Survivor Retreat

We had a great time this past weekend at our first Survivor Retreat with the church. It was suppose to be held at the camp but because of the tornadoes that were predicted, they decided to have it at the church instead. Of course the weather was fine both Friday night and Saturday (crazy weathermen). Friday night was a devotional and then a picking of the teams. Ryan, the kids and I were on team Sheep. We also had our first challenge that night. It was called Rahabs spies. Each team had to hide two players and then everyone would go and look for them. Alex and I hid for our team and we were never found - yeah team! However, by the time the game was over, we crawled out from the bottom pantry shelf and my legs were asleep and my neck was killing me. (Definitely getting old!) We stayed until about 12:30 and then went back home to sleep (sleeping on the floor did not sound appealing to me). We came back Saturday morning and stayed all day. We had more devotionals and challenges. We also had classes for the guys, girls, and kids. Katie did a great job with our class. I think everyone had a really good time and even though my family isn't going to Lads to Leaders this year, it was great to study the book of Joshua. There are so many things in that book that I had forgotten. Everyone in charge of the retreat did a great job! Can't wait for next year!

Maddie's curtains!

My mom had spring break this past week so she came down for a couple of days to help put up Maddie's curtains.

I thought they turned out really well. I think we are going to have her initial monogrammed on the top.


Mom also made a tablecloth for Maddie's table and chair set.


And we made a memory board for her room. Thanks mom!

Snow Day!

It was a beautiful Sunday! We were surprised to wake up to snow on the ground (2-3 inches). The weathermen had been talking about snow, but we really didn't think that it would do anything but maybe flurry a little bit and we weren't even sure it would do that.
The kids were very excited about it and Ian thought that now that there was snow Santa should come back and visit. They got to play on the back deck a little bit before church and they built a cute little snowman. After church, a big group went outside and played.The "big kids" had a snowball fight and the little ones built a snowman. I was lucky enough to not get hit by a snowball, except for the little ones that Ian threw at me. It was so nice to be outside with everyone having fun and it seemed like we were out there forever. We finally came in for our second service (because it was a gospel meeting) and by the time we got out a lot of the snow was gone. The kids were a little disappointed. Maddie not as much as Ian because she did not like getting cold, especially her hands. Ian asked why God wanted to take away the snow, so even though it took awhile, Ryan and I finally came up with an answer that suited him. We had a great day! I thank God for beautiful snow and good friends to share it with!

New Countertops!!!

It took awhile but we finally have countertops! I know, we could have gone on with pegboard for quite some time, but on Friday I knocked over a glass of milk and after cleaning up the mess and then having to clean all the utensils in the drawer below, I realized that I'd had enough :) So, we went and bought countertops, and my wonderful husband installed them himself (isn't he handy!). Now all we need are cabinet doors!

Homemade Laundry Detergent!

Last Tuesday a group of us from church got together and made our own laundry detergent. Susan was the instructor and she did a great job. I was amazed at how easy it was to make. I know we made over ten gallons in less than an hour. Susan and David figured up that it cost about $1.00 to make enough for 167 loads. It doesn't have a strong smell like tide or gain, but it has a clean smell. And think about it, you're paying all this extra money for scented detergent when you can just buy scented fabric sheets for your dryer. It almost makes me mad that for years I having been spending around $20 a month for laundry detergent when this is so easy. Anyway, if you have any interest in making your own, the recipe is below.

Directions:
1/3 bar of soap (Zote/Ivory)
1/2 cup of washing soda
1/2 cup of borax

Grate soap (use food processor if you have one) and place in pot with 6 cups of cold water. Stir on medium high heat until almost all of the soap is dissolved. Mix together washing soda and Borax. Add to soap mixture and stir until dissolved. Once mixture is dissolved, remove from heat. Add 4 cups of hot water in a bucket and add soap mixture and stir. As you are stirring, add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of cold water. Stir until all is well mixed. Let mixture sit for 24 hours. When ready to use, shake to mix. Mixture will separate when it sits so shake every time you use it. Use 1/2 cup in a load of laundry. This should be enough for over 75 loads.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ryan, the kids and I had a wonderful Valentine's day. This morning we met Granny and Grandaddy for breakfast at Cracker Barrel (where else!) in Gardendale. I tried, unsuccessfully, to get them to come home with us and watch the kids so that Ryan and I could go on a hot date. I knew since it was their anniversary they probably already had plans, but it never hurts to ask. However, it was a beautiful day, so we came home and played outside all afternoon. The kids swang, I raked some leaves and Ryan put up the blue bird house he had made me. I also had cleaned up all the mess Rachel, Katie, and I had made from the valentine baskets, so Ryan was very happy about that. The kids enjoyed their valentine presents, although Maddie did not enjoy the chocolate quite as much as she thought she would. She didn't like the filling in the middle so she tried to eat around it. All in all it was a wonderful day! I'm so happy to have spent it with the three loves of my life!

Ian's Haircut

Ian's hair was getting a little long so we decided to give him a haircut. He wanted us to cut his hair like his daddy's. I was against the idea but the boys won out. Of course, it didn't help that when I cut it, I botched a big spot in the back. I guess we really didn't have a choice :) He was so proud that he looked like his daddy. He said that his hair wanted to be in the trash can. And when I told him that I missed all his hair, he said "it's ok, mommy, you want me to have lots of hair but I like hair like daddy's."