Super Simple DIY Facial Scrub: Awesomeness in a Jar

This is one of my favorite handmade facial goodies so I am happy and excited to share!

There again, like the moisturizer, I was using a more expensive face wash and really wanted to see if I could find something that worked just as well that I could make.

This is way too simple it's not even funny. And I can't believe I was spending $15 every 6 months when this costs me pennies to make. And it works even better. I was hoping for "the same" and I got better. I can't beat that.

Baking soda, honey, essential oils. That's it.
And like the other two recipes you could just do the base of baking soda and honey- the benefits of the oils are bonus.

Honey- we can look all the way back to Cleopatra to see that people used honey for their skin. She was known to take milk and honey baths. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and antioxidant properties, which makes it a useful addition to skin care products. It's also a humectant, which helps it attract moisture to the skin making it useful for dry skin. Lastly, honey possesses anti-irritant properties, helping to soothe skin.

Baking Soda- there's about a million uses for baking soda (like coconut oil) so it's not surprising it helps skin too. It's great here as an exfoliator, getting rid of a top layer of dead skin.

I use my Rose Regenerative Facial Oil (scroll down on that page to see details about the oil) like the previous recipe but have also used Lavender, Frankincense and Geranium.

So when you combine all those ingredients you end up with anti-aging benefits.

Anti-Aging Facial Scrub Recipe:
1 tbl baking soda
1/2 tbl honey (preferably local)
3 drops of essential oil of choice (either 3 rose, or 1 each of the others)

Mix the baking soda and the honey to make a paste. Then add the oils. That's it.
Sometimes I double or triple the recipe.

I store mine in a mason jar in the shower. If it gets watery part way through, I add more baking soda. The reason mine gets watery is because I keep it in the shower but I've never been good about washing my face at night at the sink- this is easier. I guess I'm lazy. Either way, this stuff is legit.

This is anti-aging, anti-wrinkle, basically, awesomeness in a jar. But don't take my word, just go to your kitchen cabinets for the supplies and try it for yourself.

I totally replaced my face wash with this and I have fairly sensitive skin and using it daily hasn't been a problem for me. But you could just use as a scrub twice a week and keep your regular face wash if you think it's too much daily.

If you try it, let me know! I've love to know what you think of this little gem!! :)

Face as Smooth as a Baby's.....

The second DIY handmade goodie I'd like to share is my facial moisturizer.

I was using a product which I liked and worked but cost me $25 to buy and I couldn't pronounce half the ingredients. I had tried some organic and natural products in the past but one was drying, one made me break out, and one actually tinted my face orange!! I kept thinking, "There has to be something that's effective that I can make myself."

I started reading up on oils that moisturize and discovered jojoba oil. I bought a small bottle to try. After about 5 days I noticed some drying. So back to the books and read about vegetable glycerin. Since I was going to be mixing the two I had to figure out a good bottle to keep them in and had some roller ball bottles on hand (for making my own oil blends and diluting other oils). So after several tries this is the final and best recipe for my skin...

Facial Moisturizer 

*Jojoba oil

*Vegetable Glycerin 

*Rose Regenerative oil (or lavender, frankincense)

I fill the bottle 2/3 full with jojoba, add 5-7 drops of glycerin. Then add 4-5 drops of rose regenerative oil. 

The Rose Regenerative oil is a blend including Rose otto, Neroli, Carrot seed, Frankincense, Lemon, Helichrysum, Cistus, Lavender, Rose Hip Seed Oil so it is anti-aging, anti-wrinkling, regenerates new skin, diminishes age spots, and decreases large pores. I'm loving this oil by the way! Or you could use frankincense and lavender too. Frankincense is rejuvenating and healing and Lavender is soothing and great for the skin.
 

Frankly, you could just use the base oils, but using essential oils just gives added benefits. 

The beauty of this concoction is that it is so adjustable to each skin type! And its base of the two oils are good, natural basics. And those two bottles cost me like $10! And I've barely made a dent in them! The other brand cost me $25 and lasted 6 months and I've been using these bottles for 3 months so way more savings- duh!!

Oh, my other bits of advice with this are- play around with ratios, and because it feels light you may keep rolling it on but 10 minutes later you're face will be super moist so don't over do it! 

If you try it, I'd love to hear how you like it!! :-)

Stink...The Natural Way

I would love to share some homemade goodies I've been making for two reasons- 1. I want others to have access to these great things too!  And... 2. I want to be able to find all my final recipes in one spot instead of my random post it notes and paper scraps all over the house! ;)

First up, my DIY deodorant! I have been using this recipe for almost a year, so through all seasons, and have gone through tons of tweaks so this is the final recipe.

I left antiperspirant behind 8 years ago when my dad was diagnosed with cancer and through all my research (ya know, you're supposed to sweat- that was news to me!) I decided to make changes to what I was putting in and on my body. I tried many different brands and ended up using Tom's. But every time I plunked down 6 bucks for deodorant I'd cringe. So my main motivation for trying to make it was cost and a bonus is knowing exactly what's in it.

DIY Deodorant
*1/2 cup cornstarch
*1/2 cup baking soda
*15-20 drops tea tree essential oil
*15-20 drops EO of your choosing (I use the combo of tea tree & Good Samaritan [similar to Thieves or On Guard if you use those], or Peppermint & tea tree)
*4 T coconut oil, to texture

Mix the cornstarch and baking soda until all clumps are gone. Add the essential oils and then the coconut oil. I would start with 2 tablespoons and keep mixing, adding a tablespoon at a time until you get the consistency you like. Note: you may want to mix with your hand because the warmth will help melt the coconut oil and help mix into other ingredients to really see the texture. It will harden in the jar after coconut oil cools and you'll be able to rub or scrape the right amount to apply. I've learned to go for a bit "dryer" in the mixing rather than mushy because it lasts longer and doesn't melt on applying. You'll find the right texture through trial and error. And if worse comes to worse and you don't like it then scoop out and add what you want to fix it. I store mine in small 4 oz (1/2 cup) mason jars- this recipe fits in two jars. This supply will last roughly five to six months.

You will want to use tea tree oil for sure. Tea tree oil is antimicrobial and antifungal. Pretty great for odors... as far as others go, that's just personal choice. I like the Good Samaritan (Thieves) because it's a blend that's also known to kill bacteria, viruses, etc and why not double the chances!

Here's the thing- the base is the baking soda, cornstarch, and coconut oil. It's up to you to add oils if you want, and maybe you want to use what you've got on hand. Just play around with what you like and what you have! Half the recipe and use one jar if you want to just try and see if it works.

I have tried multiple times to put this in a traditional deodorant container. First, I put it in an old container but woke up to a mess because all the liquid had drained out of the tiny hole in the bottom. And then I went and bought some empty containers (with no holes) and it all stayed in! Buuut...it was crumbly trying to roll it on that I had more on my bathroom floor than my pits... so back to the jars. I *may try to develop a recipe with beeswax in order to use those deodorant containers I bought so there may be more adapting in the future...

I know there are tons of skeptics out there for DIY or natural anything but this really works! I had people even comment on the scent. And at roughly $.50 a jar what's it hurt to try it?!

 

Blog Under Construction...

I'm in the process of changing names, colors, yada yada yada...... I still want to blog but if you read my former post about quitting blogging you'll see I'm going through some changes. Just blogging by myself this go around, sharing what's on my heart, mind, school life...but this time- my key word is SIMPLIFY.
I'm going with just my name and I'm on a journey. What more do I need?

So if you're new to the page but got here through a link, possibly from Pinterest- this was itsahodgepodgelifeforus.blogspot.com. Thanks for stopping by!!

Beta Testing of Canning Macs...

by Jenny

 

Two things I have always wanted to do 1) Take the kids to pick apples and 2) Can something!

I have always had good intentions to take the kids to pick apples. It seems I'm always too late by the time I get around to picking a day or a place...it's a problem when you combine a procrastinator and a hermit.

Well, when a friend asked if we wanted to join them- I jumped at the chance because I thought it would be more fun together and she would hold me accountable to follow through and go!

 

It was quite the adventure picking apples (hot, bugs, poison ivy, did I mention hot??) but we got to take home a bushel of apples. We learned about several different varieties and picked Arkansas Blacks and McIntosh apples. Then I got home and thought, "Now I gotta figure out what to do with all these?!" My little baker daughter made the most delish apple muffins. And that barely made a dent in the bushel. So the idea of finally getting around to learning how to can and make applesauce came into play! (I had bought canning supplies about 3 years ago from a friend when she moved, hadn't even looked in the box yet...remember, I'm a procrastinator...) Luckily, between the booklet in the box and Pinterest we found a few recipes to reference. It wasn't as hard as I thought but a little time consuming waiting for the apples to cook down... We cored and quartered 8 pounds of apples, then cooked them down. We used an immersion blender then added cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a little demerara sugar (Arkansas Blacks are quite tart so we added sugar to balance). Then it was just filling the prepped jars and putting them in the boiling water. Voila! Beta testing, alpha testing, whatever you'd call it- I would say the experience of canning turned out great!

 

The kids read about the history and invention of canning while the apples were cooking down. Ahh...I love that I get to count these fun experiences as homeschool. Now, I have about 8 more pounds to figure out what to do with....

Why I Quit Blogging...

Well, honestly, I have issues.

I had an idea of what blogging was going to be...and it wasn't measuring up.

There's crazy parts of me that has high expectations, trying to keep up with others, reading the stats too much, not really techy but trying to be.... I said I have issues.

I realized I was emotionally up and down based on shares, likes, subscribers...it was crazy. I was trying all this different angles that might appeal to different people- how to word your title, what to tag, how to set up pages, sharing on all the social media sites you can. Even timing posts to publish according to the "peak" time for it to be read and shared. I was totally having "comparison issues" by trying to add all sorts of features that I liked about other blogs (did I mention I was not, am not, techy...yeah, I was causing myself all sorts of stress.) I was worried that my name wasn't the best for me and not original enough because lo and behold after entering the blogging world I discovered another hodgepodge blog that was way cooler, had tons of art stuff I love to pin and use for my kiddos and the best part is her last name is Hodge. Duh! Makes sense. Also, I thought this would be a fun avenue to share with my bestie but found I was basically doing it alone (no offense Jamie- I know schedules are crazy and you had to put up with my ocd issues about trying to put out a cool blog ;)...)

Now after reading that, you will probably look over the blog so far and think I can't tell she tried anything cool...thanks. ;)  Actually, getting those little social media buttons on the side was a miracle!

Well, I quit. The last post I published was 3 1/2 months ago. I even had 3 posts ready to go, I just had to click publish. Time would go by and I'd think, "I should publish that..." but I didn't.

So I thought "Why am I so resistant to post?"

I decided to reevaluate why I even wanted to start a blog in the first place.

1. I wanted a place to keep track of fun family things we were experiencing like our Foodie Fridays.
2. I wanted to share my heart in written word- even if just for myself.
3. I wanted to provide a resource and encouragement for anybody that may want it- particularly in  homeschooling.

I did not intend to
1. Make money blogging
2. Have thousands of followers
3. Be so successful at blogging that talk shows all over the world would have me as a guest to share my expertise and wisdom! ...Although, maybe that's what I thought would happen with those high expectations I put on myself!! ;)

I went back and read my "About Us" page and realized I was right- I'm somebody who can do a lot of things semi-well. I have tons of different interests and hobbies. I am multifaceted. I am a hodgepodge. So there ya go. I will start my blog up again. Share my heart. And who cares who reads it. It'll be one more thing I do- for me. And it'll be fun.

And I'm going to try real hard not to look at the stats page. ;)

Oh, just some advice? If you read someone's blog and enjoyed even just a little, let 'em know. I have a feeling there more people out there like me. It's nice to be liked. ;)

We Jump for JOY for Art!

by Jenny

~JOY Through Art~

 

 

In our house, ART is the subject that is definitely the reward for finishing homeschool! If not, they'd do art all day! We've been creating our own Fruit of the Spirit~A Homeschool Study by combining a lot of different resources and if you'd like to check out our study on JOY- here's the latest one JOY JOY JOY...Where?!

 

We decided we wanted to work together to create something we'd all enjoy and be reminded to chose, practice, and pray for JOY.

 

Here's what you need:

Letters

Mod Podge

Sponge brushes

Paper (we used printed cardstock, you could use just about any...tissue paper, magazines...)

 

First, tear the paper in pieces. Then use the sponge brush to brush on glue generously, put paper on glue in whatever design you want. Brush more glue over the paper to seal in and make sure the paper is flat, pushing out any air bubbles. When that layer is dry, brush a coat of glue over the whole surface to seal. Easy peasy.

JOY JOY JOY...Where?!

by Jenny

We've got the JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY down in our hearts...where?! Down in our hearts...where?! Ok...I'll stop singing. That's just one of the songs that pops into my head when I talk about joy with my kids. That and Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice! Rejoice....rejoice...
We've had a great time focusing on LOVE. If you want to start with us from the beginning here's our first post Fruit of the Spirit~A Homeschool Study then we We Made a Giant Tree for our fruit. We spent a lot of time on our first fruit "All Ya Need is Love..." and made Stained Glass Art with Kids for love. Now for some JOY.

We start each bible time saying our scriptures together and with each fruit add another verse. We say Gal 5:22-23 (fruit verse), Matt 22:37-40(love), Phil 4:4 & Prov 15:30a(joy).








Our first day we all spent time in God's Word finding verses on joy. We each picked at least one verse then on the second day we copied them on our construction paper banana. We settled on these verses to hang on our tree:

James 1:2

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.

Isaiah 52:8-9

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices;

    together they shout for joy.

When the Lord returns to Zion,

    they will see it with their own eyes.

Burst into songs of joy together,

    you ruins of Jerusalem,

for the Lord has comforted his people,

    he has redeemed Jerusalem.

 

Hebrews 12:2

 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Proverbs 10:1

A wise son makes his father glad. But a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

Psalm 71:23

My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to you-

 I whom you have delivered.

 

3rd day: while listening to music (a couple were Rejoice in the Lord Always & Don't Worry, Be Happy {that was super fun and stuck in our head all day}on YouTube) we used chalk pastels and construction paper to create what we thought represented JOY. We didn't talk to each other and I told them they had a time of 3 songs to create something. It was amazing to see their creations but it was more amazing to hear them describe their pieces and how they felt.

4th day: We created some large free standing letters of JOY that I've thoroughly been enjoying on the bookshelf. There will be a post to follow on the letters.

5th day: We read and discussed people from the bible that we thought exhibited JOY. We chose David and found an abundance of scripture where he's rejoicing, worshipping and praising God. One of our favorites is Psalm 100. We also talked about Paul and how he chose joy even though he had to endure prison. Phil. 1:12-26.

6th day: Using index cards, each one of us wrote down things that we could do to practically show JOY.  They wrote things like "always have a joyful look" "be joyful in everything" "in all times good and bad have joy and it will spread, but not just once, always" and "don't just be happy, be joyful."

 

One point I've reiterated with kids through out our whole study and will continue to remind them of is where this fruit comes from. This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that we can produce after living with, walking with the Holy Spirit. Anybody can chose love or kindness but the love or kindness we exhibit after continually being with Holy Spirit is deeper and true. I don't want them to fall into the trap (that I often did growing up) that it's all up to them to be good, loving, kind, patient- that it's a "works" thing. We need to have a continual relationship with Holy Spirit and then we produce love, joy, patience, peace, kindness, etc.

 

Please share any comments or ideas, I'd love to hear!! :)

 

Satan is a Liar!

-By Jamie

I am so tired of Satan's lies, aren't you? I especially hate it when I realize I've been buying into his lies for quite some time. On the other hand, I am extremely thankful when God reveals the truth to me! It is so freeing!

I am currently working on losing some weight, but when am I not? Oh, that's right, during the holidays when I'm working on five-thousand other things and not caring about my health as much because I want to have fun and eat all the goodies! But that's a whole other blog! Anyway, it's January so I am working hard to reach my fitness goals which means I am consistently making "better choices" as my doctor put it. I've been doing this for quite some time, off and on. My current short-term goal is to lose 10 pounds which is not easy for me. I'm eating better and exercising as much as I can fit in to my schedule. I weigh myself weekly and record my number. I'm doing great for the most part, but it doesn't always show up on the scale or in the way my clothes fit. So I keep pressing on, most of the time, or probably all of the time, feeling discontent with myself because I haven't reached my goal yet, or am not progressing as quickly as I want to. I keep thinking, "I have to do this so I can get healthy", or "I can't eat that because I haven't reached my goal yet." Sometimes I wonder if it's all really worth it or if I'll ever reach my goals. The constant struggle, physically and mentally, can be exhausting and discouraging.

The Lies: "This is really hard and I don't want to do it. What if I never reach my goals? Someday I will live a healthy lifestyle. If I do reach my goals, this should get easier. Until then, I will have to suffer through this."

Am I the only one with these thoughts? The constant recordings in my brain?

The Truth: Every time I make a healthy choice, I am ALREADY living a healthy lifestyle. What others or myself may see on the outside, does not reflect the changes I have made on the inside. This is hard, but it is worth it, and I'm going to enjoy it! Even if I never make it to my goal weight, I will rejoice in my decisions today.

Do you hear the difference? Satan loves to keep us unsatisfied. No matter what I did, I hadn't done enough and I was having my mental tantrums. My goals were always just out of reach. I was discontent and frustrated that I was working hard and not seeing enough results; never quite getting there. These lies can show up in all areas of our lives. "I'll never get everything done; I'll never own that bigger house, better car, or make enough money; maybe next week, month or year." We are constantly after something and never quite content...or is it just me? I hope not!

Then God opened my eyes to the fact that I had been wasting my days with thoughts of discontent. I was not enjoying the moment or rejoicing in the day God granted me. I realized that what I have already been doing is LIVING the life that I thought I was REACHING for! He made me aware that I have reached my healthy lifestyle goal and I should be enjoying the exercise and the healthy food choices. He showed me that even WHEN I reach my final fitness goals, I must continue to exercise and eat healthy, so I may as well enjoy it now! If I am not blessed with tomorrow, I don't want to waste today. These truths have helped me to have a better attitude about my lifestyle changes. I want to rejoice in the body God gave me and take care of it they way He intended, every day.

I still have my struggles, and don't always enjoy making the right choice, but God isn't finished with me yet!

FauxPasta Fo Mama!

by Jenny

Close your eyes and imagine the smell of some delicious Italian pasta swimming in a divinely rich sauce...now, imagine adding up those calories. Wah, wah, wah. I wanted the taste of pasta without all the carbs and I do love me some spaghetti squash but I wanted something new, a different texture. So the experiment begins. And I'm going to, of course, share with you, why? Because it came out fantastic! And if there's any pasta lovers out there that want to give it a try, here ya go! I thought even if I replace one pasta dish a week (we usually eat pasta twice a week) that would help decrease my carb intake. Trying to make healthier choices ya know....

FauxPasta with Kielbasa & Mushrooms
(feeds 4)
2-3 zucchini
1 container of mushrooms
1 turkey kielbasa cubed
Olive oil
Fresh basil
Garlic salt & pepper

First, I used a julienne tool I have to slice up the zucchini in small strips. Then brown kielbasa in skillet with small amount of olive oil. Next add fresh basil & mushrooms- I put the lid on at this point to cook down and soften the mushrooms. Then add the zucchini strips and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir and cook for a few minutes til it reaches the point you can't resist wanting to eat it. I added a small sprinkle of parmesan to finish it off. Super easy, super quick. Gluten free & low carb, what's not to love!

(We did cook some whole wheat pasta for the kids to have and topped their pasta with this veggie sausage mixture. They loved it!)

Stained Glass Art with Kids

by Jenny

~LOVE Through Art~

Window Cling Stained Glass Art

 

 

 

We started a Fruit of the Spirit~A Homeschool Study and we spent quite a bit of time on LOVE. Because we knew we needed it. And because Jesus did.

 

'Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."'

 

If you are following our study so far, here's my original post Fruit of the Spirit~A Homeschool Study, then We Made a Giant Tree to display all of our fruit verses. We started with LOVE ( All Ya Need is Love... ) and our art for this 'fruit' was Window Clings from stained glass paint.

 

These window clings are super easy to make. All you need are colors of your choice of stain glass paint, liquid leading and page protectors. The stain glass materials should all be located together in a craft store. This stuff looks a lot like puff paint. You'll want to start with the liquid leading and trace the shape you want right onto the page protector. Then let it dry completely. We let ours dry overnight.

After they're dry, fill in with the paint colors making sure to cover the entire surface and use the tip to pop any air bubbles. Again, you'll want to let these dry completely. At this point we peeled them off the page protectors and slapped 'em right on the window. Buuut...if you want to move yours around you may want to cut the page protector around your shape and use tape to secure it to the window. They're not super moveable- they might be if they are super thick but the thinner they are the easier they rip. That's it. Super simple. Have fun making tons of decorations! You could make some for each holiday, for school, or just for fun!

My Retreat With God...at the KOA

by Jenny

I realized after a particularly stressful day of homeschooling, mothering yada yada…that I have never spent time alone for very long. 
I've been married over 16 years, have four kids, and have never spent the night by myself. I have been away from the kids and from Gregg for women's retreats or on short trips but even then I was sharing a room with other women. I have never spent the night all by myself in silence- not since I've been married. 
Well, after this particularly stressful day I decided I needed to have some silence, some quiet. The thought had entered my head on and off for the past three months that it might be nice to spend the night in a hotel room or something. But it felt selfish to me. I almost reached a breaking point Wednesday and I realized that this time of quiet needed to happen. It must happen. It was a necessity. I decided that with some recent money I had made from selling jewelry that it wouldn't cost from our family budget so there was no guilt (not that this guilt came from anybody but me- in fact, when I approached the option months ago, hubby was ready to book me a hotel room).
I decided I wanted a cabin versus a hotel room because I didn't really want people on either side of me. I have a tendency to need to talk out loud, especially when I'm praying. And I didn't want to be hindered by others around me. Plus I seem to really feel close to God in nature so I called the KOA that's just five minutes from the house and reserved a cabin, the smallest cabin they have, for the next day.  She must've heard the desperation in my voice because she quickly offered 25% off and then early check in and a late check out the following day. I began to make a list of what I wanted to get out of this quiet time and what I should bring – my Bible, journal, book to read.... I knew that God wanted me to work through something big. I knew I needed physical rest, spiritual rest, and emotional rest. I would also need to bring my own sheets, pillow, blankets and anything else I might need because this was a bare-bones cabin. No bathroom, no kitchen. 
The next morning I knew that this was still something I needed to do because of my impatient attitude and anger that I had all morning with the kids. I was packed and ready to go pretty early but I needed to wait until I put the baby down for her nap in order to really feel like it was okay to leave the kids until Gregg got home from work. I decided to keep a journal of my time there...

2:15pm: I arrived. Well, I knew the cabin would be small, but when I arrived and spotted the little beauty I realized it was even smaller than I thought. But that was okay I didn't need much room. I also thought I might be surrounded a little bit more with nature versus campsites and RVs. But when you need to get away with God and you've already made the reservation you can't be picky. The first thing I did when I walked in was take a picture, after that I decided to set up my new little home for the next 24 hours. I made my bed, I put my food in the mini fridge and I proceeded to pray throughout the cabin (I took two steps forward) that God would be with me for the next 24 hours. That I would dedicate those hours to him to focus on him, to grow in him. 

9:15pm: Well it's been about 7 hours now as I type this and I find that the quiet can be a little hard. I find myself definitely talking out loud, I also worshiped earlier and I am very thankful no one was around to hear that. But I had an awesome time with the Lord in worship. I prayed, cried, sang, read the Word outloud, prayed some more.
I have found the time on my hands a little daunting. I realized that I straightened my mug, napkin & spoon, and pile of books a couple of times already (I'm gonna make a great OCD old person in a home...). I also found myself looking at my clock several times at first and wondering what the kids were doing at that moment while they were all at home.
I would pray, then listen, get distracted, try to listen some more, pray....waiting to hear from God is difficult. I feel like I have ADHD when I try to listen for something from the Holy Spirit...
There was a tv in the cabin and I brought my computer to work on blog posts in case God worked out everything in me real quick and I was bored. 
No chance of that. 
It's also about 35° right now and I have one little space heater in the room. It's supposed to get down to 20° and feel like 9°. I hope this little space heater has enough to last me through the night and the morning....


10:30pm: I caved and texted Gregg and he brought me a space heater and down comforter from home. I thought about saying, "I've had a great time so far- let's go home" but I didn't. I wanted to spend the night by myself- and God.


12:07am: I woke up with my heart racing. I decided to read and pray some more. As I was praying and reading earlier, I had a picture in my mind and it didn't make any sense. I asked God to fill me in why I kept getting the same vision....no answer. Now to get back to sleep.


6:05am: Woke up to some freaky crinkly sound by the wall in the package of water bottles I brought. The sound was getting louder! I thought for sure it was a mouse. Heart racing, I turned on the flashlight app and slipped on my shoes, I flicked the light on real quick! Nothing.... I think it was the water was so cold it was affecting the plastic. Since I was wide awake I decided to walk to the bathroom. Did I mention yet that I had to walk to the bathroom...when I first got there I decided to walk the circle of the park every time I went to the bathroom to get fresh air and exercise more. This time I did not walk. I ran back to get under the covers. Maybe I should have got the hotel room...and a spa treatment. Why did I want a cabin?!


9:30am: Got the most sleep since the little bathroom run at 6. Tossed and turned all night. It was hard to sleep with out Gregg next to me. Now for some more quiet time...


12:30pm: I had a great last couple hours reading and praying. The first verse I read this morning was the literal word of the vision I kept having. God's so cool like that. It took a while for me to get an answer but he came through. I was confused and had just decided to write it down and wait on God. He always comes through. Not in the time we may want but his timing. I'm cold, tired, and feel drained- I think I'll head home early.


Now that I'm home I want to reflect... I am thankful for a husband that did not hesitate to support me spending time alone. I am glad that I took this time- I realized that as a stay at home homeschooling mother, I rarely have time to myself. I think that I get wrapped up in serving my kids, training them, ministry, household tasks, etc that I often forget to get alone with God. When I do take time to 'check out' I spend that time on my phone, watching tv, or reading, but rarely with God. I think I re-learned how important and vital to my relationship with Him to 'check out' with Him. "To block out all noise and stress and zone out" would be my description of 'checking out' and to do all those things while praying and meditating on his Word, is what I was able to do during this retreat. 
During this time I was not only able to reflect, refresh, realize, but make goals for myself and our family. I'm amazed and thankful for all that I learned. 
I really think I need to make time like this on a regular basis, maybe yearly. But maybe next time will be at a spa.

All Ya Need is Love....

by Jenny

 

We've started our Fruit of the Spirit~A Homeschool Study and We Made a Giant Tree for our fruit. Now it's time to get down to business and talk LOVE. I knew I wanted us to spend a lot of time on LOVE. Because I knew God has spent a lot of time on love. It's SO foundational and mentioned so many times in scripture that I think God really wants to make sure we get it. Our focus verse that we are saying daily is...

 

 

 Our first day we all spent time in God's Word finding verses on love. We each picked at least one verse then on the second day we copied them on our construction paper apple. We settled on these verses to hang on our tree:

Matt. 5:44

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

Rom. 12:9

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

I Cor. 13:1

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

I Cor. 13:4-8a

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

I Cor. 16:14

Do everything in love.

Prov. 3:3

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.

 

 

3rd day: studying LOVE we began art projects. We made stained glass window clings (post to follow).

4th day: We created a second art project- Using chalk pastels we created art that we thought represented "love"...I loved seeing how each of them saw love. One saw love coming from a seed and it grows out from the center, another saw love as something planted and growing and each of the seeds were love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Then the other one saw love as a giant fruit and the wind was pushing all the other 'stuff' around but love was solid.

5th day: We read and discussed people from the bible that we thought exhibited love. We chose Joseph for his love of family and enemies- Gen 45:1-15. We chose Ruth for her love and loyalty to her mother-in-law- Ruth 1:16-18. We also chose Jonathan for his brotherly, loyal, and sacrificial love for David- I Sam 18:1-4, 19:1-4.

6th day: Using index cards, each one of us wrote down things that we could do to practically show love. One of them wrote, "do not fight" another wrote "I will love my siblings. I will love my enemies. I will not fight. I will choose love first."

 

Look forward to our Stained Glass art post coming soon!!!

 

 

 (side note: when researching studies for Fruit of the Spirit, I read numerous posts/studies that said how "important" it was that all the fruit be the same because the fruit of the Spirit is the same, it's all one fruit. And to make sure they say fruit instead of fruits of the Spirit. On our first day of starting this study, all the kids went into their rooms for journaling time and came out with pictures that they got during their time. They each had drawn a tree with different fruit representing each fruit of the Spirit and a lot of them were identical 'fruit' for the fruit. They were SO excited that the Holy Spirit had given them similar pictures that I didn't want to squelch that with any theology on "fruit"....so there you go. I'm not contradicting the message the Holy Spirit gave to them.)`

It's Time to Say Goodbye...

by Jenny

It's Time to Say Goodbye...well, at least, see ya later to Foodie Fridays for the Relafords. We have hit a one year mark of Foodie Fridays, with over 30 different countries, Foodie Friday All Stars, Foodie Friday restaurant tours, and specials for birthdays & anniversaries. We decided to take a break for a while because the last few it seemed the like the kids were tired of cooking and helping. And maybe doing all those dishes! And frankly, hubby and I were too. We decided to make it to the one year mark and then in the new year think of something new and exciting to do for our family day on Fridays. So for our last Foodie Friday Gregg ended on America!

Foodie Friday~America

Gregg tried to select dishes from different regions, some we've never made our selves.

~Menu~

Maryland Crab Cakes

Texas Pressure Cooker Chili

Green Bean Casserole

Homemade Apple Pie

 

Everything was suburb! The chili had so much heat to it that the girls weren't too fond of it. It's a recipe from Food Network's Alton Brown- it'll bring tears to your eyes! We've never made crab cakes at home before and they were delish! Ahh, green bean casserole is my favorite holiday side dish so it's pretty common around here and Juliet ate it up by the handfuls! We all made the apple pie together and it was way easier than I thought it would be! Awe...so yummy! Really, nothing better than homemade apple pie!

 



 

As we end and I think about all we've done together, I decided to put together all the pictures of each Foodie Friday. Ahhh wow.... to think where we started and all the countries we experienced, the wonderful memories we made, the experiences we got to count as "school"- It's crazy to see how much the baby has grown and changed even! This experience was much more than just cooking together- what it did for our family was priceless. We put that day aside for our family and made it sacred and precious. Even when we traveled, we tried to experience 'Foodie Fridays' in other cities- one of the coolest was being at Epcot on a Foodie Friday!

I think I'm going to have to have these made into posters for our kitchen! Loved all these moments!

 

 

 

Feeling Nostalgic for Grandma's Pfeffernusse...

by Jenny

The kids and I were feeling nostalgic for Grandma's Pfeffernusse this holiday season. Even through our overly busy schedule, we took time to walk down memory lane. Well, at least I did, and then I made them listen to all my stories.
I rediscovered this sweet, peppery little addictive treat when we did Germany for one of our first Foodie Fridays. I remember going to my Grandma's house near the holidays and she'd pull out a metal tin with assorted cookies and Pfeffernusse snacks. I remember enjoying all of her hard work preparing all these goodies but not really knowing how much work went into everything she made. She'd have orange cookies, sugar cookies, thumb print cookies...and while we were all together they would make taffy with the family taffy hook. I'd watch them string and stretch the hot taffy over and over the hook and then when it was just right they'd string it out and cut it into small pieces. I loved
watching them make taffy. I wish I would've seen my grandma make Pfeffernusse. That's the hard part about getting older, looking back at your family wishing you would've learned more from them before they passed away. Anyway, I'm excited to bring this recipe into my children's holiday tradition and it's joyful for me! These little treats, Pfeffernusse which translates to pepper nuts, are sweet and peppery at the same time! My kids think they taste like gingerbread and the anise reminds me of black licorice. You definitely cannot just stop at a few! I hope you enjoy them as much as our family!

Pfeffernusse
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white corn syrup
1/2 cup milk (may need more)
2 teaspoons anise extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
7 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Cream butter and sugar. Then beat in corn syrup, milk, and anise, vanilla, and almond extracts.
In a separate bowl, combine flour and the remaining dry ingredients.
Add the dry ingredients to butter mixture, and mix until thoroughly combined. It can be hard to mix and if it's too stiff, I usually add a splash of milk until the dough incorporates together. Place dough in an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.
Heat oven to 375. Roll portions of dough into pencil-like logs with the diameter of a nickel. Cut into 1/3 inch slices (I create several logs and place them next to each other and use a pizza cutter to cut all at once) and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Let cool thoroughly, and store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Do you have any recipes you've revived with your kids from your childhood?

Super Easy Candied Pecans!

By Jamie

Candied Pecans are one of my favorite treats at Christmastime. Every year, I try to make them; key word TRY! They usually don't turn out very well. They are either sticky, or not crunchy enough or just too many steps and ingredients for me; I like simple. So I was thrilled when I came across a super easy recipe that actually made the best candied pecans I've ever made! Here it is! Enjoy!

Super Easy Candied Pecans

1 cup of pecans
1/2 cup of white sugar

Stir pecans and sugar in a small pot on medium heat until sugar turns into a dark syrup and coats pecans. Dump and spread pecans onto a cookie sheet to dry and cool. Store in any container or ziplock bag. That's it! You can do it!

P.S. I love adding these to my salad along with dried cranberries.

The Utimate Comfort Food: Belgium

by Jenny

Foodie Friday ~ Belgium

Honestly, I picked Belgium because I thought waffles sounded good this week. My hope was shattered when I found out that what we think of as Belgian waffles is not really Belgian waffles. Through our research, we found out that waffles vary with each region of Belgium and there's probably as many varieties as Red Robin burgers. Belgium has a lot of French and Flemish (Dutch) influence with some German as well. We selected the Liege waffle coming from the area of, you guessed it, Liege. They're also known as gaufres de chasse (hunting waffles) and are a richer, denser, sweeter waffle with sugary crystals that caramelize when cooked. My hope was restored when reading up on these. And they were A-Mazing. It's not a batter you scoop and drop on the waffle maker, it's a dough that you let rise and form into balls, then you cook the dough balls. They are rich, sweet, and it's hard to stop eating them. I would definitely call these a comfort food. They kids all loved them and we've already made a second batch.... Here's the recipe we ended up following The Best Waffle You'll Ever Eat. We decided to use this as a dessert and made some homemade whipped cream, and then add a few more recipes...

With the weather we've had lately nothing hits the spot like a warm hearty stew. And this stew was a perfect warming comfort food. It is made with Belgian ale and sweet onions so it has a sweet and savory combination. Here's the recipe for this delicious stew Carbonnade Beef and Beer_Stew.

With our stew and waffles, there was another dish we found we couldn't do without for Belgian food. Fries. I know, we all thought they were French fries but they are thought to have originated in Belgium. They seem very popular there in Belgium and they use a variety of sauces to dip-mayonnaise, ketchup, aioli, tartar sauce, curry ketchup...the list went on. We made a very garlicky aioli to dip our deep fried fries.

Belgian carrots topped off our recipes to cook for the day. They are sliced carrots with heavy cream, dried parsley, and nutmeg. Here's the recipe.

We had to have some Belgian beer and chocolate to finish everything off. A very rich and flavorful meal of foods that are sure to be the ultimate comfort foods- international style!

Vulnerability and a Four Letter Word...

A word will remind me. A smell. A song...of a time I felt so completely alone. And angry. And a failure.
There was a time I felt extremely and utterly vulnerable. And at the same time, hard as a rock. I remember running outside to the trees, dropping to my knees by a stream and crying to the heavens.  I remember feeling like I was crying to nothing, to emptiness. Other times like I was being cradled, just still lashing out. I felt in that desperate state many times. I blamed my circumstances. I blamed God. I blamed myself. I wasn't good enough. I messed everything up all of the time. Every relationship, situation, interaction. And later I owed it to my immaturity.
I grew up a little. Left a lot behind. Began a family. Started a new journey. Wanting to be someone different than I was. Or had turned out to be. Nature verses nurture...interesting thought when it comes to my life. I "decided" I was going to be better.
Over the next decade and a half, I would feel myself begin to dip down to that old state of mind and I would tell myself to stand tall, don't go down that road. I did slip many times into this weird mental state and retreat to my closet to hide (there was no mountain to cry to and with a house of kids I couldn't leave, the closet was my solace. Weird, I know). I would cry out and pray, trying to take it to God. To give it to God. I remember thinking, how am I suppose to give this God? I wish it was a tangible thing in my hand that I could just give over. Or throw at Him. I would try to be stoic. But I even failed at that. I think now in my stoic-ness, I was actually trying to not feel at all. I would think, and sometimes still do, why would God want such a crazy rollercoaster like me.
On and off, and a lot more recently, I have examined my life. My mental state.
Some observations...
I have thought I could fix it all.
I have hated my emotional-ness.
I have dwelt on my past and listed my "failures"...
God gave me one word.
LOVE
He's given it repeatedly too. He has shown it to me in His Word during my quiet time. Then in a message on Sunday. In a song I hear on the radio. Through one of my kids. A title of a book.
Okay, God, I get it. Well, kind of. I don't "get" it quite yet, I'm working on it. But I get the fact that you want me to focus on LOVE.
I don't even know where to begin with this simple four letter word and what I think God wants me to get. But I know the beginning of understanding your LOVE, is for me to begin to grasp how you love me. That's it. You simply love me. All of me. In my emotional-ness. My sadness. My rollercoaster-ness. When I've messed up. When I am trying. When I am not. When I feel in the depths of despair. When I think I know it all. When I feel so utterly alone. God, you want me to grasp this LOVE of yours so that I can turn around and love You. With ALL my heart, mind, and soul. God, I think you LOVE me with every fiber of your Being. I know you do.
This is a daily realization for me. And learning brokenness is a good thing. When I am broken, I leave the pieces for You to fix. You do a better job than I ever could.
There is a song that has touched me so deeply recently. I have prayed, sang, and cried these words...

I am broken at Your feet
Like an alabaster jar
Every piece of who I am
Laid before Your majesty

I will bow my life
At Your feet
At Your feet
My lips
So lost for words
Will kiss Your feet
Kiss Your feet

Oh the gravity of You
Draws my soul unto its knees
I will never be the same
I am lost and found in You

For me, it's not just the gravity of who God is, but the depth and gravity of His LOVE that draws my soul unto its knees.
That feeling of being alone, lost- I know You are with me, You have found me. And you LOVE me.

This picture is one of the mountains and waterfalls I would take refuge...I took this shot when I took my children to Colorado to bury my dad. And the song is Alabaster by Rend Collective Experiment.

It's All About the Gatsby

by Jenny

Foodie Friday ~ South Africa

 

We came about our pick this week a little differently than we have other weeks...We were watching a cooking show and saw The Gatsby Sandwich. With our mouths watering we decided to build a Foodie Friday around this infamous sandwich. It may look like what we know as a hoagie but don't be fooled, there is so much flavor packed in that bread. The Gatsby originated in Cape Town, South Africa. I read some place that they would take leftovers and pack them in a large roll to take to work. Then it became popular in fast food restaurants. The constant is meat, veggies, chips (fries), all on a large roll. The meat could be chicken, fish, and some even do bologna. South Africa has huge range of diverse influence in their cuisine. The flavor of the meat reminded me of Indian food. It is spicy with a hint of sweet. Now here's the recipe:

The Gatsby Sandwich

1 1/2 lbs. of beef steak or roast

3 tbl. masala (we found this in bulk at our local health food store, Mama Jeans, but have seen it at Indian food markets too.

3 large onions, thinly sliced

2 large soft baguettes

sliced tomato

shredded lettuce

chips (fries for us Americans- we used premade to save time but should be straight cut medium thickness

shredded cheddar cheese

 

First, cover your meat with the masala seasoning, rubbing in, then marinate in the fridge for the flavors to develop. Next put thinly sliced onions and meat in skillet to sear all sides and cook onions until their translucent. Then we cooked the meat and onions at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. As soon as the meat is done, start the French fries, I mean, chips. You will want to let the meat rest for about 10 minutes before slicing fairly thinly. While the meat is resting, the chips are cooking, you'll want to shred the cheese and lettuce, and slice the baguette lengthwise.

 

 

Assemble the sandwich with lettuce on the bottom, then tomato slices, the onions, then the meat. Pile on a generous amount of chips then sprinkle with cheese. Broil in the oven to melt the cheese.

 

      

 

This was truly an amazing sandwich. Very filling. Very flavorful. Very huge. You should've seen all of us trying to take a bite.

 Along with our Gatsby sandwich we fixed South African Samp and Beans. South African Samp and Beans is a traditional side dish known as Umngqusho by the Xhosa people. Samp is cracked hominy and this medley also includes black eyed peas, potato, tomato, onion, vegetable bouillon, and curry. It takes a long time but well worth the wait because of the complex flavors. These are not just plain beans! We found our recipe for Umngqusho on food.com. (I even added my photo there because they had none...)

 

 

 

And for dessert we had South African Koeksisters. They are divinely sweet and usually enjoyed during teatime. They are braided pastries that are deep fried and covered in an extremely sweet syrup.  The recipe followed said to make the syrup the night before but we made it first thing in the morning and it chilled for about six hours.  It's similar to a simple syrup recipe but is 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. It includes lemon, 2 cinnamon sticks, and ginger, then is chilled.

You make the dough and then let it set for about 3 hours. When it was time to roll out and cut the dough, we kind of digressed from the recipe a bit. We made ours a little larger, I used a pizza cutter to quickly slice dough. Everyone joined in for the braiding, then we deep fried them. As soon as they left the fryer, they needed to be dipped in the syrup.

 

 

Oh.My.Goodness. I know I rave about a lot of our recipes but this one was spectacular. So sweet, with a hint of lemon and cinnamon and ginger. We probably had forty koeksisters and ate about twenty five of them that night! I was able to share a few with our neighbor and she loved them too!

 

We really enjoyed our South African cuisine experience. I love that it is something we do together as a family. I love that this is homeschool for my family. I can't think of a better way to learn Geography than to try the foods of other countries. And I love that we pray for each of these countries, their people, & missionaries that are there. It's gotten all of us to think outside of ourselves and world. God created a wondrous and diverse world and I'm loving exploring it with my family.