happy monday

my little lady was chosen to be student of the week at school. over thanksgiving break, we worked on a poster all about her. i love to see her enthusasium for school! one of the questions on the poster was what do you want to be when you grow up, she said, "a princess." of course, who wouldn't...right?

30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...

having my nasal surgery today...just praying for a speedy recovery and no more headaches!

my husband...he's seriously the best!

my parents being here to help me with the kiddos!

my date with my man last night.

a nice cozy bed to recover in.

there's a new sheriff in town

really does it get much cuter than this??? i better watch out and not get myself into too much trouble or this sheriff might lock me up!



30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...

my little sheriff.

all the fun that is had when my kids play dress up.

my parents who will be coming and helping me through my surgery.

a clean house.

candles that smell like a fresh cut christmas tree.

giving

i'm overjoyed. thrilled. so excited.

this morning, i went to MOPS and was so blessed by the giving of gifts and support for our missionaries that our church supports. along with my friend amber, we are the outreach coordinators for our MOPS group. over the last couple of weeks we have been asking our ladies to give gifts and bless some of our missionaries with birthday gifts.

i know first hand how special it is to get a package when you are serving in another country. we'd miss home a lot in many different ways, but it was like christmas every time a package came.

i thought i'd show you some of the fun times we had opening up our packages.

look at the anticipate on her face.

she got curious george and a cinderella dvd from her grammie.
both of our moms sent our little lady princess dresses to play in.
the boxes even became play toys.

30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...

my wonderful friends through MOPS.

the generous giving today from all the laides.

the blessings that are yet to come through all the gifts.

every missionary that serves and is following God's calling.

all my PNG friends that i love so much and miss so much!

christmas stockings

i know, it's not even thanksgiving yet and i'm talking Christmas here. we've been married for 11 years and i'm finally getting around to making us all stockings.

i wanted something simple and i love burlap and natural fabrics. i used some ribbon and trim to embellish the stockings.


my mama would be proud of me because i made my own pattern and sewed them together. you see, i wanted nothing to do with sewing when i was growing up. my mom is a master at sewing, you'd think i'd want to learn all i could from her. oh well, at least she gets to see all the crazy things i use my sewing machine for!

30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...

for my husband...his listening ear and support he gives me.

my little guy feeling better today.

little ones and their precious voices as they sing together.

a hot cup of tea on a sore throat.

living in a great place that has so much to offer our family!

linking up with...
tatertotsandjello
kojodesigns
sunscholars
bedifferentactnormal
underthetableanddreaming
C.R.A.F.T.

weekend randomness

went with a friend to see this...
the help is a very good movie, but i didn't cry at all. everyone told me it was tear jerker and i'm a crier, so who knows what happened???

if there was any reason you thought i might keep a perfect house, this will change your mind.
it's our guest bedroom and it usually looks like this...a mess. it's where i put all my decorations or things that i've taken down. however, i've been trying to clean it up, since we are having company come soon. my parents are coming to visit and help me since i'm having surgery in 2 weeks.

i also got a jump start on wrapping christmas presents. i'm trying to get as much stuff done before my surgery as possible.

i woke up to my little lady dressed like this. just so stinkin' cute!

nothing better than a nice cup of hot chai tea.

what is your favorite hot drink?

30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...

my 2 hours of time to myself last night. my man took the kids to the father/child hayride night at our church.

time in my craft room...working on christmas stockings.

our church.

quality time with my husband.

my little lady's artistic spirit.

my kids' silhouettes

i have been wanting to make these for awhile and finally got around to doing it! i use to make these with my students when i was a teacher. it made a great mother's day gift!

first, i took a picture of my kids and then printed it out on copy paper, using my computer printer.
i then cut out the face and used it for my pattern. i traced it onto black card stock paper and then cut out the silhouette.

30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...

being a stay-at-home mom.

for our beautiful warm day.

the time i get to help out in my little lady's class.

health insurance.

a husband who loves his family and loves spending time with us.

linking up with...
tatertotsandjello
kojodesigns
sunscholars
bedifferentactnormal
underthetableanddreaming
C.R.A.F.T.

wall art

i'm working on hanging things up in my family room.

i had purchased these cards at a flea market and have finally gotten around to using them.

i used a picture frame, spray paint, chicken wire, and a staple gun to complete the project.

more wall art to come tomorrow!


30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...

yummy chinese food for dinner.

nap time.

hot showers.

the things my little guy says...he's a smart cookie!

a child's imagination.

linking up with...
tatertotsandjello
kojodesigns
sunscholars
bedifferentactnormal
underthetableanddreaming
C.R.A.F.T.

operation christmas child

this is something i love doing every year.

it's a way to take the focus off of "getting" and put the focus on "giving." this is something we want our kids to learn...that it is more important to give than receive.

my kids helped me this year fill the shoeboxes and we talked about the kids that would receive these shoe boxes and that it may be their only gift they get all year.

i feel so blessed to have so much and i love using what God has given us to bless others!

if you are interested in filling a shoe box for a child, check out this website for details.

30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...

the humor i provided myself with yesterday, when i wore two different shoes to drop off my daughter at school. i didn't realize it until we were in the car driving to school!

my friends.

the way God has changed me and grown me over the years.

second chances with my kids after i've blown it. forgiveness is a powerful thing!

the amazing lunch i had at my bible study leadership meeting today. the salad was amazing! i just need to get my hands on the recipe!

weekend randomness

a trip to the library equals a floor full of books in my kitchen. plus one happy little lady!


time for art.

manicures & pedicures to end the weekend during family fun night!



30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...

time in my craft room this weekend.

the cute banter between my husband and daughter as they practice her bible verses for awana.

worship music.

"mean mug" faces from my little guy.

pitter patter of little feet on the hardwood floor.

a big mess

two things i don't like...

the garage entry way.
i've tried to organize it, but it is not working. we don't wear our shoes inside and this is what it looks like most of the time...shoes everywhere! i need to reorganize it again, but i'm not sure what the solution is going to be.

folding laundry.
sometimes i'm better at folding it than other times, but lately my family room rug has become the place to dump the clean clothes until their folded. it's just one of those things that is never ending!

30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...
coupons. it helps me save a ton of money! i get excited when i buy a bunch of groceries and only spend $20.

a daughter who loves to do crafts.

for my big freezer...it allows me to make lots of meals and freeze them so that on a day when i have a horrible headache, i can just take a meal out and warm it up.

naps.

lotion...without it my skin would be so dry!

buffalo chicken pizza

we love pizza at our house! so when i come across a new recipe, i'm always excited to try it!

i made mine a bit different from the recipe...
i made homemade crust and cooked it on the grill before adding the toppings.
it also wasn't as spicy as i was hoping...we like things hot and spicy around here! next time i will add a little more kick to it, but it was very tasty!


30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful for...
our wonderful social workers.
my kick butt ab workout this evening!
my husband figuring out how to make taquitos without them falling apart.
a blue, sunny sky today.
the two speakers i heard at MOPS today...super good and informative!

thankful paper leaves

it's been kind of a tradition to give thanks and pray for certain people throughout the month of november. the list includes family members, extended family, friends, church, etc.

usually, we pick one person or family and we pray for them at dinner time.

last year, i make the a "thankful tree" that held all of the names of the people we were praying for.

this year, i cut out leaf shapes from pages of an old book and wrote the names of the people we were praying for on them.



30 days of giving thanks

i'm thankful...

that i got to sleep in this morning.

for our prayer concert at church yesterday morning.

for rain...i'm still working on being thankful for snow.

that tomorrow is MOPS...can't wait to spend sometime with my friends.

for family time gathering around the fire.

30 days of giving thanks

too often i find myself taking for granted all that i have, focusing more on maybe the things i don't have rather than what i do have. it's easy to do, i'll be the first to admit it.

it's easy to get our priorities mixed up or start to have the attitude of entitlement...like we deserve it. i really struggle with that phrase..."we deserve it" or "i deserve it because..."

i know this may sound really harsh but we really don't deserve a single thing. it's not something our culture would say and hard for even me to say. of course there are things i desire and want...i'm just as selfish as the next, but i know that there is really nothing i deserve.

what i deserve is nothing without my Father's grace and mercy that He has bestowed upon me.

i want to be intentional about what i do and i'm going to focus on giving thanks to the One who does deserve it!

i'm thankful for...
cute little chalk-filled hands in the middle of summer!

God's word.

really where would i be without it? a quote from one of the ladies in my bible study, "7 days without God's Word, makes 1 weak." So true!

firewood...the warmth that it will supply us during the next several months. i would rather be hot and sweaty than cold!

a fun evening with my family last night. it's the simple things of carving a pumpkin together, that i cherish!