2011

I see so many blog posts in my list on my Reader tonight looking back at 2011.  I've been thinking about what was on my goal list I made at the beginning of this year and had to go back and take a look.  In the past I've revisited my goal list periodically through the year here on my blog but didn't do that this year for whatever reason. 

So looking back at my goals, I see there wasn't that much on the list and most of it has been accomplished.  I don't know that we are totally unpacked.  There are still random boxes in the garage that need to find a new place.  It is such random stuff and I'm not sure what to do with it so it's stayed in the tubs against the wall.  As far as the SHE system, I started the cards but never got that complete.  I've pretty much kept up with the basic ideas of it in my head.  I don't have a set day that I clean the tubs but I do it regularly.  I had forgotten the goal of finding new places to volunteer.  It has been such a blessing to me to be able to volunteer at Caleb's school and have two areas where I am needed there. 

This has been a blessed year for our family.  We have faced many changes with our move and my husband's new job position.  I feel we have learned a lot and enjoyed the changes that have happened.  I am thankful for the new friends we have made here.  I am thankful for the memories we made as a family, like our fun trip to Colorado.  I am thankful for Caleb's school and the teachers he has had.  I am thankful we have been healthy.  I am thankful for the many answers to prayers we have seen this year both in our family and in the lives of friends/relatives.

As Caleb said tonight before bed Gooooooodbye 2011! 

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday (a day late)

I meant to get up my Thankful Thursday post yesterday, but I've been a little off schedule this week and it just didn't happen.

This week I am thankful for...
~ the time off my husband has had from his work.  I'm glad he had some vacation days to take, and we could be together.

~ my boy being healthy.  I realized last week that he had perfect attendance so far this school year (as well as the spring semester of last year).  This week he has started coughing and I feel so bad for him to not be able to make it stop.  He's acted like he feels find, just coughing.  Praying he will be normal soon!

~ being here in our home for a full year now.  The 27th marked one year since we moved in.  What a year of blessings it has been!  I'm so thankful to be here and love our home. 

~ being able to look back at the blessings of the past year and thinking ahead to the new year coming.

~ time with family over the Christmas holidays. 

Have a day of blessings!

Christmas 2011

We have been enjoying Christmas, and it seems to continue!  Last week we went to visit my Mom.  We opened our gifts when we arrived Tuesday night.  Wednesday we spent the day enjoying our gifts mostly.  I looked through my new cookbooks and some new sets of cards.  This is one of the cookbooks I received.  I love Taste of Home cookbooks.  My Mom gets me a different one most years! 
 

On Thursday morning we went to the cemetery to put out the Christmas tree at Peepaw's grave site as we do each year.  In the afternoon we had a Christmas lunch with my Meemaw and later my cousin came over.  We came home on Friday morning.  The temperature dropped and we saw snow on Saturday.  However, it was not very much and did not stick.  It was still pretty to watch as it came down.  Caleb managed to find some snow though to make some snowballs and throw them at the window. 

Saturday night (Christmas Eve) we went out to have dessert.  We have a tradition to go out to eat dessert and then look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve.  This year we went to Logan's and shared the HUGE brownie fudge sundae.  Caleb opened one gift when we came home.  It was a recorder for him to learn to play tunes. 

Sunday morning we went to get Caleb out of bed and opened our stockings and gifts.  Then we had biscuits and chocolate gravy for our breakfast before getting ready for church services.  We came home to a nice meal (my Meemaw had given us a ham so we ate that with some leftover vegetables from my Mom's plus desserts!) and spent the rest of the day at home. 

Daddy and Caleb worked a long time on this, K'Nex Rippin' Rocket 2 Coaster.  It is a neat but took a long time to put together!  Caleb has had fun with it. 

 

Monday we put up the tree and decorations and then went to some sales.  I got some decorations for next  year. 

Tuesday we had a visit from my Dad and his friend Jan.  We had lunch, and I fixed him a birthday cake (his birthday is on the 1st) using a recipe from my new book called German Chocolate Cheesecake.  They gave Caleb this fun game "UNO Roboto."  We played it several times tonight and had a lot of fun playing and laughing. 

We will continue the fun as we visit with more family over the weekend!  I hope you are having a good week. I've loved having both of my boys home for a few days.   

Have a day of blessings!

Merry Christmas!

"So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,  and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."  Luke 2:16-20

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

Today for Thankful Thursday, I am so thankful for so many things.

~ my husband having days off from work.  I'm glad we get to spend some times over the holidays with both my boys at home for a few days. 

~ my sweet boy's laughter as he watches "Tom and Jerry" episodes.  It is such a delightful sound!  It makes us all smile and laugh to hear him laughing!   

~ our Christmas vacation.  I so enjoyed having a stay home day on Monday in our pajamas and then Tuesday having my helper boy with me as I ran errands.

~ yummy Christmas treats.  There are so many good ones!  I couldn't pick a favorite I don't think.  I love that there are traditional things I know my Mom will make each year!  Plus she likes to make whatever we may ask for special too (like the cheese ball my husband asked for this year).

~ and today is a special day in my heart.  This day in 2005 was also a Thursday.  In the morning we'd driven to the hospital to put up a few Christmas decorations in Peepaw's hospital room, including a tabletop Christmas tree.  He passed away later that evening.  I miss him so much, his hugs and phone calls.  This year I'm so thankful for the memories I have of him and all the things we did together.  We plan to take a mini Christmas tree to sit at his graveside as has been our tradition each year now that he is no longer with us. 

Merry Christmas to you and your family!  I hope you are enjoying this festive season, making special memories with those you love, and realizing the love of the Savior who come as a little Baby for each of us.
Have a day of blessings!
 

Our Jesse "tree"

I've read about the Jesse tree on other blogs during past Christmas seasons.  It was something I wanted us to do as a family and remembered in time this year to prepare. 
The Jesse tree is a way to count down the days until Christmas by showing the lineage of Jesus.  It is based on the verse Isaiah 11:1: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots."  Each day in December through Christmas you put on a new ornament that symbolizes a part of Christ's genealogy. 

There are many different ways to make one.  You can do a search for Jesse tree and find plenty of ideas and options.  Another search I did was "free printable Jesse tree ornaments."  Find something that works for you and your family to make it the most meaningful. It can be an actual tree or others I've read about make it into a calendar where you flip over one card each day. 

Ann Voskamp has a free Jesse tree devotional book that is helpful.  It has the verses, pictures and a devotional thought for each day.   

This is what we did. First I found some free printable ornaments.  This is the link for the ones I printed.  Next I colored each one, wrote the number of the day on the corner of each, cut them out, and glued them to red and green scrapbooking paper before laminating them. 

Each day we cut out a new square. We review the previous symbols and talk about how they are all linked and add the new symbol for the day. 

We couldn't decide how to display our ornaments.  I noticed this long section of our wall that was just the right width for our ornaments so we hang them there on a ribbon each  night. 

We have all enjoyed doing this and have learned from it as well.  It has been a great way to count down the days until Christmas because we are reminded of Christ.  He had a plan for us and all the pieces fit together in that plan through the years from Creation until His birth. 

I would also say don't make this "one more thing" to add to your list of things to do during the Christmas season.  It is a great way to get your focus on Christ in my opinion.  Take some time and make it a memorable experience for your family if you choose to make your own Jesse tree. 

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

My heart is filled with so much gratitude today for all the blessings of the Lord.  Join us for Thankful Thursday over at Grace Alone this month. 

Today I am thankful for...
~ my husband.  This morning I called to thank him for all he did last night.  When he got home I was about to cut up the chicken for chicken fajitas.  He got home just in time to do that part (that he knows I don't like very much but can do if I "have" to) and then cooked the meal too while I finished up some treat bags for his coworkers.  It made me smile this morning to see he had also cleaned out a pan.  I'd baked this week, and after dividing up the treats, some of the bars were stuck around the edges.  He had cleaned all that off for me to make it so much easier to wash.  So sweet!

~ my boy.  I'm so thankful he's healthy and such a happy, loving, sensitive boy.  The things he has told me this week touch my heart.  We've told him about the baby that we have in Heaven, his big sister.  This week he randomly started talking about her and it just touched me. 

~ getting to be the "room Mom" in my boy's class.  I love that the kids know me, and I appreciate their hugs when they see me.  Today I got to go for the class party and help them make wreath ornaments. 

~ surprises in the mail!  I've received three different ones this week, besides all the fun Christmas cards we are getting.  Monday night our doorbell rang, and we had a delivery from a friend.  She sent us all three gifts, so thoughtful and unexpected!  I got a caroling Christmas wall clock.   Then in the mail Wednesday I had a fat envelope with a Precious Moments return address.  I wasn't expecting anything.  As a member of their collector's club they had sent some little gifts to commemorate their 30th anniversary.  It made me smile and I had the thought that it felt like a little surprise from Peepaw as he was the one who got me started on Precious Moments.  The gifts were a reusable bag, magnet, window cling, and pretty Christmas ornament. 

~ the pretty lights decorating so many houses all over town.  The white lights on the trees in the yard across the street look so pretty twinkling in our front door window and make me smile. 

~ oh and one more I can't forget adding!  I was so excited to see a friend in Michael's this week that I haven't seen in years!  When I was in college I babysat her daughter after school and she was also the flower girl in our wedding.  It was so nice to see he, see pictures of her grown up daughter and catch up. 

Have a day of blessings!

Join me today at Laced with Grace!

I have a question for you today as you are busy with holiday festivities.  Join me over at Laced with Grace.  Thank you!

Have a day of blessings!

Thankful Thursday

It's time to pause once again for Thankful Thursday.  This month we are meeting at Grace Alone.

It feels like time is going to fast.  Yesterday I was super busy running errands in town.  My husband called to say he was going home.  He had not been feeling well for a couple of days with allergies, and he decided to go home to rest.  I had gone by the grocery store as my last stop to pick up a couple of items.  I knew I wouldn't have time to take the milk home though before I went to pick up Caleb.  So when he called me I asked if he'd stop and let me meet him to give him the milk to take home.  I waited for him at a park.  It was nice to just stop and be still for a few moments.  I watched the ducks eat from the ground and then fly up and over to the pond.  I enjoyed sitting in the sunshine as the snow from earlier in the week melted.  It was a nice break in my day. 

Today I'm thankful for...
~  time with my husband last weekend going to the Casting Crowns concert.  We had such a great time!

~  making Christmas muffins with my boy.  We had fun mixing them up together.  It was a recipe I'd found on another blog earlier this year and printed to use this holiday season.  I can't remember where I found it though!

~  waking up to a beautiful snowy morning earlier this week.

~  decorating our house for Christmas.  We enjoyed choosing a tree and getting out our decorations.  I'm so thankful to be here this year! 

~  getting Christmas cards in the mail.  We have received 4 so far.  I am still working on writing ours to get them mailed out. 

Have a day of blessings!

Happy December!

December is off to a busy start.  I always love this time of year and the memories associated with our traditions. 

December 2 is the day my husband asked me to be his wife back in 2000.  This year we were blessed to go to a Casting Crowns concert that night.  I ordered our tickets back in October I think and found a free hotel room using some points I'd earned from taking online surveys!  We loved the concert.  I will share some of my favorite songs from the new "Come to the Well" CD here on my blog sometime. 

Sunday afternoon after church we bought our Christmas tree.  The boys got it in the stand and put the lights on.  My husband went to put the star on top and was trimming a branch to make the star fit when he snipped a wire of the lights so the lights had to be replaced! 

We woke up Monday morning to this....

Caleb was so excited and had a plan to throw snowballs at Daddy when he got out of his truck after work.  There was some snow left after school so he threw a few at me.  Then when it was close to time for Daddy to get home he went back out, and his plan worked.  He really caught Daddy by surprise! 

We got to finish decorating the tree Monday evening.  I believe this was the first time I've ever decorated a Christmas tree when there was snow on the ground outside!  Caleb and I also set out my Precious Moments Nativity.  I love to see how he will place each piece. 

I love taking all the ornaments out of the boxes and thinking about the special memories associated with each one...the people that have given them or why they were bought.  We buy a family ornament each year to represent something from that year.  It made me smile to find the one from last year I'd bought that said "God Bless Our New Home" with a slot for a picture of us.  When I first saw it in the store I wasn't sure if we'd have our new home by Christmas so it was special to get to hang that on the tree this year.  Our ornament from this year is one we bought in Colorado on our fun family vacation there this summer. 

I have many things on my list that need to get done.  This week I'm working on Christmas cards and our family letter.  The things on my list honestly don't stress me out.  I try to plan and set goals for what I can realistically accomplish in a day and work towards that.  I like having the list written down and being able to cross things off the list as they get done.  It also helps me see what needs to be done so I can space it out and not leave too much till I don't have time to accomplish anything! 

One new thing we are doing this year is a Jesse tree.  I will have to do another blog post about that sometime. 

I hope you are enjoying the month of December!  Make happy memories!  Don't become consumed with things you think you have to get done instead of enjoying the season!

Have a day of blessings!

SSMT #23

I'm late getting up my new verse but here it is. 

"Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.  He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous."  I John 3:7

Have a day of blessings!

Book Review: Softly & Tenderly

I have read the book Softly & Tenderly by Sara Evans with Rachel Hauck, published by Thomas Nelson. 

Jade desires to begin a family with her husband Max; however, she is barren.  The life she enjoys comes crashing down when she finds out about her in laws' secrets as well as a secret her husband has kept hidden through their marriage....a secret she is not sure she can handle.  Max has an infant son.   Add to this Jade's mother Beryl is dying of leukemia and wants to go home to die.  Jade ends up taking Beryl back home to the farmhouse in Iowa, which brings back painful memories of her childhood and absent mother.  This is a book about lies and trust, secrets, death, and forgiveness. 

The book ends leaving the reader with many questions, which I assume will be answered in the next book.  When I requested this book for review, I did not realize this was part of a series.  I wasn't sure I liked the book as I got into it.  Overall, it was an easy read, just not the best book I've ever read.  Also, I disagreed with the comparison on the front of the book comparing this author to Karen Kingsbury.  This did not have the same feel for me as a Karen Kingsbury book in my opinion. 

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

I'm so excited December is here (although November sure did fly by quickly).  I love this time of year, remembering the special memories from previous years and making new memories together as a family.  This year I'm particularly excited to be in our home and get to decorate!  Last year we didn't move all our stuff in until December 27.  We were actually here on Christmas morning (we'd moved our beds so we could wake up here on Christmas morning), but it will be our first year to decorate here.  We have the tubs down from the attic, and I've looked through some of the decorations.  I'm not sure when we will put it up  yet! 

This week I am thankful for...
~ my husband asking me to marry him 11 years ago on December 2. ;)

~ my boy's excitement over his time at the deer lease last weekend.  His Pawpaw gave him the bb gun he'd bought when Caleb was born.  I loved taking pictures as he figured out how to use it and then tried it out.  It was special for me to observe and to see his Daddy and uncles be part of the time too. 

~ being able to volunteer at the school.  I go to the library on Monday afternoons.  This week I took down her Thanksgiving posters and book displays and put up Christmas decorations.  It was fun for me. 

~ all the family we got to see over Thanksgiving and safe travel while we were on the roads.

~ our warm coats.  I was reminded this morning on the radio of how there are many who don't have warm coats to put on each morning.

Have a day of blessings!