Randomness

I saw this on fb and tried to pin it, but apparently fb doesn't play well with others... you can post to fb from pinterest but not the other way around.  I want to remember it, so here it is.  Pin away!

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR MATTRESS:

Pour about 1 cup of baking soda into a Mason jar & drop in 4 drops of lavender essential oil. Put on lid & shake jar. Using a kitchen strainer, sprinkle the baking soda mixture all over the mattress & let it sit for an hour or more. Thoroughly vacuum the mattress. Bye, bye dust mites, & other nasty things. The baking soda helps draw up any moisture & deep dirtiness. It deodorizes & leaves the mattress smelling fresh & clean.  

And then I saw this.

Solar light attached to upside down clay pot adds inexpensive lighting to your porch and yard! Great for camping!!

I haven't tried either one, but they seem straight forward enough.  If any of you try them out and find they do or don't work, please let me know.  :)

In other news, Angelica's skates came in the mail today. (#109) To say that she is excited is a HUGE understatement!  She has been itching to get back on the ice.  She made the decision last spring, got a job as soon as we were home from Our Grand Adventure, and saved all of her earnings until she had the money to buy the skates.  I am thankful that she has learned money management and the value of hard work. (#110)

Also, she took me in to the city for physical therapy today and while I was there, she went to buy a pair of shoes she had been wanting for prom.  They had been on clearance so she was concerned that they wouldn't be there.  Not only were they still there, she got an extra 20% off because of the generosity of a stranger!  (#111) A few weeks ago, we bought her dress for $25 through a fund raising event for a local homeless shelter.  What a blessing!  Both to be blessed and get such a beautiful dress for so little money (#112) and to be a part of a bigger picture that contributes to the care of the homeless in our community.  (#113)

And just because it made me smile... the humidity between the glass in our living room windows created the shape of a ghost.  It made me think of Busy Bee's newest English word.  She will say "pookeee" and act scared before bursting into giggles.  Anything that makes me smile is something to be thankful for.  (#114)

Celebrations

Butterfly wanted strawberry crepes for breakfast.

 Then she wanted to spend the rest of the day camping at the lakes.

 For dinner she wanted swordfish.  

 And of course there were cupcakes and presents.  

Then we had s'mores.  Yum! 

Crazy Camping Capers

On Sunday, when I got home from church, there was a message that said, "We are camping. Do you want to join us?" We LOVE to camp, so I decided to go. But, the girls were napping so we had to wait. After dinner, we packed up our stuff and headed to the campsite.

Monday, we had lots of appointments, so we were only at the campsite for a few hours in the morning and then again in the evening. It was SO HOT on Monday. After dinner, the girls and I went for a swim in the lake.

It rained through the night and our tent started leaking, so the girls and I went home. We didn't return until mid-afternoon on Tuesday, but there was still plenty of time for fun. They played with Kelly.

And we went wading.

Kelly wasn't so sure of the water. He especially didn't' like the waves. He would bark and bark every time a boat came by and made more waves. But in the end, he got brave and went into the water a bit.

The sunset was beautiful.

When we got into our tent on Tuesday night, FigNewTon's sleeping bag was wet. I thought everything had dried up, but it hadn't. So, we tore everything down and came home.

On Wednesday, we set up the tent so it would dry out. By bedtime, the girls had convinced me it would be a good place for them to sleep.

Sleep tight girls. I am going to bed.

I wonder how long I am going to have a tent in my living room. Oh well. They are only kids once.

Snapshot Saturday

We are having a blast this weekend!!

Last night, I enjoyed some time without my girls. I walked around the lake with a friend. The conversation was quite enjoyable. Plus, we saw two geese with five goslings. Seeing them protectively usher the goslings away was precious. We should all be so diligent to care for our children.

Then, after my time out ended, I joined my girls and the friends who were watching them, for a night of camping. I arrived a bit earlier than they expected and was asked to not look at the crafts in process. When we went to bed, the wind really picked up. It nearly blew the tent over several times. I do not usually camp when it is quite this chilly. But I am having so much fun! At around 1:00a.m., the girls and I moved to the car and slept there for the rest of the night. It is a good thing, too, as the wind succeeded in collapsing our tent sometime in the next five hours. This morning, we grown-ups watched the weather forecast and decided to stay another night. The girls and I had only packed for one night and I had some things that absolutely had to be done today, so we came home to gather our things. We are off to camp some more!!

What a fabulous way to wake up on Mother's Day! God bless, and happy Mother's Day, everyone!