Long Overdue

Wow! It's been over 2 months since my last post! We have been busy-learning and growing! The weather has been getting nicer and we have been taking on some new projects. I'm gonna update on the past couple of months in a couple of separate blog posts. Hope all is well with everyone!

By My Spirit

Today, I was doing my normal daily duties-laundry and entertaining Katelyn (dancing and singing), when this song arose from my spirit. It was a hymn that I hadn't heard in a long time. I remember singing this a lot growing up and I mostly sang it out of routine. I knew the words by heart. As I look back on that, I realize that although it wasn't pure worship at the time, I was still doing a good thing. Because I had the hymn memorized, on an ordinary day like today, it came back to my remembrance and blessed me.

Oh how I love the new. I am very welcome to new methods as long as the message remains the same. I am in no way against new songs of worship. But I cherish the old hymns. There are some powerful old songs that can minister to one's life in big way. When I took that time to ponder the lyrics to this one particular hymn, I was more than encouraged, I was uplifted and strengthened in my faith. I just wanted to share the lyrics with you. May you be blessed as I was!

By My Spirit (Almeda Herrick 1898-1961)

Is there a mountain in your way?  Do doubts and fears abound? 
Press on, oh, hear the Spirit say, this mountain shall come down. 

Not by might, not by pow'r.  By my Spirit sayeth the Lord of Hosts. 
Not by might, not by pow'r.  By my Spirit sayeth the Lord. 

This mountain shall be removed.  This mountain shall be removed. 
This mountain shall be removed.  By my spirit sayeth the Lord. 

Is there a river in your path, a river deep and wide? 
Step in the waters will roll back, you'll reach the other side. 

Not by might, not by pow'r.  By my Spirit sayeth the Lord of Hosts. 
Not by might, not by pow'r.  By my Spirit sayeth the Lord. 

This mountain shall be removed.  This mountain shall be removed. 
This mountain shall be removed.  By my spirit sayeth the Lord. 

Is there a fiery furnace trial, far more than you can bear? 
Behold the blessed Son of God, is walking with you there.

Not by might, not by pow'r.  By my Spirit sayeth the Lord of Hosts. 
Not by might, not by pow'r.  By my Spirit sayeth the Lord. 

This mountain shall be removed.  This mountain shall be removed. 
This mountain shall be removed.  By my spirit sayeth the Lord. 

Then trust alone the mighty God, He speaks the winds obey. 
Take courage, then, oh fainting heart for you He'll make a way.

And for dessert...

Oreo SNOW Ice Cream! Quick and easy recipe at Dirt Wont Hurt. The Oreo's were my personal touch! I cut this recipe in half because I didn't get a full gallon of snow. I used about 8 cups of snow. My first time to make this and all I can say is YUM!

*Tip: When it starts to snow, place a bowl outside to catch the snow for the ice cream.

Soup and Cornbread

I recently found a recipe that I wanted to try for dinner one night-Hamburger Vegetable Soup. Well, tonight was THE night. I am so glad I waited because today I got the recipe for World's Best Honey Cornbread and it was a perfect match for the soup.

Thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom I have two new recipes that will be making an appearance on our menu again very soon. Can you say...More Please!

*Note: I cut the ingredients in half for the soup because I was just cooking for two and we had a lot leftover. However, my husband likes a lot of meat. So next time I'm going to use the 2 lbs of ground chuck and cut the rest of the ingredients in half. Cornbread makes a lot too!

Happy 4 Months!

Yes, it is here! Katelyn is officially 4 Months Old!!! She is growing so fast and is keeping us amazed watching her grow and learn new things. Just last night she rolled over from belly to back for the 1st time! We were so proud! It had been a few days since I worked with her on it and she just casually rolled over while she was playing in the floor with her daddy.

Kevin got to witness the very first roll! I was so happy for him. She was so natural about it that Kevin didn't even know that was her first time. He said something about her rolling over and I thought she did with his help. He assured me she did it by herself, so I grabbed the camera and waited.

Here is a our video proof: (The second video duplicates the last few seconds of the first video. I will have to learn how to get longer videos in one clip next time.)

Katelyn's 1st Consignment Shopping Trip

Yes, I am starting her young-teaching Katelyn the art of Consignment Shopping. I took her down the road from our house to Fianna Hills Consignment Boutique Tuesday. The ladies were very nice and helpful. One lady, in particular, helped take some of the load I was carrying. It gets a little difficult to shop carrying a baby, diaper bag full of everything I could possibly need and then some, and a blanket. We had a nice experience and I am proud of what we were able to find.

When going to do any kind of bargain shopping, I make myself go into the store with the mindset of "we are only going to buy what we need, not just because it is a good deal." Living in a small house and being organizationally challenged, I am having to learn to not buy in excess, no matter how cheap it is. The less we have, the less we have to keep up with.

I am also learning that babies go thru clothing VERY fast. That was tough to understand. I am use to buying clothing for myself and being able to wear it for a few years. Katelyn outgrows stuff in just a matter of a couple of weeks giving me an even more desire to consignment shop. The clothing is much more affordable than full, retail price and hardly worn.

Our Finds:

Jeans-Baby PLACE
Brown/cream sleeper-Calvin Klein
Purple sleeper-Carter's
Pink sleeper-Old Navy 

Total I spent: $17.64...that's about $3.52 per item. YAY!

I did a little research to find out the full retail price of similar items. The price the items could have been: Jeans-14.50 a piece, Brown/Cream and Purple sleepers-20.00 a piece and the pink sleeper-14.50. That totals $83.50. Now, if they were on sale, as most of the time these items are, the cost possibly could have been around $60, when compared to similar items' sale prices.

Savings: Full retail price-$65.86 Sale price-42.36 (the total I spent includes tax)

I have to show the back of the Purple Sleeper...just too cute! I love ruffle bottoms.

I think Katelyn and I did a pretty good job!

Homemade Laundry Detergent Review

Yesterday, I posted my experience with and the recipe I used for making my own laundry detergent. You can check it out here. Well, I tried it out on two different loads of towels and washcloths. One load I used purely detergent, the second load I added fabric softener. They both came out smelling clean, but not a strong detergent smell. (If you want a strong smell, it was suggested to add fragrance oils to the mixture.) As far as softness, there was no difference. I am VERY pleased with the detergent.

I must warn you, as I was warned, there are no suds. In fact, when you put it in the washer you can't tell you have any detergent in there unless you feel the water. Then you will be able to feel the soap in the water. 

I purchased the soap and all other supplies at Yeagers. Some recipes say to use Ivory, in case you are unable to find it.

Additionally, on the back of the box of Borax there are several recipes for cleaning the rest of your house. The bar of Fels-Naptha has instructions for using it as stain pre-treater, so you might want to get an extra bar of soap for that purpose.

Hope this helps. I am greatly pleased!