broken hearted boy

Last night was one of, if not, the most sad night I can remember having with one of my children. It may all sound very dramatic but something so small meant so much to my little guy.

It all started when Weston was about 5 months old. We have taken a trip to the Wisconsin Dells every few years since Don and I have been married. We took Brody when he was about a year and half. It was at the Dells that Brody found his friend Moose. Moose and Brody are virtually inseperable. After we had Weston we went back to the Dells again. This time we had to pick out a snugglie for Weston. I was in charge of this special project. I went into the gift store and I wasn't really finding much. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw him, cute, lanky, with yellow banana's on his chest. I knew when I saw him that was the one. He looked like a sock monkey in a way but he was just a cute stuffed monkey lovingly known as banana's or as Weston called him Nana or Uh Uh (the back end of the monkey sound.)

Well this last weekend we spent a great weekend with my family celebrating. On the way home we stopped at a rest stop for a bathroom break and to stretch our legs. Weston took monkey out of the car with him. That was the last we saw of him. At bedtime Don mentioned he thought Monkey was missing. I was neive in assuming he would show up. I remembered seeing him in the car so I didn't think he was missing. Weston woke up several times last night asking for monkey. Finally 4 am was the kicker. I realized where I had seen monkey last and knew Don was right. He was gone. After a long time of Weston being restless and crying I sat on the floor in his room and I told him that Monkey got left at the rest stop at the lake and we don't have him anymore. He understood what I meant. His body racked with sobs, he stomped his feet on the floor and screamed and cried. I was so broken for him. I wanted to hold him but he was angry and didn't want me to. Finally I grabbed a blanket and wrapped him up and held him close to me while he cried. Eventually he gave in and you could feel his cries still caught in his breathing. Eventually I laid him down on Brody's bed and we laid down together and he finally fell asleep. (almost two hours) Like I said I know it seems so small but it meant so much to my little guy. My heart is so sad for him. We are going to see if we can find him a new friend. In the meantime, farewell Banana's you will be greatly missed.

Getting Frugal

Last November I went to a conference called Hearts at Home. HIGHLY recommend. SO GOOD! Anyway Jill Savage shared with us that she makes home made laundry detergent. I TOTALLY wanted to try this. Then I forgot about it. :) I am sure you all know how that goes. Well TODAY is the day. Right now. I have been buckling down these days and have been inspired to be more frugal. So here I am making laundry detergent. My friend Amanda made it recently and blogged about it. It was my reminder that I needed to get my butt in gear.

So here it is.

1 5 gal bucket with lid

1 bar of Fels-Naptha (Heavy Duty Laundry Bar soap)

1/2 c Borax

1 cup of washing soda

Grate the bar of soap, heat on the stove with 4 cups of water until melted. Add to dry ingredients in 5 gallon bucket. Mix, add water till about 2 inches from the top, cover and let it sit for 24 hours. Fill an empty detergent bottle half full of detergent, add water till full, mix and use. Make sure to shake each time before using.

This was very easy took about 1/2 hour to make. I bought the ingredients at Walmart for around $7.00. I used the whole bar of soap but I have enough Borax, and Washing soda to last a REALLY long time. :) When my 5 gallon bucket runs out and I need to make more I will only need the bar of soap which cost me $1.00. My bucket I got at Ace Hardware for around $8.50. Total around $16. Obviously I won't buy a bucket each time. I am guessing that this will last me at least 6 months, maybe a year. I am going to try and track it and get back to you. If I remember. :) I have yet to use it but I have heard that this is the best detergent people have used. I will say that it smelled great. It smells very clean and fresh. Here are the two links that I got this from Adventures in the Heart and Home and www.jillsavage.org.

Good luck. Let me know if you try it.

The things we do...

Here's a glimpse of our lives right now in pictures.

The boys spend a lot of time wishing they were outside. :) Spring FEVER!!

We spend time snuggling on the couch, watching tv. or movies, and we have been sick so the couch has been well used.

Sometimes we have silly photoshoots. These are the kind of pictures you

get when you take pictures of yourself and two little kids.

We have never had stairs to play on so the boys like sliding down the stairs. :)

Daddy comes home for lunch to play! :)

We take more pictures...

We play with beans...

We bake cookies

And when you can't get outside to play in the snow bring it inside!! This was a great idea shared with me on Facebook and the boys LOVED IT!!

All in all we are doing great and trying to stay busy! Don's job is going great! The boys and I have been attending ECFE which is a lot of fun! It's one of our favorite ways to get out of the house right now. We are attending Valley Christian Church in Breckenridge. We have only gone there a couple of times but are looking forward to going back. This weekend I am going to their women's retreat and am looking forward to it. An unexpected surprise was that Don found out that his old college room mate from freshmen year is the Chief of police in Breckenridge. Don had an instant friend in the area. He showed Don around the community last week and they went out to lunch. Their family is wonderful and invited us to Valley Christian. I have taken sometime off from portrait sessions. I have been doing a lot of catch up work and am looking forward to a wedding in April and then this spring I will launch JR Photography in the Breckenridge/Wahpeton area. WHEW!!! Wish me luck. :)

Almost There

Our town home has started to feel like home. It's nice having so much space. Here are some updated pictures. A few more things need to be added but it might be awhile, for now it's good. :)

Our new red couch. I love it. :) Super comfy and wide. :)

Dining room

living room

kitchen

Brodes & Weston's room. :)

Our bedroom. :) I love it. Very comfy and I think

I mentioned before 2 big closets. :)

FUN MAIL

I think everyone I know loves to get personal mail. It just feels great when you go to the mailbox and someone sent you a card or something just to let you know they are thinking of you. Now a days it's so rare because we relate through email, FB or some other internet social network. :) It's great, I love these means of communications! It makes real mail that much more fun. So the reason I am rambling about this is because my friend Anne is always doing something for someone. She loves to be busy doing things and being busy with her kids. SO she sent me a card today and included were pictures that her kids drew for Brody. HE LOVED IT!! He got so excited. So I got the idea that if anyone else wanted to color with their kids and send Brody pictures he would love to have pictures from his friends. I think it makes him feel closer to you all. I am planning on hanging them in his and Weston's room. :) My fun friend Melissa hangs her kids pictures with string and clothes pins. SO I thought I would do that in Brody and Westons room with the pictures you guys send. If you don't have time don't worry. If anyone would like a picture from Brody let me know and we will send you one!! I understand that you might need or address. If you don't have it leave me a comment with your email address and I will email it to you. OR you could contact me on Facebook and I can get it to you that way as well! I look forward to seeing who will participate and what we get in the mail!! Why don't I say this.. ANYONE who participates will get something back from us. That way all of you who participate get fun mail too. :) AGAIN Thank you ANNE!! We loved our mail today.

Our New Home

Welcome to our home. Don't judge me. :) We had only been in the house a couple of days. :) This is the dining room, as you can see it leads to the kitchen and is open to the living room.

Front entryway hallway. There is a small, REALLY small, bathroom off the hallway. I didn't add the pictures. It wasn't worth it. :)
OUr very messy unorganized kitchen. :)
When you first walk in the stairs is right in front of you and to the left is the kitchen.
Hall CLOSET!! very excited about all the closet space. :)
Messy bathroom :)
This is Don's bedroom closet. :)
my bedroom closet.
our bedroom. Isn't it great that it has two closets. :)

Here is Don on his first day of work. Weston was up but Brodes was still sleeping. Isn't Wester's hair awesome. :)

I have to say that I am proud of myself for posting this picture but I couldn't help myself. I can't get over how proud and love sick I look. Hahaha...

I am proud of my hubby! This week was his second week on the job. It seems to be going well. We are adjusting. It's been a big change. The boys and I are loving ECFE and are grateful to have something to get out of the house for. It's very cold here so we stay inside most days. Brody starts pre-school next fall so I am in the process of looking into preschools. Other wise we are just getting organized and getting used to our new home. The boys have their own room and I think Brody was sleeping so I didn't take pictures. I think I will try to take some more this weekend to post an update and then in a few weeks I will post another update. :) DOCUMENT.. . DOCUMENT.... DOCUMENT!!! :) CLICK CLICK CLICK!!

Where in the WORLD is JP & THE BOYS??

WAHPETON, ND!! CRAZY.... :) It all feels surreal.

Doesn't it seem that as soon as we say to GOD.. Ok.. I relent. I will let you do whatever you want... HE DOES!! My last post was about God speaking to my heart and telling me that if He really is in control of my life I will always be blind, right? Well just after that Don got a job interview in Breckenridge, MN for Wilkin County. It's been a whirlwind ever since. He got the job and started Jan. 10th, yesterday. All I wanted was a little glimmer of what was to come and once I told God that I trusted him he showed it to me. :) I don't know that I could have handled it if I knew sooner. Hahaha...

I don't know what else to say but that it feels weird. I feel sometimes like I am in a dream. I was pretty excited at first and didn't have a care in the world. It wasn't a big deal moving over 3 hours away from my friends. I didn't think I was loosing friends, I figured I only had friends to gain. I STILL think that is true. I have amazing wonderful loyal friends. :) However, it's hard. Harder then I thought it would be. Everything is different here and they operate different then I am used to. That's ok. I know I will get used to it. It's obviously winter as you all know and what do we do best in the winter. WE HUNKER DOWN! So the boys and I are inside all the time in a small town where we don't know anyone. This is where it gets hard. I miss my wonderful loyal friends and we haven't even been here a week. UH OH! Brody misses his friends too and asks to go visit them, which of course makes it harder and makes me more sad. I know we will meet people and make friends but I didn't take into consideration the time that it takes to do that. It's not something that just happens overnight. In the meantime I am encouraging much visiting. :) AND I am willing to come and visit. **hint hint. ;)

I do see God at work. I know that this beginning period will pass and things will get easier. We have a 2 bedroom townhome that is ours. We have big spacious closets, linen closet, dishwasher, dryer and washer!! It's great. We are enjoying being in our own home. Don's job seems to be going well so far. He is home by 5pm everyday. We really are enjoying having dinner together each night. We have connected with a church that has been very welcoming and we look forward to seeing where that goes. They eat lunch together every Sunday, which I think is fabulous. :) It's so fun. There is also a MOMS group that I am looking forward to. I missed the first meeting that I could attend which was today because both boys had fevers. I took pictures of the townhome which I look forward to posting. I will do my best to do it soon. We have gotten A LOT of unpacking done and the place seems to be coming together. It's slowed down since Don started work but I am confident that we will be pretty well organized soon.

I had a great quiet time the other day. I was reading Philippians and decided to read the description in my Bible. So here is Paul in prison and he has joy. It's all about having joy in our sufferings. I am in a new place where I don't know anyone? Is it really a big deal? I have definately grumbled at times since we have been here. However, I have a nice home, a wonderful husband and two amazing beautiful crazy boys! I would NOT say that I am suffering. My prayer is that I can reach out to the people in this community and get to know them. Learn about what is going on in their lives and be a blessing to them. I want to radiate joy and peace. I want to move, unpack, clean all without complaining. OR at least try. I am so grateful that I can so easily connect with all of you. That even from 3 hours away we can easily write, talk, and stay connected. Again I really don't have much to complain about. I ask that you will all pray for me as I seek to focus on the positive and that I will be filled with joy in these circumstances. Change can be hard but it's not the end of the world. : )