Hello everyone! I hope you've had a great week. Our book study with the girls went really well on Saturday. I wish I had pictures to show you. There were 11 of us there and it was a neat time of fellowship and discussion. I am looking forward to our meeting in February!
      A couple weeks ago my family and I went to the Right to Life rally and I realized how much I wanted to do something more than just go to a rally once a year. I remembered that I had made baby hats for the Pregnancy Resource Center a little over a year ago, so I have started doing that again. If you are interested in helping me knit hats for them let me know, I have an easy, but extremely cute, hat pattern that I will share with you. Email me at kirsten.arthur@live.com . There is also a petition going around right now to get a bill on the ballot in November to end taxpayer funded abortions in Oregon. Every year, $16 million dollars of Oregon taxpayer money are used to fund abortions. We need to end this. If you would like to sign this petition you can go to this website www.oregon2014.org or ask me about it the next time you see me. 
      This last month I have done quite a bit of research on leading a healthier lifestyle and I came across this blog called "Wellness Mama". I haven't been able to try it yet, but she has a recipe to make your own homemade gummy vitamins. It's a great option because it doesn't have all the sugar and other bad ingredients in it that might actually counteract the good. Check out her blog at www.wellnessmama.com . She has a lot of great tips on healthy food, how-to's on making your own lotions and shampoos, and much more.
       Guess what happened this week?! Registration opened for Joni and Friends Family Retreat! I am very excited about that. I am (Lord willing) going to the one held in Rockaway Beach, Oregon and hopefully to both of the Family Retreats in San Jose, California, as a Short Term Missionary. If you are not familiar with what Joni and Friends is, it's a ministry that ministers to families affected by disability.  So in these families, one or more of the family members has a disability of some kind. At these Family Retreats, each of the kids, even the children who have a disability, are paired with a Short Term Missionary (STM) for the whole week. For the whole week they have someone's undivided attention, who wants to be with them, and who wants to do any of the activities that they want to do. In short, they get a friend for the entire week, and most often forever after that. You can learn more about this great ministry at www.joniandfriends.org. Family Retreat is one of the best weeks of my whole year.
        Along with my toothpaste that I got in my last order of essential oils, I got this energy/supplement drink called Ningxia Red. It's similar to the 5-Hour Energy Drink, but it's all antioxidants and supplements. There are no chemicals in Ningxia Red! I had enough to last me a whole month and I not kidding I have never felt so awake. It's main ingredient is wolfberries, it also has blueberries, raspberries, and several essential oils. At first it has a really bitter taste, but then it becomes pretty sweet once you get used to it. If you are interested in learning more about this product and others like it check out www.youngliving.com . My member # is 1564241, so if you order something enter my number in the sponsor and enroller # slots at the top of the form. And if you are interested in coming to a house party please email me and let me know. My email is kirsten.arthur@live.com I would love to hear from you.
    I hope you all have a wonderful week. I will talk to you all next week!

Soli Deo Gloria!