In awe: a quick note

Well, I'm officially a mommy now! It's hard to believe. I don't have time to reflect very thoroughly right now (I've got to catch some shut eye while I can), but I did want to say it's wonderful. I had no idea I would be flooded with such a depth of emotion. Of course I'm overwhelmed with love for this tiny perfect person, but it's so much more than that. I'm flooded with a deep terrifying awareness of my responsibility, my need to live beyond myself and the unexplainable awe of how I now have so much to lose. It's scary to love someone so much. I, of course, feel I couldn't breath without my husband, but this is different than that. It's indescribable. With all of this in mind, I keep thinking, how did God give up His Son for me? I'm dumbfounded by it. After just 9 days I could not give up Elli for anything, let alone for someone that is undeserving and doesn't even love me back at the same level if at all. God's love is becoming more and more beyond what my mind can handle. I'm completely in awe of who He is and what He has done in me and for me. I love you, Lord!

Sweet Discovery!

I love finding home remedies online and seeing if they really work. For example, a few months ago I discovered that squirting an old shadow stain (or melted chapstick stain) with water, rubbing it with a Fels-Naptha Bar, leaving it to sit over night and then washing it like normal takes that old stain right out! It doesn't even matter how old the stain is! Well, my new discovery came today as I tried to tackle a really gross job. Friday night I went to the movies with my lovely husband. When we arrived home I realized I was kind of stuck to the seat! Turns out someone had left their nasty dark blue fruity gum in the theater seat and I had the pleasure of sitting in it. So, needless to say, I had gum all over the back of my jeans AND all over our leather seats in the car. This gum wasn't just globbed on either, it was smeared in, completely "unpickable". So, today I hopped on google and searched for a solution. Turns out hot vinegar, a toothbrush and some elbow grease is all you need! I started with my jeans first. I poured some vinegar into a cup, microwaved it for about a minute, and dipped an old toothbrush in it. I then scrubbed the gums spots with the toothbrush, dipping it every now and then. Voila! The gum came out almost instantly! The car interior went a little bit differently. There was A LOT of gum on the seat and it was smashed in really well. I went to work with the vinegar and toothbrush. At first it didn't seem to do anything, but once I grabbed a dull metal spatula to help with the scraping (and some fingernails too, gross) off the gum came without hurting the leather! Woo Hoo! My mom has used vinegar for countless cleaning projects, now I can add gum removal to the miraculous list! =)