Madison Vining Blog | Page 14 of 20 | Daughter of a Good Good Father. Wife. Mama of 6. Adoption advocate. Choosing to live out hope in heartache as we wait for Heaven with our Harbor..

August 20, 2018 by madisonvining

MAGNATILES

Toys that don’t get forgotten about after a week + that appeal to all ages + stand the test of time, are like unicorns to moms. We got our first set of Magnatiles over 5 years ago and we periodically add a new set here and there from time to time to take our building to the next level. Every kid, from infant through adult, has loved sitting on our living room floor and getting lost building with these. I find myself still building after kids have walked away (anyone else do this with building or coloring?)

A few days ago we opened a new set that has stairs and windows and doors, and we built the ultimate baby chick house.

I love that kids from all age groups can play together with Magnatiles. I also love seeing who my organized, methodical ones are… kids who sort them by colors and shapes first before building, and who have a master plan in mind. And of course, getting to smash the creation at the end (or letting the baby do it!) is a crowd favorite.

Magnatiles also sent us their new miniature version, which is right up Story Kate’s alley.

Getcha our favorite starter set of Magnatiles HERE.

XO
Madison Vining

August 17, 2018 by madisonvining

Lately.

A photo-heavy look at what we’ve been up to lately:

This day, a black butterfly (identical to the one that follows us around the entire time we go to the land, every time) followed us around the whole time we were at the lake. In the middle of the lake. All day.

We have slowed way down… we have been intentional… we have been together 24/7. (And cleaned the house some despite these pictures, I swear)

We had a garage sale. The kids helped tons with cleaning, sorting, setting up, pricing everything with color coded stickers, greeting people who came by, counting change, and selling lemonade. They are big into “starting businesses” right now and Ty and I are loving watching them with their entrepreneurial little spirits.

It rained, so we put everything back in the garage… then pulled it back out… and it rained again so we put it all back in, and repeat. But the kids had a blast!

^ Date night to Lowes. Came home with some little baby plants.

Tractor naps = the best naps.

Our first batch of chickens started laying! Or at least one of them did, because we’ve been getting one egg per day. They’re about 5.5 months old so still a little on the young side. We’re keeping our eyes peeled for more soon! So proud of those little ladies.

^ Rich, dark orange yolk. You won’t find that in a grocery store egg! Farm fresh organic eggs are filled with so many more nutrients and taste so different!

We had 3 ducks that the kids raised from hatchlings. They’ve been living on our pond for a few months, living their very best life and doing great. Ty build them a floating duck house so they could escape from predators if needed. WELP… one day last week we came out and there were only 2 ducks left. The next day, only one. Bill. These days, Bill is in the chicken coop for better protection.

Bill is adapting well to his new life as a chicken. Hence the smile!

Lots of new baby chicks have joined the homestead. Silkies, Polish, Easter Eggers, Olive Eggers, Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, and some sweet little mutts.

Story went to 3 days of horse camp with her friend and cousin, and fell pretty deep in love with barn life.

The last few months have been filled with a lot of pain, grief, tears, emptiness, sadness, and still wishing things were different. At the root of everything, we just miss our baby so much and everything hurts without her (the good days hurt the most because we wish for her even more). But these recent months have also been filled with snuggles, dreams, slowing down, steady progress, and HOPE that we know has only come from Jesus. Every day we are finding things to be thankful for… our sunshine girl being one of the biggest, brightest things.

In a little bit, I’ll give y’all a house update. A ton of progress has happened since I last updated here. We are so ready to be living on the farm full time.

XO
Madison

August 14, 2018 by madisonvining

DAT. BOOTY. | Cloth Diapers

I once cloth diapered two babies at once. I was insane then. Now, I use cloth diapers on one baby about 50% of the time. You could call me a cloth diaper poser… and you would be right.

Seasons, y’all.

Some of my favorite cloth diapers are Charlie Banana, and their new prints are adorable. They sent us a few and I’m dying to show them off, so kindly direct your attention to my kid’s rear.

YASSSSS.

^ Honestly, candid pictures of me look the same.

So cute, huh?

We love cloth diapers for several reasons:
-They save money
-They save the environment
-They’re less toxic on tiny hineys
-They are more sustainable (it’s great to have some on hand for emergency preparedness, even if you don’t plan to use them full time)
-Less diaper rash
-Cloth diapered babies are said to potty train slightly sooner
-They’re cute as hale
-They’re the only laundry that’s fun to wash, dry, and fold

What you need for cloth diapering (in my opinion) is:
-Cloth diapers: You want enough to set you up for however often you want to do diaper laundry. So if your babe goes through 5 diapers a day and you only want to do laundry twice a week, you’ll want somewhere in the ballpark of 18 diapers. These will carry you through from itty bitty baby through potty training, and then through however many kiddos you have. Win!
-A diaper sprayer (not a must, but so helpful. HERE is my fave.)
-Thieves laundry detergent (cloth diapers are only less toxic as long as you’re not washing them in toxic junk, ya know? If you aren’t living that Young Living life yet, click HERE and grab yourself a membership. It’s life changing!)
-Funk Rock ammonia bouncer (not a must, but again… handy to get that funk out from time to time… click HERE)
-Sunshine! Ever so often, you want to lay your diapers flat outside to let the sun bleach out any stains.

As with anything new, it’s totally fine to go slow. Like I said, we’re cloth diapering about 50% of the time right now. That’s fine — it still reduces our carbon footprint, cuts down on diaper costs, and allows me to look at that fluffy butt enough to get my fix. Starting with one or two dipes to see how you like it is a great way to get going and then slowly build your stash! Progress, not perfection.

Happy butt-wiping!

XO
Madison

August 14, 2018 by madisonvining

MEALWORMS IN MY LIVING ROOM | GROW MEALWORMS

Our chickens love mealworms and they are a great source of protein which helps them lay healthier eggs for us. Mealworms are expensive at the feed store, and we are on a mission to become more sustainable, so I decided to grow mealworms. Yes, me.

SIDE NOTE: Here are some things that just a few years ago I either DID say, or WOULD HAVE SAID that I would never, ever do:

-Breastfeed past 2 years
-Use a menstrual cup
-Cloth diaper two babies at once
-Cloth diaper at all
-Want a farm
-Buy a farm
-Have a baby at home… on purpose
-Own 30+ chickens, or even one chicken
-Homeschool my kids
-Have snake skin and dead dragonflies in my freezer
-Grow mealworms in my house

I now do all of those things. And if I wanted to spend more than a couple minutes, I could make that list twice as long. What am I learning? Never say never. Keep an open mind. And be careful who I call weird, because I might just turn into them. And it might make me happy as a clam.

Back to the worms!

Over the weekend I mentioned to the kids that we were going to start a “life cycle of a mealworm” unit on Monday. I also mentioned that it might include us starting our own mealworm farm. They wanted to start ASAP. Not Monday.

I have a friend who has paved the way in my chicken-loving insanity, and she told us to come on over and she’d start us out with our first batch of mealworms, so off we went.

My husband is a SAINT, y’all. How I landed a man that is down to roll with the punches required to be married to me, I will never ever know.

Before we went, I downloaded this FREE MEALWORM LIFECYCLE PRINTABLE.

We got the worms. I’ll spare you the pictures.

Here’s the details on how easy it is to grow your own mealworms at home:

What you need:
-A plastic or glass tub of some sort (just needs smooth sides so they can’t crawl out… *shudder*)
-Oats
-A potato
-A wash cloth
-Some mealworms (if you don’t have a friend to give you the hookup, you can order online)

What you do:
Put the oats in the tub and add the mealworms. Every few days, toss them a chunk of potato. Keep the tub covered in a towel (like on top of them), and store in a cool dark place. It doesn’t have to be cold, just not in a hot garage or something. That’s it! They will multiply as fast as your chickies can eat them, and you’ll never run out. FREE WORMS FOR LIFE. Literally what more could any woman ever want.

That’s it! That’s how to raise mealworms at home.

I promise to blog about these never again.

Also, here’s a picture of the beautiful fertile eggs that my friend also gave us while we were at her house. I’ll post about what we’re up to with those a little later!

XO
Madison Vining

June 28, 2018 by madisonvining

The House Happy Built | House Progress

House progress!

As its hashtag proclaims, this home is truly #thehousehappybuilt. Ty and I’s Young Living team is called the Happy Oilers, and every brick, every board of this house, was made possible by our YL journey… and a lot of Jesus 🙌🏼

We went from years of searching, waiting, saving, and planning… to all the sudden this thing looks like a HOUSE and decisions have to be made. It’s funny how you can wait so long for something to happen, and then it comes and you’re like HOLD UP — give us a minute here.

The framers have been working nonstop the last couple weeks. They are always so enthusiastic and kind when we come out, and they ask us over and over if we like it and we tell them over and over that we love it. Sometimes we bring the crew donuts + drinks. Sometimes we show up with donuts + drinks, and they’re not there… so we take them to the Fire Department instead!

Here’s a peek at the house progress as it’s gone the last week (iphone images):

You can still see the scripture we wrote on the foundation a few weeks ago. And it is still true. So true.

This isn’t the tub we picked, but Oaks had a good time playing in it.

Peaks going up!

Our friend Jordan brought us three organic apple trees the other night and helped us plant them. The most beautiful Oklahoma sunset blazed the sky as we dug.

Phones never capture the true beauty of Oklahoma sunsets. Every time I try to take a picture of one, I am reminded of what Ty said on stage at Harbor’s memorial service: trying to capture her in a few minutes of speaking, or explain her energy or beauty, is like trying to take a picture of a sunset… so frustrating, and will never do it justice. The only ones who can grasp the magnitude of the beauty are the ones lucky enough to experience it.

Today the house has made even more progress (I didn’t snap pictures, so expect even more progress in the next post). There are boards on the roof, there are legit walls, there are patio coverings and beams and beautiful things. We’re able to start feeling what the spaces will feel like and envision some of the goodness God has for us here.

More to come.

XO
Madison