Clean Easy, Clean Fast!

Hey Girls,

Have you heard about Norwex? Click here to go to the Norwex web page...I was introduced to them a while ago via my aunt (okay, my hubs aunt, same diff!!!) at a home party she did down here on the coast (she lives in Kelowna) for a friend of hers. They have some AMAZING products that make cleaning your home (or office) a snap, but best of all you don't need to use chemicals. They lessen the time you spend cleaning and give you a safer, healthier, chemical fee home.

I decided to try a couple things and I ordered the dusting mit (for ALL my slat blinds) as well as the microfiber cloths. Needless to say I love them!!! I have one for the bathroom, one for the kitchen and one for misc items/dusting through the house. I also have a window polishing cloth that makes windows, mirrors and glass shower doors shine beautifully.

I will say that the products are a bit more expensive to start off with, but if you add up what you spend on swiffers, swiffer refills, cleaners, paper towels, mops, cleaning cloths, etc......you will spend less (who doesn't like to save cash?!?!?) overall.

What's the difference between a Norwex cloth and a cloth from the dollar store? Well, Norwex cloths have silver - a known natural antibacterial agent, used in space by NASA - woven into them. This is what works to kill the germs you pick up while cleaning. The fiber in these cloths is 1/100th the size of a human hair - most dollar store microfiber cloths are only 1/3.

At the party I was at, my aunt, Esther, took a glob of butter and smeared it on a glass window. Then she took a damp cloth and wiped it off - the window was cleaner than when she started and the microfiber had basically "eaten" up the butter. She passed the cloth around and there was no way you could see or feel or smell where the butter was in the cloth. It was crazy!!!

Here's a few other products they have that are fabulous:
The Wet/Dry Mop - way better than any swiffer

Personal Products - bathrobes, towels, spa socks

Natural based home essentials - hand soap, carpet stain buster, cleaning/polishing paste, mattress cleaner / descaler (for hard water build-up on shower doors), laundry and dish soap

Fresh wash - cleaner for fruits and veg

If you want to clean faster, clean easier and clean healthier then Norwex is for you!!!! If you are interested in Norwex products, would like to learn more or see a catalogue, let me know, I am hosting a catelogue party and will be accepting orders until January 28th.

Happy Cleaning!

A New Family Member

Okay, so today was a typical Saturday for us....a hodge-podge of household chores, a birthday party thrown in for good measure and some baking to finish off the day.

Part way through the day Madelyne is telling me about her baby - this week its a soft and cuddly stuffed cat that she got ages ago, but, it's THE buddy this week so it goes everywhere. Okay fine, she's playing with her buddy and tells me her baby has a name....this is quite unlike Miss M because even with a real pet - her fish - she refused to name him.....this is how the conversation went:

Madelyne: "come on Pissy, let's go for a walk..."

Mom: "pardon-me?"

Madelyne: "mom, I'm taking my cat Pissy for a walk"

Mom: (laughing so hard I almost wet my pants! - which isn't hard to do after having two ten pound babies!!!)

Mom: "Pissy, hey?!?!"

Madelyne: "Yep, Pissy, isn't she pretty?!?!?"

So yes, the newest family member is a toy cat...fondly and most innocently named Pissy.

'nough said :-)

New Year...New ???

Well, 2009 is well on it's way and it seems like the calendar is quickly filling up. Over the past couple weeks I've really been pondering what I want this new year to look like. Not that it's
completely in my control, but, as God speaks to me I really want to heed His words and shape this year to be the best it can be for me, for my family and for my God.

Something I'm going to really choose to focus on this year is "prioritizing" which first and foremost means putting me back at the top of my priority list. I don't know about your house, but in mine mommy is the last to get ready, the last to eat and the first to clean-up!!! God has really been speaking to my heart about how important I am as a wife and mother. How I have been designed to be the hub of the wheel of my family. Nothing will work properly if I am out of line, I will effect - both positively and negatively - the rest of my family and the dynamics of my household. So, to be the best I can be, to have a happy house and and a thriving family, I need to make myself a priority.

It's not a new concept, I know, but I think we just trudge along for so long doing all that NEEDS to be done without really taking the time to stop and make conscious changes.

With that said, we have scratched some activities from the calendar (at least for a short season) in order to ease my days and my running to and fro. I have designated specific "at home days" to allow myself and my kids to rest & and Matt and I have set some specific goals we'd like to reach together.

So with this New Year what's New for you???? What does your calendar look like and what's your focus going to be. If you haven't thought about it yet, I encourage you to ask God what He wants for you this year, and if you have thought about it, I'd love to hear where you see 2009 taking you.

Merry Christmas to All....and to All a Snow Shovel!

I'm writing this to you from the comfort of my cozy warm home....I'm staring out the office window watching people shovel snow like crazy...just trying to keep up with the flakes that seemed to be falling faster than a shovel can scoop.

At any rate....I wanted to take a few minutes to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. This year is a quiet Christmas for us, one which I am very much looking forward to.

I pray that God's peace and joy would flood your homes this season and that you would be a true testimony to those around of what Christmas is truly about.Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to you and Yours!

xoxo
Lisa

Update - Part Two

Well, as they say, no news is good news, right?!?!

Nothing to report from the doctor as everything seemed clear and in working order.

I was so puzzled as to why they'd call to have me come straight in for nothing. I basically asked the doctor why she was wasting my time and hers (and I probably asked with a touch of attitude!).... "just to follow up" the doctor said.

Geese louise doc, don't you know how stressful getting a call like that can be!

Thanks again for all you prayers, I'll take 'em and trust in His perfect plan.

Have a great rest of your weekend.

Deep Desires - Update

Just a quick note to update y'all....

I had an ultrasound on Wednesday, and last night received a call from my doctor. She had already received the results and would like to see me. So, Saturday morning at 8am I'll meet with her to find out if anything conclusive finally showed up.

Part of me is hoping that yes, they found something and "it" explains why we have yet to conceive our third baby, but, on the other hand, I have a full day Saturday as I am the wedding coordinator at a wedding that afternoon and bad news might throw a real wrench in getting through the day with ease.

Anyhow, just thought I'd update. Thank-you all for your encouraging words and support. It's great to feel the love of community....online and in person ;-)

Deep Desires

I sit at the computer this afternoon a bit torn....but willing to dive in and share the journey my heart is traveling as of late. I know God is all consuming and all powerful, but sometimes don't you just want a peek at what the "plan" looks like? I do, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

At our last Women's Wednesday I shared a bit of my hearts journey. Being Thanksgiving, we took a few moments to remember all the things that we're thankful full, in faith, I decided to share what I am thanking God in advance for, believing and proclaiming for.....a baby, our baby, our last baby.

I never grew up dreaming of being a mom, or having kids, I never thought of how many I would have, what there names would be or what they would look like. It just wasn't me. So to be thinking and feeling the way I have seems somewhat strange to me. You see, Matt and I have been trying for our third baby for just about a year. It is a deep desire of my heart to have one more child, as I feel as though our family is not yet complete. Don't get me wrong, there are days when I wonder, "why would I add another to this chaos!?!?" But, in my heart of hearts I still feel as though there is to be one more. Both of our girls were planned and thankfully they were created and formed easily - without much work on our part. But this one, well, this is where a glimpse of God's plan comes into play.

In the mean time, I've been through a number of tests and ultrasounds to find out exactly what's going on inside. My cycles have been so heavy that one would think I was having a miscarriage, when in fact I'm not. More than anything, it's exhausting.

Every month I'm filled with feelings of doubt and disappointment. I have to fight the lies of the enemy that work to try and tell me I'm not good enough or patient enough or worthy enough to raise and nurture three kids. I fight the urge to condemn myself and conclude that there must be something wrong with me. It's a battle I keep fighting, some months are harder than others, but I'm determined to believe truth, not lies, and trust God's plan. So, on the good days, I try and stand firm, knowing that His timing is greater than anything else, that it is only Him that has created the deep desires of my heart (remember, I never dreamed about kids or motherhood) and that it is Him that will bring them to pass. For the plans and purposes of this child are far greater than I could ever imagine, and to complete those plans he or she must be born in His time, not mine.

So here I stand today, home from yet another test. This time an ultrasound, to look for fibroids or internal scarring that would be causing the excessively heavy cycles and impede my body from getting pregnant. The waiting is the hardest part, the wondering and the wandering of the mind.

So, I leave you with that, the journey of my heart. The growing and stretching of my faith and my spirit. I don't write this or share any of these things to gain sympathy, but to be real. Because sometimes, when people ask, "how are you doing?!?!" it's so much easier to mutter "I'm doing great" than to say "I'm struggling, but not giving up!"

So here's to being transparent my friends, not always doing great, but not giving up.