Weekend + Update on 2011 Goals

We had a fun weekend at my Mom's house for my birthday. She made two cakes as usual, one for me (angel food with fluffy white icing) and one for my cousin Chelcie whose birthday is tomorrow. My aunt had brought a bunch of candles, so Caleb put them in the cakes...32 for me and 23 for Chelcie. We almost didn't get all the candles lit before they started falling over.

Sunday was my actual birthday. We went to church and Meemaw came over to eat with us. My Mom gave me a new Precious Moments figurine called "His Plan is Purr-fect" which is perfect for our move and everything from last year.

She also gave me a hand mixer, some cash, and a Big Box of cards. She knows I love cards, and she always finds such neat ones to give me. This one has some really pretty cards in it, I look forward to using them! The box is pretty and sparkly too! It is similar to this one but they are "all occasion" cards.

My boys gave me a Shark steam mop like I've been wanting. I'm going to work on mopping the house today. He gave me another gift too, but I think I'll write a separate post about that one.

Also, today as we come to the end of February I wanted to remind myself of my 2011 goals and give myself a check-up!

~ Unpacking--I have a big mess in the garage again as I have started sorting more of Caleb's stuff. I've got to work on this again this week.

~ Verses--I'm enjoying doing the SSMT verses.

~ Book reviews--I've read some good ones this year and have been able to keep up with my reviews in a timely manner, which is important to me.

~ Implement the S.H.E. system. I have not written my chore cards yet, but I have a couple priorities that I have done without cards. I found some divider index cards at a sale and need to make up the file card box.

~ Make Christmas gifts--I have a couple ideas and actually worked on one thing last week.

~ Find new places to volunteer.--I don't have anything weekly yet, I have volunteered at Caleb's school but my priority right now is the house and getting unpacked.

Thank you for visiting today.

Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

For this week's Flashback Friday we are remembering dental memories from childhood. When I read the prompt, I knew this one was going to be a fun one with lots of memories for me!

My flashback:
It was important to my Mom that I not be afraid to go to the dentist due to a very bad experience she had as a child. I loved my dentist when I was a kid...Dr. Cox. We drove out of town to him. I don't know how my Mom found him, but he was a very good dentist. I remember how he let me hold my doll as I sat in the chair. In later years I had another dentist who was local who I also liked very much. I had a dentist visit very consistently every 6 months.

I had to get crowns put on some teeth when I was young, I don't remember how old. Because of my age though, they wanted to put me to sleep to do it so it was done at the hospital. I remember them telling me to blow up the red balloon using my nose when they were putting me to sleep.

As far as losing teeth, I don't recall any traumatic experiences. I would let the tooth hang in till it was dangling by a thread. In elementary school we had an aide who was known for pulling teeth. If you had a loose tooth, you always raised your hand at lunch for Mrs. Armstrong to come pull it. We didn't do the tooth fairy; I just put the tooth in a dish on the stove and in the morning there would be money. I don't recall how much!

Over spring break in high school, I think my sophomore year maybe, I had my wisdom teeth extracted. I had chipmunk cheeks for a couple days. I remember feeling the stitches with my tongue and being ready to go eat Chinese food by Thursday that week.

I never had braces, my teeth have always been pretty straight. I always thought it was cool when my friends with braces would have patterns of color on their teeth!

As far as false teeth...Peepaw would always slide his teeth in and out and chomp them at us. It was always funny to me that he did that and makes me laugh to think about it.

Thanks for stopping by today! Have a great weekend.

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

Join us today at Women Taking a Stand for Thankful Thursday. I hope you are having a great day and week. February has gone by so quickly.

Here is my list of some of the things I'm thankful for this week:
~ my sweet husband leaving me a sweet note one morning this week. I saw a note pad on the table with his handwriting. It totally surprised me when I picked it up and it was a sweet little note to me. Made my day!!

~ my sweet boy having a surprise for me this morning. We were leaving for school and he told me he'd left a surprise on my bed. I told him I'd see it when I got back from taking him to school. When I got home I saw that he had made my bed for me. I'd left it unmade when I got up this morning and it took me a second to realize that he had made it for me. Such a sweet boy!

~ the beautiful sunshine peeking through the clouds. It's so nice to see the sun coming through the windows too.

~ having a washing machine and dryer.

~ finding good sales on meat and products we use often. It makes me excited to find a bargain!

~ a man named Max. He was a mentor and friend to my husband. Today would have been his birthday. I'm thinking of his wife and family today as this is another "first" for them without him here.

Have a day of blessings!

New to me author

I just finished reading Doctor in Petticoats by Mary Connealy. It is the first book in the "Sophie's Daughters" series. I borrowed this historical fiction book from our local library; it caught my attention with the cover and title. I wasn't familiar with the author either.

Beth McClellen is involved in a stagecoach accident as she's heading back home. One of the fellow passengers is Alex Buchanan, former doctor in the army. While trying to tend the patients of the accident, Beth realizes Alex's skill for doctoring. However, he does not want to be a doctor anymore because of all the nightmares he has from war. Alex realizes that if Beth is beside him, he can do the doctoring. The couple faces trouble when a bounty hunter is after Alex for being a deserter.

I just wanted to share this author with you as I enjoyed this storyline and characters very much. I look forward to reading the next book in this series about another of "Sophie's Daughters."

Have a day of blessings!

Song: I Refuse

This song has been on the radio a lot lately and I wanted to share it with you today. I love this song's message.



Is it easier for you to just sit around and ignore what's going on around you? Or maybe make excuses why you don't step up and help? Excuses like someone else can do that, that job's beneath me, I don't have time, we don't have extra money right now....

We all have choices to make on a daily basis on doing something or not. I think this song is a great reminder to be willing to do something instead of just talking about it. Many times I think we know in our hearts we should act, yet we hesitate for whatever reason. We need to do what we are called to do....whatever that may be. You aren't going to reach the same people I can reach in my world. Wherever we are though, we need to act and not wait for someone else to do it.

"I don't want to live like I don't care." What about you?

Have a day of blessings!

Book review: A Billion Reasons Why

I have finished reading a new book from author Kristin Billerbeck called A Billion Reasons Why.

Katie McKenna loves her job as a special needs teacher in California. She plans to be engaged soon to her boyfriend, Dexter. However, her ex-boyfriend, Luc DeForges, suddenly comes back into her life. He wants Katie to go home with him to New Orleans to sing at his younger brother's wedding. Katie agrees to sing at the wedding but does not want to become involved with Luc again. Eight years before they had gone through a public, humiliating breakup. She wants to sing in the wedding and go back to California to her teaching and predictable, stable Dexter. She has a billion reasons why she should fall for Luc again.

This was a fun, easy-to-read book. I didn't really think the beginning was realistic in that the ex-boyfriend just shows up unannounced in Katie's classroom one day in the middle of class. But as the book went, it fit with Luc's character. I found it to be a good read and fairly predictable.

Thank you to the B & B Media Group for providing this book for my honest review.

Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

Hooray for Friday and the 3 day weekend we have coming up! This week our flashback topic is car accidents.

My Flashback:
My Mom told me that one time when I was probably 3 or 4 a car came through a red light and hit her back bumper. There were not serious injuries from that. I don't recall any other accidents.

I was involved in a fender bender a few years back. I was backing out of my friend's driveway. Caleb was in the car with me and my husband was at the deer lease for the weekend. Her neighbor's car was sitting directly behind my friend's driveway and I didn't see it and backed into it. It was rather embarrassing and the girl whose car it was acted so dramatic about the whole thing.

As far as tickets....I have never received one. Growing up my Dad used to get stopped for driving too slowly or swerving on the road. They probably thought he was drinking; however, he was just tired and swerved around.

My husband and I have talked about how we used to sit in the front seats when we were little. He remembers sitting on the fold down arm rest in the middle of the front seat as they were driving.

Those are my driving/accident memories!

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

Happy Thankful Thursday! We have had a beautiful week here. The warm, sunny days have been so nice after our cold and snow. It feels like spring is on its way!


What are you thankful for this week? I am thankful for...

~ my sweet husband. He gave me flowers for Valentine's day (tulips, I've never gotten tulips). I told him how thankful I am that he shows his love to me every day, not just on Valentine's day!

~ my boy's love of reading. I love hearing him read and to see his excitement about reading. At the library he wanted a book about George Washington since that is what they are learning about at school.

~ hearing from people in our old town. This week I had a call from our former neighbor as well as a card in the mail from a lady who sat in front of us at church. It was nice to hear from them both and know they miss us!

~ the wonderful programs I am able to listen to online. When I'm home alone and doing things around the house, like ironing or folding clothes, I like to listen to an audio book or an online program. Sometimes I just have KLOVE playing. I also like listening to Grace Cafe and the broadcasts from Focus on the Family. These are encouraging!

~ sunshine and warm days! This weather makes me excited for spring and to get my clothesline poles in the ground.


Thanks for visiting today! I hope you are having a happy day.

Have a day of blessings!

Book review: A Woman's Passionate Pursuit of God

I would like to share with you a book called A Woman's Passionate Pursuit of God by Karol Ladd.

This is a study of Philippians. This book, with 12 chapters, goes through passages in Philippians with encouragement for readers to personally apply the principles Paul has written about. Each chapter ends with a "Personal Pursuit" which is a little review of the chapter as well as an activity to do in your life. A discussion guide is also included at the end of the book. This book is appropriate for individual or group study.

One of the themes I got from this book was the idea of living a life of contentment. We can learn so much from Paul's example. It is full of things that made me just stop and think for a minute. One thing the author said that I really liked was this: "There are a variety of situations in life where we may struggle to have a content spirit. In these particular times, we have a choice to try to make it through on our own or turn our eyes toward the Lord and seek His strength in the midst of our uncertainty or unwanted circumstances."

I have never read anything by this author, and I really enjoyed reading this book and the author's style. She included stories to illustrate her points in each chapter, which was effective for getting the point across. This is a very encouraging, practical book.

Thank you to Harvest House Publishers for providing this book for my review.

Have a day of blessings!

SSMT #4

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him." Romans 12:1, NLT

Have a day of blessings!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to you! I hope you have a wonderful day and feel loved.

My day has started off with hugs and smiles. My sweet Caleb was excited to give me the card he made me. One evening he asked me "Can you go do your Bible or something? I want to make your Valentine." So I left the room and he sat at the table with Daddy with his art supplies. He made me the sweetest card and wrote some sentences that he made up himself. It just touched my heart!

And my other Valentine made us cinnamon toast for breakfast with a heart shaped cookie cutter.

I'm looking forward to the fun of the day with lunch with my hubby and a school party this afternoon.

Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

For this week's Flashback Friday we are remembering Valentine's Day! This will be an easy, fun one for me!

My flashback:
Valentine's Day was always a fun holiday for me.

I always looked forward to choosing my box of Valentine cards to give to my classmates. They were little cards that had a cartoon on the front and a silly little saying with a blank back where you wrote the name of the recipient. Then you put the little card into a little white envelope. They don't even have the little envelopes any more that I've seen since buying them for Caleb! I loved choosing a card from my box for each person, finding the one I thought the person would like because of the saying or picture on it.

We always had a Valentine's party at school. I don't remember much about them, but I remember one year we decorated little pouches with two paper plates stapled together to collect our cards.

In middle school the NJHS (National Junior Honor Society) sold singing telegrams for a fund raiser. We had fun little songs that we would sing like "Skidda Marinky Rinka Dink" (or however you spell it!).

I do have another Valentine's memory that is kind of funny for me. Several years there was this boy who would give me a big chocolate candy heart. He would leave it in my locker. It was always so awkward for me because I did not want to be his girlfriend but he always had a note asking me if I would be. I don't remember how many years he did this, but it was several!

My Dad would give me a Valentine. It was usually some candy and heart stickers. One year I got a little pointed stick thingy (I don't know what it's called!) to sit on my desk to use when I was playing office or store to poke my receipts on. The metal base of it was bright red.

Also, Peepaw always gave me a Valentine. I remember him bringing me a box with a chocolate I Heart U. At Caleb's first Valentine Peepaw gave me some flowers and a little box of chocolates to Caleb.

And now I love Valentine's Day because in 1998 a cute boy gave me a card he made on February 13 that said Will you be my Valentine? And I still have that same Valentine today.

As for Valentine candy, I never liked boxes of chocolate because I didn't like the surprise factor of not knowing if I was going to like what I was biting into. I do like conversation hearts...the Sweet Tart kind, not those chalky ones as much.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Have a day of blessings!

Book review: The Beginning Reader's Bible

I would like to share The Beginning Reader's Bible with you today.

I was surprised when this book arrived at it's size. It was bigger than I thought it would be. This is a beautiful picture Bible for children. Selected stories from the Old and New Testaments are shared in language children can understand from the International Children's Bible. I was very impressed with the illustrations in this Bible. There was so much detail and the pictures were just so nice, better than illustrations I've seen in other children's Bibles. You can get a little taste of this by the cover, but when you have the book opened it is exceptional in my opinion. Besides just having Bible stories, there are little boxes throughout the book with memory verses or prayers for children. There are also some application boxes called "Do God's Word" that includes an activity the child can do related to the story on that page. The back of the book has a few extra features including Psalm 23, selected Proverbs, and the Ten Commandments.

I recommend this book to you for a special child in your life.

Have a day of blessings!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Thankful Thursday

This month for Thankful Thursday we are over at Women Taking a Stand.


What are you thankful for today?

I'm thankful for...

~ my husband's safety while traveling. He travels a lot for this job and I always pray for him to have safe trips as he travels from town to town.

~ my boy being recognized for his good behavior at school. He told me Tuesday he was the boy student of the month in his class and today he got another little award from his teacher noticing him sitting quietly. I love that his school uses so much positive reinforcement! And I'm thankful that he obeys there!

~ the fun of looking through my hope chest and seeing so many things that hold so many special memories for me. I worked on during one of our snow days. As I was cleaning and emptying it out, Caleb ended up in the hope chest, pretending it was a race car. I could just imagine if Peepaw was still here (who made the hope chest for me) would get a kick out of Caleb playing in it.

~ the beautiful pictures I ordered from a sweet friend that I got in the mail this week. I have wanted to have a couple of special pictures for our new house with verses that had been special to me during our move. The two pictures arrived this week and are so beautiful. I'm going to get frames for them now.

~ once again I'm thankful for our warm house and cars and our coats, clothes, and blankets.



Have a day of blessings!

Loose Teeth

Our son has a loose tooth. Having this new loose tooth that gets looser by the day is a new experience for him. And it worries him. He shared his worries with me after school. He is worried it will hurt when it comes out, worried about the blood (he can’t stand the sight of by blood), and worried it will just fall out randomly or even that all his teeth will fall out. I tried to reassure him and offer him some comfort about this part of life by sharing my own teeth experiences with him and praying for him to have peace about it.

Continue reading "Loose Teeth" today over at Laced With Grace.

Have a day of blessings!

My post Super Bowl thoughts

We are not NFL football fans in our house. The boys will watch an occasional game on Sunday afternoons, but we aren't huge fans of any particular team. When Super Bowl comes around it's just not a big deal for us. We had the game on for a little bit last night (we didn't have church because we had a fellowship lunch or we probably would have been there!), but then it got turned off about half-time as Caleb got ready for bed and then asked to watch an episode of "Dick Van Dyke" with Daddy.

I was thinking about how ridiculous it all is. I heard the prices of the seats and the parking spots and the money paid for a 30 second commercial among other things. Numerous stories that came out of DFW this week with our ice storm seem to say that it is simply all about the money!

I wonder if anyone else sees it all as a waste. I wonder how many millions of dollars were spent on this event. Are Americans really that selfish? How many better ways could that money have been spent? I'm thinking of the hungry and homeless around the world. What about research for those dying of diseases that don't have a cure? Or something special done for our military for their service to our country?

Another thing was the commercials. So many people I hear say they don't watch the game, they just watch for the commercials. Well I was disgusted by the few I saw....they were so violent, mean-spirited or full of sexual innuendos. I find that ridiculous as well. We covered Caleb's eyes when the commercials came on because we didn't know what was going to be next. I may be considered overprotective about this, but I cannot stand allowing such garbage into his mind and heart. We are supposed to guard our hearts. There is no sense in putting these evil thoughts in, especially for little children. Some of these things are downright scary! No one needs to have these images before them, especially before they go to bed!

I wonder if anyone feels the same way. I know the Super Bowl is an American tradition, but I think it is getting a little out of hand.

Have a day of blessings!

Flashback Friday

We have a really fun Flashback Friday today! Linda has asked us about commercials and ads we associate with childhood. When I first read the prompt nothing particular came to mind. However, last night i looked at some websites of old commercials. It was so fun. My husband and I laughed and laughed Seeing one would make me think of another one and I'd look it up. Then he'd think of one and say "remember the....." It was fun to reminisce together! Here are some I found that were familiar to me!

McDonald's....I remember trying to say this song, I never learned much past the few lines.


Coca Cola....


Honey Nut Cheerios.....I always thought this little bee was cute!


Lucky Charms....I remember wanting a box of these when they added a new shape ( maybe the red balloon?).


My Child....I wanted one of these and got one at some point.


My Buddy (and I remember this ABC jingle that shows at the beginning too)....I loved the song on this commercial. I never had a "Kid Sister" or "My Buddy."


Popples... I had one of these too. I don't remember which one. The tail was a rattle.


PSA...Remember these dummies?


This was a really fun flashback! I may have to look at those websites again sometime! It was great for a laugh.

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

Welcome to a COLD Thankful Thursday! We are iced in at our house. Thursday will mark the third day of ice and snow here. First we thought it was going to "warm up" above freezing on Friday but now we have a chance of snow again!

Being inside has reminded me of so many things we have to be thankful for each day, things we may often take for granted on a normal day....Things like electricity (much of Texas was out of electricity throughout today due to rolling blackouts), being able to jump in the car and run down the street to the store (or Sonic!), plenty to drink and eat, food in the freezer. It's kinda felt like a little vacation for me to have both of my boys home these three days. We haven't done much housework but have had fun. We've drawn pictures together, watched movies, and had a lot of laughs trying to stay warm!

Today I am thankful for...
~ my husband being able to be home and not have to be out on the unsafe roads. His office was closed.

~ my boy and his excitement about the snow! He woke up about 6:15 on Tuesday and was just so excited to get to play in the snow. It was fun to watch his excitement about having snow everywhere. Wednesday he stayed in his pajamas longer before going out. In the afternoon he played with the neighbor kids and later went back out and scraped ice off the porch. He's my little worker boy! Always wants to be working and helpful!

~ all the warm things we have...pajamas, socks, coats, blankets, robes, cocoa, heater.

~ people who work in the cold weather and don't get "snow days."

~ television and computer to keep up with the news of the weather.

Have a day of blessings!

SSMT #3

Wow, it's already time for another new verse! My 3rd verse is Ephesians 2:10--

"God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us to do good works, which God planned in advance for us to live our lives doing."

Have a day of blessings!

Snow Day

Our back yard down back porch steps

When my hubby got home from work Monday, we got the boxes scooted out of the way in the garage so both vehicles would fit in there for the night. I'm glad he worked so hard to get the garage cleared out over the weekend!

We had a thunderstorm with rain and hail in the evening and then it turned into sleet. My hubby got up at 6 to find out road conditions and talk to others to make the decision about closing his offices. Caleb woke up about 6:15. He was ready to go play! All of the schools here are cancelled for the day and some are already saying a late start tomorrow.

Here are a couple pictures of our beautiful snow! The weatherman is saying we aren't getting above freezing until Friday.

Have a day of blessings!