10 great things in 2010

To remember in the future....

1- MJD started preschool this year!
2- God consistently and faithfully showed His great provisions for us in finances, relationships and strength. Financially this year was rough for business, but for our faith and our finances, God used it all to grow us, show us His faithfulness and teach us what was important.
3- We made another sweet little boy and are watching God protect and provide for him.
4- I've taught school for 5 years and had to finally renew my license.
5- My parents have decided to make some big changes.
6- We hosted our first home Bible study group and God grew us.
7- Tim and I celebrated 5 amazing years of marriage :)
8- We surprised my daddy for his 70th birthday and had a fantastic celebration.
9- Tim made his first attempt at his PE exam, and while he didn't pass this go around it taught us a lot and we know the future will bring his success.
10- As this year closes, I think back and remember many beautiful memories, no matter how bad or how hard a situation was, I find myself contemplating the good and not that bad.

Good bye 2010......Welcome 2011!

While I craft..

So does MJD and it makes my heart happy.

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People?

People fascinate me.....not passing judgment, for I too have been there.

How do excuses become solid justification to pass blame onto others for you not doing God's will?

How can it always be about you and yet you never hold responsibility?

How can truth be known and ignored?

How can you use God for convenience but not seek to follow His desires?

How can people not walk in freedom?

Merry Christmas Eve

I LOVE Christmas!!!!! Like LOVE with a passion.... Maybe it was the way I was raised, maybe it was because of how special my parents made the season for me as a child, who knows, but I love it.

And now that I have my own children and get to be Santa, I want to make the Christmas season special for my sons. Not just the presents and gift giving, but the caroling, the worship services, the family, the meals shared, and the memories made that they will treasure for a lifetime.

So yes, in our home we believe in Santa....I want my kids to be little as long as they can, to enjoy the season of belief and the joys of imagination.

I want the gift giving to be fun and festive, so they learn the joys of giving and the reason behind God's heart of love and His most precious gift.

So in our home we wrap every little present....yes, we shop on a budget, but we sure do have fun.
We make cookies by scratch, leave a note for Santa, make reindeer food, and watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer before bed.

Santa's special plate with a note from Mason....with some help from Mommy.

All the presents wrapped and ready for a very excited little boy to wake up....

The way MJD will find Santa's cookie plate in the morning...crumbs, melted ice and a bag with the ambulance he requested...

Merry Christmas Eve to you and your family. Hope your Santa is good to you. Hope joy fills your home, peace invades your life and you enjoy every precious moment with your loved ones. Our LORD is so good and we give Him praise for all his blessings.

How was your day?

Being Santa can be fun, but all the elf work is a lot harder than it looks!

Cookies made, and several eaten :) Thanks hubby!

Doctor visited.

Calls made, bills paid.

Muffins baked and packaged....and approved by my 3 year old :)

Soaps finished and wrapped in towels....

Presents bought and wrapped.....and hidden!

Dinner made, friends entertained.

Crafts created, finished, packed and blogged about.

Stories read, songs sung, cries stopped, tantrums averted, games played, clothes dirtied, nap taken, and toddler sleeping.

Reindeer food finished and waiting.

Kitchen cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned again.

Dishwasher unloaded, loaded, run and unloaded again!

Business discussed, plans pending, conversations had.

Cuddles given :)

Time for bed.....how was your day friends?

3 Days to go

Til Christmas....

I love it! Can't wait for the family, fun, food, presents, time together and memories made.

Love the fun with my little man.....

Been busy making presents, shopping, planning, and prepping.

Really need to go to sleep.....it's way too late, but Bean baby is awake and kicking so now mommy is awake as well.

Check out my crafty things over here.

Whirlwind week

Whew..it's Friday already. This week has been so busy that tonight is the first night we've had dinner at home and had to clean up a little. While it has been busy, it was also an incredible week full of many blessings.....
Monday night out with the ladies to celebrate my birthday with pedicures and dessert. Such great ladies and so much fun to be around.
Tuesday was a short work day, ultrasound at the doctor to check on our little boy, setting up a little registry for bean, shopping with the hubby and dinner date :)
Wednesday was another birthday celebration with the Smelker family and their beautiful girls. MJD loves them to pieces, even if he did have one of his meltdowns after dinner.
Thursday was family dinner with the in-laws and my last birthday celebration for the week. Love pizza and funfetti cake :)
Tonight I stopped by Bartlett's house on the way home to drop something off and chat and was able to sneak Landon home with MJD and I....love having another little boy in the house. It entertained Mason and Tim and I were able to make dinner together, chat and clean up the house as a team while they giggled and laughed all around us. Felt nice to play a fast forward to what our home may be like in a few years as our boys will be about the same age difference as those two are.

Busy week....setting the stage for a busy weekend to come...but so blessed by the many people God has given me this week. What a great birthday week :)

Little bean

I am waiting in my OB's waiting room with a stack full of photos....

Photos of my new little bean.



I felt like bloging because I have to do something...just too much emotion.
He's too beautiful for words, measuring on target and with a bit of a chunky belly! Imagine that, me having another chunky baby boy!

The technician told me his kidneys are too full, he either hasn't peed yet or he might have a blockage...either way they will run another ultrasound to check him in a few weeks. I have already learned to just trust God with him, so I am not too concerned.

Oh what will you he little bean? What colors will you like, what foods will you enjoy? Will you be shy or loud, overly rambunctious or laid back?
Will you have the same big belly laugh of your brother or the sly grin of your father?
What dreams will you dream, what plans does God have for you, and what lives will you touch?
I can't wait to hold you and meet you and walk you through this life, but until God is ready for us to meet I will keep you warm and safe, feed you, talk to you, protect you, pray for you and make certain you are aware every moment that you are loved, cherished and so greatly desired.

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Daddies and Dinners

I was 16 years old, or right around that age and had been to dinner with my parents and Tim. A family of 4 came into the restaurant we were eating at and perused the menu for a while then decided to eat dinner there. My Dad watched them for a while and we continued with our conversation and meal until our night concluded. I remember my Dad signaling to the waitress who was serving us and talking to her for a moment. I heard him ask her for our check and for the check of the table with the family of 4 who had come in near us. He handed her his credit card and asked the waitress to let the family enjoy their meals and serve them a dessert then let them know their meal had been covered.

This honestly had happened several times in my lifetime and it wasn't something unusual for me to sometimes witness, but I remember this time in particular because as he paid the bill he saw me looking at him and my dad told me, "One day I may not be here to take you somewhere and God will make sure to bring people around to take care of you."

Tonight I was blessed by some beautiful ladies with what seems like an ordinary night out for the girls. Pedicures and dessert. Maybe it's the hormones, or maybe it's just my heart, but being blessed by those beautiful women tonight was more than I had imagined. As we sat around dessert chit chatting and such our waitress came over and told us our check had been covered by a gentleman at another table. :) Yes, this time our table knew who it was, another Daddy....one of my girlfriends' father who was also there for dinner. The gesture, the thought made me think about my sweet daddy and his words...and how true they were. His faithfulness to something he believed in over a decade ago touched my life tonight. Not the check being paid, not the dessert or the pretty toes, but the people God brought into my life to show me love when the ones I miss the most aren't here for me.

Makes me want to work so much harder to show God my faithfulness so He too will watch over and provide for my boys on the days when I can't.