Laundry

Remember this post back in September: Laundry?  Well I am pleased to announce that just two months ago I had to replenish my supplies!  That's right!!  7 months of laundry detergent for about $30!  I add a scoop of Oxi Clean to my loads so I have had to buy that about every other month.  I have lost track of how many loads I have done, but it is a lot! 

I have stuck to the original recipe and the only thing I have changed is I add all the ingredients into one pot after I have melted the soap.  It instantly becomes liquid gel and stays that way!  This is awesome detergent and has been put to the test!  Let me tell you, anyone who has done cloth diapers knows that you just don't mess around with laundry detergents.  Those guys need to be cleaner then clean, and kept up with or else you get a stinky, non- absorbent mess!  I have done countless loads of stinky, messy cloth diapers and they come out clean and smelling fresh!  I have used a few different detergents from organic nuts, to tide and this homemade detergent holds its own. 

So all that to say, I am super excited with a money saving success!  I am in the process of trying out homemade cleaners.  I am please with one that I use on my hardwood floors and tried a new bathroom cleaner tonight.  There is something about making your own cleaner that not only saves money, but you are in control of the chemicals in your house.  Love that! 

Dance Party

Is there anything more fun then letting go of everything and dance and sing like no one is watching?!?!  

Grace loves music and dress up.  So today we combined these two things and just went crazy!  Crazy like dancing on the couch and coffee table while swinging our scarves and waving our hands around crazy.  Grace thought it was so awesome she asked to do it again after dinner.  

I love these sweet moments! 

Currently

Currently I am sitting on my couch listening to the monitor connected to my sweet little girl's room where she is having a conversation with her BFF Ella.  They are talking about it getting dark out, saying goodnight to everything in her room (including the bookshelf), pretending to snore, and giggles galore!  It's precious!

I have a sunburn from going to our neighborhood pool twice this week.  I always put sunscreen on the girls, but totally forget about myself until I am driving home and can feel the heat radiating from my skin.  These girls are fish and keep asking to go back. 

There is paint on my arm from finger painting last night, and I even showered this morning!  

My feet and back are just a little sore from carrying Lydia around in the ergo and chasing two giddy girls around the zoo.  They found a gorilla eating a snack and thought to was the greatest thing since the penguin they just saw swimming under the water. 

I have nail polish (blue) on the wrist from the painting party we had after dinner.  Ella wanted blue fingernails and pink toenails (Sorry Kendall, I tried to convince her to choose different colors), and Grace wanted blue fingernails, and sparkly toenails. 

There is popcorn in every crevasse of my couch, and on my floor from our movie night.  It was our first official movie night!  We had a blast laughing and squeezing each other :) 

I cannot even begin to explain how much my heart grows with every moment I get to spend with these girls! Providing them with new experiences, teachable moments, and just being able to have fun with them makes my heart swell!  I pray we get so many more moments like these where I sit down after a long day and tear up over the gratefulness I feel.  Even when it's 10:00pm and Lydia is still awake :) 

Making A Mess

We are a very busy family :). With two crazy dogs, two toddlers, an infant, and a constant mommy, there is always something going on.  

Today I needed to run outside to hang the load of diapers that just came out of the wash onto the line.  We had just finished making brownies and Grace and Ella were licking the bowl, Lydia was content in her bouncy seat, and the dogs were actually calm outside.  It was a perfect moment to run outside and hang the diapers real quick!

I booked it outside, hung them quickly (maybe 2 min), ran back inside to find that the girls were not in the kitchen where I left them.  I listen closely and hear faint giggles coming from the bathroom..... I snuck around the corner to peek my head into the bathroom unnoticed.  The girls were washing their hands and faces off while making up a song :). It was precious!  Have I mentioned how much I love being a mommy?!?! 

Fear

Can you remember your first fear?  I think I can.  Fear has been the theme in my heart the last couple months.  Luke finally graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary and we are filled with "what's next" questions.  We are following (blindly it seems) the Lord's direction and heading to Crossworld next weekend for two weeks to candidate with them.  This is a scary step into the unknown.  I am scared about leaving my girls with people I don't know for longer then they have every been with a stranger before, I am worried that they will not adjust well and that will take a toll out of us, and worried maybe this isn't what we are suppose to do and we are wasting God's time.  I am worried.....I do worry... a lot...too much.

During all my worrying my sweet little Grace has also discovered fear!  My "no fear" little girl has learned what it is to be scared of something.  Now, she isn't scared of jumping off the arm of the couch onto a pile of pillows (even though she has fallen onto the floor instead a couple times), or standing on the edge of a water fountain, or the edge of a pool to jump in.  No, she is afraid of snuffleupagus from Sesame Street, and Elmo's nose when he is acting like Pinocchio.  Poor baby screamed a blood curtailing scream last night when Elmo told a lie and his nose started to grow.  She held her own nose screaming "no" and clutched my leg.  Even though she was clearly terrified she kept asking me to watch it all the way through to the end.  She wanted to go through the scariness and see how that situation ended.  Once Elmo told the truth and his nose returned to his face, Grace grew calm and announced that it was all better. 

I learned a lesson from her last night.  Even though I am worried I need to see this through clinging to Jesus and following His way.  In the end I know it will be all better :)

So thankful for my sweet, tender Grace.  Being a mom ROCKS!

In other news:  Look who is sitting up now!  She is almost able to sit up completely on her own without pillows!  She is growing up too fast.. 6 months tomorrow :)  

    

Crossworld

In less then a month we will be packing up and heading to Kansas City, Missouri for two weeks to candidate with Crossworld.  It seems a bit surreal that this part of our adventure is starting up.  Weren't we just packing up and moving to Dallas for Luke to attend DTS?  Now 6 years later, we have two children, graduated from DTS, and starting our new adventure towards Haiti!  Wild! 

I have mixed feelings about this trip.  I am anxious...oh so anxious about the toll it will take on our daughters, and how much more exhausting it will be on this already tired mommy.  I am excited to finally get started!  There are so many balls in the air right now and so many decisions we are tossing around, that taking a step forward just feels so good.  To just move forward and see what the Lord has in store for us makes me feel a little lighter. 

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