Thankful...

 So very thankful for family,

 and games, and naps,

 and gorgeous fall days to throw a ball,

 and making memories,

 and laughing about stories from the past, 

 and food, lots and lots of food,

 and fishing, and cousins,

and this beautiful life!

Forgive me, Lord, if I don't love it enough.

When life gives you lemons...

You make gallons and gallons of lemonade.

And lemon icebox pie.

And lemon bars, limoncello, Starbucks Lemon Loaf, lemon sugar scrub, lemon curd, and this wonderful citrus cleaner made from lemon peels and vinegar:

Oh, and we did get a whopping two oranges this year, too.

And we just straight up ate them right off the tree!

DIY hand lotion

I am a nurse.

In a typical 12 hour shift, 

I wash my hands no less than 50,000 times.

I wish I was kidding.

Combine that with the drier and cooler air we have now in south Texas and it is a recipe for very dry, cracked hands.  My sweet friend at work brought in some of her homemade lotion and I instantly fell in LOVE!  I almost passed out when I found out how easy it is to make, and now I'm passing that wonderful little secret on to YOU!

 Ms. D's original recipe calls for one bottle of hand lotion, one container of Vaseline, and one container of Vitamin E cream.  Well of course I have to mess around with things and here's what I came up with:

One 15oz. bottle of baby lotion 

(I used this lovely "Vanilla Oatmeal" because we have loads of the pink stuff at work!)

One jar of Vitamin E cream 

(found at Walmart for dirt cheap!)

Half a jar of coconut oil

I melted down the coconut oil and combined it with the rest of the ingredients.  Use a hand mixer or a whisk to blend ingredients thoroughly.  And then try to convince your kids that you aren't making frosting and that it isn't a good idea to lick 

these beaters!

This lotion is fantastic!  

It's very rich and creamy. And while it goes on a bit greasy, it soaks into the skin right away.  My hands feel so good and soft.  I think we'll be making more of this stuff for our handmade Christmas gifts this year!