Lego Birthday Party!

Our handsome young W turned 7 today!  

He wanted a Lego party and we all had fun making that happen.

We are so blessed by his spunky and fun personality.  He is a perfect mix of sweet and ornery.  He brings fun wherever he goes.  We are thrilled that God saw fit to give him to us.  What a joy!  Happy birthday W man. 

7 looks good on you!  

We love you!

Zoo Day!

Cloth Diaper Update

This is 24 hours worth of diapers in our house.

I told you about a month ago that I was going to cloth diaper again. With two babies and one toddler in diapers we were using a TON. It feels so nice not to have to open all those packages of disposable diapers.

At this point, Lil' Ruthie and baby D are in cloth all day and all night. Baby E is wearing cloth during the day but I put him in a disposable at night. I will transition him to cloth overnight eventually.

I used "Antsy Pants" when I potty trained W years ago. They are a pull up style cloth diaper.  I pulled them back out to use for Q overnight. He won't need them much longer but I am glad I don't have to buy pull ups any more. Those bad boys are expensive.

Lil' Ruthie and Baby D are currently using BumGenius Elemental diapers. They are an organic cotton diaper.  I am still trying to find my way with them. I much prefer organic cotton over microfiber. At night they are wearing BumGenius pocket diapers stuffed with a flip organic cotton overnight insert and two hemp doublers. 

Baby E is using BumGenius all-in-one size small diapers with an added hemp doubler stuffed inside. I am also using some pocket diapers with him snapped down to the smallest size. They are stuffed with a small microfiber insert and a hemp doubler.

I got rid of my diaper sprayer so I am using disposable liners this time. It is working well for us. I appreciate the ease of clean up when we are out and about.  

I am washing diapers every night. I have enough diapers that I could wait and wash every other day. However, I have enough dirty diapers per day to make a nice sized load. I wash between 20 to 25 diapers per night. I like the idea that they are being cleaned each night and not sitting around dirty. Diaper laundry is my favorite laundry to do. It just makes me happy to see all those diapers clean and ready to use again. I know that sounds weird but cloth diapering moms will understand.

So there it is.  My cloth diaper update after a little over one month. I am sure there will be more to come.

The mercy board

You see a new board in the fence.

I see an act of mercy.

One definition of mercy is "kind or forgiving treatment of someone who could be treated harshly"

You see, we ruined that fence.  

The fence is shared with our neighbor.  

One of our children noticed that this particular board could have pieces of wood easily torn from it.  No doubt to make some kind of weapon for boy play.  It was done without malice but it was still wrong.  

We talked with the offender about the damage that was done.  He felt terrible.  He and his Daddy made a plan to fix the fence together.

But...

Life got in the way.

Fixing the fence was on a long list of "to dos".

Today, there was a small knock at our front door.

It was our neighbor and his wife.

The folks we share this fence with.

They sweetly told me that they needed to get into our back yard for a few minutes.  

They were going to fix that board.

There was no anger.

There was no irritation.

There was love.

There was kindness.

There was mercy.

The children and I thanked them as they pulled off the damaged board and replaced it with a fresh one.

The child who cause the damage and I got to have a chat after they left.

"Sweetie, did you see what just happened?  You are the one who tore up that board and you should have been the one to fix it.  What did Mr. K and Mrs. P just do?"

"They fixed it for me!  That was so nice!" He said.

"That reminds me of something." I told him.  "We just celebrated Easter.  Remember how Jesus paid the price for our sins?  He took the consequences that should have been ours."

Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about the picture of love and mercy our neighbors showed us.

Sometimes being Jesus to our neighbors is so simple.

I am humbled by their act.

When EJ got home from work that night, he went next door to thank Mr. K.

He told him how sorry he was for not fixing the board sooner.

Mr. K said, "the way I figure it, you have got your hands full."

Then he smiled his kind smile.

Oh Lord, 
How I long to have your heart.  To love others the way you love me.  It is so easy to take offense and to fight for what I deserve. May I remember this day when my desire is to punish someone for their wrong doing when what you want me to show them is mercy. Fill me with your holy spirit so that I can truly love others.  
In Jesus Name, 
Amen.

Happy Easter!

He is Risen...

He is Risen Indeed!!!!!!