Sheer Freesia and A Lesson Learned

This picture really doesn’t do Sheer Freesia justice.  Though it looks nothing like how I had intended it to look (I’ll get to that in a minute), it took on a loveliness all its own.  It has hues of pink, lavender and purple and smells as wonderful as Freesia should smell.  It reminds me of an amethyst crystal.

My intent was to do in-the-mold swirls with purple and pink.  However, I was also working with a new ingredient: Palm Kernel Flakes.  The combination of the Palm Kernel Flakes and the fragrance oil caused the soap to trace very quickly and by the time I got it poured into the mold, it was a big, gloppy mess.  I poured my chunks of pink and purple soap on the top and did my best to swirl it around, but it just wasn’t going to happen.  All I could do was cover it and wait.

So, maybe it wasn’t what I intended, but the colors still look great and you can’t beat the soft, floral smell of Freesia!  And, I learned that I shouldn’t experiment with two things at once: swirling and a new ingredient.

Sheer Freesia is for sale for $4.  A portion of proceeds go toward the Loraine’s adoption fund!

Ginger Blossom Soap

Among the veggies growing in my garden is a lovely, and rather large, Calendula plant. I’ve been harvesting the bright yellow flowers all summer and drying them with the intent of using them in soap. 

And here it is! Ginger Blossom soap with Calendula petals (from my garden) and Calendula Extract Oil.  The Ginger Blossom is a nice, green floral fragrance.  Calendula has long been used to heal skin irritations and is great for reducing skin inflammation and healing eczema.  I’m not claiming my soap will do all of that, I’m just letting you know what Calendula is often used for.  This soap also has Avocado Oil in it; a super-moisturizing treat for the skin.  It should be ready for sale mid-August.

Why I Don’t Water My Lawn

For the past week, stepping outside of my house has been like walking into a brick wall.  The heat is that thick and heavy.  No where is this more evident than in the browning of my lawn.  My neighbor’s sprinklers have been running morning and night for days in an attempt to keep her lawn looking green, while I can practically hear my blades of grass sizzling.

Why don’t I water my lawn?  Because I just can’t justify spending one of the world’s most valuable resources on my lawn.  Did you know that 884 million people lack access to safe water and 1 in 8 people die from water related diseases every year?  When people are dying from the lack of something I have such easy access to, I can’t just waste it by pouring it on my grass.  Never mind the additional expense of watering my lawn; money that my family needs or that I can donate to help others have clean, sustainable water. 

Now, I don’t judge other people for watering their lawns and I don’t expect everyone to share my sentiments.  I just want people to understand why my lawn is turning brown and why I’m not doing anything about it.

Click here to learn how you can help others have access to clean water.

Soaping with Purpose

Ah, gorgeous Orange Grove Soap, freshly poured into the mold. 

I love to make soap, but even more than that, I love to help unite forever families.  I’m so glad to now be donating a portion of my soap profits to the Loraine family!  They are adopting another sweet, little girl!  I hope you’ll visit the Loraine’s blog and learn more about this awesome family!  And, of course, I hope you’ll buy lots of soap or donate directly to their adoption fund!

“When I Grow Up”

“When I grow up, I want to be a forensic scientist.”  “When I grow up, I want to be in the military.”  “When I grow up, I want to be a garbage man.” “When I grow up, I want to be a fashion designer.”

This was the conversation my children and step-children were having in the car the other day.  While each is a worthy pursuit and I’m proud of each of the kids, I noticed that the girls didn’t say, “I want to be a homemaker when I grow up.”  Which made me think, how many girls dream of becoming a homemaker when they grow up? 

I know I sure didn’t dream of becoming a homemaker.  I can recall a second grade assignment that had us list what we wanted to be at various ages in life.  I had listed: rock star, teacher, nurse, and maid. It’s possible I also listed “Daisy Duke”.  Hey, I hadn’t come a long way yet, baby. By high school, I was still clinging to the whole “rock star” thing but, by then, being a television producer or anchor was a little more practical.  Still, I wasn’t going to be a homemaker!

So, a brief stint as a news anchor and producer and many (many) years later, here I am… a homemaker.  I’ve kept one toe in the advertising/academic world, but I’m about to pull that out and be 100% committed.  Okay, maybe that’s not the best word. But do you know, I’m okay with it!  It has taken me a long time to be okay with being a homemaker…even while I’ve been a homemaker.  Because I’m not just any homemaker, I’ve got a Master’s degree for crying out loud!  I should be using it after all, right?  Right? 

While the kids were having their “when I grow up conversation”, I realized I had been brainwashed by the whole feminist movement that was in full force during my upbringing.  Being a homemaker is WRONG!  I can do BETTER than that!  I DESERVE better than that! 

Ugh.  Do you have any idea how much I’ve struggled to purge myself of those lies?  Really, God deserves all the glory for doing that.  He’s shown me that the greatest, most important job I’ll ever have is raising children who love Him, serve Him and have compassion for others.  And He is training and equipping me to be one of the best people for that job.  Not the Sunday School teacher.  Not public or private school teachers.  Not the doctor. Not the government.  Not anybody else. 

Derailing for a moment here, because, frankly, I get very angry when parents tell me “Oh, I could NEVER stay home or homeschool my kids.  They would drive me NUTS!  I can’t WAIT for them to go back to school!  I just don’t know how you do it!”  First, I do it through God’s strength and a big heapin’ helpin’ of His grace.  Second, and I might sound crazy here, but I actually like being with my kids.   That’s not to say I don’t have my days when I want to throw in the towel and put them all on the school bus.  I should add that I’m not talking about moms whose families depend on her income.  She is still serving her family and God will honor that.  I had to put Caitlyn in daycare for four months when she was barely one year old.  I hated every second of it, but our family needed my extra income and God saw us through it.

Back on track…Now I’m on a mission to make sure my daughter knows that being a homemaker is a GOOD thing.  It’s a blessing to be able to stay home and homeschool my kids and I hope she sees that.  I hope she doesn’t rule it out as a possible thing to be “when she grows up.”  I hope she sees the value in it.  I pray she doesn’t have to wrestle with feelings of inadequacy or unimportance as I did.  And when I start to feel like I can’t serve because I’m home with my children, God reminds me that everyday I’m serving Him.  I have a mission field.  It’s my home.

Summer Catch-Up: Branson, June 8 - 10

Oh my goodness.  Where did June go?  It just flew by and now it’s almost the middle of July!  This summer is going fast, so I figured I’d better get around to blogging about it.  Or at least give a summary.

We went to Branson for the first time!  We stayed at Thousand Hills Resort and had a beautiful condo with a nice view of the golf course.  We went to the Dixie Stampede and spent a couple of days at Silver Dollar City.  Scott’s folks joined us and were so helpful hanging out with Abraham so we could take the big kids on some rides.  We had a great time!  The picture above is of the kids with one of the horses from the Dixie Stampede.  Below are more pictures of our trip.Waiting for our grub at the Dixie Stampede.  The kids loved all the food and  getting to use their fingers to eat.Caitlyn was so excited to discover that the chair in the sunroom opened up into a twin bed.  She loved having the sunroom all to herself (and not having to share a bed with big sis).

We found a place for the kids to hang out. 

Jacob tried the small rollercoaster with Michael.  He was a bit scared, but said he liked it.  Caitlyn went on a bigger rollercoaster with me and hated it.  Maybe someday the kids will ride the coasters with me.

The kids loved the River Blast where they could soak and be soaked.

Abraham found a way to get soaked at Geyser Gulch.

Silly hats for silly kids.

After a long day at the park, the kids found a place to rest.