My Husband Rocks Fridays!!!

My husband rocks this Friday because he is working like a crazy person and he did the dishes for me!!

Egg Nog

Okay now I have officially had it and can I just say YUM-O!!!

My Husband Rocks This Friday...

Just because he does...........and he is spending all day with us on Saturday, Jayden and I dont ever get that so its a big treat.

Christmas Survey

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate.......I actually have never had egg nog

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa? who's that?

3. Colored lights on house/tree or white lights? white. always white.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? no, but that's a good idea. maybe next year.

5. When do you put your decorations up? the day after Thanksgiving (my favorite day of the year)

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? dressing, some people call it stuffing.

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? probably the decorations.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I think deep down, I always knew.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? yes

10. How do you decorate your tree? bulbs, lights and ornaments

11. Snow! Love it or dread it? never seen it really...... i've seen the little bit of sleet we get here in Texas, that's it.

12. Can you ice skate? yes. love it.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I love all gifts.

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays for you? being with family and seeing Jayden open gifts.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? my husbands pumpkin roll

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? decorating the tree and the house the day after Thanksgiving and not a day later, Black Friday shopping, opening a gift Christmas Eve, and day after Christmas shopping. If you cant tell gifts is my love language.

17. What tops your Christmas tree? a star

18. Which do you prefer-giving or receiving? i love both.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? I cant choose, I love them all.

20. Candy Canes- yuck or yum? eh.

21. What do you want for Christmas? I have a whole list if you really are interested????

22. Do you attend an annual Christmas party? usually at the church and my grandparents Christmas party.

23. Do you dress up on Christmas or wear PJs? PJs during family breakfast and presents. Then we will dress up before family dinner.

24. Do you own a Santa hat? no

25. Who do you normally spend Christmas with? Just Jonathan and Jayden and then this year we are starting the tradition of a Christmas Dinner that family is invited to.

I love Christmas!!!!!!!! :-)

.....but I love The Bachelor

So, our church has decided to do a challenge for the month of January to close our minds off to all secular media and focus more on family and our relationship with God. The rules are this:

1. No TV
2. No Music unless it is Christian
3. No Internet (unless used for work purposes)
4. 30 minute family devotional each day
5. Journal your experience

Okay well for most people, one or two of these will be hard for them and the others not so hard. Other than the Christian music thing because that's all I pretty much listen to anyways, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE WILL BE HARD FOR ME!!!!

30 minutes of a family devotional will be hard because we have never been able to even do 5 minutes. It might help that all the small groups have to start January 1 doing that bible in a year so I will have tons to read which will hopefully help with the 30 min. devotional thing.

I don't even know where to begin with the no TV rule. I don't feel that I am obsessed with the TV but when a particular show that I like is in season I don't want to miss an episode. I just got finished with Dancing With The Stars and I did not miss an episode.

I have been so excited because about 3 weeks ago, I found out that the all new season of The Bachelor kicks off January 5th. I am totally obsessed with this show no matter who the contestants are but this one is every so important because they pick Jason, the jilted bachelor from last seasons Bachelorette to be The Bachelor. Then about a week later I get the news of the January Challenge at church. One of the main things Pastor Phil said was that its all about doing what works for you. If you cant do one of the rules don't feel like you cant do any of the other challenges, just give it your best. Great, my out to do the challenge except for Wednesdays from 6-8 and still feel good about myself. Or so I thought.....

So last Monday I was getting very excited about The Bachelor because I had just seen a commercial about it and I was on my way to work so I figured I would call my best friend Danica and let her know that we were on for watching it together every week(we love gabbing about the show) and literally as I almost pushed the speed dial to call her a song came on. Now normally a song could have come on and I would have not even paid attention but this particular song is one of my favorites now so when given the chance to hear it I will usually stop what I am doing and turn it up to listen and sing along. Naturally I know the words to the song and what the song is about but little did I know that as I was singing a song that I had sung thousands of times before it would convict me in a whole new way.

I know that wordy blogs can sometimes be annoying but I really felt like this was a story I wanted to share and I could give you bits and pieces of the lyrics but I want to share the whole song with you:

Empty Me
by American Idol Contestant Chris Sligh

I've had just enough of the spotlight when it burns bright
to see how it gets in the blood.
and I've tasted my share of the sweet life and the wild ride
and found a little is not quite enough.
i know how i can stray
and how fast my heart could change.

empty me of the selfishness inside
every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
and any foolish thing my heart holds to
lord empty me of me so i can be filled with you.

I've seen just enough of the quick buys of the best lies
to know how prodigals can be drawn away.
i know how i can stray
and how fast my heart could change.

empty me of the selfishness inside
every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
and any foolish thing my heart holds to
lord empty me of me so i can be filled with you.

cause everything is a lesser thing
compared to you, compared to you.
cause everything is a lesser thing
compared to you so why surrender all?

empty me of the selfishness inside
every vain ambition and the poison of my pride

empty me of the selfishness inside
every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
and any foolish thing my heart holds to
lord empty me of me so i can be
lord empty me of me so i can be filled with you.
oh, filled with you.
empty me.

That is it right there, its like BINGO, I get it. "and any foolish thing my heart holds to Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with you". The Bachelor is foolish as is anything on TV really. Foolishly, it is something my heart holds to and does not want to let go of. Do I want to be filled with The Bachelor or filled with God?? Easy answer for sure!! Why is it an easy answer?? Because "everything is a lesser thing compared to you".

I don't think any song could be a more perfect theme song for this challenge!! I am going to need serious prayer and accountability for the month of January. To be able to keep the commitment that I so badly do want to keep. I am going to keep my Journal online because its easier or me that on notepad. So I will get to share with you in my journey along the way. Thanks to everyone for listening to me ramble on and on.

Any comments??????

My Husband Rocks Fridays!!!

My husband rocks today and everyday for so many reasons. I am celebrating how much he rocks today because he is going to help me finish putting up the lights and getting our Christmas Tree this year even though it seems almost pointless now because we are so late doing this year. We might not have Christmas stuff up yet but we are enjoying our laziness together!!

Our Thanksgiving Holiday!!

Well, we went to Georgia for Thanksgiving and I must say that driving through the night is no easy task but it was well worth it to have Jayden asleep 11 hours out of a 16 hour trip. We left Monday night at 10pm and I took the 10pm to 7 am driving shift while Jonathan and Jayden slept in the back and then he took the 7 am to 3 pm shift. We had Thanksgiving with my mom, Joe and all of us girls.

After Thanksgiving dinner we all went out side and took family pictures and that was actually fun this year because we did it in my parents back yard instead of in a studio.


Then after all the picture taking we loaded up in the car and went to our annual Stone Mountain Christmas in Stone Mountain Georgia. It was a blast!! Just cold enough but not miserably cold. The Polar Express 4-D was really cool and one of the highlights for sure!!



All in all it was a wonderful trip but nothing beats being back home!!! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

My Husband Rocks this Holiday Friday.....

because we got up at 4:30 to go do all of the Black Friday shopping and then when I was too tired to start driving home tonight he said we could stay one more day. Yeah!!!!

My Husband Rocks Fridays!!!

My husband rocks this Friday because he has been so strong for Jayden and I during the loss of our cat Lucy. She was closer to Jonathan than any of us. My hubby also rocks because lets me tickle him even when he does not want to be tickled!!!

Our Dear Lucy 11/15/2004 - 11/20/2008

There are no words to describe the sadness in my heart right now. We will miss you so much our sweet Lucy. I really believe that we will see you again one day!!! We Love You Lucy!!

Our Wonderful Sunday!!

Our Sunday was so wonderful this week. We spent it just a family enjoying each others company and enjoying nature(our favorite thing) at the San Antonio Zoo.

Shipley's is Jayden's favorite thing about Sundays!!

The Jaguars are one of her favorites!!
and of course she loves the turtles
mommy and Jayden love the reptiles!!
except for when they get too close!!!

Girls Day

So, this past Saturday, we had a girls day where all the girls in the family got up on Saturday morning and went to Gruene Market Days and then to eat at The Tea Room. Going to all of the little shops was fun and eating at an overpriced girly restaurant is always fun. But, the best part is when you find a pair of ridiculous glasses at a store and you can't help but try them on. Me and My sister n law could not resist!!

Finally, some Halloween Weekend Pictures

It was so wonderful this year to just pretend like there was no Halloween and forget about all the costumes and candy and go camping. My family and I LOVE camping and we had not been since July so it was such a joy to go. It was also cold which made it that much more fun to sit around a campfire. Perdenales Falls State Park in Johnson City was beautiful!!!

This is Jayden and her best friend Carmen!!
Everyone who knows me, knows I am goofy!!!

me making breakfast tacos the next morning.
The whole gang about to go hiking!!
It was over a 50ft cliff but once we climbed to the top the view was amazing!!!



It was wonderful!! I love Camping!!

"Don't look at other people and envy them - look at them and think that perhaps they envy something about you. There is always something that you have that someone else doesn't."

Gal. 5:25 "Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original."

Gal. 6:4 "Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don't be impressed with yourself. Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."

Enjoy your day!

Jennifer

My Husband Rocks Fridays!!!

My husband rocks today because last night my back was in tremendous pain and he rubbed it till I fell asleep on the couch and then when I went to get into bed he had my heating pad already on and heated up. He also works so hard to provide for his family and I love him so much.

I should be ashamed of myself.......

I am ashamed of myself. That I let myself have such a pity party today!!

When you are tempted to complain, remember you have much to be thankful for!

Luke 12:48b “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.”

Forgive me!!!!

When It Rains It Pours!!!!!

Could today have gotten any worse!! I woke up not being able to get my day going the right way, I left late for work, did not realize till this morning that Jayden's tuition was due the day before so it was late. Then I got to work and broke a nail and my shoe and had to go at work all day barefoot. My dress shoes that I broke when tripping were the only pair I had so it felt like a really big deal when it happened. All of this might not seem like very much, but on an emotional morning, all of that happening within a span of one hour was just about more than I could take for the day.

Barak Oboma

I could not have said it any better than my old youth pastor Timmy Gibson......


I have been watching and feeling the vibe of people in America, both from the Republicans and Democrats and I must say there is a feeling I get that one group almost feels that Obama is the Christ (the anointed one to set us free from all our troubles) and the other group feels that Obama is the anti-Christ (the deceiver, who has come to overthrow all things good).

Both these extremes are just plain goofy if you ask me! Obama is neither the Christ or the anti-Christ! I think some of the religious crowd have read way too many of the Left Behind books and think that Obama is Nicoli Carpathia. And for those who feel that Obama is the Christ are putting their hope in the wrong thing (person), our hope should be in Jesus Christ, the ruler of all – the true deliverer! Our hope should never be in Government to fix all our woes … we should look to Christ.

So, I guess I am issuing a warning here to both groups:

Jeremiah 17:5-8
This is what the LORD says:"Cursed is the one who trusts in man,who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.He will be like a bush in the wastelands;he will not see prosperity when it comes.He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,in a salt land where no one lives."But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,whose confidence is in him.He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.It does not fear when heat comes;its leaves are always green.It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

My Husband Rocks Fridays!!!

My husband rocks this Friday because he is taking me to Madagascar 2 tonight and then to play games at home....and he is not working on Saturday. My man ROCKS this Friday!!

Its very simple.........

my husband rocks Fridays because he is taking me camping this weekend!!!!

Obama, McCain, at this point I just want it to be November 5th. Is that bad???? I am just sick and tired of it all!!!! Of course that does not mean I am not voting, of course I am, I am just still tired of all that goes with a presidential election. More than anything, with either one of these goof balls, we need Jesus Christ in 08!!

It might seem small!!!

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted a yard that had the perfect tree for me to do this to. We always drive past peoples yards and I beg Jonathan to let me do this one day.
Finally, we were able to do it. We went to Home Depot, picked out all the stuff and I was so excited!!! Of course once we got home and the work of actually digging up the grass in that whole entire 6 foot circumference of the tree kicked in I was wondering for a split second what in the world I was thinking. But playing in the dirt and planting the flowers was way more fun!!! I am just so happy!!!
Although we had some high winds today and the flowers did not seem too happy about that so I just have to hope that they will be able to revive and that it did not kill them for good. I am already thinking about the next little project I want to do. It is so exciting to have a yard!!

Menu Planning Monday

Monday

Lasagna
Garlic Bread
Corn/Green beans
Salad

Tuesday
Chicken breasts
rice
cream gravy
veggies

Wednesday
church night

Thursday night
Chicken Parmesan
Garlic Bread
Veggies
Salad

Friday night
WE ARE CAMPING!!!

There we go, at least I did something!!

My Husband Rocks Fridays!!!

My husband rocks this Friday because he was so supportive as I started my first week of work. He also rocks this Friday because he played games with me, spent extra time with me, and rubbed my back Wed. night when I was sick. I love my man!!!!!

loving my new job!!!!

Thank you so much to all of you that have been praying for me the last few days. I love my new job!! It is everything I hoped it would be and a perfect fit to my personality. Tomorrow will be the first day that I take Jayden with me so I guess we will see how that goes. I will keep everyone updated but so far, its a perfect match!!

New Beginnings......

Well tomorrow I start my first job since I was 8 months pregnant which was almost 4 years ago. I am happy, excited, nervous and scared. What if I don't do as good of a job as someone who has not been away from the work place for so long?? What if I forget how some things are done??? What if something happens to Jayden and they get mad because I have to leave???? There are just so many questions running through my head and I always think the worst of things, actually the worst of myself. I really want to help contribute to our family and help lighten Jonathan's load. I want so badly for this job to work and I want so badly for them to like me, but what if they don't???? What if it takes me too long to catch on?????
I cant imagine not being around Jayden all day and loving on her, kissing on her, reading books, going for walks. How will I let go of that part of my life???? I have never been away from her like this. She starts first grade in 2 years and I wanted to savor these next two years as much as I can and spend as much time with her as possible and now I won't have all the time I thought I would have. Okay, now I am really started to scare myself and make myself VERY nervous so I am going to go to bed and hope for the best. I work tomorrow from 9-4. If you read this blog before or during those times, please pray for me. Please pray that God will give me a calm spirit and help me to not think about Jayden and everything I am possibly missing and that someone else is getting to see with her. Help bring to remembrance all the things I need for this job. Pray that his hand is over me as I embark on this new part of my life because I have so many emotions running through me right now its almost more than my heart can handle.

Q10

I got to use my Q10 among many other letters but as much as I LOVE Scrabble I can never win no matter how hard I try. Not only can I not win but I can not even stay within 100 points of people, especially my husband who is some sort of scrabble aficionado but tonight I beat him!!! That's right, I beat him!!!!! I may never do it again but for tonight, victory never tasted so sweet!!!!!!!

Monday Menu Planning

Monday

Turkey Spaghetti
Garlic Bread
Veggies

Tuesday

Hamburgers
French Fries

Wednesday

Leftovers

Thursday

Tacos
Spanish Rice

Friday

eating at a friends house!!

I definitely went for EASY this week. This is my first week at my new job and until I figure out how that's going to go, I did not want the added stress of cooking anything new or time consuming.

Happy Birthday!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday my hunky hunky husband
Happy Birthday to you!!

motivation....

Why is it that when I have the most to do, I feel absolutely lazy!!!!!!!!! I have so much to do today. I have my nephews birthday party from 2-4 and my husbands birthday and our housewarming party tonight from 6-??. So, that means that I have 10-1 and then 4-5 for a total of 4 hours to get everything on my list done. Here is a list of what I have to do:

1. sweep all tile flooring
2. mop all tile flooring
3. clean the kitchen
4. clean up toy room
5. clean up master bedroom
6. clean both bathrooms
7. vacuum all carpet area
8. dust
9. Windex
10. bake brownies
11. bake french fries
12. bake the beans
13. get all the fixings together for the hamburgers
14. Set up the table and chairs outside
15. Finish hanging the lights outside
16. set up the table with all the food on it
17. weed eat some of the weeds in the back yard

Now my really big problem is that I cannot do #14, #15 or #17 without Jonathan. These are the things that will take the longest and the things I am stressing about the most. What would really help is if I could do the things by myself but I don't think that is realistic. They are simply things that would be too hard for me to do on my own. Jonathan is in Bastrop today but will hopefully be home by 1 so that he will have an hour to do some of the things. But if not, I will have him for like an hour and a half before we need to be ready for people to start showing up. I hate being stressed last minute or still putting stuff together when people are arriving. But I am afraid that is whats going to happen.

I guess I should save #10-13 till the last hour before people show up so that it will be fresh and ready to go and then I can put all the food out right before people start getting here.

I really need some help, or direction. This is when I wish my mom was here, she would give me the order I should do stuff and she would be over here helping. But nobody is here so I guess I need to figure it out on my own. Even now, I should be starting my list instead of blogging about it. Okay, seriously I am going to get to work.

My Husband Rocks Fridays!!!

My husband rocks this Friday because tomorrow we'll be celebrating his entry into this world. It amazes me how the Lord planned before the beginning of time to put me and him together, and he formed him so perfectly for me. In his mother's womb, God made Jonathan wonderfully and fearfully in His image. He made Jonathan's mind, heart and soul to fit just right with my mind, heart and soul, so that when we would come together it would be a better reflection of His love than if we were apart. I love my birthday man!

Wednesday is a wonderful refuel.....

So tonight Jayden seemed to do fine. She went to Awanas with no medicine in her and seemed to not show much pain. When she came home she ate with no medicine on her sore and when I was bathing her she actually let me wash her mouth which is a BIG step. I guess only time will tell but hopefully it is going to start getting better.

Jayden LOVES AWANAS, she looks forward to it every week and tonight, she earned her vest. So from this point on, she will start getting her patches. What a big girl she is, learning memory verses. While Jayden is at AWANAS, we are at small group a couple of streets down for that hour and a half and can I just say what a blessing it is. Tonight was actually our first Wed. and I cannot wait for all the other Wed. to come. It has been 5 years since we belonged to a small group and we have actually checked out a couple here and there and neither one of us felt comfortable. This one, is a match from the beginning!!!! It feels safe and comfortable there and I am not one to feel comfortable talking in crowds. Now if I can only get my husband to actually commit to be there, it will be great. Its funny how a simple hour and half away from children, with adults, and in Gods word can just give you that little jolt you need for the rest of the week. To the people in my small group, thanks for being invaluable!!

I think the words to this song I use to sing when I was a little girls says it all:

"There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place
And I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord
There are sweet expressions on each face
And I know they feel the presence of the Lord

Sweet Holy Spirit... sweet heavenly dove...
Stay right here with us
Filling us with Your love

And for these blessings
We lift our hearts in praise
Without a doubt we know
That we’ll have been revived
When we shall leave this place"

another sleepless night!!!!!!!

well Jayden was exhausted last night and practically falling asleep in her dinner but by the time we got her a bath and put her in bed she was obviously in pain. We had another up all night with the pain of her canker. I have not yet looked at it this morning but I will give her another dose of medicine with breakfast!! Please Lord heal her mouth by Friday!!

Is it just wishful thinking????????????

Maybe it is but I gave Jayden a does of her canker medicine at 5pm so by 9 it should have been wearing off and she usually would start complaining. It does not look any better to me, but without giving her a dose before dinner like I normally would she ate corn, mac n cheese and garlic bread. That has to be a sign that some of the pain is going away. I so hope so!!!!!!! We shall see in the morning but at the moment it looks like there might be an end in sight. Thank you God for answering our prayers!!

first thoughts early in the morning.......

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with you.

A prayer offered up in faith will restore the one who is sick...... James 5:15

Ok, I of all people I know canker sores and how painful they are. I have suffered with them my entire life or at least for as long as I can remember. I have had up to 4 in my mouth at a time. But something I just cant handle is when my daughter gets them. For a while at the beginning of the summer we were having problems with her getting them all the time till I read somewhere that it might be a vitamin deficiency so we put her on vitamins and after a few weeks her canker problems seemed to go away. Now we were down to her having a small one every now and then.

But this past week, two things happened:

1. We were moving and though it is no excuse and I cant help but think its my fault. I just got off schedule of making sure she took them everyday

2. She just had a bad bought of a stomach virus that the pharmacist said could leave her with some cankers due to the acidity she had when she was throwing up.

one or both of these I am guessing is the cause for two cankers in her mouth right now, one being the inside corner and about the size of my pinkie nail. It is so painful for her she can hardly swallow her own spit much less anything else. Its the kind of canker that simply throbs no matter what you do.

Last night was sleepless and she would wake up every hour moaning and discomforted by all the pain. This morning she got a few hours of sleep and then the rest of the day was accompanied by pain and no food and several random sips of milk. So, this afternoon I went to the pharmacist at HEB who told me about a over the counter medicine that I should try. When I got home she laid down on the couch and amazingly enough fell asleep for about 2 hours. When she woke up the pain was worse than ever and her cheek actually looked swollen and her lips dried and cracked from her lack of moving them and liquid inside her so I forced her to let me put this medicine on her sore. She was irate and screamed bloody murder but I guess it worked because she continued to sleep and then woke up in wonderful spirits and had 2 bowls of ice cream (I know, I am a horrible parent) and for the first time in two days she was in wonderful spirits and pain free.

The only downside was the almost 5 hour nap she took in the evening time. So here we are up till 11:45 playing because she cannot sleep. When I realized it was getting close to midnight and the medicine would be wearing off soon I told her to brush our teeth. For the first time in two days she let me get over and brush her teeth on that side of her mouth for like 2 seconds and then I could tell the pain was coming back, SO......... we went through the irate screaming one more time, I put the medicine on and then I drew a warm bath and bathed her, washed her hair and loved on her in the tub. I got her out put her jammies on, put her in bed and I don't think she stayed awake even a minute after that.

Now its 12:40am and I am so exhausted but more than anything I ache for my little girl. A three year old should not experience theses kinds of cankers. I hope it is nothing other than the side effects of her being sick and having that flu. I have prayed for her every night for the past two nights that God would take her pain away because I knew that He could and because He loves her more than Jonathan or I could love her. I wish he had chosen to take her pain away.

Faith is where I ALWAYS struggle. Its plain and simple, I don't have faith most of the time. I try to but deep down I guess a lot of times I don't feel he will answer my prayers. I take them to God already assuming He wont answer them and I know that's wrong. I know God says to ask in "faith" without any doubting but I think I ask things and pray for things already doubting and I don't even realize its my attitude. I need so much help in the area of faith. How do I build that up??

Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God." STILL ... what a simple concept and one I can not seem to accomplish.

First week of Menu Planning Monday

Okay, so I guess I am going to try to back into the swing of things when it comes to cooking. I love cooking and planning meals and trying new things but lately I have gotten very complacent....okay fine, lazy. It was so easy when we were packing and moving to make excuses to eat out and not cook but now that I am settled into my new home I really want to focus on getting back on track. The thing that makes it the most difficult I think is finding new things to cook. I am in a cooking RUT!!!! If anyone knows any recipes they think I should try, please give them to me and likewise if you see something on my menu you are interested in, just ask.

Monday

Bacon wrapped fillets
Mashed Potatoes
steamed veggies (carrots, broccoli and cauliflower)
Garlic bread
Chocolate chip cookies

Tuesday

Ground turkey spaghetti
Steamed veggies (corn and green beans)
Garlic bread
dessert

Wednesday

is always leftovers or something quick because it is AWANAS and small group night

Thursday

Beef Tacos
rice and beans
dessert

Friday

Is Jayden's fall festival at school and I luck out on cooking because we are eating there.

I totally went for easy this week as I am easing myself back into the mode of things.... but hopefully by putting it out there for all to see, it is giving me a level of accountability!

In the mood to ponder on the things that make me happy!!

as I sit in the office and look outside and see our backyard and beautiful trees I am so overwhelmed with joy. Let us all try to re-focus on the good and not the bad and on finding the Joy of the Lord in every day.
So ...

Things that make me happy ...

1. the moment that the sun breaks on a winters day

2. when a sleepy little girl wants a back scratch

3. making my husband a lunch that I know will fill his stomach, reduce the stress on his wallet and contains something he wasn't expecting

4. phone calls that stretch across states and connect hearts (even if face to face would make me happier)

5. that feeling following prayer when you've purged your heart and a weight has been lifted

6. dinner and coffee with friends

7. FALL ... finally, my sweatshirts are able to make an appearance

8. hot chocolate with my husband

9. friends who share laughter and tears

10. laundry that is done, folded and put away

11. cold sheets occupied by warm hearts

12. the promise of a date with my husband

13. music that leads me into worship, even if I'm cleaning the toilet

14. "light bulb moments" when we're trying to learn a new skill

15. people who want to be known

16. Christmas season

17. hot soup and warm bread (yes, even I like the occasional soup)

18. the feeling I get when house guests are about to arrive for a night of dinner and games- it's the same feeling that I used to get when I was young and trying to go to sleep before Christmas morning ... I just love preparing to have people over

19. knowing that I've helped someone

20. driving nowhere with Jonathan

21. camping!! I cannot wait to experience it in the fall

22. knowing my husband is coming home

23. completing a project (why don't I do this more if I like it so much ... hmmm)

24. did I mention Christmas???

25. the memory of the ocean crashing against the beach ...someday I could live in Cali again

26. baked sweet potatoes.... what the heck, the whole Thanksgiving meal!!

27. New kitchen appliances, they just make me giddy

28. new tennis shoes (New Balance please)

29. books that captivate me for a time

30. my new brownie recipe ... I think it's about time for a batch!

Snapshots Into My Life

I don't know why I am even willing to do this while I am only 5 days into moving but I guess its because I know I am not perfect and I don't pretend to be. So here is my life........oh and by the way I tag Jenny and Anne and Becky.

So the rules to Snapshots Into My Life are simple. You just take pictures of what it asks you to the minute you want to do this. No fixing anything, no staging anything, just candid pictures.

Favorite Destination is Cozumel Mexico! I don't know if I will ever be able to go back to this place but it was the first real vacation we ever took as a family. It was one of the most enjoyable 10 days I have ever had.

Self Portrait of me would of course be on a day when I have been running in a million different directions since I got up at 7:30 am and now it is almost 3pm. Oh well, that's the life of a mom!!

What the kids are doing???? Today is a Thursday so when I pick her up from school, we come home have lunch, dessert, play a little and then she becomes a zombie in front of the TV for Dora The Explorer. ps.... I hope this picture is not considered inappropriate seeing that she is in her T-shirt and panties but I believe the rules were candid pictures...

My Closet since I only moved in 5 days ago is sad to say the least!!

Laundry room really actually does not exist. It is just a carved out area in the garage that has W/D connections. But, I do have to say that I am rather enjoying it. Its amazing to have a load running and not even hear it in the house.

The Refrigerator is one of the exciting things in my house. Since we have lived in apartments since we were married in 2003, they always come with refrigerators and usually ones with teenie tiny freezer sections so when we got to pick out a fridge all on our own it was a momentous occasion!!
Okay fine, and the inside too.....Oh my goodness, is that 3 gallons of blue bell in the freezer!!!
Favorite Room in the house for now would have to be Jaydens room because it is one of the only rooms that is finished so its the only on worth looking at......


yes I know, the batteries are going bad so the times are off on the clocks
The Master Bathroom is blah to say the least, hey don't forget I just moved in!!
The Kitchen sink is not too bad!
My Favorite Shoes are really ANY flip flops but these are the ones I had on!!


The End!!