Thursday, September 1, 2011

Lord I Want to Know You

This was my prayer over the summer.

It is also a title of a book by Kay Arthur.

Sometime after the birth of our third child, but before the birth of our youngest, the wife of our Pastor at the time taught a Bible study on the Names of God...the actual title was "Lord, I Want to Know You More", but what I remember was being taught the names of God and how much comfort and peace there seem to be in His names.

However, I was in a different season of my life, husband worked nights, three little ones, working..you get the picture. Sometimes Wednesday nights did not seem to fit into "my" schedule, which is when this Bible study took place.

When I look back at that time of my life I am reminded of how in Malachi the Lord says that we "rob Him and we rob ourselves of blessings", of course this passage is speaking of offerings and tithes, but I often wonder how many blessings I robbed myself of on those evenings when I robbed God of my time and did not make it to church.

Fast forward to Summer 2011, I was at a yard sale (shock, shock) that was actually packing up for the day when I noticed their books.

I spotted one that I wanted.

I asked how much and to my surprise they told me "free!"....I so love that word!

The book? A devotion study...

"Lord, I Want to Know You" by Kay Arthur

God's timing is perfect..remember my prayer?

I connected via Facebook with our former Pastor's wife (she's my friend too!) and she sent me the outline she had made for the study.

I am anxious to learn the ones I missed, but also be reminded of those I heard.

God is good......

But He is so much more than that!!!

Check back as I share what I learn over the next several weeks.

Linking up to Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things


Thursday, August 25, 2011

Knowing Your Passion

As you may have been able to tell by my last post, I am in a bit of some "soul searching", re-evaluating diffrent parts of my life. This, of course, included my blog.

I recently read an article that revealed several tips for having a successful blog, the first and foremost being that you write what you are passionate about.

Makes sense.

I had to stop and ask myself "what am I passionate about?". I mean, I like alot of things, I love a few things, but my passion revolves around my faith, my family and my home.

Fortunately, these topic will allow me to write about the things that I like and love too, hopefully on a regular basis (another secret to a successful blog. Duh!)

Do you know your passion?

Monday, August 15, 2011

Fast Forward Four Months From the Last Post...

and you will find me back here blogging.

Sometime during the past four months I prayed a prayer that I did not think would be a big deal...I prayed "Lord, help me to learn to love You the way I am meant to love you, fill my heart with a longing to know You, to love You and serve You like I have never felt before."

This prayer was answered. This prayer has changed my life. I have spent the past several weeks, reevaluating who I was in Christ and how I was living as a child of the King...was everything I doing bringing Him glory? Had I become complacent or lukewarm? Those were hard questions to answer completely honest. I just know that I want everything I do to bring honor to Him....including blogging.

I really enjoy blogging and obviously never have posted anything to dishonor Him and never would but I just wanted to be sure that blogging was not taking up time that should be spent in some other area of my life.

So I prayed.

And prayed.

Often times I would think "I am just going to go ahead and start writing posts." but something always stopped me.

So I prayed some more.

So here it is several weeks later and I feel that I can now start writing again. My prayer is that God can use this blog in someway even if it is just to help me grow.

I have so many ideas and things that I want to write about and am anxious to begin sharing them!

Love to you all!!!




Monday, April 4, 2011

Finally Yard Sale Time...




I hauled in several things this weekend from yard sales.


I have two favorite finds this week..the kids papasan chair and that black cushioned ottoman. We are in the process of updating the kids bedrooms and are looking into purchasing a loft bed for our middle daughter. The papasan chair will look great under it next to a little desk - it will be her reading chair!!

I cannot tell you how excited I was when I not only found this ottoman, then saw it was only $1 and THEN the owner of it charged me only $1 for EVERYTHING I purchased at his yard sale.

BOOYAH!!!

Anyway, this will be going in my oldest daughter's bedroom and will be recovered with zebra striped fur (that is her desired print). Just last week stumbled across a blog that shared how to do this. I am thinkin' it is going to look sooooo good!!

The ironing board was a purchase that reminded me why I love to garage sale! We have been in need of a new ironing board for quite awhile, I have just had a hard time shelling out $20 for a piece of flat metal that will not be used very often. (I do not purposely purchase any clothes that will require ironing before each and every use)

Cheap? Yeah, maybe..

But I am ok with that because I found this beauty of an ironing board for...

$1!!

Yup.. saved myself $19.

The bulletin boards are going to be covered for my two oldest daugters to match their rooms.

The life jacket is for our youngest when we go on vacation and for when we go to the lake this summer. ( We are going to attempt to become a camping family - we will see how that works out!)

The purse..well, that's for me.

At the beach.

Love it.

The frames will be accenting one of our living room walls after they are painted. I am wanting to do one of those gallery walls that I keep reading about.

Oh and hanging on the ironing board is a summer dress I bought for myself for our vacation. I haven't decided though if I like it on me or not, so it may go in my Ebay pile.


Included in my finds were plain, yet beautiful light green tablecloth & eight (that's right EIGHT!!) matching cloth napkins - LOVE IT!! (They have been washed and are in use right at the moment so they are not pictured with my other finds)

All in all I am happy with my purchases and as it gets warmer, I am excited to go to even more garage sales!!

Happy Monday all!!



Thursday, March 31, 2011

Vacation Challenge-Week 8

I started the week still needing $106.79

Let's see how I did...

$15 I was the Biggest Loser at our weigh in over the weekend!!! WooHoo!!!

$5 One tiny writing project...Boo!!

$23.05 Ebay profit!!

Total for the week....$43.05

That leaves the amount still needed at $63.74

SOoooo very close!! I have a few more things on Ebay that will hopefully bring me to the end of this challenge! (Although, I am really enjoying myself!!)

Happy Thursday!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Vacation Challenge Weeks 6 & 7

I have two weeks to catch up on, however, not too much to report.

I began the week(s) still needing $155.86.

I earned

$20.50 Writing Projects
$14.99 Ebay (sold two pair of pants that I paid 50¢ each for..not too bad of a profit!)
$13.58 from Office Depot rebates

Total=$49.07

That leaves me only needing $106.79!!

Woohoo!!

I have no doubt that I will have it all by time we go on vacation in two months!!

I have a couple of more items on Ebay that I am anxious to see if they will sell - you will know next week if they did or not!

Have a great Thursday!!


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

And The Winner Is...........

The winner of the Yopliat Kids Prize Pack is...


Steph S said...
My kids like bananas, apples, baby carrots and string cheese as healthy snacks.


I have sent you an e-mail......

Congratulations!!


Monday, March 21, 2011

Menu Plan Monday + Recipe

So our menu for the week is looking pretty good...(I could be a little hungry!)

Monday - BBQ ribs..grilled porksteaks, salad, baked potatoe, mac & cheese

Tuesday - Chicken Alfredo, salad

Wednesday - Leftovers from previous two nights

Thursday - Tacos

Friday - Homemade pizza & salad (I fix lots of salads, mostly for me since I am dieting.

Saturday - Probably dinner out at Dennys (kids eat free + coupon = cheap eating)

Sunday - dinner at church - Not sure what I will be taking yet...hmmm


My recipe review is a dessert this time.

I know it simply as the Weight Watchers Cake

1 box of cake mix
1 can of diet soda

Easiest instructions ever..

Mix the cake mix & the soda together (nothing else at all). Bake as directed on the back of the cake mix box. I used diet orange soda

Once cooled top with low fat or sugar free Cool Whip.

All I can say is YUMMY!!

You so have to try it!!

Linking up to I an an Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

What a Week!!

Whewww....birthday parties are done.

I am ready for normal life to resume....

I have alot to post about, i.e. my vacation challenge, the JOY Projects...I am waaaay behind.

I don't even remember the last time I posted one of meal plans for the week...or a review of a new recipe and we have tried some.

Anyway, I have a lot to catch up on!

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Oh don't forget to enter my Yoplait Kids giveaway. A winner will chosen on Tuesday.



Tuesday, March 15, 2011

It's Party Time With A Yoplait Kids Giveaway!!


This has been a busy week for us..two of our children have birthdays six days apart....March 11 & March 17...add separate birthday parties and well...let's just say it has been hectic.

These lovely kiddos are 7 & almost 9..(only 2 days to go for her) and sporting their new bikes that their Oma & Grandma purchased for them!!

In keeping with the celebration theme, I thought it would be more than fitting to do a Yoplait Kids Prize Package Giveaway!!!

Fun...I know, right!

My kids absolutely love yogurt and I love it, especially Yoplait Kids (it contains less sugar than others..shh don't tell my kiddos!) because it is a nutritious snack!! My kids love Yoplait because it tastes good!

The winner of this giveaway will receive a Yoplait Kids prize package (pictured below) courtesy of Yoplait through My Blog Spark.


Leave me a comment about healthy snack ideas you keep on hand for your kiddos. A winner will be chosen randomly on March 22.

You can also print out a 50¢ off one (1) four pack of Yoplait Kids Yogurt here, courtesy of Yoplait and My Blog Spark.

Have a great day all!!!

**I was not asked to give a positive Yoplait review, but since we love it, I figured why not!!!**


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

We Finally Got One..


A library card that is!!

I know that doesn't seem like a big deal and well, it probably isn't. We live outside the city limits and do not pay any taxes into the library, therefore it is not free to us. So I am excited that we finally took the plunge.

Now that the kiddos are getting older and enjoying reading and I can enjoy cool reads of my own, we figured now is just as good of a time as any. Before we relied on thrift stores, garage sales, book sales, etc. for our books and I will still look there for books, but I just like having a library card.

Wanna know what books I checked out on our first trip?

Of course you do!!!

Miserly Moms by by Jonni McCoy - Love it already
Frugal Families by Jonni McCoy - Very useful information, alot of which we already do though.

"I Can't Believe I Get Paid To Do This!" by Stacey Mayo - Not real sure why I chose this one, I had never heard of it before. We will see how it goes.

October Song by Beverly Lewis - Because I have a fascination with the Amish and their lifestyle.

From Amish and Mennonite Kitchens by Phyllis Pellman Good & Rachel Thomas Pellman - Seriously, I love the Amish! Actually, I just love the simplicity of their lives, their minimalist way of living and since they pretty much bake everything from scratch, I figure that these recipes have to be yummy..at least I hope!

I have a list going on of books I want to read, but I have to pace myself, right?!




Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Vacation Challenge-Week 5

As you can assume by my lack of blogging, I have been busy doing other things around the house and not as much time on the computer.

However, I did mange to get a little work in over the past week to go towards my vacation challenge.

I started the week needing $195.36

I had $39.50 from writing projects.

Leaving a total of $155.86 still needed!

I am getting close.....

I still have not put my items on Ebay yet, simply because I am waiting for them to have another listing special. Hopefully they will have one soon!

I also do not have any great savings to report.

Here's to next week...hoping (fingers crossed) that I can earn at least $55.86, leaving only $100 to go!

That would be so awesome!!!

**I do have a plan that should help with the cost of groceries while on vacation that I will share with you very soon!!**

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Vacation Challenge-Week 4

My week was better than last week, but still far from the first two weeks. The writing for me was scarce again.

I started the week still needing $222.86.

Writing projects - $27.50

Ended the week still needing 195.36.

I have several things to put on Ebay..so I need to get motivated and do so.

I did score a couple of good deals at CVS this week..

1 Crest Pro Health on sale for $3.29
- I used $1 off coupon + $1 CVS Extra Care Buck
2 Battery Operated Oral B Toothbrushes on sale for $6 each.
- I used 1 $3 off coupon + 1 BOGO free coupon

Total for all before coupons = $15.29

Total after coupons + tax =$5.61

BUT the best part is that I received
$9.29 back in Extra Care Bucks (If you are unsure what ECB's are, they work just like dollars at your CVS Pharmacy!)

So I have almost $9.29 to roll over into their next deal!!

Plus I got in on the Target frozen food deal this week and purchased 7 frozen food items, of course, used coupons on all 7 and scored a $5 Target gift card for a later date...

Not too bad, not too bad!


Thursday, February 24, 2011

Leave a Message After the Beep...


My oldest daughter who is 12 and my youngest daughter who is 3 have a nightly ritual.

They have a long drawn out goodnight..it usually starts with my oldest tickling her little sister, then my youngest pretending to hide from her.

It always ends with "I love you sissy!"


It always melts my heart.

Last night though it started diffrently than normal. My oldest started calling out for Lulu (that is what I call my youngest), the next thing I know Lulu is hiding behind me saying "Lulu is not here right now, please leave a message after the beep! Beeeeeeeeeeep!"

We do not even have an answering machine, so I am not sure where she heard that, but it had my oldest and me cracking up!!

Kids say the funniest things!!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Vacation Challenge-Week 3

So my week was not as productive as I would have hoped, at least in regards to earning money for our vacation.

In fact..I am a little embarrassed..

Writing projects - $8.50

I started the week still needing $231.36


Ended the week needing $222.86

However, I scored some great deals at Target this week using coupons found on their website.

For $7.90 after coupons I scored..

-Pair of jeans for myself
-Long sleeve shirt for my 3 year old
-dental floss
-toilet paper
-Ibuprofren
-Pantiliners
-All Purpose spray cleaner w/ bleach
-Fabric softener
-Dishwasher gel tabs
-Pencil sharpener for my daughter


The jeans were a great deal...they were on clearance for $4.98, but I used a $5 off women's jeans that you can find here. You can print each Target coupon twice, so I scored two pair of free jeans!!

For the other items check out Money Saving Mom's Target coupon match up!

So while I hated that I did not do so well earning money for our trip, I was able to save money on our budget.

Last night I heard someone say "A dollar saved is better than a dollar earned because you don't have to pay taxes".

I feel better......




Thursday, February 17, 2011

I am the Biggest Loser!

Seriously!

I have not posted too much about it, but along with some of our extended family, my husband and I have decided that this year, 2011, we would make it our year to lose weight and get healthy. I did post about it being one of only two New Year's Resolutions that I made.

We have made several changes in our eating habits and have added exercise into our weekly routines. My husband has access to a gym and uses it every day that he works. I joined a new gym here in town that is extremely affordable. I hated to add that extra monthly expense, but figured I could pay the small monthly charge now to exercise or I could pay a monthly co-pay for weight related medication that could be necessary down the road if I continued to gain weight.

Anyway, I am happy to announce that I was the "biggest loser" at our first scheduled weigh-in since our intial, embarrassing weigh-in on January 1st.


I lost 14.4 pounds and my husband lost 17 pounds. I had the higher percentage though.

Yeah me!!!

Most of the others did well too. I was proud of us all.

I love that my husband and I are working on this together. We hold ourselves accountable to each other and we are each other's biggest cheerleaders.


Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Daily Schedules

I have found that I can be busy all day long and go to bed not accomplishing one thing that I had on my mental "to do" list.

Frustrating? Yes.

Some in my family, upon hearing my complaints of my seemingly scatteredbrainness (is that even a word? Doubt it..) suggested that I have adult ADD. While they were just kidding, sometimes I wonder, I distract very easily.


If I do not have a list, if I do not write it down, I will may (gotta give myself some credit) forget to do.

Another issue that may or may not happen.. I will never admit if it has or not.. is I can see me getting lost on the computer, printing out coupons, reading other people's blogs about how they do it all...my guess is that they spend time doing it and not on the computer or learning how to do a variety of crafts..and when that happens if that were to happen..time is lost which leaves me scrambling to do what needs to be done for the day.

I have found that making a to do list and having a schedule keeps me from forgetting anything, as well as, keeps my day balanced. I can then go to bed feeling accomplished!

That's a pretty good feeling!!

Check out this cool schedule printout..well, I like it anyway! Daily Schedule from Buttoned Up.

Linking up to We Are That Family.

Happy Wednesday!




Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Vacation Challenge Week 2



Last week I told you about my vacation challenge.

I need $440.70 to pay for the activities that we are wanting to do.

The previous week I earned $97.34.

This brought me to a new total of $343.36.

This week earnings went down like this..

$15- I won this from our family's Biggest Loser challenge (I am all too excited to share that with you later!)

$50- This is actually in the form of a Visa gift card that I was not expecting. It was a reward card from our bank!!

$47- From writing projects.

The total for the week is $112 Woot!! Woot!! I am at almost $210...getting close to my half way point!!

I am loving this challenge!



Monday, February 14, 2011

**HOT** Amazon Deal!!!


Right now you can grab this Barbie and Ken set at Amazon for only $5!. It is eligible for free shipping with Prime (You can sign up for a free membership for a month)

Happy Valentine's Day!!!


We (my husband and I) somehow orchestrated us a night out Friday night for our Valentine's Day. We went to dinner AND a movie. It was so nice.

While the hubs and my Valentine's Day celebration is done since he has to work, I decided to treat the kids tonight to a Papa Murphy's heart shaped pizza, IBC Root Beer, a fave for them & cupcakes.

shhh...they don't know.

In other Valentine's Day news, my eight year old daughter was asked to be someone's Valentine for the first time that was not a blood relative and he asked her to go see a movie with him and his parents.

Say it with me - "awwwwwwwwwww......."


Happy Valentine's Day!!

P.S. If you are interested in making an easy peasy Valentine's Day wreath check it out here.






Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Never Say Never - My New Avia ITone Shoes

Every. Single. Time. I have a "never" thought, I always (or so it seems)end up doing it.

My dad was a pastor and he traveled quite abit for missions, revivals, retreats, etc., I specifically remember telling myself that I will NEVER marry someone that is away often (I was a big old chicken at the time & didn't like my dad not being home at night) I had no intention of being alone at night.

I married a military guy = gone for days at a time. He is now out of the military, but now he works nights.

Nice, huh?


When Facebook first became popular, I said the N word again.

Yup, you guessed it... on it and checking it daily. I check e-mail, then Facebook.

So when Sketchers came out with the Shape Ups, I thought.."Man, those are ugly..I will never where those!" I even had a conversation a week or so ago with my best friend about them.

Well...you almost guessed it. I did not buy the Sketchers - not in my budget - but I bought Avia's version of them (they were a sale that fit my budget). They are ITones.


Not only did I buy them...I totally love them!!!!


Here goes..

I am never going to win a million dollars...NEVER!!!

You think it will work???

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

My Vacation Challenge To Myself

I love a challenge, don't you?

My family and by "my" I mean my family (husband, kids and I), my mom, my sister and her family & my brother and his family, try to a vacation all together every other summer or every couple of summers.

We decided that this summer would be "our" summer to go. We are an ocean/beach family. There is something about standing on the shoreline, looking out into the open water and thinking abour our Creator. I am in awe at His creation of our world everytime.

ok..ok back to the challenge.

My sister and her husband graciously offered to take care of everyone's lodging.

I know, right?

That is probably the biggest expense when it comes to vacations.

She rented each family a condo in Myrtle Beach, SC.


Yes, she is an awesome big sis!!

Well, as you may remember my husband and I at the beginning of the year made some financial goals and we would like to stick to them, so I knew that I needed to become creative in how I was going to save for our vacation.

With us all staying in condos, for the most part we will be eating in, with each family taking turns hosting dinner. So I will be using my regularly budgeted grocery money that week for food. There will be a few meals eaten out however.

Gas will be the same, we will use our regularly budgeted gas money that week + a little more. Not sure how much more, it will depend on the price of gas.

So we need to come up with our "fun" money. There are some attractions that we know that we would like to do while there which involve purchasing tickets. Multiply that times six and some of the adventures can be pretty costly.

But we want to do them.

So I have made it my mission challenge to have these completely paid for before we leave.

I do this so that we do not touch any savings.

I do this so we can stay on track with our goals.

I do this because it is fun - I love challenges.

A couple of weeks ago, I went online to get prices for what we are hoping to do while there..other than spend a ton of time on the beach.

I came up with the total....gulp...$498.70..YIKES!!!

After digesting that..I went online to find coupons..surely there are coupons or at least group rates, right?!

There were coupons for all, but with one activity it was cheaper to do a group rate.

I brought my $498.70 down to $440.70.

Still alot of money.

But I knew/know I could do this, so I started last week.

I amazingly came up with $97.34!!!

I am almost a quarter of the way there!!

YEAH!!
Here is how it broke down:

$9.60 - Ebates

$17.33 - Ebay (I reflects ebay/paypal charges already subtracted)

$66.00 - Writing Projects

$4.41 - I am not sure where it came from!

I will let you know how I continue to do....


Friday, February 4, 2011

JOY Project January Update & What We Plan To Do For February

This year we decided to do a JOY project every month for 2011.

For January it was decided to be the Humane Society (you can read about it here.)

We ended up with a box full of items to donate, the kids collected change and saved their money to give to the Humane Society.




I am so proud of them.

February's JOY project came when I learned about a young man (teenager) who lost his mom in a car accident just a few weeks ago. His mother's testimony had been shared to me and she sounds like an amazing Christian woman and mother. I can only imagine how hard it will be for this boy to have to finish growing up without the influence his mother. We want him to know that while we may not know him personally, we are praying for him just the same and hopefully will be able to send him some encouragement. The plan is once we find out a little bit more of his interests we can make a fun care box for him.

My mom is my best friend..at 35 I would be at a loss without her.

I cannot imagine his pain.

We also have a long time family friend, who in 2010 experienced losses (notice it's plural) that most people will not endure and certainly not in less than a year.

One of her losses was her only daughter, the mother of her only granddaughter, who she is now raising.

As a mom of four beautiful children, it hurts too much to even try to imagine what her pain is like.

For her I have a few things I want us to do for her to let her know that she is in our prayers everyday.

If you will..I would appreciate prayers for both of these individuals and their families.

Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ

I am so thankful that there can be Victory in death through Jesus Christ!

Linking up to Amy's Finer Things for Finer Things Friday



Thursday, February 3, 2011

Winter Vote


We will return to your normally scheduled blogging....

Soon.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

This Is The Stuff Lyric Video

Just had to share this song..It is sooooo me!! I love it!

Enjoy!



Thursday, January 27, 2011

Introducing Jackson

No...I did not have a baby.

No, we didn't adopt a pet.

Jackson has been a part of our lives for about a year now, possibly longer, possibly shorter. I really don't remember when he became intertwined with our daily lives.

Jackson is my three year old's friend. She says he is her "boyfriend", but I am not to keen on that.

She's only three and he is a bit unruly. (Don't worry I am fairly confident his parents don't read my blog)

He does everything that I don't want my children to do. He is very fond of saying the word "stupid", a word that is considered bad in our house. He pulls Lexi's hair and sometimes hits her in the face. He is just plain mean.
Not too mention that his mother lets him color his hair green...

with paint.

I know, right?

I know it would be best if she didn't hang out with him, but I feel I do not have a choice.

He is with us ALL. THE. TIME.

He sometimes goes to church with us, but believe it or not his family apparently is pretty active in a church somewhere.

I could make a whole scrapbook of just Lexi and Jackson.

I will give you a glimpse into our daily lives with Jackson..

Here is Lexi and Jackson hanging out at the Great Wolf Lodge on vacation...Yes, he went with us.


Lexi waiting for Jackson to go down the slide at the park..

Lexi and Jackson sleeping at the air show...


Ok so as you can see..or cannot see..Jackson is not real.

To us.

He is very real to my daughter, as is his whole family.

They live at McDonald's. His mom is nice. They are churchgoers, etc.

But that Jackson, he is one little troublemaker, at least according to Lexi..yet she loves him.

And I love her.

Happy Friday all!!

Linking up at Amy's Finer Things for Finer Things Friday.



Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Longhorn Steakhouse, Oscar Meyer, Menu Plan Monday(A Day Late) 01/25/11

I am a day late on getting my menu plan out there...
After seeing the Longhorn Restaurant commercials I had to have steak last night, I really wanted to have it how the commercial shows they do theirs...

Loaded with cheese and bacon!

YUMMY!

I was good though and did not go that route and my husband was kind enough to grill outside among the melting snow.

The rest of the week is looking like this..

Tuesday: Baked chicken

Wednesday: Breakfast food

Thursday: Tacos

Friday: Chili...I made a pot of chili to take to my mom's on Sunday. I totally heart chili dogs, so I bought some Oscar Meyer turkey dogs..only 50 calories each, they were so good. They get a huge thumbs up!

Saturday: undecided (hoping for a date night with hubby)

Sunday:Dinner at church!

I am trying to use what I have in the freezer, so I am probably skipping a new recipe this week.

My review though for the Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies are a

thumbs down

Ugh..I feel so negative!

As much as I hate to admit it could have been because I was feeling really domesticated (or too lazy to go back to the store) and tried to make my own almond flour.

Or it could be because I am too cheap and thought why buy nectar when I have honey in my pantry.

Or because I decided to cut the recipe in half.

Or because I overcooked them.

Or maybe it just wasn't a good recipe. I'm just sayin'....

Have a great week!

Linking up to I Am An Organizing Junkie!





Monday, January 24, 2011

Free Dads & Daughters Book by Dr. James Dobson

For a limited time you can get a free copy of Dr. Dobson's book Dads & Daughters here !

I am sure it won't last long!

Thanks to Cha Ching on a Shoestring.

Celebration Weekend

This weekend was a celebration of my daughter, my oldest child's birthday.

She turned 12.


She smiles alot...

She makes crazy faces....


She is convinced that she is a 12 year old trapped in a 16 year old's body. oops that doesn't make sense, now does it?
I meant she is convinced that she a 16 year old trapped in a 12 year old's body...ok better.

Sometimes I think the same thing.

It was a wonderful weekend that we pretty much celebtrated all weekend long. We reminisced about the day she was born. We talked reluctantly about the fact that we will have a teenager in the house next year.

Where does the time go?

As I was thinking about her this weekend, remembering all the firsts with her, I realized how much she has taught me.

It was with her that I experienced a true taste of unconditional love..I finally was able to understand in my earthly mind a taste of what our Heavenly Father feels towards us.

I remember how naive I was as a first time soon to be mom. When I was only 12 weeks along, I went to the doctor for a check up, he was trying to listen to the heartbeat.

He couldn't find one.

He retrieved a mobile ultrasound machine to find her and to make sure all was alright..although he never mentioned that all may not be right.

Not. One. Time. did it occur to me that something could be wrong. I was just excited because I was going to see my baby!!

Two miscarriages later, never again would I take a positive pregnancy test for granted or the heartbeat of my unborn child. I understand the fragility of life now.

I grew up a lot with her.

I love her so much!!

Happy Birthday..baby girl!