T & T ~ Homemade Bug Repellent ~ Whitney

I know that summer is almost over, and that this would've been a much better beginning of summer post but, as my children say, "you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!" Trust me though, this is a great tip even if it is coming to you at the end of the summer.

With that being said...

My 9 year old is a bug magnet!  Honestly, in a field of 500 people the insects will hunt him down and feast on him.  He is constantly covered in scabs because he can't stop scratching bug bites!  He can get 2-3 bites walking from the house to the car.  It has always been an issue and bug sprays haven't worked for him.
With that being said, I haven't used repellents containing deet.
Call me a hippie but deet scares me.  I have never used it, not even in Africa, because of its neurotoxicity, and I refuse to put it on my children.  For a while I used insect repellents containing picardin but the laundry list of other chemical ingredients in bug sprays (and almost every product we can buy these days) convinced me to just make my own.

I found an amazing recipe that I absolutely LOVE!
 My children love it because "it smells like cookies" and the little one just loves telling people "we make most of our stuff."

These are my boys (7 & 9) putting on their "cookie bug spray"

I love it because it actually works.  Since we've started making this insect repellent my 9 year old has not gotten a single bug bite.  This stuff is a miracle!  It is so easy to make and use!!

Here are the only things you need:

16 oz bottle
15 drops lavender oil
3-4 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup lemon juice



Put 3 ingredients into the bottle.
Fill the rest of the bottle with water (about 12 oz).
Shake to mix.

Use this how it works for you and your family.  We have a 16 oz bottle that we keep our mixture in and then have small bottles in purses, overnight bags, in the basement...anywhere we may need them.

This is a small <$1 travel bottle from Target.

You only need to put a small dime size drop in our hands and then rub it on our arms, legs and necks...wherever you need to repel bugs.  The best part is, it is all natural so your kids can put it on themselves.  My boys actually remind me if I forget because they enjoy covering their arms and legs in "cookie bug spray"

We had a big family picnic over the weekend where everyone was outside all day, running, playing and sweating.  My boys and I put on our cookie bug repellent when we got there and didn't have to reapply all day.  Let's just say we were the ONLY ones who didn't get bug bites.

Try it out and let us know how it works for you!!

School

In less than a week it will be August which means school is right around the corner. 

 As you are back to school shopping with the children in your lives & preparing for a new school year, please take some time to pray for children in places such as Kenya. Children who don't go to air conditioned classrooms with SMART boards, games, computers...

...children who attend schools like this.

They look very different from the schools we send our children to.  Most of us wouldn't dream of sending our children to a school that resembled this one (and we definitely wouldn't pay tuition to send them!) but in Kenya, children are just happy to have a school to go to.  Wouldn't you love to be a part of a school improvement project in Kenya, India or even in the United States?

At 29:11 Inc., we may not be ready to open a school or pay tuition for orphans but we can help ensure that children in Kakamega, Kenya have a day center where they can be fed, encouraged and receive medical care.  This is what we are currently planning for and if you would like to help visit our website and click on "Donate Today"

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.

T&T ~ Laundry Soap ~ Whitney

Hey guys!  So glad you came back for another Tips & Tricks Tuesday!
Today we have another recipe of sorts - this is a recipe for laundry soap (detergent).

I have been using this recipe for a while now and I absolutely LOVE it!!  This laundry soap is easy to make extremely inexpensive and lasts FOREVER.  It saves us so much money (money I can put towards traveling to Kenya!!) and it smells amazing.  It leaves our clothes looking great and smelling fresh and clean without an overwhelming fragrance.

Here are the ingredients you need:

And here are the simple steps:

1. Grate 1 1/2-2 bars of soap - I choose Kirk's original Castile soap because it's natural and I like the way it smells.  You could choose any soap with a scent you like.  Next time I may use Dr. Bronner's bar soap because they come in so many scents and are also chemical free. 

2. Mix 2 cups borax, 2 cups washing soda & 1 cup Oxi-Clean with the grated soap.

3. THAT IS IT!  Seriously.

**Most recipes online do not include the oxi-clean, I know it is not completely natural but if you don't add at least a little your clothes may yellow.  Try it yourself and let us know (I'm too nervous about yellowing clothes because of how dirty my children get!!)

I purchased a glass jar and a tbsp measure to use with my laundry soap.  I only use one scoop for each load of laundry but you can use 1-4. 
Like I said, this stuff works great, is inexpensive and the container looks so cute in my laundry room!!

You can also make a huge batch of it (4 lb boxes of borax, washing soda & baking soda, 3 bars of soap and 2 c oxi clean) I just don't have space for a huge container in my laundry room 😀

Have you made your own laundry soap?
Which scents/soaps do you use?
Do you have any questions?
e-mail us your questions, comments and laundry soap pictures!

T&T ~ Shrimp & Grits Recipe ~ Rhia

Your Tips & Tricks Tuesday post comes from Teacha Rhia today.  She is a southern girl who wanted to share a recipe that is near and dear to her heart!  We hope your tummies & your hearts enjoy!

Hi guys! 

Today I'm taking it back to my southern roots. I made my famous shrimp and grits for dinner tonight. This is one of my husbands favorite meals...ever. 

Ingredients

•                            1 bell pepper chopped                                  2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
•                            6 green onions chopped                                1 1/4 cup instant grits
•                            1 clove garlic minced                                    4 cup chicken broth
•                            2 tbsp butter                                                   3/4 tsp salt
•                            1 lb frozen shrimp                                          1/4 tsp pepper
•                            1 can rotel

I really hope you guys enjoy my famous Shrimp & Grits.  Let me know how it worked out for you and your families!

Love ~ Rhia

Thinking of trying this recipe?  Let us know how it goes through comments, e-mail, Facebook or Twitter

Love, peace and full tummies!

Introducing ~ Tips & Tricks Tuesday

Hey Hey family, friends & supporters.  I am so excited to tell you about a new item we are adding to our blog: 

At 29:11 Inc., we are pretty sure you know why we are here and what we do for our nonprofit but we aren't so sure you know a whole lot else about us.  Like how Kara is a kick butt Zumba instructor, Kathy is really good at time management and scheduling, or how Melinda can cook... like...ANYTHING!

Well we have lots of talents, skills & information that we are going to start sharing on Tips & Tricks Tuesdays!  We are not medical professionals and do not claim to have the cure all but we are mothers, certified educators, children's ministry coordinators, fitness professionals, urban farmers, chefs, striving to live chemical free...well you get it - we do a lot more than run a non profit and we want to share some of our knowledge (trials, errors, successes, helpful hints, suggestions & recipes).

Each Tuesday one of us will be sharing a tip/trick/helpful hint/suggestion/recipe...something near and dear to our hearts in hopes that you will get to know us a little bit better & that our tips & tricks will make your lives a little easier (or yummier!!)

Mothers

Mothers are so important.
I think of my mom and how important she is to me now, not to mention her importance while I was growing up.
I love my mom.  I don't know what I would do without her and now that I am a mother myself, I am so lucky to have my mother be the grandmother to my children.

It breaks my heart to think of kids around the world who don't have what I have.  Who don't have a mother to encourage, love, inspire and cuddle them and, maybe one day, their children as well.

Victorious Children's Home
Kakamega, Kenya

We have very personal connections with an orphanage in Africa.








Kids at VCH in Kakamega, Kenya have Vicky.  She is an amazing woman who has, throughout the years, taken in hundreds of children.  She currently has 63 children of all ages.  She feeds them, clothes them, takes are of medical needs, and sends them to school.  She is their mama.

We have been lucky enough to make connections with kids at the orphanage.  While we love them all, we each have a child who we have a special relationship with.  Jennifer is mama to Archadius, Rhiannon is mama to Sophie, Melinda is mama to Phyllis and Whitney is mama to Isaac.  They are brothers/sisters to our children at home and we all hope that one day our children in America will get to meet our children in Africa.

29:11 Inc President Jennifer & her son Archadius

This weekend, we were lucky enough to speak with these children in Kenya.  After speaking with Jennifer, Archadius posted to his Facebook account "feeling strong again."

I responded with "That's what happens when you get to talk to your mama!" 

Archadius had a precious response - something you might not expect from an orphan in Africa, whose *mama lives half way around the world...

He said, "yes, a mother's sound has a lot of love that keeps a child strong"

A simple phone call has given a child in Africa strength to continue working hard at school.  Strength to continue each day even though in his society he is seen as worthless because he is an orphan.

You may not feel like praying for 29:11 Inc, sending us $20 through paypal, or sharing us with your friends does much in helping orphaned children...they all seem so small and simple...

...so does a phone call.  

You can make a difference.  

If you're not sure how contact us.

Jeremiah 29:11
 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Pinterest!

We absolutely love this!
I hate it when I see something I love on Pinterest and I don't pin it because I always have such a hard time finding it again!!

There is this one video of a lizard trying really hard to jump from one shelf to another.  He gets all geared up & looks like he might just have enough in him to make it.  Unfortunately, all the hype was for nothing because he doesn't even clear the shelf he is jumping from.  Poor guy...

BTW - if you know which Pin I'm referring to please please please link it to me in the comments - I love that little guy, trying his hardest and barely moving!


With that being said, sometimes we feel that way.  We get all geared up, do a ton of prep work, cross our t's and dot our i's and then...BAM...we come crashing to the floor.  Well not actually crashing to the floor but it feels like it when your social media isn't out there like you had hoped or your website isn't getting many hits.

So, if you haven't guessed it yet, 29:11 Inc. is now on Pinterest!
First of all, the ladies over here all have our own accounts, boards and pins (sometimes its excessive) and secondly, with so many people on Pinterest, we couldn't miss the opportunity to get out who we are and what we're doing.

So, check us out on Pinterest (we aren't sure we've linked it enough in this post) and if you like what you see PIN IT!

Happy Pinning!

Jeremiah 29:11
 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

A Child's Heart

Don't you just LOVE kids!
I mean seriously...
Sometimes they just PUT US IN OUR PLACE!

We learned to Stand Strong no matter what the world throws at you -
a GREAT lesson for kids and adults!!

This week was our Vacation Bible School week.  As you may (or may not) know, the ladies of 29:11 Inc. are Children's Ministry junkies so the weeks surrounding VBS are extremely busy for us.  With that being said, Praise the Lord things went well.





We take up coin offerings each day of VBS and all of the money goes to feeding children in orphanages we currently have connections with in Africa & Haiti.

It seems like each year we have children who are willing to sacrifice - I mean truly make a sacrifice - for kids who they have never met.  We have kids who give each year but there is always that one kid whose story sticks with you.



This year, that special child was Ava (red shirt, sparkly purse)
Isn't she cute?!?


Ava wanted to make a difference to children in other countries.  In her words she wanted to make "just one kid in Africa or Haiti smile."

She emptied out her entire bank and put it all in her purse to give in our offering. Ava may not have given the most money this week, but she definitely sacrificed.

She even asked to "give a speech" to the kids and parents at VBS.

Ava said that she wished she had a big big room, filled with all the money in the world.  She said if she had all that money she would give it away to make just ONE kid in Africa or Haiti or other countries like that smile.

Ava gets it.
She really gets it.

Sometimes I wonder even as adults, even as people who have started a non-profit to help orphans and homeless children around the world, even as people who work and volunteer in ministries, even as followers of Christ - do we get it?

Are we willing to give all that we have for just one smile?

Lord, give us a heart that is truly willing to  give up everything we have to follow you.  Don't let us be like the rich man in Matthew 19, who couldn't part with his possessions.  Use all that we have to further Your kingdom.

Jeremiah 29:11
 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."