Friday Funny!!

Ive seen this a few times this week and so have been there at times! While I absolutely LOVE my title-the best title in my opinion of Mom there are just some days.........

Have a Blessed Easter Weekend!

Easy Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

In my ever growing quest to find ways to stretch the money around here I have finally found a detergent for the dishwasher that works!

1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Baking Soda
1/4 Kosher Salt
2 packets of lemonade flavor koolaide mix
Lemon essential Oil
Vinegar

Mix everything except the lemon oil and vinegar together and store in an airtight container. Use 1-2 tablespoons of this mixture when you need to run the dishwasher and splash vinegar and a few drops of lemon essential oil on the bottom of the dishwasher and voila!!

The dishes come out nice and clean and we have some pretty tough well water here!
There ya go~Enjoy!

The Measure of One's Life....A Tribute to My Grandmother

**I originally wrote this post a year ago and I have decided to re-post it this year on the anniversary  of her being home with The Lord. I have had so many ups and downs emotionally this year and several times have found myself reaching for the phone to call her and ask her something or wanting to show her something. Throughout this year I have learned to see her in the small things-the making of pancakes, hemming a skirt for my daughter, starting a new book, sitting in her old chair. Those are the moments to be cherished, the memories, the traditions, the legacy that she has left for me to carry on to my children. So while today may mark a year, its not a day to be sad and mournful because I know that I will see her again someday and until then i will never let her memory die in my day to day life.

So enjoy this post if its the first time you are reading it, or enjoy it again if your re-reading it from last year**

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 How do you measure someones life?

 Is it in what their occupation is, how much money they have, or how many possessions they have? 

In my opinion it is none of those and finding our purpose in life can begin by looking no farther than the humble surroundings God has placed you in.

Tuesday March 12, 2013 may have just been another day to many people, but to my family it was a bittersweet day. It was filled with so many emotions...sadness, joy, relief, heartbreak and more. It was the day that my grandmother Catherine passed away. She had struggled through the past year with cancer and put up a good fight. By the end she was so tired, worn out and ready to go home. 

I had a special bond with my grandmother from the very beginning. I am grandchild number 1 and through the years growing up I was so very close to her. So much of who I am today is because of her. I was so fortunate to have my grandparents live in an apartment added onto our house for most of my life which gave great opportunity for lots of time spent. Growing up she gave me so many things that I will cherish forever most importantly memories. There are so many I could write a book but a few highlights are: the seagull that took her ice cream at Sea World right from her hand, parades, eating strawberry shortcakes, sewing me costumes, gymnastics where she would have to be the judge, so many vacations & trips, singing Sonny & Cher songs, eating pints of Ben and Jerry's on the couch bed i named "happiness".

 Watching her do so many things inspired me to want to be the mom that I am today although that was not her intention. What a wonderful cook and baker she was, how she could sew a masterpiece, her love of reading & knitting and just being the "mom" that is Always there for her children and OH how she loved children. She was the constant in a world that is anything but to our family. Those are things that I feel that watching her do made me want those qualities in me. Our times of laughter had FAR outweighed anything else! She was there for my times of pain, sickness, grief, happiness, joy and accomplishment. 

Somehow though life seemed to weather our relationship over the past few years and that made me so sad. My life is not what she wanted it to be. In her eyes she wanted me to be so much more than what she was and was always encouraging me to be and do anything that I wanted....what I really wanted to be most of my life was to be just like her. It took her until the very end of her life to realize that  I did not throw my talents and dreams away. The Lord has blessed me with so many talents and I am using them in the lives of my children and God used her to mold me into who he wanted me to be. A whole next generation will reep the benefits of the time, love, care and instruction she put in to me. I am so grateful to her for all she gave me-things both intentional and unintentional. 

Embracing the Storms

The first thing most people generally tend to do when a storm comes is become downcast or even depressed. The cold, rain, dampness, & noise add to the wallowing effect that comes with it. Just take a look at how a child looks at a rainy day-they are bored, whiny, discontent, and sometimes just plain old cranky. They feel restricted from running free, burning energy and steam, their creativity stifled by 4 walls....or is it???

Lately I have been asking myself-Is this how God would want us to act-to use a storm as an excuse to exhibit all of the above emotions?

Of course as we all have experienced the storms of life rage all around us and we tend to get tossed around quite a bit. We have the choice to follow the tendencies that accompany a storm or a rainy day or we can choose to rejoice and even dance in the storm!

More often than not I have to admit that I usually am quite like Eeyore from Whinnie the Pooh when the storms of life surround me. I do find this quite funny because i actually LOVE storms! To me, a rainy stormy day is refreshing-like a breather of sorts. It to me is like God's way of telling me to rest a bit or take it easy-have a day off routine! So why is it that there is such a drastic difference in my responses to both "storms"?

When God leads us through a storm it can be scary, especially if we are right in the middle of it. Imagine how the Israelite's felt as they would flee Egypt with no where to go but towards the Red Sea. What were they thinking? Would fear, worry and doubt grip many of them? Im sure!! But what did they then do.......
They stood still and let God move and boy did he! He parted the sea and made a way when there seemed to be no way.

I think the reason I love stormy days so much is that the storm is outside and I am inside, I am safe and have walls and a roof as protection around me and it doesn't seem quite so scary. What I have learned over these past 2 weeks of some fierce storms is that even in the middle of the storm I DON'T have to fear and I have the same protection as my walls and roof, I just need to trust God whole heartedly and not fear. That is tough, especially for me but its what God is trying to teach me right now.....Stand Still and let Him move! Embrace the lesson he is teaching you, don't be so quick to rush the storm away but quiet your heart and listen to it.

He will always prove faithful and make a way!

The Bontrager Family Singers

We were blessed and fortunate last week to see the Bontrager Family Singers perform. They are a family of 12, Dad-Marlin, Mom-Becky and Children: Chelsy, Mitchell, Allison, Carson, Joshua, Denver, Taylor, Elizabeth, Hudson & Rebecca. They live and work on a dairy/hog/grain farm in Iowa. They travel for part of the year as God opens doors, and they minister with a gospel/bluegrass style of music in churches, festivals, prisons, nursing homes, and street missions.

They believe "As God has called us to ministry, so we endeavor to shine His light wherever we go, in whatever we do, with “all our heart, & soul, & mind.” Because of Him, we have a reason to sing!"

It was a truly uplifting and inspiring evening for us but especially for our children. For them to see children, some their age, some older and some even younger, up there singing and playing instruments all for the purpose of glorifying God was very thrilling. To see and hear how they as a family work together and how the brothers and sisters love, help and serve one another really gave a great model to our children of how to work together for the God's glory no matter what he has called us to do.

Please take some time to stop by their website at www.bontragerfamilysingers.com and be inspired by this family! Their music is fun and upbeat and a wonderful mix of all age voices making a joyful noise unto the Lord! They also have a blog where you can keep up with them on the road and what they are up to at http://www.bontragersingers.blogspot.com/

Most importantly, pray for them. They are doing such a wonderful mission and sharing the Gospel through song, story, and testimony. To God Be The Glory!