Cutting Ties

Lately, I have been convicted. I am dedicated to trying to get my family back to the "simple life". However, my actions and the steps I am taking just don't show that importance.

I was reading this blog post the other day about making permanent lifestyle changes and it spoke to me. There are MANY habits I need to change. I just need to "bite the bullet" - "take the plunge" and cut ties.

There are many "necessities" that aren't really necessities being used around here. Therefore, I have compiled a goal list of where I want to be and when. You know I love lists and you can never have too many! :)


Friday May 27 - Cutting ties with shampoo for myself first and then possibly others. I will be embracing the "no poo" method.
Friday June 3 - Cutting ties with the clothes dryer. We have been slowly moving towards this but inevitably we get behind or lazy and revert to using it.
Friday June 10 - Cutting ties with store bought bread. I always get in good habits doing this and once again I get lazy or something happens.
Friday June 17 - Cutting ties with the dishwasher.
Friday June 24 - Cutting ties with disposable diapers. Lincoln WILL be toilet trained or we will go back to using cloth for him.
Friday July 1 - Cutting ties with grocery stores. We will be planning ahead enough to get what we need from the produce delivery, farm or co-op. Other than that, no stores.

On major cutting ties area that will just be for a short time but will need a lot of preparation will be a spending freeze from December to February. The only spending we will be taking part in is fresh milk and eggs from the farm.

That means:

1. We will need to be working diligently to ensure enough food is put up for the winter months.
2. We will need to make sure gift ideas are began and finished by December for Christmas.
3. We will need to have an idea for Kristian's first birthday and have the materials on hand.

With cutting ties with the stores and with the spending freeze, I am hoping to wean my family away from even more "processed" foods. An example is spaghetti noodles. I know spaghetti noodles are not "processed" food per say but they must go through some kind of process in a plant or warehouse from I don't know where with I don't know who/what touching my food. 

How about you? Any ties you want to cut with "necessities" in your home? Have you? What's holding you?

Gratituesday: A Quiet Weekend

Do I have any snappy pictures to show of this weekend?

 Nope.

Do I have any exciting stories of what happened this weekend?

Nope.

Do you know what I DO have?

I have a grateful heart. That's what I DO have.

This weekend was just what I needed. Nothing exciting happened. The phone didn't ring all that much. There was no one demanding our attention. Everyone knew we were busy and that we wanted to spend time together as a family. Our families honored our request.

We got a few things done (the biggest thing was the baby's nursery!). We played games. Rested and relaxed. It was great. It was marvelous. It was just what we needed.

I feel so refreshed and so blessed. I am so thankful!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Simple Living: It's Just Easier to be Truthful and Transparent

A few weeks ago, I introduced a new series on Living Simple. Last week, I wrote about how my ideal simple life would look.  This week I was going to talk about what the dictionary says "simple" means and the negative connotation that some put with the word.

However, I have promised this blog to be full of transparency and real life.

If you have not noticed, I will make you aware of the fact that I promised to begin a writing schedule and would do my best to follow through with it unless real life happened and yet I have NOT been on here the past two days.

Well my friends... Real life happened and real life is kicking my tail end.

Today I want to write about how having an open, honest and transparent attitude and life can make things a little more simple. There is NO pretending, no comparing and usually no hurt feelings.

I can tell you honestly that this is one of the situations going on in my life. I was the one that was left out with hurt feelings, an aching heart and feeling left out and unwanted. I wish I can describe that heart felt pain I have in areas that I never knew could hurt but it is slow in healing.

I wish friends I could  assure you that this is all of what is going on, the worst, the extent, but dear friends, it's only the beginning...

We have been thrust into a life that can only be described as an HBO movie. There has been drugs, violence, sex and pain (not on our end). We have tried and tried to get those the Lord has brought to us out of it and it has caused hurt and pain. We are still searching for God's calling and direction but we are terribly confused.

Think that is a lot (maybe not by some of your standards but we live a relatively quiet life)? Well guess what!! The best is yet to come...

A few weeks ago, Dylan was complaining that his finger was really "squallen" (swollen). With all the rough-housing and craziness that goes along with a house full of boys, I thought nothing of it. After a couple of weeks, I had decided to call the Dr. but had never gotten around to it.

Tuesday morning, he came down and was complaining that it felt funny. We didn't have anything to do that day so I thought I'd run up the street to the pediatrician and have the splinter lanced and then he'd have the afternoon to re coop.

Getting to the Dr., it was quickly announced that it wasn't just a splinter that had gotten infected but that we needed to head to Children's Hospital for an x-ray and ultrasound. I was in disbelief. IT WAS JUST A SPLINTER!

After a long day of problems, testing and worried anticipation... The diagnosis was a desmoid tumor. A rare, rare, rare, rare (like 9 out of a million) tumor. It is still hard to read, to type, to believe.

 Do I believe and even KNOW that God is going to deliver us? ABSO-STINKIN-LUTELY! But as a mother that cries when her babies have runny noses (and who is 25 weeks pregnant! Hormones make you so irrational sometimes!), this is almost too much to bear...

The surgeon called this morning and we are going in for a consult in a couple of weeks. It is looking like surgery is the going to be the course of action.

On behalf of our family, Andy and I truly covet and beg of your prayers!

And for the love of a simple of life, be honest and open about what's going on in your lives! :)

A Struggle..

I have a battle with this phase in my life and my blog waging in my mind. My blog is a blog that is to provide encouragement and love to those who are dealing with PCOS.

I know when we were trying to get pregnant this time, every time I read a blog in which the writer became pregnant, I would get mad and stop reading it. "Why is this happening for them and not me?"

I do not want this to be the case with my blog. I want you to know that I have and am still  fighting the battle PCOS and I understand. I don't know whether to just say that I am not going to write about my pregnancy or risk upsetting people that I have grown to care about. Any ideas? Any suggestions? Any pointers?

I would love to write about the steps I took towards conceiving but is that just rubbing salt in the wounds you are carrying? Once again, please let me know...

With the end of this little blubber of words, I will go against all my feelings and show you a picture of the "baby". Keep in mind that the ultrasound picture was taken about five weeks ago. So I am a little further along but man oh man am I big!

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Matthew 19:26

A Rant on Food

Ok... As you read this, please keep in mind that I am NOT losing my mind, I am just a bit overwhelmed with life and please, please, please don't throw tomatoes at me or stop reading my blog. PLEASE. Also, if you haven't had a chance, take a look and please take part in my 300th giveaway!

Here I go... I am very interested in all the things and opinions on food and nutrition. I have really taken to the whole foods, traditional foods, Weston A. Price, Nourishing Traditions type philosophy about food.

There are so many awesome resources and ideas and blogs out there that deal with foods. Now I have got to be honest, I am struggling when it comes to whole foods the whole time.

I get very overwhelmed if I am busy that morning, look up at the clock and it is lunch time. What am I going to feed my kids?! I know most of you might be saying.. "Peanut butter and jelly, you idiot!" but it's just not that easy for me. My kids have different food allergies and honestly, I get overwhelmed and I shut down. The "simple" answer is often lost to me.

Therefore, I get into this horrible pattern. It goes a little something like this... (This is the conversation in my mind..) "I have NO idea what I am going to make the kids for lunch. It's already past lunch time!" --> "I live a block from 14 different resteraunts, let's just go grab something quick." --> "Tomorrow will be different. I will figure something out tomorrow." I get home, get the kids sat down and we eat the food. I hate how it tastes, but at this point I am so emotionally, metally and physically tired that I just sit in blessed "I didn't have to make lunch" solitude. After a while, it hits me. It hits me that I took part in the dreaded what it takes out and puts in cycle. I took valuable money OUT of my purse and spent our valuable money on putting IN crappy foods in our body. I then begin mentally beating myself down. Do I not care about my heath, my family's health, my wanting a baby? Do I care more about not cooking and being tired more than my family?

On and on it goes... Let me tell you my friends... I am done. I am done with this  vicious cycle of being stressed and overwhelmed about our foods.

I. am. done.!

 I am not going to stress over wheat gluten or not being able to get pregnant due to eating bread (which I was this morning! stressing, totally stressing like crazy over it!).

I am not going to stress over whether my children can eat a peice of cake made from a box for their birthday.

I am not going to stress over feeding them chicken nuggets from a bag or hot dogs once in  a great while (it's got to better than running to a resteraunt for Pete's sake!).

I am not stressing over this anymore. I am going to continue to put the best foods and most natural, whole and nutritional foods into my family but I am not stressing anymore.

I can tell you one thing... If this keeps up, my husband won't have to worry about what he and the kids are eating, he's going to have to worry about finding another wife because I tell you, I am going to have a stroke from high blood pressure due to worrying about what we are eating!

Ok. I am done. Please don't hate me and please don't send hate mail and hate comments. I hope y'all still love me and my crazy psychoness! :)

More ideas of what works for more sane people than me.. click here!

Gratituesday: Just What I Needed

If you haven't had a chance yet, click here for an awesome giveaway opportunity!
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This past weekend was just what I needed. It was relaxing... It was resting... It was a total gift from God.

Friday night, we went over to a game night at a friend's home. It is not normally something we would do but we decided to go anyway. Early that day when I found out this event was happening, I contacted my cousin and she was available to watch our kids ( I am totally weird about who watches my kids but that is a whole different post!).

I fed the kids and Catie came in. Andy and I snuck (is that a word?) off for a dinner date at Panera Bread. We sat and we chatted. We relaxed. And most important, we got on the same page. It was great!

We then went to the game night. It was a lot of fun. We enjoyed getting to meet knew people and play games. We stayed for a while and then headed home. We came home to an quiet house. The boys were asleep!

After a good night's sleep, we all got up gradually and had a yummy huge breakfast. This was the first Saturday in a while that we didn't have to rush off to basketball. After lounging around, we ran a few errands. We decided to have my aunt and uncle over for dinner to eat, play games and let our boys watch the Kids Choice Awards together. Once again, another great evening!

Sunday morning we went to church and praised and worshipped. It was a great service. After, we went to my Grandmother's for family lunch and then home for Sunday rest time.

That evening we went to see the African Children's Choir at our church. It was a great experience! The boys loved and it, as well as Andy and I! Then we went home and had dinner and began to prepare for the week.

God's love and His attention in the details is just amazing to me. He knew the relaxation and rest that I needed and He provided.

We are truly blessed and grateful around here! Have a story of gratitude or just want to read more -- click here!

How Cool!?!?

My wonderful hubby has his own blog now! If you are really interested, sort of interested or just bored, head on over and check it out! He's so cute!

With Words Like Bullets

Andy is an incredible man with an incredible heart. You'd be crazy not to go and read his thoughts!

The Birth Story of Dylan James: Part 3

Please pray along with me that God uses this. That others can find help and grow to know His love through me...

Friends, this isn't where I was expecting to go with the next installment of Dylan's birth story (Part 1 and Part 2). I have sat down many times to continue writing it but Sisters and Brothers, the devil is at work. Everytime I sit down I feel his presence and I continually call out "In the name of Jesus be gone!" and I have to tell you, the devil leaves but the feelings of guilt, insignificance, being unloved, being dirty, and just being all out ashamed come back. I truly believe that the closer in your faith and to the Lord you get, the more the devil wages war. The devil is not happy that I am trying to tell the story of when I was in evil's hands and how the Lord's love changed me, delivered me and brought me to a new place.

Therefore, after many times and trying to write this installment, I have decided that I need to step back and tell you a different angle of the story. I want to write about how those events in my life have shaped my life right now- the good, bad and the down right ugly. So here is my warning to you:

If you are reading where young eyes can read, please stop. If you are looking for a happy-go-lucky entry, please stop reading. If you are wanting this to be short, please come back to it another time... Please be praying for me and my war against the devil and his cruel ideas. Please pray for those who have lived the same nightmare and daily fight to live in God's light and love.

First and foremost I want it to be known to the whole world that I am blessed by God. I love my husband and my sons especially Dylan. None of what happened will ever be his fault in my eyes. While some days, it is tough but there is nothing I wouldn't do for him. He saved my life and forever I will be indebted to my first born...

Where do I go now? The devil is already waging his cruel games and ideas upon me. Ack!

Okay I am going to take an easier way and hopefully by the end, I will be able to open up more. Here is a song that I continually listen to, it's words so perfectly reflect my life and how I live it and relate to it.

By Your Side- Tenth Avenue North

By Your Side

Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
(Daily I struggle to earn grace for the sins I have commited. Daily I fight the feelings (STILL!) that I deserved it. Daily I struggle with feelings of inferiority. I feel like, even in blogging, that I will never measure up. I will never be the mom that I was meant to be. I do everything I can possibly do prove that I'm good enough. That I am worth something. I try to earn being a good person by being perfect and then when I don't measure up, I beat myself up unmercifully.)
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face.
Just don't turn away.
(Why am I crying Lord? I'm crying because I deserved it. I am nothing. I was nowhere close to you or where I should have been. I was asking for it! Lord, I dressed unappropriately and I asked for it! Lord if I would have been home with my parents instead of hanging out with the wrong people and doing the wrong things, this never would have happened! Lord, my family. Oh how I hurt my family. Lord bless them for what I did to them and they dealt with Lord. How could you want to see my face? I'm dirty I'm unclean. I do not deserve your forgiveness, your love or even your life. Lord you are too good. I cannot help but feel the urge to run away from what I do not deserve.)
Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough.
To where will you go child?
Tell me where will you run.
To where will you run.
And I'll be by your side,
Wherever you fall.
In the dead of night.
Whenever you call.
And please don't fight,
These hands that are holding you.
My hands are holding you.
Look at these hands and my side.
They swallowed the grave on that night.
When I drank the world's sin.
So I could carry you in.
And give you life,
I want to give you life.

Okay... I get to the last point in the song and just start sobbing everytime I hear it. I know I am flawed, dirty, unworthy, spoiled, inferior but Jesus LOVES me! He's holding me and everytime these feelings creep in, I will hold on to the promises that Jesus has spoken. If I fall again, he'll be there. It's part of being human. That's why he died. It's not my fault. I wasn't asking for it. I made mistakes but who hasn't? Those mistakes made me the woman I am today and even if I'm not as good as other mothers, I'm trying and I will keep trying.

Honestly, everyday, 5 1/2 years later is still a struggle. Everyday I have to wake up and read my Bible and proclaim that I am a child of God. A child that God himself delieverd from the darkness and brought into the light.

I dread the day that I have to tell Dylan all that happened to me. I think about what I'll say often and I pray about it daily. But as the words to this song say, He'll be by my side. Honestly, Dylan was worth it. I am not proud of the person I was or the things that happened to me, but they gave me my son and they made me who I am. The Devil will no longer hold the reigns anymore. I will use my story and I will help those who have been hurt the same way or in different ways. With God by my side, we will win!

Now with Him by my side, I am going to come right out and say this in words that I have never spoken to you before... "I was sexually assulted and I struggle by the minute, the hour and by the day. If you know anyone or you yourself have been also, please email me. We need each other. I need you. "

Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

 

Through the Lens Thursday: Bitter Sweet

Today I am dealing with some issues.... My boys are growing up.. I don't like it and I don't have to like it but I guess I do have to deal with it.

One of the main reasons I started this blog is to have a diary or journal of sorts for my sons (and future, hopefully, children) and their spouses to look at. I want someone to learn from all the silly mistakes I've made. I want to show them, I too was once young and just starting out.

Which brings me to this post... Janet over at Life In Focus has a carnival about viewing your life through the lens of a camera. Today, I'm not only showing you what my life looked like through a camera, but how my children will always look in my heart.

My hope is for those of you reading this blog to know just how much I love God, my husband and my children. There is nothing more that I could ask to see through my lens!

We're Rockstars!

And....
a little goofy... :)
For more Wordless Wednesday click here!

GratiTuesday: Jason

This is my husband's cousin, Jason and today I want to tell you just why I am so grateful for this wonderful man...

Jason has not had the easiest life, but what he has made out of it and what he stands for is what makes me proud to know this man...

Jason was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He was abused by his biological parents. He also has a very low IQ. Jason was eight years old when Andy's Aunt Janice and Uncle Dennis adopted him.

Though he has been through all these trials, the adult he has become amazes me.

Jason works a full time job and takes good care of himself.

He is the kindest man that I have ever met. He has a heart of gold and would do anything for anyone.

This past Christmas was when it hit me just how important knowing him is to me.

You see, I have told you all and it has been obvious to those around me just how much Christmas and the Holidays stress me out. This year in particular I was just not looking forward to the celebration. I would get to events and be fine, but I would dread getting there.

On Christmas night, we were handing out presents and Jason handed his gifts to our boys. The love and heartfelt joy that I saw in Jason made my heart turn...When the boys enjoyed their gifts from him, he was so excited.

You see, Jason with all his greatness, shows the true meaning of Christmas. His childlike faith and joy is so contagious. He is such a joy. At that moment I remember thinking of the great lesson he taught me.

So today, I am thankful that God uses people and God used Jason to teach me a different attitude about Christmas and life... Today I am so grateful for Jason!

Head on over to Laura's to take part in more Gratituesday!

White Chicken Chili

I have, hands down, the best white chicken chili recipe ever! Eating it in the winter is like a small little slice of Paradise (okay... maybe that's pushing it a little... ) on a cold day!

Without further adoo (or thoughts of Paradise!)... I will reveal my favorite chili recipe ever and how my family acts when they eat it!

*Disclaimer looking at these pictures of Lincoln eating this chili is not for the light hearted... He is a messy eater, but really really cute!*

Dylan is really excited it's white chicken chili night!

Lincoln LOVES this dinner so much he doesn't have time to use a spoon!

Daddy, who is extremely cold, is wondering why dinner time is always so messy and crazy at our house!

White Chicken Chili

1 can Northern beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, minced
1 can (4 oz) green chiles, minced
1 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 lb. chicken breast, cooked and cubed
Salt and Pepper to taste
ETA: Thank you Courtney! There is 3 cups of chicken broth.. I just drain the broth off the chicken after I cook it and use that. Sorry I totally spaced!

Throw it all in a pot and simmer for about an hour. This recipe makes about 8 servings but a lot of times I at least double it because it is one of those recipes that tastes better the following days as leftovers!

Enjoy! And if you are looking for more good recipes take a look at Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and Tuesdays at the Table and the Ultimate Recipe Swap.

Saturday Evening Blog Post: 1st Edition

As I was reading Elizabeth's favorite post of the year and why, I really sympathized with her favorite post of the year. It had to do with a personal experience and her past in which she is still dealing with.

As I read that, I had to think about the series of posts that I started about the conception of my first son.

Opening up to the world about his conception was extremely hard to do, yet it was so freeing. All the feelings that are coming to the surface are still very real to me and I feel everyone of them again. BUT as I write Dylan's story (and my story) I am reminded that God's mercies are new every morning. I am also struck by just how much (I didn't know at the time) that He was right there holding my hand and loving me still.

So I invite you to read over the beginning of Dylan's story for the first, second or third time and really see just how much the Lord was with me, even when I realize it.

Now be for warned that I have not been able to bring myself to finish or publish part three. Remembering has been difficult and I am to a part of the story where I need prayers. I covet your prayers. Soon, I promise I will be publishing part three.

Until then, Dylan's story part 1 and part 2 are much more to me then a favorite series, it is a new beginning and a new lesson to learn and share. Please join me and read them...


For more favorite posts of 2009, Elizabeth Ester's place is the place to go!

GratiTuesday - A Grateful Year in Review

Before I get into just how blessed we were this year, I want to share with y'all the Christmas letter we sent out. I hope it conveyed to our friends and family AND conveys to you all the message of how God has abundantly blessed us this year!

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Merry Christmas from the Davis Family!

I have to be honest with y’all; I did not want to write a Christmas letter. I didn’t want to take the time to try and figure out what to say. This year has been pretty uneventful and we have been blessed… Hey there, wait a minute! I should write and tell how we have been blessed beyond belief this year… God has been faithful!

Lincoln is getting so big. He is going to be two years old in April. I cannot believe a year ago we were running around trying to find why he wouldn’t gain weight. We went to the pediatrician this week and he is on track and healthy. Praise be to God! He is a handful and he definitely has his Mama’s spunk! I love him so much! He is into everything that Dylan and the cousins are into. He wants to hang with the big boys! He doesn’t talk yet (except for Mama! :)), but why should he when Mama and Dylan fill everything in for him!

Dylan is also getting so big! He is so tall (110 percentile to be exact!). He is going to be five years old in June. It is so hard to believe the little boy (don’t tell him I called him little) that saved my life is already getting so big. It seems just like yesterday! He loves to play outside and with superheroes! I am homeschooling him right now and we are both enjoying our time together. If you would have told me it would be going this well, I would have laughed at you. It is truly God’s work! He is such a blessing and I love and enjoy every minute of being around him. He has a heart of gold and I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for him!

With this crazy economy, we are blessed that Andy is still working at Evenflo. There have been quite a few lay-offs and he’s still there and working his way up to doing new important parts of the business. We have been blessed!

I spent the summer gardening and preserving food. We were blessed in abundance. We were not only able to put up enough food for ourselves but also for friends and family that were in need. Blessings, blessings and more blessings! God is faithful!

We hope this letter finds you and yours healthy! We love you all and you are in our prayers!
Andy, Jodi, Dylan and Lincoln
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Through GratiTuesday, I was able to write a lot of posts about what I was grateful for. Here is a quick explanation and if you click on them, they will take you to the post itself.

• As always, I am so thankful for a Savior that found me worth His dying on a Cross and taking on my sins AND then He continues to forgive me for my sins and shortcomings! Also, the Lord always knows our hearts and knows and hears our needs and communicates what we need to hear and believe.
• I am so blessed to be a help-meet to a Godly husband and father.
• Everyday (good and bad) I give the Lord thanks for two special boys that He has thought me worthy to raise. They make me so proud, they teach me lessons and I learn from teaching them, Dylan is beginning to help out around the house, and lastly that they love each other so much.
• 
  
  We not only have a roof over our heads, we have worked hard to make our home a haven from the troubles of the World.
  
  
  
• I am extremely grateful that I have a husband that has a steady and sufficient income so that I can stay home and take care of our home and children.
• This year I began home-educating Dylan. It has been such an incredible bonding experience and the memories we have made will be forever engrained in us.
• 
  
  This year, we were blessed with a plentiful harvest from our garden that not only provided food for us and our family but others that were in need.
  
  
  
• I didn't say a whole lot about it but back in August, I was in a serious car accident. I was only slightly injured but my car was hurt badly. Not only was I not seriously hurt but in the car behind me was my mother and my children. If they would have been in the car, they would have been seriously hurt or killed (mainly my mom in the passenger seat). I was also very thankful we had car insurance.
• In January, we went on a cruise with my family to celebrate my Grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.
• Andy and I have great friends that hold us accountable and are always there for us!
• 
  
  After a lot of praying and debating, I am grateful that the Lord has directed me on the type of blog He wants me to share and I am grateful that He has choosen me to be His messenger.
  
  
  
• 
  
  I am very grateful that this year after many years of silence, the Lord has prompted me to begin to open up and share the birth story of my first son Dylan (part 1 and part 2. I promise I will pick it back up soon in the New Year. It truly is a hard topic for me.)
  
  
  
• 
  
  I am so grateful for my sisters and friends that I have made in the blogging community. Who knew some of your best friends could come from the internet?
  
  
  
• 
  
  I am sorry but this just has to be said... I AM SO THANKFUL FOR MY JARS!
  
  
  

This year has been a year full of blessings. We were continually shown God's faithfulness! I cannot praise Him enough!

For more incredible stories of God's greatness, go check out Heavenly Homemakers!

Christmas...

I hope you all had a wonderful and blessed Christmas...

This is our annual "early on Christmas we take a family pic in our new PJs" family picture. Lincoln definently looks tired but it's still cute!

I pray that all of you who are traveling this hectic weekend will have a safe and joyful trip to where ever you might be traveling. Have a blessed continuing Holiday!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours... What a mighty Savior was born this day! May you have a blessed and enjoyable Holiday!

Book Advent

My mom and dad read this book to me when I was a young girl. It is an awesome book. You read a story a day until Christmas. I have inherited this tradition and continue to do it with my children. From reading this book, came my idea of a Book Advent.

My boys are a little young yet to be going all crazy, and while I love the ideas such as the Jesse Tree, I am just not the motivated or together right before Christmas.

I just came up with it this year and have been trying to keep up with it as much as I can BUT I will be doing it next year.

The day after Thanksgiving, I will be going around and collecting all our Christmas books. I will then wrap them up and number them in a sort of organized order. An example is the above Christmas book will be number 1 to be opened on December 1st since it is a story a day until Christmas. I will do this all the way to the Nativity story on December 24.

So far, my kids are really enjoying this tradition. It keeps the books centered around Christmas, gives them an idea of how long it is until Christmas, and lastly gives them practice on opening presents.

Do y'all have any traditions you have started with Advent? Do you not struggle as much as I do with the fancier more in depth Advent ideas?

Date Nite

Today is GratiTuesday over at Heavenly Homemakers. I have something that I am very grateful for and cannot wait to share it with you...

As a mother, I find that I hardly ever take the time for myself none the less my husband and myself. I am finding that for days at a time, I am not leaving our home and the kids are always occupying my mind and all my attention.

The teens in our church youth group are going to be attending an International Youth Convention this upcoming summer. They are trying to earn money. (Enter great and makes me oh so grateful
idea....)

They decided around the Holidays, they would provide childcare at a reasonable (I think too cheap!) price on Saturday evening from 6P-9P at our church.

Andy and I totally took advantage of this... What a great idea for us to drop our kids off and get time together, while supporting an awesome purpose!

We really enjoyed our time together. It made our marriage stronger. It made me notice that I did not a little adult interaction. AND it made me feel like I wasn't just a mother, but a wife and a woman. A wife and woman which God made to have feelings and needs of her own. It was an awesome experience.

I do not know if they are going to continue this new fundraiser. However, I am all for the continuation! :)

So if your church youth group is looking for a great and servicing fundraiser, this is one idea I would throw out to you! AND if there is nothing like this available to you, I highly recommend finding time to get out of the house with your husband. It is always nice to be reminded that you are more than a mother (even though it's nice to be that too!)
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This post is linked to GratiTuesday.

GratiTuesday: Christmas Tree Traditions

The first weekend, beginning with the Friday after Thanksgiving, we begin our weekend of Christmas Tree Traditions.

This is one of my favorite times of the year.

My Great-Grandfather started the tradition of everyone in the family having their own Christmas tree. It was always something special we did together every year. My Great-Grandparents would come over and we would decorate it together and share that special time together.

Even though they are gone, it is still a tradition I do with my own children. Christmas trees just have a special meaning for me. There are many trees that hold a wonderful place in my heart...

Today I am thankful for those traditions and I would like to share them with you... Hope you enjoy them!

This is our family tree. We put it out together. It has homemade ornaments and family ornaments on it. We always put up this tree the Friday after Thanksgiving.

This is a tree at our church that my mother is in charge of. This is my favorite tree. It is the Giving Tree. Every year my mom finds families in need and we take an ornament off of the tree that has a special gift on it to purchase. The whole church takes part. This year, there are 8 families and over 125 ornaments for children's gifts. It is an incredible tradition to start when trying to teach your children about giving to others...

The first Sunday after Thanksgiving, our church holds a "Hanging of the Greens" service. We all come together in the evening and begin by singing Christmas carols together. Here is (from front to back) Lincoln, my Dad, Dylan and Andy holding up the ladder. Andy was lucky to be volunteered by the Pastor from the pulpit to hold the ladder. :)

Sorry about the "red eye" but here is a sweet picture of my Dad and Lincoln singing.

Here is the picture of the church Christmas tree before the ornaments were hung...

Andy is doing a wonderful job with the ladder!

Dylan and Lincoln hanging their decorations...

Here are the ornaments for the boys tree sitting out and waiting to be hung...

The tree waiting to be decorated...

I decided to help a little...

I will be posting the boys Christmas tree picture at a later date! I love to keep y'all waiting in anticipation... :)

This post is like to Gratituesdays.

Love Story- God's Will

This is from last Valentine's Day but I thought with the Holidays coming, it would nice to just sit back and remember... I hope y'all enjoy it and I pray this Holiday season you learn about the birth of the Ultimate Love Story...

I have the best husband in the world and after I found this I just had to take part.

My husband and I have known of each other all of our lives. We grew up in the same church and saw each other occasionally. He is a few years older (won't say how much ;) ) than I so we were never in the same crowd.

My husband had gone to college and gotten a job in a town about an hour away and I had just started college. I went on with my life as I wanted it-turning away from the Lord, I made some bad decisions and became pregnant.

I held in a lot of feelings about the pregnancy and one day just went to church, picked out another young mother, and told her I needed a friend and I was picking her. We went to lunch that day. Over an Applebees appetizer, I shared my anquish and lonliness and fear to her. We became instant friends.

About a week later, my son and I went to her house. Her father and brother were working on a project. I felt someone watching me but quickly brushed it off. At that time I dealt with a lot of insecruity about how people judged me as a young, unwed mother.

I was telling Jenny, my friend and husband's sister, that I always wanted to learn to play guitar. She suggested that I ask her brother to take me shopping to look at guitars.

We went to look at guitars and quickly became friends.

We talked every night and I spilled everthing. We became "JUST friends".

A few weeks later it was Christmas and he took the whole week between Christmas and New Years off of work. We spent every day together.

When things started becoming more than just friends, my husband started pushing away. I did not know what was happening. One minute he'd be telling me I wasn't what he had invisioned of a wife and he just wanted to be friends and the next he would be kissing me. It was hard for me to take.

We didn't talk to for a week. That was a long time when we went from spending every day together to nothing for a week. He then called me and told me that he was sure that he wanted to be with me. He said he went to the Lord and asked him if I was the one for him that God take away all his fears and doubts and give him a peace. The Lord did.

We dated about a month longer and knew we were made by God to be together. We got engaged on January 17, 2006. We were married on May 13, 2006. Andy, my husband, adopted our son in August of 2007 and we had our second son on April 5, 2008.

We have been through a lot- death of my grandmother (Julia Caldwell), death of a woman who helped raise me (Colleen McCormick), and the loss of now 5 babies but we have always came together. He is my rock and without him I would not be as strong.

As I end this I want to share a story that shows the kind of Godly man that I married and am blessed to be selected as his helper.

When I was about to have our second son I kept telling him that the birth of a child was something that made all kinds of emotions come up. The love you feel when you see that child born is more than you expect. I kept telling him that I knew he loved our first son but it would be different. When I had our second son, he looked at me and said, "This is the second most happiest day of my life. The first being the day that I adopted Dylan."

This man has taken me and my firstborn as his own and has never looked back. That to me is true love and God's will.