A Little Something to Ponder...

Howdy ya'll!  I have been a busy bee lately...trying to catch up from being gone for a week and getting some Christmas cheer put up around my house!  I have decided not to go all out this year....we have several home projects going on and things are a bit scattered.... plus, I have a 19 month old that gets in to everything.  Do you remember that stage?  I forgot, too...how quickly I am reminded - ha!

I am so ready for some order to my house.....it can get really discouraging. We have painters coming next week to paint some built-in bookshelves in the den and our roof has been an ongoing process now for nearly 2 weeks.  It's a big mess!  However, I have decided as of today..I am NOT going to lose my joy! My children are healthy, my husband has a job, we have a lovely home and every need is met. I was over at 4 Reluctant Entertainers today and she posted about joy and priorities - thanks, Sandy! In fact, she added this little quote... 

Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
And today is a gift.

Today is a GIFT - we only have this moment and can never get it back!

My mom emailed this video to me...how timely!  It really speaks as to what is truly important this Christmas season - spending time with loved ones, making sweet memories, giving of ourselves and of course, Jesus! 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Romans 15:13

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving


Let us give thanks to God above,
Thanks for expressions of His love,
Seen in the book of nature, grand
Taught by His love on every hand.

Let us be thankful in our hearts,
Thankful for all the truth imparts,
For the religion of our Lord,
All that is taught us in His word.

Let us be thankful for a land,
That will for such religion stand;
One that protects it by the law,
One that before it stands in awe.

Thankful for all things let us be,
Though there be woes and misery;
Lessons they bring us for our good-
Later 'twill all be understood.

Thankful for peace o'er land and sea,
Thankful for signs of liberty,
Thankful for homes, for life and health,
Pleasure and plenty, fame and wealth.

Thankful for friends and loved ones, too,
Thankful for all things, good and true,
Thankful for harvest in the fall,
Thankful to Him who gave it all.

(Lizelia Augusta Jenkins Moorer)

A little trip to Arkansas!

Happy Monday!

Hey ya'll! I'm rushing around today trying to get ready to leave for Texas - whohoo! We are headed to a little West Tx town (po-dunct-ville) to visit hubby's great-grandparents. Nana can cook, and...boy, is it gonna be good! This will probably be my only post this week - hope everyone enjoys their day of thanks!

I had a jam-packed weekend complete with a visit from my aunt and cousin. We headed over to Arkansas for the Dayspring Warehouse Sale and had an absolute blast!! They hold this sale once a year, right before Thanksgiving. If you have never been, it is definitely worth the trip. Dayspring makes all the pretty paper goods and gift items you see in Christian bookstores like Mardels and LifeWay..even Walmart. I got tons of goodies - gorgeous gift bags for 50 cents, note cards 10 for a buck, pretty wrapping paper, day planners, etc. Most of my Christmas shopping is done now - yay!

Full of tons of great stuff!

Next, we headed over to the infamous OOPS store...which is more like a warehouse. It's huge! If you have followed Shannon's blog, then you know about this store. She's gotten lots of cute things there. I think Kelly at Kelly's Korner also mentions it a time or two. This is a fun place, ya'll!

the 3 amigos: Laura (cousin), Priscilla (aunt) and myself outside the entrance sitting in a huge chair

Aisles and aisles of Christmas decor

a little life-size village in the back of the store

neat sleigh

Loved these Christmas trees - they are tall and made out of wood - so pretty..almost took them home!

Bought these mercury glass birdies - all for less than $15. The big one broke on the trip back...but, I fixed it!

Don't you love this pretty rabbit? I did too, for $13.50! He's also a nice, large size.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving friends....take care and enjoy your precious families! We all have soo much to be thankful for! :)

Sunday Rest

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:25-26

The purest form of religion.....

Happy Thursday!

I had originally planned to write about a few things that I am thankful for today, but I would much rather blog about a topic that is near and dear to my heart: ADOPTION.

November is National Adoption Month

I long to adopt - always have. I was just talking with some girls at MOPS yesterday about my desire to fulfill this long-time desire of my heart. I believe it is something I have been called to do - since I was a little girl - and really pray about God's timing for our family. I think I would adopt a child from every country if it were possible. As of now, I feel called to China, but am aware of the incredible need in other parts of the world, as well, and the country of origin for my future child may change. I sometimes wish they would just give these children away - to loving parents that long to hold them, kiss their little faces, pray for them and give them a place to call home. They need us desperately!

I am always in awe of families that go through the process. I literally have to resist the temptation to walk up to total strangers with adopted kids and start a conversation about their experiences. But stare - yes, I do. I stare long and I stare hard. I love looking at them!

My cousin and his wife tried for years to have a baby. They are now the proud parents of a sweet baby girl by way of local adoption and what a blessing she is! I get to meet this beautiful baby for the first time over Christmas and just want to eat her up!
Her name means: "God has answered". He definitely has!




I have several acquaintances that have adoption blogs and they are such a source of encouragement.

I know that through adoption I can touch another child's life and show him/her God's grace, love and faithfulness - the same that He shows me each and every day. It is my responsibility to do this - I honestly believe it! And I know in turn, that I (and my family) will be blessed and changed in ways we cannot even yet imagine.

I stumbled upon this video through one of my friend's blogs. It is incredibly touching!

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress" James 1:27

If you have any adoption stories to share, please do so ~

Enjoy your day friends!

Good Morning!

I have really missed you...really!  Hope all of you are doing well.....

Can you believe that it's time to start decorating for Christmas?  It really creeped up on me!  I have been perusing all of my favorite blogs and my goodness, there is already some beautiful decor out there!

We have a new computer at our house -yea!  We broke down and bought a Dell - I hope this dadgum thing lasts for a good while.  Yes, I said dadgum!  Our last computer was only 5 years old - is that about the running average for the life a computer?

We are still working on getting all the "info" from our last computer onto our new one.  And, this one needs all the software added to it, as well.  I still can't upload photos, yet...but, soon!

Do you guys know about the Black Friday ads website?  It's awesome!  I have done a lot of shopping already, but this site really gets me excited!  Yep, I'm on one of those crazies that enjoys getting up early to hit the sales.... You'd almost think retailers would be giving stuff away trying to lure in buyers this year.

 

Time for this week's menu:

Monday: going out for dinner
Tuesday: mini tacos
Wednesday: chicken supreme
Thursday: grilled salmon and rice
Friday: crock pot beef stew

Have a wonderful Monday everyone!  It's good to be back!

Hello!

Hi friends!!

I am here...feeling better and miss you all!

Our computer crashed this weekend, and while I have internet access, it is extremely slow on our ancient laptop, so I have not been on my blog all week.  I will be back soon - can't wait to catch up with you guys!

Have a nice Wednesday!