Homemade Laundry Detergent

The crafter and homemaker inside of me has wanted to make homemade laundry detergent for a long time, but I just couldn't seem to find a recipe that I liked for my little guy's especially sensitive skin.  (I'm not kidding...just being in water makes the kid break out in a bright red, splotchy rash all over his body.)

I came across this recipe the other day, and decided to give it a go.  I did order the goat's milk soap from the Bend Soap Company.  My order shipped the same day I placed my order, and it arrived at my doorstep two days later.  Shipping was free because I ordered $50 worth of soap (eek!) and I got a 10% discount using the coupon code found on their website.  I ordered a variety of different soaps, but mostly the Oatmeal 'n Honey, because I heard that was one of the best soaps for eczema.  I used the shredded soap "milk bath" in the tub with Owen (he cried because the soap looked like bugs), and he didn't get a rash!

I have not had any problems with the detergent and I've been using it for about a week.  My clothes smell CLEAN...not like chemicals.  It is cost effective, and the added bonus is that it looks super cute in my glass jar.

A Pictureless Post

Maybe it's because I'm lazy, or maybe it's because I can not locate my camera cord at the moment, but for whatever reason, this post will be sans pictures.  Sad, but true. 

We moved into my dad and step-mom's house on July 27th, and while I wouldn't consider the move "smooth," it went just fine.  We had a great crew help us move.  Seriously, we probably have missed our moving deadline if our "movers" weren't so awesome.  You know all the extra crap stuff that you just don't know what to do with when you're packing, so you just leave it in the closet?  (I sincerely hope I'm not the only one who has this problem!)  Well, my "girl team" inside the house helped pack up all the loose ends while the guys were packing the POD.  Darin and I consider ourselves blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. 

Things have been rather chaotic since moving in...but that's bound to happen with TEN people living under one roof!  (Dad+Mom+Sister+Her3kids+Darin+Me+Our2kids=Pandemonium).  Actually, it means insane amounts of laundry, extra dishes, few moments of quiet, and lots and lots of fun with cousins and grandparents.  In the end, we wouldn't change a thing (except maybe the laundry part).

Last Friday, my sister and her kids moved out, so now there are just six of us.  Although, as I write this I can hear four children playing and running around upstairs because we're taking care of all the kids today.  :O)

When we first moved in, our family lived in two bedrooms upstairs, but last night we moved downstairs.  You know, musical rooms.  Kinda fun.  Certainly never a dull moment!

Busy doesn't even begin to describe our lives since we transitioned to our new church, but it's a good kind of busy.  We recently started going through a book entitled, The Story, together as a church body.   The annual Back-to-School picnic was last weekend.  Our church partnered with six other local churches to help provide haircuts, school supplies, and clothing to families in need in our community.  It was an awesome event.  I got to meet almost every family that attended the event because I worked the registration table...along with some other fabulous ladies. 

I am meeting a lot of people, and am moving outside of my comfort zone.  It's not always easy for me to form new friendships, but I am allowing God to work in me and through me, and I feel like I'm doing a good job of meeting new people.  (Although, remembering everyone's names is a little difficult!)

My classroom is almost finished.  I just have two bulletin boards to get ready and a few more boxes of things to put away before school starts the Tuesday after Labor Day.  Those things are really secondary to lesson planning and reading the files of all of my students.  So far, I have 15 students on my caseload, but I will be supporting an additional 15 or so students in Language Arts this year.  My first official day back to school will be the day that Owen turns 5 months old.  Crazy. 

More updates later.  Kids are crazy.  Of course.

The Crazy House...

...I mean that in the nicest way.  Our lives (and our home) have been turned upside down as we attempt to move by our impending deadline.  The couple who bought our home did not want to do a double move, so they wanted to move in to our home quickly...which subsequently means we will be doing a double move.  (We have not yet found a home in our new church community.)  Here's a look at some of the crazy chaos in our home.  It is no easy task to attempt packing everything in our home while caring for a 3 year old and a 3 month old while Darin is working.  Good thing we sometimes have great help in the evenings!

Jonathan packed the DVDs to help me.  However, he wanted to know the title of every single movie, so it didn't really help.  :O)

This is how you pack a box!

I told you it was crazy!

What's that I see?

Surprise!

After 800 Days...

SOLD!  

No, the two zeros in the title of this post were not made in error.  Our home was quite literally on the market for 800 days.  Our realtor is a friend of ours from church, and we are grateful she stuck with us during this process.  She confided in me that many people will take their home off the market and re-list their home with another realtor for much less money.  And while we honestly thought about taking our home off the market for a while and possibly going with another company, we remained loyal to our realtor.  I'm not saying 800 days was easy, in fact, I think the "for sale" sign in our front yard might be growing roots....  We spent a few hours house-hunting with our realtor the other day (to no avail), and when I thanked her for sticking with us and selling our house, she said, "I didn't sell it.  God did."  Yes, Miss Lisa, He did...through you. :O)

When Darin and I put our home on the market over two years ago, we did so after much prayer.  We felt that God wanted us to put our home on the market, and we still feel that He called us to do so at that time.  So why didn't it sell right away?  Because God was glorified through this process.  Only when Darin got a new job and finished out his old job, did we actually sell.  Like three days later.  That's totally a God thing.  Had we sold sooner, we would have purchased a new home in the community where our old church is located, and then we would have to sell again to move to our new church community.

Many times throughout this process we felt like pulling our hair out, and wound up praying harder and relying more on God.  There were times of doubt.  There were times of frustration.  There were times of rushing out the door and cramming things in our cars to make our house look clutter free.  But in the end, we always turned to God; venting our frustrations, and ultimately, learning to trust that His hand was in the process and we would sell when He saw fit.

Now, we will start packing.  We have to be out of our house by July 31st.  Definitely a double move.  We're not sure where we are moving to in the time being, but we know God will take care of us.  Plenty of family and friends (and our realtor, too!) have offered to have us stay with them.  We certainly feel loved and blessed.

Glory to God and his ultimate plan!  And the church sign I saw quite a few times during the process..."Patience is trusting in God's timing."  Wherever you are in your life, remember to trust in His timing, even when it's difficult.

Nursery

Here is a glimpse into the nursery/Jonathan's room!  Yes, our boys will be sharing a room.  I grew up sharing a room with my sisters, and I loved it (most of the time).  While we fought about candy and clothes, it was fun staying up late and sharing secrets. 

I am only sharing pictures of the "nursery side" of the room right now, with the exception of Jonathan's dresser.  He painted the picture above his dresser to match the color theme in his quilt (made by the talented Grandma "Jeank" Hudson).  I can't finish Jonathan's side until I get letters for his name to put above his bed (he may be a bit jealous that his name is not on the wall).  ;o)



 



The dressers used to be in my bedroom, and Jonathan had one black dresser.  I wanted each of the boys to have his own dresser, and I did not want to buy a new dresser to match the one in Jonathan's room already (too expensive!).  We refinished the dressers from our room to match the gray/black/white/aqua/neon green theme in the boys' room, and moved Jonathan's dresser into our room.  Crib - Graco Mason, from Target

• Letters - Michael's
• Frame around letters - already had!
• Guitar pictures - made by a lady on Etsy
• Quilt - made by Jean Hudson (it's actually the quilt for Jonathan's bed, Owen's quilt will match, but is not finished)
• Beautiful painting above tall dresser - hand painted by Jonathan

"Children of the World"

After school the other night, I was in the kitchen preparing dinner, and Jonathan was strumming on his guitar.  He started singing a song that my uncle Karl wrote, called, "Children of the World," so I had to record it to share! 

Karl Anthony is a singer/songwriter who travels the world singing positive songs and sharing messages of hope and love.  He has had the opportunity to share his positive messages through songs at many schools, and now sings in churches, as well.  You can check him out at karlanthony.com.  My mom gave Jonathan one of Uncle Karl's CDs for Christmas (Strike-A-Chord), and it is full of fun-loving and encouraging songs. 

Here's Jonathan's tribute to a man he looks up to...