraculously, all we lost was some ice cream, some frozen veggies, and most of our condiments.  And I'm totally trusting that God will work out the details of the unexpected expense - he's always been so faithful in the past.  So I'm excited to watch what happens with all of this!

Other than that, life has been relatively normal around here.  Saturday morning at Shelter Gardens - beautiful as always.  I'm really loving my weekly retreats, and would love to fill you in on those sometime soon.

I've been working on getting some bookshelves up in the dining room, and this week I tackled the first stages of building them in.  A friend lent me some tools, and showed me how to get started with removing the trim so I could get the bookcases flush against the walls.  And then I went to town.  You guys, it turns out I am handy.  I used a power saw - albeit a tiny, adorable one, but that makes it all the more up my alley.  I like my power tools diminutive.  (Have I ever told you that I keep my tools in a cute little bag that I call The Tool Purse?  Also, it's purple.  Also, so are all my tools.)

Anyone have a pretty, vintage door laying around that I could have to replace this godawful eyesore? 30x80, kthanks!

Todd caught this classy candid of me: wine, cheese and a good book.  Does it make it less classy that I'm eating the cheese by the 'hunk,' and that the cheese smelled so bad that Todd thought I'd farted?  (No cheese-cutting here in any regard.)  Ahh, Manchego.  How I love you and also am embarrassed to be around you.

Juniper turned five months old on Sunday!  She is so wonderful and chill.  She will seriously just hang out on the couch or on the floor for an hour or so while she's awake, watching the kids, chewing on her hands or a blanket, kicking her legs.  Living her best life.  She has figured out how to roll from her tummy to her back, but hasn't yet figured out how to roll from her back to her tummy... which is rough in the middle of the night, as she sleeps on her tummy.  She'll roll over onto her back, and then not be able to get back to a comfortable sleeping position, and then just cry while she lays there like an overturned turtle.  At which point, she's awake enough to want to eat again... the four month sleep regression is still going strong a month later.  I miss her old pattern of sleeping through the night.  But it's all good, because LOOK HOW BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT SHE IS! (I'm not smooching the computer screen; YOU'RE smooching the computer screen.)

Oh, oh.  Guess what else!  SHE IS LAUGHING AND IT IS THE MOST WONDERFUL THING EVER.  Watch this with the sound in - the best part of your day is about to start right now.



And, not to be outshone, here is Lissa Lou in a knight helmet, showing off some of our new porch décor. Becuz ynot.

And not to be outshone by the one who refuses to be outshone, here is Laurelai singing an original song.  The tied-for-best part of your day is about to start right now.




Pretty soon, I'm hoping to have the girls' room ready for Callista to move in, so that I can move Juniper into the nursery.  I have curtains and curtain rods to hang, and some stuff to square away in the closet first.  But in the meantime, the sleeping arrangements in there are satisfactory to all.

And, as a reward for reading all the way to the end, here is something to delight you.  This came up on my feed recently, and I couldn't not share.  TINNNY VAN VOORSTS! FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL EVER!  POTTY TRAINING FINNEAS!  MY OLD, PRETTY PORCH! So much delight for one day.

caring for my people, and the unusual reasons i use essential oils.

In the last two weeks, we've had a weird amount of sickness in the house.  This is unusual for us - we usually don't feel 'hit' by cold and flu season until about February, from which point on we are often sick until June.  (That's life in a large family; the germs just keep making the rounds.)  But here it is, September, and it's in the eighties so it still feels like summer, but my mind is suddenly feeling forced into Doomsday Prepper mode - what will I need to have in my arsenal to hopefully fend off The Crud this winter?

An old photo of broth simmering away on the stovetop and in my pressure cooker.  Remember when my kitchen used to be green and brown?  Rough times.

I have stuff on hand to start brewing Fire Cider.  I have elderberry syrup kits.  I want to get some garlic fermenting.  I have ascorbic acid Vitamin C, colloidal silver, and Vitamin D3/K2 drops.  My freezer is typically stocked with plenty of broth.  And I have essential oils.

I use a nail polish organizer to keep them within easy view inside my linen closet.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:  I like oils.  They work.  I don't think they're a cure-all for every result of the Fall, but I do think they're a helpful part of a greater wellness arsenal.

I have been musing on home life lately, and looking to author-mentors to guide me along the way, and two things that have continued to come to mind through my readings are atmosphere and memory.  And I realized that essential oils could play a much larger part in a home atmosphere of care and compassion than I first realized.

To use an example, if a child has a headache, and I give them a Tylenol to swallow, it may help the headache, but it has mostly removed me personally from the process.  I have solved the problem, but I have not necessarily entered into the sickness.  However, to use a medium like essential oils is to touch my hurting child.  Some of the oils themselves, like peppermint or eucalyptus, feel immediately soothing, and my hands administer that.

Personally, I need this opportunity.  I'm not particularly patient with illness; it frustrates and exasperates me when the kids are sick.  I know myself too well to think I can be trusted with a cabinet full of easy, impersonal pills as my first line of defense.  I need to be trained to enter into my kids' suffering with compassion, understanding and patience.

(Now, I realize there may come a time for pharmaceuticals.  But I want to make my first attempts mine.  I want to be personally, intimately there with my kiddo as much as I can.)

Additionally, not only do oils utilize healing touch, but they also have distinct smells.  Which, I know, duh.  But the sense of smell is strongly linked to memory, and I want to leverage every tool at my disposal to help my kids form good memories of their life in our home.  Edith Schaeffer says that the only way to keep time is to take it with us into the future as memories.  Our life on earth is fleeting, but we can redeem the passing time by hanging onto as much of it as we can through intentional memory-making.  I want my adult kids to smell peppermint and experience comfort as they remember me rubbing their heads or their bellies when they didn't feel well.  I want them to have triggers for memories of being cared for and loved well when they were at their most vulnerable.

So I have made it a point lately to pull out my oils when there are opportunities to do so, and my kids are noticing.  They are asking for them, and telling me how much they like it when I use them.  I know that in our home, an atmosphere of care and compassion is slowly growing like leaven through a lump of dough, and I'm excited by that.  And time will tell whether they're forming the memories I hope they are, but I can pray they are and I'm doing what I can to help them.

Practically speaking, if you haven't used oils much, I can tell you that you don't need a ton of them to start, and you don't need to buy super pricey ones.  Plant Therapy is an excellent, super high quality brand, and Edens Garden is also good and comes in prettier packaging.  (Priorities, am I right?)  Most of the oils and blends I use are in the $8-$13 range, which helps me feel like I'm balancing the stewardship of both our heath and our finances at the same time.

These are the oils that I personally use the most:

Peppermint: for headaches and tummy aches in kids over six.  Peppermint can irritate airways in younger kids, so we don't use it on them.  Plant Therapy (here and here) and Edens Garden (here and here) both offer oil blends for these ailments that are safe for younger kids.  For the older kids, I buy the kind already diluted in a roller bottle, as it makes it easy to apply, and peppermint is a strong oil so I want to make sure the dilution is correct.

Lavender: for headaches, sleep disturbances, stress, and skin issues (rashes, itchiness).

Tea tree/melaleuca: as an antibacterial in cuts and scrapes.  I also sometimes put it in homemade cleaning solutions for extra germ-fighting.


A couple extras that get more occasional use:

Helichrysum: to stop bleeding.  EXCELLENT for nose bleeds.  It's a pricey oil, though, and while I'm glad I have it, I'd be able to live without it if I needed to, as my kids aren't major bleeders.

Frankincense: for skin issues, especially scarring.  This oil is also a bit more expensive than the first three (though not as expensive as helichrysum), and gets less use.  I just personally have a major beef with scarring, so I like having it on hand, but it's not absolutely necessary.

Healthy Hero: a kid-safe immunity blend.  (Did you know Thieves is not recommended for use around children under the age of 10?  As this is the age range most of my kids are in, I don't even have a normal/non-kid-safe version on hand.  It's important to me to make sure I'm not risking their health when I'm trying to build their health!) I honestly don't use this as much as I could/should, but it does get pulled out occasionally.


And, not related to curing illness, but for creating atmosphere and smell-linked memories in our home, I've fallen in love with diffusing this lately:

It is called Lemongrass Ylang Ylang from Edens Garden, and it has magnolia in it, so it's definitely floral.  But it's balanced with citrus, which smells really clean.  It might not be for everyone, but we love it!  I have become super sensitive over the last few years to synthetic fragrances, and 'stuff' in the air.  Sometimes I even get physically ill.  But oils haven't done that to me, so I like having an intentional scent in our home that doesn't make me feel crappy, or put toxins in the air around the kids.


So while those aren't earth-shattering reasons to use oils, I do feel like they're the most compelling ones in our house, and ones I don't see mentioned often in the discussion.  Soon, I'll fill you in on another surprising tool that Scripture instructs us to have in our wellness arsenal...