What I'm Reading

I'm not sure if you realize it or not, but I love to read! HA!  This is something that was instilled into my brothers and I from the time we were little and, for the most part, we still all love to sit down with a good book.  I'm so thankful that my kids seem to be picking up that same love of reading too!  I think it helps that they see me picking up a book and reading too.  Yes, they already do have favorites and they both have books that they can even "read" themselves - it's fun to hear them say words from a page and reading it with the same "voice' that I read it to them in. 

Lets get to what I read this week!

This book, What Women Fear by Angie Smith, is one of the books from this "quarters" reading list.  It was a new release as of September and, I must tell you, it is fantastic.  I couldn't put it down and, for a non-fiction book, that says a lot.  Don't get me wrong, but I think most of would say that when reading a non-fiction book that is meant to teach, it is hard to just read through the book.  The way the book is written makes it so easy to read and understand.  In each chapter, Angie introduces a fear such as "The fear of the 'what if . .'".  She beings with an example from the Bible, such as Sarah and Hagar, but she doesn't just tell you the well known in's and outs of the story, she tells it in a way that allows you be in that moment and even, at least for myself, pointed out ideas that I had never thought of before in relationship to the particular scripture.  From there, she goes to real life examples, explanations, ideas, solutions, and just talking about how to have some success over the fear.  Each of the fears she hits are fears that many women have or can relate to in some way.  Personally, I don't live a life in fear, like the author has had to overcome.  There is one thing that I truly fear though.  I am not an "over-protective mother" and by that I mean that I am not a germ-a-phobe.  My kids ride in a grocery cart without a fabric seat, I pick toys up off the restaurant floor and give them back to the kid who dropped it, I didn't sterilize a pacifier that fell on the ground.  (I will admit that we crossed a line recently, though.  We were in Walmart to buy tennis shoes for the boys and Josh was in the back of the cart.  I turned around and said "Oh my word, we did not bring that chicken nugget with us."  He had found it in the cart  . . Darryl quickly ripped it out of his hand  . . well the half he hadn't eaten and tried to explain to him he wasn't in trouble but not to eat things out of a cart as I went into the next aisle and dry heaved for a few moments.  Man that was gross!)  BUT the one fear I have, the one thing that I can obsess over if I'm not careful, is that something will happen to my kids.  If we are out somewhere, they are never out of my site - I keep my hand on theirs, strap them in to anything, and walk behind the wagon if we are using that.  The thought of someone taking my kids can be almost crippling but I've learned to trust God more in this area - do I still constantly keep my eye on them, yes, but I also pray for peace and safety for each of my boys.  I think that whomever picks this book up will find that it will speak to you in some way.  I highly recommend this book to anyone. 

I had to go back to some Fiction for now until I can pick up another book on my reading list.  This book, by Tracie Peterson called What She Left for Me is a book that tells a true story of a family; of strong women actually.  It is the story of Jana, who faces great tragedy but, through it all learns more of family history and comes to love a mother who she thought never loved her as she discovers the truth about the past.  This book, in some ways, is not an easy read because it touches on tough topics like divorce, death, rape, drugs and the hippie lifestyle but, don't let that scare you - it is very well written and in the end you see a beautiful picture of forgiveness and reconciliation.  This is a great book to pick up and read this winter - sit back with a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy a good read.

Jumping in Sunset by Dawn Ringling is another fantastic read - one that I had trouble putting down.  The story begins as Pamela Thornton's husband abandons her and destroys the life she thought was perfect.  As she regathers her wits and emotions with a friend at a rustic lakeside cabin, she realizes how much she has been missing in her life.  She discovers the depth of true friendship, the solace of her artistic talent, and the comfort and compassion of God.  This is a great story of true healing and it is almost fun to watch the character unfold, learn and grow.  Another great book for a cold, snowy day! (Yes, sorry those are coming!)

I've shared this series before - The Elm Creek Quilt Series - and they really are very good books.  This is by far one of the best in the series.  The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaveriniok - this one can stand alone, you won't know the connection she has with some of the names in the book but really, this book is about her life.

That's what I've been reading!  My next book I'm working on now is

I started this previously, then put it down, now I've restarted it all over again and really want to read the whole thing so instead of trying to do it as my daily devotions, I'm just going to read it :-)

See you next week !

Making Your Home a Haven - Week 4

This is week four of the "Making your Home a Haven" being hosted by Courtney at Women Living Well. 

This weeks challenge is to have some family fun! I'm really going to refer you back to Courtney's POST to read all of the details only because she says it better then I ever could!

This is something I struggle with but my goal is to work toward one family fun event a week.  Maybe a game, a movie night, making dipped fruit or marshmallows, playing ball - just something that is planned specifically because we all know, if it isn't planned, it isn't happening. 

Enjoy :-)



What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm loving . . . .  that I finally put my fall decorations up!  I don't know why I waited so long but they are up and will stay up until I decorate for Christmas near the end of November.

I'm loving . . . that for the moment, I've figured out how to organize my desk and overflow area . . .I say for now because I'm ignoring the couple of piles in my bedroom that still need to have homes :-)

I'm loving . . . that we had a fabulous birthday party on Saturday.  Hard to believe though that my little man turned 3!!

I'm loving . . . this fall weather.  After the horrid summer weather, this has been fantastic - cool nights, warm days, and a great mix of sun and rain.

I'm loving . . .  getting to read to my boys.  They both love books and I love that the oldest likes to "read" to his brother too!

I'm loving . . . my family; family time; and family memories!

What are you loving today?



Too Cute Not Too Toot!!

I have to admit that this first idea started from one blog, when to another, and then to a second post!  So, I started over at Oopsey Daisy where she was talking about making your own distressed canvas art.  She provided a link to Delia Creates, where she found the original tutorial.  In reading that idea, she linked to another post called Trucking which I fell in love with because it would be the perfect piece of art for my sons room that I am trying to finish.  The best part is, when I was going to just link to Oospey Daisy I was going to say this is probably something I would never do but I thought it was too creative not to share . . . .still not sure if I will do this exactly but you will see something soon on how I use this that big boy bedroom!!

This dip from Mom on Timeout sounds delish.  We love roasted red peppers and I'm always looking for something different when it comes to dips.  I'm thinking I might need to try this soon!!

I realize that I just finished with a birthday party but I know that in the next year or two, the theme for my sons party is going to be Halloween so when I saw this idea for a Candy Corn Cake, I wanted to save it for the future!  Check it out over at Bird on a Cake.  I also love her cake plate - adding the ribbon is so festive!

Like many parents, I am always on the look out for craft ideas I can use now or in the future.  Pink Umbrella Photography shares several craft ideas including this adorable bean Mosaic.

I don't know about you but my house needs numbers.  Since we moved in, we have kinda been looking for the perfect "something" to put on the house that would show the house numbers.  I came across this idea over at Life on Maple and think it is awesome.  I already know I wouldn't use license plates, since I don't have extra, and I wouldn't use piping since I can't weld BUT I bed you could use plumbing pipe and fittings to do the same thing!  We'll see :-)

I mentioned in a post last week about my desk area so right now I'm on the look out for organizing ideas.  This idea comes from The complete guide to imperfect homemaking and is a great idea for a simple file box.  This specific post is part of her 31 Days to an Organized Home series - I was skimming through some of the other posts and she has some really great ideas!

Countdowns to anything are fun and And I thought I loved you then . . . shares a cut "countdown to candy" along with a few other decor ideas too!

Pinterest Challenge - Week # 3

To catch up on previous Pinterest Challenge success' and fails, just click HERE.

As you more then realize from reading posts from this past week, my oldest son turned three.  I actually used a lot of ideas that I found on Pinterest to put his birthday together as you can read in this Post.  Since I technically already posted those ideas even though I didn't list any specific links back to Pinterest, I wanted to chose something else for this weekly post.  It is still a Birthday Idea but I haven't shared it as of yet.

So, I came across this next idea out on Pinterest and it links back to The Jobling Family.  Based on a few posts I looked at before and after this post, it looks like she took the challenge to take pictures weekly (some do it daily) and this idea was just too adorable to pass up.  Check out her original idea:

I really love this idea; I love it so much that I do something similar each month for my kids but without the pictures.  Each month (and yes, I miss months) I try to write down all of the things they are doing and saying that are new and unique.  I then add this to the scrapbook as I start each months photos.  The idea of taking a picture on their birthday and adding those very specific things they are into right now, though, is fantastic.  What a perfect intro page to the pages in the scrapbook that relate to their birthday.  I picked out a picture from the photo shoot we had done recently that just showed Josh being all boy and this is what I created:

Isn't that awesome?  I may play with the fonts/size of fonts more before I get it printed when I print the October 2011 pages but it is the basic idea of what it will be.  Sometimes, when I come across ideas like this, I feel bad because it isn't something I started when my boys were first turning 1 but, I've had to learn to let go of some of that guilt and just start where I'm at and do the best I can each day.  It is really easy, though, to let life get too busy and not take time to write things down to remember in the future.  So, whether your kids are turning 3 or turning 13, maybe try this for their birthday, and enjoy just that moment of what they are doing. 

Have you completed anything from Pinterest?  If so, leave me a comment and a link - I'd love to check out the post!

Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest - What do you do?

I would like to think that I'm "up" on the latest things as far as technology . . .except when you consider that I don't own a flat screen or LSD TV, I do not have an Iphone, and Ipad, or anything else that starts with "I' and . . well I don't do this:

That's right, I don't tweet.  I don't even get it, actually.  And, on top of that, the tweets that post to facebook annoy me.  I wish those people that do it, would disable the feature (and yes, I know it is possible because I have a friend who did it when he realized how annoying it was!).  I did set up an account once because I was participating in a blog challenge but I don't even know what my screen name was (or whatever you call it)

So, what do I do?  I love

Yep.  I do.  Even when they do changes that I don't like and that annoy me. I still love Facebook.  I know of friends who have had problems with facebook - having it used for mean purposes but I have not.  I do have a few guidelines I try to follow.  One, I don't debate.  I don't comment on political, ethical, or questionable posts.  Recently, a friend from high school, who is now a pastor,  had posted a Biblical question on his status.  I actually had something to say but did not want to cause a debate so I just sent him an e-mail and explained my opinion.  We had a great conversation and chose to disagree on a few things - but it was private (as private as computers can be!).   I have even been known to delete a comment I write in a string if the topic becomes a debate because I don't want to be part of it.  Two, I keep things light and fun.  I don't post "dirty laundry" and I also try to remember one general thing - if I wouldn't want it said about me to the world, don't say it about others . . .even if it is funny!  I've learned that truth the hard way and won't make that mistake again.  On this same string of thought, I try to not write things on some one's wall that could cause someone else to feel left out.  It's one thing to have a simple conversation; it is another thing to invite several people over yet leave someone else out.  We never really had that problem before Facebook - you just invited people over and no one was the wiser but now, when it is so public, it is easy to feel like the odd man out.  This is especially true in Church groups.  On the flip side, I also don't take things personally.  I expect others to have close friends that don't include me just as I do.  Three, don't be mean!  Every once in awhile, someone makes me upset either by something they say on facebook or  the people who are attention getter's annoy me - they make me want to make some sarcastic comment.  I just say NO!  Don't use Facebook as a way  to vent or get even.  There are Biblical ways to handle those situations but in the very least, just walk away (or close the computer HA!).  So yes, I love Facebook.  I know of many people who have to take a break from Facebook or who delete their accounts but . . .not me :-)  I don't play games (I mean the ones on facebook!) and I don't let it control me - I just use it to stay in touch :-)

Do you know what else I do?

Do you know what is a bigger time waster then Facebook?  Yep, Pinterest HA!

So what is Pinterest - basically it is a huge selection of anything and everything - it is a giant "Favorites" board.  Instead of having to save something as a favorite or even tag it for later, you can just "Pin" it to one of your boards (you can create as many as you want and name them anything you want). 

It is a free site but you do have to be a member.  You can either go to the site and request a membership but that can take weeks to get an e-mail or you can ask someone (like me) who is already "in the know" to send you an invitation.  Then, you to can spend endless hours searching for everything from recipes, to quotes, to clothes, to decor all in one place!

So yes, that is how I waste time :-)  If you read my blog on a regular basis though, you will noticed my Pinterest Challenge Posts recently where I'm actually trying to do some of things I pin :-)


Finally, and obviously, I blog.  I started this blog over a year ago as a way to be creative; an outlet of sorts.  It can take a lot of time because I actually try to post at least once a day.  I've been working really hard to write posts 1 to 2 weeks in advance thinking it would free up some time for me to work on Scrapbooking but I've found that if I scrapbook, then I get behind on posts and if I posts, well, you get the idea :-)  But I love to do both so I'm working on making it all happen :-) 
Enjoy :-)

Mommy School - A Little Computer Fun

Lets be honest.  I've let myself off the hook and am no longer pushing the school stuff but rather moving with the flow of what my kids want to do and on Wednesday, I introduced a computer game to Josh.

To say that he loved it would be an understatement.  He played the "fish" game all day long off and on and he would just laugh and laugh when it made sounds. The CD is Charlie the Church Mouse - Preschool and has quite a few different games that tie into different Bible Stories.  He was playing the one that went with the Loaves and Fish. 

We have an old computer that I'm hoping still works (it worked recently!) because I want to put this CD game on THAT computer so I don't have to worry about my computer getting messed up. 

Other then that, we've just been hanging out.  I have been working on a birthday party, family Christmas plans and a bridal shower.  Plus with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming . . .well, that's lots of planning :-)