Tip from Mercy

Just so you know... that when your mommy has a pound cake whipping up in the kitchen aid... and she tells you that your fingers will get hurt trying to reach in there while it's on to get batter...and you think that trying to use a toy tiger figurine as a finger extender would be a good idea...just know that it might not work...and you might have to tell mommy that you dropped a tiger in the batter...and the poor tiger would then need a bath...

...which you would be more than willing to help with...

...and even be extra diligent to make sure he is cleaned off well...

...see mommy?! ;)

And yes, this was taken on "one of those days" where every time I turned around she was putting on different pieces of clothing on from her drawers (and leaving off essential items like shirts ;P ).

Cure for Berry Stains!!!

I have to share this easy tip because I am SO grateful that it was shared with me!

I had mentioned to a friend of our family we have known many years that I was having such a hard time getting my children's clothes cleaned after they dripped berry juices on it especially. She told me that her mother had suggested that if the garment could handle boiling water to pour that over the stain. I have a very difficult time handling any kind of chemical or cleaner so I was excited to try this one.

IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have had multiple times to try it out now and every time as I pour that boiling water over that stain it takes it right out! I've used it with success on blueberry, strawberry, cherry and elderberry stains. We went to a funeral yesterday and Mercy had strawberries at lunch and the bodice of her dress was white...what did she do? But of course! Wipe her mouth on both shoulders! So as I was enjoying cleaning her garment this evening I thought that I should pass it on to you all. Thank you so much Mrs. L!!

Now if I could only find something that took chocolate and watermelon stains out as easily and economically!

And here are a few pictures from our annual blueberry picking experience that I never posted last year. It is amazing how much the children grow in 9 months!

PS Many of you probably know that hydrogen peroxide takes out blood stains wonderfully but in case you didn't know now you do! I have been using it for years but just a few weeks ago I had a child have a nose bleed on my favorite shirt. I doused it in hp and laid it in the tub. Next day I threw it in the wash and dried it. When I took it out of the dryer to my *horror* I realized that the white fabric of my shirt must not have been able to handle the hp as it ate the white stripes of my shirt! I was SO seriously bummed about that. So, note to self, try to throw a garment into the wash immediately after washing blood stains out with hydrogen peroxide instead if letting them sit in the tub overnight. :D

A hand to help...

...an ear to listen, a word to edify, feet to run errands, a note to encourage, a shoulder to cry on.

These are just some of the many facets to our life as a family or body of believers. Today I had the special opportunity to be the shoulder to cry on as I hugged a friend who I grew up with as she wept over the death of her beloved granddaddy. We shed tears together, for each others hurt and for our own. With having my own grandpa pass away just weeks ago I knew all to well what she was going through. And then having known her grandaddy myself it is sometimes hard to really comprehend the fact that you will never see someone again here on this earth. As we held each other and her body racked with sobs it brought back many memories.

I remember the two of us growing up together, making matching dresses to wear at church, conspiring to having my friend stay back a grade so that way we could be in the same one, lol. Her b-day was in June and mine in November, therefore separating us in school, her momma told us otherwise though. :) Sleepovers at her house out in the country, crawling through ditches playing hide and seek, watching Christmas movies til the wee hours of the morning in their single wide as her daddy was still building their other home.

Now we talk about smocking dresses for our little girls, discuss how to get 1yr oldish babies to sit through church services and other mom type topics.

There is nothing like having a loved one pass from one life to the next to spur a little trip down memory lane. To see where one has met, where they have travelled and where they are today.

So thankful the Lord continues to weave the lives of friends together so we can be that body that God intended and be that helping hand or listening ear or even that shoulder to cry on. ♥

4/52

Agh! Ducking while shouting, "Please don't take a picture of me in my pajamas!" to a small child...at least I still had my contacts in and looked halfway human. ;)

Hope your weekend is wonderful! :)

PS This was the only picture I had of myself this week to post, trust me, I would have done a different one if I could!

Happy Spring?!

I'm such a bad mommy...I took her outside to take a couple of spring pictures and she did NOT like me setting her in the clover patch...but I took her picture anyway. ;)

Key to my heart...

Who has the key to your heart?! ♥ Isn't this a sweet necklace?

The designer of The Vintage Pearl jewelry is giving 3 away !

Just thought I would pass it on. :)

Happy Tuesday!

3/52

So I had hoped to get a picture of myself with the children today at the park but of course I forgot.
So to be able to post I looked through some old pics I never posted and found a good funny memory.

We went on a trip to GA back in late June to meet some new friends. My mom and I drove up with all the children on Friday afternoon and then Charles/my dad drove up on Saturday after work. I'm still not quite sure how all this worked out but on the drive up I got stuck with 7 children 10 and under in my vehicle while all the older children and adults were in my moms vehicle. That was 3+ hours of little kid talk. Then it started raining and getting dark and we made a wrong turn and got lost. So while my mom was calling and getting directions I took some shots of all the sillies I had in my car.

Little Charles was my co-pilot and the second picture portrays my inner brain feelings at the moment, lol!! Although I would never trade any of my siblings or children for a moment - they are the best. :)

Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

My favorite hymn

I Am His and He Is Mine

1. Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know;
Gracious Spirit from above,
Thou hast taught me it is so!
O, this full and perfect peace!
O, this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.

2. Heav'n above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen;
Birds with gladder songs o'erflow,
Flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as I now know,
I am His, and He is mine.
Since I know, as I now know,
I am His, and He is mine.

3. Things that once were wild alarms
Cannot now disturb my rest;
Closed in everlasting arms,
Pillowed on the loving breast.
O, to lie forever here,
Doubt and care and self resign,
While He whispers in my ear,
I am His, and He is mine.
While He whispers in my ear,
I am His, and He is mine.

4. His forever, only His;
Who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss
Christ can fill the loving heart!
Heav'n and earth may fade and flee,
Firstborn light in gloom decline;
But while God and I shall be,
I am His, and He is mine.
But while God and I shall be,
I am His, and He is mine.

This is probably my all time favorite hymn. It is so beautiful and encouraging! You've probably heard the term 'putting words to music'. Well my sweet friend just put the wonderful words of this hymn to pictures! Gorgeous pictures at that. :)
Go here to see the post, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Nighty night!

2/52

I realized that I missed last Friday but oh well, I'll just pick up again this week.

This picture was actually taken a few weeks ago (on the "daddy gave baby orange juice" night for my fb friends). She was wide awake and wanting to get into everything!

She is fascinated with her daddy's laptop and gets very excited and tries to grab it. As you can see I have the the keyboard covered up with a legal pad so that way she wouldn't crash his computer by pushing all the keys. :)

She was my little buddy that night (until the oj wore off that is) I was watching a clip and she made it very interesting but fun. ;)

Titus & Micah ♥

I just had to steal (borrow is a nicer word!) this absolutely precious picture of my two sweet nephews. Aren't they adorable?!

Things that have made me smile this week...

Looking through pictures of our birthday party just days before Grandpa passing...Caleb and he were almost birthday buddies, just 2 days apart. :)

Getting to snuggle with a sweet new nephew ::sigh:: and enjoying watching their little family grow.

Watching cousins interact. ♥ Mercy & Titus are even cuter but very hard to catch on camera. :)

Sweet friends who did so much work with my grandpa's funeral. ((hugs)) to you both!

Special talks with our favorite midwife. So thankful for her friendship.

Precious baby girl who is now 9 months old

with 3 pearly whites

loving to crawl

and discover new things.

She makes us smile every day!

Blowing bubbles with daddy...

...is very exciting!!

Visits with Sister Handyside, boy, she made Julia crack up!

And then this funny fellow had her laughing too, it was so sweet to watch!

The blessing of fellowship with Brother & Sister Handyside. ♥

My pear tree in full, beautiful bloom.

Delicate white blossoms that make me happy.

With fresh drops of rain from the showers of spring.

Memories of Grandpa's funeral.

And a cup of hot chocolate. Yay! For finally getting more cocoa powder. :)

Thank you all so much for praying for us during this past week. It was a blessing to see and visit with many of you at different times. It was also an encouragement too. ♥

What is making you smile this week?

::Update::

Today the doctors are bringing my Grandpa out of a hibernation state that they put him in to avoid brain damage. They had intended to keep him this way for a couple more days but his kidneys began to fail so that is why they are speeding the process up. At 12pm they are going to be weaning him off the sedation and running neurological tests to see how his body is functioning.

Thank you for your prayers, today holds a lot of unknown but we are so thankful for the Lord who gives us strength!

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD forever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength." Isaiah 26:3-4