It's HERE!

Here are the rules of the challenge:

• You MUST use Flats.
• You MUST handwash them. How is up to you. (bathtub, sink, large wash tub, portable non electronic washing machine, or camp style washer (bucket and plunger- think churning butter)
• You MUST air dry them. (indoors or outdoors, makes no difference)
• You MUST limit your number of covers in rotation to 5 or less.
• You can use any detergent you want. (Keep in mind that you still want cloth safe detergents)
• You can still use your nighttime diapers but I ask that you try to make flats work. Maybe try a prefold wrapped in a flat.
• You can use disposable liners.
• You CAN’T use a diaper sprayer. I thought long and hard about this one, but at an average cost of 40.00 this is one diaper accessory that is out of range for many families. Dunk, swish, flush, or scrape!
• You MUST start the morning of May 23 and end the evening of May 30.

Please visit HERE if you would like to know more.

It's finally here!  No, not the rapture.  If it was, I have a real problem since I'm still here diapering my boy.  HA!

The first day of the Flats & Handwashing Challenge is here and with it we say, "don't worry...we're taking it back."  (sorry for the bad movie reference, I'm obviously in a cheeky mood this morning!)

We're taking it back to the OLD, old skool like your grandma rocked yo' momma's diapers. 

How's it going for me so far?  When little man wakes up, I *usually* take him out of his bed, take off his wool cover, remove his wet fitted dipe and put an AI2 on him.  WHAAA?  Excuse the foreign language, the CD mommas out there know what I'm talking about and I've linked for anyone who doesn't and is interested in finding out.  This morning, however, I had to fold a flat to wrap around him and I'm not very experienced with it, so I left him in his crib while I, very sleepily, folded a flat dipe for him.  Because my little man pees like crazy, I decided to use one flat in an origami fold and one in a pad fold as a doubler.  I have included some pictures below.  I covered him in a wool cover and we fumbled around the rest of the house until I managed a cup of coffee.  All-in-all, it wasn't nearly as hard as I had imagined.

For the record, I am also using my cloth wipes because they are cheap, reuseable and just wholly better than disposible wipes.

First fold the flat in half.  The fold should be facing you.  And just try to keep your child off of it.  Good luck with the last part...

Next pull the right, top corner over to meet the left, top corner.  It seems complicated until you do it, then it's easy as pie.

Flip the whole thing over so that you see the smooth side.  Note the square side is a flap and there is a triangle underneath.

Fold the square over until it is in the middle of the larger triangle.  I triple fold mine because of my heavy wetter.  The rectangle you end up with in the middle will be the absorbant part of your dipe.

Note the "origami folded" diaper in the rear.  Since I have a heavy wetter, I wanted some extra protection.  I have a 2nd flat folded twice (into a smaller square) that I will then "pad fold" to place on top of the other.   ETA: notice the different colors of flats.  The origami folded flat is an Osocozy unbleached flat from ItsyBitsyBums website.  It cost me 1.13.  The whiter flat in front is a flour sack towel I got from WalMart.  The 5-pack cost 4.89, so it was about .98. 

Then, tri fold the small square (Just like you would fold a dish towel) and place it on top of the other. 

This particular diaper was a naptime diaper for my little man, so I folded the pad-folded dipe in half and placed it in the front because he sleeps on his belly.  Typically when he wakes up, the front of the diaper is soaked through, but the back isn't wet at all.  This is where knowing your child comes in.  If you don't need this much absorbancy, great!  You'll have a trimmer dipe.  If you have a girl, you will need the layering in the middle instead of the front. 

Then grab that squirmy baby from whatever he ran off to do and put his diaper on!  Notice that I rolled the edges of the triangle inward.  This will help hold in any poo that may happen.  Because we all know poo happens! ;P

Pull those "wings" or the edges of your triangle up over the top of the dipe and then use pins or a snappi to secure the whole thing together.  You'll note that it looks sloppy...I am learning this type of diapering is an art, not a science.  Your flats will never be perfectly square, you'll never get the exact same proportions on your fold two times and your baby will never lie perfectly still .  It's okay.  It will still hold pee-pee and poo-poo, I promise.

Next I rolled the left leg to show the contrast to you.  Roll INWARD so as to gusset the fabric around the leg.  This helps contain messes.

After rolling both legs, put on the cover of your choice.  You see here I chose one of my wool covers.  I could write a whole, long post on why I now ADORE wool, (maybe I will one day) but for now I'll just say that it wicks the moisture away from the baby's skin-keeping them dry and warm, while being a natural anti-bacterial and anti-microbial fiber and never feeling damp on the outside.  It's also a breathable fabric, which most diapers are NOT, so the baby's bum is not just steeping in ammonia all day long.  Even better, wool can be used for weeks without washing, so long as it does not get soiled.  Simply air dry between changings and VOILA!  You're good to go.  I have 2 wool covers from Woollybottoms in my rotation for this week.

In my apprehension, I changed him after an hour and a half this morning, not knowing how absorbant the dipes would be.  I need not have worried, he could have gone another hour or so before it would have been soaked.  I am excited to think he's got so many layers of absorbancy and yet it's so trim and will dry quickly.  Drying quickly could surely not be said of an all-in-one! 

I am a little nervous because little man is teething and has had the runs.  My AI2's never leak (I have only had 2 leaks since starting cloth and both were with a FuzziBunz pocket dipe) but I'm not sure about flats yet.  Maybe they'll make me a believer this week.  I don't really want to have to wash my wool...it takes a couple days to fully dry after washing.

I'll report back on how the handwashing goes tomorrow, as I'll do that tonight.  In the interest of my family and friends who are not so woo-ed by my adventure, I wanted to post a picture of today's harvest from the garden.  I was singing praises to the Lord all morning, who provided the bounty, because I am surely a terrible gardener!  It is by His good grace that I even see life out there, but especially that we can eat of it :)

A bunch of parsley (lots more where that came from will be ready soon!) a cucumber, a jalapeno pepper and a handful of strawberries.  There were even more strawberries (some bigger ones) yesterday and there will be more cukes and peppers in the coming week.  Our corn should also be ripe for the picking within the week.  YUM!! 

Waste not-want not

It occurs to me (and has for a long time now) that we as Americans are spoiled babies.  I guess I couldn't make much of a broader statement, but it's pretty much true, for the most part.  Even me...and I've experienced some pretty "poor" living in my lifetime.  I've been growing more and more fed up with it as the opportunity for this Flats and Handwashing Challenge presented itself.  I look around our house and all I see is CLUTTER.  I promise you our house is far emptier than the average house!  I make dinner and I'm disgusted at all the plastic I throw away.  We take the trash to the curb and I'm flabbergasted that we have to pull all 3 cans out TWICE A WEEK! 

So, 2 days ago, as I was folding laundry, I came across a crib sheet that I've been itching to get rid of for months.  It's stained beyond belief and just yucky.  But with 2 in a crib-sized mattress and only 3 sheets between them, I'd been hanging on.  BUT! Someone was nice enough to get Violet some new crib sheets for her birthday and then the next day we found a set of BOYish sheets clearanced to 5.00 at WalMart.  'Hoorah!' I thought, as I wadded the freshly washed, (yet still awfully stained and dingy) fitted sheet and slam-dunked it into the waste basket.  But as I went about my task of folding the rest of the clothes I started to feel guilty about that sheet.  I promise you I wrestled internally for a few minutes between "man...that's quite a bit of fabric with life still in it" and "Tara, it is TRASH!  Good riddance!"  Finally I pulled it out of its grave and set it aside, wondering if I'd finally lost my mind.

Then it dawned on me that it was probably 100% cotton, which would make it a great candidate for a diaper.  I checked the tag and found my speculation to be true, so I set it on my school table so that I would be sure to cut it up later.  The next day I cut all the elastic out of it and held it up to admire my work.  Man...that thing was butchered.  I cannot draw or cut a straight line to save my life.  Despite that, my amazing hubby (who, incidentally CAN draw and cut straight lines VERY adeptly!) was able to help me salvage something worth while out of the old, nasty sheet.

Nasty sheet, butchered to hell and ready to be ironed

My amazing hubby, working his straight-line magic to make sure our flat is perfectly square

The finished product.  (No, I'm not any good at ironing, either, but I promise it was worlds better than it started!)

But there was still quite a bit of fabric left after we cut the biggest square for a flat we could get.  So I managed to make 9 cloth wipes and 2 washable liners.  I have to say about my cloth wipes, if I were to go back to disposable diapers for some strange reason, I would totally use cloth wipes forever.  They are so much cheaper, so much cleaner, they smell a bazillion times better and they clean up really nasty messes with only 1 or 2 wipes instead of half a box.  The best bonus is when my poor boy has a rash, (rarely since we switched to cloth, but they still happen from time to time) he doesn't scream like I'm ripping his skin off when I wipe him.  Another bonus, when little man potty-trains, I can use them around the house.  To purchase cloth wipes costs about 5.00/half dozen, so this was a significant salvage for me.  A flat is about 1.25, but this is much larger than usual flat, so I made out pretty good from this old sheet, I'd say!



The end result.  Success! 

So look out, house!  I'm going to be on the hunt for things I can upcycle.  Maybe next week we'll only take out 2 trash cans each trash day.

P.S.  Total major kudos to my husband for not scoffing at my insanity, right??  He really is the greatest!







How am *I* preparing for the Flats and Handwashing Challenge?

To see other peoples' plans of attack, visit here.

As for me...

There has been a lot of chatter in the weeks leading up to the official Flats and Handwashing Challenge (Official Rules and Information) about what to buy, how to wash, where to dry, how to fold, and so on. I tried to prepare all of you by filming tutorial videos, but the practice and the decision of what to buy or make was all you. That is why this blogger Linky is about just that. -quoted from the DDL blog.

My plan is as follows-

Supplies:

My flats stash "officially" will begin when my package from ItsyBitsyBums gets here.  I ordered 12 unbleached Osocozy flats and a couple of sets of pins.  I already have 4 snappis and I've been stalking the house for anything else I can try out as a flat.  Thus far I've found 7 old recieving blankets, a towel that is the perfect size and shape from the kitchen and I'm cutting one out of an old crib sheet that I *almost* threw out yesterday.  Instead I'm going to "upcycle" it into a flat for the challenge.  As for covers, I have

• 2 Gen Y minky covers
• 2 Woollybottoms wool soakers
• 1 Pitterpat pair of custom wool shorties

ETA: I just went to visit a friend who uses cloth (or did till her little man potty-trained last month!) and my stash now consists of 12 more flats and 5 more snappis.  I think I'm more than ready!

Washing:

I'm praying that my package comes tomorrow so that I can prep my flats.  I will probably prep the stuff I found around the house, as well, just because I don't know if they have ever had fabric softener used on them. 

As far as washing during the challenge, I intend to wash in the evenings and let them dry overnight.  I *plan* to make a camp-style wash bucket as per the video I posted 2 days ago, but if that doesn't happen, I'll use the kitchen sink.

To dry I'll hang on our outdoor line.  In the event of inclement weather, I'll use my indoor clothes hanger.

Attack:

I plan to document everything very well so I will know what works best and can figure out how to make this even easier for people I suggest this method to.

Mentally:

I find myself feeling very desperate to help people who may not be able to afford to diaper their children.  I am very much doing this challenge for the experience to be able to help others in a crazy predicament.  As DDL said, I do feel spoiled and I know I will be able to go back to all my pretties after the week is done, but I hope to continue to use flats on a daily basis (albeit not full-time) and I am quite excited to learn to wash by hand.  My mom did this when I was younger for a time and I always admired her for it.  Now I will know how to do it, should I ever need to. 

Mostly, this is really pulling together my dream to offer a "Childbirth and Beyond" class to pregnant teenagers.  I would love to be a part of a movement to empower the young moms that so many shun.

After the Challenge:

Our church has a lot of people who are very youth oriented in it.  We're just starting fresh, and talking about possibilities of different ministries, but we've discussed at length reaching out to pregnant teens.  I hope to start a 13 week class for them to teach them about "alternative" methods of childbirth and parenting and to empower them to learn to be intentional parents, instead of shaming them into becoming what everyone seems to expect of young parents.   One or two of the classes would be centered around cloth diapering and how to do it for cheap (focusing on not relying on parents for everything)  I would also like to be able to offer free or reduced cloth diapering supplies to those who are interested in trying it out for their baby.

I also hope to have lost my icky feeling for flats and to include them in my daily rotation of cloth for my son.

More Details

Sybil asked me what the hand-washing part of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge is for.

We're handwashing the dipes because if a person can't afford to change their child frequently, they probably don't have access to a washer and dryer.  The way it was put in the original challenge wording was, "Would you carry a huge bag of dirty diapers to the laundromat?  Probably not."  So we are to be taking on everything that would be expected of the person we might later train in this.

I ran around the house today and found 7 recieving blankets from when the kids were little.  I will put those into the rotation with the flats and I'll be using my cloth wipes, as well.  Afterall, those bad boys are almost 3.00/container and last about a week.  Bring that down to a couple of days if you have a child who likes to rip them out of the box and throw them about like mine.  The point is, it can be expensive for someone not knowing where their next meal is coming from.

I praised God yesterday for never having to count the hours of diaper usage we had.  I want to let you all know that we had it pretty rough when we lived in WA.  I sold GraceAnne's clothes just to be able to afford new ones.  Everything she had that wasn't given to her by someone else (and even most of that) was used.  If I hadn't nursed her, I don't think we could have fed her.  Since Allan was recieving a pension (albeit a tiny one that only paid our rent) we somehow didn't qualify for WIC, although we qualified for food stamps, medicaid and even financial assistance.  Allan's mom is about the only reason we even survived for nearly a year.  I remember counting change to pay for diapers, but I never left her in one for an extended period.

Despite that, I know there are people out there who have things way worse than what we could ever have imagined.  I also know that some people don't even realize the harm they are doing to their children, so my hope is that we can empower some mommies with the knowledge and experience we gain next week. 

Oh, and just because EVERYONE should know how to make a camp-style bucket washer...check THIS out!

I promise, I'll get back to blogging about fun things soon.  God has been so good to us, and there are some neat things going on here.  Love to you all!

Flats and Handwashing Challenge

Oh man, I am all over the board with my posts lately!!  I said I wasn't taking anything new on, but this is small and interesting and great for awareness.
To read the article that sparked my interest, click here.  The challenge is from May 23-May 30 and is to cloth diaper with only flats and to handwash them.

Here is WHY I'm doing this:

Most of you know that we have been using cloth diapers since we found out we were pregnant with our 4th last summer.  With the prospect of having 3 in diapers, I was at the end of my rope with spending the money and filling the local dump.  Despite our switch and our new zeal for cloth diapering, we are not a die-hard nazi cloth family.  I have, (twice, actually!) gone back to disposables for the duration of one package to give myself a laundry break.  (For those who are new followers, we lost that baby and my daughter potty-trained a month after we started cloth...so only one in dipes now!)

Now, there are lots of people who say cloth saves money.  And I guess I never thought about it too hard.  I mean, it makes sense in the logical way, but I started with a very large stash of cute pocket diapers and have since found other things I love.  All in all, I've probably purchased and traded about $1,000 in diapers/wool.  Given we've been doing this 10 months, it's not a real significant amount of savings.  Actually, for me, it was none at all, because I used coupons to get sposies for next to free.

Despite my hippie tendencies, I can be a snob.  When we decided this was for us I scoured the internet and did DAYS worth of research, no joke.  We don't have a lot of income to throw away, so I made sure I searched out the best deals-but I had a limit to how cheap I was willing to be.  The very cheapest of the cheap way to cloth diaper a baby is to use flats (a large, square piece of fabric-typically birdseye cloth or hemp.  This is the dipe your grandma put on your momma) and a cover.  No way on earth was I going that far, and to this day I do not own one flat.  I only have one prefold (which is what your momma diapered you with.)

But then one of my very favorite diaper retailers announced a sale on flats in honor of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge and I was bored, so I clicked through to read.  I nearly broke down into tears when I read this:

Everyone around the country is feeling the pinch of the economy. The prices of food, gas, and even cotton are rising. These necessary items mean that “luxury” goods aren’t as affordable. Even worse, families can’t buy items considered necessities. But what do you do when you have a baby (or babies) in diapers and you can only afford to feed them or diaper them? Do you let them sit in a disposable “just an hour” longer? Or two? or five?! What if you run out of diapers? Would you ever scrape them out and reuse them, or attempt to dry them with a blow dryer?

PEOPLE DO THIS!?  I've been in some pretty tight spots in my life, but I promise you I've never had to consider leaving my child in a dirty diaper for hours on end because I didn't know where the next package was coming from.  Praise God for that!!  But it opened my eyes to the fact that some people have to consider how long between changes.  Some people won't change their baby's dirty diaper right away because they've only got 3 left to last until payday.  Thinking about it, I don't know anywhere that a person can get a pack of diapers to get by...formula, clothes, food, yes.  But diapers? 

And so...I am going to take this challenge.  I ordered some flats and pins and will be watching videos on how to fold them and our little man will be diapered for a grand total of 13.00 for one week.  (The flats were about 1.00 each, a cover could be had for about 6.00 used, the pins were 1.25 a pair for the kind with locking heads and the price of the detergent/water for hand-washing will be negligible)  If a person were to continue with that, the price would be driven down further and further because you don't have to re-purchase the items.  They just get used over and over again.  I've seen estimates that a person could diaper their child for 60.00 from birth to potty-learning with this method.  Talk about saving money!

I realize posting this on my blog won't really do a whole lot of good.  Most of my readers' children are already past diapers.  BUT!!  My main point in taking this challenge is to KNOW what it takes, so that if I ever have the opportunity to meet and talk to a momma who has to consider how many diapers she has left until pay day, I can honestly suggest this option as a way of bettering her child's life.  Right now I have zero experience and I can say it all day long, but it means squat, so after the 30th of May, I will have the real-life experience to share with other moms.  Who knows, maybe I'll like it so much I'll keep it up (all but the handwashing...I'm pretty sure I won't give up my washing machine!)

I'm sure talking dirty diapers is so exciting to you, so I'm going to try to update how this goes from time to time during that week.  I am nervous, but mostly excited.  Come cheer me on! :)

My hubby's stronger than I know.

It's not news to anyone who knows us that my husband lost his leg in Iraq.  If you see him walking down the street and happen to glance down (cuz you won't notice if you just see him walking...he's perfected his gait) you can see his prosthesis.  He's obsessed with fixing it on his own and makes adjustments everytime he thinks he can hear a tiny squeak, so there is no silicone cover over the top to make it look like a "real" leg.  He looks bionic.  And by anyone's account, he is.  Not many people in his current life knew Allan before he had his accident-not even me.  He will tell anyone who asks and will listen that he has been blessed beyond words because of his injury.  He impacts people he meets in a matter of minutes.

In fact, at my chicken class last Saturday, the woman there had met us at one other event a year ago.  Allan wasn't with me, but when it was my turn to introduce myself she said, "Oh!  And tell everyone what your husband does!"  I blushed and threw out a quick "prosthetist" and recieved the usual "HUH?" and explained that he makes fake limbs.  The hostess smiled proudly, as if he were her own son and said, "He lost his leg in Iraq and he is the most amazing man!  He has the greatest attitude!  He said that if he hadn't lost his leg he wouldn't know what he was supposed to do with his life."  It's so neat to see glimpses of what impresses people about someone I love.

And it's that way with everyone.  People constantly remark on how well he walks, on his endurance, on his stamina.  In a typical day around the house, he's on his feet for at least 75% of it, doing manual labor like working on cars, building a tear-drop camper, mowing the lawn, etc.  After they get to know him, though, they stop thinking of him as an amputee because there is nothing in him that says "disabled."  He never has, for a minute, allowed that title to stick to him--he was actually PROUD that the doctor in WA state wouldn't sign for him to get a disabled parking placard because he "does too well." 

And I'm the same.  I forget, too often, that stuff can't be on the floor because he can't feel under his prosthetic foot.  Stepping on something ends in it breaking or him falling.  I remember throwing many fits because he would freak out anytime we went to a mall.  This was not something that took place frequently, but it happened often enough to bother me.  He would get grumpy before we even got there and I'd be mad at him by the 2nd store.  One day he told me "it hurts me to walk so much and I don't like being around all the people."

HOLD.THE.PHONE.  My husband?  My man who wears SHORTS nearly all year in public and shows all his metal parts off to the world to see? 

But it's true.  And it hurts sometimes, to realize there is a soft man under all that rugged "I-can-do-anything-I-used-to" exterior.  Not because I don't like that he feels, just because it hurts to know how insensitive I can be.

He's been going on and on for about a month now about a pool; about how he wants a pool for our back yard.  I just could not wrap my brain around this and I was blowing him off.  Afterall, anytime I asked him to go to the pool with us in WA when we lived in 2 different apartment complexes with really nice pools, he would act completely disinterested.  We'd go to the ocean and he'd give me the excuse that his parts would rust.  Since we've lived in Texas I can't even remember a time he's gone swimming with us and I just chalked it up to him not liking to swim.

After the 300th time of him saying, "I really want to get a pool" and staring longingly at them in WalMart, Target and most recently, Costco, I turned to him and said point-blank, "You don't even like to swim.  WTH do you want a pool for?"  And he looked at me a little quizzically and said, "I love to swim."  I said, "no you don't...you never want to go swimming with us."  And then he said it.  And it hit me like a ton of bricks.  And I'm tearing up now thinking about it.  "I just don't like taking my leg off in front of people."  *heart breaking*

And I guess I should have known that.  It's not that we don't ever talk about his injury or what it's done to his psyche.  I know he used to be so active and feels bad that he can't be as active now.  I know that he hates the thought that if someone broke into our house, he couldn't just jump out of bed and kick some arse.  (Found that one out the hard way, too.  BOY am I stubborn!)  I know that we've become more sedentary than I'd ever like to admit because I don't want him to hurt.

It's been EIGHT YEARS in August since we first met and started dating.  Back then, so much was about recovery...back and forth between San Antonio and Ft Hood.  Hospitals, secondary surgeries, physical therapy.  Then there's been Med Boards, petitioning the VA for disability ratings and Social Security which are never ending.  But somehow in the midst of time, some things have still escaped me...things like how my husband FEELS about himself occasionally.  I guess because I think he's so amazing, and so does everyone else, and because he's so darned ABLE I fail to see that the reality may be different with him sometimes.

Now I want to buy him a damned pool.  But he won't let me.  Because he's stoic and strong and a good man.  Because he knows it would kill our water and electric bills.  Because he knows it is a terrible time to make a $700 purchase.  Because he's stronger than I know.

Happy Birthday Violet!

I'm a day late and a dollar short...what is new? With 3 kids and homeschooling I grab the time where I can find it.

I do want to update on fundraising, though! You can see I've changed the ticker from 3,000 as our goal to 4500 because I had some amazing friends donate and Jeff had a family member who Blessed us with more than enough to send Allan AND Jeff. Now they've added a 3rd missionary who had wanted to go, but was unable to afford it. We're not far from our new goal at all and I have no doubt God will provide the rest of the money by the end of this week! PRAISE HIM!!

Now back to our regularly scheduled birthday wishes! Our sweet girl turned THREE yesterday! It's amazing the difference between 2 & 3. She fully understands what a birthday is now...presents, cake, parties. She told me every day last week, "On my berf-day, I want to eat PINK CAKE!" And she did!

Here is one of Violet's first photo-ops. I remember when she was born and I thought she was such a "big" baby at 8lbs 0oz. Of course, now I *know* what a big baby is, but she was bigger than her sister. I also remember her being SO quiet. The midwives had to really try to get her to cry. She has been very calm from the start.

But she is so full of joy and personality! I remember in her first year being told by people that she didn't have much personality. She was too quiet and too calm. But I told them all, she has more personality than anyone I know. And boy does she ever! She is the most joyful child I have ever met and can make fun from anything. She is also sneaky and inventive. She is her daddy MADE OVER!

Here she is last year, at the dawn of understanding. She loved being surrounded by friends and family, getting presents and eating cake, but didn't much like being the center of attention. Again, her daddy made over.

And here is my big girl on her birthday! I had that outfit custom made for her out of fabrics she picked out herself. She's got such a defined personality-she is ALL Violet. Violet does not and never has done anything Violet does not want to do. She's an easy-going child, gifted with joy, love and peace, but she can cloud up in a minute over what she percieves as injustice. She would do anything for anyone, but is shy in groups and cautious about new situations. She is, as I said before, sneaky and inventive-she can get into anything without your knowing, even if you're 2 feet away. She is unabashedly "Daddy's Girl" and is just as comfortable in the mud with her muck boots as she is having a tea party in a princess dress.
I have to close this now and attend to the little ones. Miss Violet requested "the scary movie" (i.e. Twister) but is now wanting some moral support while she watches. Happy belated Birthday to my sweet youngest daughter! I fall in love with you more every day!

More than just a trip

I want to get a little more in-depth with my explanation of just *why* Allan is going on this mission trip to Haiti. After the earthquake, I felt a particular pull for the Haitian people. I would like to say I'm a fairly compassionate person for those who've been struck by disaster, but this was different. I felt an intense need and longing and a pressure on my heart to DO something for these people. GraceAnne started a change drive at the school she attended at the time, and they raised over $900. I was so proud of her, of course! After that, I thought of them and prayed for them frequently, but was at a loss of what else to do. I wondered if God would call us to Haiti in some form of ministry-but honestly, it scares the bejeeses out of me for a number of reasons.

In January of this year, Jeff-a member of our small group, a great friend and now our pastor-told us that his best friend was involved with a group who went on mission trips to Haiti. He expressed his desire to go in March. We encouraged him, but didn't think much else of it until a couple weeks later.

At that time, Allan had been out of work for 2 months. He wasn't exactly sure why he'd been called away from the VA, but we both *knew* he had been and finally heeded that call. Through a lot of prayer and WAITING, God pressed on Allan's heart that our disabled veterans have organizations that help them go on physical expeditions, help them rehabilitate to civilian life and give them all kinds of funds/opportunities to help them move forward after their losses, but many of them still feel...well, LOST. Allan and I know first-hand that Christ is the only thing that has catapulted us from "making it" to thriving. We have heard so many stories of men with the same injuries (physical and mental) as Allan, but they were falling through the cracks, going so far as to beat or even kill their families and even more frequently, themselves. These men just can't seem to move past the "making it" phase into a better life.

So Allan realized that these men need the love of JESUS and they need to see that there are people out there who are less-fortunate than they to remember that life is worth living, even if it's different now. They need to know that *because* of the differences, life can be more beautiful. So was born the idea of taking disabled veterans on missions trips to foreign countries. It only took us a few minutes to connect the two ideas--Jeff's idea of GOING on a trip and Allan's idea of TAKING people on trips. Of course, Allan should have an idea of what a mission trip will involve for a disabled person.

So more than just a good deed, a mission trip, a fulfilling of the Great Commission, this trip is also a fact-finding mission. It will be part of our foundation for building an organization that can truly help disabled veterans move past "making it" into thriving. Allan will be keeping a detailed log of what kinds of set-backs he faces. How long can a man with one leg work without a break? What kind of mental stresses will this kind of environment place on a man who suffers PTSD? What kinds of emotions are unleashed after "re-entry" that will need to be addressed and dealt with? How can we be sure to connect every dot back to Christ for someone whose understanding might be weak at best? I'm sure many other questions will be posed and answered that we haven't even thought about yet.

This is SO EXCITING!!! I pray the excitement is contagious. The trip has been post-poned once, but I know that was God's will. He knew Jeff wouldn't be able to go in March and He made it so Allan couldn't go without Jeff. As I've said before, the trip is now scheduled for June 24-July 2 and both men are on track. Allan's deposit is paid and we have about $400 toward Jeff's deposit. We have a great friend and another fellow small group member working on finding more donations, but we only have 6 more days! Please, if you feel God tugging on your heart to help, know that every dollar will be going toward these missions and also, if you wish, we can get you a tax deduction for your donation. If you cannot help financially, please PRAY-first and foremost-because God DOES answer prayers. We are living testimonies to that! And please also pass this blog post along to other people. God uses all kinds of people and He is the God of the little things so that no man can boast. He will make sure that a $5 donation here and a $10 donation there adds up to a great sum so that the Blessings may be spread to many.

God Bless you all. We love and miss you!!

Phase 1 down: how many phases to go?

Praise God this weekend was successful and is over! It was incredibly full! Our first real outreach since we changed pastors at our church was this weekend and I'd say it was an overwhelming success! We had lots of kids at our egg hunt and they all had a blast!

If I can manage to get blogger to take pix off my phone, I'll post them here soon. Otherwise I'm going to have to do some fancy finger-work to get them onto the computer and then on here. The long and the short of it, though, is that our ticker has changed! Thanks to a VERY generous donation by Allan's sister, (THANK YOU, TRISH!!) and selling some bows we are *that* much closer to our goal.

Now's where it comes down to the line, though. Allan's deposit is taken care of, but Pastor Jeff still needs his. We have $200 toward it, but it's $700, so $500 more by April 30th. After that, the remainder of the funds are due by June 1, so we'll have a month to work on them. I'm hoping to pull off a pancake breakfast, maybe a bake sale and the guys will be sending out donation request letters to family and friends soon.

If you would, you can help by posting these fundraising posts on Facebook or sharing on your blogs. You can also donate using the donate button at the top of the page. Paypal is fast and easy and you can use ACH funds, debit or credit cards. We have been so Blessed by the people passing this on and we thank each of you very sincerely!

Our Other Efforts

In other fundraising efforts...this Sunday marks our first booth. Our church is having a community-wide Easter egg hunt. We'll have up for donation only some amazing bows that 3 fabulous mommas helped me make and some "paint your own" flower pots for Easter baskets. Here is GraceAnne modeling some of our bows. The booth will be by donation only, so this is all God. We're praying He lays it on people's hearts to give generously, but if someone can't afford to put any money in the bucket, we will not tell them they can't have a bow or a pot. I can't wait to see how this turns out! And there is an "example" pot that I painted real fast. It contains a baggie of potting soil, a packet of seeds and paints/paintbrush. They'll be the perfect gift for grandma on Easter or to put in the kids' Easter baskets. I picked seeds of flowers that won't get massive, so they won't outgrow their containers. I'm so excited to see what God does with all this. I know He WILL provide for Pastor Jeff and Allan to go to Haiti. Furthermore, I know He WILL provide for Allan to start up his non-profit. More about that in another fundraising post :) Thank you EVERYONE who has reposted my links. I'm very grateful for friends who will help spread the word of our efforts and grateful to God who will provide the people who are interested in helping get these children the message of Christ's love!

Kicking it off!

This is it, the time has come! Allan and Jeff will be going to Haiti with a group called Christians United for Haiti in June. It's run by a man named Calherbe who was actually born and raised in Haiti. He now lives in Virginia and takes groups down for relief missions. The trip was spawned by a conversation with our home group. Our pastor, Jeff, knows a man who is closely associated with this group and was considering going in March. Jeff prayed and felt led to go with and brought it up to the group, not knowing that Allan was feeling called to something himself. We raised Allan's deposit from some close family members and he was set to go at the end of March, but the trip got post-poned due to an illness in the organizer's family. The trip is now scheduled for June 24-July 2.

We need more help, though! Allan still needs a minimum of $900 more and Jeff needs the full $1500. We know God will provide through our friends and loved ones and possibly even through people we don't know!

So how will your donation help? Haiti's infrastructure is non-existant. There is no government to administer aid as we would see here, (and yet still fails when disaster strikes many times!) and the native people were very poor to begin with. Many children were left parentless after the quake and many parents can't afford to care for their children since the quake. People are still living in tents on the streets and clean drinking water is scarse. Because resources are so limited, there is not even wood to burn to cook a meal or boil water to sanitize it. Allan and Jeff and the rest of the crew will help in a Haitian orphanage, bringing food, clothes and supplies to the children and workers who live/learn there. Find pictures HERE of the last trip CUH organized to the orphanage in Haiti.

Allan and Jeff will bring the love of Jesus Christ to these children by meeting their basic needs and doing repairs to the buildings they are housed and schooled in. They will also take a team on the streets at night to bring hope to those living in the tents. What we need even more than money is prayer. Please soak this trip in your prayers, that God will Bless the travel, the orphans and these men who are going. Please pray for safety and for God's hand to be evident to all. Thank you so much for all you do for us!

PS-we will be having other fundraising events throughout the next couple of months, so I will be updating the ticker above as donations come in from my website and from those events. Any additional funds raised will mean more kids will be given food, clothing, shelter, medical supplies and clean water.

Birthday wishes from God

It never ceases to amaze me how much God cares for me. I kinda expect (sorry...that's really selfish) my friends and family to care about my birthday and send me well-wishes, but God of the universe? Well...I mean, He is eternal, what is a birthday to Him? Evidently something special. Because I swear to you He sent me birthday wishes today and I can't help but share.

First...my day has been absolutely amazing. My hubby and babies have come shining through and truly have Blessed me today. But then started God's gift. The mail came early-a miracle in itself-and I got an envelope with a book inside from my mother-in-law. Then she called as I was reading the back cover thinking to myself, "I dunno about this..." The book is called Heaven is for Real and you can find it here. She said that she thought it was a great read and that there was a GOOD note inside for me. I thought it was something she wrote. No way could she have orchestrated it.

I don't want to give the book away, but you can venture a guess by the title, it's about a 4-year-old boy who nearly died and then later told his loved ones about his experience in heaven with God and Christ...and with his unborn little sister. (By the way...she was lost before he was born and his parents had never told him about her) He talks about her and how, even though she had died in her mother's womb at only 2 months gestation, she was very much a little girl who loved her family and was waiting for them to come home. It goes into such great comforting detail that I can't possibly outline it here, but I cried several times. I also read the book in 2 hours and as I type my husband is in the livingroom devouring it. Any hesitation I had is absolutely washed away. READ IT!!!

It addressed the mother's healing over this revelation and the healing of others who had miscarried and learned the little boy's story. But if that wasn't enough...and it was...I then checked my email and this was in my inbox: Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and it was restored, as sound as the other.--Matthew 12:13

I hope that speaks, because I don't have any other words for it. PRAISE HIM WHO BRINGS COMFORT AND RESTORATION!!!

Dogs, Toddlers & Noodles

We've had the most amazing spring days lately! Today is windy with some humidity and the gray cloudiness that precludes rain. Allan has been a mad-man in the yard and I'm once again amazed at what can be accomplished when work doesn't eat up so much of one's time. Who knows how long it will last, but for now the yard and gardens look great and projects are getting done again. He has been working on a tear-drop camper, built me my potato box, has raked and mowed the whole yard, (a pretty big task with all these trees) finished the ladder for the treehouse, weeded my iris beds, (oh wow, did they need it!) done a boatload of laundry and dishes, installed the speakers in his truck. I'm going to stop there because he already outshines me, but suffice it to say the man is amazing. Sometimes his energy irritates me (because I'd rather just sit and chill half the day) but I am grateful to have such a talented and hard-working man.

And onto the title of this post...first of all...TODDLER!? How unfair is that??? He is supposed to be my BABY! He's in 24 mo clothes and I wouldn't doubt if we were in 3t before summer...but I digress.
So I've been in the laughing mood. Which is good, given the season. One of the main reasons we got a dog was to clean up after our children. Yes, I'm serious. He comes in very rarely except to sweep the floor and get a few chases around the downstairs by Corbin. Truthfully, I dislike the dog, (truthfully...I hate ALL dogs) but he is Corbin's best bud in the world, and for that reason, he must stay. So why not have fun with him, since he's gonna be hanging around? Today I let Johnny in, gave Corbin noodles and laughed for a solid 15 minutes.
I swear he was trying to slurp them up!!

They were a mess, and yes, I staged them! LOL

Corbin does this anytime Johnny is in the house and he's in his chair. It doesn't matter how delicious his meal is or how little he's willing to give up to his sisters or me, he will share it all with the dog just to get a laugh out of it. Just my luck, he's the most awful clean-up dog EVER. He leaves half the food on the ground and just spreads stuff everywhere. But he sure loves noodles! Of all the things, right??



We had a super-moon last weekend. It was amazing, so I decided to give my night options a go. I certainly need a tripod, but WOW!!

I mentioned being spit onto the shore last post. I only mean that I had alluded to feeling as if I were out at sea for the last several months. Just waiting. The last few weeks I've felt as if I've been tossed to shore, but in that Jonah way...you know, he ran away from God's plan for him, was victim of a massive storm and eaten alive by a giant fish and then, 3 days later, spit out on the shore. I feel raw. Can you imagine what the stomach acid of a fish would do to you? It has been so QUIET. The last year and a half of our lives have been pure torture, and while God was always there and we were always well Blessed, it sometimes felt like the ride would never end. Since December, things have been pretty calm and it feels off. It seems like something should be going on, so I kept trying to add more to my plate...online classes, Art of Marriage, etc. etc. None of my plans have gone so well, (doors keep getting shut) and I finally got my fill of it Sunday. I threw a little fit and contemplated some. I thought about how during the last year and a half I kept begging God to let things slow down for a little while so I could just *be* and catch my breath. Now He's Blessed me with this down-time and I've disregarded it, hoping to fill my days so I don't have to think about dead babies or failed tests or the fact that I could probably use a few improvements of my own. So here I sit...wondering which way Ninevah is. Something big is coming, I've been feeling it for years now, I just don't know what, and I don't intend to move until He tells me which way to go. Kick me next week when I come here and say that I've got some other cockemamey plan. I don't need anymore storms or fish!

They're growing so FAST!

I realize it's a sickness...for weeks on end my blogposts are long and nothing but text. Then I show up randomly and post a bazillion pictures. This is bazillion pictures day. I got nothing else. Things are kinda calm right now cuz I just got slammed into the shore and I'm re-establishing who this new person/family are. So in the meantime, here are lots of pix of my doll-babies (well, 3 out of 4! The 4th will be here Apr 1-10. YAAAAAAAY!!!!) They are all getting big WAY TOO FAST! GraceAnne is taller than an Emperor Penguin!
They're big enough to ride elephants!

Look, over half Daddy's size!

Drinking his own milk.

All that growing really wears them out sometimes!

Gah!! There's not a HINT of baby left in her face...she's a full-blown child!

a darling young lady, at that! But not missing any teeth yet, which has started to worry me...I didn't lose any teeth on my own till I was in 3rd grade, but had to have 2 removed in 1st because the big teeth were growing in behind and the little ones weren't the slightest bit wiggly. I need to make her an appt, soon!

He tried *so* hard to put on his own shoe. It was ADORABLE!

Look at the scrunched up nose...she was sniffing dad's St Patrick's Day muffins as well as she could. I could hear her two rooms away. HA!

OH MY! A MUD PUPPY!

MUD PUPPY #2!

Thick as thieves, I tell ya, and into more stuff than you would even know what to do with. I am one tired momma! They are such buds that when I was taking these pictures and grumbling about having to clean them up for the THIRD time today, GraceAnne got dust all over her hands and came over so she could be a part of the picture, too. At that point I was just irritated she got filthy when I was mad that the other 2 were filthy, so I didn't take the picture. Now I wish I had. Poor girl. I am not promised another baby scrubbing, so I had better enjoy them when they come. Lord help me remember that IN the moment and not several hours later when it's too late to laugh and include her and throw them all in a bubbly tub. Amen.

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