Um, i just won us A THOUSAND dollars :)

Here is the "Green" essay i wrote to the Marine Corps Exchange:

I know that the "Essay" is supposed to be 250 words or less... but this is near impossible for me! I'm trying :/ but that fact is whenever i try, it just sound like a list instead of an essay. My solution is to send you both, one to be entered and the other i suppose just to get a full picture of our family. 250 words just pales in what i feel i need to say, i'm sorry!

Seven years ago when our family first began we would not have considered ourselves the type of people to actively pursue a simple and natural lifestyle, omitting most comforts we had grown accustomed to, opening our minds, and in doing so freeing our souls. As our family began to grow, baby by baby, and we built our little nest up twig by twig; the significance of a natural life for our children became so profoundly evident. A native proverb that speaks high measures to us, "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." We knew that the beauty we were surrounded with was a gift from God, and we needed to not only be diligent in taking care of it, but teach our little ones how to cultivate it and take care of it the same.

Our gradual introduction (accidental still at this time) began with home remedy herbal teas, such as Rooibos Tea for sore throats and coughs. We also began to be quite creatively accomplished recyclers filling 3 recycle bins to one trash can every week! Purchasing all of our clothes and household material needs from consignment, goodwill or garage sales, and even rescuing curbside "trash" and fixing it up. Most of our furniture was refurbished this way, some of our most treasured and beautiful pieces were nearly destroyed by those trash trucks. I also sold these reclaimed treasure online making an astonishing $300/week one summer! Yay for trash hunting!! That first year we also began our veggie, berry and herb gardens which is always a fun family activity when Spring approaches.

Shortly after, we built our own home making sure to use energy saving and efficient materials and appliances, we also sold our vehicles and invested in fuel efficient cars, one still an SUV, which i was excited about. My darling husband hung me a long laundry line outback and built me a purple martin house to avoid needing summer insect repellent, it worked magically. I dabbled a bit in natural cleaning involving vinegar, lemons and baking soda and was so amazed how the simplest of things could produce such drastic results!

Upon our move to Virginia we had discovered baby #3 was soon on its way, which meant two in diapers. We researched the benefits and positive feedbacks of modern cloth diapering children, we on a whim ordered it and haven't turned back. It is agreeably the best green decision we have made. The health benefits, long term and short term for the children are so heart jolting; cancers, reproductive problems, skin disorders, hormone imbalances... Along with our diapers, we chose to cloth wipe, using cut up receiving blankets and a simple spray bottle solution. We have currently influenced at least 12 other families to switch to cloth, not much talking needed on our part, it mostly has spoken for itself. We use Virgin coconut oil On their bums for diaper rash and yeast infections which clear up in a day!

The move to Virginia also was followed with terrible teething in our one year old, so we purchased a Baltic Amber teething necklace, which is a resin containing sucinic acid that is absorbed through the skin that greatly reduces pain, inflammation, swelling, and aid your general overall immunity. All of our children (and many of our friends children) now wear them.

We recently purchased an old entertainment center that we are in the process of converting into a very mod play kitchen for the kids, we drink out of old condiment jars (mason jar style) and have recently switched over to glass"to go" water bottles rather then reusing our plastic ones full of chemicals, and our children also get excited to bring in their "rain buckets" from outside to water out indoor plants that we have, filtering our the germs and pathogens in our house. I think there are always more way you can discover little ways here and there to be more grateful for living in such a lush and beautiful place. It doesn't happen over night, but babysteps will begin to open new doors for your family and give you such a resounding peace.

SHORT VERSION ( no small feat for me! haha)

When our family first began we wouldn't have considered ourselves to be green seekers, omitting most comforts we had grown accustomed to, opening our minds, and in doing so freeing our souls. The significance of a natural life for our children became so profoundly evident as our family grew. A native proverb that speaks high measures to us, "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." We knew that the beauty we were surrounded with was a gift from God, and we needed not only be diligent in taking care of it, but teach our little ones how to cultivate it and take care of it the same.

We are active in cloth diapering and wipes, natural medicine including: teas, teething necklaces, vitamins, and coconut oil which is great for a thousand things, truly. Using glass over plastic, reusing containers rather then recycling them, reclaiming abandoned furniture, cleaning with natural everyday substances, shopping second hand, mending your own things rather then buying replacements, using appliances and water only when needed, grow what you eat, and run multiple errands with one trip, just to name a very few!

I think there are always more way you can discover little ways here and there to be more grateful for living in such a lush and beautiful place. It doesn't happen over night, but babysteps will begin to open new doors for your family and give you such a resounding peace.

SSgt. Cole and Mary Nason and family

Their Response!

SSgt. Cole & Mary Nason,

Thanks so much for your submission to the Green Marine Challenge! Your conscientious efforts to make a positive difference on our planet earth were deemed as outstanding and therefore it is with great pleasure that we would like to inform you that you are our grand prize winner of a $1,000.00 Marine Corps Exchange Gift Card.

Simply reply to this notification with your mailing address and telephone number. Your gift card will be sent out to you via FedEx within 7 days of receiving this information. (Sorry, P.O. boxes are not acceptable in this particular situation due to proof of delivery.)

Again, SSgt. and Mary, we’re so excited for you. Thanks for your support of the MCX and, especially, thanks for caring for the generations that follow you!

Respectfully,

The MCX Corporate Advertising Team

Gary Miller

Cathy Watts

Vanessa Rodriguez

Mary Pugliese

AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOO HOOO