Favorite Product Friday {Nature's Bright Laundry Booster}

My daughter and son are rough on clothes, and I guess you could say I am even rougher. I have a dirty little secret, I don't pretreat. Ever. I know, I know, it's the saving grace for clothes with babes and toddlers. But I don't do it. When I received my "kit" from Shaklee, it included a lot of items I would have never ordered had I purchased items individually. This Nature's Bright is one of those products.

I figured I have used Oxyclean in the past, it can't be much different. And while Oxyclean is great and all it kinda burns my hands a bit when I mess in it without gloves, you have to use a TON to have it work, and it still doesn't touch my daughters already set in stains. (and yes I realize the instructions say to wear gloves, as does on every other cleaning product out there, and I don't wear gloves with any of them.)

So I figure, hey I'll give it a shot, right? These stains have been treated (after the fact) with EVERYTHING. Resolve power max, soaked in Oxyclean for 2 days, shout, and Dreft Stain Remover. And after every "treat" cycle they were washed and dried. ( I know not the way to do it :))

My set up. Excuse the awful pictures, the inside light was not being my friend!

2 Tablespoons(one scoop) was all that was required. I'm thinking this bag will last FOREVER.

Classic Lizzy stain. "Undies" or rather a diaper cover that has gotten everything under the sun smashed into from scooting around on her bum. I think this was a combo of food she squished down into her highchair and dirt.

The elusive banana stain. That was lost at the bottom of a diaper bag for weeks before even being washed the first time.

All of our problem clothes into the bin. If you recognize something as yours it will soon be coming back CLEAN!

Seriously AWFUL picture, but you can see, no more banana stain! It is bright white and looks like new! (Even though it was a hand me down!)

Clean as a whistle, ready to back to it's rightful owner!

I am so impressed with this stuff. If it can get out my children's stains it can get out anything! There are also a myriad of other uses for this, listed on the back of the bag. I promise( and Shaklee promises!) that you won't be disappointed. If you are send it back! They will give you a refund even if the bag is almost empty. The stand behind their product that much! So head on over to the store and check it out! As always proceeds will go directly to Malot's Hope/ Adoption Fund!

Some startling facts

UNICEF listed in 2005 that they estimated 4.8 million orphans(children under the age of 18) in the country of Ethiopia.

4.8 MILLION.

To put that in perspective, New York City has 8 million residents. HALF of NYC could be filled with Ethiopian orphans. Chicago has almost 3 million residents. It would have to be filled one and a half times to hold all of the current Ethiopian orphans.

Anyone else sick to their stomach? But wait, it gets worse.

There are not very many cushy orphanages, nor is there a foster care or adoption system. (No matter how broken a system may be, it is better than no system at all.) Most of these children become street kids.

Best case for street kids is they simply live on the streets. They are semi-safe within their "gang", they are hungry, but not dying of starvation. They run in packs, coming out of what seems like every nook and cranny of the city.

Sadly most are not "best case". Many die of starvation. Girls are forced into prostitution at a young age. Even more are maimed by "handlers" in hopes of getting a higher payout during begging. Throw in thier an AIDs epidemic and you have a nightmare most of us in the west can not even imagine.

We can't save every kid, as much as we want, but we can save one. We are confident that one little girl will not enter prostitution, but will rather be going to school. She will know love both from an earthy father, and a Godly one. She will go to bed full and tucked into a comfy bed, even if that bed is in a shared room with her new brother and sister. She will have hope.

Consider helping us give her hope. Come to our kickoff party on the 30 @ 7:30. Check out our Shaklee Shop. Send up a prayer or two. Together, we can bring her home!

With love,
The Garrett's

Why Malot's Hope?

Why did we chose Malot's Hope for our name? Oh, so glad you asked!

Curtis and I met, once upon a time, in Ethiopia. We were over there with an organization named Youth with a Mission (YWAM). While we were there we lived on a base with a street kids ministry. One of the little girls who was there was about 3, and so cute. We loved her to pieces! We always said if we were older(and of course married!) we would just adopt her and take her home. So I guess you could say our collective desire to adopt came very early in our relationship!

The group from YWAM Ethiopia.

Malot with another little boy Jonas.

Fast forward 6 years, and that base has now turned into the Adoption Ministry of YWAM Ethiopia. The very kids that we were working with were some of the first kids involved! Click on the "so we may be adopted" button on the side to go to their blog and learn more about what is going on there.


While Malot herself is older now, and likely no longer there, little girls just like her are. Little toddlers in need of a home and love. And that, is why she is our namesake, and forever in our hearts!

And we are running!

Ahhhhh! I'm am so very excited! I cannot believe we are starting on this journey! Maybe I should back up a bit and let you all in on the secret.

WE ARE GOING TO ADOPT!

We have a long journey to get there, one filled with lots of (cough, cough) fundraising. But we feel like we are on solid enough footing to start the process. We have lofty goals, goals which we will only reach through prayer, but we feel that now is the time. Our third child will not come from us(door closed), but rather ETHIOPIA! The story of how we came to the orphanage we have chose is a sweet one indeed, but it is a story for another day.

Sweet Amy, good for you, have fun--right? Not so fast!

We are asking you all to prayerfully(or not so prayerfully if that is your case :)) supporting us in this journey. We are looking for creative ways to make money. Adoption isn't cheap. Our estimated cost will be 20-25,000 dollars. One way we plan on raising money is through an amazing (GREEN!) product line called Shaklee. We are super excited about this stuff, and they give us the opportunity to pocket up to 20 % of the purchase price of the items, as well as numerous bonuses. Every check that comes in from Shaklee will be going directly to Malot's Hope/ Adoption Fund. This gives us huge potential, but only if others help out! Check out the link on the side, and look at the products. We are currently using the Get Clean line of cleaners in our house and loving them. I am also taking numerous supplements, and hello no stomach upset! These people were green before it was cool. I promise not to promote anything we haven't tried our self, and give honest opinions. But don't take my word for it- there is a 100% no questions asked, money back guarantee. Oh and they ship to Canada :)!

Another thing I'm dreaming of is opening an Malot's hope Etsy shop. Ideas are floating around in my head about what to sell, but if you are interested in donating items at cost to this venture, I would love to talk :). I know all too many crafty people!

So check back often, for the whole story. Why we are adopting, why this agency, and why now. You'll also find product reviews as well as prayer requests and praise reports.

Local? We are having a Malot's Hope Kick off party on September 30. Details will be up soon, I will be talking about what lead us to where we are now, and you'll get a chance to check out the products.

Much Love!
The Garrett Household