The BIG Reveal! Happy Birthday, Son!

18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

As I mentioned in a previous post (here), my husband and I (mainly my hubby!) have been working on a special present for my son's birthday!

Here he is! Such a cutie! It's so hard to believe that he is already 2! Raising a child gives new meaning to the phrase "time flies when you're having fun". Ok, I could talk about my kiddo endlessly, but I better get back to the surprise... : )

I'm not sure if anyone has priced play sets for children, particularly the wooden ones... but the best way to describe them is as follows: $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

No joke. It is more than ridiculous how much these things are!

For those of you who don't know, we are in the process of building a home, (which my awesome husband is doing by himself!), so we don't have any excess $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to buy a nice play set for our son... Ok--we can't afford the el-cheapo either (ha!), but that is what this blog is all about! Using our God-given gifts and talents to create wonderful things, all while being a good steward with what we have been given!

So here is what we did:

My husband has a sawmill. Yes, a sawmill. Someday I'll expound more on what that is like, but today--is just about the play set. My husband took some trees from our property and cut most of the wood for the play set. A 4x4 alone from Lowe's costs around $17, which we needed six of! Savings galore with the sawmill!

Here I would like to point out that one of my husbands God-given talents is

building. He can build ANYTHING.

Sorry ladies. This one is TAKEN! : )

Here's another progression pic...

Scott, my husband, designed and built this from the ground up. The slide was a steal of a deal found on Craig's List.

The metal roof was made from scrap pieces from our home. The swing was given to us. Blessing after blessing. Our God truly does bless, and also meets our wants as well.

The final product! Thank you, Lord!

What is left is the other swing and the sandbox (still in progress). Will post when finished!

We were able to save a ton of money by putting this together ourselves. (I helped! Really! Painting and Craig's List counts!! Ha ha!)

And here was the best part!

Isaac's reaction to seeing his birthday present! This was his ever growing smile from the second he came around the corner with Daddy! So worth it!!

Our little climber!

He had so much fun!

And so did we!

Thank you, Scott. You're a wonderful husband, father, and a great craftsman!

Happy birthday, son! You're an awesome kid and I'm looking forward to watching you grow!

~Page

Homemade Rug Deodorizer

Proverbs 31:27 "She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness."

I am privileged to have mostly hardwood floors throughout my house, but I do have a couple of rugs throughout. I don't know about you, but over time, despite constant vacuuming -they just need a "pick me up" in the smell good department. That probably is in part due to my adorable "kids" -see pic below. ;-) While my babies are hypo-allergenic and "shed-free" (fact -there is no totally shed-free dog), they definitely give me reason to freshen my carpets!
I was talking to Page on the phone (gasp! -ha!) and mentioned how I hate the rug in my sun room, it was just not smelling good. She, being the ever wise friend that she is, told me about a natural, homemade carpet deodorizer.

Baking Soda + a few drops of Essential Oils = Homemade Carpet Deodorizer!










I chose to use orange oil, because I LOVE the smell of citrus and find it completely refreshing. Feel free to use whatever essential oil you prefer. The easiest way to find these oils is online, blog post about these little gems later.

Next, take and pour some Baking Soda into a dish and sprinkle in a few drops of the essential oils. Keep in mind that these oils are EXTREMELY concentrated and a few drops really go a long way. Now, you'll see from the picture that I used several more than you might need, just because I was dealing with an extra STINKY rug! ;-P

The picture below shows exactly what to do - sprinkle a few drops and mix well. It will end up looking just like a small bowl of good smelling baking soda!


Sprinkle this mixture on your carpet, just like you would with any store bought carpet deodorizer. The great thing about this homemade product is that it is chemical free (that's another post for another day) and VERY economical! For my thin, fibrous rug seen below, I just allowed the mixture it to rest on top and fall through the fibers. For any other carpet, gently brush it in to get a thorough reviving.
Once it's sprinkled over the rug/carpet, let it do its job for a little while. I left mine on for 30min or so, it all depends on the needs of your rug. Once you've let it do its wonders, simply vacuum and your rug will be smelling fresh and clean!! (an added bonus is that it enlivens your vacuum too, making it smell great!)


~To sum it all up -this is an affordable, economical, environment friendly, chemical-free, best-smelling-ever, way to freshen your carpets! Try it on all carpets that you can vacuum, including in your car! Be creative and start making the world a better place, one rug at a time! ;-D

I know this is an extremely practical post, but I hope it'll be of help to someone! I am now happy to say that my rug in the sun room, does not stink!! Thank you, Page!!


Until next time!

~Lauren