Neat Sheets

One thing I am good at…folding sheets.  My mom taught me when I was young and I’ve never had a problem since, I’ve just gotten neater with them over the years.  Thought I’d share my secret to an organized linen closet:

Step #1- folding the fitted sheet:

You start by putting your hand into 2 of the “pockets” all the way to the corners.  Then bring your hands together and fold the corners over each other (long ways).  Until you have this:

Put your hands back in those pockets and fold one over the other until you have this:

Bring the fold over the straight edge, and then you have this:

Fold into 3rds. Set aside.

Step #2 – fold pillow cases and place on top like so:

Step #3 – folding the flat sheet:

You have to stand up for this so that the sheet can hang to straighten itself out.  You will be folding long ways.  Match up two ends. Shake straight.  Match the ends again. Shake straight. Match the ends a 3rd time, and shake straight. Fold long, folded sheet in 1/2. Then set the already folded fitted sheet and pillow case on top like so:

Step #4 – putting it all together:

You are almost done! Wrap the bottom sheet tightly around the others.  Here it is all finished:

And here is what several sets look like all neat and folded in the linen closet: 

No more looking for matching pieces.  :-)

MY tried & true home remedies!

My quest for ways to heal myself (and my family) naturally, started years ago when my mom passed away from cancer.  I knew in my heart that God put things on this earth, that HE created, that can heal our bodies, without resorting to medicine. So, I made up my mind to find those ways; and I thought I would share a FEW of those “remedies” with you (including pictures)!  I have used each of the things I am about to show you myself and so has my family.  While it may take a bit longer to see results from nature, if you stick with it, you WILL see results. I will also give some product info at the very end. 

#1 Sore throat remedy: While there are several options for killing bacteria in the throat, (hydrogen peroxide, salt water, etc) THIS is my favorite! 1/4 cup of purified water, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp honey.   Mix together in a small cup and gargle several times a day until relieved.  You can even swallow the mixture if you don’t feel like it is getting far enough back in your throat.  Do not rinse with water. And do not eat or drink for at least 15 min after using.

#2 Purifying Face Mask: I found this one not too long ago, but it quickly became my FAVORITE face treatment yet! I have very sensitive/allergic skin and this doesn’t bother me at all.  I struggle with acne and have found this to be very effective. 1 TBS honey, 1 tsp cinnamon (might have to play with the amts). Mix together in a small bowl (with a lid so that you can use again) until a “paste” is formed.  It needs to be thick enough to stay on your face and not run off.  The only “problem” with this mask is that you must leave it on for about an hour to see results.  I have found that the easiest thing to do to pass time is just watch a show on TV while I wait :)  When you rinse with warm water, you will notice an exfoliating effect (the cinnamon).  Pat dry and moisturize as you normally would.

#3 Amazing Moisturizer: I have found Coconut Oil to be one of the best skin moisturizers out there!  Not only does the skin just soak it up, but it coconut oil also kill bacteria on the skin (which is great for acne prone skin).  A little goes a long way.  The skin should “soak it up” in about 5 minutes, but if you still feel oily, just wipe off excess with a soft tissue.

 

#4 Hair/Scalp purifier: This is super easy.  Makes scalp squeaky clean and hair super shiny! Just add a quarter amt of baking soda (any brand will do) to your favorite shampoo.  Wash as you normally would (concentrating mainly on the scalp) and rinse.  If you condition afterwards, only condition the END of your hair.  I actually get compliments on how shiny my hair is every time I do this.

#5 Pink eye relief: I know, this one if a rarely needed remedy but it works so I thought I’d share! If you develop and eye infection (symptoms being drainage, crusting, redness, itching…) Mix 1 TBS of organic milk, with 1/2 tsp honey and put it in a baby syringe or eye dropper.  Use 2 drops per eye about every 2 hours until relieved.  I do have to say, this burns when you first put it in but it worked for me in 1 day…even quicker than the drops you can have prescribed!  The honey kills the bacteria and the milk soothes the itching and redness. 

 

Product info: 

Honey- Raw, LOCAL honey is a MUST.  The stuff you buy at the store just isn’t gonna cut it…seriously.  Invest in some good, raw, local honey! 

Vinegar – Must be raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar.  I have found the brand “Braggs” to be the best.  You can purchase Braggs Vinegar at Kroger.

Coconut Oil – This can be a bit pricey, so I have found the best place to buy it is online at www.swansonvitamins.com  I purchase a lot of things from them and they have great deals on their brand name products!

“I think the tooth fairy is a dude.”

Our little boy Jaxon has had his eye on a skateboard from the store Five Below for about a month now, but he has no money of his own to buy it. He remembered that his sister, Zoe got $5.00 when she lost her first tooth, so he has just assumed he would get $5.00 for his too and be able to go buy the skateboard.  He’s had a loose tooth now for a couple of weeks and decided this was the week he was going to loose it so that he can go get the skateboard this Thursday (our family day).  After some effort on his part with no success, he decided to enlist the help of Dad.  After about 10 min, the tooth was out.  He was so excited!  He said “Mom, do my cheeks look happy or what?!” (from all the smiling he was doing) As I was putting him to bed, he said “Mom, I think the tooth fairy is a dude.” HAHA! He cracks me up! He went to bed with a smile on his face!  Looks like we will be going to Five Below on Thursday! :)

Before

During

After.  (sorry for the blood)

Finally!!! A Snow Day!!!

My kids have been praying for a snow day, and today their prayer was answered! :)  This time I learned to put vinyl gloves over their other gloves.  Best idea yet!

                                            This time of year, I am thankful for a hill in our backyard!

My little man

Zoe :)

Even Daisy enjoyed the snow!

It’s days like this, I am thankful we homeschool, so that I can tweak our schedule a little bit to allow for mid-day play :)

I am right where I belong!!

Wow. So I blogged earlier today about our cute little 100th day of school, unaware of what God had planned for my evening….

Let me start with a short back-story.  Zoe just learned in her Bible class about the story of the Good Samaritan.  If you aren’t familiar, it’s a story of a beaten man, laying on the side of the road. A couple of people passed by, but wouldn’t help the man.  They were either “too busy” or “too holy” to stop and help.  Finally a despised Samaritan came along and showed the man compassion and mercy.  He nursed him back to health…as I’ve been praying with Zoe at night, I’ve been actually praying that God would give us a real life “good Samaritan" story so that my kids could see that story and play a part in it themselves.  

Tonight, He did!

As I was getting myself and my kids ready to go meet Kory at church, I decided to grab a piece of Dove chocolate on my way out.  The inside of the wrapper said “You are right where you belong”.  (remember that – it will make sense later) I didn’t think much about it as I ran out the door.

As I was driving down the road I saw a woman walking wearing only jeans and a tank top.  No coat. No shoes! I almost kept driving, but when I looked in my rear view mirror, I saw her trying to keep herself warm with her arms crossed in front of her.  I immediately knew I HAD to stop.  I pulled over and she ran over to my car and got right in! Her first words were “I just got out of jail” (not the first words you want to hear from someone who just got in your car with your kids). Then she said “I can’t believe you were right where I needed someone to be”.  As I drove the 20 min drive to take her home, she told me her story. She had a 4 month old baby she was trying to get home to.  She talked, I listened…then offered her some encouraging words. 

As I headed to the meeting (now 30 min late), I turned up my worship CD and the song that was playing was Jesus Culture “Show me Your glory”. (I will post the song at the bottom of this post so you can listen if you’d like).  The main part that stood out to me was the line that said “long to stay in your presence, it's WHERE I BELONG”! 

Everything was pointing to that phrase….what does all this mean you might be asking?  When Kory and I made the move to Troy, MO we had no idea why at the time. But since we moved here I have realized that I am EXACTLY where I am supposed to be.  Whether I am serving at our church, counseling couples, or just helping people on the street, I truly believe THIS is where I belong.  God has us here for a purpose, and I am a loving every single minute of it!!!!!

Click here to listen to the song "Show me Your glory"

100 Days of School!

Today marked the completion of 100 days of school for us this year! As most people know, I homeschool my kids.  This is my 3rd year, and I find myself loving it more & more each year! Jaxon is in Kindergarten this year, and Zoe is in 2nd grade.  Today we finished lesson 100 and decided to be a little silly with it.  Two of their friends came over and did school with us. Then I took some pictures, and they decorated a frame to put one of them in. They counted out 100 stickers and put them all over the frames (100 stickers = 100 days).  Overall it was a good day! Nothing too crazy this year. Here are the pictures:

Alexa(6), Zoe (7& super tall!), Xandrie(7), & Jaxon(5)

 

I am truly blessed.  For so MANY reasons, but one is that I am able to homeschool my children.  Since Zoe was born I have been a stay-at-home mom.  That’s 7 years of blessings right there!  I know some women don’t have the privilege of staying home, so I know this is precious time, not to be taken for granted!

Although my kids are no longer babies, one of my favorite poems is called “Babies don’t keep” by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton.  The last stanza says:

“The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.”

I pray that I never take for granted the time I get to spend with them each day - teaching them to be not only book smart, but teaching them about Jesus and how to love others. What a blessing it is….

Too much, too many...

Is that even possible? To have too much of something, or too many? Well, in the recent weeks, I have learned that it IS. There I was, just going about my everyday life, being a wife & mom, homeschooling my kids, staying busy with church stuff, keeping up with my Facebook (and everyone else's), cleaning my house, paying the bills, and everything else in between. I felt like I was doing "good". My house was clean, my kids were fed, everything was getting done...or so I thought. Then one morning I was reading my Bible and came across this verse: "Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool" Ecclesiastes 5:3. For some reason, that verse just smacked me right in the face. As I tried to understand how this verse applied to me, I kept telling myself, "You are doing good...everything is fine", but it wasn't. After spending some time in prayer, I suddenly realized, I had been unintentionally wasting precious time. While I WAS getting everything done, I was missing out on special little moments.  The sad thing is, I’m not even sure what I was missing!

I was finding myself getting engrossed in other people’s lives to the point that I was missing little moments in my own life and the lives of my kids.  I decided I needed to get some rest.  And by rest, I don’t mean physically (although naps are always a plus!). I needed to take a rest from things that was stealing my focus, things like Facebook, my Kindle, my Laptop….I needed to take a rest, so that I could awaken to the things that were right in front of me – my husband & my kids! While, I was by no means neglecting them, I wasn’t being as attentive as I knew I should be.  I started thinking about the times my kids would come up to talk to me and I would tell them “hold on, I’m reading something…”  UGH!  I never want to me a mom who puts my kids on “hold”. So, I’ve been taking some time to rest, to re-focus, re-prioritize, to be quiet, and listen.  There will always be things in life that try to steal your focus, it’s how we choose to respond to those things that really matters.  Here are my little attention getters J