a dear old friend was kind enough to invite me over to educate me on cloth diapers this week. i had done a little research before L was born and was very interested in using cloth, but never got around to it, plus, the upfront cost can be a little overwhelming, depending on the kind of cloth diapers you go with. so i was able to look at a few different kinds and get some good advice about cloth diapering, which was super helpful and made me really excited to start trying it. i am really drawn to cloth because i feel like i can save money over time and that i can be a little more "green". cloth diapers have come a long way since my parents used them on me. they do still have the prefolds with the little plastic covers, but the kind that really interest me are the pocket diapers. these look like a little diaper, and you insert a liner into them. once they are dirty, you wash the liner and the diaper (after you discard the stool into the toilet, of course!). and with washing machines these days, you can even do the soak cycle in the machine (i was a little turned off by having to have a bucket full of cloth diapers soaking in the laundry room). my friend was kind enough to lend me about 10 cloth diapers that no longer fit on her kiddo's. so i need to track down a few liners and then i am going to try them out. i know it will be a change and i will have to get used to using them and doing laundry every other day. i know cloth diapers aren't for everyone, but i am eager to make the change and to figure out the ins-and-outs of cloth diapering!

maxwell and i are reading through the bible this year, from beginning to end. it's a way we can be learning together and we know that each other is doing it, which is awesome. with not knowing when we can talk next or if we'll ever be able to skype or use a webcam, it's a great way for us to feel like we're on the "same page". i was a slacker at first and he is a book ahead of me...i have been working on catching up to him the past two weeks and am almost there. i am currently in exodus and just read about israel and their exodus out of egypt. i really liked what the LORD said through moses to the egyptians as they were about to cross through the red sea:

"And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." " Exodus 14: 13-14

these verses really stood out to me. i liked that as the egyptians were almost out of the country and they got afraid again and began to doubt whether God's promise was going to be real, He reminded them that He would fight for them. and that all they needed to do was to be silent, to be still. such a good truth. i have really been enjoying re-reading the stories in the bible and re-learning about what God has done throughout history. and i am excited for easter. i think easter is my favorite holiday...it's a toss-up between christmas and easter. but easter is just so inspiring and overwhelming and unbelievable - to think that Jesus died on that cross for ME, for all of us. it's a crazy beautiful thing. it completely boggles my mind and brings me great joy, all at the same time. hope all of you have a truly blessed easter weekend!

we set up her highchair and she loves being able to "sit" at the table with us.

goofy child!

mama and L