A Can of Red Spray Paint

I have had two bar stools in my kitchen since we moved here in December of 1999.    They have worked great, but boy were they worn out and scuffed up.      I took them outside and gave them a good washing and sanded them down really good.

Although they looked 100% better I decided that they just needed a new look.     I grabbed a can of red spray paint and went to town.     A couple of light coats and they look so much better and have new life!   My picture below says "Almost After", because I still had another coat to paint when I took this picture.

I like the little hint of color that this adds to my kitchen and really love that I was able to extend the life of my bar stools.

An Early Christmas Present

I have entirely too much to do to be sitting here even thinking about writing a post.    I am not even sure what I am going to write about.    Now THAT is procrastination.    All of my Christmas decorations are out, but the boxes haven't been put away yet so the house feels like a tornado went through which is appropriate since we spent last night in the hallway due to tornado weather.     We were very fortunate that we only had to endure the threat and sirens of tornado weather while a community just north of us got hit again for the second time since April.    

Sunday night I wrote out a very nice, neat and organized list of what I had to do this week.    We have a lot of on our plate, so I knew that I needed to get myself organized.     Each day was carefully planned as I know I have a lot to do before having outpatient surgery on Friday and our best friends coming from Atlanta on Sunday -- YAHOO!    Even with all that in my head.... somehow I haven't managed to quite make that piece of paper of reality.    

I have been thinking that maybe I need an early Christmas present... some motivation or a REALLY BIG CUP OF COFFEE!!

Hope your day is turning out more productive than mine!

Exactly Like Thanksgiving

The lines were long and it was almost as if there were a gas shortage, but it wasn't.   It was just the day before Thanksgiving.     Another lady and I were parked in the line waiting our turn and started chatting.   

"This is crazy weather.   It doesn't feel like Thanksgiving at all." 

I started laughing and said, "How long have you lived in Mississippi?   This feels exactly like Thanksgiving.   One minute you are in your shorts playing football and the next you are bundled up in blankets drinking hot chocolate."

That pretty much summed it up too.     We packed up the van and drove over to my parent's house on Wednesday night.     On Thursday morning, we woke up to a incredibly warm day and the boys all went stomping around in the woods.         By that evening it was raining and the wind was blowing, but we were all snuggled inside playing games and enjoying the big Thanksgiving meal my Mom had made.

Daddy's coffee tasted so good on Friday morning when we all woke up to that cold air which had arrived.     While none of us are Black Friday shoppers and have no desire to get out at 4 in the morning, we did go out about 10:30 to see what was happening at the local Outlet Mall.    After just a little shopping we decided to head back to the parent's house because that wind was cold.

Thanksgiving in Mississippi.... it is definitely a cornucopia of weather!

Christmas Card 2010

All Of Us Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

I Need A Little Christmas Card

It is the week before Thanksgiving and I haven't finished my Christmas cards.     How can this be?    Normally I have finished them, addressed them and have them ready to go in the mailbox on Black Friday!     Maybe it is because this year has been crazy and I am in denial about the fact that next week is Thanksgiving?   

No matter the reason, ignoring it won't make it go away!     I am so glad that I don't have to panic because I know that I can go to Shutterfly and order amazing Christmas cards and have them delivered straight to my front door.     I love Shutterfly.   I have been a fan forever.

Before there were the fancy picture frame to which you could upload your photos, I began making photo DVDs through Shutterfly and giving them to my husband for Christmas.    This is one of his favorite Christmas gifts ever.    He would load this as his screensaver on his computer at work and run it all year round. 

When Little Guy was born, I used Shutterfly's snapbooks all the time as one of his first learning tools.   I made quiet books that we could take into church with us.     Photo books of our family and friends so that he could learn names and relationships.    I even made photo books of special events.    Little Guy would look at these for hours and hours in the car, restaurant and church.

My mother-in-law still has a wall calendar that I made for her hanging in the kitchen.    That isn't a bad thing except that it isn't 2006 any more!   ha! ha!      Shutterfly has made their calendar feature even more fun because you can add photos and personalized dates straight onto your calendar.      Love that!     You can also buy one that is a 12 month or 18 month calendar which is GREAT if you homeschool and need to plan around the school year.

So now the hardest part will be picking a card from all the great choices!     So far these are the ones that I LOVE....

 Love the monogram

Very simple

Funky modern

lots of photos

See???   So many great options!     What would you choose?  

2 Years With 2 Bundles of Joy

Since the holidays tend to get so crazy, my sister and brother-in-law decided to have the girl's two year old birthday party just a few weeks early.      We all said quite a few prayers last week that the predicted rain would hold off so that their park party could go on as planned.      Sunday arrived beautiful although just a little breezy and everyone had so much fun watching our sweet LK and MM run around and play.

They sure aren't babies anymore.   They are growing into such precious little girls.     They are so amazingly smart.    They love to sing.   You name it and they will sing it (ABC, Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Happy Birthday to You, Itsy Bitsy Spider, etc...).    They know their alphabet and all the letter sounds.    They can count and know their colors.    Give them an I Spy book or Search and Find book and they will pick out anything you name.   

Both girls will tell you "I do it!".    They are fearless and want to try new things.    My sister caught them straddling the rails on their baby beds the other day.    The girls looked at her and said, "I am a montey!" (I am a monkey!) and just giggled.      They are the sweetest monkeys!

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving next week.    We will get to spend more time with not just our sweet LK and MM, but my other niece and nephew, A and J, too.     I love being an aunt!

 (my niece with her boyfriend)

Ahhh.. Weekend

If the weekend were a person, I would hug its neck!    This has been the LONGEST week.      I have had doctor's appointments and tests scheduled every day this week except Monday.     Hubs and Big Guy took a class that had them gone every night until last night.      I had to teach an art class Monday for co-op.     Crazy!  Crazy!  Crazy!

Of course, in the middle of such a crazy week were God hugs that made it wonderful.   

• With Hubs and Big Guy gone to a class for three nights that meant that Little Guy and I had special time together.     One night we went and got caramel apple cider and watched a video together.    One night we went to the bookstore and browsed and then went to get sushi.     The third night was church night, but he and I still got a little time in before leaving.

• Wednesday night was choir practice which is always a highlight of the week for me.      Our choir practices are very worship filled times.    As terrified as I was to join our choir and still get jitters when it is time to walk out on the platform on Sunday morning, I LOVE choir practice.   
• Yesterday my cousin (who is more like my brother) came over for the afternoon.     He and I played hours of RACKO in the hospital when his dad was sick.    It was quick, simple and didn't require a lot of thought.      Now the boys play and they have been challenging Randy to a RACKO "smackdown."  We played RACKO and SEQUENCE for several hours and loved every minute of it.      Definitely a highlight of the week.      

Now it is the weekend.    The boys are out at the park running while I am updating my blog quickly before starting supper.   

Tomorrow night is the BIG GAME.   Mississippi State vs. Alabama.   

 Hubs is a State fan and I am an Alabama fan.     Before leaving, hubs jokingly asked Big Guy if he was going to referee tomorrow night during the State vs. Alabama game.   


His answer:   "No way!   I am going to be hiding!"      

We take our football seriously.    Serious fun.


Have a great weekend whatever your plans are!
   

City On Our Knees

When we step across the line we can sail across the sea

Amazing, beautiful things happen when people have the courage to live, work, and pray in the spirit of unity and peace. Often, though, to make these amazing things happen, we have to step out of our comfort zone and into a world we find uncomfortable or intimidating. Sometimes that world is physical; other times it can be emotional, relational, or spiritual.

City on Our Knees shows this, encouraging you to take the first step. It offers stories of people who have stepped across lines. Lines of discrimination, persecution, doubt, prejudice, pride, bitterness, self-isolation, and despair. I pray and hope that you will be inspired to see how just one person, or one small group, can be a mechanism for change.

God can use us right here. Right now. All we need is faith that He has our best in mind. And believe me—He does.

—TobyMac

 Book Review

After listening to TobyMac's music for so long, I was curious to read what the man behind the music had to say.     The photo above doesn't quite do justice to how visually stunning this book really is.   My boys both grabbed it up when it arrived because they loved the look of the book.     I hope that same reaction will prompt people to grab it off the shelves because it is what is inside the book that is truly stunning.    

TobyMac's heart and passion for Christ literally pours off every page.     Whether you are reading the chapters, which highlight ordinary people who have allowed themselves to be used in ordinary ways, or the pages in between, which are covered with TobyMac's favorite Scriptures and quotes, you feel your heart absorbing the passion.

My own boys have enjoyed reading this book.   I remember when I was little reading the Bible and thinking that the men and women who were used by God lived so long ago.    Through TobyMac's book I am able to show the boys great Christian examples who are living TODAY!    

Some of the examples are familiar.  Michael Oher from The Blind Side is one that most will immediately recognize.   However, some of the best chapters highlights the life stories of people who just followed God's leading and never really intended for anyone to know about it.

The passion you hear in TobyMac's music definitely comes through on the pages of this book!     If you have a TobyMac fan in your life, they will love you for buying them this book.

This book was provided to me for free by Bethany House Publishing in exchange for a honest review.

Month of Thanks

Little Guy is off taking his shower and doing his nighttime routine which means I have a few minutes by myself.   We have the house to ourselves tonight since Big Guy and hubs are taking a class together.  

When Little Guy is ready we are going to snuggle up together on the couch with our cups of caramel apple cider and enjoy some time together playing Racko.     Little Guy is practicing his Racko skills since he recently challenged "Uncle" Randy to a Racko tournament.    

I can't believe that this is November.     The month of thanksgiving.     While it has been a year of challenges, I definitely have so much to be thankful for in my life.   

At the top of that list are my precious boys -- all three of them.    I love my husband and two boys more than I have words to express.    

Going through the stresses of health, finances, job insecurities and so many other things have put a strain on our marriage like it would anyone else.      We both struggled with how we were handling these things individually, but it took even more work to find ways to handle these things together.      Fortunately, we are both determined and stubborn especially when it comes to our marriage.    For that I am especially thankful.     When I look at my sweet hubs today I see a man who not only loves me, but loves me enough to stick with me through whatever each day may bring.

I have watched my precious boys grow physically, spiritually, academically and emotionally this year. When it comes to academics, I tell them that maybe after I finish 4th grade for the third time with Little Guy I will know all of it!     Seeing both of my boys be baptized this year is definitely a highlight and something I would repeat all of 2010 to see.   

I thank God every moment of the day for these precious gifts He has given me.    I cherish every minute that I have with them.

Bricks and Spokes

Hubs and Little Guy raced in the Bricks and Spokes bicycle race in Vicksburg a few weeks ago.     They weren't sure they were going to be able to handle it after a practice run in the military park which left them kind of defeated.   However, after checking out the race map they decided they would try the ten mile race.

There were a LOT of racers there for this race.     We had to be there at 7:30 to line up to get started.    *yawn*     It was very cool which was nice for the bikers, but breezer for the spectators.

Patrick, from The Biggest Loser, was on hand to wish the racers well.     We don't watch the Biggest Loser, but my parents do so they had told us that Patrick lived in Vicksburg and that they were cheering for him.     We have since seen him on a commercial.    Doesn't he look great?

Hubs texted us when they were about one mile out from completing the race.    We were so excited to see them coming up the hill.      They looked awesome!

I am so proud of my guys.    Little Guy has already asked for a new bicycle for Christmas.      We have told him that he has to pick which kind he wants to have:   a street bike for racing, a mountain bike for the mountain riding (yes, there is a mountain bike club here), or a off road bike for his BMX riding.       He is still deciding.



Whatever he decides, I know we will love watching him ride.