By Angie Mentink

We all enjoyed the mild weather this last week. It allowed us to work on some outside projects and made the outside chores more enjoyable. Our week started as usual. Our daily routine includes getting ourselves ready for the day, cleaning up our rooms, and putting clean clothes away. We eat the same breakfast almost every morning. I started this routine a few years ago to make the morning more efficient. Our breakfast includes toast (from Kailey’s bread), fried eggs, oatmeal, and a few of us enjoy hot herbal tea. I delight in not having to think about what I will make and we are all in agreement that this breakfast gives us the most energy and focus. It’s so routine that it doesn’t take long to accomplish. After breakfast we rush to get dishes, cleaning the house, and outside chores done. Our goal is to have all of this completed by 8:00 am. Everyone busies themselves with their school work as soon as chores are done.

On Monday, Cory had asked me to meet him in Columbus to pick out more things for the house over his lunch break. Despite the fact that I try to avoid shopping, I figured this would be best completed at the store. I picked Annika (number 5) to ride along with me and spent quality time with her. The rest of the kids worked on school while we made the quick trip and Kailey volunteered to make lunch since she was doing well with her school work. After arriving at the store I was thankful I didn’t try to pick everything out online. After looking at bathroom vanities, I was surprised to discover how expensive the poor quality ones were. Annika was excited about the big store and had every cupboard door open in our aisle before we realized what she was doing. Shortly after, she fell asleep in Cory’s arms and slept most of the time in the store and on the way home.

The only thing I was able to decide on for sure was the kitchen sink. It was a big stainless steal sink with a large commercial sink sprayer and it was on sale. I didn’t like the look of the sprayer at first, but really liked the sink. After praying about it, I decided that despite its looks it would be very helpful with washing dishes. With our big family and all the cooking, baking, and canning we do, we will get a lot of use out of it.  In the afternoon, since the temperature was in the 50’s, I tackled cleaning our screened in porch while the little ones played outside in my sight. This is a project I have been wanting to do since moving over here, but several things were being stored out there until recently. In the evening Cory started the sink project. Until we are able to get our counter tops installed, Cory temporarily put a piece of plywood on the cupboard and cut a hole in the center for the sink. We were able to use the sink at the end of the week after he finished the plumbing. After a week of washing dishes in a big pot in our bath tub, we were so excited to have a kitchen sink again! We appreciated not bending over to do dishes and not having to be so careful that we didn’t scratch the new bathtub. Most importantly, we didn’t have to run each dish to the kitchen from the bathroom to ensure they stayed very clean.

My mother-in-law surprised me with her comment last week. She said that she and my father in law have discussed the fact that our family would be perfect for a reality show. She said the way we lived in a camper for 18 months with 6 kids, while raising and making most of our own food and gutting and repairing an old house in between Cory’s full-time job, homeschooling, our business, and other routine tasks would be crazy enough that the producers wouldn’t need to make things up like some reality shows. This seems to be a common statement when people hear about what we are doing. We think people would get bored pretty quickly of our simple lifestyle.

Monday night I noticed that my hands were very dry and sore. I remembered that I had washed my hands several times with liquid soap during our outings this weekend. I am blessed to able to use our handmade soap most of the time and I forget how harsh those liquid soaps can be. I found our lotion bar to be incredibly soothing and by Tuesday morning they were back to normal. I have had several requests to make a natural liquid soap, and while I know it would be a lot better than the store’s liquid soap, it would still require a preservative and an emollient. Since there is added water to liquid soaps, it makes for a breeding ground for bacteria. This is why a preservative is essential. The other problem is, in order to keep the soap from separating you need an emollient. There are natural options for these, but they are still very processed and the end result isn’t as moisturizing. I will continue to research and pray about this option.

In our extra time last week our focus was on getting everything out of the camper and giving it a thorough cleaning. I couldn’t believe how much stuff came out of the camper. The storage cupboards really hold a lot of stuff. We scrubbed the ceiling until our necks hurt, pulled everything out that could be removed, rug doctored the carpets and furniture, and scrubbed and polished everything. Cory fixed several things that had broke and Alena mended the curtains. It almost looks like a new camper again! We plan to sell it soon. Cory has been working on the flooring project in the extra bedroom along with other projects and chores.

Late Friday afternoon, despite all the boxes and piles that needed to be organized and put away in the house, we made ginger bread houses. We don’t eat candy, but when the kids receive it as a gift or at a parade they place it in their own bags in the freezer. It’s amazing to see how much candy they collect in a year. The kids all start by building a house out of cardboard. A few years ago we made homemade ginger bread cookies for the house, but decided that was a little too much work for something we wouldn’t be eating anyway. Kailey made the frosting with crisco and powdered sugar. These are two ingredients our family avoids except for decorating these houses once a year. The projects turned out great and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it.

Thursday evening Annika had a bad cough in the night. It was hard for her to breathe laying on her back so I rocked her. After rocking for a few minutes Annika said, “Can my fall asleep on you?” I said she could and after realizing how much it helped to have her upright, decided to sleep in the chair with her. Friday, her cough hadn’t improved so we did the same thing. Christmas Eve was spent caring for Annika and Kailey’s new goat that had arrived the day before. Kailey brought it inside after realizing that it wasn’t nursing from her mom. We fed it with a syringe and Kailey got up with it in the night but it didn’t make it.

Christmas morning arrived with a better night sleep for everyone. Annika’s cough had improved. Each child received a new sled and homemade peanut butter cups. A few years ago we started a tradition of giving homemade gifts. Cory had a great homemade gift in mind, but with the busyness of finishing necessary house projects, we decided to get the kids each a sled and put off the idea until next year. Most of the sleds broke last winter, and this is something they will use a lot. So far we haven’t had enough snow for sledding, but the kids are hopeful for snow soon.

This Christmas season we are most thankful for our Savior, Jesus Christ. I pray that we reflect on what He has done all year around and not just at Christmas. As we accomplish so many things on our place, I am reminded that these things only bring temporary joy, but having a relationship with Christ brings everlasting joy (even in the hard times) along with eternal life. We are also thankful for the family and friends that God has place in our lives and the opportunity to serve others with natural skin care and food items. We pray that you are blessed this Christmas season.