GRAND Seal of Approval

Guess what?

Our goat milk soap has been awarded the GRAND Seal of Approval!

What is the GRAND Seal of Approval, you ask? (See, I can read your thoughts).

I'll tell you.

The great folks over at GRAND magazine, the magazine for Grandparents, really like our soap and are recommending it to their readers.

But that's not all that they've done. They've also gifted our customers and readers with a free subscription. So, if you aren't a grandparent, you probably have one or know one that you can share this with.

Here is their email and the instructions on how to receive the free subscription:

Welcome to GRAND Magazine, The Magazine for Grandparents. We pride ourselves in providing interesting stories and helpful information for grandparents of all ages. Whether you are a grandparent at age 37 or 87, we give 110% to entertaining and informing you. We would love to have you come check us out online at www.grandmagazine.com.

Our magazine has recently gone “green”. We no longer print the magazine, but provide it electronically via the Internet. This is one of the steps that GRAND has taken in order to be more eco-friendly.

Since we want to let you in on the “GRAND experience”, we are giving you a “free” access code. Below you will find the code and instructions on how to redeem this code.

Access Code: FGWZA1

Instructions:

1. Go to www.grandmagazine.com
2. Once the page has loaded, you will find a magazine (appears to be flipping pages) icon in the upper-right-hand corner of the webpage. Click this magazine icon.
3. After this icon is clicked a new window will open. After loaded it will prompt you to enter a username and password, preview the magazine, or subscribe to the magazine. Click subscribe.
4. Clicking subscribe will open another window. In this window, complete the information asked for. Before clicking “next”, enter the free access code in the promotional code box (located after the password box). After the code is entered, click next.
5. After next and the page is loaded, click place order.
6. You will be given a confirmation code, your login information, and assistance information. Now you can access the online magazine with your login information (only for the e-zine, not the GRAND website).

Hope you enjoy it!

Buddy

I've wanted to paint our house since we moved into it five years ago.

Jim hates to paint, so I've always been the painter in the family. But I just have not been able to paint. There is always too much other stuff to do. But the walls have been getting worse and worse and... worse! So I started praying about it. And then we found... Buddy!


Buddy is awesome! Buddy is also deaf. The children just love him. He is so expressive and manages to communicate with the children so well. For the three days Buddy worked on the boys' room, they would constantly ask him (by hand gestures) - "We" "Sleep" "There" Tonight"?

He'd shake his head over and over (remember, there were 5 boys asking him). Until finally he gathered them together and gestured - "You" Sleep" "There"! At which point there was much cheering and screeching.

Then there was the day Buddy was painting the front door. Everyone kept forgetting and grabbing the door and ending up with paint on their fingers. Buddy would go around inspecting everyone's fingers for paint and giving them his fake, stern look.

But the funniest and most embarrassing thing happened the day that one of the children knocked the carbon monoxide detector out of the wall. It let out an ear-piercing screech to which Buddy jumped. Yes, he jumped.

I looked at him and asked him, "You hear some?"

It turns out that Buddy can't hear words, but can hear a certain indistinct amount of loud sounds.

Uh oh. I immediately started to think back over the last few weeks about the few times I'd yelled at the children, thinking to myself - good thing Buddy can't hear this.

Buddy confirmed it. He pointed to the children and made gestures indicating that they are all very loud - which they are. Then he pointed to me and mimed putting ear plugs in his ears.

I was mortified. I got busted yelling at my children by my deaf painter.

How embarrassing.

Little Bird Houses

We've had a whole bunch of little birdhouses hanging around the barn for several years. Jim decided to let the children each have one. They got to decide where to hang it, and the boys put them up.

This one is Hewitt's:


Don't you just love Hewitt's smile? He seems to have forgotten how, and just makes this grimace lately.

This birdhouse belongs to Jade and Indigo:


Brett was the one taking these birdhouse photos. Apparently they hung the birdhouses after dinner and were too excited to wash off their faces. Hmmm... wonder what we had for dinner? Spaghetti perhaps?

I also wonder at what age Brett will start to notice that their faces are covered in food and wipe them off before she snaps the photo?

Anyway...

The birdhouses are actually working. There are birds living in each of them. I know this because one nearly attacked me as I was mowing the lawn in front of it. It scared the daylights out of me and I believe I let out a little shriek yelp. The children thought that was just the funniest thing ever - not the shriek yelp, but the out of control lawnmower when I ducked and covered my head.

Cute and Creative

The other day I caught Brett holding a green thing and putting things in her mouth. I couldn't figure out what she was doing until she showed me this:


It seems that she was picking raspberries from our bushes and didn't have any place to put them. Since she didn't want to get her clothes stained, she made a basket for them out of leaves.

Isn't she creative?


Oh yeah, her basket was apparently full, but all that was left was four berries by the time I got my camera. Of course, none of them disappeared into my mouth. ;-)

Confession Time

People say to me all the time, "I don't know how you do it all."

I would just like to go on record that I definitely DO NOT do it all.

For example, I let Hewitt wear these pajamas all winter:



A good mom would have made time to go upstairs to the storage area and get him another pair of pajamas. Me, I'm a bad mama. All I did was make time to get my camera. :)

I Miss My Nanny

Ok - I've never really had a nanny. But I did (do) have a really good friend who would come over a LOT and help with the kids, and watch them, and make me and Jim spend alone time together.

But do you know what she did?

She got married!

And then she moved away!

I know, wasn't that awful of her? So selfish. Ok, ok, I'm just kidding.

When the girls and I went back to New Jersey for a visit, Shannon drove 2 hours to come and see me. She brought her 3 adorable children with her. It was a really special time as I got to get to know her children better.

Here is a photo of me and Lydia, Shannon's eldest:


And here is Shannon, Brett and me:


It's a good thing that good friends are forever friends. Despite long distances and time apart. I miss you Shanny, my nanny!

Jade's Turn

Ok, now it is time for Jade's Birthday Celebration Hugs.

Indigo first:


Then Hewitt:


Now Greyden:


And Fletcher:


Emery had to get fancy:


Colter:


Brett got a kiss:


Mom just got a hug:


And Dad just got a snuggle:


Even Grandma got in on the tradition:


We all had fun. As for Jade, she just wanted her birthday money:


Happy Second Birthday, Jade! :)

Fourteen Years

Do you know what happened fourteen years ago today?

I officially became Mrs. James Jonas.

Yep, it's my anniversary! How cool is that?

Guess how Jim and I celebrated?

By making soap, of course. And gathering square bales of hay out of Farmer Frazier's field. And going shopping for more book shelves. (You can never have enough book shelves).

That doesn't sound like a celebration?

Well... actually we started the morning out with donuts. Krispy Kreme donuts to be exact. I'd never heard of Krispy Kremes til moving out to Indiana, but they're pretty darn good.

Since Jade and Colter had their birthdays this past weekend (when we were selling soap), we decided to celebrate all three events this morning. So Grandma (who is visiting) got up early and went to get fresh donuts. After pigging out enjoying our donuts, we enjoyed our tradition of the birthday kid hugging everyone in the family, from youngest to oldest.

Colter went first and hugged Jade (before I got my camera out).

Then he hugged Indigo:


(Yes, Indigo had a chocolate covered donut).

Jade didn't like being left out, so she had to jump back in:


Then it was Hewitt's turn:

By the time he got up to hugging Greyden, Colter was really getting into things:


But he calmed down for Fletcher:

Only to get wound up for Emery:


And then, poor Brett just got tickled more than hugged:


It was an awesome morning celebration, and an awesome 14 years! :)