Scripture in Our Home (pt. 1)

I talked last time about the contest over at Doorpost that was helping me to get motivated and do some of the decorating I'd been wanting to do.  I thought the best way to do it would be to just do one or two rooms a post...that way you aren't overwhelmed (LOL I know! ;) and I have more time to work on more projects.  (ok, maybe that's the REAL reason, but I think the other sounds good too.)

We'll start with Ezekiel and Zane's room.  I've already shown you part of it, but since this post I've done a bit more decorating (and added a baby!) in this room.  

First off is probably my favorite piece of art in our home. 

 I had this print custom made for my son Ezekiel using   Ezekiel 36:26.  This verse is one of the reasons we named him Ezekiel.  It's such an awesome picture of how salvation is all about God and all BY God!  Jackie from Willow of Wonder was amazing to work with!  I showed her the quilt my mom had made and we talked about the map being in the artwork, as well as a treasure chest with a heart (of flesh).  She did an amazing job!  I framed the print and hung it above Zeke's bed to be a constant reminder of our need to be given new hearts.   (their room only has one tiny window and it's super hard to get a good picture.  *pout*  The reflective license plates don't help with the photographing any either, but I promise it all looks good IRL!  lol)

The other display of scripture in their room is a bit of a pun...um...ok, it's a big pun.  Taken totally out of context to fit my needs, but I think God has a sense of humor and I think he's probably snickering about this one too!  

I got a dresser from my sister-in-law and refinished it.  I painted it red first, then black and I still need to do some more sanding so you can see the red through better.  The dresser holds Zane's clothes and diapers.  The top has a changing pad, wipes, spray and is finished off with this fun little scripture (1 Cor. 15:51 - We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.  Most people believe the verse is actually referring to the rapture, but, hey, it's true here too!  lol.)

And just for kicks...

cute cloth diapered baby bum!!

If you'd like to join in the fun you can check out the contest rules here.  Thanks for stopping by!

Frugal Friday

Well...this is my first time participating in the Frugal Friday linky round-up hosted by Life as Mom (be sure to check her out for more great Frugal ideas!!!) That being said I'm thinking about cloth today....mainly cloth diapers. I used cloth diapers with Kessa for quite a while and really liked it. I had the really nice cloth diapers that are basically exactly like disposables except you wash them. However, by the time she out-grew those great diapers I had found out I was pregnant with Zeke and decided I didn't want to tackle two in cloth (not really sure why...not really much extra work! lol) Anyway, we recently made the transition BACK to cloth for both of them and I'm so thankful that I did! Theses aren't ALL frugal reasons, but here are the main reasons I switched back to cloth. (oh, and this time around I found a GREAT price on e-bay for some new covers and we're going old school with just covers and flats.)

1. Do you KNOW what they put in disposable diapers to make them so absorbant?!?!?! PVCs and SAPs (Super Absorbant Polymers, if you've ever had a diaper "explode" on your little you know what I'm talking about.) Now here's the scary part...they used to use these in tampons...and they stopped doing that in the 80's due to their link to Toxic Shock Syndrom...and even worse...in Europe it's ILLEGAL to use them in diapers...and yet I was still putting them on my babies's tooshes 24 hours a day!

2. I'm not a big "green" person but I do believe that God has created us to care for and nurture the earth...conservative estimates say that disposable diapers make up over 70% of the world's non-biodegratable waste contributed to landfills since 1970. (and did you know that you're "supposed" to dump poop out of disposable diapers before tossing them?!?! Me neither...tiny tiny print on the end of the bag that you probably threw away says so!)

3. (here's where we start getting frugal) I have two kids in diapers so even when I get the BEST deal in the world on diapers I'm still paying around 14 cents a diaper (and let's not even talk brand name diapers!) On average, if I buy the cheapest diapers I can, I spend $14.00 a WEEK on diapers...and around $8 ever month to month and a half for wipes...and $6 every two to three months for a diaper genie refill (we only use it for poopie diapers.) Now that's we've got back to cloth I spend $30 for 6 covers, which might push it here and there, but will be enough for both my kids until they are potty trained.

4. I spend nothing this time around on the flats because I already had them (but if you go buy them we're talking like $20 to $40 for a pack of REALLY nice flats.) The great thing about flats...NEVER have to replace them because your kid outgrows them!

5. I'm even using cloth wipes this time, which honestly I find easier because I can just shove it in the diaper, it all goes in the same pail and I'm done with it. I spend nothing on these because I simple cut down old flannel receiving blankets and did a finishising stitch around the edge. That's it. I'm going to be keeping them in home-made wipes solution in a old store-bought wipes box.

So, if I've done the math even close to right instead of spending around $62 a MONTH on diaper related "stuff" (that I didn't even feel comfortable using on my babies' anymore!) I spent around $100 once and I'd say... $7 more on water than before (I line dry the diapers so that's free too!) So....from $62 to even, let's say $10 in case I had to dry some in the dryer. I'd say that's DEFINETLY a FRUGAL FRIDAY.