Fresh Eyes and Random Thoughts

This is just a bit of rambling from some thoughts from a Bible study Eric and I have started.

Eric has had a heart while at work to reach out to anyone with the gospel. He feels very inadequate about this but he amazes me. Frequently he comes home telling me of great spiritual conversations he's had with coworkers who are seeking to understand who Jesus is and exploring the truth of Christianity. As a result of regularly talking to some of the guys he works with he decided to start a kind of Bible study. We started doing this several months ago and have met on and off each week since. We are reading through the book of John. Eric facilitates the reading and the discussion, asking some of the same general questions each week like, "What does the passage tell us about Jesus, about God, about man, and about ourselves specifically?" And, "As a result, if this is true, how are we to respond to what we've learned?" The discussion has been so good that we almost always go past the hour and a half we have allotted and have still only made it to the end of John 4.

Since I am of a bit older generation and have spent most of my life around believers in the United States (overseas I was mostly around nonbelievers but the cultures and mindsets were completely different). Spending time with these few "seekers" has opened my eyes more to the philosophy of life in today's world. I've read some about this but it doesn't compare to listening to these guys and gals think out loud. I recognize that they are only a few in a sea of many but I think they fit a different mold than what we try to put people into. In visiting so many churches in this area trying to get settled, we've discovered so many that cater to what they think people want to hear so they will come to church. However, according to our Bible study group, this is not what they want. They want to see real worship not entertainment. They are deep thinkers. They want depth of teaching about the Bible, not something that just makes you feel good about yourself. They want real, meaningful relationships and conversations in the midst of our text-messaging, facebook, twitter world. They want an avenue to ask hard questions and not be blown off. And they want people to be real in answering the questions, who can truthfully say, "I don't know." They want conversations with people who really know the Word but don't flaunt it. They want to see faith and truth played out for real, with humility - not with perfection - in those who proclaim to follow Christ, so that they stand apart from the rest of the world. They are super smart and know when they are being catered to.

It has been really refreshing and challenging to be around this group. Each week I walk away contemplating my own walk with the Lord based on some of the profound comments they've made. It has caused me to reexamine much of my heart and attitudes and actions. I've even started reading the Bible differently, trying to see it with fresh eyes and looking at it much more deeply, asking some of those same questions that Eric asks as well as pondering some of the comments and questions from the group. It has made a big impact on my walk with the Lord.

I've learned a lot about the simplicity of teaching the Bible and discipleship through this group and it has confirmed what we experienced in Lebanon. We've read so many books about discipleship and listened to many sermons on the subject. We've tried those methods and though there are good parts, it often feels contrived. In our experience in Lebanon and with this Bible study, the best kind of disicpleship is simply reading the Bible together, mulling it over together and sharing life together. The Bible speaks for itself and it tells us how to live the Christian life. We don't need anything else, except of course the Holy Spirit to guide us.

It has also shown us that people are everywhere who are open to the gospel, you just have to put yourself out there to start conversations and share your own life with people. In Matt 28:19-20, we are called to take the gospel to all nations including our own, including our coworkers and neighbors. Of course, I am not advocating not going to other nations, (if you know me at all, you know I would Never advocate not going to other nations!) just that where ever God has you is a mission field.

What has been so neat is seeing the Word read through fresh eyes. Each week I am blown away by the profoundness of their thoughts and discussion about life and the world and even Christian faith and Jesus and humankind that they pull out of a passage that I had NEVER thought of. One guy made a comment a while ago that has stuck with me, that I keep going back to and thinking about as I read things in the Word or watch others who say they are believers. He said in a sense, "If this is really what the Bible says it is and the Bible is true, then this requires everything of me; this would completely change everything, I would want to give everything to it." Exactly! I think so often we jump in with sharing the gospel with people wanting to have a quick positive response without giving time for people to contemplate the cost or really even explaining the cost in the first place. True faith is a sacrifice of your life, giving your life, surrendering your life and all your rights to everything over to the Lord, making him the ruler of your life willingly as a result of understanding the scope of what Jesus did for us. Our friend recognized this and you could tell it wasn't an easy thing to process, naturally. But he's also made comments about the peace he sees in it.

I was reading in the Bible this morning at the end of John where Jesus asked Peter, "Do you truly love me?" I liked what the notes in the margin explain in regards to love and it fits perfect with our friend's comment on counting the cost. To "truly love" refers to a love in which the entire personality, including the will is involved. We give up our own will for His because we truly love Him, because He truly loved us. This is in effect what our friend was saying. And he didn't even have the notes! Isn't it beautiful and at the same time challenging to see the Word through fresh eyes and to see the Holy Spirit working so marvelously?

Wes's Room, Finally Finished!

After months of dreaming, arranging, rearranging, thinking, planning, quilting, painting, ordering, tying and doing a bit of shopping, I've finally got Wes's room the way I like it. We moved the dresser and mirror far too many times, leaving gaping holes in the walls. I would like to one day cover the chair and get a bit more gender neutral rug but for now they blend well and suit the purpose. And what room would be complete without a baby! Wes is in the crib in these pictures. On the last day of arranging his room, he rode around in the crib adoringly watching his mobile as I shifted it about several times.

The animal alphabet cards were the inspiration for almost everything in the room - paint, curtains, sheets, quilt, dust ruffle, etc. - bought them even before we started the adoption process. I hadn't bought any baby things in the then 3 1/2 years of waiting. That was a particularly sad day and somehow these made me smile and encouraged me not to give up hope so I broke down and bought them. I just put them in a drawer in this room for months. Eventually from these came first the paint color - the room was also painted before knowing about Wes and with the idea of it being a good color for an adult guest room which is what this room was before Wes came to us, and also that it could possibly be a good neutral baby room color. As I look back now, I am not sure how it could work for a girl. I guess God put it in my head there would be a boy before I knew it!

The animal cards were a jumping off point for colors for the quilt I made - which I also started before we knew about Wes but after the adoption paperwork was completed. I had thought about it for months before starting on it. Somehow after all the paperwork was finished, I felt the freedom to go ahead with making it even though we thought it would be many months or even years before we had a baby. I so enjoyed picking out the fabrics and the design. Surprise! Wes came about three weeks after I started putting it together! In our Iphotos, the pictures of the finished quilt top are the last set of photos before Wes came! I finally finished the quilt when he was about 4 months old. It is a bit big for him now. We sometimes use it as a blanket for him for playing on the floor. He'll probably start using it for real when he's a toddler.

These pictures have a two different quotes - the one on the left is a prayer I made out of Ps 92:12 which says, "Lord, may Wesley be a righteous man, flourishing like the palm tree and may he grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, may he flourish in your courts. We pray he will still yield fruit in old age,that he will be full of sap and very green, declaring, 'The Lord is upright, He is my Rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him.'" The one on the right says, "Hope shall change to glad fruition; Faith to sight and prayer to praise." It is a verse from a hymn called, Jesus, I my cross have taken.

This is what the room roughly looked like, kind of, before Wes came, except that the fan was installed in the ceiling and we had a few things on the walls.

Professional Pics

Here are some pictures we had taken of Wesley a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

Going Home

I’ve been feeling a bit home sick lately - but for which home I cannot say. I miss Lebanon, I miss Georgia, I miss Oklahoma, - all for different reasons - ministry, old friends, even older friends and family, church, familiar scenery, adventure. We’ve struggled so much here to feel rooted and wondered countless times why God put us here. Sometimes it feels like we are in a holding pattern, like we’re trying to tread water upstream, pushing against some invisible wall, or even like we’ve gone backwards somehow or that we’re stuck. Moving to Lebanon and living there was tough (but worth it!). In some ways this has been even harder but for different reasons. However, if Wesley is our reason for being here, it is all well worth it! This reminded me of a blog entry I wrote at least a year ago but never posted. I read it today and it encouraged me. I thought I would finally post it. So here it is in italics.

I have to admit that over the last 6 years or so, I’ve had trouble knowing where “home” is. I lived in Lebanon for almost a year, then back to Ga for 6 months, then to Oklahoma for about 2 and a half years. Oklahoma became my new permanent home but for some reason I had trouble feeling completely settled there perhaps because of my own restless heart or perhaps because it was so different to me than what “home” had been to me in Ga for 30 years- family close by, friends I had known since elementary school - 20-30 year old friendships, beautiful landscapes and lots of memories. But Oklahoma had one thing Georgia did not and that was my wonderful hubby. It also had a church that offered deep, thorough biblical equiping that I never had but longed for and had prayed for. Eventually, the Lord allowed me to develop lasting, deep, godly friendships there that I know I will have for the rest of me life. This too had been a prayer of mine for years.

Then God put it on our hearts to leave that behind, to move to Lebanon. So we up and sold our house and moved to Lebanon, leaving no physical roots in Ok, except those of our friends and church. Home became South Lebanon for however long God wanted us there. It was difficult to plant any roots there not knowing how long we were going to be there but knowing too that our stay was most likely only a 6-9 month stay - not long enough to make a rented place a home, even though we tried hard to do so. We had to travel back and forth to Beirut a lot while we were there too so this made nesting difficult as well. While on one of our trips to Beirut, we were evacuated from that troubled city to a safer mountain retreat with no idea of being able to return to the friends and the few special possessions we had with us in southern Lebanon that made up our temporary home. We were able to get back to retrieve those things and say proper good-byes to our dear friends but for the remainder of our time there in Lebanon, about 1 month, we had to live with a brother-in Christ in Beirut out of our suitcases. We ached to be down south again with the friends we had made and to be settled.

Upon returning to the US we were not sure what the next step was even though we had been praying about it for months. So we became “sojourners,” “vagabonds,” traveling around the country visiting friends and family, living out of our suitcases for five more months. We wound up back in Norman, OK, our former home, for some semblance of normalcy and familiarity to keep our sanity. (I was slowly melting down at that point.)

I have written all of this to say that God has taught me something about “home” in all this, especially the last 8 months. God had taught me to be contented wherever I am physically for however long that might be, to “bloom where I’m planted,” to make the most of it, to see it as permanent even if it’s not. One thing has really stuck with me that a missionary said to us in Lebanon when we were contemplating buying a microwave. He said, “Wherever you are, plant your tent pegs deep.” We didn’t buy the microwave because it was really not all that suitable for the small amount of electricity our house could handle. However, what he said seemed profound at the time though its meaning took months to fully comprehend by living it out experientially. The idea of the tent implies something temporary - not knowing how long you will be in a place, but planting the pegs deep implies that while you’re there staying grounded, making roots, digging into life there, being fully involved. But at the same time being able to pull up those pegs when God says go without being hindered by too much baggage. I recognize that the older we get, the more we accumulate in things, friends, growing family that make it harder to pull up the pegs.

Another thing I’ve learned, and probably the more important thing is that home does not have to be a tangible place. It is not the stuff you put in your home either. It really is something you can’t touch. It is being with the ones you love, it is being fully in God’s will, it is living life on purpose for Christ no matter what or where, it is completely trusting His sovereignty when many things don’t seem to make sense, it is being completely satisfied and fully rested in Christ, safe in His arms, even if nothing around you feels safe or is safe or familiar or comforting.

Something else I’ve learned is that the Lord never fails us, that His grace is sufficient, He holds us in His hands tightly and that His Word is enough for us and completely reliable. We’ve also learned how much we miss and need and long for fellowship with the body of Christ.

There’s a song entitled Going Home that is part of a compilation one of our Lebanon teammates put together. It says somewhat how I feel. “I’ve been feeling kind of restless, I’ve been feeling out of place. I can hear a distance singing, a song that I can’t write and it echoes in what I’m always trying to say. There’s a feeling I can’t capture. It’s always just a prayer away. I want to know the ending, things hoped for and not seen but I guess that’s the point of hoping anyway. I’m confined by my senses to really know what You are like. You are more than I can fathom, more than I can guess, and more than I can see with human sight. But I have felt You with my spirit, I have felt You fill this room and this is just an invitation, just a sample of the whole and I cannot wait to be going home...Going Home. I’ll meet You at the table, I’ll meet You in the air. You are never to young to think about it. I cannot wait to be going home. Face to face face, how can it be... ”

We will probably never feel fully at home here on this earth. But one day we will be home forever, in our real homes, the homes built and intended for us. We won’t ever feel like sojourners, foreigners, aliens, out of place. We’ll be seated at the table of our dear Father who has adopted us for all eternity to be His sons. How beautiful!

Happy Independence Day!

Being the history nut that I am and especially given my love for Revolutionary War history, I wanted to give a timeline of the events leading to the Declaration of Independence.

1765-1775 -

• A series of taxes and acts instituted by the British government to help pay for the French and Indian War. The issue was not so much that the colonies were being taxed but they were being taxed without any representation in the government therefore, making colonists feel as if they were second class citizens without the full rights of those living in England even though many of them had direct British ancestors.
• Boston Massacre 1770, Boston Tea Party 1773.
• Continental Congress 1774, 1775, 1776 - discussions on how to respond to British encroachment in the affairs of the colonies, arguments over reconciliation
• 1774 - Declaration of Rights
• Battles of Lexington and Concord, April 1775
• 1775 - Declaration of the Causes and Necessity for Taking Up Arms
• 1775 - Falmouth, Massachusetts and Norfolk, Virginia destroyed by British war ships
• Olive Branch Petition, Jan 1776 - a petition of reconciliation with King George which was flatly rejected by the monarch
• Common Sense by Thomas Paine published the day after word of the King's rejection. Paine's sold 150,000 publications and countless others read it as well causing an already weakening sentiment for monarchical rule to almost disappear very quickly. He stated that the war and rebellion was not a revolt against taxation but a fight for the survival of liberty for future generations across the world.
• War campaign in Canada failed leaving many colonists to believe that the only way to win the war was with foreign assistance and the only way to gain help from other nations was by declaring independence from Britain.
• May 1776 - John Adams (who had been itching for independence for at least a year but had waited patiently for the right timing) introduced a resolution to Congress for states to terminate their colonial governments and adopt state constitutions. "Adams's resolution had driven a stake through the heart of the foes of independence everywhere. With considerable truth he could boast that his resolution had initiated 'the most important step that ever was taken in America.'"
• June 1776 - Richard Henry Lee presents a resolution to Congress to officially declare independence from Britain. Congress creates the Committee of Five (Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston.) to prepare a declaration of Independence. Adams chaired the committee, Jefferson was chosen to draft the document. Jefferson wrote the document in a few days time having already thought intensely about independence since the early 1770's. Also, by that time so much had been written in newspapers, books, pamphlets and by colonial assemblies, especially Virginia's Declaration of Rights, regarding independence, drafting the document proved relatively easy for Jefferson.
• The Declaration of Independence was presented to Congress by the Committee of Five on June 29, 1776
• July 1, 1776 Congress discussed independence and voted 9-2 in favor - New York abstained, Pennsylvania and South Carolina opposed, Delaware, tied. Official vote deferred until July 2
• July 2, 1776 - At the end of the day, independence was revisited, debated and the official vote taken - 12-0. New York still abstained.
• July 3 & 4 - the draft revised
• July 4 - The Declaration of Independence adopted in the evening, the last item of business for the day, almost as a side note.
• July 6- the document was published
• July 8 - "Independence was officially proclaimed at noon on July 8 before a crowd of thousands assembled outside the State House (in Philadelphia). Bells pealed all that day and night, Adams told a friend, and soldiers 'paraded on the common, and gave us the Fue de Joy, notwithstanding the scarcity of powder.'"
• July 10- General Washington read the Declaration to the Continental Army in New York City. That night some soldiers and citizens in New York City tore down and decapitated a statue of George III.

"Adams was cautiously exultant. He knew that independence would be accompanied by manifold hazards. He knew too that courage was required 'to ride in this Whirlwind.' Not only was victory not assured, but he trembled at the realization that 'mighty Revolutions... sett many violent Passions as Work.' The only certainty about America's future was its uncertainty. Yet his optimism surpassed his apprehension. From deep within his soul he truly believed that victory would be won, America's republican experiment would succeed, and that both his generation and posterity would benefit from what he and Congress had done. But Adams was also a hardheaded realist who knew full well that 'the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration' would be immense.'"

Quotes from Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson and the American Revolution by John Ferling.

A Visit With Friends and More

Last week a dear friend came to visit with her two sweet little girls. We had a fun time visiting the Arboretum, two parks and the swimming pool and watching a British reality show. :)

Wes had the privilege of lots of attention from more girls. :) Jennifer's little girls loved to feed Wes. He didn't seem to mind one bit.

Some new things he's doing this week are grabbing his elephant rattle and actually

squealing when he gets the monkey blanket. He's more observant than ever, putting on his serious observation face with the deeply furrowed brow. Also, he's been rolling over on his side but he can't quite get over yet, either way.

Yesterday, he discovered his toes! He was fixated for at least 10 minutes, of course with a furrowed brow. On stroller rides now he loves looking at the trees. He's much more active now too, especially when he's tired - like he's running to keep himself awake. He just kicks his legs like crazy and flails his arms all around.

Cloth Diapering 1.0

Hi all,

I have a few friends that have mentioned an interest in cloth diapering or are just intrigued so I thought I would give a quick overview. I am not in any way, shape, size or form a detail person so when I first started researching cloth diapers I was absolutely overwhelmed by all the information! There are so many different brands, styles, makes and models of diapers! You could spend weeks filtering through all there is out there and spend A LOT of money trying to figure out what's best. This blog entry is an attempt to simplify cloth diapering for those who are like me and either don't have the time to research for hours (we had only a week or so!), don't know anyone else who uses them or simply get bogged down in all the details like I do. First, I have written why I chose cloth diapers, and second, I am putting it in a format for what would have been most helpful for me. I hope it is useful for use as well.

To skip all the info and go straight to what I use, scroll down to What I Use in blue. To peruse a great website go to Cotton Babies. That is where most of the links on this site come from. It has everything in an easily accessible form, cloth diapering basics and you can order with free shipping. I usually get what I've ordered in one or two days with free shipping!

I do consider myself environmentally conscious to some extent, though we don't go overboard. I also like to be as natural as possible in most areas of our life - I try to do organic gardening (we don't mind holey collard greens too much) and eat as little processed food as possible and so it would only make sense to do the same with our little guy's back side. Yet, while these were considerations in choosing to use cloth diapers, the main reason was for the cost. I've read that you can spend up $2,000 for each child when using disposable diapers. Do you get that? You spend that much on something you are going to throw away! If you diapered your child for an average of 30 months in disposables, then that would average to at least $66 a month. So far we have spent far less than that on average per month including diapers, wipes, detergent, and water and power bills. Also, cloth diapers can be reused when other children come along. Also, babies that wear cloth diapers tend to be potty-trained faster. Furthermore, as Wesley has outgrown his diapers, they've come in handy as burp clothes (he needs a plethora!) and doublers. However, the amount you spend on cloth diapers could vary widely depending on the types of diapers you choose, which inevitably stems from your purpose - saving environment, ease of use, saving babies bum, or saving money.

Here is a list of the very basic items you need to use cloth diapers:

• cloth diapers :) You need anywhere from 18-30 depending on what kind of wetter your baby is. I change Wes after he wakes up from a nap and before I put him down for a nap which takes about 8 or so diapers a day.

• fasteners, if using prefolds - You can use either pins or snappis - Snappis are rubbery t-shaped deals that grab the cloth and hold it all together. Very quick and easy and no worries about poking. Pins are cheapest.

• diaper covers - you need at least 4-5 of these for most cloth diapers to keep moisture from leaking out. Again, there are a bazillion styles and kinds. The most popular are made with PUL, a waterproof fabric and fasten with snaps or Velcro. You can also find them in polar fleece and wool. The wool ones are crazy expensive but supposedly work the best.

• a diaper pail - Eric's parents gave us a basic one from Babies R Us. It seems to work fine. You can also use any kind of trash can with a lid.

• deodorizer - I've tried the disks that go in the pail, baking soda, tea tree oil and lemon oil (a few drops on a small cloth) and Lysol. I think so far I like the Lysol the best. You can get the disks at Babies R Us or order them online here.

• diaper pail liner - Someone suggested just getting camp bags from Wal-Mart. I bought two so that I could have one while the other was washing. They were about $7.00 each. So far this has been fine except I think they are losing their waterproofness. Eventually I might invest in a more official diaper pail liner like these - PlanetWise or Bummis or

• detergent - supposedly, you aren't supposed to use detergent with additives, enhancers, softeners, brighteners, etc, which includes everything you can buy in a regular grocery store except All Free and Clear. Here is a list of recommended detergents. I use Soap Nuts that friend recommended to me. So far, I like them a lot. They take a little to get used to since they don't really suds up and doesn't smell, but everything seems to be clean and fresh. Plus, they leave the diapers soft.

• a drying rack - you can dry your diapers in the dryer which I have done quite often, but I've learned that drying them on a rack in the sun has a bleaching affect, meaning that it bleaches spots and kills germs.

Here is a very basic list of the different kinds of cloth diapers you can use:

The most basic and cheapest:

• prefolds - by far the cheapest option. $1-2 per diaper - last a VERY long time, have multiple uses when babies outgrow them. You need a cover and may prefer a fastener with these.

These are a bit more sophisticated - these already have fasteners, either with snaps or Velcro.

• fitted diapers - a diaper just like a disposable that has elastic and some way to fasten them but you have to use a cover as well. Easy and cheap to make depending on the materials you use. These cost anywhere from $8-20 each.

• All-in-ones - a fitted diaper with an out material that keeps the moisture from soaking through - just like a disposable. You don't need a cover. These can be the most expensive ranging from $13-25 each.

• Pocket diapers - a fitted or all-in-one diaper that has a pocket for inserts for night time, nap time or heavy wetters.

There are a bazillion different "brands" of all-in-ones, fitteds and pocket diapers. This is where I found myself a bit bogged down. Thankfully, I have a few friends who gave me some of their favorites as a gift. One friend who has a cloth diaper sewing and service business made me some flannel fitted diapers for preemies. I loved them! They were so easy to use. I tried to make some like this but by the time I got them all made, Wes couldn't really wear them anymore. Someone else gave me a bumgenius all-in-one diaper and I love it too!

SO HERE IS WHAT I USE

Diapers -

• Indian prefolds. I initially ordered 36 preemie size. I think I could have gotten by with 24 to 30. However, as mentioned earlier, these are handy for burp cloths now and we go through them quite frequently. Next, I ordered 24 infant size. He's just about to outgrow these and so I just ordered 18 premium size. These should last us the longest. For all of these we've spent $100 in diapers in four months. For naps, I use a preemie diaper as an insert in the infant size diaper.

• BumGenius All-In-One diaper - A friend gave me one as a gift and I love it. It's organic, one size fits all and all-in-one, no cover needed. I just bought another one of these. It is pricey but if Wes can truly wear it for the next two years then it is worth it. I may buy one or two more if I find that using them at night works well.

• Disposables - We use these at night and when we go somewhere. I would eventually like to use these only occasionally and replace them with the all-in-one for night time use.

Covers - here are the kinds I've used. You need at least 4-5 covers.

• Prowraps - These have worked really well for us and don't cost very much. They only leak if Wes sleeps for a long time on his tummy. A friend gave these to us in three sizes so we saved even more that way! These fasten with Velcro at the waste and come in 6 sizes.

• Thirsties - These are shaped completely different than the Prowraps but also work really well. I use these when he takes a nap. You can tuck the prefolds into them and not use a snappi or pins. They have snaps to adjust for different sizes and Velcro at the waist. These come in 2 sizes.

• Econobum One Size - When Wes outgrows all the covers he has now I want to try these. They are the same price as the Prowraps ($8.95) but he will be able to wear them until he's potty trained.

• Dappis - I may try these as well. They are only 2 for $5.00!

Fasteners

• We have six pins and 2 snappis. I haven't ventured to use the pins yet but as the prefolds get to the edge of the sizing so that the snappis don't reach anymore, the pins may be very useful to get more wear out each size of prefold.

Cost For Basics - For the basics I've added up how much you would spend for start up. It seems a bit much at first but it is a huge savings over time. So for 24 infant Indian prefolds (for newborn to 3-4 months), 5 Econobum one size covers, 2 snappis, 2 liners and three BumGenius all-in-ones (the most expensive part!), deodorizer and Soap Nuts for 160 loads, the total comes to around $230. After the initial cost, you would have to spend around $36 to buy the premium size Indian prefolds and perhaps another package of Soap Nuts. After that, you're done! And, you can use them for your next child! Much better than $2,000! That's almost a tenth of the cost! And, even if you just used the expensive all-in-ones exclusively, that would still only cost you around $500 - $600! And again, you can reuse those with the next child if they are properly cared for.

Here are some other items you might consider buying but could use other alternatives:

• Cloth wipes - If you are like me you have the habit of throwing the wipe in with the diaper. Why not use cloth ones and just wash them along with the diapers? You can buy these Kissuluvs, or BumGenius, or, if you are handy with a sewing machine, you can make them for very cheap out of flannel. I could make 15 double layered wipes in one yard. I made about 60 which is PLENTY! I simply cut 7 inch squares, sewed two together, turned them inside out and topstitched them. These come in handy for lots other things too. They make great wash cloths or for extra soaking material in the diaper. Or you can buy baby wash cloths and use those as wipes. Using cloth wipes will also save you a lot of money!

• Wet Bag - These trendy bags help keep everything else in your diaper bag dry while using cloth diapers on the road. They are a neat idea but since we have so many Wal-Mart sacks, we use those instead, for free. Maybe one of these days, I'll get one or two.

• Fleece liner - These are used to help wick moisture away from the baby. These are also easy to make. You don't even have to sew! Just cut them to size and wala! They won't fray.

• Poop liner - This is my made up name for these. When baby starts eating solids, these liners help peel the poop away and you can flush them. I haven't used these yet. A friend had them and they seemed to work great. I read that back before such things were invented, women just cut strips of old fabric to lay in the diaper. Then, after it was used, they threw it away or washed it.

• Doublers/Inserts - These are used for times when it will be a while between diaper changes, like during naps and at night. There are many of these that you can buy or make but if you have enough prefolds you can just use those instead.

For these extras you can tack on an extra $100 over a 20-30 month period. Even if you "splurge" on these, you are saving money in the long run. If you try to cut costs by making these items, using sacks, old cloth and extra prefolds you will only spend around $25 for fabric for the wipes and fleece liners.

Washing

This might be what scares people the most. Actually, it is really quite easy. Click here for a link to washing. Here is what I do with diapers, covers, wipes, fleece liners, and diaper pail liners.

1. Wash in cold water, with or without detergent. This keeps the stains from setting.

2. Wash with detergent in hot water.

3. Rinse a second time.

4. Dry on the drying rack in the sun, or in the dryer (I don't put the diaper pail liner in the dryer.

5. If you feel it necessary, you can bleach them every few weeks or so but I haven't had to do this yet.

For poopy diapers, we either just throw the diaper in the pail without washing it out, dunk it in the toilet and swish it while flushing or rinse it in the sink. It is really not bad at all and I don't have a strong stomach at all.

I hope you have found all of this helpful and not too overwhelming.