A Day at the Farm

Today Jackson, Aunt Leah and I went to the farm. We had so much fun. I had trouble choosing which pictures to post, so here's a ton. :)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I cannot tell you how fast and easy it is to make your own laundry detergent! This is my second time to make the following recipe and my last batch lasted our family FIFTEEN months. In my experience it cleans just as well as the store bought variety. I highly recommend it. Not only does it make me feel like June Cleaver, it also washes my clothes for pennies a load!

Here's the recipe I use (Thanks, Duggar Family!), along with a pictorial play-by-play:

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap

4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

I found all of the ingredients, minus the lavender, on the aisle with the laundry detergent at Wal-Mart for less than I would spend on a container of detergent. (The washing soda and borax will make multiple batches of this recipe.)

Easter Highlights

Jackson was so proud of the Easter bunnies we made.

He was a man on a mission on the egg hunts! (Well, the first two anyway. The third was more like a stampede and he preferred being held.) He filled up his basket so fast I kept taking eggs out and throwing them so that the other babies could get some too.

Jackson doesn't eat candy or sweets and is used to eggs being stuffed with coins, bubbles, stickers, balls, etc. We were at an Egg Hunt and I asked him what was in his egg, when he opened an egg and found wrapped candy he looked at me disappointed and said "trash". Later I asked him again to open another egg to see what was inside, he opened it to find a melted piece of chocolate. He looked at me completely disgusted and said "Ugh, poop!"

This was his expression when he spotted the Easter bunny.

SO excited to have found two golden eggs!

Easter morning Jackson was thrilled to discover that each of his eggs had four quarters. He loves putting money in his piggy bank. Ask him what he's saving for and he'll tell you: "cottage" (college). :)

"Hop- hop"

Jackson LOVED meeting the Easter bunny. He's been talking about him since. He can't wait to sit in the "hop-hop's" lap again!

Sweetest Boy in the World

Thought I'd share a few of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks with you.

For any of you who may have read Jackson's eighteen month entry, you may remember that I turned his car seat around (front-facing). A week after doing this the new AAP guidelines were released and I turned him back around. He doesn't mind a bit.

Jackson loves playing in Daddy's closet. He entertains himself in there while I get ready. This day, I think he brought all the toys from his toy chest with him.

Day 72 S.O.A.P.

I realized it has been a while since I’ve shared a S.O.A.P.

God is moving, sweet friends. (He always is- even when we can’t feel Him.) Last time I read through the bible, I did it alone. Having the support, encouragement and wisdom of a group has made this journey through the bible even more powerful. I can’t get enough. I don’t want to.

I have a verse for you today that I believe is powerful and relevant, wherever you are at this moment.

S- Isaiah 43:1-2 “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by my name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

Later in verse four God says:

“ …you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.”

O- God is speaking to the Israelites in these verses, and they were special to him. God redeemed them and called them by name to be those who belong to him.

We are important to God too, we are redeemed, and we belong to him.

A- The God of the universe says that we are precious to him, honored and that he loves us-wow. If that doesn’t overwhelm you, you might want to check your pulse.

Life sometimes bombards us with circumstances that shake us (relationships, financial issues, traumatic events, fears, strongholds, etc.) God tells us that when (not “if”, because we all will) we go through rivers of difficulty, we will not drown. When we walk through the fire, we will not be burned up. What an awesome promise. Life can be painful, but our merciful Savior gives us a promise that we will not be consumed. If you are in the midst of a trial, hold on to Jesus. You are precious to him, He loves you.

P- Thank you, sweet Jesus for the assurance that I am loved and regardless of how overwhelmed circumstances may make me feel, they do not have the power to consume me (unless I give it to them). May I remember your promise in Romans 8:28, “God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” You have a purpose in the pain that we experience or you never would allow it. Give me strength to persevere.

The thought of bowing before you one day is almost more than I can bear. Oh, how I long for that day. Until then, may I please you- in joyous times and times of trial.

Easter Wreath

I love projects and I love this time of the year. Spring just makes me feel chipper and Easter overwhelms me with gratitude.

Jackson and I had a great time making this Easter wreath. Jackson enjoyed handing me the eggs as I glued them on and it was a great project to work on color recognition! It's super easy to make, all you need is a straw wreath (leave the plastic on), a glue gun, and lots of mini Easter eggs.

Here's the finished product. Happy Easter!

This has nothing to do with the Easter wreath, but I couldn't help myself. Today we were working on the color orange and Jackson was so excited about his orange lunch. What a cutie!