Veni, veni Immanuel

It's Beta Day around here, the third one we've celebrated.

"Celebrate??" you may ask. Yes, we celebrate.  We celebrate what we have.  We celebrate what God has taught us.  We celebrate what a good God He is.  And we celebrate in anticipation of the renewal of all things.  It's not a skipping and jumping kind of celebration, but one of thankfulness, remembrance, and waiting.

Waiting 

by Eric Oglesbee

We wait.
The world is not as it should be.
We wait for when everything will be made new,
when our bodies no longer bear the scars of our sufferings.
We wait.

Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.

Clean toilets make me happy

Yes, I'm really talking about toilets today.  I have a fabulous toilet bowl cleaner recipe I want to share with y'all, and well, there's just not much else going on around here right now.  Both boys are down for naps, and I have some free time to myself (gasp!).  So I'm using it to get all excited about how clean my toilets are!  My friend Betsy found it hilarious how stoked I can get about this, and some of you may think I'm downright weird, but I'm going to share anyway!  This toilet bowl cleaner will not only disinfect (but not sanitize) your toilet, but it will also save you money and ease your conscience about pouring nasty chemicals down the drain and releasing toxins into your house.

So without further ado...drumroll please...here's what I now use to clean my toilets:

Lisa's Toilet Bowl Cleaner
6 oz. (3/4 c.) hot water
1/2 c. Borax
6-8 oz. (3/4-1 c.) liquid dishsoap
8 oz. (1 c.) white vinegar

Dissolve the Borax in the hot water completely.  Pour the water mixture, the dishsoap, and the vinegar into an empty 24 oz. toilet cleaner bottle.

Voila!  Easy peasy, healthy, and oh-so-cheap!  Just use the same way you use your store-bought toilet cleaner, but let sit for 10 minutes in the toilet bowl so that it has a chance to disinfect things in there.  And enjoy your clean toilets!

My, oh my, life is different now...

...Mostly because of this adorable little dude:  

 

Photo courtesy of Brian and Sheri Beall

But, even though I hate change, different is not bad in this case.  Tobin is a blessed addition to our family and is settling in quite nicely.  He's a good eater and a relatively good sleeper (for a 2-week-old) -- what more can a mom ask for at this point?  As proof of his good eatin' skills, he showed up at his doctor's appointment today 2 pounds heavier and an inch and a half longer than 15 days ago when we left the hospital!  Sheesh!  No wonder I feel like a human bottle!

This week has seen the return of most of our normal day-to-day happenings.  After two weeks of floopiness, Ian and I were in sore need of some normalcy.  So we went grocery shopping on Monday, to Bible study on Tuesday, and to play group today.  Our afternoons have been blessedly calm and relaxing around the house, and our evenings have been filled with yummy meals (mostly brought in by loving people from our church) and Star Trek:TNG viewings as a whole family.

It's nice being a family of four.