Leave a Legacy WALK for LIFE

Leave a Legacy WALK for LIFE

Peace, Love and Yogurt

I'm turning into a hippie. Or so my kids and husband tell me. I've started carrying my own bags to the grocery store, I've had a compost pile in the backyard for a while now, I wear scarves and skirts, we recycle and to top it all off I've started making my own laundry detergent and yogurt! Well, in my defense..we are to be good stewards of this earth God has given us. Psalm 24:1 says "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him."

God has given us an amazing world to live in! Let's have fun with it while we take care of it!

If you want to join me in this hippie movement...here's the recipes for the laundry detergent and the yogurt.

Laundry Detergent--

• 1 bar of shaved bar soap (Ivory, ZOTE, Fels-Naptha)
• 1/2 cup of borax
• 1/2 cup of washing soda

Thoroughly stir together for 5 minutes and enjoy the results! Use 1 tablespoon for each load. I use vinegar as fabric softener too!

Yogurt--a little more involved..but worth it!

-8 cups (half-gallon) of whole milk--pasteurized and homogenized is fine, but do NOT use ultra-pasteurized.

--1/2 cup store-bought natural, live/active culture plain yogurt (you need to have a starter. Once you have made your own, you can use that as a starter)

--frozen/fresh fruit for flavoring

--thick bath towel

This takes a while. Make your yogurt on a weekend day when you are home to monitor.

Plug in your crockpot and turn to low. Add an entire half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours.

Unplug your crockpot. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 3 hours.

When 3 hours have passed, scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Then dump the bowl contents back into the crockpot. Stir to combine.

Put the lid back on your crockpot. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the crock for insulation.

Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours.

In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened---it's not as thick as store-bought yogurt, but has the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt.

Blend in batches with your favorite fruit. I did mango, strawberry, and blueberry. When you blend in the fruit, bubbles will form and might bother you. They aren't a big deal, and will settle eventually.

Chill in a plastic container(s) in the refrigerator. Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter to make a new batch.

thanks to this website for the recipe http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/you-can-make-yogurt-in-your-crockpot.html

and this for the detergent http://diynatural.com/simple-easy-fast-effective-jabs-homemade-laundry-detergent/

If you have any more great ideas or recipes to add to my hippyness please leave a comment and let me know!

It's Just a Mailbox!

Ok..So my daughter just had her first car wreck yesterday! She's ok. Car's ok. Everything is ok..except for one mailbox. It was a massacre...bricks everywhere! We ran out to see what happened..but started laughing and hugging when we realized she was fine and the car was fine. I mean..it's just a mailbox, right? Well you wouldn't think so from our neighbors reaction! They came out and didn't even ask if she was ok! They were devastated! No smiles, no "it's ok!", just stark faces, crossed arms, and angry words. They even called the police! Seriously? The wife called the husband home from work too! Why?? Larry was out there graciously cleaning up the mess. He even called a place that could come out and fix it same day! We even brought over money to cover cost! But still..stark faces, crossed arms, and angry words. Why?? Is this something to get that upset over? Is it something that is unfixable? Is it something that is life changing?? Not in the least!! It's just a mailbox! It's no inconvenience to anyone except maybe the mailman ..who will have to get out of his truck to deliver the mail to the door. There's just too many things that happen in life to get upset about things that don't matter. I watched my sweet niece get ravaged by leukemia...THAT'S bigger than a mailbox! 4,000 babies were murdered by legal abortion just today...THAT'S bigger than a mailbox! Kids in Uganda are working all day long in a rock quarry for one penny...THAT'S bigger than a mailbox! I have friends whose spouses have left them this year...THAT'S bigger than a mailbox!

Let's cherish this life we are given. Let's get upset about things that we should get upset about! and let's let go of things that don't matter at all... after all, IT"S JUST A MAILBOX!!!

The Year in Review

Coming up to the end of the year is sobering. You start thinking of how the year went, what all has happened, choices that were made or weren't made. But it's also a time to think of the year to come. So much can happen in a year. Life just seems to speed up every year. Some highlights and low lights of the year:

• I have 3 teenagers now!
• Larry and I celebrated our 20th year of marriage!
• I started a part time (almost full time!) job--which I love by the way
• We remembered the one year anniversary of Skylar going to be with Jesus
• Larry and I were in a terrible car wreck that totaled our car-thankfully we weren't hurt badly
• 4 of our a/c's went out in 5 of our rent houses this summer! ugh!
• I got to go to Ireland!
• the boys had some great trainings with Sea Cadets
• Renee got a job at Sonic!
• Renee got a car!
• Scott got a motorcycle!
• I have 2 kids driving!
• it was our last year at our homeschool co-op (we've been there for 8 yrs!)
• Sam started Jr. High
• Sam played football at school and did awesome!
• Scott was gone for 3 weeks this summer and rode halfway across the country on a bus!
• I attended my 20 yr high school reunion!

The Lord is good. He's always with us. Sometimes you feel like He's not there but He's not the one that moves.

Who knows what next year will bring. Larry's job is uncertain. The election in next year. (Larry is running for governor.) Renee will be 18 next year and may move off.. who knows! Things change so quickly. It's good to remember the good and the bad. It's good to continue to walk with the Lord. He is our strength. One of my favorite verses is Romans 5:3-6 "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."

Look at it like this:

problems/trials ----> endurance ----->strength of character ----->hope------>God's love

Newlyweds and Oldyweds

We just visited my niece and her new hubby. They are newlyweds. They've only been married a few months. It's so cute to watch them. They are always hugging and kissing or holding hands. They get up and get each other a drink or something to eat. They always ask if it's ok they do this or that. It's so adorable! On the other hand..they have no idea what's ahead for them. They have no idea that hard times come, feelings get hurt, miscommunications happen. They have no idea that that "woozy woozy" feeling fades over time. They also have no idea that it's replaced with a love that goes deeper. Larry and I will be married 20 years this year. That's a long time. We are so past the newlywed stage. We still hold hands and cuddle. But it's so much deeper. We've been through the thin and now we're into the "thick"! (in more ways than one!) We have seen what it's like to love each other and be there for each other through sickness and health, rich or poor, for better and for worse. Some days there is more better and some days are more worse. But we have a bond that will last. Love is a lot like a garden. You have to weed it, water it, and plant new stuff in it. It's a process but with a little work the flowers of love will bloom year after year. I'm excited to see what the next 20 years hold!

Dreams

I am missing my sweet little niece Skylar so much! I have dreams about her all the time. I thought I'd blog about a few. I dreamed the other day that Skylar was alive but very tiny..and we kept her in a book on the shelf. Anytime we wanted to see her..we got the book down and she got out and played with us!

When Skylar first passed away I had dreams about her every night. I dreamt that I was in charge of watching her and she was playing out in the front yard and I lost her! I couldn't find her anywhere! I also had a dream that the hospital called us up one day and told us that they found a perfectly healthy Skylar just walking around the hospital and that it had been a total mix-up! They had no idea who that sick little girl was that we were caring for!

The dictionary defines dreams as

1.	a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep. Well, I think about Skylar a lot and she will always be in my mind and heart!

New Stage of Life

Well... I started something I thought I wouldn't do for a long time... I started a part time job! I've been working there about a month now and I absolutely love it! It's for a great cause, it's great people, and it's perfect for me! I have been volunteering at the Arlington Resale Shop for about 6 months now. It's the thrift store that supports the Arlington Pregnancy Center. I had been thinking about getting a part time job but wasn't quite sure where to look. You've got to understand I've never really had a job before. Sure, I've worked temp jobs here and there. Some office work, fast food etc. But never anything for a long period of time. I was volunteering at the store one day when I felt like the Lord was telling me to ask if they had any part time jobs there. I kind of started arguing with God. "God- this is a volunteer operation. They don't have enough money to hire anyone here." on and on the doubts went... Finally God was just telling me to ask! So I did. The lady said..."We've been looking to hire some part time people and would love to hire a volunteer!" Yeah! Just obeying what God is telling you --Works! Anyway.. it's perfect for me. I run the register, help put out merchandise, tag and hang clothes, help customers, work on the displays...etc! I love it so much and I feel like I'm really doing something to help out! The pregnancy center helps women in a crisis pregnancy situation. They help show them that life is important! They help the women with diapers, formula, baby stuff too. It's such a blessing! Thank you Jesus!