Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Daily Moments (11/21-11/27)

It seems like forever since my last Project Life Tuesday post. Since I didn't do one the week before last. But for those of you who read just for Jake pictures....here are a couple!

Sunday-November 21st-would you believe this is Jake. A friend of mine gave us her sons old dinosaur costume and Jake loves to play in it. I thought he looked pretty real when he was down on the floor and you can't see  his face.

Monday-November 22-There is nothing better then a low 70's day at the end of November. Jake had so much fun playing outside. We are soaking up every chance to be outside before it gets too cold.

Tuesday-November 23rd- I came down stairs to find Jake eating icing from the container today. He thought it was delicious and so much better with a spoon then on cookies.

Wednesday-November 24th-Made pumpkin waffles with spiced whip cream for "silly supper"(breakfast for dinner). I love making a big batch of waffles for dinner and then freezing them to have for breakfast. Much easier then having to making them from scratch in the morning.

Thursday-thanksgiving...I guess I was having to much fun eating tons of food and spending time with my family today. I didn't take one picture.

Friday-November 26th- Black Friday!!! I love to black Friday shop it is so much fun. This year we started at Toys R Us lining up around 8:30(doors opened at 10) when we were finished there we headed over to Target. This was the 1st year I had ever been at a store with someone camping out front. Needless to say we met lots of interesting people this year waiting for Target to open.

 Saturday-November 27th- Jake is on a hot cocoa(as he calls it I have always called it hot chocolate) kick. He wants it every morning with breakfast and even sometimes in the middle of the day. This morning he wanted to be wrapped in his blanket, but said "can you warmed me up?" He always has to have 2 red straws to drink his hot cocoa as red is his favorite color.



Monday, November 29, 2010

Random Act of Kindness

Just wanted to share a little black Friday story. We went to Toys R Us to line up at 8:30pm for their opening at 10pm. There wasn't anything major we were there for...we just love the fun of going and getting good deals. I did really want to get this camera for Jake as he LOVES to take pictures.


It was on sale for $23.99 regular $39.99 so a pretty good deal. Of course even getting in line at 8:30 we were like 600 people back in line. By the time we got in the cameras were gone. 

When you wait in line for this long you usually begin talking to people around you in line. After we were finished at Toys R Us we headed over to Target. A girl that was behind us in line at Toys R Us came to Target as well. So we all stood in line together. We were looking at all the adds and just happened to look in the Khols ad. Who had this camera on sale. Regular $49.99 on sale for $24.99
The girl in line says "I just sent my dad over to Khols to wait for them to open I can have him pick one up for  you."  Are you serious I have never met this girl in my life and now her dad is going to save me a trip. Sure enough she called her dad and told him what to look for. A little while after Khols opened he called and said he had the blue one in his hand did we still want it. Of course I did. 

We know once Target opened we would lose each other so we exchanged phone numbers and when her dad got there she called me. 

How awesome is that I love meeting nice people in random places. If I had this girls address I would totally send her a thank you card. 



Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!!!

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Gratitude

I might be one of the last blog readers to hear of Ann Voskamp who writes at A Holy Experience. Her words are so poignant and true. So from the heart and able to speak right to my heart. Her words are thought provoking and encouraging.

She recently wrote a book called One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Where You Are
In One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are (Zondervan), Ann Voskamp invites you to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative spiritual discipline of chronicling God’s gifts. Because it’s only in the expressing of gratitude for the life we already have that we discover the life we’ve always wanted—a life we can take, give thanks for, and break for others. We come to feel and know the impossible right down in our bones: we are wildly loved — and by God. (taken from A Holy Experience)


 What a fabulous idea to list our daily gratitude. I often see things and think to myself thank you Lord that I can enjoy this beautiful weather, or take my child to the park on a spontaneous day. But to have these things written down somewhere just for me. To keep to see the gifts in each moment, throughout my days. A place to have A thousand gifts from God written down for me. I have to say this might be a genius idea. 


I am sure wanting to find gratitude in everything has struck a little closer with Thanksgiving being only a few days away.  I want to be able to jot down the joy, the gift, the fully lived life at the moment I think it or notice it. And not just for Thanksgiving, but for every day all year long. 

 I have begun quietly writing down the things I find in my day to day that I want to see as gifts things that I am grateful for. I am sure sometimes I will share post here on the blog listing my One Thousand gifts.

I hope you will visit Ann's blog. You can read a few post about her Thousand Gifts here and here.
 I can't wait for her book to come out this is no doubt going to be a great uplifting read.  I believe here book will be available in January. And if you don't start counting your 1000 gifts now, it would be a great & fresh way to start the new year. (not sure why my typing changed to italic, but it won't let me change it back to normal)


To start my list: #1 people who share their heart so others can learn




holy experience

Monday, November 22, 2010

Beat my time!

I finished my 2nd 5K this weekend!!! Seriously these things could get addicting...I hate it while I am doing it and feel like it is so hard, but as soon as I am finished I feel awesome and wonder when the next one will be.

Today's time 42:50 almost exactly 5 minutes faster then my 1st one (47:47).

Coming around the corner to the finish line I could see the clock and that it said 42 minutes...I ran faster then I have ever ran in my life knowing that I could finish in 42 minutes. My goal this time was 45 because to me 2 minutes faster seemed good, but a WHOLE 5 minutes for me is fabulous!!!

I wonder if I will get teary every time I start approaching a finish line.

You might remember this post several months ago about dreaming to be a runner. I am still not there yet, but I am running a lot more in with my walking. Still not totally getting the mind freeing thoughts while running, but when I am done it really feels good to know I ran (even if for only a few minutes at a time).

It was great to do this 5K with my very best friends, sister, cousin, & step-dad. We all started together and then found our strides, finishing any where from 28 minutes to 45 minutes, but we all finished!! I have to say we are all are GREAT!!

So my hope is that one day I will be able to run a complete 5k without walking. But for now I will strive to beat my time with each race!!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Traditions

I love traditions! Even in normal daily life, but especially surrounding the holidays.

I am not sure if it is Jake getting older and us wanting him to be as close to God as he can be, or if it is my relationship with Jesus growing daily that has me longing for traditions that focus on our love for Him. 








                                                                                       I want each holiday we celebrate to be a reminder of what we believe as a Christian. That Thanksgiving would be all about being thankful to Jesus for all we have, while giving to others as Jesus did on earth. For Christmas to be so focused on it being the day our Savior was born that we forget about all the commercial, hustle & bustle and want to give back to Jesus on this day His Birthday.                                                                             

I recently picked up The Family book of Advent at Lifeway. It was only $2.99...can you believe it? This book is filled with 25 stories and activities to do with your family. It includes fun hands on projects that are easy to do and won't take too much time. I am so excited for December 1st to get here and get started on this book as a family.  Because Jason gets home late we have made a commitment to do each day together in the morning before Jason leaves. It will be so great for all of us starting our day focusing on the meaning of Christmas.

Do have family traditions? Do you do anything specific to focus on Advent? I would love to hear all about the things your family does.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Knitting a blanket

You might remember I am learning 12 new things in 12 months. The month of October was knit a blanket. I suppose I had very high expectations for this months new skill. I already knew how to knit, but really just very basic. I would like to learn more about knitting, but for this month it was just a blanket. I honestly thought I would be finished...so I kept putting off posting about this blanket I was knitting. It just wasn't coming along as fast as I had anticipated. I knew I could do a scarf in just a few days and even during this months challenge I knit a baby hat in one day. You would think a blanket in a month would be doable.

Well....

I am still working on the blanket. As you can see in the picture I have several upon several more rows to go before it is blanket size. It looks really ruffly because it is all pushed onto the needle. If I spread it across 2 needles it doesn't look as ruffly and you can see a little better the width of the blanket.

Octobers skill is still a work in progress. I will post back when the blanket is finished. But be keep in mind that realizing this is going to take much longer then initially thought it might be February or March before my knitting looks like a blanket.

For fun here is the baby hat I knit for one of my nephews.











Novembers new skill is pie crust. This I know will be finished in time for a post in November. I am trying out pie crust for Thanksgiving. Hopefully it turns out great!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Daily Moments(11/7-11/13)

So this might be my worst week keeping up with the daily moments. I only have TWO pictures from the past week...2...can you believe it? Not sure where the days went, but I didn't take any pictures.

Sunday-November 7th-Jake & Caleb have gotten to the fun very imaginative stage. It is so fun to listen to them play and talk to each other. Here they are pretending Jake is a dog...they were so cute playing together and taking turns being the dog or leader.



Monday-November 8th-Sometimes this is what Mondays with daddy home look like. Afternoon naps in the recliner are some of the best. Love my hubby and little boy!!






Monday, November 15, 2010

Halloween

Well, I guess pictures of Halloween are better late then never right? Around Halloween there were lots of posts going around the blog world about whether or not it was ok to celebrate Halloween as a Christian. We are very much a Christian, God loving, Jesus believing, Bible reading family, and we celebrate Halloween. It is fun to dress up in a favorite costume, spend time with family & friends and go knocking for some candy.

Jake had lots of fun this year and was all into trick or treating weeks before Halloween was even here. This Halloween was made even more special because this was the 1st year Jason was actually home for Halloween...what a treat that was for us.

As with years past all of our family met at our house and then we headed out in our neighborhood. This year we were also joined by some great friends of ours. And being that we know lots of people in our neighborhood and are in fact good friends with a lot of them it is always fun to see everyone out and about throughout the neighborhood.







Wednesday, November 10, 2010

My Faith Box

A couple of weeks ago Angela over at Good Morning Girls was giving away the My Faith Box. I entered the drawing and won!!! Well really the amazing Angela and her husband decided to give a My Faith Box to everyone who entered. I was so excited to receive one and couldn't wait to get my box in the mail and check it all out.

The box arrived this week and it is every bit as wonderful as I had imagined.

It comes with the My Faith Box that you store the My Faith Book(also included) in. But then  you can also store whatever other things you want in the box. This is a great way to keep things that mark your child's and/or family's faith journey.

Here is a description of the box directly from Lake Pointe Church.
A new resource for parents to guide their child's faith journey and capture spiritual growth keepsakes.  My Faith Box includes a My Faith Box and My Faith Book.  Ideal to help you create an age-specific plan on each birthday and capture memories from special milestones; while giving you resources and ideas for how to be intentional in helping your child know, love and follow Jesus.

The book has several tab sections with different subjects to write about. Including fun things like your child's birth and memories from their birth. Then there is a section to write a parent plan each year on your child's birthday along with a section for them to write(of course when they are old enough to write). The parent resource section is full of so many great ideas and ways to be intentional about passing on your faith to your child. 

I am so excited that I have this box for Jake and can't wait to start filling out every page for him. 

I think this will be my new favorite baby shower or 1st birthday gift. Wouldn't that be a great gift for a new baby? Something that they would have with them all their life and be able to use every year. Be sure to head over to Lake Pointe Church to see the box and purchase some of your own. It is never too late to start filling your child's faith box and book. 

Little side note: my friend Kristy also won a My Faith Box. Her daughter is the one we say Jake is prearranged with. When we found out we would both be receiving a box we said "what a fun thing for our grandchildren to have to look through from both their parents." Just a thought and even so won't it be awesome for Jake to have something to share with his kids showing his faith journey. 

I can't say enough how much I love this box and book.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Daily Moments (10/31-11/6)

Here we are into November and another week of daily life. Joining in with Jessica at The Mom Creative for Project Life Tuesday.

Sunday -October 31st-Halloween!!Our family of 3 with Spider man Jake getting ready to go trick or treating.


Tuesday- November 2nd-Jake didn't have a nap today, but around 3:30 he couldn't take it any more and crashed on the couch. He is in the between stage of naps. Not wanting to take one, but some days really needing one.

Wednesday-November 3rd-sometimes when I take a shower I let Jake stay down stairs and watch tv. When I came down stairs today he just looked so cute and into his show sitting in his little red rocking chair.

Thursday- November 4th- This week we were working on letter I. When I was a preschool teacher we did this art project and I was so glad I remembered it. I did have to google the exact combination but it was so fun. We mixed 1/2 cup shaving cream with a little less then 1/4 cup of glue. Mix it together (it is fun to play with too). Then Jake scooped it onto his ice cream cone and when it drys it is still puffy.

Friday-November 5th- We took Caleb & Jake to their first concert...we thought it might be the 1st of many in their lives. We took them to see Slugs & Bugs live. It was so cute and the guy sings some silly and fun songs. Here the boys are being rocket ships.


Saturday-November 6th-My nephew Logan was able to come home today (Luke will probably be home later this week). Here are Jake & Caleb meeting their cousin Logan for the 1st time. They are both in love with him. And Jake kept telling Amber "I like your baby Logan, he's my favorite."






Monday, November 8, 2010

Making Your Home A Haven

I really can't believe this fall challenge is over. Thank you so much to Courtney at Women Living Well for hosting this challenge. It has been so great to have an actual step to take to focus on making our home a haven instead of a place of chaos.

I truly love lighting my candle each day. The reminder throughout the day to take a minute and pray is such a joy. It is so nice to just take a minute and say a short sentence prayer for someone that is on my heart at the moment or for myself and my attitude toward the day.

The music has been kind of hit or miss. Some times I just forget to turn it on. And other days I just want it to be quiet in my house with the exception of Jake & I. And believe it or not even just having one child there can be plenty of noise in our house.

The areas that were cleaned during the week of clearing the clutter have remained cleared. And I am looking for other areas to continue to improve the clutter flow.

And I have been focusing on tender moments with my family. Whether just to be snuggly on the couch with Jake(it was great this past week with the weather getting cooler and a couple of rainy days) or if I am making a favorite meal for them.

I am praying that each of these things will stay in our home especially during this up coming busy season. That I will not be so focused on the "commercial" part of each holiday and making things perfect. That instead I will take time to be sure my home is a haven for those that will come to it and even more so for my family on a daily basis.

I have loved this challenge and my family has definitely benefited from me working to make our home a haven.  Again thank you Courtney!!!

Friday, November 5, 2010

Birthday Recap

It has been almost a week since Jake's birthday and I realized I hadn't posted about his party. So here is a recap of his birthday. I also realized I hadn't posted Halloween pictures either....so that post will be up next week.

Jake's party this year was bugged themed...which turned out super cute. I was able to make several things and found some great deals on bug stuff in the spring that I had been saving until his birthday for party favors.

The party was pretty relaxed the kids ran around in the back yard and played and everyone else got to hang out and talk.

It was great to spend time with family and some very dear friends. Looking at everyone who was there and all I could think was how blessed we truly were. So many people love our precious Jake and were able to come and celebrate birthday #3 with us.

The Details:

             sugar cookies imprinted with bugs and "bugs & kisses" tags
                               Party favor bags with grass and bugs
                       Green spoons in dirt cups wtih bugs on tags
              The birthday table the dirt cups on in shape of a caterpillar

                               Friends enjoying yummy dirt cups
Although, I had thrown lots of rubber bugs in the grass it wouldn't be as much fun as looking for real bugs with magnifying glasses.

And this is how our birthday boy ended his party...most of the guest were still here and he crawled on daddy's lap and was fast asleep. Looks like bug birthdays can really wear a boy out!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Taco Soup

The weather today is a stay in your jammies cuddle on the couch kind of day. I love those days (as long as I don't have somewhere to be).  It finally has gotten cool here in Georgia (last week it was still in the high 80's). And to go along with this weeks Making your home a haven challenge which is focus on the kitchen, the heart of the home. Cook things with pleasant aromas I am sharing a very yummy taco soup recipe.

Cook 1 pound of ground beef with 1 onion
1 can refried beans(I use fat free)
1 can black beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 4oz can green chilies
1 29oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 can corn
1 packet taco seasoning(I use this homemade taco seasoning recipe)
1 packet ranch seasoning

 Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook 4 hours. It is super yummy with cheese on top and crunchy tortilla strips.

Crock pot cooking is one of my favorite ways to cook. Putting it all in the crock pot in the morning and knowing dinner will be ready without having to worry about it. Not to mention crock pot cooking always makes the house smell super yummy!!!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Daily Moments (10/24-10/30)

What a busy week we had. With birthday preparations, Birthday, & Halloween. Of course it was all lots of fun!!!

Sunday-October 24th-We had our trip to the pumpkin patch today. I love all the fun fall activities. Not sure what Jake is looking at in this picture. But it is still cute.

Monday-October 25th- every year Jake picks out it his own small pumpkin and then gets to paint it. I love how you can see his concentration. He was painting a master piece.

Wednesday-October 27th- This week we were learning the letter G(and H). Made these white chocolate marshmallow ghost to take to our wonderful friends the G family.

Thursday-October 28th- As one of our Halloween activities( I got this idea from No Time For Flashcards) Jake painted rock pumpkins. I cut out the tape and made the face then Jake painted the rocks orange. After it dried we pulled the tape off and these cute pumpkin rocks.

Saturday-October 30th-Today was Jake's birthday. Although his eyes are closed in this picture I love that he is holding the #3 balloon. I can't believe he is 3.





Monday, November 1, 2010

Week 5 Challenge

We are at week 5 of the Making your home a haven challenge, but first a recap of last weeks challenge. Which was spending tender moments with your family.

This week was a super busy week for us with Jake's birthday and Halloween, but we did find time to just spend together. A lot of our moments came early in the morning. Jake has been waking up almost every day between 3 & 4 in the morning. And even though my sister has to get up 4am to go to work to me this is still the middle of the night. Instead of taking Jake back to his bed I have just been letting him get into bed with us. We all fall back to sleep for a couple more hours of sleep. Then around 7 or so we lay in bed talking, playing, and some times watching tv together. I love these sweet moments together. It works great for us since Jason doesn't get home from work until after Jake is in bed. This way the 3 of us can have time together. Often when I am lying in bed awake and the 3 of us are in bed together I wish we had a photographer that followed us around. How I would love to get a picture of the all 3 of us snuggled in bed together.

One night this week I did let Jake stay up past his bed time and he and I snuggled on the couch to watch Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin. I have to say this was probably one of Jake's highlights for the week. I made popcorn and we got out pillows and blankets and we warm and cozy on the couch together. For several days after this he would tell everyone that his mommy made popcorn and we watched Charlie Brown. Of course this brought a smile to my heart to know that he really did cherish this time with me.


This brings us to week 5's challenge.
Focus on the kitchen, the heart of the home. Cook things with pleasant aromas. Pick a meal the family can cook together - include everyone in a task and take pictures so everyone can remember moments in the kitchen together - test tasting, being creative, laughing and loving. Remove discontentment with your home or family and give thanks to God for the home God has given you to in which to create a haven for your family.

I really enjoy cooking. However, I am super type A and have to follow a recipe to the T. No matter what it says I have to follow it exactly. I have to use measuring cups and spoons and follow every step. I can't eyeball it or add in something extra because I think it might be good in the recipe. Does this make me a good cook? I can follow a recipe and usually it turns out great, but I would never dream of making something up. I have a friend that can take 2 or 3 recipes and combine them to make something even better. Not sure that will ever be me. But I can still enjoy cooking & follow a recipe. 

I also really enjoy making most everything from scratch. One of my most favorite cook books is the Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book. I got this cook book in 2002 and never used it once. Then a friend was telling me several things she cooked from the book and I started flipping through. This cook book is all about cooking from scratch and has some wonderful recipes. After 8 years of never using the cook book I now use it for 2-3 meals a week. Love it. I also really love the blog Heavenly Homemaker. She is a big time from scratch cooker and also one of those make up your own recipe type people. Thankfully with her blog I can follow a recipe and not have to come up with something on my own. Not to mention she is super healthy and has great recipes for whole wheat flour and other stuff. 

For this weeks challenge I am going to have a yummy made from scratch dinner tonight with Jason & Jake. Sundays & Mondays are the only days Jason is home for dinner. The other nights it is just Jake & I and Jason gets a plate in the fridge for when he comes home at 9 or 10. Monday will be our big family meal. Usually we serve from the stove and then take our plates to the table. But tonight I am going to get out serving bowls and set the table. I am going to make sure we linger at the table a little longer enjoying the company of each other. Then the rest of the week I am going to make a few fun dinners for Jake & I. Probably letting Jake make his own pizza one night. And since Jason is home in the mornings I am planning a big family breakfast instead of fast and easy cereal. 

Take the challenge with me...get in the kitchen and cook some delicious meals for your family and make it fun.