Busy week!

This week I've been in Andover every morning from 9 until about 1 helping two dear children with their homeschool. Love it! Had to provide some discipline for one of them and it worked praise the Lord!

We got a new car last Saturday! While we wanted a Subaru, they were super expensive, even for the used ones! So we settled for this AWD Suzuki crossover. It looks small but, the interior is very roomy. We love it. The turning radius is so awesome, it turns on a dime! The gas milage is awesome and it zips around town so easily. Makes me think I'm in London or something. *Insert british accent here* HAha!

If you need a car, go to Simmons Rockwell and ask to see Tim Lauper. He will take really good care of you!

 We went camping a few weekends ago and had a great time. We did get poured on during the night on Sunday. Unfortunately we came home early because we thought we had lost power. We came home to find that the electricity never went out but the phone got hit by lightening.
A comment by a 3 year old girl walking past as we put up our tent: "OH! Nice tent!" We chuckled and her parents were busting up!






Last Tuesday was our anniversary so we went to Kmart for our usual part of our date (after dinner of course). We got a new phone and then David found a computer he really wanted so, I told him "you can get that IF I can get a Wii." He looked at me and said "Don't tempt me." We left Kmart with a new phone, a computer, and a Wii! The next day I went back and got the Zumba game for the Wii so that I can do Zumba at home. I really enjoy it! The game will pay for itself soon too! I like it much better than going to the class. I had such a conviction from the Lord that I shouldn't be going, so I went to one more class so that I could pay Erica an IOU but, during the class, I felt sick....the minute I saw David's truck in the parking lot, I left! I was fine once I got home.  I've lost 8 pounds! Praise the Lord! David is noticing he's losing some weight too! His pants are fitting much looser. To help with outside chores, I push mow our side yard and that provides a great workout! I love it because I don't really know that I'm exercising but, it sure does work!

Chaos Kitty boy sleeping on the window sill.  He's so photogenic

They play like this every day, like clockwork. They love each other and they love to goof off with each other!

Chaos LOVES his Daddy. He loves to take naps with David.

Faithfulness, Obedience, and God's Call

Most of you know that I work with my Dad two days a week, delivering Little Debbies to area stores. I got to take a couple of weeks off because in March I babysat my cousin's twins. They're three and full of energy! Wow! I love them so much and they were so good for me too! (I didn't take much from them and knew that, they were testing their limits the first couple of days) Anyway, the week or so before I started babysitting, the Lord told me (not in an audible voice) that Jamie would offer me a babysitting job and I was NOT suppose to take it. I thought "OK, why would she offer me a babysitting job though?" A week after I started babysitting guess what. Jamie said "the girls will be starting preschool next school year and I want to give my Mom a break, so I would need a babysitter and you're the first person I would hire."
So what do I do after she tells me? I got really excited! I wanted to watch the girls so bad, they were so much fun and lively and I loved doing all the preschool things that you do when you babysit three year olds.
Then conviction came. "Liz....remember what i told you." I did remember...i just didn't want to...
When the Lord convicts my heart, it's really really hard not to ignore it.
So, I had to call Jamie and tell her that I can't babysit. That was hard and easy at the same time. I think I made her mad and confused. "Why would someone rather deliver little debbies than babysit two three year olds?"

"But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise."

I had to tell my parents the same thing. I have no idea how many times my parents must think "she's crazy." That makes me just want to dance and say "Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord!" Not in a proud way but, in a boasting in the Lord way. My Dad still thinks I should babysit the twins because I "...would make more money." If money were the issue and it's not: I only charge $40 a day to babysit the twins and it would only be a half day so $20 times 5 days is $100. When I work with my Dad, I make $80 in two days. I would only be making $20 more by babysitting the twins.

Praise the Lord, I know without a doubt that God is using me to minister to my Dad. This is why I'm not suppose to babysit the twins. A couple of weeks ago (before Easter) my Dad started talking about Lent (my parents are Catholic) while we were riding in his Little Debbie truck. He said he was looking at the little card on their fridge with details about Lent. The card said something about checking with your diocese for the rules. My Dad told me "so that means that these are just rules that are made up by the church." I'm an avid seat belt user and when I heard these words come out of my Dad's mouth, I about fell out of the seat. I told him that's exactly what that means and that the word of God says that "Your traditions nullify the word of God." He reacted with "It does?" Praise God!
I went home and tore through my Bible and found scripture verses to help him start asking more questions. I sent him an email that weekend with more scripture verses. I just have to keep praying that this permeates his heart and that I can answer his questions with the Word because the Word is sharper than a two edged sword. That's what will truly get him saved.
In March, I went with a group from our church down to our sister church in PA to a conference. The Lord let me know that because I have faithful with little, he will entrust me with authority over much [Luke 19:17]. That gives me so much hope, oh so much hope for things to come!  Praise the Lord! Oh Praise God!

Make Your Own Liquid Laundry Detergent!

Make your own laundry soap by following this quick and easy process. You'll soon wonder why you never did it before! My husband and I have been married for almost 3 years and I've been making my own laundry detergent ever since.

Please read all instructions before starting your detergent making adventure!

What you'll need:
-A bottle of body wash. I use a men's body wash, comes in a fairly large bottle.
-A large pot you won't use for cooking food, use only for soap making.
-Borax
-Super Washing Soda, this is NOT the same as baking soda. You should be able to find this right near the borax in the laundry aisle of your grocery.
-1/4 cup measuring cup, use only for soap making
-Large spoon, use only for soap making
-Large container (I have used a 1/2 gallon milk jug before, currently I am using a laundry jug with a spout on it that I got from someone else.
-Tablespoon measuring spoon, use only for soap making

Instructions
Pour the soap into the pan. Fill the same soap container to the top with water and pour that into the pan as well. Place pan on stove and turn on heat to medium low. Don't let it boil. You want it to simmer slightly. Measure out a little less than 1/4 cup of each borax and washing soda. Add both to the pan. Stir using the spoon. You want the borax and washing soda to dissolve completely. Continue to heat on the stove until you can't feel the grittyness when you stir. Turn off heat and let cool to room temperature.
Pour the detergent into the large container. On wash day, use no more than 1 TBS per load of laundry. You don't want to see suds in your front loader!
You may be thinking that these instructions are way different than you've ever seen and they are. I haven't been able to find a "recipe" like this one yet and I truly believe it's the fastest, easiest, and less complicated than all the others you will find! Once you try it, please let me know how it works for you!
Tip: The Borax and washing soda can clump if you just store them in the open box. I saved two large Sunny D containers and put the borax in one and the washing soda in another. Label them correctly, the look a lot alike!

Cleaning!

A few weeks ago, I really had a revelation, keeping a clean house is a good thing! After finding a homemade all purpose cleaning solution I found on this lady's website, I was browsing her site. She's a Christian!
From her site I've learned that keeping organized, leads to everything else being organized, like my emotions and my walk with the Lord. I'm so much happier when my house is clean and organized. When it's not, I'm bummed and lazy. Something very serious is going on in your life if your kitchen is piled high with dirty dishes and there's also a pile of dirty laundry in your laundry basket.

Some tips for keeping a clean house:

Some essential cleaning tools:
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Essential Oils ( can be bought at GNC)


Put things away after you use them, this will save you so much time at the end of the day, seriously, if you just put your scissors back in the desk drawer after you use them, you won't have them left out to put away later, and you won't be searching for them in the afternoon!

Laundry basket tip:
At the end of the day, if you have clutter, take your laundry basket (put the dirty laundry in the washer and start a load) then go around to each room and put any items that aren't in their place, in the laundry basket. When you are done collecting the clutter, go through the basket. Put things away and throw the trash out. This may seem really silly to you but, it really helps! Instead of putting the scissors away and then realizing that the junk mail needs to be gone through, you've eliminated the distraction because all of your mess is in one spot. 

Mesh bag tip:
Use a washable mesh bag per person in your house. Put into the bag, each persons socks. Throw the bag into the washer with the rest of the clothing. After all the clothes have dried, all of one person's socks are in one place and you don't have to take forever to find matches.




 Homemade cleaning solution: 

This will save you so much money!

2T vinegar

1 t Borax

Hot water

a few drops of a mild dish detergent

10 drops of essential oil, optional 

In a 16oz spray bottle put in vinegar, borax then add hot water to the 16oz line.  Swish around until borax has dissolved.  Add the drops of dish detergent and fill the rest of the bottle with water.  Add the essential oil if you would like. 

Window cleaner:
1/2 tsp mild dish detergent
3 TBS vinegar
2 cups water
Mix everything right in a spray bottle, use just like the commercial variety

Stretching your dish soap:
Fill an empty dish soap bottle 1/3 way full with original dish soap
Pour white vinegar in 1/3 of the way (from the top of the soap level)
Fill the rest with water. Shake the bottle a bit and use the modified soap like you would the original. I love stretching! lol


So Many Uses For Baking Soda:
Not just for cleaning either!

Keep a container in your shower (with a tight lid) and use it as an exfoliant. I wet my face and with about a TBS of baking soda, I rub it on my face to create a paste. I let it sit on there until I'm done washing. I then use a homemade soap and wash my face (while the baking soda is on it). I'm telling you what, this is the best thing for my face. I don't get awful breakouts like I use too. I love it!

If you have cats:
In a small container put in enough baking soda to fill. Using a toothpick, dip it into a bottle of your favorite essential oil. Dip the same toothpick into the baking soda and stir. The oil will come off your toothpick onto the baking soda without leaving lumps. Use this as a cat litter deodorizer. This will save you money!


Homemade Comet. Just sprinkle on, pour on a little dish soap (or in my case, stretched dish soap) and make a paste with it, let sit, then scrub. I use this paste for everything, from stuck on foods to toilet scrubber. Use it on your bathroom counters and the bottoms of your cooking pans for a nice shine! It works great on those burnt spots on your flat cooktop. Just let it sit and then scrub, they come right off!

Homemade Drain-O
Every month or so, pour a little bit of baking soda down your drains, follow it with some dish soap and some white vinegar. Let foam up and then either run your hot water down it or let it sit over night. This will prevent build up and clogs!

I also have a homemade laundry soap recipe. I will post it in another blog post!

Chickens!

We've got 6 chickens!  Actually, they're red pullets. Which, I guess means they can be any of the red variety of chicken...I think. Haha. They are growing very fast and all they do right now is, eat, drink, sleep, and poop. Sometimes they run around, acting like chickens. We're going to have to clip their wing feathers soon because they're starting to try to fly. I got pretty worried this morning because the power went out for a second. If we don't have power, the heat lamp can't be on and keep our little chicks warm. We prayed for these chickens the day we got home. I think the only way the only way they're going to stay alive, is if God keeps them alive because to me, they don't seem like they can live (because they're not even a week old).These are layers which means they only lay eggs, unless we get a rooster, they won't lay fertilized eggs. They aren't fryers either, they can be butchered once they don't lay anymore eggs but, they won't be very large. Typically, they only lay for about a year and a half and don't lay anymore. We should get about a dozen of eggs per week with six chickens, if they're good laying hens. Hopefully we don't have any lazy ones!