Katelyn's 1st Snow 1/10/2011

All Bundled Up!

Funny Face!

She was trying so hard to put her hand in her mouth. Her body was going backwards and her arm wouldn't move because of her coat.

DIY Saturday

Project: Homemade Laundry Detergent

3 reasons why I did it:
1) Budget-friendly. I spent $10 on all 3 ingredients. One of the ingredients has enough for 19 batches and another ingredient has enough for 6 batches. One batch makes 5 gallons and in our home should last us 5 months. When you do the math, I spent about $2.78 on a 5 month supply of laundry detergent. This leaves me with a savings of over $45 compared to what we spend on the cheap brands.

2) Healthier. The detergent is said be great for those with sensitive skin. I know a family who HAS to use homemade detergent due to sensitive skin. Also, since there is not a bunch of chemicals, it is environmentally-friendly.

3) Cleans well. According to the reviews I've read, clothes come out clean and smelling great. The detergent is said to remove stains well.

There are many different recipes for homemade detergent, but all pretty much use the same ingredients. Some just have different measurements and some are for making powdered detergent. The recipe I am using is a liquid detergent and I found it and other homemade recipes here.

You will need: 5 gal bucket with lid, 1/2 cup of Borax, 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and 1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap.

Grate the entire bar of Fels-Naptha

Melt grated soap in 4 cups of water on stove.

Pour mixture into bucket with Borax and Arm & Hammer washing soda.

Stir. Fill bucket with hot water (I used the pot I melted the soap in to help fill the bucket with water so that it would get all the soap residue off and into the detergent). Stir again.

Cover bucket with lid and let sit overnight. Stir the mixture, fill empty detergent bottles only half-full. Add water to fill to top. Shake before each use. Use about half a cup of detergent per load (personally, I'd rather put 3/4 to 1 full cup). It is said to work great in HE washers as well.

I haven't used it yet, but will be giving a review soon after I do!

First Week of 2011

First taste of rice cereal!

Hanging out with daddy while he works at home.

(love these two)

1st Sunday of the New Year-ready for church!

Grandma came by and let mommy run some errands. Had fun with Grandma and Aunt Haley!

Hanging out with daddy again!

Sugar Bowl Party with her friend Tara!!!

(couldn't choose just one pic)

Katelyn's 1st trip to the library.

All in all, it was a great start to 2011-minus the cereal (we are going to wait a few more weeks).

How we spent New Year's!

Unfortunately, daddy got sick. : ( So we stayed home taking care of him. Thankfully, it didn't spread to us. We did enjoy being together!

Christmas: Before, During and After

This is just a summary of our Christmas celebration in pictures (mostly pictures of Katelyn)

Katelyn's Christmas Tree



Katelyn in her Christmas dress for church-first time in Harvest Time nursery-December 19!

She turned 3 months December 20th!

Got the idea from my sister, Robin, to take a picture once a month on the same blanket to watch her grow in pictures. She is getting so big!

Took picture for her Pa-Pa on December 23. This picture, the Cowboys santa hat and a bag full of candy was Katelyn's gift to her Pa-Pa!

December 24 Christmas Eve and mommy and daddy's birthday! Took Katelyn to the mall to see Santa. This was her first trip to the mall!

Went to eat birthday lunch at Chili's and then on to Kevin's Grandmother's for birthday cake. This was our birthday celebration with Kevin's family.

Katelyn, her Grandma and the poof (inside joke)! Katelyn says, "Grandma, will you give me some of your hair!"

December 25-Christmas Day!

Katelyn was fast asleep while we opened gifts at Grandma's.

Katelyn's excited about her gift off of the gift table. Her little bib was a gift from my boss, Sue! So cute!

December 26th-Headed to Pa-Pa's for Christmas

Olivia was excited to hold her before her mommy, Robin!

December 27th-Went to the Monkey House with Aunt Jen-Jen, Aunt Robin

Kaylee, Eli, Calvin and Olivia!

Her first taste of a Dum-Dum...she thought it was Yum-Yum!

Back to Pa-Pa's for some fun family time!

Emily, Hunter and Katelyn

December 28th-Katelyn got special privilege to go with "the girls" for the annual girls' night out! No pics : (

She received lots wonderful gifts from all her family. She is so blessed to have so many people love her! What a great 1st Christmas for Katelyn Joy!

Our First Christmas as a Family!

Christmas 2010 was a very special Christmas for our home. It was our first Christmas with our baby girl. She is only 3 months old and unable to open up gifts yet, but it was still real exciting. Just having one more person in our home Christmas morning is enough excitement for us!

This year we've done some things a little different. We made some decisions and we are pretty satisfied with it. This year the gifts under our tree are a little slim. In fact, some of our gifts were used items that were in excellent condition and at a more affordable price for us. Now don't get me wrong, we have been very blessed. However, we placed getting out of debt above splurging and possibly going overboard with Christmas spending. (That was really hard.) Kevin's work blessed him with a wonderful Christmas bonus, an unexpected check and his side jobs have been calling for help. Because of all that we paid some big things off! We were able to still buy gifts for all our family and friends and were able to bless others. I think we did pretty good! Another decision we made was for me to stay home with Katelyn. That is a big enough Christmas gift for me! Katelyn may not understand the sacrifice, but we will make sure she understands just how good God is! I could go on and on about the blessings He has given us just this year alone, but I will save that for another time! I have no shame telling what all God has done for us. In fact, I hope that in telling what God has done and giving Him praise that you would be encouraged and strengthened in your faith.

Our Tree and Gifts

Stockings



One thing that I've made it a point to be a little tradition for us is before any gifts are opened we read about what we are really celebrating. Luke Chapter 2 is the text of our choice. This year was Katelyn's first year and first time of hearing the real Christmas story. We read it from one of her keepsake Bibles! How special that was to read it to her.

Katelyn with her gifts from mommy and daddy!



I am so grateful for the Christmas we had! There were lots of smiles. The Lord blessed us indeed, when He gave us Katelyn Joy! Hope you had a Merry Christmas. Will be blogging about the rest of our Christmas soon.

It's Official

I have a new career! I am officially a stay-at-home mom. I turned in my resignation last week. What a dream come true!!! I am so grateful to have this opportunity and I don't want to take one moment for granted. This choice doesn't come without some sacrifices, but it is going to be worth it all. One of the sacrifices has been leaving some really special people in my life that I had the privilege to work for and with. I will miss seeing them everyday. I was blessed with a great job and because of it got to know some wonderful people. I am a little saddened by the goodbyes, but in return I have gained more time with my family. It seems like this season in life is bringing me back to family. I love that I get to spend more time with my dad. I know firsthand that you can't always be sure that they will always be around. So I am cherishing this season in my life.

Thank you Lord for your blessings on me. May I always be a good steward of what you have given me and live my life well to honor you. Amen!