Down on Candy's Farm

One of Candy's goats had twin boys last week. One baby died and the other is growing into a big strong boy....male goats sadly have very little value, so they hope to find someone who is looking for a cute pet! Much to Lauren's dismay, we are not. Anyway, we took advantage of the only sunny day we've had in weeks and went out to meet the new addition. Kate likes all of the goats and the alpaca. The chickens "freak her out" though.

Laundry Soap

Greg earns the money. I try to stretch it.....I have been making my own laundry detergent for over a year. I am thrilled with the results and at 3cents per load, the little bit of effort is well worth it.
Grate 1 bar of Fels Naptha and allow to dry on a cookie sheet for three days. Mix with three cups of Borax and three cups of Arm and Hammer. All ingredients are available in the laundry isle at the grocery store. For locals, the Fels Naptha is available at JayC for 99 cents. Use one Tablespoon per load of laundry. It works as well as anything else I have tried. I wash bedding and towels in hot water but use the cold cycle for everything else. This stuff removes baby stains as well as anything else the kids may get into! I also use Shaklee cleaners. The Basic H is so concentrated that I've used only half a bottle in a year. I am a bit OCD about my house so that is being used very liberally. I have used one bottle of the germicide in a year...again, I am a bit of a clean freak so I like to use all natural, safe products for my home. If you have a more stubborn stain, a tiny bit of the Basic H concentrate as a laundry pretreatment has always worked for me. One last endorsement for Shaklee, the scrub is amazing on my smooth top stove. I had one jar for over 6 years when I passed the remnants on to a friend and ordered a fresh jar.

Camp Discover 2010!

Kate and I had a blast at Camp Discover tonight. We played in bouncers, learned bible stories, sang, played games and met new friends. She is thrilled to be spending the night with over 100 friends! Since I had to get home to the other kids, our sweet friend, Jennifer invited Kate to stay in her tent with Shelby for the night. I pray that goes as well as it appeared to be going when she threw my coat at me and suggested I "say good bye now"! Thanks to the Early Childhood department at Northside....you guys rock!

Erin's Baptism

Erin was baptized this evening. She asked her small group leader from middle school to be the one to "dunk" her. Lana is a sweet lady who reached out and welcomed Erin into her life two years ago, making a big impression. Erin started asking us questions about the Lord and salvation when she was six. This was a decision she made after serious consideration. She had at one time believed she would want to go to our "home church", Salem Church of God in Clayton, Ohio for the service but because of Lana's love and the wonderful people we've gotten to know, she feels at home at Northside. Lana shared with us (it was a private baptism) that she loves Erin's heart and that she wishes she had such a genuine faith at her age. She said Erin is wise beyond her years. We couldn't agree more and are honored to be her parents.

Our handsome boy!

Ty will be 6 months old this week

Our handsome little guy is a bundle of smiles most of the time. He is practicing his crawling skills so much that we catch him on all fours rocking back and forth in his sleep! He is quite determined to be up and running! He can move backward and rolls all over the place. He likes to unload the book cases, play with fireplace tools and leaves his finger prints all over the entertainment center. He loves his solid foods, although he isn't completely sold on peas. He'll eat them but doesn't do it very enthusiastically. Sweet potatoes are thoroughly enjoyed as he says "mmmmm" with every bite and smacks his lips! He is wearing clothes between 9 and 12 months already! He's an aggressive kisser....Mommy gets most of those. He grabs my face and holds me there while he practically drowns me in drool.....He covers my face in them but mostly likes sucking on my chin. Daddy's face is a bit too rough so he likes to put his hand on Daddy's chin to be tickled. His laugh is contagious and he's a noisier baby than the girls. I suspect we'll be discussing "indoor voices" as he grows.

Happy New Year!!!

We spent New Year's with my family in Dayton. Theresa and I had Christmas for each others kids. The cousins always have a great time when we get together. Everyone but Kate made it to see the "ball drop" this year. Sadly, the rest of the programming around the dropping of the ball is in such poor taste, we allowed Disney channel and the Wii to occupy the TV until the countdown. On Friday, Grandma and Aunt Laurie joined us for dinner. It was great to see them both. That night, Kristin and her boys arrived just before Jill brought her family to visit. It was a great start to what we pray is a calm, peaceful year!