Journal Your Christmas - Days 13, 16, 17 & 30

Continuing to knock out pages in my Journal Your Christmas book, and having a blast.

Day 13:
I have had the layout for this page done for a couple weeks, but just did the journaling last night after taking time to think about it. The page prompt was about presents and any family traditions that go along with them. I used it as a page that I could write down gifts that I want to give the 5 most important people in my life ... and they aren't tangible things that I could wrap.





Day 16:
This isn't really the prompt for day 16, but I got a page or two scrambled here or there. This is to document those who we visited or who would come to visit us over Christmas so I wrote out all of Travis' family and friends that we saw in Ohio.



Day 17:
Another page I did a while back, but I can't remember if I posted it or not. Reminiscing on a favorite gift.



Day 30:
Today's prompt, done today! A look back over 2006.

Journal Your Christmas, con't.

I'm still here. Playing catch up after several days out of town and no internet. *gasp!* I'm amazed I survived. I actually did try to log on at my in-laws to see if someone had her baby, but had computer issues. Turns out I haven't missed any baby news either way. :)

Anyway, back to the Journal. This has been one of the most fun projects I have ever done. I'm already planning on doing this again next year. I think this will make wonderful memories down the road ... even if I don't do one every year, every so often we can look at what Christmas was like THAT year and what was important, our favorite thing, etc.

Day 20:
This was a page to reflect on the Christmas mail that had come and unexpected treasures that arrived in the mail. I am saving my Christmas cards to put in our family's Christmas album, so I listed everyone here that we received a card from this year (so far!) with a little room for any that may arrive late. :)



Day 21:
A candid photo of how it really is here when no one is looking and we are just going about our day to day.



Day 22:
Just a to-do list of what still needs to be done ... this was my list of to-do's from 12/22, although I just journaled it tonight. I guarantee I still had all these things to do that day though!



Day 28:
December indulgences ... what do you splurge, look forward to, indulge in at this one special time of year.

Meme Tags ... Playing Catch-up!

Tagged by Maria!

1. If I were inviting someone over for a special dinner, I would most likely serve.... chicken apple sausage with pasta, either a green or fruit salad, and bread

2. If I were in a rush, and needed to make something quick and easy, I would serve.... homemade pizza. I have my dough recipe memorized, and it's something I generally always have ingredients for on hand.

3. Something I ate in a restaurant that was absolutely wonderful was.... what's a restaurant? :) Umm, I love the french onion soup in a bread bowl that you get at Atlanta Bread Company.

4. Something I have had at a gathering and asked for the recipe afterwards.... my friend's coconut cake recipe. Yum.

5. My favorite meal served when I was a guest at a gathering.... I recently had some delicious cashew chicken salad at a Christmas party.

6. My kids always beg me to make..... chicken nuggets!

7. The best meal for a cold, wintery night.... any kind of soup!

8. Something that goes great from freezer to table... breakfast burritos, but only if they stop off in the microwave first!

9. My favorite crock pot meal is.... lately, Easy Beef Tips. Comfort.Food.

10. Something I have only heard being prepared in my family is.... I have made a fruit salsa with cinnamon chips several times for women's Bible study and parties and haven't ever had anything else like it before. Totally yummy!

And Pattie tagged me for the "5 things that people don't know about you" meme!

1. Most people don't know that I was a music major in college ... for a short while. I went to college on a piano scholarship, and eventually changed it to a vocal minor. I adored music and taking music classes, but had NO desire to do a senior recial, and the extra year in college that was required for the music plus education major I was working towards.

2. I have a secret devotion to the Backstreet Boys. *sigh* Or I did when they were in their hey-day. I wore out my copy of Millenium from listening to it so much. Hums "show me the meaning of being lonely..."

3. I am one of the world's worst dancers. Really and truly. Yet, I am responsible for choreographing our youth's annual entertainment at the Valentine's Day dinner they put on. A sad, cruel trick of life that that is my job, and I take it very seriously. :) I rent Backstreet Boys videos and watch the Wiggles for inspiration on "clean" dance moves that our teens can do so that their parents don't gasp in horror. :)

4. I don't watch Reality TV. Totally gets on my nerves. My one exception, because of course there is an exception, is American Idol. I'm a sucker for that one.

5. I think we have a name for the baby picked out ... at least the first name is pretty certain. :)

Why You Should Join Women at Home

Because you will meet up with wonderful women that help encourage and support you in your addictions.

W@H" />

Thanks, Teri & Pat! I LOVE them!!! There were much squeals of excitement when I opened them!

Merry Christmas!

Just a last post before I turn to packing for our trip to visit our Ohio family for Christmas. (Seriously, I have GOT to start packing)! Thank you all so much for your kind words about baby girl #3. I must admit, I am in a bit of shock, although it's good shock. :) This pregnancy has been SOOOOO different from N1 and N2 ... no morning sickness, the baby is riding really low, no usual pregnancy congestion ... that I figured the only thing that was making that much of a difference was that it was a boy. Well, I guess not! :) At some point, I will scan in an ultrasound picture or two, but that just isn't going to happen before we head out of town. We do have to have a 2nd ultrasound on January 9th ... baby girl was very uncooperative during the ultrasound, which didn't really surprise me as she has been the least active of my babies thus far. She mostly stayed curled up in a little ball down low and didn't not want to budge. While they got most of her measurements, they weren't able to get a great look at her little heart, and while they don't anticipate any problems, they just want to make sure that everything is fine and they have all the information that they need for their records.

There were several questions that came up in the comments about our new girlie. One was whether or not we are going to go with an "n" name this time around. At this point, it's not likely ... several of you suggest Naomi, and while I love that name, Travis isn't fired up about it, and the name also carries a lot of family baggage with it and would be hard for my family. Travis has suggested Nora, which doesn't thrill me, although I don't have anything personal against that name. It just doesn't click. We do have a potential non-N name that we both like and we are rolling it around to see if it sticks ... and if we use it, Travis already has his nickname for her to go with it. :) We'll definitely share if/when we decide. After all, we have 8 hours there and back over the next few days to talk about it - maybe we'll come up with something. :)

I'll leave you with a glimpse of our Christmas card picture for this year and blessings and wishes for a wonderful Christmas for you and your families!

Fall Into Reading Challenge - A Review

I've so enjoyed taking part in the Fall into Reading Challenge that Katrina headed up this year. While I didn't get near what I wanted accomplished ... pregnancy and super-duper exhaustion slowed me down in my reading considerably. I did get some new fiction read (not re-reads), and a couple non-fictions done. The summary is as follows:

Fiction

1. Summer of the Midnight Sun, Alaskan Quest series, book 1, Traci Peterson
2. Under the Northern Lights, Alaskan Quest series, book 2, Traci Peterson
3. Whispers of Winter, Alaskan Quest series, book 3, Traci Peterson (not originally on the list, but books 1 & 2 were, and this just finished out the trilogy). While I don't typically read a lot of Traci Peterson, these books were very interesting with facts about life in Alaska before it became a state.
4. The Yada-Yada Prayer Group Gets Real, Yada Yada Prayer Group series, book 3, Neta Jackson
5. The Yada-Yada Prayer Group Gets Tough, Yada Yada Prayer Group series, book 4, Neta Jackson
6. Village School, Miss Read
7. The Shop on Blossom Street, Debbie MacComber
8. Summer at Fairacre, Miss Read (technically a re-read, but I didn't realize that till I was about a 1/3 of the way through the book and things started sounding familiar)

Those that didn't make the cut:
1. Emma, Jane Austen
2. @Home for the Holidays, Meredith Efken (It was never in the budget for me to read this book or the Dee Henderson below and the library didn't have them ... however, I have a VERY strong suspicion they are in my stocking from a family member so they will be read, oh yes.)
3. Before I Wake, Dee Henderson

Non-Fiction
1. Ambassador Families: Equipping Your Kids to Engage Popular Culture, Mitali Perkins (my current read) - excellent!! I can't recommend this one enough.
2. Me, Obey Him?, Elizabeth Rice Handford - also excellent. Her examples and manner of writing is somewhat dated, but the truths within are not.

Those that didn't make the cut:
1. Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
2. Small Beginnings, Barbara Curtis
3. Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration (I did look at this one some, but as my attempt at advent readings with our three year old ended dismally this year, I will probably pick this up a-fresh next fall).

Biography/Autobiography
1. The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom (a re-read from loooooooong ago)

Those that didn't make the cut:
1. Shadow of the Almighty, Elisabeth Elliot (still want to read this...)

Bible Study
We are doing an inductive study of the book of Exodus this year with the women at church so that's where I'll be focused primarily. However, I do want to review Fresh Brewed Life on my own and maybe do some journalling along with that. :)
**I barely kept up with this this Fall so this will stay on the plate as we continue our Exodus study in the spring.

Reading with the Girls
We had good days and bad days for reading together. Definitely still going to pursue this and work on this with both girls.

I can already say, count me in for the spring reading challenge!

Ultrasound Update!

It's a GIRL!!!

Journal Your Christmas - Days 12, 14 & 15

I'm slowing getting caught up on my pages for the album ... days 12, 14 and 15 are below. I have the layout for 13 done, I just need to write my journaling in to complete that one.

Day 12: A page of journaling on our Christmas memories. The challenge was to use an element that we don't normally use while scrapbooking, so I chose to type my journaling.

Journalling:

Christmas wasn't what it could have been growing up. After my parents decided that they needed to move to Dallas so that Dad could go to seminary, the family Christmas disentigrated. There were hard feelings from the grandparents ... why would they choose to do this? Move away, go back to school, serve God? None of it made sense to them and one way that I distinctly remembered it being expressed was that our family Christmas shrank dramatically by the time Dad was in his first church. Granted there were substantial travel distances that would have had to be crossed, but, all the same, I don't think my grandparents would have made the trip. They didn't want to see us in our new home, with our new church, even though we were right were God wanted us to be. Christmas became just the four of us for the most part (although some years were spent with freinds). I think we missed out on some of that special time with grandparents, hearing stories of their Christmases growing up, and making traditions with them. While I desire us to some day have our Christmas in our own home ... with family and grandparents traveling to us ... I'm so thankful that my girls are making memories of Christmas with all their grandparents and will have those in the years to come.

Day 14: Journal about Christmas music or a favorite song. The song I picked is actually NOT my favorite Christmas song, but one that has been fixated in my head over the last few weeks as I've planned for this Christmas and worked on this album of Christmas memories.

Journaling:
Ten years ago I would NOT have said that this was my favorite song, but I've changed. My girls and my husband are so important to me, but without Jesus and what He did for us ... makes it all worth it.

Song lyrics (hidden under the front flap):
Heirlooms by Amy Grant

Up in the attic, down on my knees.
Lifetimes of boxes, timeless to me.
Letters and photographs, yellowed with years,
Some bringing laughter, some bringing tears.

Wisemen and shepherds, down on their knees,
Bringing their treasures to lay at his feet.
Who was this wonder, Baby yet king?
Living and dying; He gave life to me.

Time never changes,
The memory, the moment His love first pierced through me,
Telling all that I came from, and all that I live for,
And all that I'm going to be.
My precious savior is more than an heirloom to me.

Day 15: As those doing the class know, this was actually the page prompt for day 16, but I got them switched accidentally. Oh well. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Learning to accessorize. A valuable skill for any young woman. We have a loooong way to go.

A B C's of Me

This meme courtesy of Embracing My Cup. :)

A - Available/Single: Not available, thank you very much!
B - Best Friend: Travis
C - Cake or Pie: Depends. If it's Jenny Kim's coconut cake, then cake. If it's my Grandma's coconut cream pie, then pie.
D - Drink of Choice: Diet Coke, duh. :)
E - Essential item you use everyday: Diaper wipes.
F - Favorite color: chocolate brown!
G - Gummy bears or Worms: Bears, but they have to be sour.
H - Hometown: Right here in Tennessee where we are now.
I - Indulgence: New pens. Or a new purse. Because I don't NEED either one of those things.
J - January or February: January, because there is normally NOTHING going on that month. :)
K - Kids: Two amazing girls, N1 (3) and N2 (10 months), and baby #3 on the way.
L - Life is incomplete without:
M - Marriage Date: August 3, 2002
N - Number of siblings: 1 younger sister, but I look younger. :)
O - Oranges or Apples: Apples, but I LOVE mandarin oranges.
P - Phobias/Fear: I can get very claustrophobic, and I do not care for spinning rides at amusement parks.
Q - Favorite Quote: I can never think of quotes ... Right now I have Psalm 121 taped to the front of my 2007 planner.
R - Reason to Smile: My girls and my bearded husband. :)
S - Season: Winter!
T - Tag: Anyone? Anyone?
U - Unknown fact about myself: I rarely ever take my watch off. Only to shower, but even then I could leave it on because I always have one that is super-duper waterproof.
V - Vegetable you don't like: lima beans
W - Worst habit: Not being myself.
X - X-ray: Both ankles at some point or another, my left hand (broken finger) ... is that it?
Y - Your favorite food: It changes. Soup and bread is always a huge hit, though.
Z - Zodiac: Eeww. Those give me the heeby-geebies.

Days 9-11 - Journal Your Christmas

This page was all about traditions you have, and the challenge was to hide your journaling. I wrote about 5 different traditions - one from my side of the family, one that we started with our children, and one that I hope to start (and two others).



This was supposed to be the easy day! We were just to use a piece of our wrapping paper and decorate our page. It was fun. :)



The page about the tree. :)

Had to get caught up from not doing any pages this weekend.

Flurries

Not of snow, but of busy-ness! This week I am working on deep cleaning the house. Today was all about the kitchen and catching up the laundry. Three loads done ... all that is left is a load of diapers! I've also been working on cleaning off my desk and that is still a work in progress. Planning on finishing it tonight after the girls go to bed.

I probably won't be posting much while I clean ... maybe not even until after we get back from our trip to visit the in-laws for Christmas ... although I'll still be putting up my pages for my Christmas Journal that I'm working on. I didn't work on it at all this weekend, so I'm hoping to do a few pages on that tonight as well. :) Oh, and of course, I'll probably post something NEXT TUESDAY after we have the big ultrasound and hopefully know who baby three is going to be!

Day 8 - Journal Your Christmas

Just for Fun

Found this at Michelle's

1. All I want for Christmas is: to be with Travis and the girls; on a truly mercenary note, I would love a mother's ring or a new cell phone.
2. If I could go anywhere in the world I would go to: Israel. Or Disneyworld. How's that for a contrast!
3. People often underestimate the power of: really listening to someone when they are talking to you.
4. Christmas makes me feel: young.
5. In a perfect world there would be: free Diet Coke.
6. If I could meet one blogger it would be: Oh my, I don't know. Maybe Cheri ... or one of the scrapbookers whose work I admire. I really can't pick!
7. The stupidest yet funniest movie ever made was: Napoleon Dynamite
8. My first New Years Resolution will be: to read through the Bible in 2007.
9. _______ really skeeves me out: mice
10. I did this Meme because: It had fun questions!

Day 7 - Journal Your Christmas

I love the paper I used on this page ... I've been hording the pink pattern paper for forever and had fun breaking it out tonight. It's overlaid with pink vellum and journaling is done with an American Crafts Slick Writer. Tags are handmade from white cardstock, and the stickers are funky alphabet stickers that I found at Dollar Tree.

Journaling reads:
My love/hate relationship with shopping! I LOVE coming up with lists of gift ideas to buy or make my loved ones. I LOVE digging thru idea books for the obscure gift or craft that will be perfect. I LOVE going to the store and seeing what there is to see, how colors are paired up, and just people watching in general!

But I HATE what it costs to buy Christmas gifts, especially when I compare my list with what I have to spend. I HATE the commercialism that surrounds Christmas ... that stores won't even say "Merry Christmas" but "Happy Holidays" instead. I HATE the crowds - especially if I'm trying to shop with my girls and the double stroller.

But, overall, I LOVE the spirit of giving so prevalent at Christmas. A tangilbe reminder of the greatest gift ever given - our Savior!

A Little Freaked

So, I just happened to glance at my sitemeter yesterday and realized that I am seriously close to breaking the 10,000 mark. Eleven more to go actually. When did that happen??? I usually forget to check the numbers so, yeah, wow. Seriously, what do you do to celebrate 10,000 hits? Hmmm. Suggestions?

Day 6 - Journal Your Christmas

The prompt for today was to do a layout page comparing two Christmases ... best/worst, something like that. I went with Then and Now and had fun reminiscing with my journaling.

Then: I don't have many stand-out memories of Christmas as a child. Some years, money was tight; I remember getting pencils with my name on them one year and that was about it. But I just have good memories. Early years were spent with one set of grandparents or the other, then it was just us 4 and it stayed that way until Kathy and I got married. Photo, 4-82

Now: Now, our holidays can be a little crazy. We switch off between our TN family and our Ohio family every other year. Two years ago was the 1st and only time we've had Christmas that was just us. (We were supposed to be in OH, but the weather was bad). Although I always love the time with family, it was so fun to wake up in our own beds and do presents at home and not have to go anywhere.

Fun Links

A couple fun links that I've found in the last couple days.

Check out these way cool barettes that you can make!! Just regular metal barettes (or what we called growing up "gymnastic barettes" because all the gymnasts in the Olympics were covered in the to keep their hair back). :)

How to make your own gingerbread house from scratch ... this actually looks doable! I can see this as a craft project with N1 in the future. Link courtesy of Janel @ Pearls, a recent new bloggy discovery.

All sorts of way cool winter/Christmas desktops for your computer from Better Homes and Garden ... I signed up for their Christmas emails which I've been enjoying, thanks to a tip from Lindsay at Enjoy the Journal and Advent for Evangelicals. (If you have NOT checked out her advent site you are so missing out). I've downloaded several for my computer ... and will try to not change my desktop on a daily basis although I could!

Another craft project I can't wait to try ... decorating boxes. Of course, you should just check out Kahmei Smith's blog anyway ... her's has pictures on it that just make me happy.

Day 5 - Journal Your Christmas

Today's topic was to journal how you countdown to Christmas. We do do an Advent calendar ... or in reality, this is our first year, and last night was our first reading. (Disastrous!) So, I decided to write down a little each day of what we did, even if it wasn't Christmas related at all and just journal our month.

All my other layouts have been only one page, but there was no way I could do this and have any room for journaling if I didn't expand a bit. :)

Day 4 - Journal Your Christmas

Journaling reads: What makes a perfect Christmas? I know an outsider looking in at our home would say, we are lacking - we don't have all the latest gadgets, our tree/ornaments/decorations are pretty sad. Sure, if I had money to burn there are things I would change, but really - all I need, I already have. As long as I get to spend Christmas with these three - it is perfect.

The One Where I Do the Traditional Christmas Meme

1. Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Both please, but not at the same time. Currently, it's is 20-some-odd degrees outside and I am making hot chocolate (sugar-free Swiss Miss, yum). I will probably buy a little amount of egg nog as it gets closer to Christmas; as I'm the only one in our household that drinks it, I don't get a lot of it. :)

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
We wrap ... although we aren't really into the Santa thing around here. N1 is just getting old enough that she's noticing this bearded man and can identify who he is.

3. Colored lights or white?
I like white for the inside/tree, and if I could get lights up on my house, they would be colored all the way.

4. Do you hang mistletoe?
No.

5. When do you decorate for Christmas?
I like to do it the weekend before Thanksgiving which I know is horribly early. However, every year we either go out of town with my side of the family or go North to visit DH's family, and it overwhelms to have to come back home, with children that will need several days of re-entry into their normal routines and to need to find time to put the tree up. It's such a relief to come home, and all the decorating is already done!

6. What is your favorite holiday dish, excluding dessert?
It's a tie between two. Long ago, when we would have a traditional Christmas meal (turkey, etc.) my Mom or Grandma would make egg noodles and we would have those over dressing or potatoes. I actually just bought some today to make for us because I was craving them. (I blame the baby completely). :) The other is our family's taco dip. Several years ago, my side of the family switched to having a Mexican food dinner on Christmas Day. My favorite part of the meal is our taco dip appetizer. It's fantastic!

7. Favorite holiday memory as a child?
Probably driving around looking at lights in our pajamas. We didn't do it often, but I'm hoping to do it this year with our girls (especially N1) because she's big enough now to really get into it!

8. When and how, did you learn the truth about Santa?
I don't remember ... I don't even remember if my folks did Santa.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
In our family, everyone gets a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve to wear for Christmas morning so we open those.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
Totally random. It will never make the home decorating magazines that's for sure. I have the wooden ornaments that my Mom made when we were little, and then some miscillaneous ones that I picked up over the years - a few Disney ones, a few Star Wars ornaments (my Dad bought those for me the year I turned 30), and others. I love the tradition of buying an ornament every year to remember something significant, but some years it just hasn't fit the budget.

11. Snow. Love it or hate it?
Love it! Love it! Love it!

12. Can you ice skate?
Um, no. I tried a few times when we lived in Canada, but you kinda have to, but let's just say, my Mom's dream of raising the next Dorothy Hamil or Michelle Qwan were sadly broken.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?
I'm terrible about remembering this sort of stuff, but the first year that Travis and I were married he bought me a new study Bible that I use all the time. It's a keyword study Bible with notes on the Greek and Hebrew meanings behind the words. Love. It.

14. What is the most important thing about the holidays to you?
Trying to slow down and take time to enjoy the holidays, instead of filling the calendar so full that I can't. I enjoy holiday parties and the extra music rehearsals that happen for church events, and such, but I am finding out (a bit more every year) that I would much rather be home with my girls, popping popcorn, watching Rudolph, and making construction paper garlands for the tree as the norm and making the parties and the go-go-go more the exception.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert?
Gingerbread/molasses cookies. Yum. Must make a batch ASAP.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?
When we are home (in TN) for Christmas, going to our church's Christmas Eve service and then our yearly tradition of sharing Christmas Eve with friends at their house, visiting, and taking pictures. And, other than the mall traffic, I really love shopping for presents and trying to find the perfect ones.

17. What tops your tree?
A stuffed snowman. It doesn't cause head injuries when the tree is knocked over, as it has been twice this year already!

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving?
Both. I couldn't pick between them. It was a sad day for me when we started drawing names on my side of the family. I mean, I'm glad because it's definitely helped us financially this time of the year, but I miss not being able to buy for everyone. And, really, who doesn't LOVE to open a gift!?

19. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Lately, I've had Amy Grant's old song, Heirlooms in my head all the time, from her very first Christmas album. As far as a hymn, I just love O Come All Ye Faithful. I have wonderful memories of that song from college and as an adult and just love the melody. There are so many others that I love, but that would not make the "favorite" mark: Bing's White Christmas, his version of Jingle Bells with the Andrews sisters (rocketh), all of Amy Grant's Christmas albums, etc.

20. Candy canes. Yuck or yum?
Yum.

One Thousand Gifts #4

61. Making lists.
62. Making Christmas goodies.
63. Preparing packages to mail.
64. Fun secrets this time of year.
65. Scratchy beards.
66. Napping babies.
67. Hot tea and girl conversations.
68. Soup and bread.
69. Just enough.
70. Addressing Christmas cards.
71. Staying in pjs a little longer in the morning.
72. An email from a precious friend.
73. Little flutters of new life.
74. Picking out names.
75. Writing down memories.
76. Ribbon.
77. Little pigtails.
78. Christmas dresses.
79. A day with nothing pressing to do in it.
80. Frost on the windshield of the car, and not needing to get out and defrost it.
81. Vacuuming.
82. Flannel sheets.
83. Holiday baking.
84. Reading stories to my munchkin.
85. A new calendar to break in.

Day 3 - Journal Your Christmas

Text reads: Our 2006 Christmas card. Very simple this year - just a fun graphic I found with my favorite Xmas accent - snowmen! Our address was on the envelope, but I erased it. :)

I'm going to tuck a copy of our 2006 Christmas card list inside the card for posterity ... who we sent a card to this year!

Day 2 - Journal Your Christmas

I had fun with this page!

Journaling reads:
There is never enough snow in my opinion this time of year! I got spoiled by those 5 years we lived in Calgary, Alberta. I'm a cold weather girl for sure and there is something very, very wrong with 70 degree+ weather in December. It's just not natural!

Over the red snowflake it reads:
Let it Snow
This photo of Noelle was taken in Ohio when she was one. Her first time to play in the snow!

Supplies used: Zig writer, Uniball Gel pen; red gingham paper and white paper for the snowflakes ... the white snowflake is covered with Making Memories chalk; brad on tag from Making Memories, too.

Day 1 - Journal Your Christmas

this year...
~ Christmas will be less about how full my calendar is and more about how full my HEART is
~ more about making memories of our own than reading and hearing about others
~ less about all the stuff that comes with Christmas and more about keeping it simple and being satisfied with what we have been blessed with
~ I want to cherish the time with my daughter and, even at their youg age, talk with them about the REAL reason for the season - celebrating the birth of Jesus!

Supplies used: Pilot Permaball pens, Me and My Big Idea Christmas border stickers, key tag (Office Depot), and navy eyelet from Making Memories. The album is a 5x7 Canson spiral bound blank journal that I have had for YEARS and decided to use instead of purchasing one ... I haven't decorated the cover yet, which is navy blue.

The Manifesto

Manifesto: Noun. A declaration of one's intentions.

Starting December first, I will keep a Christmas journal. In it, I will write something every day to reflect on the holidays of my past, enjoy the holidays of the present and dream
about the holidays of my future. To some, this will be a stack of papers and trivial scribbles, but not to me. I am taking back my Christmas, I am letting it be something I relish and, most importantly, I am giving at least fifteen minutes every day to myself no matter how crazy this season becomes. I hope you will share, encourage and understand
as I make something with my own hands, my own words and my own memories.

I may post some or all of my entries here. Other artists are doing this with me, and you can see there work here. Or you may join us.

Above all: enjoy the season. I will.

New Ventures

Some new things coming our way, both personally and as a family right now. Some easy and some challenging, but since they are all from the hand of God ... who am I to complain, right? (Or at least, I'm trying not to). :) We are undergoing serious budget crunching right now. Things are tight and looking to stay that way for some time ... bills are getting paid and that's good, but the cupboards are pretty bare right now. We did get to go to the store today for a few things for which I am very thankful. :) I recently read a FABULOUS ebook called Thriving on One Income, well worth the few dollars it cost me to download it. She starts with heart issues towards living on a tighter budget and then gets into some strategies on how to do it and do it well. Two thumbs up. :) She talks over and over again about how wonderful it was to see God provide for their family when things got tight ... I love stories like that.

Another new thing coming up is that I am going to participate in Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class this year. I know, I know ... why am I taking this class when the budget is tight? Well, mainly because I signed up some time ago before things shifted on the home front; and I was paid for making some invitations for someone and I really try hard to use the money I make from creative projects to either go back into supplies or some thing to help me have a creative outlet. I still need to figure out what album that I'm going to be using and praying that I have one here on my shelves that will be perfect.

Of course, the most obvious of the new things is our new family member joining us next year. We had our 16 week appointment last Tuesday (before Thanksgiving) and heard the little heartbeat again. I haven't felt any significant movement at all from this little one ... not like I did with the girls. They were both so busy early on, that's it's unusual to have one so quiet into the 17th week. Sometimes I get a little anxious about it, but I haven't had any indications that things aren't going okay, and there's nothing I can do about it anyway so working on patience and trust here in a big way. Our ultrasound is set now for December 19th in the afternoon to find out if this will be a little he or she. We really aren't anywhere on names, although Travis threw out Reginald (or was it Rupert) last night in jest. Um, I don't think so. It's been kinda funny ... the question that we've been asked the most concerning this new baby is WHERE are we going to put it?? Our house is only 2 bedrooms, and the girls already share ... there are some that seem very concerned about us having room for one tiny new little baby. :) I'm not too worried. We have a Moses basket that he/she will stay in for the first 2-3 months, or until they get strong enough that I'm worried they will flip out of it. Then, we either have the bassinet insert for the pack-n-play when he/she needs more room or could get my nephew's crib. Lots o' options.

Back in the Swing

We're back from a few days away for Thanksgiving and are working on our re-entry into home life ... mostly for the girls who have had 5 other adults to cater to them for 4-5 days and they are now stuck with just me. :) Life is rough! I'm under piles o' laundry, catch-up on work, and other various and sundry tasks. A few pics from our time away to share ...

Me and Travis on Clingman's Dome - the highest peak in the Smoky Mountains. (And, yes, I was nuts to climb it at 17 weeks pregnant!)



At the Gatlinburg Aquarium ... N1 & Daddy waiting for the sting ray's to swing by so they could touch them.



The little one hugging on Daddy. :)



Tennessee Thanksgiving

To clarify...

For the lovely Debs:

Biscuits and gravy is a breakfast staple if you live in the southern United States. You can make the gravy several different ways, but this is how I make it. Take a pound of ground pork sausage (breakfast sausage, not links or patties) and fry it up in a skillet. Then, I sprinkle the whole pan with flour (for a pound of sausage, I probably use 1/2 cup of flour), and then fill my frying pan with milk. Taking my spatula, I continually stir the flour/milk/sausage mixture until the flour is completely dissolved. Then you keep stirring as the milk starts to thicken and then it turns into gravy with yummy lovey chunks of sausage in it. Ladle that over a warm biscuit, and presto! Biscuits and gravy. I don't use a recipe to make it so it's a little sketchy as I'm typing from memory. My paternal Grandma was THE gravy maker in the family, and she passed that skill on to my Dad, who then passed the gravy-gene on to me. One of the family genes that I was thrilled to get. LOL This is just ONE way of, I'm sure, many to make biscuits and gravy. I believe if you use ham as your base (instead of sausage) it's called red-eye gravy, but I've never attempted that one.

A One-Weigh-or-Another disclaimer: this is definitely not something that I eat regularly because it is fairly fattening. But I splurged ... it was a Saturday morning, my husband was going out to breakfast with my Dad and brother-in-law and I was envious. :) So I tried to recreate that Cracker Barrel feeling at home.

Swonderings

Taking the Swonderings challenge from Women @ Home for this week.

The author points out that no matter how much or how little you put on your blog, there are things that your readers still don't know about you. "They wouldn't recognize your handwriting on a note, be able to discern your laughter in a group, or even know how tall you are. Take a photo of your handwriting, show readers your wardrobe, or record a short clip of yourself humming a tune. You've covered the big topics [in your blog], now get to the details."

I thought this might be fun! So if you can, post a sample of your handwriting or a sound recording of your voice, or even a never-before-seen photo of yourself. Be creative! Challenge yourself.

So, I've uploaded a clip from this past Sunday at church ... I'm singing the Doxology with two friends for our Sunday morning offertory. You'll have to log into Xanga to hear it - I could't figure out how to upload it to blogger, but I could to Xanga. :) Or you can click here to download the mp3 file. I'm the high part - you have to hang in there through the 1st and 2nd verse and then I come in on the 3rd through the end. :)

Thanks, Pattie. :)

One Thousand Gifts #3

41. Saturday mornings.
42. Oldest girl sleeping in. (Past 8 a.m. is sleeping in!) :)
43. Biscuits and gravy for breakfast.
44. A fairly quiet day.
45. Getting out the Christmas tree last night.
46. Letting the 3 year old help Daddy put it up.
47. Pictures.
48. Dogs that haven't run off yet this morning.
49. An inspiring book.
50. A good verse.
51. Potluck dinner tonight at church.
52. An old family friend is in town for the weekend.
53. Travis deciding what seminary class he is going to take in the spring.
54. Having the option of doing it along side of him... (am I crazy!?)
55. A baby that ADORES her Daddy.
56. Planning for a few days out of town.
57. No computer, no email, no cell phone.
58. Lots of Skip-Bo & Uno.
59. One who stands at the door and knocks.
60.

One Thousand Gifts, #2

21. Naptime.
22. The miracle of a new baby not yet born.
23. Being pregnant alongside a good friend.
24. Warm covers on our bed.
25. Clean sheets.
26. Diapers that don't leak.
27. God's amazing colors that he brings out in the fall.
28. The smell of baking muffins.
29. And chili in the crockpot.
30. Hearing that a young woman is making wise choices in regard to her education. (That's you, Lexie). :)
31. Women's Bible study at church.
32. Making Christmas lists for others.
33. Apple cider.
34. Hot coffee.
35. Mail.
36. Catching up with an old friend & meeting her son.
37. Cough drops.
38. Mini-vans.
39. The book of Philippians.
40. Bare baby feet.

Things that make me happy

I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned how much I love grocery shopping at Aldi's. Cheap, cheap food because it's all the Aldi's brand and packaging instead of Kraft or Kellogg's. :) My only complaint with Aldi's in the past is that they don't have lots of fat-free options ... something that this die-hard Weight Watchers girl (when not pregnant) is always on the hunt for. Over the last year they have been adding to their Fit and Active line of food ... healthier salad dressings, dried fruit, granola. But on my last visit, I spotted something that made me so excited - WHOLE WHEAT PASTA! Now, granted, you don't have many options on what shapes of pasta you want. It's spaghetti or rotini and that's it, but still! Yeah! And this week, one of my all time favorites has appeared - fat free refried beans. Just little things that help me keep our family on our grocery budget, eat healthy, and make me happy. :)

Oh, and thanks to Crystal at Biblical Womanhood ... go here for a free breakfast entree at Chick-fil-a ... free to the first 1 million signups. :)

Menu Plan Monday - 11/13

A few weeks off the bandwagon and I'm back with Menu Plan Monday, hosted by Org Junkie. :) Our budget is tight this week so I'm trying to buy just a few basics and work with what we have in the freezer and pantry.

Monday: Sandwiches, chips, fruit (we're taking our 3 year old to a birthday party tonight and dinner will be on the run for Mama and Daddy)

Tuesday: Spaghetti, caesar salad, garlic bread

Wednesday: Mexican Soup/Chili (in the crockpot)

Thursday: Hay and Straw (stolen from Diary of a S@HM's food blog ... there is good stuff there!)

Friday: Homemade pizza

Saturday: Homemade pizza, again (but this time for a Mission dinner at church ... I won't be eating pizza, but the kids will like it). :)

Sunday: Family Lunch Day

1000 Gifts

1. Friday night family nights.
2. A God who is soveriegn.
3. Baby kisses.
4. Cinderella dresses.
5. Cool fall days.
6. Psalm 52.8-9
7. Playdates at McDonalds.
8. A husbands that come home from work every night.
9. Clean laundry.
10. A purple pen.
11. Women at Home
12. Scrapbook ideas.
13. Music.
14. A good book.
15. Inspiration.
16. Creativity.
17. Calendars.
18. Church.
19. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.
20. Fall leaves.

...to be continued.

We've been holed up at home for the last several days. N2 has come down with her first nasty cold (fever, green nose, the works) and amazingly, the rest of us have been spared from it thus far. I'm crediting large quantities of Purell as the reason. :) That said, I've been doing some decluterring and purging and rearranging. In some areas you can see a difference and in others, mmmm, not so much. :) Those areas just seem to have been stirred. We got out for the first time since Monday this afternoon ... N1 had her little gymnastics class and I thought she could use the time to run around and burn up some energy. Well, I needed her to burn up some energy! But we wore the little one out. She was so pooped when we got home and went right down for what I'm sure will be a long nap followed by an early bedtime.

The last few days I've been so thankful to be a S@HM. I haven't had to worry about calling in sick, getting someone to cover for me, or taking my sick girlie with me to get stuff done. I did have to get someone to cover snack for me at Bible study this morning, but thankfully, I was signed up with a dear friend who would much rather bring a little extra food that catch N2's cold. :) I owe her a Starbucks card. :)

A Real Update

A real honest-to-goodness catch-all update from us. :)

There is bread baking in the oven right now. Yum.

And diapers in the laundry. :)

We had N2's 9 month check up on Monday ... 19 lbs., 13 oz. and 26 7/8".

She has moved up to the big girl car seat ... the baby carrier was killing me! :)

She cut her first two teeth on Monday (on the bottom).

And stood for a few seconds alone on Sunday.

The last two weeks I have been devoted to working on getting her to sleep through the night. We've now had at least 2 nights where she hasn't made a peep - yeah! (And several nights where she just cried out a little bit and then settled herself right back down.)

N1 is wearing big girl p@nties today. :) She's doing pretty good so far!

The girls have both been c.r.a.b.s. this week because of the flu shots they got on Monday.

It seemed like I had a lot more to write about when I'm not at the computer.

The girls and I went and voted yesterday. It was the last day of early voting here. It took us 50 minutes to get through the line ... I did NOT have enough dry cereal and juice. :) But, it was still probably less time than it will take next week on Election Day.

I'm out of the 1st trimester officially on Saturday. Yeah! Did I mention that I heard the baby's heartbeat last week? I can't remember.

We go back 11/21 for the next check-up and will probably find out what we are having right before Christmas.

At some point, we will have to come up with names for this munchkin. We probably won't divulge until we are for sure, but the boy will have the name "John" in there somewhere, I hope ... it's Travis' middle name.

N2 is up from her nap so this is it for now! :)

Nine Weird Things

Thanks to a tag from Katharine @ Raising Five, I now feel suddenly compelled to tell 9 weird and remarkable things about myself. Katharine limited herself to 9 food related oddities and while that has inspired the start of my list, we'll see if I can come up with nine total. :)

1. I love the combination of peanut butter and cheese. Love. Love. Love it. Especially for breakfast. Even more especially when I'm pregnant. The peanut butter MUST be crunchy and the cheese MUST be Kraft.

2. When I eat said pb&cheese (or any sandwich for that matter), I eat all the way around and eat the crust off first, then the yummy insides of the sandwich. Who knows where that quirk came from.

3. When I lived alone for a couple years before getting married, I usually fell asleep to a movie in a little tv/vcr combo that sat in my bedroom. 9 times out of 10, it was Star Wars. I can quote enough of the dialogue that it really is pretty scary.

4. I had a friend in 8th & 9th grade named Christi. She moved to California at the end of our 9th grade year, and a year later, I moved to Arkansas. (We were both living in Calgary, Alberta at the time). We STILL correspond to this day - 20 (gasp!) years later. :) Snail mail, too, thankyouverymuch. :) And, this is the weird part, I have all the letters that she ever sent me and get them out and read over them usually at least once a year. I so treasure our friendship. :)

5. I've changed school way too many times. Kindergarten, 3rd grade, 6th grade, 6th grade, 7th grade, 8th grade, 10th grade, and 11th grade. The bold ones were because of moves, and the others were for various and sundry reasons ...

6. I asked my husband what he would say is weird about me, and he said my love of pens. It really does border on the obsessive a little bit, however, I think it's perfectly normal to constantly be on the quest for the perfect writing utensil ... he apparently does not. :)

7. I do not like Doritos. Is there anyone out there on this one with me? Especially the Cool Ranch ones. Travis and Noelle went on a Cool Ranch binge during my pregnancy with Natalie and if I EVER smell Cool Ranch Doritos again, it will be too soon.

8. I've only kissed my husband ... that's probably weird. :)

Finally! :)

9. I'm extremely left-handed and now I love being left-handed and different that way. However, when I was in 6th grade I decided I was tired of being left-handed because you always got the end desk so you didn't bump elbows with someone right-handed and there was special attention made to your seating. The introvert in me was tired of that and so I decided to be right-handed. That did work out so well for me as you couldn't read my handwriting at ALL. Big bummer at the time, but I'm cool with it now. :)

Um ... I'm not sure who to tag on this since I've seen it around quite a bit. If you do it, leave me a comment and I want to come read about YOUR quirks. :)

Advent

Can I tell you about a new blog that I'm totally pumped about? :) Lindsay over at Enjoy the Journey is birthing a new blog all about Advent and Christmas and all that jazz. This year, I'm going to attempt doing advent readings with my now 3 year old and, yes, I'm a little overwhelmed about where to begin. :)

She also has a special contest going on right now in conjunction with the start up of this blog ... if you post a link on your blog to Advent for Evangelicals, you will be entered to win a copy of Ann Voskamp's book The Glorious Coming, a wonderful Advent devotional. I recently purchased this in combination with The 12 Week Holiday Planner for Christian Families and it looks to be great!! I know it's going to be a huge help for me coming out of this first trimester and playing catch-up with my Christmas planning. :)

Just wanted to give a heads-up to Lindsay's new endeavor and I can't wait for the kick-off tomorrow!

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Fall Reading Challenge Update

I figure it's time to do a quick update on my Fall Reading Challenge sponsored by Katrina over at Callapidder Days. I have not, I regret to say, made much of a dent in my pile, though I have been reading.

I finished Ambassador Families and HIGHLY recommend it. I want to write more on this fantastic book, so I'll come back to this one ... hopefully sooner rather than later. :)

Thoroughly enjoyed Corrie Ten Boom's The Hiding Place again ... it had been a long time.

Am almost done with Me? Obey Him? by Elizabeth Rice Handford. Another than I am gaining all sorts of good stuff from.

I was derailed by the Mitford books, I admit it. Of course, I have a perfectly good excuse. :) I get to hear Jan Karon speak on November 4 at a fundraiser for a local Christian arts/homeschooling co-op school. We were given tickets by a wonderful woman from church and I am beside myself excited. So, I had to review the books so that I felt up to speed to hear her speak.

John Grisham's latest, The Innocent Man, was also read. Very different as it was based on a true story. I missed his good dialogue between characters, but it was still very interesting, and more heartbreaking because it was a true story.

I also just added the latest Beverly Lewis book, The Brethren, to my pile. My Mom brought it over, it was the last in her recent Amish trilogy, and it was good!

Up next, I'm going to start Christ in Christmas: A Family Advent Celebration for my non-fiction read; for fiction, I'll probably start Summer of the Midnight Sun by Traci Peterson.

I Love Lists

It's a list. I couldn't NOT play along with this one. :)

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise Not lately and not often. :)
14. Seen the Northern Lights All I can say is wow.
15. Gone to a huge sports game Saw the Titans play a practice game way back when tickets weren't expensive, and I saw a professional baseball game in Kansas City ... sadly, I can't remember who I saw play.
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables Yum, sugar snap peas and cherry tomatoes.
18. Touched an iceberg Does a glacier count?
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper Ha. Every day.
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon It was tethered to the ground when it went up, but I'm still counting it.
22. Watched a meteor shower A seriously way-cool date with Travis early on.
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope Another thing I've experienced thanks to Travis ... besides stars, I've seen Mars and Saturn really close.
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment Way too many times to count!
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can In a play once, from back stage .... it was a huge role. :)
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster Unfortunately.
35. Hit a home run I had an amazing career in t-ball in 2nd grade. Sadly, it was short-lived.
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer I do right now.
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends Hey, Gina! :)
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip Honeymoon, Yellowstone, 30 hours in the car.
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs Is there any other way to organize them?
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke At my bachelorette party ... When Will I Be Loved by Linda Rondstat!
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater How I saw Monsters, Inc. :)
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married 8.3.02
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch My first choice.
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage And scared spitless every time. :)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children A work in progress.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone Tailbone, a toe, ring finger, hairline fracture on one ankle.
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse And not well I might add.
119. Had major surgery C-sections definitely count.
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi Blech.
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read Read Pride and Prejudice this summer ... totally rocked.
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair Another mistake from the past! :)
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life

Round the house...

N1 and Daddy time on the 'puters.


The girls. N2 thinks she is hot stuff because she's sitting with big sissy in the chair and watching a Little Einstein video. Well, she's not really watching, but just bouncing to the theme song. Once the music is over, she's all done. Oh, and I'd like to note that N1 did N2's hair in this picture ... Mama obviously did not pick out the turquoise headband, because ANYONE can see that it does not match her outfit. :)

Five's

I'd give credit where credit is due, but I'm not sure where stole this from ... it's been sitting on my computer for a while now. :)

If I had five minutes to myself, I'd

#1 Sit outside on our patio and read.
#2 Pour a diet Coke and plan my day.
#3 Go the bathroom in peace.
#4 Work on my Bible study.
#5 Sit in silence.

If I had $5 to spend, I'd

#1 Head for the scrapbook store!
#2 Buy two large Sonic drinks and take one to my husband at work.
#3 Meet my friend Gina at Starbucks for coffee.
#4 Put together a Shoebox of Love for Operation Christmas Child with N1 this year.
#5 Stick it in my purse and save it ... yeah, right! :)

Five Items I'd love to get rid of:

#1 The boxes of clothes in my bedroom that need to go into storage in the garage ... my regular clothes that no longer fit.
#2 N1's diapers and have her be potty-trained!
#3 My cellphone.
#4 Dogs that shed.
#5 Clutter!

Five Items I wouldn't part with:

#1 Our big room that was an addition to this house that we bought (we didn't do the addition, the previous owners did). The room is 20x20 and we LIVE in this room.
#2 My scrapbooks and scrapbook paraphanalia
#3 My Bible/journals/notebooks
#4 My favorite purse ... it's huge-mongous. I can fit EVERYTHING in it.
#5 My family. :)

Five Words or Phrases I'd love to hear:

#1 Can I refresh your drink with ice cold Diet Coke?
#2 I'll watch the kids, you just run on to the scrapbook store and do some shopping ... get whatever you want, the sky's the limit!
#3 You know, pregnancy on you is so slimming.
#4 I wuv u Mama. (N1 just started saying this last week, but I can't get enough of it).
#5 We've invented self-cleaning carpet and dogs that never ever shed!

Menu Plan Monday!

This week's menu revolves around a non-working oven! :) If it can't go in the crockpot, the stovetop or in the microwave, we won't be making it this week.

Monday: Easy Beef Tips served over rice in the crockpot
Tuesday: Red Beans and Rice in the crockpot
Wednesday: Awana night so quick stuff - mac & cheese, chicken nuggets, etc.
Thursday: Mexicali Chicken Burritos from Busy People's Low Fat Cookbook
Friday: Vegetable Soup OR pizza if oven is fixed or DH brings it home!
Saturday: Southwestern Chicken in the crockpot from Fix it and Forget it Lightly
Sunday: Family lunch

List ten of life's simple pleasures.

A full, uninterrupted night of sleep.

Rereading an old favorite.

Diet Coke so cold that it has little ice crystals in it.

Afghans to curl up under.

Baby nuzzles from the littlest.

Belly laughs from the biggest.

Pens in all different colors and sizes.

Sunshine and crisp, cold weather.

A husband that provides for our family exceedingly.

A God that is so soveriegn and gives strength exceedingly and abundantly more than I could ask or imagine.

This meme courtesy of Women at Home!

Girls that won't sleep through the night ... both of them.

Makes for a very tired Mama.

Just working on getting by at this point.

Not bad, just tired and busy.

More soon.

Scrapbook Challenge for this Week...

This week's challenge is to create a layout titled This Month. Use what you and your family did last month as the content. For each person in your family (or just for yourself) make a list of all the things that were happening.

Just because...

My Dad, the photographer, took this a few weeks ago and it's so cool, I just had to share. He sent it to Noelle, but she doesn't know who Santa is so it was a little anticlimactic. I'm assuming I have a little older reader-ship so enjoy! (This is a friend of our family who plays Santa at one of the malls every year. The beard is real!)

3 Years!

Birth Day



6 Months



1 Year



18 months



2 Years



3 Years



Happy Birthday Baby! We love you!