Embrace the phase you're in

A recent comment sparked the idea for this blog post.  Each of us is in a different phase of life.  Some are single.  Some are newly weds.  Others are brand new moms, while some are seasoned parents.  Over the passing years we each go through phases.  Children go through them too.  I've heard many people say, "Oh, it's just a phase.  It'll pass."  And for some phases, it's a good thing they don't last! Haha!

There were moments when I felt like I could take on the world.  I had so much energy and drive to get things done.  It was fantastic!

With more children comes more responsibility; more laundry, more dishes, more chores, more doctor's appointments, more phone calls, and on and on and on.  When I had just 4 children I had life by the reins.  My house was always clean and organized.  I had time to clean and de-clutter as well as spend time with my good friends.  We had plenty of play dates. It was great!

I have a friend who once made a comment that still makes me chuckle.  She thought that I cleaned the house especially for her.  When she'd come over it was clean.  All the time.  And then she popped in a couple of times unannounced and realized that my house was still clean. It was just something I did. Every day. Oh how I miss those days!!!  I miss the time to clean and organize.

When baby #5 came along my desire to keep my house perfectly clean started to fade some.  Plus, I simply could not keep up with everything.

Fast forward to now.  #5 is seven years old now.  #6 is four years old.  And I have even less time.  Not only that, but with all the moving and having to live with family while we get ourselves back on our feet, we have much less space for all our things.

I thought maybe things would get easier over the years but they really haven't.  As the kids get older they get more involved with other activities and are more active in general.  There is more to clean.  More to cook.  More phone calls to make.  Teenagers to keep track of.  And still a toddler who loves to dump all the toys out all over the floor and walk away.

We are finding ways to organize in the spaces we have.  We are finding a schedule.  And we are starting to find free time once in a while.  We are finding joy in the small things.

My youngest has many food allergies and sensitivities to dyes in foods, hand lotions, clothing, soaps, play dough, and more.  There are times when I need something for her that is simply cheaper to make by myself.  The hair serum that I posted was not just for me, but also for her.  While I enjoy and prefer using things that are all natural, her little body requires it.  It's kind of a bonus for me.  I guess you could say it's a blessing in disguise.

So, what ever phase you're in, embrace it.  Enjoy it.  Stop and smell the roses once in a while.  Appreciate the new skills you may be gaining out of necessity.  They are little blessings. And remember not to compare yourself to anyone else.  I have caught myself comparing what I could do to other moms, in the past, and have realized how destructive that can be.  Allow yourself to see just how amazing you are.

Some moms have brand new babies who need them all the time.  Embrace it.  Enjoy the time to sit and hold the sweet baby.

Others have a perfectly clean home.  Enjoy every clean surface.  Stop and sit and feel the peace that can come from order.

Some of us have toddlers who are needy.  Embrace it.  Hold them.  Play with them.  Laugh with them.  Because you never know how long this phase will last.

This is what I'm going to do: embrace this phase and make it an amazing phase of my life.

#embracethisphase
#embracelife
#enjoyyourlife
#findjoyinlife
#littleblessings
#wearesoblessed

Blessings raining down

I’m sitting here with tears rolling down my face. Thankful for some pretty wonderful blessings. Things that may seem small, but are huge right now.

It’s amazing and wonderful how Heavenly father blesses us.  When we need it most He is raining down blessings upon our heads.  If we just take the time to see the blessings we will be in awe of His love and goodness.

He blesses us through the kindness of others.

He allows us to repay those acts of kindness with what little we have and then He adds too that.

It’s amazing when you can really see it.

How has He blessed your life?

Little Blessings

One of the "foods" that we have found that our youngest little girl cannot have or eat is anything containing petroleum.  Yeah.  That's right.  It's in foods. Scary right!

Food dyes are petroleum based. Preservatives TBHQ and BHT are both petroleum based as well.  I am so thankful for a friend who forwarded a blog, a story about a mom who's child had a problem with food coloring and also preservatives.  It was fascinating to me.  And gave me an answer I had been praying for.  They were the last ingredients we had to remove from our daughter's diet.

Here is an interesting site. I can't believe the FDA still allows artificial colors in our foods.  Don't get me started!

We love Chex Mix at Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  This year I tried making it with the Crispix cereal and not only did it burn, which has never happened to me before, it tasted odd.  My sister bought some Chex cereal today and, Low and Behold, they changed their ingredients!  There is no longer BHT in the Corn Chex cereal!  I am so excited!!  They are using Vitamin E as a preservative instead.  Which is what they use to preserve the Honey Nut Cheerios too.

Someone is listening.  And for that I am Thankful!  So, just a little blessing in our lives today.  We can have Corn Chex again!!  Yay!

Happy Day!

#cornchex #glutenfreedyefreebhtfree

The gratitude challenge

Today I am taking the gratitude challenge found on Scott Moore's page and posted on facebook by my older sister, Dawn.

I love my absolutely wonderful, sweet, kind, goofy, silly, helpful and amazing husband.  There aren't enough words to describe the love that I have for this awesome man.  I love that our love has grown in a way that I could never have imagined it.  He is my best friend.  He is my confident. He is my sidekick.  He is my handyman...when he knows how to fix things.  Haha.  He is the most amazing dad.  His love for me is surprising, as he sees my faults and shortcomings.  He is forgiving and simply the perfect match for me.

I love my Dad.  I love that he took the time to cultivate a great love of nature in each of us girls.  I love that he is a jack of all trades kind of guy.  He almost always knows how to fix everything.  I love that he would do just about anything for just about anyone.  I love how he taught us to serve others.  I love that he taught us to appreciate our talents.  I love how he loves my kids.  I love that he has a love of learning and reading.

I love my Mom.  I love that she loves us kids with everything she has, and then some.  I love that she taught me how to be a good mom and to put my children first.  I love that she laughs with us.  I love that when she is tired you can get her laughing so hard she's got tears running down her face and can't stop.  I love that she is my friend.  I love that she listens to me.  I love that she has been my shoulder to cry on. I love that she is there to listen to my successes.  I love how she loves my children.

I love that I grew up in a home with only sisters and that we had to do hard work because there were no brothers to do it for us. I love the value of hard work. I love that my sisters and I can have fun together.  And even though our beliefs may be different and our lifestyles may be different we love each other.

I love my kids.  I love that each one of my 6 children is unique.  I love that each of them has their own talents.  I love that the oldest is such an amazing and talented artist like my oldest sister, Yvette.  I love that he is a good, kind, and thoughtful person.  I love that my 2nd son is so full of life and love.  I love that he can make friends with just about anyone.  I love that he smiles so much.  I love that my 3rd son has Autism, because without he wouldn't quite be the same.  I love that he is funny and makes us laugh.  I love that he is a rule follower.  I love that he loves his siblings. I love that my 4th son is so athletic and loves almost any sport that he tries. I love that he is so full of energy and loves to be out doors.  I love that he can be thoughtful, kind and helpful.  I love my oldest daughter who is my first curly girl.  I love that she loves to snuggle and loves to laugh.  I love that she loves to play pretend with her sister.  I love my youngest little girl.  I love that she is my second curly girl.  I love that she is so silly and happy and sweet.  I love that she makes everyone smile.

I love family, near and far away.  I love friends who have become family but who have no blood relation...but we've unofficially adopted them.

I love the Holidays.  I love baking. I love making goodies for people.  I love to see the smile spread across their face when they taste something yummy that I made for them.  I love the joy and magic of Christmas.  I love the spirit of Christmas that many people have.

I love snow.  I love seeing the white flakes falling from the sky for the first time each year.  It makes me smile every time.  I love making snow men, and snow forts, and snowballs, and sledding, and shoveling.  I love watching my cold breath at it turns to ice in the air.  I love laying on the snow and looking up at the stars.  I love how winter is magical.

I love having the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the guiding light in my life.

I love it when it works!

Don't you just hate it when a favorite piece of clothing gets stuck under a wet towel and ends up with mildew on it?!?!  It makes me so sad!

My youngest daughter has the cutest black and white zebra print leggings that she wears regularly.  She spilled "warm chocolate" all down the front of them.  I rinsed them and hung them on the towel basket.  Big mistake!! They got knocked down inside the basket with a wet towel or rag against them.  When I found them I thought for sure I would have to throw them away.

I soaked them in OxyClean, which usually does the trick, but the stain didn't budge.  I bought a couple of lemons and followed a trick from Pinterest where you pour salt onto the mildew, squeeze the fresh lemon juice onto it and scrub it in.  Then I let it dry. After washing the stain was only faded a little bit. So, I tried it a second time.  No luck.

So frustrating.

Then I had a Norwex home show and my friend who was doing the amazing demonstration suggested I try making a paste out of the Norwex laundry detergent and rubbing it onto the stain.  Let it dry.  And then wash it.  I tried that and the mildew stain got lighter, but it wasn't gone.  I decided to try it again.  I made a paste and rubbed it into the stains.  It was a bright sunny day so I decided to lay it on the deck railing because I knew that sun could take out stains too.  I thought, maybe the combination of the two would get rid of the mildew enough so that I could salvage these poor leggings.

Those leggings sat outside in the sun all day...and then on the counter for about a week. Just yesterday when my husband washed clothing he threw those in with our white clothes.  I forgot to tell him to make sure and check them before drying them.  This morning I was so thrilled to find that they came out clean!  The mildew and hot chocolate stains are GONE!!!  Yay!!!

The mildew before the Norwex paste.

After Norwex laundry detergent paste was applied two times along with sitting them in the sun the second time.

The leggings look brighter and cleaner than they have in months!  Amazing!