Gifts 41 - 60
41. Monitors to hear sweet voices as the girls wake up
42. Being unplugged and really listening to those around me
43. Stories of people's lives
44. Spectacular Southwest views
45. That my girls get to grow up knowing their cousins WAY better than I got to
46. Hearing Keeley say, "Huse me, I bup" after every hiccup the other day...
47. $5 play houses that ROCK
48. New Skin
49. Sausage balls
50. The wonderful feeling of getting to clean out/donate even before the New Year
51. Simplifying an already simple lifestyle
52. Knowing that I can live in the freedom of not being a slave to sin
53. Airplanes
54. Southwest's "Plane Crackers"
55. My steadfast marriage partner
56. Hot showers
57. Obedient hearts
58. Kleenexes
59. Organic options
60. Avocados

Multitude Monday

Gifts 21-40

 

Hmmmm... I'm not quite hitting this on Mondays am I? Oh, well... I had the post done over a week ago because I knew that with traveling for Christmas I may just want to be unplugged. And that's exactly what happened... However now that we're back and unpacked/rested/starting new projects, here's my next batch of gifts!

21. Dishwashers

22. Winter blooms

23. Cell phones

24. The "hard" days when I'm forced to rely only on Him

25. Learning from my girls

26. Forgiveness of sin

27. The color aqua blue

28. Cars that work

29. Computers that work

30. Christmas lights

31. Old friends

32. Belly laughs

33. Airplanes

34. Contacts (as in vision correction)

35. Todd's job

36. Salty foods

37. Cook books

38. Parents

39. Grandparents

40. The days getting longer...

1000 Gifts...

I am excited to join (and not use January 1st as a beginning, though that is usually so motivating to me...) the Gratitude Community and friends Carrie and Amber in making gratitude even more of a habit in my life and pushing dissatisfaction farther and farther away...

I am so thankful for...

1. That Jesus loved His creation so much to die for it to save it...including me.
2. The gift of a humble husband who shows me Christ's patience and grace daily
3. A family that is healthy
4. Little girls who show me what innocent faith is...
5. Coffee
6. The beauty of the outdoors
7. The mind of an engineer
8. Sleeping in
9. Comfortable shoes
10. The smell of newborn hair/heads
11. A warm home
12. Glittery nail polish
13. Movie nights
14. Thoughtful friends
15. The ability to capture memories with a camera
16. Computers
17. My pillow
18. Really great hugs
19. People who are good with numbers
20. Snuggling with my love on movie nights

Yup, Another Wreath

I think I may be obsessed with wreaths. Not totally sure why, but this year they have been the focus of much of my creative juices...

"Harvest" wreath made out of corn husks...

Found this for a good price at JoAnn's

NOT made by me, but great for fall/winter...

Took the corn husks off the wreath form that I got at the dollar store and wrapped it with the garland I found at the Target dollar spot, put a few ornaments on it from our ample supply and voila! A newly decorated bedroom door for super cheap!

Just finished this one last night and wanted to try out the blue Christmas tones... I toyed with the idea of trying to go with blues/silvers/white/pale greens next Christmas, but taking a look around the house pretty much eliminates that option unless I totally redecorate. The walls, curtains, pillows pretty much everything is warm tones and would look weird if I tried to bring blues in. So...the only place to let my blues shine is our master bath!

There are probably many places where this has been featured, but I got inspired by a blog that I follow, It's the Little Things... Now I just have to figure out how to store it after the decorations come down!

Woot!

(Caution a tad bit of jubilation over good deals....)

104 Christmas Cards - (74 FREE making them $.20 each!)

Christmas Return Address Labels - 140 FREE 

+ stamps (obviously not free) 

+ some shipping thrown in

Grand Total for fun (and cute!) 

Christmas Cards when they are sent?

$.63 each!!!

Luuuuuuuuuv it!

A Good Problem to Have

So you know you're spoiled when... 

...you have the "problem" of having some fun photos to share with good friends and family during Christmas and you have too many cute Christmas card designs to choose from! 

That's exactly what I'm dealing with this year... 

Sniff, sniff, I know... =)

2009

The dilemma in years past was trying to figure out how (or even IF) to send out Christmas cards (which I adore receiving) and doing it: 1. without breaking the bank during an already tight time of year for the budget 2. doing it in a way that I feel is still personalized, but without writing in 80+ cards 3. still making it fun and not take a loooong time. Solution for this year? Shutterfly. Shutterfly has a very cool promo going on right now where they're offering 50 free cards for blogging about their Christmas Cards! Uh, yes! I'm in!

Last year I liked our cards okay, but I put too many images and too many words together. So, my criteria this year is less is more. Simple design and only two pictures. That helped me navigate the pages and pages of super cute designs. So far I think I've narrowed it down to a few. This one or this one, and possibly this one... Does that seem like I'm staking my claim? Maybe I am! =) One year we did send out the design that we also received back on quite a few other families' cards... Pretty sure that won't happen again this year..

Granddads & Grandmoms, Nanas & Papas have all received their calendars in years past - a great way to incorporate all the pics from throughout the year in all the different seasons...

Todd and I have really enjoyed the prints we've put on the stretch canvases we have in our home and I definitely have one more in mind coming up soon...

No sneak peak of the picture here... Gotta wait for the reveal coming soon to a mailbox near you!

A Fun New Project...

Cake Pops!

So since my SIL, Heather, posted this fun treat on her blog via Bakerella, I've had two tries at making these cute lil' pops... The first time was definitely a learning experience, but I made "take two" tonight, and I'd call it a success. There are still things I'd like to tweak, but for the most part I'm happy with the outcome of the basic pop. I may or may not try the more elaborate versions of characters etc., but for now they were a fun baking adventure!

P.S. Todd LOVES how they taste - very moist cake/frosting in the middle - but of course he'd say that because I used chocolate cake & frosting! ;)

Keeley at 18 months

Just for my own record and to hit the highlights for the out-of-town family and Grandparent-types... 

Here's what Keeley's up to lately...

• 331/2" (95%) for height... Yeah, yeah, we're still hoping she doesn't pass us up until at least 10 or 11 yrs. old...
• 23lbs. (30%) We're glad she's up from 20% at 15months
• 18" (25%) for head circumfrence
• Running everywhere now - especially around and around kitchen - living room - family room etc.
• If she's feeling sassy, she'll bolt and run, so we have to be vigilant and fast to catch her!
• Continues to be amazingly polite for her age and unprompted! "Huse me" = excuse me for when she needs to get by, "Tank Tu!" = Thank you, Pees= "Please" , but is still mostly signed - My fav right now is "Tank Tu.... Mommy"
• Now refers to herself = Kiwi = Keeley- which of course I was looking forward to...
• Loves Ernie & Elmo & "Kit'ee" = Chole (darn it!)
• Loves to dance on her own (while holding a "baby") or while being held by me. Prefers club techno & a Kindermusik CD we have...
• Loves "singing" whenever there's music. Definitely trying to get the ABC song down as in (insert cute mumblings between letters) "A.....G....P....TUV...Y...Z!" LeapFrog fridge toy & singing this while I wash her hands probably are the reason.
• Wearing 24m -2T right now - definitely leaving 18m behind. I'm getting to where I can't tell the difference between tights for Keeley and Sarah and even clothes get mixed up between piles when I'm folding laundry... =) They might look eye to eye in a year or so!
• Is insanely ticklish and loves being "tickled" (also a new word the other day... I've stopped keeping track of new words since they are coming fast now...)
• Really enjoys playing with Barbies w/ Sarah or Polly Pockets (not the small parts)
• All four molars are in and now she has all eight front teeth in (the last one popped through in the last day or two)
• Easy as pie to put down for naps and in the evening. Has nicely stretched-out her sleep in the morning and is now giving me until 7am to get her up. (Thank goodness the 5:30-6am crying wake-ups seem to be behind us!)
• LOVES being read to any time anywhere...and initiates it often
• Totally a Mama's girl and would let me hold her all day long if I would...
• Is quite obedient and easily corrected - may cry buckets (with the greatest pout EVER) if I lightly tap her hand in correction...
• Can follow directions very well (Put this back, pick ____ up, Go _____, etc.)
• SO wants to do what Sarah does
• Lives for waking Sarah up in the morning...
• Starting to hold her own against Sarah if there's a struggle over something. Not afraid to protest & has been running to me saying "Sarah!" when she's been hurt or "wronged"... Here it comes!
• Seems really even tempered and lets pretty much anyone hold her/play with her unless she's tired/hungry
• RUNS for bath time ("Bubble Baf!) or brushing her teeth.
• Has lately like to spread out a blanket over our laps while we read.
• Likes to color
• Identifies "circle" and says "Circul" for bicycle
• Still mostly makes the sound of animals instead of saying their names. My favorite is her horse sound -she's really trying to get the whinny sound out... So cute! Will say doggy & kit'ee
• MUST have breakfast in the morning as soon as she gets up. Favorite? Whatever I'm having. Lately it's cold cereal.
• Is a pro at retrieving anything we print out on the printer and promptly delivering it to us...

As always I'm sure there's something fun I'll remember after posting this, but that's "all" =) that's coming to mind right now... I can't wait for Christmas to see how she reacts!

Happy Halloween!

Confused

My strawberries apparently think it's June.

My hydrangeas are of the same thinking...

However, my Sedum KNOWS it's fall.

(Not pictured: my Renunculus that is coming up for the second time! Hope that means they'll reappear next July when they're supposed to...)

Fall

Means the last of the flowers in bloom...

Spider webs EVERYWHERE!

Wreaths!

 

Playing in the last few days of sun.

Trying out new hair cuts.

Eating all things orange!

 Trips to the Pumpkin patch.

Hayrides

Bouncy Houses?

Pretending you're someone you're not...

Searching for the perfect pumpkin...

Rejoicing in finding it!

Looking forward to the rest of fall (and enjoying a pumpkin latte!)...

This & That...

Sarah's first frisbee throws. Daddy is proud!

30 Day Challenge

LOVED reading Proverbs & Acts so much! It definitely got both Todd and me back into nightly reading and that is a very good thing. It was actually something we started the first 6 months of our marriage reading a through a book titled "Night Light" by Dobson. What a wonderful marital bonding time that was for us! So anyway, we're deciding to continue and work our way through the historical books of the OT and then go on to the prophetic books...

Starting tomorrow my new 30 Day Challenge will be as follows:

1. Faithfully take my daily vitamin. Silly I know, but I am seriously the WORST at this. I keep them down on my kitchen counter in one of those daily pill box things, right next to Sarah's vitamins so I can take them with breakfast and I STILL forget...

2. Strategically meal plan on a weekly (maybe monthly?) basis using Google Calendar. From this planning will come the efficient grocery shopping lists! I need to kick my own behind and just get this done!

Step one: collect/write out 30 recipes that represent what we enjoy eating + healthful/nutritious food choices (to go along with the 30 challenge. I'll hopefully use what I learn from this and do another 30 next time around so that I can have 60 meal plans to rotate through.)

Step two: Research organic produce delivery options & other organic meat/dairy options & discuss with Todd

Step three: Create shopping lists from recipes & figure out how I can best use/maintain my stock pile to support the meal plans.

Step four: Start meal prep earlier in the day if possible so that when 4:45pm rolls around I'm not scrabbling...

3. Continue daily reading of Bible. Right now we'll start with Joshua and read 1-2 chapters a night. 

So, there you go...

Other pictures I've been meaning to get up on the blog...

My girls in their respective costume choices... (Notice the blow-up Buzz Lightyear wings Sarah has on while wearing a princess dress & holding the guitar...)

A beautiful sunset I saw while driving over to my girlfriend's house for a sleepover...

Belated Friday Update for 30 Day Challenge

Reading Proverbs & Acts: Still really enjoying consistent reading! So far I haven't missed, and I realized I haven't mentioned that Todd is reading along with me on this 30 Day challenge. It's so good to have accountability! He's been a real encouragement to me in this. With Proverbs there is so much to take in... Right now I've been thinking about the proverbs that focus on how the Lord knows the motivations of our hearts. That's been underscored by a particular song that's in my workout song list about searching motives and rooting out any pride... My prayer too...

It's so amazing to continue to read Acts as well. It almost feels like I'm reading it for the first time with all the things I'm encountering about Paul's ministry and what God did through a man completely sold out for Him... Right now, since Sarah's all about super heroes, I'm seeing Paul as a "superhero of the faith!"

30 Challenge Update

 

Proverbs: Continues to be great - so much so that I'm actually ahead! The proverbs that have been jumping out at me have been those that contrast what the righteous man does and what the fool does... Specifically that the righteous overlooks a grievance and the fool makes his anger known at once... This is one of those things that hits home with me - I can tend to get angry fast. It's also brought to my attention what our culture/society says about how "normal" we see "needing to vent." It seems to me that Proverbs doesn't allow me the freedom to just go "vent" to someone unless I want to act like the fool. I read an excellent blog post by Wendy Alsup that was talking about the whole "in your anger do not sin" passage that people talk about when they want to justify their anger. I could copy a lot of her blog into this one, but trust me, if you read the whole thing it's good. She also includes the following verse from James to give further proof that in our anger we cannot produce the righteousness of God. If I claim to obey Christ in overlooking/forgiving my brother/sister when he/she sins against me I cannot justify venting to another about it - even in a "prayer request."

 

James 1:19-20 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Acts: I'm also somehow ahead in Acts too... There are just some passages that I can't stop reading when the chapters ends...(which makes sense since the chapters are artificially placed and not present in the original writings...) I am still having to fight the urge to think, "Well, that was then, those sorts of things don't happen now..." like when people are let go from jail via help from an angel right in front of the guards... Wrong thinking. Our God is Infinitely POWERFUL!

Now what I find funny is that not only am I REALLY enjoying these two books in a way I haven't enjoyed reading the Bible in a while, but I am also getting regular workouts in... We recently joined the YMCA that is so close to us. Sarah takes swim lessons there and before she goes, I get a workout in and both girls are taken care of by a great program of people! So far I've been running (my default exercise) and I feel amazing... The workouts have been short (20-30minutes), but I've been able to increase my speed and distance... Humbling though to feel like a 10 minute mile is SOOOO long! But I'm getting there.... God definitely made it so that I put His word over exercise... I love how firmly, yet gently He guides us... I love you Lord!