Soap

Man, things have been crazy around the farm this week. We had our big family reunion last Saturday, which was lovely. Rodney and I celebrated our 18 year anniversary. Taylor went on a week-long trip through the big state of Texas. Kyle has been off his meds (need I say more?)

The biggest of all the news, for little ol' me anyway, is that I made a decision to buy my best friends soap-making business.

For some reason, I just kept feeling compelled to do it. I kept rationalizing how it would be too much... too much time, too much stuff, too much hassle. But this little tug at my heart kept on bringing me back to considering it. After letting God work on me for a while, I finally decided that if He was pushing me this hard to keep thinking about it and considering it...He must want me to DO it.

Now, I'm freaking out about it. Freaking out in a good way. I have spent the past few days clearing out space in my kitchen and utility room for supplies and ingredients. My mind won't quit racing with excitement over what kinds of soaps and other products I will make, how I will package them, sell them, and ship them.

I've been working on a website and hope to have it all figured out by the time I get my inventory built up. I've already got orders from Jill's previous customers and have received lots of interest from people in my little circle.

Coming up with a name was the hardest part! (so far). I wanted to use a locally relevant name, something that would connect the business to my neck-of-the-woods. I also wanted the name to paint a picture of freshness and country. Using organic, green, or natural was also important. So, thanks to much input from my friends and family, I finally landed on this...

My heart just about bursts when I say it out loud now. This isn't the official logo yet, but the picture was the perfect depiction of Ouachita Valley, don't you think?

Oh, there is so much to do, so much to learn, so much to be thankful for. I can't wait to start!