Backpacking

Raeley was on a mission trip to Longbeach, MS

The boys were at boy scout camp.

Cameron went to visit her grandparents.

What were Mark and I to do? Something we hadn't done in years.

Go Backpacking.

So we dusted off our gear (my hiking boots, Mark's backpack, and all the small things were the same).

Mark started researching, and I started dehydrating food.

It consumed every spare moment for a week or two. And I must admit I would wake up at night and worry every once in a while how it was going to turn out.

But the day came and we were off.

Here is a quick overview:

Kids leave Sunday, I return home at 5 pm from dropping them off.

We pack and I clean house (who wants to come home to an unkempt house after being in the woods for a week?).

Mark works on his spreadsheet of caloric/protein/fat intake.

We go to bed much later than intended.

4:30 am came early.

Up and at 'em and the last shower in a private shower for a week.

We leave Tupelo at 5:05 to be exact and head to Georgia.

We stop in Atlanta at REI to see about replacing Mark's pack, but they were just too expensive.

On to Dehlonega GA, a very quaint town we wish we had more time to see.

We met friends of Mark's for lunch at The Crimson Moon, and it was great to get to know them better. Lunch took longer than we intended, but it was all good (both the company and the food!).

We stopped in an irresistible shop next to the restaurant, then one last coffee, and we were off!

We dropped our car at the end point -which is the beginning point for many. We decided to walk the trail south bound (sobo in AT talk) to end at the big waterfall (on a downward slope for it is very steep) at the welcome center.

Our friends asked us if we had a knife for the bears and Mark suddenly remembered what he was looking for the night before and couldn't find - a larger knife -he only had a small one. Mike pulled out this long knife in a case that you can velcro to your leg. My eyes got big. Are bears really that much of a problem? Do you think I would have a knife like that if they weren't, Mike replies. Well, that knife was a little too big, so he pulls out another one that is smaller. I'm beginning to wonder about this whole thing-just joking. I would like to see a bear from a distance I think! You have to admit, that sounds pretty cool, especially since I hear all you need to do is make racket to run them off- unless you leave food out - a big no-no I don't intend to make!

They drop us off at Woody Gap, 28 miles from our car, and leave us there.

And into the wooded bliss we submerge.

Summer TIme -an update on us

I haven't been blogging much -

I've been making a transition in my life.

Less time on the computer.

No more Facebook - not much, anyway.

Consolidating work and emails into larger time chunks - not spread throughout the day. You won't believe how much time that saves!

Eating healthier - trying to get high fructose corn syrup out of our house

Less TV, more reading

Deciding where to put my time not chewed up by my computer -

currently on the kids and de-stressing my life.

I'm working on a few more things, too:

Exercising harder and wiser (still not there - I'm wimping out before interval training).

Watching my reactions to my kids - working on showing my love more.

Living out my faith more - once again, like with the kids, it's a heart issue.

We are still doing school as well. We are working hard to finish by next week. We will continue with a few writing assignments, spelling, and math.

Our summer plans?

Two family trips to Texas

Mark and I will start hiking the Appalachian Trail (Woohoo! Yes, that is as cool-I mean hot- as it sounds!) Our goal? To go back with the kids once we have the hang of it.

Various camps for the kids. Currently it's swimming lessons.

My Oldest

My oldest daughter, Raeley

is a free spirit

always has been.

I don't know how old she was when I realized this.

It was the way she held picture books

and looked at the pictures

I never could explain it, but she didn't just look,

She saw.

She would point out a small, overlooked detail.

Like it was the reason the book was written.

She was very sensitive about her environment.

It needed to look good. It had to look good.

It was the way she studied people's faces

like she could figure out who they were.

She doesn't mind what people say about her.

She doesn't care about fitting in.

She cares about being true to herself.

Doing what she likes,

and seeing the world through her eyes.

She is strongly opinionated about what matters to her.

Right now it's the state of our country.

Back then it was equality between kids,

Being nice,

and justice for all.

Most of all it was loyalty.

My oldest daughter, fiercely loyal.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

It's so easy, even a 7 year old can do it. I wish I would have timed how quickly this went. And OHHH, the savings! It's also better for the economy. Since I have had the Borax for a LONG time, and didn't save the receipts from the other, I googled the prices.

Cameron actually made the recipe for me, and next time it will be faster because I won't have to measure the water, I just sharpie'd a fill-line on the bucket.

1 cup Arm and Hammer washing soda

1/2 cup Borax

1 bar Zote* soap (I bought a 14 oz bar so I cut it in thirds)

Heat 4 cups of water in a pot. When boiling, bring it down to simmer. While water heats, grate soap. I used a Salad Shooter. Remember, it's soap, so it will wash off easy! Add washing soda and Borax. Mix until melted. Fill a large container (with lid) with 3 gallons of water. I used a paint bucket from WalMart that cost less than $3. Add melted soap and stir. Let sit 24 hours until it gels. Mix well. That's it!

*Fels Naptha is also a natural soap that is good to use, just stay away from perfumed bars with heavy dyes and scents.

Here's the price breakdown:

Arm and Hammer Washing Soda $3.50 55 oz (7 loads) ($0.50)

20 Mule Team Borax $9 76 oz (19 loads) ($0.47)

Zote Soap $1 at Big Lots 14 oz (3 loads) ($0.33)

$1.30 for 4 gallons ($0.015 a load) - that's right - one and a half cents a load.

My laundry detergent of choice cost $7 for 44 loads ($0.16 a load)

I saved the last container of detergent I bought and filled it with the detergent. I use one for one in the measuring cup- really a little more of the homemade stuff.

You just gotta try this!

You don't have to use words to be mean

My twin sister is homeschooling her daughter now.

I don't think she ever thought she would homeschool, but she'll be great.

I mean, really great.

One of those homeschool moms I would look at and go, wow, I never would have thought of doing that with my kids! Of course, that was back in the day when I had time to put a little creativity in my homeschooling. Now I buy creative homeschool curriculum.

Sweet Angela, seven years old. Kissed by an angel on her cheek (birthmark) and teased mercilessly by the kids at school. So unhappy this past year. Now she's happy and safe because she doesn't have to go to back to that place anymore.

But she still cries about it.

Sweet Angela, with the big eyes and charming smile. She had to endure children pointing and laughing at her on a daily basis. She had to endure the kids passing notes about her. Worst of all, she had to endure kids acting as if she didn't exist. She didn't put this into words earlier for her mom to bring her home sooner. Oh, there were teacher meetings, and dealing with bullies who would verbally tease. The kids learned. It's not what they said. It wasn't the words that hurt. Sometimes it's about asking the right questions. Sometimes it's about understanding the definitions.

Bullying. It can even happen in the home. Do my kids bully each other? Do I listen when they tell me about what one of their siblings did to them? Bullying - here is a beautiful post with a recommended book read,The Wounded Spirit by Frank Peretti. I'm getting the book. And I'm going to listen to my kids.

Sometimes it's hard to live so far away when cousins need hugs. And cousins need to give hugs. Daughters #2 and #3 may be coming home next year to learn also. Pray for them, will ya?