Roses

There are these amazing rose bushes in the back of our home. They are probably overgrown but the past 2 years they have produced some beautiful flowers.

This past fall Dominic cut them down a bit and it seems that wherever he cut stopped growing, but in places he didn't cut, tons more buds erupted! (Is this normal??) I know nothing about pruning/taking care of rose bushes!!

And I have no idea what "kind" of rose this is....it isn't the traditional rose that you find in a flower shop!

Aren't they pretty??

This is common to see 4-5 buds on a branch in a clump like that.

We have some more "established" growth...

And some new...I think these bloomed into the later part of the summer last year if I remember correctly!

Do you have roses and how do you take care of them? Do you know the secret to cutting them back each year? I'd love to hear what you know! :) 

Our Little Garden

When we lived in Beresford we decided one of our first few years there that we would love to have a garden and grow tomatoes and peppers to make our own salsa. Dominic came up with this great idea to put garden plots between our 2 detached garages. They were awesome and we used them year after year.

We moved to Marshall in mid-June so the first year we didn't have time to get anything going. Last year Dominic was feeling the pressure of starting a business so it really wasn't something either of us were ready for. But this year I really just wanted even a couple of tomato plants, even if they were in pots on the porch.

We have a big yard now, but it is odd shaped and we weren't sure where to put a garden.  There is this empty lot behind our house that "belongs" to a home on Main street that is (from what we can see) abandoned. The owner doesn't live in town, doesn't take care of the lot and it is over grown with weeds.

We had talked with several of our neighbors and they all expressed interest in a possible "community garden" in that back lot, if we could get permission from the owner.  Dominic has taken every measure possible to locate this individual and offer to mow the lot in exchange for use of a portion for a garden....but we can't find him or reach him.

We'd even like to look at buying that portion of land, it isn't very much, and then we know it would be well taken care of...but since that doesn't seem like an option now we had to come up with a different plan.

So I thought we could do it right at the farthest portion of the lot line, by our rhubarb patch...but when the electrical line locator people came out, they confirmed what I had feared...that lines are buried right where we wanted to dig.

So, at least for this year, we are going small. We found a small space behind a big pine tree that gets lots of light and set to clearing a spot. We got a tiller to use...but it wouldn't start for us :( so we had to dig by hand...and foot...which means Dominic may not be able to walk tomorrow (please pray for him!!)

The plants are a little closer together than they should be...but I think they will be fine. We bought 1 of each of the different kinds of tomato plants that Wal-mart had and then some jalapenos, red bell, yellow bell and orange bell peppers.

While it isn't quite what we had hoped for we are both excited to see how this little garden grows!

Oh and I had already started some of the pepper plants in some old hanging baskets we had....so those 3 will just stay on our back porch area!

Do you plant a garden each year? And if so what do you grow?? I have dreams of lettuce, beans, cucumbers and asparagus someday....a girl can dream can't she?! :)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

So I heard about homemade laundry detergent from a friend on FB and started doing a little research into it. Almost every site I found had the same recipe and everyone that used it raved about it.  What I loved about the idea was that it claimed to last for months and the cost of the ingredients was $20!!

For a family of 6 that does at least a load of laundry, if not 2 every day...I can use savings like this!

The site that I found and saved the recipe is here...she has some reviews etc so check it out!!

So here are the details....

1 Box of Super Washing Soda 3 lb. 7 oz. 

1 Box of Borax 4 lbs 12 oz. size 

1 Box of Pure Baking Soda 4 lb. 

3 bars of Fels-Naptha 5.5 oz. or you could also use Ivory soap (I used Fels-Naptha)

1 container of Oxy-Clean 3.0 lb (My container was 6.0 lbs so I used 1/2)

Oh and if you like scented detergent you can add Purex Crystals to the mix - I prefer unscented so I left those out.

I was able to find everything at Wal-mart in 1 place - they are smart and know people are doing this and had everything I needed in the laundry detergent isle! Loved that!!

I forgot to take a picture of all the ingredients before I started...

The worst part is grating the bars of soap.  I started with my cheese grater and then used my food processor to chop it up even finer.

And I forgot to take a picture after I ground it up even more too! :)

It was suggested that you dump everything into a 5 gallon bucket to mix....

Which I did initially - but Dominic found a long Rubbermaid bin that seemed to work better for me.

So you just stir everything together and then put it in airtight containers for storage.

So there you have it! I have read this IS safe in HE washers (which is what we have) but you add it to the load directly and don't use the filler spot on the top of the machine. The sites have also said you only need 1-2 Tbls for each load....so this could last a long time!

I am running my first load right now so I am excited to see how it turns out!

Karate Tournament

Today Dominic and I traveled with Gabriel to Hutchinson, MN so that Gabriel could participate in his first karate tournament! He has been taking Shotokan Karate classes through our local community services program.  It was a fun and fairy inexpensive way for him to try out a new "sport" to see if he likes it.

He started this fall (I think??) and he has really progressed. He recently got his orange belt and we are so proud of him!

He participated in individual kata and team kata. (an exercise consisting of a sequence of the specific movements of a martial art, used in training and designed to show skill in technique)

He did SO good! He was nervous about it and wasn't sure initially if he even wanted to go. But I reminded him that no matter what his score/ranking we would be proud of him and that I thought he was brave for being willing to even try something new like this.

Basically it is a elimination type event. He was paired against another child his age range and ranking and then 2 perform at the same time. One person wins and then the winner/loser goes against other people until the all have placed.

In the individual kata he got 3rd place! I thought he did great and he was excited to get a medal!

Then he and 2 other people from his class performed in the team kata. This is where they all do the same kata together.

They did really good too!

They won their 1st round, and then their 2nd and then their 3rd and finally won the last round for 1st place!!  It was really exciting and fun to watch and Gabriel was so proud of himself!!

And VERY excited to have a 1st place medal!! He said that he had a great day. After he was done we found some little Mexican restaurant downtown for a late lunch that Gabriel thought was fancy because they played music and had silverware wrapped up in a napkin! ;)

It's the little things right?!  Congrats Gabriel on your awesome performance today. We are so very proud of you!!

Updates

It seems like I never post here any more.  I apologize to those of you still sticking with me! :) I thought I would give a few updates of what have been happening in the Smith home lately.

Isaac is on his way right now with our church's youth group to see Chris Tomlin in concert in Minneapolis. I am jealous. :)  He got his "official" driver's license in February and has been driving himself to school every day. It is nice. What's even nicer are those nights when I need to wrap something up at the office and he can run over and pick up Elijah and Karlena for me.

Gabriel is doing great in school and is still taking Shotokan karate through Marshall Community Services until mid-May. Recently he tested and received his orange belt! He is learning a lot and we are really proud of him! (Will post a picture after Tuesday when he has his gi on again) A few weeks ago Gabriel has his school concert and he had the part of a general. I was able to find this costume for him at our local Goodwill for less than $18 total!!

Elijah will be 4 in just over a month. I can hardly believe that. He is just getting so big and so much more grown up. He is ready for it to be nice outside so that he can ride his bike! I think we are all ready for it to be nice outside again!

Karlena is changing and growing more every day. She is getting so tall! When I was going to start this post I hear her yelling..."mama, I'm stuck, help me!" And I found this....

She likes to follow the kitties everywhere they go and got stuck under the chair! :)

I found some more clearance paint at Menards and started painting Karlena's room.  I did an accent wall in dark brown and the other 3 walls will be a tan (with no yellow undertones) :) Here is a sneak peak....

I LOVE it. The room does look a bit smaller now...but I don't mind. I like how it looks....they are very similar colors to what we had in her old room in Beresford....I guess it is nostalgia - but now all the walls will be fresh and clean again. And I have a ton of paint left over again....so may have to use that for something else!

 I wrote a post about getting organized over at my other blog. I am even giving away a copy of the e-book I got to review - go check it out and enter before Thursday!!

The business is going great - busy and more busy. Dominic and I both are working at finding the right balance between work time and family time....but we are both so grateful for this amazing opportunity to work together and thank God for how He has blessed this so far.

Speaking of Dominic, it has been almost 10 months since his accident. He still walks with a pronounced limp and lots of pain every day. While he tries to remain positive about everything....it is frustrating and painful and frustrating. :(  He sees the surgeon in July...we have been talking about what options he might have....possibly removing all the hardware they put in to hold his heel together. The pain he has is exactly where the plate and screws are - not the heel....he is still so young and we feel like this can't be the best it can get. Please pray with us for clear answers!

We recently bought an elliptical machine. It is the one thing that the PT's encouraged him to use for exercise to work his foot with the least amount of impact. We knew it would be cheaper, and easier in the long run, for the whole family to have a machine at home instead of paying for gym memberships.  We are loving (and hating) it....but it is already getting well used. We are going to be one healthy family! :)

Wow - is anyone still with me?! This has gotten to be a long post! I guess that is what happens when you post once every 3 months huh?!  I hope you have a wonderful week and I will try to be back sooner than later!

Running and dancing

Oh how I love these kiddos of mine!!

Waiting Here for You Lord....

This is one of my favorite songs, so I wanted to share it here with you!!

 As we wait in anticipation for the Easter celebration tomorrow - let us praise the One who conquered death.