Friday A National Holiday
To Celebrate
Alabama as National Champs!
Roll Tide Roll!
Alabama 37 Texas 21
Simply the BEST!!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Inappropriate
While chatting with someone yesterday they made a remark about my age. They thought that I was a good ten years younger than I actually am.
Judging by their reaction, I am guessing that it was highly inappropriate that I grabbed them up and gave them a bear hug?
Judging by their reaction, I am guessing that it was highly inappropriate that I grabbed them up and gave them a bear hug?
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Deep Thinker
One of the questions was, "In what way do you want to be more like God?"
His answer: "Everybody wants to be like God. People view God as this person with all the power. Someone who can see everything, be everywhere and do everything. What people don't want to do is be like Jesus. That is really hard. To be kind and nice. To act like Jesus did. That is what people don't want to do. But that is the part of God I want to be like."
I think he's got it.
Monday, January 4, 2010
FREE Books for Your Kindle
Not only are they FREE books, but they are awesome FREE books! If you have never read a book by Brandilyn Collins, you should go and grab these book now. Don't wait! Go now and download these books to your Kindle. You will be hooked.
I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did. I will try not to be too jealous of you getting FREE books AND having a Kindle!
I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did. I will try not to be too jealous of you getting FREE books AND having a Kindle!
Keep The Doctor Away
An apple a day keeps the doctor away! Isn't that what we have been told? Well, this calendar will definitely keep the kids on track. The goal is simple: Every day when you eat your apple you peel off the variety sticker and place it on the calendar. There are so many delicious varieties to try. Gala, Rome, Arkansas Black, Granny Smith....
I wish this calendar weren't sold out when I found it on Etsy or I definitely would have ordered it for my boys. I can't wait to get my email notification that it is back in stock.
Whether you order the calendar or not, eating an apple a day is not a bad idea. Apples have great health benefits like:
Low in calories
Low in fat
Contains fiber
Good source of vitamins and minerals
High water content
Great for detoxifying the body
Maybe I should add that to my "challenge list"?
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Challenges For the New Year
Every one is making New Year's resolutions. I am not really into the whole "setting myself up for failure" scenario. I would rather be a little more realistic with my goals. I prefer to think about the New Year ahead as a chance to grow and be challenged.
Some of my challenges for 2010...
Deepen my daily time with God. Whether I need to get up earlier, go to bed later or just skip some kind of silly activity during the day, I want to know God on a deeper level this year.
Be faithful with our "thankful jar". I have strips of Christmas themed paper in an apothecary jar that I want our family to write down answers to prayer on during this coming year. When December 1st comes, I want to be able to make a paper chain out of our answered prayers to decorate our Christmas tree.
Be more open about talking about my faith with others. I try to live my faith and I do try to share my faith, but sometimes I hesitate. I want to lose my hesitancy. I worry that my hesitancy takes away my effectiveness in my witness.
Find more opportunities for the boys to live our their "mission's heart". Both Little Guy and Big Guy have a heart for missions. They each have a charity that they have adopted and are constantly saving money for to support. They jump in and are willing to volunteer given the chance. During 2009 they lived their faith at Habitat for Humanity, Waterford Retirement Home, The Christmas Village, Aid Sudan, Salvation Army, Angel Tree, orphanages in Africa and several others. My challenge is to support them in their desire to do even more in 2010.
Drink more water. I don't know why this is always such a challenge for me because I enjoy water. I need to be more diligent in challenging myself to drink water before other liquids.
Develop a new skill this year. I would love to learn how to sew or even refinish furniture. So many crafts and things I would love to learn.
Do more DIY projects. I have started a list. More specifically I have started emailing projects to hubs that I would like to tackle. I am sure he is getting nervous.
I think that is enough to start a new year. I am sure that God will reveal more to me as the year goes along. Aren't you glad other people don't get to write your New Year's resolutions for you?
Some of my challenges for 2010...
Deepen my daily time with God. Whether I need to get up earlier, go to bed later or just skip some kind of silly activity during the day, I want to know God on a deeper level this year.
Be faithful with our "thankful jar". I have strips of Christmas themed paper in an apothecary jar that I want our family to write down answers to prayer on during this coming year. When December 1st comes, I want to be able to make a paper chain out of our answered prayers to decorate our Christmas tree.
Be more open about talking about my faith with others. I try to live my faith and I do try to share my faith, but sometimes I hesitate. I want to lose my hesitancy. I worry that my hesitancy takes away my effectiveness in my witness.
Find more opportunities for the boys to live our their "mission's heart". Both Little Guy and Big Guy have a heart for missions. They each have a charity that they have adopted and are constantly saving money for to support. They jump in and are willing to volunteer given the chance. During 2009 they lived their faith at Habitat for Humanity, Waterford Retirement Home, The Christmas Village, Aid Sudan, Salvation Army, Angel Tree, orphanages in Africa and several others. My challenge is to support them in their desire to do even more in 2010.
Drink more water. I don't know why this is always such a challenge for me because I enjoy water. I need to be more diligent in challenging myself to drink water before other liquids.
Develop a new skill this year. I would love to learn how to sew or even refinish furniture. So many crafts and things I would love to learn.
Do more DIY projects. I have started a list. More specifically I have started emailing projects to hubs that I would like to tackle. I am sure he is getting nervous.
I think that is enough to start a new year. I am sure that God will reveal more to me as the year goes along. Aren't you glad other people don't get to write your New Year's resolutions for you?
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year!
We will open the book.
Its pages are blank.
We are going to put words on them ourselves.
The book is called Opportunity and
its first chapter is New Year's Day.
~Edith Lovejoy Pierce
Thursday, December 31, 2009
10 Years Ago...
... people everywhere were freaking out and wondering if the world was going to end because of Y2K. (Now they are worried because of 2012!)
... Big Guy was only 2 years old and Little Guy was still a future dream!
... We had just spent our entire Christmas moving from our little tiny house to our new house. We were so excited about being only five minutes from hubs' work and having more than one bathroom.
... The best friends we have ever had still hadn't moved in next door to us.
... We were still driving 35 minutes one way back and forth to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night.
... We loved watching "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire".
... Was wondering what we would be doing 10 years from now!!
... Big Guy was only 2 years old and Little Guy was still a future dream!
... We had just spent our entire Christmas moving from our little tiny house to our new house. We were so excited about being only five minutes from hubs' work and having more than one bathroom.
... The best friends we have ever had still hadn't moved in next door to us.
... We were still driving 35 minutes one way back and forth to church every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night.
... We loved watching "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire".
... Was wondering what we would be doing 10 years from now!!
New Year's Eve Reflections
(In)Courage has these 20 questions on their blog. It gave me a lot to think about and I am sure it will for you too!
1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year? Our decision to homeschool. I have never seen our boys happier when it comes to learning.
2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened? Our decision to homeschool. Our boys have a love of learning and I want to challenge them. This definitely challenges me on a day to day basis.
3. What was an unexpected joy this past year? The arrival of my precious twin nieces
4. What was an unexpected obstacle? The constant day to day stress of hubs' job. Will he still have one tomorrow? So many pay cuts, changes and layoffs. We enter the New Year grateful for his job, but praying for God's guidance.
5. Pick three words to describe 2009. blessed, thankful, family
6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2009 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you). determined, busy, focused
7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2009 (again, without asking). blessed, stress, grateful
8. What were the best books you read this year? That is a tall order considering how many books I have read. At the top of the list are definitely the two books by Patti Lacy, An Irishwoman's Tale and What the Bayou Saw. I also loved the book Michal from the Wives of King David series.
9. With whom were your most valuable relationships? Without a doubt: God, Donald, Todd and Tanner
10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year? A total lifestyle change. Going from involved PTO mom to stay at home homeschooling mom was quite a transition.
11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally? The saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you strong." feels true in my life. A year ago, I felt like I was dying emotionally. However, God showed me that wasn't true.
12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually? So many. God showed me that I had been reserving pieces of my heart hoping for things that are never going to happen. Once I turned those pieces of my heart over, He filled it with His love and healing.
13. In what way(s) did you grow physically? That is the problem... I grew physically!
14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others? I learned a lot about who my friends are and who they are not. I stepped outside my comfort zone and got to know some people this year... meeting for lunch, coffee and just a coke.
15. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home? I love cooking for my boys. I love doing things that spoil them in little ways: putting clean sheets on their bed very regularly, warming their towels in the dryer, making hot cocoa to tempt them out of bed in the morning and leaving notes on their pillows.
16. What was your most challenging area of home management? I get frustrated when my physical limitations get in the way of all I want to get done around my house.
17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year? Facebook. I didn't truly comprehend how much time I was wasting on Facebook until I gave it up for our 40 day fast.
18. What was the best way you used your time this past year? Being a wife and mom
19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year? No matter who walks out on you... God never will.
20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2009 for you. "No matter what. No matter where. It is always home if love is there."
1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year? Our decision to homeschool. I have never seen our boys happier when it comes to learning.
2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened? Our decision to homeschool. Our boys have a love of learning and I want to challenge them. This definitely challenges me on a day to day basis.
3. What was an unexpected joy this past year? The arrival of my precious twin nieces
4. What was an unexpected obstacle? The constant day to day stress of hubs' job. Will he still have one tomorrow? So many pay cuts, changes and layoffs. We enter the New Year grateful for his job, but praying for God's guidance.
5. Pick three words to describe 2009. blessed, thankful, family
6. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your 2009 (don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you). determined, busy, focused
7. Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their 2009 (again, without asking). blessed, stress, grateful
8. What were the best books you read this year? That is a tall order considering how many books I have read. At the top of the list are definitely the two books by Patti Lacy, An Irishwoman's Tale and What the Bayou Saw. I also loved the book Michal from the Wives of King David series.
9. With whom were your most valuable relationships? Without a doubt: God, Donald, Todd and Tanner
10. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year? A total lifestyle change. Going from involved PTO mom to stay at home homeschooling mom was quite a transition.
11. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally? The saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you strong." feels true in my life. A year ago, I felt like I was dying emotionally. However, God showed me that wasn't true.
12. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually? So many. God showed me that I had been reserving pieces of my heart hoping for things that are never going to happen. Once I turned those pieces of my heart over, He filled it with His love and healing.
13. In what way(s) did you grow physically? That is the problem... I grew physically!
14. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others? I learned a lot about who my friends are and who they are not. I stepped outside my comfort zone and got to know some people this year... meeting for lunch, coffee and just a coke.
15. What was the most enjoyable area of managing your home? I love cooking for my boys. I love doing things that spoil them in little ways: putting clean sheets on their bed very regularly, warming their towels in the dryer, making hot cocoa to tempt them out of bed in the morning and leaving notes on their pillows.
16. What was your most challenging area of home management? I get frustrated when my physical limitations get in the way of all I want to get done around my house.
17. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year? Facebook. I didn't truly comprehend how much time I was wasting on Facebook until I gave it up for our 40 day fast.
18. What was the best way you used your time this past year? Being a wife and mom
19. What was the biggest thing you learned this past year? No matter who walks out on you... God never will.
20. Create a phrase or statement that describes 2009 for you. "No matter what. No matter where. It is always home if love is there."
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Addicted to Blogging Tech
See this button?I find a blog I love and I click this button and have it fed directly to my Microsoft Outlook. I am telling you that it is email "crack"! I get updates from my favorite cooking sites, crafting sites, and art blogs.
What about Google Alerts?
Oh my heavens! When I was looking for a certain Christmas gift for Big Guy, I created a Google Alert with the gift item and the word "sale". Anytime that item went on sale, it sent me an email! Like my own personal shopper in my email. Right now I have a new Google alert created to help me find elementary art projects for our homeschool Terrific Tuesday class.
"Create Rule"...
Don't you love this button in Microsoft Outlook?
I get emails on a regular basis from several homeschool groups. I clicked the "create rule" button and designated all emails from those groups to be sent to their own file folder. Love it! Love it! Love it! It organizes my email for me!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Painting For Humanity
Little Guy's best friend called early this morning. His dad is the project coordinator for our local Habitat for Humanity house. They were heading to the project site to get some more work done since we are expecting rain tomorrow. They invited Little Guy to go with them. It was a very cold day so he bundled up and borrowed a pair of work boots from his friend since the house site is very muddy.
When Little Guy got home his face was beaming. Mr. G told me "anytime that Little Guy can go help me I can use him. He works hard and is good at what he does." Mr. G had put Little Guy to work doing the "cutting in" around all the windows and wiring.
My sweet guy has a heart for others. Whether it is painting a Habitat House or raising money for orphans in South Africa, he is ready to help.
When Little Guy got home his face was beaming. Mr. G told me "anytime that Little Guy can go help me I can use him. He works hard and is good at what he does." Mr. G had put Little Guy to work doing the "cutting in" around all the windows and wiring.
My sweet guy has a heart for others. Whether it is painting a Habitat House or raising money for orphans in South Africa, he is ready to help.
New Year's Tradition Part 2
New Year's Eve may mean partying to a lot of people, but for me it always makes me think of how God has been with me during the previous year. My hubs and I have become even more grounded in our faith during the past 17 months. We have learned through the test of fire that God will never leave us or forsake us no matter who else does.
One of our New Year's Eve traditions since we were married is to purchase a new devotional book to use for the following year. When our boys were born we began buying devotional books for them as well. We want to emphasize to them how important daily time with God is so that when the trials of life comes they are standing on the Solid Rock.
Because I review books for publishers, two of my devotional books were sent to me for preview for free this year.
The book my hubs and I will be using...
What's the name of the first car Henry Ford built? Why do we say "o'clock"? Which American candy was named after somebody's daughter? Pairing fun facts with Scripture verses and biblical truths, this delightful daily devotional will entertain, teach, and keep your kids growing in the Lord.
Big Guy is starting the year out with a combo...
You may never have to make the ultimate sacrifice, but you are called to daily give up something of this earthly existence to pursue the amazing life Jesus promises to His followers. Ryan Dobson shatters common misconceptions about dying to self, spelling out the realities of the deadly spiritual battle we all face, providing clear guidelines for making life-and-death choices daily and dealing with how to overcome the emotional struggles that accompany both failure and success.
Bite-sized Bible readings for time-starved teens! Here are 366 faith-building meditations to help your kids connect with God's Word every day. Through selections from the readable HCSB translation, they'll cover the central themes of Scripture in one year. Includes thoughtful quotes, biographical sketches of major Bible characters, "One-Minute Memory" verses, and a topical index.
Have you found a great devotional? Let me know!!
One of our New Year's Eve traditions since we were married is to purchase a new devotional book to use for the following year. When our boys were born we began buying devotional books for them as well. We want to emphasize to them how important daily time with God is so that when the trials of life comes they are standing on the Solid Rock.
Because I review books for publishers, two of my devotional books were sent to me for preview for free this year.
The book my hubs and I will be using...
The Love Dare challenged individuals to love their spouse more. Closer shows wives and husbands how to grow that love together. Introduced with Scripture verses and engaging stories, these 52 devotionals will inspire couples to draw closer through faith conversations--those quiet talks so vital for emotional and spiritual intimacy in a marriage. Guided, practical action steps round out each reading.
The devotional book for Little Guy...
Big Guy is starting the year out with a combo...
and
Have you found a great devotional? Let me know!!
Monday, December 28, 2009
New Year's Tradition Part 1
How do I choose? Every year I go out the days after Christmas and browse through all the boxed calendars trying to decide which one to buy the boys. It is part of our New Year's tradition. The boys get a day by day boxed calendar on New Year's day.
I normally make my choice based on their current interest or hobby. A paper airplane, sticker-a-day and Boggle calendars for Little Guy. Baby Blues, Trivial Pursuit and Hangman calendars for Big Guy.
Then I go to my favorite bookstore to look and there about 247 choices! So many fun, fun choices. Well, most of them are fun... some of them are just crazy or out of the question.
However, I think I finally settled on some calendars which the boys will enjoy. They are both really hooked on games and especially word games so I chose the following calendars for them:
I also picked up this calendar. It won't really serve as a calendar per se, but I am going to put it in our car travel box. It will be a lot of fun when we are in the car or in restaurants.
Although I don't normally buy a calendar for myself, I picked up this one because it has features that really mean something to me now that I am homeschooling. Every day it has a new quote, new word, new joke, and new events in history. PLUS, it has a section where I can list my "to do's". I have a feeling this calendar is going to be one of my favorites for this year.
I normally make my choice based on their current interest or hobby. A paper airplane, sticker-a-day and Boggle calendars for Little Guy. Baby Blues, Trivial Pursuit and Hangman calendars for Big Guy.
Then I go to my favorite bookstore to look and there about 247 choices! So many fun, fun choices. Well, most of them are fun... some of them are just crazy or out of the question.
However, I think I finally settled on some calendars which the boys will enjoy. They are both really hooked on games and especially word games so I chose the following calendars for them:
I also picked up this calendar. It won't really serve as a calendar per se, but I am going to put it in our car travel box. It will be a lot of fun when we are in the car or in restaurants.
Although I don't normally buy a calendar for myself, I picked up this one because it has features that really mean something to me now that I am homeschooling. Every day it has a new quote, new word, new joke, and new events in history. PLUS, it has a section where I can list my "to do's". I have a feeling this calendar is going to be one of my favorites for this year.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Why People Diet In January
January has always been associated with resolutions. Traditionally, the most commonly adopted resolution is dieting. Want to know why? It is all the comfort food eating you have to do to survive the holidays!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Homemade Christmas
**spoiler alert... If you are in our family you will be seeing "gifts" in this post!**
Like so many, our finances are very tight this year. Hubs' job has taken some major hits. However, as always, God is so good to us. The boys and I have always enjoyed doing crafts together and being able to make crafts for our family is even more fun.
While we were cleaning out for our garage sale I found a stash of ornaments I bought last year to try to decorate for our family for this year. We have had a blast painting and decorating ornaments for our family.
Like so many, our finances are very tight this year. Hubs' job has taken some major hits. However, as always, God is so good to us. The boys and I have always enjoyed doing crafts together and being able to make crafts for our family is even more fun.
While we were cleaning out for our garage sale I found a stash of ornaments I bought last year to try to decorate for our family for this year. We have had a blast painting and decorating ornaments for our family.
an iPod snowman for my iPod crazy Big Guy
a chef ornament for my cooking crazy Little Guy
a baseball cap wearing snowman for my sweet little nephew, L
(Yes. It drives me crazy that there is a brush bristle in the paint,
but it is dry now so I can't do anything about it!)
Just one of the snowgirls I painted for my twin nieces.
Speaking of my nieces and nephew. Earlier this summer, I was browsing the clearance section of Michaels.
Clearance sections... be still my heart. They had animal alphabet cards. One of the sets looked like this. I loved the fact that the animals were unusual instead of your usual d is for dog.
They said they were for scrapbooking, but I immediately had an idea. Why not make books for my sweet babies? A little laminating, some binder rings and some ribbon and here is what I will be giving my sweeties Christmas...
I hope they enjoy them as much as I do. I wish I had had something like this for Big Guy and Little Guy when we were little. I think it would have been fun to have books like these to tuck into their car seat or the diaper bag.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Our Gingerbread Dream Houses
Making gingerbread houses is one of our favorite things during the Christmas season. This year our friends were here from Atlanta and they got to make one too. They had never made gingerbread houses before, but they said they would definitely be making them again!
Because we use our houses as part of our Christmas display, we hot glue them together so that they will be sturdy. Don't worry.... there is PLENTY of candy to eat.
After the houses are assembled, the kids went to work. All four kids had their own approach and their own ideas. Personalities were definitely apparent!
After several hours of icing, decorating and creating, they finally proclaimed their houses finished.
Our friends loved making these gingerbread houses, but they were REALLY excited when we told them about our New Year's Eve tradition with the gingerbread houses. We stuff them full of fireworks and blow them up!
I am not sure if it was all the sugar they had eaten or just the thought of using explosives to destroy something... but all the kids were giddy at the promise of New Year's Eve!!
Because we use our houses as part of our Christmas display, we hot glue them together so that they will be sturdy. Don't worry.... there is PLENTY of candy to eat.
After the houses are assembled, the kids went to work. All four kids had their own approach and their own ideas. Personalities were definitely apparent!
After several hours of icing, decorating and creating, they finally proclaimed their houses finished.
Our friends loved making these gingerbread houses, but they were REALLY excited when we told them about our New Year's Eve tradition with the gingerbread houses. We stuff them full of fireworks and blow them up!
I am not sure if it was all the sugar they had eaten or just the thought of using explosives to destroy something... but all the kids were giddy at the promise of New Year's Eve!!
Monday, December 21, 2009
I Am A HUGE Fan of Acapella!
Did you watch The Sing-Off? No? I loved it. These groups showed that they can REALLY sing!
My two favorite groups from the beginning made it to the finals: Nota and Beelzebubs. They were AWESOME! I will definitely be buying their albums.
Congratulations, Nota! You did a GREAT job!!!
My two favorite groups from the beginning made it to the finals: Nota and Beelzebubs. They were AWESOME! I will definitely be buying their albums.
Congratulations, Nota! You did a GREAT job!!!
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