What I'm Reading - for fun and my challenge!

 Francine Rivers is a great author, at least from what I've read.  My mom passed this set on to me to read and just warned me to make sure I had plenty of time to read because I wouldn't be able to put them down and she was right.  The books cover the story of several generations of one family and how the hurt and bitterness just eats away until one person is willing to try and bring everyone back together.  I would highly recommend this set of books to anyone.  When I finished, I wished there was one more book just to keep reading about the family yet, the story was finished. 

 Women Leaving the Workplace was one of the books I wanted to read by December.  It was given to me by my pastor's wife before I quit work but when my husband and I were making the decision for me to stay home.  It is on older book - and the info is quite dated.  The income amounts, cost of living comparisons, etc are extremely low compared to today's society BUT the concepts are the same.  I will say that the first chapter or so actually discouraged me and I already stay home.  Larry Burkett did make some very good points though, especially the fact that both spouses need to be on the same page for it to work to live on one income.  He also gives ideas for work to do at home but, honestly, many of those are out dated as well.  Would I recommend this book?  I'm not sure - it isn't a bad book by any means but rather, because it is out dated, I know that there are books much more current on the same topic and would be more applicable for someone to read.

 Sorry for the sideways picture - for the longest time, pictures didnt' have to be flipped before uploading them and, apparently, they do now!  This was my last challenge book.  I was dreading this one the most because I had started reading it this summer and couldn't read it - I thought it was boring.  But, when I came back to it and reminded myself that it was a memoir, not a "story", and I read it that way - it was actually very interesting.  It is about a guy who is put into a prison which also housed the last leprosy patients in the US at the same time.  His crime had to do with check kiting - but he spend a year there and learned much about himself and those he was in the prison with as well.  I did find this story intriguing but, I have to say that there is some pretty bad language in this book -as he writes, he does use the "prison talk" that the other inmates use so it could be offensive to some of you to read. 

Finally, (again sorry for the picture) Choosing to See by Mary Beth Chapman is actually a book for my challenge for 1st quarter of 2011 but since I had already finished the other books for this year, I figured I would just get started early :-)  When I saw this book come out, I knew I wanted to read it - I've always been a huge fan of Steven Curtis Chapman and was heartbroken when their little girl was killed.  My mom bought this book, unbeknowst to me, and when she finished it passed it on to me!  I really enjoyed reading Mary Beth's story - the book tells her whole story - it was interesting to read about how she and Steven met, to see the history behind so many of his songs, and to read about how his career slowly took off.  Than comes the tragedy in their family when their son accidentally ran over their youngest daughter.  It is heartbreaking to read that section of the book.  I do have to say the last 1/4 of the story is all excerpts (or mostly) from either journals or blogs through the course of the year + since the accident so I found myself skimming that section more than reading it like I did the first 3/4 of the book.  But, even with that, I would recommend this book to anyone to read especially if you are a fan of Steven Curtis Chapman!

A Very Happy First Birthday!!

It is hard to believe that little Nate is almost 1 year old!!!  On Saturday, we celebrated with a big first birthday party just for him!!  The theme was Jungle Safari but at this age, I just do a few little things!

 I made him this Lion cake.  It was so fun and so easy!  I must say though, the cupcakes were very dry - sorry to all who tried them.  I had made two batches and Darryl and I tasted the second batch.  They were awesome!  I was so disappointed when I bit into mine at the party and found it not nearly as good as the one I had tried the night before :-(  Oh well!  (And to think, I used a Paula Deen Recipe - I think I might need to pracitce more hehehehe)

 Of course, Nate got his own balloons :-)  (From my favorite Balloon Store . . . The Dollar Tree)

 A special birthday banner and his "year" in pictures.  It is amazing how much he has changed since he was born.

 I found the 1st Birthday banner at Party City for $1.00.  It was huge - I cute it up and put it all over the house

 The whole gang at the party!  This was taken after our game and lunch.  The game we played this time was the ABC game.  It was so much fun.  Very simply, I wrote out the alphabet on index cards.  For a group this size, I did three sets of cards.  They drew names to form teams; each team than divided up the alphabet cards among themselves however they wished.  Once they were ready, I called out an animal name, like Zebra, and they had to get the cards in order so I could read the word.  In between rounds they had change places with someone on the team so they never really knew who had what cards.  We laughed so much. 

 My sister-in-law, Kelly, got this toy for Nate - it lights up and spins and, as you can see by his face, he was mesmerized (I need to state that everyone was mesmerized by it!)  Notice even China, the dog, is wondering what is going on with that thing?

 It did not take Nate long at all to figure out how to open his gifts :-)  He was blessed with some great toys (lots of cars, his own little barn, and more) plus some really cute clothes.  Notice Josh's face in the background?  Darryl and I got Nate a music box for his crib - it is the same one that Josh has and L.O.V.E.S.  He was a little upset because he was sure it was his.  Even now, he is sitting in Nate's crib since I just hung it up - he hasn't figured out yet that they each have one. 

And, of course, cake.  Unlike his brother who didn't touch his cupcake, Nate inhaled his - it was adorable. 

The hit of the day, though, was this:

Yep, a chocolate fountain.  I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it OR the line up to do dipping all afternoon!   It was so incredibly yummy!  My favorite was the pound cake but there was also marshmallows, bananas, and pretzels.  I haven't used my fountain in quite awhile and I'm not sure why?  It is so easy - just melt some chocolate (and add a little oil to make it smooth) dumb it in and turn on the fountain.  The fun begins!  The bonus?  Today, I have a cup of melted chocolate on my counter with a bag of pretzels next to it :-)  All day, I keep dipping pretzels into chocolate.  I told Darryl, I would eat banana's every day if I could dip them in chocolate (I'm not a banana fan!).  So, I do believe, all future parties at the Koll house will have the chocolate fountain! 
The day was just a blast with lots of laughs, great food (If I say so myself), fun times, and just an overall great day.  The boys are both enjoying the new toys today and are both "recovering" from a super busy day.

Life On Purpose

At the beginning of December, I attended something called a Mini-Solutions Social.  Basically, it is a time where a bunch of people get together and learn and discuss Solutions to a common "problem".  In this case, the "problem" was planning your Life On Purpose through goals for 2011.  This was lead by a friend of mine who is also my Director for Creative Memories.  She and her sisters have done this together for years taught by their own mother who is extremely organized.  Barb gave us tons of handouts that I want to share with you too.  I think the easiest thing will be to share one or two documents at a time over the next few weeks.  By sharing this, I think it will help some of you AND it will help me complete some of the things I need to get done as well.  In some cases I'll share both a blank document as well as my "in the works" document so you can see an example but other times, I will just share the blank document. 

The first thing that you need to fill out is something called the "Life on Purpose" list.  This list asks a bunch of questions for you to answer by listing things you want to do this year in your home, in your personal life, with your sweetie, with your kids, ect.  I would suggest that you first just read through the questions and brainstorm ideas quickly.  Write down what comes to your mind, when you have nothing else, move to the next one.  Than, ask a friend, a spouse, your kids, for ideas to fill in the other blanks.  I keep writing things down as more things pop into my mind.  This brings us to the second document I will share.  It is called "Fifty Great Days"  and is something you actually fill out together as a family.  Ask everyone to contribute ideas from things to do, places to go, things to eat, etc.  Both of these documents are going to help you plan the next year based on things that you and your family want to accomplish; it will help you to eliminate the things that are not important and help you realize what you can REALLY do in the next 12 months.

So, feel free to print these documents and fill them out.  Within the next few days, I'll post the next two documents to help you plan your year!

Life On Purpose List

50 Great Days Document

Enjoy!

Apple Cinnamon Ornaments

We are working on doing various family activities a few times a week during the holidays.  Tonight, we made Apple Cinnamon Ornaments. 

The recipe is simple - just mix 1/2 cup of cinnamon and 1/2 cup of applesauce (store bought is recommended as homemade tends to be runny).  Just mix it until a dough forms. 

Than, grab a ball of dough and smoosh it out flat (you can put it between saran wrap and roll it out too but with a 2 year old - we just let him smoosh it out)

Use various cookie cutters and cut the dough into shapes.  Use a straw to poke a hole in it for string and than let them dry for at least 24 hours. 

There are recipes that call for glue also  (1 cup of cinnamon; 1 cup of applesauce and 1 Tablespoon of white glue.)  From what I've read, these will last longer than just the cinnamon and applesauce ornaments BUT, again, with a 2 year old, I'm glad I didn't use glue - he had to taste the dough

Our final products - I don't think, because we did not use glue, that they will last past this Christmas but it was fun to make them.

An Unexpected Piece of News

I think we often walk along in our daily lives, planning, dreaming, and living each day the way we think it is meant to play out and than, something happens.  (To think, my original post for tonight was on planning for 2011 - I'll save that for another day). Something unexpected; something not wanted; something that makes us hurt, angry, question many things, and wonder what God is trying to teach us.  Sometimes, I want to stomp my foot and say "God, I don't need to learn anything else, leave my family alone!" But that isn't how He works, is it?   I would like to share a prayer request with my blog readers, something close to my heart because it impacts my very dear family

This is my brother Jeff and his wife Nora.  In other posts I've talked about Jeff - he is the middle of the three boys. Nora is one of the nicest people you could ever meet.  She is funny, kind, very caring and a fantastic home decorator.  I go to her home and it always looks like a million dollars (but I know she creates it all for hardly a dime).  Over the past few months she has undergone various testing and, I think I'll just quote my brother's post from his facebook page . ..

We are "asking for prayer for my best friend and wife of 23 years as she begins her battle with cancer. After a lot of testing that finished with a chest CT scan last night, the doctor spoke to both of us to let us know that she has lung cancer (in spite of the fact that she has never smoked.)"

 

I know that both Jeff and Nora are trusting God fully right now and will walk this journey each  with a strong testimony to share with those around them.  Yet it is still something so difficult to hear - and when it is your own family, your whole body hurts for those you love so dearly.

 

So, faithful blog readers, I ask you to add Jeff, Nora and their two children, Brittany and Brandon, to your prayer list and pray for them daily.  Pray for strength, wisdom and understanding.  Pray for wisdom on behalf of the doctors. Pray for complete healing.  And maybe you feel a burden to help them or encourage them - feel free to contact me for information on how to contact them. 

 

Thank you.

Weekly Song - Breath of Heaven

Last week, the song that I shared was about Joseph so I thought it was only fitting to share Mary's song (Breath of Heaven) this week.  I love this song by Amy Grant - the music is so beautiful and the words speak volumes.  Again, like last week's song, it is not nearly as common, which is another reason I love it.  I sang this years ago at a Christmas Eve service and since than, have not had a chance to sing it again but that doesn't mean I don't listen to it every year.  It just reminds me of how special Mary was - that despite the fact she carried such a heavy load, she still trusted God. 

Scroll to the bottom of my blog and check out the youtube video (be sure to pause the regular player!)

Too Cute Not To "Toot"!

I spent some time searching through some blogs this week and found some great ideas to check out! 

Surprisingly, I have not found a TON of ideas that I love for Christmas.  I'm not sure if it is because I already have so much Christmas stuff so I don't see the need to add more or if I'm just not inspired right now by much of what I see. Or it could be because I told myself I would not spend money on decor this year so any craft ideas I find are being saved to work on later in the year when I have more time.  But, with that said - there are still cute ideas out there!

I decorate with snowmen a lot at the holidays - they are so cute and, if I don't get my house un-decorated until mid-January it is ok!  This snowman Craft from insidebrucrewlife is adorable and is something that is going on my to do list before next summer.

The monogrammed ornaments shown over at apumpkinandaprincess are a great gift idea for neighbors, friends and family alike.  This version is a little more formal but I have also seen them done with clear bulbs, filled with shredded paper (or feathers, ect) and, instead of using vinyl, just use large stickers.

This candy jar is also from apumpkinandaprincess.  This is a remake of the candy jar she did for Halloween.  It would make a great gift idea for a teacher because it is something they could use at home or on their desk for special treats for students.  I'm hoping to get one of these made for a friend this weekend but we'll see (and I want to make one for myself next year!)

I love all of the great teaching ideas that are out there for this time of the year.  Musings of Me has posted a mini-unit on Camels based on a children's book.  Even if you can't use it this year - save the idea and have it ready for next year :-)

The Noel Boxes are really cute and craftomaniac found the boxes at the dollar star (what's better than that?)

craftomaniac also gave a great tutorial for a Christmas Card Holder.  I have searched for years for the "perfect" place to put my cards and this is it.  It is on my list of crafts to make for next Christmas :-)

Sassy Sites has been posting different linky parties each day - most recently she did one on printables - 35 different free pintables to be exact!  Check them out - there are lots of package labels to print!

Cute!



Over at A glimpse Inside, I found a creative tutorial for a wooden snowflake.  I think they would look great hanging in each of my living room windows!

She also gives an easy recipe for "mint thins" from Kraft. com

I've seen tons of wreaths in Blog Land - and lots of ornament wreaths.  I think they are cute but have been looking for something different.  This wreath by Crafting In the Closet fits the bill.  I love it - the colors, the design, and the fact that it is . . . . . . different!

I know there there are tons more ideas out there - I'll keep looking since we have one more Tuesday before Christmas :-) 

I'm also making my list of Crafts to make in January and February.  My goal is to do one a week but I doubt that will happen along with the REST of my goals I have but that is what I'll plan for and we'll see how it goes!