Ringing in the New Year

What an amazing year 2013 has been! 

I have accomplished a lot for myself and for my family and I feel like have I been blessed with so much and have a lot to be grateful for. 

I love my beautiful family! I have an amazing husband who loves me a heckuva lot and even though I have some crazy ideas, I know deep down he supports me :) Our beautiful daughter recently had her first birthday and is now walking around whenever she can. She has 10 teeth and is such a ham! I am so proud of her and every little accomplishment she makes I just want to hug and squeeze her. I love that little girl! 

This year, we also announced that we are expecting baby #2 in May 2014!

We have been blessed with a beautiful home that I'm really excited to watch the kiddies grow in. I'm looking forward to spending times in the backyard in the summer and enjoying the neighbourhood together :)

We also purchased a van this past summer! Paid in full, and ready to go! We are definitely excited for some grand family adventures... We already took it on our first road trip with Ella to Canmore and Drumheller with Gramma and Grampa Boisvert and our cousins. The van proved itself worthy! hehe

Earlier this year, we've started cloth diapering (which I must admit I haven't done it 100%) but it really is quite fun. :) I also learned how to knit! Something I've always wanted to learn! 

I also had the opportunity to go to Maui with my dear husband this year. (His first time to the ocean!!) it was amazing and beautiful and we enjoyed every second of it!

All in all, it was a great year and I'm looking forward to 2014!

Of course, I'm not perfect and I definitely have areas I need to improve in so.....

2014 Goals: (well some of them!)

1) Be more strict with myself about budgeting and financial stuff.

2) Keep the house clean, tidy and organized (ALL THE TIME).

3) Be greener in household cleaning. 

4) Stay focused on the important things and be more appreciative of what I already have.

I just love my family!

LDS Homeschool Curriculum

I know Ella is a few years away from going to school but I found something that got me a little excited!

Justin and I have talked about it and we are leaning towards homeschooling our family. We want our children to be educated, but we also want them to be able to learn their own ways, not out of strict "cookie cutter" teaching. We also want to be able to teach them gospel principles through their academics. And of course, we want to have fun along the way!

I came across "Latter-day Learning: The Family School." It was formed 43 years ago to accommodate the needs of homeschooling LDS families (Like me!)

I was looking through some samples and the overall layout of the lessons are superb. The structure of each subject embeds fundamental truths about the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a recommended schedule that can be followed, but of course the schedule can be altered if needs be.

Anyway, it's just something for us to think about and I had to write it down before I forgot. :)

Link: www.latterdaylearning.org

Baby-Led Weaning

There is definitely not only way to raise and nurture a baby and I'm finding that if I keep an open mind to new ideas, it's a lot easier to help Ella grow.

At first, the introduction of solids was very smooth. But then, all of a sudden, meal time became a struggle. Ella would find no interest in her food and it became very frustrating for me. I decided to persevere through another week or so but still no improvement. And then, as her six month mark was approaching, it was brought to my attention that I needed to find a way to give her iron somehow (more frustration- since fortified rice cereal is not really an option for me) 

But after asking around, I found lots of answers but something else was brought to my attention- a term that I had never heard before, it's called Baby-Led Weaning. 

I wanted to learn more about this term so I researched a bit and I found that baby-led weaning is basically a way to introduce solids by skipping the purée step. Instead, you give your baby foods that she can pick up, hold and chew herself. 

It used to be advised to start solids at around 3-4 months but that changed a while ago to 6 months. But a baby changes a lot (developmentally) between 4 and 6 months so when they changed the age, the developmental stage wasn't taken into consideration. At 3-4 months, babies haven't developed the ability to chew and then swallow which is why its best to introduce pureed foods at this age. By the time the baby is six months she has developed better hand-eye coordination as well as the chew ability so she is able to pick up food and put it in her mouth and actually chew it. So you give the baby chunks of food about the size and shape of french fries. Of course, you have to use common sense so baby doesn't choke or something. For the hard vegetables, like carrots, I steam them until they're really soft.

Here's some links for more info:

http://www.babyledweaning.com/

http://www.babycenter.ca/a1007100/baby-led-weaning

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/blw/engels.html
http://www.rapleyweaning.com/assets/blwleaflet.pdf

So I actually tried this idea with Ella last week and I'm pleased to say it was pretty successful and a lot of fun! We got to actually eat meals together. There was no frustration and no crying. Ella seemed to really enjoy playing and exploring with her food. It was quite interesting to watch. It also sorta solved my iron problem because in the morning I give her some balls of my scrambled eggs :) So far we've tried scrambled eggs, bananas, pears, carrots, avocado, sweet potato and zucchini- all very successful!

I still think I'm going to feed her some mushy stuff. In fact, I gave her some sweet potato and apple sauce today and she ate it all which she has never done before! So I'm not sure if this baby led weaning helped that out but I'm just glad that something is working!

First "real" solids- scrambled eggs and bananas

SQUISH!

Happy Half-A-Year!

Six months have gone by,

My dear Ella Mae,

Six months you have grown,

You get bigger each day.

You are the quite character

With your smiles and your giggling,

You love to explore the world,

Crawling, rolling and wiggling!

You love to be outside,

In the warm sunshine.

You also love the water,

Splashing all the time.

You're quite a happy baby,

'specially when you eat food.

'Nanas, pears and scrambled eggs

Are mmm, mmm oh so good!

Everybody that we know,

Has so much love to give you,

You are so cute and cuddly,

They want to hug and kiss you!

Your cousins just adore you,

"Baby Ella!" they shout with grins,

And who could resist a hug,

From Lincoln, Hugo or Eden?

But my favourite part of all,

When is the day is done,

The front door opens, your face lights up,

For Daddy has come home!

Love you lots!
~Momma

<3

Uh oh!…

... I found new diapers that I LOVE! They are hybrid diapers, sort of like my Flip ones but are even better... :S This is definitely not good for my pocket book... Lol

I have been having leakage problems with my Flips so while researching how to fix this problem (which I sorta did) I discovered a new brand that makes a lot more sense to me... I am not sure why I did not get these before...

They are called GroVias and here is a small review.... (GroVias on the left, Flips on the right)

The Shells:
Compared to the Flip, the GroVia shells are skinnier and also have a layer of mesh while the Flips just have the waterproof PUL exposed. Also the snap system on the G's work side by side, while the snaps on the F's are stacked. When they are side by side, I find the closure is a lot more secure.

The Inserts:
For each brand of diapers, there are different options for the inserts. For the Flip diapers you can get a cotton/Polyester blend, organic cotton, as well as disposables (I think the disposables are silly...) The organic cotton is of course more expensive. For the GroVia diapers, there's hemp/cotton blend, organic cotton and disposables too. I liked how there was a choice between natural fibres and they were the same price.

The G inserts (soaker pads) have a more contoured shape that fits nicely to the baby. Also, they have a few more layers to increase absorbency. There's elastic gussets on the legs that prevent leakage. Theres also a water resistant layer on the back. The F inserts are very plain. They are thin, flat, wide are there isn't any water resistant layer. What I like about the G's is that they snap onto the shell whereas the F's just tuck into the shell... The GroVias pads are definitely more stable in there.

Who needs Starbucks?

As the beautiful summer weather is approaching, my cravings for cool refreshments are too! One of my favourites is Starbucks' double chocolate chip frapuccino.... However, they can be pretty expensive and they are super easy to make at home anyway!

1 cup crushed ice
1 cup of milk (I use coconut milk...mmm so good)
Handful of chocolate chips
2-3 tbsp of sugar
2-3 tbsp of chocolate syrup
Whipping cream, to top it off (optional)

Blend everything in the blender, top with whipping cream and drizzle some extra syrup and voila!

My personalized high chair

We found the perfect highchair at IKEA the other day. It suits my needs quite well: It's small, easy to clean, and for $25 I couldn't pass it up. It's not fancy by any means but that's okay. I think I am going to enjoy it very much.

The only thing I found wrong with it is that there wasn't a cushion or support that came with it and right now Ella is still a bit floppy. So I found the BARNSLIG support cushion at IKEA which fits nicely in the chair but the material it's made up is definitely not designed for sloppy, messy baby food. And although its machine washable, I'd have to wash it everyday which didn't really appeal to me...

So I decided to make a waterproof cover for it... I made the cover so that it can come on/off in case it gets really dirty. I used snaps, but you could probably use Velcro or even string to be easier.

It would be ideal to use laminated cotton for this project, but they didn't have any at Fabricland, so I found some PUL fabric. It's a polyester/polyurethane laminate that's waterproof, breathable and machine washable. It's actually the material that's used for most cloth diapers. I wasn't sure if it stains easily or not so I got one with a crazy print on it just in case. :)

I also got some ribbon to make loops for the high chair straps to go through.

It was a pretty easy fabric to work with. It's a bit slippery but you can pin it like normal cotton. I didn't really have a pattern- I just worked it from my head- but I think it turned out pretty good!

Total High Chair Cost: About $45

PUL fabric and some matching ribbon

The original BARNSLIG support cushion

The front of the finished covering

The back of the finished covering (snaps and all)

Ribbon turned into strap loops

How it all works together

Startin' the solids!

Last weekend Ella turned 5 months and we decided to celebrate by giving her food with substance! I am definitely going to be making all of the baby food for her (or as much as I possibly can) as I like to know what goes in the things I eat. Plus, it's going to be fun experimenting with different kinds of food.

So the first thing I made for her was the basic rice cereal. I was kind of reluctant to start on the cereals because there isn't much nutrition there but it was mostly for experimental purposes. Plus, *they* say to start on rice cereal because there is a less chance of a reaction. I hope to add some fruity flavour in the next week or so!

So rice cereal it was! Pretty easy to make... I use brown rice because there is more nutrients in it then white.

1 cup water
1/2 cup ground brown rice
1/4 cup breast milk

Boil the water and then add the rice. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes stirring constantly.

Let cool then purée in a blender. Add some breast milk until desired consistency is reached.

Voila! Homemade rice cereal!

It was fun to see Ella's reaction... She actually quite enjoyed it very much! Right now, I only feed her in the morning so just in case she does react to it, then I won't have to be up all night! She's taken to it very well though,

I then went on to make oatmeal which is basically the same thing. I think Ella liked this one better (more flavour maybe or more substance...) I then mixed the rice with the oatmeal so now I have a nice big batch that I can use throughout the week. (minus the breast milk- I'll add that to that separately so it doesn't go bad). Later I can add some other things to it, too!

Learning a new skill

I forgot to post this but about a month ago we bought a piano!

My three goals for 2013 were to..
1) Get healthier
2) Become greener and
3) Learn a new skill.

The skill I chose to learn is the piano. Okay, I'll admit that learning piano isn't a new thing for me (I think I took 2-3 years of lessons) but this is the first time that I actually enjoy it. Before, in my younger, adolescent years, piano practise was more of a chore. I also wasn't the most patient child either. I got frustrated extremely quickly when I couldn't do things and hence why my piano "career" ended so fast.

But now I'm older, wiser(?) and a little bit more patient with things. I actually get excited when I think about playing. Maybe it's because it is something that I chose to do myself.

I'm really excited to progress! (I usually don't blog about things that aren't exciting anyway) I'm excited that one day I will be able to play the church hymns and, perhaps one day, we can have family music time together! Maybe Ella will join in too (I wonder if she'll play piano... Or maybe guitar like her daddy.... )

:)

If you love animals....

...Then you'll love this app!

It's called WWF Together. You can learn about endangered animals in an interactive way.

The design is beautiful and fun... Love it!

I thought it was neat so I had to share :)

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=COPOEOnRnNk&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DCOPOEOnRnNk

http://worldwildlife.org/together

Library Awesomeness

I always have my eye open for free, yet fun, things to do with my family so when I found out that the Edmonton Public Library is giving away free library cards for a year, I was thrilled! Apparently it's the 100th anniversary of EPL this year so they are trying to promote library use by offering free cards for this year.

It's amazing! And I think it sorta fits into this blog somehow... It may not be natural... But reading books (I mean real books) seems to be declining on the "fun" scale. You don't see a lot of kids reading these days. I, myself, haven't really picked up a novel to read just for pure enjoyment. I used to read hundreds of books a year. My nose was always in a book, my mind becoming enlarged with precious knowledge! I loved reading, I think novels were my best friends.

And going to the library reminded me of my love for books! And it excited me! There's nothing like the good crunch sound of the crispy plastic cover when you open a book... It's awesome!

And the library has so much to offer! There are not only books, but magazines, music, DVDs, and video games. They even have classes that you can drop in with your family, your baby or just yourself to learn about, well, everything and anything! And it's all free! I cannot emphasize the "free"ness enough! :)

We even signed Ella up for a library card too and they give babies a free board book just for signing up.... A book to keep! It was free! We picked "Moo, Baa, La La La" by Sandra Boynton. I love her books! I think my sister has bought every one of her books for her kids and they are adorable! And I got one for free!

Anyway, so Justin and I decided to make trips to the library a part of our lives... It's a great, (free) way to spend time with the family and it's also fun too!

It may not fit with my "natural" theme but it is something that makes me feel good about and THAT is worth a blogging about...

(Family library cards... Can you guess who's is whose?)

The Choice to Vaccinate

I feel somewhat brave to share my opinion about this much debated topic, but I also feel very obligated to do so.

Of course, having a new baby, there seems to be "expectations" that come along the way. These "expectations" are hardly ever questioned and seem to be done because "that's just how it is." Unfortunately, these shouldn't be expectations at all, they should be personal choices, depending on one's circumstances.  "Expectations" could be things like where and how parents would give birth or how a new mother would feed her new baby. One of the biggest "expectations" that I have found as a new mother is vaccinations.

When asked by friends, family, or even strangers about the subject, they ask things like "When is Ella going in for her shots?" or "When is she due for vaccinations?" These questions merely suggest that there is no question that I am going to vaccinate my child.

But I do question.

Now maybe the vaccine-autism debate has come and gone, but I believe they can still be linked together. Whether or not vaccinations have been disproved to be the cause of autism, well, I'll leave that for you to decide. But as for me, and experiences in my personal life, I think that vaccinations can aggravate this condition.

I question what goes into my body and I definitely question what will go into my kids' bodies. There also have been links to asthma, allergies and eczema to vaccines. Probably because of the disgusting stuff that is in those needles. I find it quite odd that people don't question what goes into their bodies. Aluminum, formaldehyde, mono-sodium glutamate, and mercury have all been found present in vaccinations. Don't believe me? Check out the ingredient list fact sheet listed on the CDC website. What's funny is that this list is right there. In plain sight. It's easily accessible and easy to read.

This is why I choose not to vaccinate. I find the contents on that list appalling. There is no way I would inject that poison into my own body, let alone into my tiny, innocent little baby's.

Just like with my birth choice, there are options. When it comes to vaccinations, there are alternatives. The main one that I have found are homeopathic vaccinations. I have found a lady in my area who does homeopathic remedies. She actually has a degree in nursing but when vaccines made her son ill, she looked for a different route, a different option, a different choice. (www.homeo.ca)

We still haven't decided whether to do this, but it is wonderful to know that there are some alternatives nearby. For now, the breast milk that Ella drinks is going to be enough to provide her with the antibodies to help her stay healthy.

Now, you must understand I do not judge those who vaccinate, so I shouldn't expect you to judge me. We all have our reasons for whatever choices we have made, and this is mine.

RECIPE- Quinoa Salad

Due to individual schedules, Justin and I take turn making dinner during the week.  Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays it's Justin's turn while Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays it is my job. (Sundays are usually a mutual thing.) I admit that I am not much of a cook and I leave the kitchen creativity to my dear husband (for he is amazing) but when I do make something great (or even good in that matter) it is definitely worth a blog post...

So for dinner last Wednesday I decided to try to make a quinoa salad with cilantro and lime. Now, l have had quinoa before, mostly at other people's houses, but I had never actually made it myself so my first challenge was finding the stuff in the grocery store. Okay, it wasn't much of a challenge because (being a type of grain) it was by the rice.

Then I remembered I needed cilantro. I am not much of a cilantro lover so I actually debated whether to skip that step, but in order to achieve my goal to try new foods, I decided "Oh why not?" So off I went to the produce department to find cilantro. They were sitting there with a bunch of other types of green herbs that look quite similar. So found myself smelling all of them to make sure I got the right one. It wasn't until after my smell-a-thon that I realized that each one is actually labelled .. Silly me..

The Recipe:
1 cup of uncooked quinoa (about one package)
1/2 to 1 cucumber, diced
2 cups of corn (frozen or fresh)
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup of chopped cilantro
1 tomato, diced
1 lime
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Sea salt to taste

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Refrigerate for about an hour.

2. Add quinoa to a large bowl and add cucumber, corn, black beans, cilantro and tomato. Mix together.

3. Squeeze the lime juice over the salad and add the oil and garlic powder and salt. Mix together and enjoy!

The result:
I am actually quite pleased with this dish! It was yummy and healthy and it was quite easy to make. And not to mention colorful :)
And I must say that the cilantro wasn't at all that bad! (I also cut the tomatoes small enough so I wouldn't really be able to taste them.) This recipe is definitely one I would make again! (oh and Justin liked it too so that's always a bonus!)

Juicing: Yum yum yum!

I must say that Justin has great ideas! One of his great ideas was to purchase a juicer. We decided that juicing was a great way to consume more fruits and veggies. We also would be able to experiment with different flavours. He did some research and read lots of reviews and the one he wanted to get was a Breville Juice Fountain. (Which we found out later also appears on the documentary Hungry for Change) So during Boxing Week we found a decent deal on Amazon and a few days later this ginormous box appeared on my doorstep.

Of course, I waited for Justin to come home to open it up (after all, it was his idea) and then the fun began! This machine is a beauty! It has a giant hole at the top where fruits and veggies go in and vroom vroom! Juice comes out one side and pulp comes out another. Not to mention it is very easy to clean!

I love juicing! I try to make one everyday and they taste dee-lish-us :) My favourite is a green juice made with cucumbers, kale, celery, apples and lime. I also like a tropical treat once in awhile so I mix oranges, pineapple and apples to make that. Sometimes I'll throw in a carrot to give it a veggie spin.
And of course who doesn't love fresh orange juice?

The amazing part about juicing is that you can never really mess up because there aren't really recipes. It is fun to play with different veggies and fruits that make different creations! I find 90% of our grocery list consists of just fruits and vegetables just so we can juice. This looks great when you're walking through the grocery aisles with a colourful shopping cart... :)

Green Juice:

2 stalks of celery

2 stalks of kale

1/2 cucumber

2 apples

1/2 lime, peeled

Magical Coconut Oil

I just had to tell about coconut oil! Of course you can use this oil for cooking (and it is delightful), but I have also been using it on Ella's skin.

It is also safe for my cloth diapers. Clothies cannot have any zinc oxide creams put on them because it ruins the absorbency of the fibres. Coconut oil has anti-fungal, anti-viral and antibacterial properties, so it works great as a diaper rash cream. Not only great, it works FAST! The winter here in Alberta is DRY and Ella has really dry skin. So I just plop it all over her body in the morning and she is good for the day. It also works for her cradle cap too!

It is solid at room temperature, but liquifies in literally seconds when body heat touches it. And I find it's fairly cheap! I found this jar at Superstore for $6.99.

Homemade Wipes

As well as saving on diapers, we figured we could save on wipes too! So I found this recipe here, modified it a bit, and created a solution that has organic ingredients that are safe for my baby's precious skin. I found the ingredients at well.ca which has free shipping. As for the wipes themselves, I use regular baby face cloths. (You can purchase cloth wipes from local cloth diapering stores, but they are the same price and this was more convenient for me as I just bought a bunch from Superstore and Walmart.

The Recipe:

• ~ 4 cups of water
• 2 tbsp of Dr. Bronner's Mild Baby Soap
• 1 tbsp of Thayer's Unscented Witch Hazel

I put the solution in a spray bottle and voila! Homemade wipes!

The other way I do it is fill a wipes container halfway with water then add the soap and witch hazel and fill the container with the cloths until all the water is soaked up.

Cloth diapers!

At the beginning of January, on our quest to become greener, Justin and I decided to start using cloth diapers. The thought that it takes over 200 years for one single disposable diaper to decompose completely is both shocking and, quite frankly, disgusting. What we as human beings are doing to this beautiful planet is horrific. And I'm not just talking about diapers. Garbage and pollution are destroying the habitats of millions of precious life forms. So Justin and I figured that cloth diapers is one way we can help our environment out.

Now the clothies made today are designed way better then they were way back in the day. Although they do still make the ones with the pins, they have far easier options out there. A LOT of options. So naturally, I found myself searching and questioning the different brands, forms and styles of clothies.

I went to a store in Edmonton where I could physically touch and play with many styles. It was a lot more informative then just looking at them on a website. So out of a lot of time (so much time that the lady at the store asked me four times if I was "still doing okay") and experimenting, I decided to go with Flip by CottonBabies. These are a type of hybrid diaper or all in two (AI2). They consist of two parts: the cover and the insert. So when the insert gets soiled, it gets replaced and the cover is reusable so it can be used many times throughout the day. This is unlike other kinds of diapers like all-in-ones (AIO) or pocket diapers because once one of those gets soiled, the whole diaper has to be thrown in the laundry pail.

(This is my Flip stash! )

I purchased most of my other supplies on Kijiji- things like a diaper pail and liner, and a spray hose. With a rough initial investment of $350, we were off!

I must say that I love my clothies! Not only are they better for the environment, they are easy to use and are absolutely adorable. In the long run, they are cheaper too. In about four months of use they will be paid off and after that I have many more to go!

Welcome Ella

Ella Mae Boisvert arrived on November 13th 2012 and this is our birth story:

On the night of November 12th, I couldn’t sleep because of contractions that were very infrequent and happening every 10-20 minutes. I called Jen my midwife and she said to wait it out till morning. I called her again the next morning and reported that there was no change so she said to go ahead with the scheduled appointment I had later on in the day. So Justin and I went to the appointment and I was 3 cm dilated. So she swept my membranes and she gave me a verbena "cocktail" to help induce real contractions. This cocktail consisted of lemon verbena, almond butter and apricot juice. By the time I got home at noon I had more frequent contractions. Then the verbena concoction started to kick in around 2 pm. I had a shower to help ease the discomfort and around 3:30 my husband heard my moaning and called Jen. We arrived at the birth center at 4:10 and I was fully dilated. So I got into my birth tub, (my spa!) and I pushed for about 40 minutes and little Ella was born at 5:22 pm. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and was 19 inches long.

We would have been able to be home that night except I had fourth degree tearing in which my under area had to be reconstructed so we went to the hospital and I had to have surgery and had to stay overnight. Little Ella just popped out way too fast.... that's why I tore so bad. Other than that, everything went perfectly!

My Birth Plan

I strongly believe that we all have the power to choose our directions in life. On the same note, I believe that I had the ability to choose the outcome of the birth of my daughter.

Something that saddens me is knowing that a lot of pregnant women do not realize that they have options for childbirth. Safer options. Options that allow the child to enter the world in a peaceful manner. I wish that every woman was properly informed on this subject. Afterall, information is power.

Now I do not suggest that the medical system is at all bad. But (given most circumstances) it is unnecessary. Birthing a child is not a disease or a problem but I find that in most hospitals it is treated as such. And I realize that in some special circumstances, medical attention is required, but it should only be addressed if absolutely necessary. In fact, the word "obstetrics" comes from the Latin word "obstare" which means to stand by. Therefore, obstetricians are actually only supposed to "stand by" just in case any rare emergencies occur.

Now saying that, I had a very strong idea of how I wanted my birth experience to be:

No drugs and no hospitals.

No induction, no pain killers and especially no epidurals. All of these things contradict what the labouring body is designed to do. They cause more complications and more risk for the unborn babe. I intended on having a water birth and the water birth would be my epidural, my birthing "spa."

The idea of continuous beeping and things poking into my body did not sit well with me. The bright lighted rooms are too alarming and those hallways that have that foul hospital smell made me feel sick to my first-trimester pregnant stomach. I wanted to labour in peaceful, comfortable environment.

I pictured my "perfect" birth every day. I wanted to do most of my labouring at home. I also wanted the most pain-free experience as possible. I enrolled in Hypnobirthing classes where I learned about the power of the mind and how it affects the body.

I found myself registered at the beautiful Lucina Centre in Edmonton. At this birthing centre, my birthing goals could be achieved. It is a beautiful facility, with everything that I needed: A comfortable atmosphere, heated floors, a birthing tub, a huge shower, dimmed lights..... and they even served waffles with fresh fruit as a victory meal! The midwives at the center took the time to provide me with information that I deeply valued. They answered all my questions with honesty and gave me options and respected my decisions.

After my brain was packed with priceless knowledge, I felt ready, and definitely excited, to have my baby.

About Me

I am Holly Boisvert and I am 23 years old. I am married to a wonderful man, Justin. On August 30, 2011, we got sealed to each other for time and all eternity in the Cardston Alberta Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a simple ceremony. Simple yet beautiful.

On November 13, 2012 we gave birth to a beautiful baby girl named Ella Mae Boisvert. She is definitely a light in my life. Everyday she brings a smile to my face!

As a family, we are striving to live the gospel as best as we can in order to come closer to Christ that one day we will live with Him again.

Introduction

Hi! I am Holly and I love being a momma! To be a stay-at-home mom has always been my dream and I don't plan on going back to work until all my babes have learned all that they can from me. I strongly believe that it is my duty as a mother to provide them with the care and nurturing that will provide them with the right direction for their lives.

My goals for 2013 are to:
1) Become more healthy and active
2) Become a little bit more environmentally friendly
3) Learn a new skill

Justin and I have been wondering how we can become more healthy and more self-reliant. I enjoy learning about the different ways of becoming greener and becoming healthier so I wanted to start a blog to demonstrate how I am trying to raise my daughter Ella (and my future babes) in a more natural way.