Midnight Bliss

It's midnight. My dreams of planting gardens and fields of wildflowers are suddenly interrupted by a wail. I reach over tiredly to put my glasses on, and I count silently in my head. 1. 2. 3. Oh, yep, there it is, the sound of two cries at the same time.
"Oh dear," I think. "They are both awake."
I throw the covers off and roll out of bed. I stumble across the dark hallway into their room. I go to the one who I think I heard cry first and hope the other one will just stop crying and patiently wait their turn.
I carry him into the kitchen and start making bottles. I scoop the formula in the water and silently ask, "Why?"
"Why can't they just sleep all night?"
"I'm so tired."
"urrrrr...grrrr....murrrrr"

The tired little boy grasps my arm and rests his head on my shoulder waiting for me to finish making bottles. His hair is like the waves tossed about in a storm. We make our way back to the bedroom, and I proceed to feed him.
Sigh
I am tired. 
As I feed him, I study his soft features. As he sucks the bottle dry, his eyelids close. I watch his chest moving up and down. I kiss the top of his head and breathe him in.
"This is midnight bliss," I tell myself.
I pull him closer not wanting to forget this moment.
This moment of midnight bliss. This moment that someday I'd try to remember. This moment that won't last forever. This moment to "stop and smell the roses" as people say.
I didn't care anymore about being tired, because suddenly I realized that someday I'd long to have a little baby to hold in the night.
I carried his sleepy frame back to his room, laid him in his crib, watched him for a moment.
I crossed the room to my other precious boy, picked him up, and started all over again.
This is midnight bliss.

*On a side note, I have to give a shout out to the husband, who had to get up at 4:30 to go work a 16 hour shift, yet he still kindly and calmly asked, "What can I do to help?"*

Thanksgiving = Thanksliving

I've had a little extra time on my hands this week, so I've been reading.
I'm almost finished with "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I've been reading it for months now, but as a mom finishing a book is near impossible. Last night as I was reading I was so touched. The words jumped right off the page and into my heart. My perspective was changed. I started to see things a different way. It was like a light flickered on and all of the sudden thanksgiving had a whole new meaning.

Ann writes:
"Eucharisteo means "to give thanks," and give is a verb, something that we do. God calls me to do thanks. To give the thanks away. That thanks-giving might literally become thanks-living. That our lives become the very blessings we have received.
I am blessed. I can bless. Imagine! I could let Him make me the gift!
I could be the joy!"

"Scratching a stubborn pot furiously with a wire scrubby, I remember it again, what I once read of liturgy. That liturgy had its roots in the Greek word leitourgia, meaning "public work" or "public servant." The meaning! This life of washing dishes, of domestic routine, it can be something wholly different. This life of rote work, it is itself public work, a public serving- the mundane work can become the living liturgy of the Last Supper. I could become the blessing, live the liturgy! I rinse pots and sing it softly, "This is my song of thanks to You..."

"When the laundry is for the dozen arms of children or the dozen legs, it's true, I think I'm due some appreciation. So comes a storm of trouble and lightening strikes joy. But when Christ is at the center, when dishes, laundry, work is my song of praise to Him, joy rains. Passionately serving Christ alone makes us the loving servant to all. When the eyes of the heart focus on God, and the hands on always washing the feet of Jesus alone- the bones, they sing joy, and the work returns to it's purest state: eucharisteo. The work becomes worship, a liturgy of thankfulness."

"'The work we do is only our love for Jesus in action,' writes Mother Teresa. 'If we pray the work...if we do it to Jesus, if we do it for Jesus, if we do it with Jesus... that's what makes us content.'
That is what makes us content- the contented, deep joy is always in the touching of Christ- in whatever skin He comes to us in."

"It's the astonishing truth that while I serve Christ, it is He who serves me. Jesus Christ still lives with a towel around His waist, bent in service to His people...in service to me, as I serve, that I need never serve in my own strength."

I often find myself looking at that long list of things piling up each day. Things I would rather ignore. Things I honestly wish I didn't have to do. Things that often times I let stress me out.
It all comes back to thanksgiving.
Thank you, Jesus, that I am able, able to do things- to work, to take care of children, to wash dishes, to scrub the floors, to fold the laundry.
All these mundane tasks that I am faced with each day don't have to be mundane. Instead, how exciting to think about how the Lord is using me to bless my family? He is using my hands to work- to bless.
I am a gift. What an amazing perspective on life. How could I not be filled with joy knowing that each day when I feel weary from all the work, I spent the day blessing- blessing those I love the most?
I want my work to be worship. I want my heart to be filled with joy. I want to be thankful.

What an wonderful picture to imagine- Jesus serving me, while I serve others. He has blessed me to be a blessing. He has served me and called me to serve. I not only want to bless and serve my family, but it  is my true heart's desire to bless and serve others- everyone I come in contact with.
Lord, continue to teach me to be a blessing. Show me how to truly serve.

If you haven't read this book, you should. It will change your life. Seriously. This has been one of my favorite books that I've ever read. It has completely changed my perspective. When times get tough, when I feel weary, when I just want the day to be over, I'm learning to start thanking Jesus. It's amazing how quickly thanksgiving can change your attitude. It's amazing how quickly thanksgiving cultivates joy.

Farm Life is the Life for Me

I never imagined I'd have a little miniature farm with miniature animals. I never imagined I'd drive a tractor or plant a garden. I never imagined I'd someday be painting a chicken coop and taking care of baby goats. 

This is the life that I have come to know and love.

Our trusty old tractor

(Brian attached a fishing boat seat to the side so I could comfortably sit on the tractor with him.)

On this particular day we were taking down fence and pulling out t-posts 

 Hard work is good work. Working outside makes me feel good, even if I'm sore the next day :)

We also thought it would be a good idea to remove a tree stump...

(if you look closely you can see that the front tractor tires are actually off the ground)

...But it was a stubborn stump, so instead of removing it, I now have big tractor tire marks in my front yard.

The husband and his tractor. So glad he loves to farm.

I said I would NEVER EVER wear coveralls. Well, that didn't last long. :)

DIY Pillow Covers

We got new living room furniture and it was just calling out to me to make some cute pillows. I was originally going to make pillows with a zipper and all (I HATE putting in zippers), but then I found this wonderful tutorial on making pillow cover WITHOUT a zipper. I plan on making lots more pillows for my house using this method. So, if you need to sew up some pillows go HERE. It's super easy to follow and it doesn't take a whole lot of time. You definitely don't have to be an expert seamstress. 

My pretty fabric! I got really nice home decor fabric at JoAnn's on sale 50% off! Bargains always make me happy!

Cutting into my fabric. 

Love how they make my couch pop!

Close-up

The Chicken Glamper

That's right, it's a glammed up chicken camper. We plan on getting chicks soon and so we got a little camper for their coop.

I thought it needed some pizzazz. It was just a little too boring. So I took it upon myself to spiff it up for the chicks. Here are all the before pictures.

I'm all ready and excited to overhaul this baby. That's totally before I realized how much work it would be.

Time for a make-over!

And now for the BIG REVEAL!!!

I only spent $17 on the paint/supplies to redo this camper. Most of the paint came from left over paint we had in the garage from previous projects. 

This side took me forever. NEVER EVER paint little tiny flowers all over a large surface even if it seems like a great idea. After about halfway through I started really wishing I had stuck to very large flowers. I don't think I'll be painting flowers on anything for a long time. 

My chickens will love you if you bring them chicken feed. You might even get a few eggs out of the deal...just sayin' :)

I got smart on this side. Teeny-tiny flowers are overrated.

This chicken glamper is far from perfect and there are many little imperfections, but I'm super happy with how it turned out. It was a LOT of work, but I had a lot of fun doing it. Thank goodness we had a stretch of gorgeous days so I could get this finished. It's so fun looking out my kitchen window and seeing the chicken coop off in the distance. I think the chicks are going to love their new home too! And who knows, maybe they will lay extra eggs? A girl can dream, right?

Better Life

Now that the boys are getting "older" (crawling age) I have to start thinking about the wonderful word: Baby-proofing. As I got to thinking about it, I decided I really wanted to find some cleaning products that would not kill my children if they somehow got ahold of them. In general, I would like some cleaning products that are better for all of us overall. And guess what? I found some.

I was watching the show Shark Tank. It was a re-run and it just so happened to be one promoting Better Life, a cleaner, greener, healthier cleaning product. I was so excited that I went ahead and ordered four different cleaning products. And, I love them.

These are the four products I ordered. 

Let's break it down:

The what-EVER cleaner: It literally cleans everything. I use this on my toilet, on the counters, in the microwave, on the table, on furniture, on toys, and on pretty much any surface that needs cleaned. It smells great too! The cleaners are scented with essential oils (there are also non-scented products if you don't like smelly stuff, but it's really not an overpowering scent). When I was watching Shark Tank the chemist that created these products actually sprayed it in his mouth to prove how non-toxic it is. They also compared cleaning raw chicken off countertops with the what-Ever cleaner versus and national leading brand. The what-EVER cleaner got the surface way cleaner, while the national leading brand didn't even fully eliminate the raw chicken off the surface (that's when I was convinced I needed new cleaning products). 

Simply Floored: I was absolutely floored (hehe) with the results from using this product on my floors. I used it on wood, tile, and laminate, and it worked wonders on all three floor types. I just squirted it on the floor and went over it with a steam mop. It made my floors look so nice and polished. On my wood floor I've had a few places that I have tried and tried to scrub clean and could not get the whatever sticky stuff that got on there off. When I used this cleaner it came right off! 

Even the Kitchen Sink: This is a powerful cleansing scrubber. You can used it on tons of different things. So far I have used it to clean the tub and my tile floor. I was so impressed with the magic it did on my tile floor. I have had scuff marks that I have scrubbed and scrubbed and have had zero success in removing. I put this stuff on my scuff marks, scrubbed a little, and it came right off. 

Natural Stain and Odor Eliminator: This can be used to take away bad odors from clothes or sports apparel or really anything. It is great for fitness equipment. If you have a pet you can clean up any stains or odors they might leave behind. You can use it to get stains out of clothing before you launder them. It can also be used to get stains out of furniture! I have yet to try this one out. I haven't had any stains to eliminate yet. However, I'm sure with twin boys I will be using this a whole bunch in the future.

The thing that I really love about these products is that they are SAFE. I don't have to wear gloves when I'm cleaning. I'm not smelling any strong harsh chemicals and feeling like I'm killing tons of brain cells just to clean my bathroom. They come directly from plants. There are no harsh fumes, and they are free of common skin and respiratory irritants. And they WORK, better than leading brands of cleaning supplies. The best part is that they are not going to cost you an arm or a leg to buy. Most everything for sale is just $6.99 a bottle, and the bottles are all a good size and should last for awhile. If you want to try out these amazing cleaning products you can buy them HERE. They have a ton of other products that they offer as well. 

I'm not being paid to promote Better Life Cleaning Products. I'm not getting any special benefits. I simply want to share a better, healthier way to clean. 

The Life of a 9 Month Old

The more they grow the more fun they are becoming! While I miss holding my tiny little babies, I'm having a great time seeing there little personalities develop. They are twins, but they definitely have differences :)

Lane: 16 lbs 3 oz. He is growing so fast. He loves to scream (when he is happy). Anytime he has a toy or object he hits everything in his path with it. He loves to roll and roll and roll. He can sit up. He can say Hi and will usually say hi to me when I get him out of his crib or when he sees his brother. He is so strong. I have to be careful when I let the boys sit next to each other because he will go straight for pulling Eli's hair or grabbing his face. Eli is not a fan of that. He loves to bounce and will jump for long periods of time in his johnny jumper. He loves playing with stuffed animals. He is very happy all the time and loves to laugh.

Lane getting his first hair cut. 

Eli: 13 lbs 4 oz. He is my little momma's boy. He loves to be with me. He can say Mama and says it all day long. He would be most happy if I held him constantly. He loves sitting in the bumbo and watching me clean or cook. He loves to study things and especially toys. He really focuses on them trying to figure out how they work. He is going to be a smart one. :) He is very quiet and sweet. He loves to cuddle. He loves to jump. He loves being tossed in the air. I can definitely see him being my roller coaster buddy in the future. He can sit up. He is starting to get up on his knees, so crawling could be in near future. 

Eli's first hair cut

                                                     

                                                  Cannot believe they went from this: 

To this:

I cannot express enough how truly blessed I am so have these two in my life. They bring me so much joy each and every day. Motherhood is a lot different than I expected. It is a lot more challenging, but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. I feel so privileged that I get the opportunity to raise these little boys. I am so excited for all that is to come.