Lilac Girls [Book In Review]

This book stays with you and makes your heart think and process history a bit. I am Polish, a third generation immigrant and up until this summer I have not read very much about what the Polish people went through during Hitler’s reign. With movies like the Zoo Keeper’s wife and this book, Lilac Girls,

High as the Heavens {Book In Review]

Kate Breslin knocked it out of the park with this suspense/action adventure book. She expertly sets up the storyline to have you rooting for the main characters, Eve and Simon from the beginning of the book. Eve becomes a war hero, spy and protector of her family all while grieving the death of her poor

The Danger of Commercial Air Fresheners

If you are interested in becoming a new member, starter kits begin at $45. The new desert mist diffuser will be available in starter kits soon, but until then, you can order it separately! BECOME A MEMBER

Blemishes And Non Cystic Acne: My Journey

Tags : acneessential oilshormonal acnehormones

I have made a lot of progress on my skin since this picture was taken in 2011.When your face looks like this, your body is trying to send a message. It’s hurting and it needs help. I’ve found a lot of natural tools to tackle the problem of adult hormonal acne. In my first and

Wings of the Wind [Book In Review]

I have read Out From Egypt 1& 2 which is the first and second book in this series and loved them both, so it was a no brainer to request this book for review. I love following the timeline and stories of the slaves from Israel as they wander the dessert and eventually find the

How To Beat A UTI… Naturally

Last weekend my 7 year old was going to the bathroom, A LOT. I noticed he used the bathroom 4 times in 2 hours. When I asked him if his tummy hurt, he said no, but it’s hard to go pee! I knew exactly what the problem was right away and looked up bladder infection

Copiaba Oil

Tags : Copiaba

Funny story, the other day I came home from work with a headache. I grabbed what I thought was my Copiaba bottle and quickly applied to my head. After a minute or two, i noticed my head was a bit spicy and thought, “huh that’s weird?” I looked at the bottle and realized I had

Invitation [Book In Review]

I love the organization of this book! Written in four smaller stories, told in the point of view of four different characters, you will have a well rounded understanding of the team by the end of the book. These four authors have collaborated to give the reader something amazing. I liked reading short stories, and

Gifts From Heaven [A Book In Review]

This collection of stories compiled by James Stuart Bell is an encouraging read for anyone. There is a wide variety of miracles that range from death defying close encounters to emotional and relational miracles. I would often read this book in the morning or evenings to help encourage my faith in the supernatural. I would

Murder On The Moor [Book In Review]

This is the second book I’ve read by Julianna Deering and it was as good as the first. The main characters, Drew and Madaline are the dreamy perfect couple who love adventure and romance. They go together like peanut butter and jelly and it’s a fun way to solve a mystery. In both of the

The Mark of the King [Book In Review]

This book never slows down! With each chapter, there are twists and turns; surprises and mystery. I never found myself hurrying through a chapter because it was boring. As a doula, I love to read about how Midwives operated in the early centuries. This book intrigued me from the start because of that detail alone,

Conspiracy of Silence [Book In Review]

This book is the second in a series, and well worth the read! Tox, the main character named for being Toxic to those he loves, fights his way through an archeological mystery. This book holds tightly to the verbiage and culture of the military. There is Biblical mystery woven throughout the pages and it leaves

Fatal Frost [Book In Review]

This book catches you from the first chapter, and the suspense does not end. I had a hard time putting this book down. I love the main character, Mercy, and her tough exterior. As a US Marshall, she needs to be tough, but the author does a good job at developing her character and softer

Shadow of the Storm [Book In Review]

This book had so many suspenseful twists and turns that made it really enjoyable to read. Shira, the main character, has endured much in her short life as a Hebrew slave turned free woman following the cloud of the LORD. The author does a really great job imagining what life would be like from the

The Artisian’s Wife [Book In Review]

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my review. This was a very easy book to read! The main plot was fast enough that the reader did not get bored and there were enough sub plots to also keep it moving. Ainslee, the main character is a woman of virtue and

No Way Up [Book In Review]

I’ve read other books from Mary Connelly in the past and this one is same caliber as the rest of them. Some romance is usually involved woven within murder or mystery. The main characters are usually trying to protect themselves or solve a crime. If you’ve read any of her other series books, this one

Delilah Treacherous Beauty [Book In Review]

The author, Angela Hunt, reignites the story of Samson and Delilah written in the Bible. There is not a lot of details given about these two people in history and Angela expands the readers imagination around the vents that could have taken place. As a side note, she does have a statement in the back

Sins of the Past [Book In Review]

I have read fiction novels by authors Dee Henderson and Dani Pettrey before and felt confident that I would enjoy this series. This book is actually 3 mini stories in one. I’ve never tried reading a novella before, but it’s actually quite enjoyable. I don’t regularly have a hard time finishing books, but for those

Coming Full Circle

Tags : ColumbineRachel Joy ScottRachel's challenge

Today, I will see my testimony come full circle. Do you ever have those moments in life, that make you stand back and marvel at the hand of God? This is one of those moments for me. In my children’s elementary school, they have a program in the mornings called Rise and Shine. It’s an

The Midwife’s Dilemma [Book In Review]

The Midwife’s Dilemma by Delia Parr is the third book in the At Home in Trinity series. This series needs to be read in order because of the character’s histories and relationships with each other. As a practicing doula, I enjoy reading fiction novels about Midwives. The first two books in the series had a

Dressed For Death [Book In Review]

This book is independent of the series meaning you don’t have to have read the first three books in order to understand what’s happening from the beginning of the book. I enjoyed that because so many series books are intertwined and leave the reader feeling lost. After finishing this book, I would go back and

A Worthy Heart {Book In Review}

This book started off slow, and when I say slow, I mean I fell asleep 4 times trying to read the first chapter. I almost gave up on the book altogether but I pressed on and I’m glad I did. The book has a lot of characters which were a bit difficult to keep straight

Weight Loss in the New Year

Tags : #mystorydietessential oilsweight loss

Weight Loss in the New Year The month of January undoubtedly brings New Year’s Resolutions which include getting healthier. Fad diets abound and gym memberships are started. It’s the time of motivation. If you know me well, you know that my theory on weight loss can be summed up by the phrase, “eat fat to

A Big Reveal & A Birth Story

  I feel like I’m about to reveal the gender of my baby. Well, a baby that I have been working on for months now with a very talented logo designer. She’s DOULA’d me through the process with creativity, patience and love. Logo planning is full of expectations and idealism. When I was a mess

Daylight Savings Issues?

Tags : daylight savingsessential oilssleep issues

Sleep is by far one of the most challenging issues I try to help people regulate with oils, and it seems to really be a problem during daylight savings. There are so many reasons why a person would not be sleeping regularly! The first thing you have to do is determine the underlying cause to irregular

Fire & Ice [Book In Review]

In the book Fire & Ice by Mary Connealy, the reader gets a mixture of romance, adventure and mystery. Bailey Wilde lives up to her name as a tomboy of sorts. She is an independent woman that finds love and her greatest desire; to be loved and accepted by a man. I enjoyed the book

Thieves Oil

Tags : Thieves Essential oilThieves oil

How Do I Use My Oils?     My two boys give me ample opportunities to try them out. The week before school started, my youngest was wrestling with our 12 week old puppy. Sharp puppy teeth skimmed his ear and left a gash that needed to be glued together by our Pediatrician. His Pediatrician prescribed

Penicillin Allergy

Tags : anaphylaxis shockessential oilspenicillin allergy

It had been a full holiday season and all of the Christmas gifts had been opened and played with. My sweet 3 year old son had come down with an ear infection and we went to the Pediatrician to get our routine prescription of penicillin. A few days later, he had full body hives and

The Natural Family Planning Method

Tags : doulafree birth controlHormone free birth controlNatural Family PlanningNFP

The Natural Family Planning method of birth control has been our first choice for the past 10 years of childbearing. Why? hormone free cost effective flexible- the decision to prevent or plan a pregnancy can be changed instantly foster’s communication between the couple creates an awareness of the female’s natural cycle adds an element of

Yoga and Jesus: Just Breathe

Tags : BergamotJesus doulajust breathepractice breathing during laborpracticing breathing during laborprenatal yogaTulsa doulaYlang Ylang

A few years ago I had a counselor critique me. He said, “you don’t breathe.” I looked at him with curiosity and then realized I was in fact holding my breath. Maybe you do it too? His recommendation? To breathe, and practice breathing deeply when I feel stress. And for at least 8 years now, I

Mineral Essence tastes like…

Tags : essential oilsMineral Essence

Why are Minerals important for the body? According to two-time Nobel Peace Prize winner, Linus Pauling, PhD, “You can trace every sickness, disease, and every ailment to a mineral deficiency.” WOW. Minerals are necessary for the body to preform basic metabolic functions. What are metabolic functions? The set of life-sustaining chemical transformations within the cells of our

Chigger Bites?

Tags : chigger biteschiggersdoulanatural remedy

QUICK TIP:  Do you get Chigger bites when you spend time outside in the summer? My daughter recently came home from camp with 20-30 bites on her sweet little hiney. After reading through a few testimonials on www.oil-testimonials.com, I let her choose which oil to use.  (I think it’s always important to go with the person’s

Compatibility With Your Doula

Tags : doula matchhaving doulatrust your doulaTulsa doula

Having a relationship built with trust and open communication is vital between doula and client. I don’t think I need to say this twice; your doula is going to see you naked!  If that’s not enough motivation for you, I don’t know what is. So what other compatibility issues should you consider when choosing a

Birth Basics Package

Tags : basic birth packageBirth Basics Packagebirth package tulsaTulsa doula

Birth Basics Package – $450                       Free consultation to see if we click On the Big Day On-call labor support for the 2 weeks surrounding your due date. Early labor phone or text support. Continuous physical and emotional labor support provided in your home, birth center or hospital from

Not Your Grandma’s Flour.. Or Is It?

Tags : bakingflourgluten freegluten free flourlow gluten

What’s NEW I want to highlight a brand new product that was just released this month. Einkorn Flour!  I know you all signed up to buy the oils because they are the most unique items, but I like to highlight products that you may have not tried yet. Why is this flour different from the

Sore Muscles?

Tags : sore muscle reliefsore musclessore muscles reliefsportworkout

Post Workout Relief Do you need some relief for sore muscles after a workout? Peppermint, Wintergreen, Copaiba, Helichrysum, Dorado Azul, and other essential oils each play an integral role in this blend. The Deep Relief Roll-On has an invigorating and energizing scent, and offers a convenient method of application for forehead, temples, and neck anytime,

The Midwife’s Tale [Book In Review]

The Midwife’s Tale was a fascinating historical account of how a midwife would have practiced. The author did a LOT of research into non medical remedies and herbal concoctions that may have been used during this historical time period. I was fascinated by the medical and midwifery parts of this book. That being said, I

Blemishes And Non Cystic Acne: My Journey

Tags : Berkey water filtrationblemishesessential oils

Why don’t you just wash your face? Most people think that people with acne just have dirty skin. That’s more than likely not the case. In fact, most people that I know who suffer from blemishes over wash their face because we are still trying to clear it from the outside in. Remember, it’s an internal

Do You Wax?

Tags : essential oilseyebrow waxingLavenderMelroseMyrrhTea Tree oilwaxingYoung Living

Bring Your Oils With You QUICK TIP:  Eyebrow waxing is on my to do list on a regular basis. One of the things I used to dislike about the whole process was the raw, irritated skin afterwards. I also used to get these little whiteheads pop up the next day on the freshly waxed skin.

Shadow of the Mountain: Exodus [Book in Review]

A quick read! Suspenseful and full of action. I wouldn’t hesitate to give this book to my brother who is an Army Ranger. This book will draw you in because even though we have all read the accounts of Moses in the Bible, this book gives the fictional human accounts surrounding those events. The author

Lavender: The Swiss Army Knife [part 2]

Tags : essential oilsLavenderswiss army knife

To Read Part 1 click here.   ~Just to Just to review, you can use Lavender for: -minor burns in the kitchen-sun burns-antihistamine responses on the skin-bug bites and stings-dry skin-blemishes-diaper rash-antibacterial uses including scrapes and blisters-anti-fungual uses  I also promised to tell you my suspicions about how his feet got this bad! I think

Lavender: The Swiss Army Knife [part 1]

Tags : essential oilsLavenderswiss army knifeYoung Living

Today I want to highlight Lavender oil. I think sometimes this mighty little oil gets overlooked because of it’s simplicity. It is one of the everyday oils in the starter kit and it doesn’t bring a lot of pizzaz but it does bring a lot of options to the table. Lavender is nicknamed the Swiss

Dauntless [A Book In Review]

I was really drawn into this book right away. Some books do not have that hook in the beginning, but this one did for me. It’s a sweet love story mixed with a survival and action. What I really loved about this book in particular was the way the author, Diana Sleiman was not afraid

How To Travel With Essential Oils

Tags : Thievestravel tipsYoung Living

A Spring Break getaway is in the near future for the Hopkins family. Fun! As I’m strategically thinking through what to pack, I realized that I’ve never traveled with my essential oils before, so that presented a new challenge for me.   What to bring? It would be really awesome to just bring the whole

Sabotaged [A Book In Review]

Tags : Bethany House

The fifth book in the Alaskan Courage series; written by Dani Pettrey. I have also reviewed Silenced, which is the fourth book in the series. In this harrowing adventure, Kirra Jacob’s cousin Meg has been kidnapped. Her Uncle is on a mission to get his daughter back from the kidnappers and is willing to do

From Maleficent to Big Hero Six: A Memoir

The movie Maleficent was released in May of 2014, but in true Hopkins’ form, we did not go to opening weekend. We waited until August after it had been released to the dollar theater. As we were driving home processing the movie and the story line in the car, it hit me; our new puppy’s

Learning Value

Tags : Birthdoulahow much should a doula chargeTulsaTulsa doula

The value of doula work is a highly debated topic among expecting mothers and doulas alike. How much should a doula charge? What’s a reasonable rate? Many, many blog articles have been written, eloquently breaking down the expenses that a doula incurs and how much her “bottom line” is. I agree with most of those

Do Kids Like Fish Oil?

Tags : essential oilsFish oilfish oil for kidsKids vitaminYoung Living

I’ve been trying different forms of fish oil for at least 5 years now and they all have one thing in common. Fish burps! No matter if it comes in a liquid or a capsule form, I have been dealing with the unpleasant aftertaste of fish burps for years. I knew enough about the benefits

Word of the Year 2015

Tags : choiceword of the year

Every year, instead of resolutions or goal setting, I focus on finding one word. Just one. A word of the Year. It’s a word that I want to guide me through the year. Something I feel the Holy Spirit speaking directly to me, for me, about me. When I come to a decision, or a

My Money Back Guarantee

Tags : essential oilsmoney back guaranteeYoung Living

Have you heard? I offer a money back guarantee on all of the oils that you buy as part of my downline. That’s right! Whether it’s a diffuser, a premium starter kit or just a single bottle, if you don’t love it, I will buy it back from you as long as it’s relatively unused.

Keepers Of The Covenant [Book In Review]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It is a page turner. Lynn Austin does an amazing job weaving the Old Testament verses concerning Ezra and Queen Ester with a fictional recount of how those events may have played out in the lives of the Jewish captives. She moves the timeline fast enough that the reader does

Conquering the Sugar Cravings

Tags : CandidadetoxSugar cravings

SUGAR!!! Oh, it’s been quite the journey friends. First, I want to say that we didn’t follow any specific program and we are not 100% free of sugar cravings. Up front honesty is good right? Since August we have been living a “sugar free” lifestyle. Everyone has their standards as to how much sugar they will

Enter to Win A Vitamix

Crystal Paine from Money Saving Mom is hosting a giveaway for a Vitamix! I’m super excited. I’ve been eying one of these babies for years now. Enter to win with me here. The winner will be chosen on 9-16-14.

$10 Great Dates [Book In Review]

This book ended up to be exactly as I expected it to be; lots of ideas that are a little bit out of the ordinary for dating. The pages are filled with 52 different themed ideas ranging from Adventure dates to At-home dates. What I liked about it is that they give you the overall

Men’s Cologne

Tags : essential oilsHong Kuai essential oilYoung Living

I made Jesse some new cologne today using my essential oils. Here’s the recipe: 2 drops of Hong Kuai 1 drop of Ylang Ylang 2 drops of Idaho Blue Spruce I found this recipe on the Young Living blog, as a suggestion for Hong Kuai. When I order oils, I always want to have at

Killing Head Bugs With Essential Oils

Tags : essential oilskilling lice with essential oilsLavenderLicesuper resistant liceThieves Essential oil

You know that dreaded feeling; the moment you realize your child has a head full of bugs. Ahhhh! I secretly wished that we would be able to dodge that bullet as a family, like entirely. I mean, I wash my kids’ hair for goodness sake! How did this happen? Well, regardless of how clean we

Welcome Home, Hopkins Family!

Three weeks ago, we closed on our very own house! This is the second time we’ve ventured into this process of mortgages and commitment, and even though it’s a huge debt, I have an abundant amount of peace this time around. It feels like a gift from Jesus, straight from his heart. Have you ever

Blemishes And Non Cystic Acne: My journey

It’s no secret that I’ve struggled with acne my entire adult life. Here’s my first post where I outed myself back in 2011 when I decided to journal my journey. It stinks to be a 33 year old woman who still deals with it. I had some high hopes I would be done with acne after

How to Earn Free Products from Young Living

This month in my Young Living order I received $186.75 worth of free product! Yep- And that number is conservative because it’s the discounted price. Retail is probably $200. How do you ask? By joining the Essential Rewards (ER) program. When you join you can earn free products two different ways.        

Face To Face With Jesus [Book In Review]

WHOA! This book is a MUST read for anyone who has a relationship with Jesus. It will rock your world. Growing up in America, I’ve never experienced persecution for my faith, but Samaa Habib has. She writes her autobiography for the reader almost like a diary; sharing every profound thought and feeling. Growing up Muslim,

Mom’s First Aid Oil

Tags : essential oilsYoung Living

KTUL.com – Tulsa, Oklahoma – News, Weather Tulsa’s own Channel 8 news featured a story on essential oils! Click on the link above. Young Living is quickly becoming a household name among my friends and family and apparently in the city of Tulsa as well. I’d love for you to join my team!  Contact me

Silenced [Book In Review]

Silenced is the 4th book by Dani Pettrey in the Alaskan Courage series. Each of the books stand alone and you do not need to read the first 3 to understand this book. I, in fact, had forgotten that I read her previous book, Shattered, and after reading the first chapter of this book realized

A Zyto What?

Tags : testimonyYoung Livingzyto scan

A zyto scan! It sounds like it should be from the Star Trek Enterprise, I know. We’re not beaming anybody up today, but it would be kinda fun don’t you think? The zyto scanner looks like this. Its a hand cradle connected to  <———   a computer using biocommunication. I had to test it out for

The “How” of Aromatherapy

Tags : essential oilsYoung Living

Why do essential oils work and how do they work? I think this is the most common question for new users. It felt like I was buying a bunch of bologna when I first heard about aromatherapy. It’s hundreds of years old, but I didn’t really believe in it until I understood the science behind

Sneezing, Itching & Essential Oils….. [A Follow Up]

Tags : allergiesessential oils

In February, I started researching the congestion caused by outdoor irritants  because they are such a big deal in our house. Catch up and read the first post, and then come back to hear the results. Can I just emphasize how bad the spring time season is for us? Here’s a picture of my husband’s back

Good Friday

Tags : Good FridayJesus

As I sit here, contemplating Good Friday this year, I’m moved to tears. How much did Jesus have to endure on the cross? It’s daunting for me to think about. The pain. He did it all for me. It’s only been recently that I’ve really understood death. The process of dying and letting go. The

For Such a Time [Book In Review]

This is a must read! I thoroughly enjoyed this book- so much so that I am sending it to my Mom to read. Kate Breslin writes about the time period involving the Holocaust and Auschwitz. The main character, Hadassah follows the storyline of Queen Ester in the Bible. She gets placed into a position of

Hungry Souls [5 min. Friday]

Tags : healingPrayer

When I see the move of God, His hand at work in someone’s life, I burst at the seams with awe and excitement. I love to watch Him work. He deserves the glory for it all. This week I was able to have a front row seat to God’s healing hand. It was awesome! I

Anitbiotic Free, All Winter Long

Tags : antibiotic freeThieves oilYoung Living

If you are a mom, you know that Winter means sickness, germs and doctor visits. In the 9 years I’ve been parenting, I’ve learned to just expect it. Germs in every public play area. Strep, stomach bugs, and cold viruses that lead to ear infections. It’s all on the menu for wintertime. I have become

The Benefits of Probiotics

Tags : acnebenefits of probioticsezcemafermented foodsprobiotics

Fermented foods are termed the “missing link” in the American culture according to Dr. Mercola. He believes that if Americans would start to embrace fermented foods and probiotics in general, we would see exponential turn around in our health crisis. Why are fermented foods so necessary in our diet? I’m still learning, so let’s learn

The most effetive fire drill ever [5 min. Friday]

When I first started this blog, I intended it to be a digital scrapbook of sorts for my kids. Anticipating that my brain would not hold 100% accurate memories, I hoped that this would be a place for them to refer to as they began their own adventures of growing up and raising kids. Now,

Heaven Come

Never once have we ever walked alone because He’s been faithfully by our side. Even in the hardest of times, when life gets turned up on it’s end and death seems louder than life, He’s there. Every step of grief, is matched with grace. God is so faithful. It’s been a year since my Grandpa

Sneezing, Itching & Essential Oils

Tags : essential oilsLavenderLemonPeppermintYoung Living

Springtime irritants are a big deal at our house. Each year as Spring hits, my husband and I have the same disagreement over the open windows. I love to smell the fresh air, and let in the outdoors to feel the gentle breezes, but he has a reaction to the outdoors, and prefers the house to

Sprains, Strains & Essential Oils

Tags : PanAwayYoung Living

It was a scene directly from Home Alone where the bad guys are being duped by Kevin. He sets out his hot wheel cars and they rush into the room, unaware that he has set the trap, and they step on the little four wheeled monsters to fall flatly on their backs. After 6 years

Sores & Essential oils

Tags : Thieves Essential oil

My husband has been getting big sores on his lips since basically, forever. They are such a disruption to everyday life, not to mention a huge embarrassment to have on your face! “Don’t kiss the kids, don’t kiss you wife. Don’t share a drink.” These are just some of the constant reminders going through his

One Word 2014

2012’s word of the year was Restore                             & 2013’s word of the year was Surrender. This year, I realize I’m a little late to the party. I suppose I knew what my one word was for this year, even before the ball dropped at midnight, but I was reluctant to choose it because I

The Key To The Middle East [Book In Review]

Derek Prince is the perfect person to author this book. He has had the life experience one would need to understand and accurately portray this information to an audience. The first thing I read was his biography at the back of the book because I needed to trust his opinions as an author. I didn’t

Return To Me [Book In Review]

This Biblical fiction served as a teaser, so to say, to intrigue me back to the Bible and history of the Israel nation. I have read the Old Testament a handful of times, and always walked away from the books of the prophets with some confusion and apathy. What Lynn Austin does is bring life

Labor and Delivery [5 min. Friday]

Tags : birth quotesdoula matchlabor and deliveryTulsa doula

A birth quote for you! When thinking about labor and delivery, think on this… “The family is born in the delivery room.”  -Johnny Lind, M.D. Here I am, days before my daughter was born; days before my family was born. As I look back on my growing family, this quote remains so true. God talks about

Dangerous: Engaging the People and Places No One Else Will [Book In Review]

As a reader, I was instantly drawn to the author because he’s from a rural town in Nebraska, and by all appearances is just a normal guy with the courage to do anything. Caleb Bislow grew up with an adventurous father, and a wide open prairie to explore and expand his adventure. He writes this

Fashioned To Reign [Book In Review]

In the book, Fashioned to Reign, the author goes through a very slow process of dissecting Adam and Eve’s relationship and the timeline and happenings in the Garden of Eden. Before doing so, he states, “this Genesis story I am about to tell is the way I imagined Adam recounting it.” And the chapter follows

A Woman’s Giude to Hearing God’s Voice [Book In Review]

This book tackles the topic of hearing God’s voice. Not audibly per say, but in that gut level instinctive way. The author covers basic habits to discipline yourself. She then goes on to discuss every Biblical story in which the main character speaks to God and vise versa. Dissecting their circumstances and attitudes to coach

Blood and Bone (A Jack Hawthorne Adventure Book #3) [Book In Review]

This book is the third in a series of adventures by the college professor and archeologist, Jack Hawthorne. As Jack searches for the bones of Elisha in the first book, I was left with a sense of wonder as the book came to a conclusion. Delighted that Don Hoesel has continued to write more in

Praying the Scriptures [Book In Review]

This is a very self-directed book, meaning you have to find your own motivation to fill in the blanks and lead your own prayer times. I do believe that praying the Scriptures of the Bible are powerful, and a very positive thing to do as a follower of Jesus, but I personally had a hard

On the Importance of Water (H2O Pt. 2)

 “We recently moved into a new city which means new water, and let me tell you, I can taste the chlorine. YUCK  Brushing my teeth has become an exercise in trying not to gag and I can smell the chlorine when I wash the dishes; it’s like being at the pool. After my Berkey gets

Mile Marker 31

Tags : Jesus doulaTulsa doula

“Jesus take the wheel” by Carrie Underwood may just be the song I woke up to this morning. I never this listen to country ya’ll, and I never say ya’ll but as I lay in bed thinking, it dawned on me that today marks one year of living in Tulsa. So ya’ll, is fitting now

Angels By My Side [Book In Review]

I read this book within a few days, as it is only 121 pages. The author, Betty Malz, relays stories from people that she’s gathered about angels. About 60% of the book, the author discusses the theological points and Biblical thoughts regarding angels. This was a bit on the dry side for me, and intertwined

These Are the Days of Elijah [Book In Review]

After reading this book, I can only give it 3 stars because I had a hard time finishing it. The book is not very long, but the author went in to varied detail about the life of Elijah. I’m not a person who enjoys every minute detail so I think that’s where this book lost

The Little Black Sweater

It seems to me that every time I have a dramatic, life shifting season, I buy a new black sweater. I have the overly large black sweater I bought after Ashden was born. The kind you pull over your head to cover the lingering baby tummy and nursing faux pas. Those were the years I

Birth Story {2nd addition}

Tags : birth story with epidural

Dear Ashden, My sweet baby boy; as we waited in the living room for the line to show on the pregnancy test, it was decided that your Dad and sister would look at the test and deliver the results. I was much too nervous. You were a surprise from Heaven, a gift from above and

A Wandering Heart

Indecision is the most heated debate that happens within this little head of mine. Right or Left God? Which way? Yes or no? And it’s with this indecision that we get stuck. For 5  l.o.n.g. years I’ve been inquiring of the Lord. If you’ve been a part of our story at all, you’ve watched us

Sign and Wonders and a Baptist Preacher

This book is a fantastic read for anyone interested in the supernatural. Chad Norris is a baptist preacher who comes to the table admitting he has been “skeptical” of signs and wonders. As he describes his testimony and journey into the world of the Kingdom, the reader gets the impact of just how far he

Learning To Love [Book In Review]

This book was rich in stories and real life examples of the work Heidi and Rolland Baker do in Mozambique, Africa. I have heard of these two missionaries in the past, and I was genuinely interested to read about their work in the “bush, bush.” There is no detail left unturned between these pages, which

Shattered (Alaskan Courage) [Book In Review]

This book has drama, suspense and romance intertwined through the storyline. The main characters are a tight knit family of young adults who have grown up supporting each other in the Alaskan mountains. After their brother, Reef, gets charged with murder, they seek to prove his innocence. As they hunt down clues to the victim’s

Outrageous Courage [Book In Review]

I really enjoyed this book! It is essentially a biography about Tracy, written and published by the authors. Tracy’s life is far from status quo as a single woman in love with Jesus. She follows him to the scariest places on Earth and her courage is energizing. She has overcome a lot of obstacles in

Word for the Year 2013

Last year I stumbled upon a blogger who had chosen a word for the year. I had never heard of such a thing, but I liked it. So I joined the club and chose a word. I had no idea the impact of just 1 word. Last year, the word was restore. It became a

The Best of 2012

As the year comes to an end, I usually start to reflect on the highs and the lows. From my family to yours, thank you for coming back to read about our life and thank you for your love and support. Favorite Discovery of 2012: Ok, well it’s really just essential oil, nothing new there

‘Tis Better To Give…

These are the words that come from a second grader’s heart today, as she talks with her friends at school. “It’s better to give, than to receive,” she says. A sweet peer looks over at her, with an attentive look and asks, “what does receive mean?” The bold second grader simply says, ” it’s when

A Legacy

Can you hear her prayers, for her seven children and many more grands? She’s been praying for them for years. They both have, with their Bibles strewn about the coffee tables and reading areas. Pages worn, edges tattered with love. Their crooked fingers know just where to turn when in need. That’s the legacy of

Real Life Miracles [Book In Review]

I LOVED this book! It was truly a fantastic compilation of real life stories of miracles. I’ve read other books with a similar theme and I loved those as well.  What I really appreciated about this book was that the stories were mostly dated post 2000. They were recent, and there were a lot of

A Hidden Truth [Book In Revview]

This book’s plot moves very slowly. I don’t know if I have read one too many books with an Amish/Mennonite theme but the culture references have become monotonous to me. I appreciate the author’s juxtaposition between Karlina and Dovie’s worlds, but it was not a page turner. I struggled to read the book, and had

Against The Tide [Book In Review]

If you can get past the first two chapters, this book will take you on an amazing ride of suspense and emotion. The main character, Lydia is a non conforming woman of courage. She and her comrade, Blane end up fighting both personal and national battles. I found myself cheering them on, and relating in

On The Reconciliation of Stuff (Master Bath Edition)

One decade is the length of time I’ve been living with these two items. They greet me every morning in the master bath as I ready myself. Two long time friends of mine right here. That freesia body spray still has a good two weeks of life left in her. The razor could last forever.Exhibit

Community: Take 2

She rides her bike to school everyday with her children. A gentle woman that I would like to get to know. Sometimes, there’s that spark in friendship that you just can’t explain. We pass each other on busy mornings, each giving our kids good bye kisses without connecting, but yesterday was different. I speak up

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years

Some quotes that have been inspiring me lately… from a book by Donald Miller. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years “The whole point of the story is the character arc. You didn’t think joy could change a person, did you? Joy is what you feel when the conflict is over. But it’s conflict that

Book Club at (in)courage

I can admit it, whenever I go to a social gathering and I am the teeniest tiniest bit nervous to meet new people, I want to wear a new shirt. This is my coping mechanism. I want to hide myself from the new people slightly, so I hope that the new shiny shirt will distract

A lesson learned from Jaycee Dugard

The unknown is like the light mist of dew on a mature summer morning. The grass is shiny although one cannot make out the exact droplets of water on the blades. The asphalt is darker and a clean looking sidewalk lies before me, although I still can’t be sure it rained.The unknown is allusive, tricky

Over the Edge [Book In Review]

  Four out of Five Stars Over the Edge is the third book in a series called the Kincaid Brides by Mary Connealy. I must admit that once I realized this book was the third in line, my heart sank because I assumed I would not understand the sub plots because I had not read

Stretch n’ Grow

Tags : Jesus doulastretch and growTulsa doula

There’s a tag line that I use often on my blog posts, stretch and grow it says. It’s been a tag line in my life since high school. You see, I’m a girl who doesn’t like change. It’s not a hatred type feeling towards it, just an emotional temper tantrum if you will. A chill

Echoing Words

“Ok”, she said looking very serious. And with one sly smile she takes my thumb in her hand and she says, “Mom, you can look at your thumbs when you miss me tomorrow too.” We had a deal. I had given her a manicure and pedicure the night before school started. We painted sparkles on

Dear Me,

Dear Deirdre, It’s me, your favorite person here, writing to let you know that it’s ok to love your body. There will be comments, a whole slew of comments from others about it, but just take my advice- ignore them. Some will whisper the words behind your back and others will ask, “Do you eat!” 

Almost Amish [Book In Review]

With multiple story lines happening within this book, one would think that it would have contained my interest a little bit more, but it wasn’t until chapter 30 that I decided I needed to read it in it’s entirety. The Amish lifestyle has become popular to read in fiction stories because the simplistic lifestyle intrigues

Do you Want to Make God Laugh?

“Do you want to know how to make God laugh?” I hear the preacher say.                      “Tell Him your plans for your life.” And while we are on the subject of telling God our plans for our lives, he says, “God doesn’t have to let you in on His plan for your life.” And the light

Serpent of Moses [Book In Review]

Truly a page turner and fiction thriller. Don Hoesel returns the main character, Jack Hawthorne, to his action adventures as an archeologist, but this time Jack’s searching for Moses’ staff. As referenced in Hezekiah, the staff has been destroyed, but Jack pushes through his doubt and finds a faith renewed. My first encounter with the

On The Reconcilliation of Stuff (Back to School Edition)

August is the back to school month of frenzy shopping. From hair cuts to school supplies, lunch totes, backpacks, shoes, fall and winter clothes; you name it and we are buying it. Don’t get me wrong, the buzz of sharpening pencils can quicken my pulse too. I’m a school girl at heart and I can

On The Reconciliation of Stuff (4)

This week my family is concentrating on Less Stuff brought to you by the letter C. (Do I remind you of Sesame Street a little?) But seriously, the letter C and his lovely friend the Camel coincided with our conversation about stuff so he had to make the post right? These cards were purchased from

Examining Ezra & Nehemiah

How do we handle differences in the body of Christ? Is it ok to be different from each other, or do we believe we must all be alike? You know, those topics and issues of everyday life that make us unique. I feel one way about it with scriptures that support my viewpoint and someone

Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters [Book In Review]

Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters: Real-Life Stories of Supernatural Events is the most recent [Book In Review] I’ve completed for Bethany House publishing group. I read the book in 48 hours, which is indicative of how engulfed I was into the stories. Yes, I may have ignored my children for a few hours each day

On the Reconciliation of Stuff (3)

The desire to fill the empty space lives inside all of us. Some people call it the “God shaped hole”, or “a longing for Heaven and the God who created it.” It’s common to humanity, but what do we do with our hole? How do we choose to fill it? I briefly touched on this

On the Reconciliation of Stuff (2)

A few days ago on Facebook I encountered this status from a friend: If you’re new to this conversation, you may want to start with post (1). I posed this question: How do you feel when you buy something? I hope we all took a few moments to answer it for ourselves because in order

On the Reconciliation of Stuff

How do you feel about your stuff? I’ve blogged about it before in posts featuring clothing and food, but here I am tackling the topic again as requested by a friend. So, how do you feel about it?Recently, I’ve packed my entire house, moved it 8 hours away and unpacked it (well mostly) and I’ve

Hot & Uncomfortable

Tags : hot and uncomfortableJesus doulapregnancyTulsa doulauncomfortable during pregnancy

It was May of 2009 and I was feeling hot and uncomfortable. The warm summer air had already started to creep into the days of May just as school had ended for the year and I caved. I couldn’t take the heat anymore so I turned on the air conditioning. The frugal side of me

Turn the Tables + A Giveaway

I’ve been blogging for approximately two years now, mainly in the dark confines of my personal home office with zero readers except the occasional visit from my husband because he loves me that much. All until recently, when I met with a friend who encouraged me to let myself be read. I mean honestly, is

Unstuck [Book In Review]

As a blogger one of my perks, shall we say, is to review books from the Bethany House publishing group in exchange for the {book in review} for free. It’s fun, and a great way to open yourself up to books that you may or may not have pulled from the bookstore shelf. I promise

On The Importance Of Water (H2O Pt. 1)

Water is vital to all forms of life. It’s imperative for your body to continue restoring the cells with H2O, so imperative that after 3 days without water you will die. To get a better understanding of the water crisis I would recommend the documentary called Blue Gold: World Water Wars. It will describe in

When Impossible becomes Anything

In the last month I’ve had a two day garage sale, selling most of my non essential items, packed up my entire house and moved 350 miles away. If you would have given me a snapshot of the month of May before I entered it, I would have told you, impossible. I would have fervently

Kitchen Restoration

It’s been a long process and the big kitchen reveal is finally here. If you’re planning a kitchen remodeling project of your own I have a few words of advice- be prepared for take out, and lots of it. It never failed to amaze me that no matter how detailed my preparation was for dinner,

Kitchen Island Tutorial

The kitchen island has been starring at me for a very long time, waiting for my attention. Last fall we revamped our kitchen by removing two cabinets- yikes we lost a lot of storage- and adding a dishwasher. Our home was built in the 1960s and had a space opposite the appliance wall for a

Moments of Impact

Last Week my husband rented the movie, The Vow for us. The storyline is based on true events featuring a husband and wife who are young and in love. They get in a car accident and she forgets the past five years of her life, all memories which include him. She can’t believe she’s married

When Motherhood is a Porch Swing

I have fond memories of my Grandma’s porch swing. The time we spent just gazing into the distance, the mountains and blue skies of Colorado are a memory I will hold dear forever. My Grandma is a strong woman, always up for the remodeling task at hand, but after she would get done working I

iPhone Apps {Freebie Friday}

My Top 5 Free Apps for the iPhone           Shopkick– This app allows you to preform secret shopper duties in exchange for points. There are usually a number of products at each store that need to be scanned. You literally take a picture of the bar code and it does the

Amazing Grace

How sweet is the sound of a saw? You know the back and forth hum of a hand saw, trimming off a dead branch on a tree. It’s rhythmic, methodical, therapeutic. 4 years ago this week I would have disagreed. I would have told you that a saw has the ability to hurt you, it

25 Random Things About Me

1. I’ve had mono twice and it stinks. I’ve vowed to never drink out of a water fountain again no matter how thirsty I may be at the time. 2. I’m from Colorado and I consider myself “a meat-eating vegetarian.” I eat meat for the protein, and only when it’s well done. Coincidentally my daughter

Birth Story {3rd addition}

Tags : birth stories

For all you birth junkies out there and anyone else who likes the gooshy details of birth stories – read on. Baby #3 was due December 5th so on December 6th I was anxious to get this party started. After we came home from church the contractions started. They were VERY mild and about 20

What Is Justification Anyways?

I’ve been a Christian for a loooong time, and to be quite honest I’ve had trouble grasping exactly what justification means. Can I get an amen from the chior? Clueless, up until reading this book The Fitting Room: Putting On the Character of Christ by Kelly Minter. Anytime I read a book and my mind

7 [Book In Review] Conclusion

The past seven weeks have been transformative and I am so thankful that I won this book from a giveaway. God clearly had intended this for me.  I had someone comment that I must really love this book in order to review it chapter by chapter, and that an all inclusive once over broad review

Rescreening a Window Tutorial

Do you have a screen window that looks like this in your house? I have a few. Summer is just around the corner and the warm breeze of an open window will be comforting, unless you have screen issues. Then if your kids are anything like mine, they will scream when a wasp breaks in.

For The Love of Reading

I really love to read. As an introvert it helps me recharge and find some balance in life. The less chatter the better sometimes when I am going through a particularly stressful time.  Because I love books, I thought I would promote some ebooks through Amazon. They are currently free but I am not sure

Organize & Decorate

The seasons are changing and that means the winter clothes are going to thrift stores and the summer clothes are replacing them. I find it helpful to hang up special items that my kids use frequently so that drawers are not constantly being open and shut trying to find the necessary item. This winter my

Dear Ainsley, I will let you down

We had a short visit with Jesse’s Mom this weekend for Easter and it was great. My kids were able to spend time with another generation, always an invaluable activity. I really place importance on joining the generations because there is a richness and a heritage that comes from it. As I said goodbye to

Homemade Yogurt

We drink raw milk because we believe so highly in the properties of the raw milk. It’s hormone free & lactose intolerance friendly. I make homemade yogurt in my crock pot weekly. It is the easiest recipe I’ve found by far. I don’t love spending time in the kitchen so trust me when I say,

Healed {one year later}

The power of the grave is something no one overcomes on their own. Death meets us all eventually. What man can live and not see death, or save himself from thepowerofthegrave ? Psalm 89:48 Organizing my medical paperwork prior to mtg. w/the specialist A year ago I was facing kidney failure, until one morning while

Spread out the Load

Do all of your bills fall within a two week span like mine do? As sleep deprived mother’s, we usually have the intelligence but not the brain power to solve the problem. So I’m here to remind you that some of your payees will allow you to move the scheduled “due date” of your monthly

Beautiful Creation

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”    Romans 1:20  

Cod Liver Oil Success

Do you struggle with getting your kids to take their Fermented Cod Liver Oil? I do, along with every other mother in America I assume, until I concocted this recipe: 1/4 C. Raw Fermented Peppermint Cod Liver Oil (Green Pasture) 1/2 C. Raw Honey 1-2 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil 1 ice cube tray Mix

Warning: Extreme Minimalist Lives Here

I have often felt more comfortable having less, than having more. Less pictures hanging on the wall, and more bare drywall painted the color of my choice sets my mind at ease. Less clothing to sort through as I make decisions everyday as to what to wear. Less is more in my book. But, maybe

Staining Wood Tutorial

My first attempt at staining wood (the x-large doors my Father in law hung in our home). This was intimidating to say the least, but the overall result turned out better than expected. Below you will find a step by step tutorial on how to stain.                        The Supplies Rubber gloves- ones you use for

First Impressions

I’m meeting someone for the first time today and I’m nervous. I generally feel out of my comfort zone during the first impression phase of a relationship. Don’t we all? I deal with this stress by preparing in my mind a few topics to talk to them about because that oh-so awkward silence is really

7 [Book In Review] Chapter 7

Basic Review This was my favorite chapter in the book, hands down. Month 7 was about fasting from the constant stress, and go, go, go mentality of our culture by slowing down to pray seven times a day. The author calls them, seven sacred pauses. She finds an outline, verses and a focus for each

Lactose Intolerant?

I’ve dealt with lactose intolerance my entire life. Until recently, I either dealt with the bloating, gas and upset stomach or I refrained from eating dairy. Neither of these two options were a great answer. Then I found a book called Real Food For Mother and Babyby Nina Planck. She describes this beautiful dance between

Choosing To SEE by Mary Beth Chapman

Currently this book is on sale in the kindle edition for $2.99 at Amazon. I’ve read the book and would absolutely recommend it to anyone going through personal loss of a loved one or grief of any kind. Mary Beth and her family share intimate details of the accident which resulted in the death of

7 [Book In Review] Chapter 6

Basic Review “We’re in the home stretch here, hang in there kids,” is what I can imagine the author saying to her kids to encourage them to finish the goal. For the Hatmaker family, it has been 5 long months of fasting and this month is equally as challenging. The author describes her month of

Can $5 make a difference?

Yes it can. There is a water crisis in Africa. Women spend up to 3 hours per day just retrieving water for their families and most of it is not clean. I have a personal friend who is eating only rice and beans for  Lent to raise awareness and money. Visit her blog to read

7 [Book In Review] Chapter 5

Basic Reiview Month 5 is all about a reduction of waste. You know the mantra, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. It’s being hammerred into my elementary kids heads with force through the efforts of the public school system which brings me to an interesting point; we who love God with our whole heart have gotten a reputation as

7 [Book In Review] Chapter 4

Basic Review How many screens did the Hatmaker family have in their home to fast from? Um, a lot, 18 but we have 7 and who’s to say? Chapter four is all about media reduction; from gaming systems to TV and computer screens, and the entire family fasted from all of it. She says that

How Do You Eat An Elephant?

Are you overwhelmed with too much stuff? My mom always tells me, to eat my elephant one bite at a time. Just start. Take a bite. Something will be more clean, more organized, more managable if you just take one bite. We live the life of a consumer, and then we wonder how we get

7 [Book In Review] Chapter 3

Basic [Review] Chapter 3 is a summary of the author’s reduction of STUFF. Yep, we all have it, and probably way too much of it at that. She reduces her and her family’s stuff by giving it away, 7 items per day for an entire month. The concept of this chapter is not difficult. Give to

Works For Me Wednesday

I found this video on a blog that I follow. I thought it tied in well with how the Holy Spirit has been moving on my heart lately. Someone once  described the Holy Spirit’s leading as a symphony playing a song. We all have the same sheet music, we are all watching the Director, but

7 [Book In Review] Chapter 2

Can I just admit to you that as I was sitting in Panera reading this chapter alone in my booth I was literally laughing out loud. In public, by myself, and yes it was that funny that I just couldn’t help it. Jen Hatmaker is not only going after this with her whole heart, she’s

Food On Your Face Pt: 3

Since November I’ve been following the Oil Cleansing Method in hopes of clearing away acne. Read Part 1 & Part 2 for more details… Here’s the update: Better! I’ve reduced my ratio of castor oil to grapeseed oil and it’s been less harsh on my face.  (1: 9) I read the castor oil cleanses and

Blessed Beyond Mudcakes

After the last post, you may be wondering if I followed through with my fast for the week, and indeed, I have so far. Monday started off with a physical from my life insurance company requiring an 8 hour fast prior to 8:30 am so it was well timed. My 7 foods that I chose

7 [Book In Review] Chapter 1

If I could sum up my feelings in 1 word about this book it would be Fascinating. But I’m a blogger with a head full of words so that’s impossible. But really, all around, I just love this book so far. The writer is vulnerable, witty and does not mince words with her intentions to

Works For Me Wednesday

Do your kids ever wake you up in the middle of the night asking for a drink of water? Mine did, especially during the cold & flu season when the furnace is on for the majority of the night and their little throats were dry and sore.As I parent, I don’t mind sacrificing sleep for

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess [Book In Review]

I WON! I’m so excited to start reading this book. In it, Jen Hatmaker details her own social experiment on her self (family included) against the materialism and consumerism that runs rampant in American society. The basic idea begins with an unrest within her self regarding the greed, comfort, irresponsibility and plain old self-centeredness she

Works for Me Wednesday

Would you pick up a twenty dollar bill if it was lying on the ground? How about if someone gave it to you? I would, and that’s why I coupon, it’s free money. If you can replace the image of that $1.00 off coupon with the image of a dollar bill, it would seem more

Psalm 63:1

For the past 15 weeks my kids have been memorizing scripture. It’s a new verse every week and as a reward they earn a dollar.  Yes, paying children to learn the Bible might be controversial in your opinion, but it works at our house, and the fact that they have the WORD hidden in their

Restore My Decor Master Bedroom Design

It’s finished and I can’t wait to share it with you! Furthermore, I can’t wait to implement the design in my bedroom, but I am a firm believer in paying cash for things and avoiding debt so we will be changing the decor in baby steps! For some background information read Restore My Decor WINNER:

Terrific Two’s Tip

Sometimes the developmental stage of a child at the age of two is coined the “Terrible Two’s.” I prefer to call it the Terrific Two’s, let’s speak life over our babies. My tip for today to tackle the Terrific Two year old stage is to store your toaster on top of your refrigerator. Usually there

My Word For the Year of 2012

I’m participating in a link up party where we all share our thoughts on the same topic. We are focusing on ONE word for the year of 2012. This word will be a point of reference, a word to chew on and guide our decisions as we intentionally live life. Everyone’s word is different. So,

Ear Infections & Antibiotics

That dreaded day when your child has his or her first ear infection is a big bummer for me, and I mean a BIG bummer. That day has come to the Hopkins’ house for my youngest son who is 2 and here I am blogging about it. Now I’m sure you are thinking, “what is

Food On Your Face Pt: 2

Just a quick update on how the Crunchy Betty’s Food on Your Face for Acne and Oily Skin theory is going…. (to read the first post for some background info go here)  Christmas Eve  (6 weeks from the start date w/makeup) This week  (8 weeks make-up less) So what do you think? Are Crunchy Betty’s

When Weakness is an Asset

We all have different responses to crisis. Some of us freeze, like myself, and start crying. Everyone has their own unique response. Rarely, our reaction is to trust, stop and pray, at least that’s not my typical reaction. Now don’t get me wrong, action is needed and I am thankful for all of the helping

Christmas Letter 2011

Merry Christmas!  Welcome to our blog! We are so glad to find you here today and in an effort to be green we hope to continue this tradition of blogging our Christmas letters for the years to come. As we recount the year’s blessings and heart aches we vow to stay steadfast in our hearts

3 Gifts for Jesus

Last year we started a tradition and we really enjoyed it. I did not come up with this idea on my own, I admit, I was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers at Live Renewed. Her post is here.  We decided to follow the tradition of limiting our Christmas gifts to our children. 3

Christmas Is For Kids

In our house, Christmas is a really fun time. My kids like the lights hanging on the outside of people’s houses in the neighborhood. They like the cookies, and the packages that arrive in the mail because all of our extended family lives out of state. They like hiding things in my stocking hanging on

Food On Your Face

This is what my face looks like without any foundation or powder. Yes, I’m brave enough to reveal it to the world, as shallow as that might sound.  Ok, ok, I do have some eye make-up on. So, why am I revealing this picture to the world wide web? Well, to allow you a close-up

Ordinary

There are moments when messages are bombarding my brain and then there are moments when I say to myself, “I’ve heard this recently.” When I notice that I continue to hear the same message over and over, I start paying attention to it because I believe the Holy Spirit is highlighting it for a reason.

Vanity Makeover

The Before A typical, builder’s grade vanity straight out of the box. The Supplies Interior/Exterior Primer, Paint, Polyurethane, tack cloth, roller, brush, fine sand paper,  liquid sander/deglosser   The Process First I removed all of the doors and drawers. I found it easier to work with the unit base first and then the moving parts

Restore my decor WINNER

My bedroom won a makeover from RestoreMyDecor.com  (And the cool thing about this is that I received the winner email on my husband and I’s ten year anniversary. God sure knows how to give gifts doesn’t He!) It’s not the kind of makeover where they swoop into your house for 3 days and take over.

This Little Light of Mine

As Thanksgiving approaches I’ve been purposefully thinking about the things I’m thankful for. It might be a little bit motivated by all of the facebook posts, but let’s be real here- we are supposed to think on things that are lovely, noble and pure right? I’m thankful that my children’s principal and office staff at

Countertop

An update: The counter top was quite possibly the hardest decision. We were originally shopping for laminate. At $9.99 /sq. ft. it really is the most economical choice. Laminate does have it’s downsides though. Then I did some research and found a local remnant yard, score!  This is basically a place where pieces of granite,

Kitchen Demolition

Oh the leakage!  Our kitchen faucet was leaking 1 bucket per day! Yikes. Why didn’t we just replace the faucet do you ask? The leak originated from a portable dishwasher. We could replace the faucet, but chances were the portable dishwasher would blow the o-rings on the  new one in time. Our choices were:1. get

Bathroom Remodel

Believe it or not this bathroom was the nicest of the two bathrooms in our home! It didn’t need a remodel until Bomber Bay destroyed the vanity… He locked himself in the bathroom by opening up the vanity drawers and then proceeded to turn on the water in the bath tub. Jesse and I were

Craft Project Frenzy

All summer I have been keeping myself busy with craft projects. They keep my mind sharp in the creative thinking area and relieve stress.Check them out:                                        A used chair from Salvation Army                                          Recovered to de-filth it                          A project display board for all of the crafts my kids bring home. 1 used

First Day of School 2011

My two oldest kids are 16 months apart. It was rough when they were younger because they were so close in age. Ainsley was walking when Ashden was born, a little gift from above I think, but the summer he was born we stayed inside and watched Sesame Street… A LOT. I remembered those days

VISION

“He’s awakening the hope in me,by calling forth my destiny. He’s breathing life, into my soulI will thirst for Him, and Him alone.”  -Bethel Live A very candid photo of myself (right) in labor and my midwife (left). Dec. 07, 2009

How wide… How deep

Sometimes when I read people’s writings I really just want them to get to the point so here it is, God healed me.  It’s taken me an entire month to process and let it sink in which is why this post is so late. I always imagined that if I experienced a full on miracle

Wanna Get HGTV’d

We want to get HGTV’d! We posted a video on HGVT for review. I you’d like to vote for it we would appreciate it! Our HGTV submission reel

Psalm 139

It amazes me how different each of my children are. I mean logically, one would gather that they come from the same two sets of DNA, and therefore they would be similar in many ways. In my short observation of Ainsley and Ashden this is so not true. They are so different and this is

MLK Day 2011

Today is MLK day and as we were discussing it this morning over breakfast my kids began to describe to Jesse and I why we celebrate it. Ashden began with the idea that if we didn’t have Martin Luther King Jr. we would have to drink out of separate water fountains- true. Ainsley told us

Waiting

The waiting part… isn’t that sometimes the hardest part of life? I mean sometimes patience is so hard. Like when I’m starving and Jesse and I were waiting for a table last week at Olive Garden. All I wanted to do was go up to a stranger’s table and ask them to spare a bread

A Snow Day in Janurary

Ashden loves to play with the lamp? Ainsley wore these glasses most of the day Mmmm Hot Cocoa

Ode to the squeaky

What is a squeaky you might ask? It’s only the most treasured, loved on, smelly blanket/stuffed animal in our house! I realized the other day how important my kids’ squeakies are to them, and how they deserve at least on honorable mention in our family blog. The stories behind the squeakies are as unique as

Happy Birthday 1 year old

We had a small, but memorable celebration for Balin’s first birthday. Just the family, around the dining table for cake. Balin was not shy at all. He dug right into it and didn’t stop until we took it away from him. It was great. We laughed a lot and the next day I had a

Ainsley turns 6

The new outfit and new Build-A-Bear Her very first Build-A-Bear When I asked Ainsley how she would like to celebrate her birthday this year she emphatically told me she wanted to go “shopping.” I understood what she meant. This is the first time in her 6 years of life that she’s ever asked me to

One Step Closer

Ashden has been a terror this week! Absolutely on my nerves in every way not to mention the cussing. Yes, he’s been saying Dammit. We don’t know where he heard this from. What’s a mom to do? He had his cartoons taken away for it and we’ve had plenty of talks with him. Never the

Love always Hopes

One of the action words to describe love in the Bible is the word hope. It seems to be a theme lately in our home. It’s the beginning of November 2010 and we’ve had some words floating around here lately… cancer, diabetes, ADHD, life insurance… not fun words. More regarding these topics soon to come,

Celebrations

30 Beautiful sunshine for my birthday. Thanks God! Ashden was pretending to cut down a tree- or more like my pepper plant… Jesse cut down a dead tree for me. Acts of Service. How can you not love that? At the Lied Lodge in NE City after my brunch buffet! Yum yum This was a

boys, boys, boys

I love hearing about Ainsley’s days at school. Why? I think it’s because she has the social structure of her class figured out already and she likes to tell me all the stories about who did what and so on. It’s much like facebook. Observing from afar the social decisions of others. So she has

An Admirer

Well, it’s week 4 of school and Ainsley came home with homework over the weekend and an admirer’s love letter. WHAT! Yes, a little red piece of construction paper with a heart drawn on it from one of the boys in her class. The funny thing is, she doesn’t really even know which one because

Red Felt Pen

Yesterday was the first day Ainsley came home with homework and a worksheet she had done in class with a “grade” on it. A grade, meaning, “-1” on the top corner of the paper. I find my reaction kinda funny now that I think about it, but at the time I was like, “what? negative

Show & Tell

Ains had her first “show and tell” today. The theme was summer. She picked this instrument to take. I thought it was an interesting choice. Not my first choice, but I was determined to let it be her choice. I was listening to a sermon this week about how we as parents can use our

My Beautiful Dreamer

Today marks the end of the first week of Kindergarten and guess what, I cried. Yesterday Ainsley’s teacher said she missed me and that’s all I could think about as I walked her to her room. She hung up her raincoat and backpack and was immediately greeted by one of her new friends. As girls

The First Day

Well the day is over and my thoughts are still swimming. There were definitely highs and lows to the day and I can safely describe myself as ooshy, gooshy, sentimental. The day started out as any normal morning. About 20 min. before we needed to leave Balin dropped a bomb in his diaper, OF COURSE.

A Poem

First Day   Everyone has a First Day, When they feel sad and all alone. It can be so scary, when you’re out there on your own.   And I know that a First Day can be full of doubts and fears. But they’re full of new beginnings, take my hankie, dry your tears.  

The Day We Were Peniless

Officially one year has passed since “the day we were peniless” aka, August 12, 2009.   Am I relieved, yes, but mostly thankful because God brought us through it. As a tribute to Him, I wanted to share this post. “The day we were peniless” has come to mind this week especially because I just

Independence

This week I’m preparing for school. Ainsley will start Kindergarten and Ashden will start preschool. As you can imagine, I am feeling conflicting emotions. I will MISS them terribly throughout the day, but I won’t miss the fighting and headache of grocery shopping with 3 kids and on and on. As I’m processing my emotions

Milestones

We have always affectionately referred to our kids at this milestone as standing bear. Not really sure why, but we’ve reached the milestone that I most dislike. It’s a constant tumble to the floor because they haven’t learned to walk, and crawling is a thing of the past. When Balin wakes up in the middle

Coming Soon

We recently lost our hard drive. Yes, we have an iMac and it crashed- not usual for Macs but we always seem to find the lemon in the bunch. So, to preserve pictures and memories we plan on starting a blog. Follow along if you will. We will share the intimate thoughts, the crazy kids