OK guys, just wanted everyone to know that I am totally ready for 2009 and am ready to shed some more pounds!! I have struggeld with weight all my life. I swear, my eating issues come from being a premie and being told to eat for the first six years of my life! Anyway, the end of June 2008 I decided enough was enough! I am no longer focusing on a certain weight or size. My goal is be HEALTHY--to eat healthy 90% of the time, to become more active and fit and to inspire my boys to stay active and healthy. I lost 27 lbs from July to October with this thought as inspiration. Amazingly, I only gained 4 pounds back over the holidays! But now is the time to get back on my eating plan. I have looked back at my food diary from my most succesful months and am making a grocery list based on what I ate then. This week I am focusing on "cleansing" the cabinets of holiday junk food. Starting Monday I will back to my healthy lifestyle!! Can't wait!
I don't know if this post counts as a "real" New Year's Resolution. However, I do have goals. But what about you? Share your New Year's Resolutions or goals for 2009. Be sure to participate in the latest poll, too!
Wishing you all a Happy, Healthy New Year!!
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
We love our pets!
It's now official! Most of us love our pets enough to make them part of the family!! It has always been fun for the boys to see what Santa will bring the cat and dog. I'm glad to see others doing this as well.
Wishing you all a truly blessed and Merry CHRISTmas!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
The Blessing of a Broken Christmas Tree
OK, I'm sure you are thinking that the word 'blessing' and 'broken' do not belong in the same senetence! But in this case they truly do. Here's the story... We finally get our tree up on Saturday. It was alot of fun and the boys enjoyed it more than ever before! Great memories on that night! On Monday night I go to plug the tree in so I can take a picture of Michael all dressed up for his Christmas band concert and the tree falls over!! My hubby helps me pick it up and get it to stand back up and it seemed fine...until a couple days later it falls over again!
Last night my handy man hubby tries to repair the stand but nothing would fix it. I had already decided to go get a table top tree and wait until after Christmas to get a new tree since it would be an unexpected expense. During the repair process one of his buddies calls and Mike tells him about the tree. Darrell tells Mike that he and his wife bought a new tree this year since their old one was too big for the living room in their new house and he'd be glad to let us have it!
How is all this a blessing? My mother in law is on a fixed income and limited storage space. She cannot find all the pieces to her tree. However, she does have a good stand! We both had the same tree so our former tree can now become her new tree with the use of her stand. How cool is that?!
Isn't it awesome to know that our God truly cares for even the smallest thing in our lives? He knew that my mother in law would have this problem and saw a way to fix it so that our whole family could be blessed!!
Last night my handy man hubby tries to repair the stand but nothing would fix it. I had already decided to go get a table top tree and wait until after Christmas to get a new tree since it would be an unexpected expense. During the repair process one of his buddies calls and Mike tells him about the tree. Darrell tells Mike that he and his wife bought a new tree this year since their old one was too big for the living room in their new house and he'd be glad to let us have it!
How is all this a blessing? My mother in law is on a fixed income and limited storage space. She cannot find all the pieces to her tree. However, she does have a good stand! We both had the same tree so our former tree can now become her new tree with the use of her stand. How cool is that?!
Isn't it awesome to know that our God truly cares for even the smallest thing in our lives? He knew that my mother in law would have this problem and saw a way to fix it so that our whole family could be blessed!!
Friday, December 12, 2008
No Comparrison
With 2 weeks before Christmas REMEMBER: Jesus is Better than Santa
It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.We need to put Christ back in Christmas. Jesus is still the reason for the season.
May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2008 And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year.
No, I did not write this but felt it should be passed on!!
- Santa lives at the North Pole.
- JESUS is everywhere.
- Santa rides in a sleigh
- JESUS rides on the wind and walks on the water.
- Santa comes but once a year
- JESUS is an ever present help.
- Santa fills your stockings with goodies
- JESUS supplies all your needs.
- Santa comes down your chimney uninvited
- JESUS stands at your door and knocks.. And then enters your heart.
- You have to stand in line to see Santa
- JESUS is as close as the mention of His name.
- Santa lets you sit on his lap
- JESUS lets you rest in His arms.
- Santa doesn't know your name, all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl, What's your name?"
- JESUS knew our name before we did.Not only does He know our name, He knows our address too.He knows our history and future and He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.
- Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly
- JESUS has a heart full of love.
- All Santa can offer is HO HO HO
- JESUS offers health, help and hope.
- Santa says "You better not cry"
- JESUS says "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you.
- Santa's little helpers make toys
- JESUS makes new life, mends wounded hearts, repairs broken homes and builds mansions.
- Santa may make you chuckle
- JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.
- While Santa puts gifts under your tree
- JESUS became our gift and died on the tree.
It's obvious there is really no comparison.
We need to remember WHO Christmas is all about.We need to put Christ back in Christmas. Jesus is still the reason for the season.
May the Lord Bless and Watch over you and your loved ones this Christmas 2008 And may He prosper and bless the work of your hands in the New Year.
No, I did not write this but felt it should be passed on!!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Thanksgiving 2008
Thanksgiving 2008 was awesome! It will go down in history as the one with the best turkey ever! (Not kidding!) My hubby smoked it again this year but wrapped it in foil this time. It turned out lovely and with an excellent smoky flavor. I made turkey salad with the leftovers and there is barely any left! The boys enjoyed their extra drumsticks as well...I think they are all gone.
With Thanksgiving over with does this mean we have to stop being thankful? Does it mean we should not concentrate on our blessings the rest of the year? NO!! We should always remain thankful for all the Lord has provided to each of us. So many people do indeed act like Thanksgiving day is the only day of the year to truly be thankful. This year, let us all make a point to be thankful every day for our blessings. And let's remember to talk about our blessings to others. Who knows...maybe it will be contagious!
Here are a few pics our my biggest blessings...my two precious boys--Michael (11) and Adam (5)--playing football!
Here they are again on one of our many walks through the campground. So sweet to see them like this! By the way, how do you guys like Adam's spikey do?
And here is the love of my life working hard to prepare us a delicious smoked turkey!
Hope you all had a truly blessed Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Holiday Shopping Ideas
With all the talk buzzing around about holiday shopping and gas prices (even though they are dropping they are still way too high!) I’ve heard many people mention they will shop by catalog and/or internet. So here’s a way to help those shoppers out! I’ve found some sites with one of a kind, custom made items that I’d like to share with you!
If you are looking for a great read or audio book check out:
www.candancelawson.etsy.com or www.tatepublishing.com Copies from etsy can be autographed and get FREE shipping until December 1st (etsy site only!)! This is a newly published Christian romance novel just perfect for a cold winter’s night!
Or lovely handmade baby items, hats, scarves and/or home items go to:
www.mattscraftywife.etsy.com She makes lovely items and not only accepts but encourages custom orders! Smoke free and pet free home.
Thinking about unusual jewelry? Then this site is a must see!
www.cherryscreations.etsy.com
Need some relaxation or looking for hard to find essential oils? Then here’s the place! www.fineessentials.etsy.com
If you love denim, this is the site for you! Items are made from recycled jeans. Purses, cards and more! www.loriforney.etsy.com Made in a smoke free environment.
For tasteful lingerie and FREE shipping check out:
http://www.irresistible-elegance.com
Please come back and let us know what you think of these sites and your experiences if you purchase from any of them. Also, share your favorite sites and holiday ideas!
If you are looking for a great read or audio book check out:
www.candancelawson.etsy.com or www.tatepublishing.com Copies from etsy can be autographed and get FREE shipping until December 1st (etsy site only!)! This is a newly published Christian romance novel just perfect for a cold winter’s night!
Or lovely handmade baby items, hats, scarves and/or home items go to:
www.mattscraftywife.etsy.com She makes lovely items and not only accepts but encourages custom orders! Smoke free and pet free home.
Thinking about unusual jewelry? Then this site is a must see!
www.cherryscreations.etsy.com
Need some relaxation or looking for hard to find essential oils? Then here’s the place! www.fineessentials.etsy.com
If you love denim, this is the site for you! Items are made from recycled jeans. Purses, cards and more! www.loriforney.etsy.com Made in a smoke free environment.
For tasteful lingerie and FREE shipping check out:
http://www.irresistible-elegance.com
Please come back and let us know what you think of these sites and your experiences if you purchase from any of them. Also, share your favorite sites and holiday ideas!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Thanksgiving...I can't wait!
Thanksgiving is coming! I must admit, Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday! It is a time of reflection and joy...a time for families to set aside all differences and come together in a spirit of unity.
Last year my husband and boys began a new tradition for Thanksgiving. Typically we would visit both sets of families and eat a minimum of two times. While it is fun to see everyone, it is exhausting and leaves little time to truly experience the true meaning of the day. So a new tradition was born! Actually, it was my oldest son's, Michael, idea. We were camping in September and while walking through the campground Michael began talking about the pilgrims (he's a major history buff already!) and about the first Thanksgiving. He casually said, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could have an old fashioned Thanksgiving?" Ding, ding! A lightbulb went off in both my and my husband's heads at the same time. We looked at each other as if to say, "Oh yeah!".
We discussed bringing our camper to the campground and having Thanksgiving but the unpredicable weather made us stop and think. After all, who wants to tow a 24 ft. long camper or cook outside in a snow storm? The campground has cabins. Immediately, I went to the office and got the literature. We made our reservations before we left that weekend.
For two months the boys were so fired up about Thanksgiving! Nearly every day one would ask a question..."How are we cooking the turkey?" or "Can I have the drumstick?" or "Can we play outside while the food cooks?" This would inspire a whole conversation of our plans which included smoking the turkey, homemade rolls, pumpkin cookies (easier to travel with!) and mashed potatoes made with a hand masher. All four of us were so excited we could harly contain ourselves!
We arrived at the cabin on Wednesday evening and were thrilled at the atmosphere! The inside walls looked exactly like the outside walls, denim curtains hung on the windows and all the furniture was made of rustic wood. A perfect setting to our old fashioned Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Day dawned cool but clear...fallen leaves surrounded the cabin as well as all the walkways and roads throughout the campground. Mike fired up the smoker early which resulted in the few other campers dropping by to say hello and see what we were up to. Mike and I took turns preparing food and checking on the smoker and taking the boys for walks and playing in the leaves.
Finally, the turkey was done! It was dark from the smoker but still looked beautiful. Mike had no more than removed it and settled the bird on a platter when it started to snow! A beautiful setting to enjoy a wonderful meal and enjoy the company of those we love the most.
This year we have plans to continue our new tradition.
Now it's your turn! Share your Thanksgiving traditions and/or your favorite memory of the holiday. Can't wait to hear from you!
Last year my husband and boys began a new tradition for Thanksgiving. Typically we would visit both sets of families and eat a minimum of two times. While it is fun to see everyone, it is exhausting and leaves little time to truly experience the true meaning of the day. So a new tradition was born! Actually, it was my oldest son's, Michael, idea. We were camping in September and while walking through the campground Michael began talking about the pilgrims (he's a major history buff already!) and about the first Thanksgiving. He casually said, "Wouldn't it be nice if we could have an old fashioned Thanksgiving?" Ding, ding! A lightbulb went off in both my and my husband's heads at the same time. We looked at each other as if to say, "Oh yeah!".
We discussed bringing our camper to the campground and having Thanksgiving but the unpredicable weather made us stop and think. After all, who wants to tow a 24 ft. long camper or cook outside in a snow storm? The campground has cabins. Immediately, I went to the office and got the literature. We made our reservations before we left that weekend.
For two months the boys were so fired up about Thanksgiving! Nearly every day one would ask a question..."How are we cooking the turkey?" or "Can I have the drumstick?" or "Can we play outside while the food cooks?" This would inspire a whole conversation of our plans which included smoking the turkey, homemade rolls, pumpkin cookies (easier to travel with!) and mashed potatoes made with a hand masher. All four of us were so excited we could harly contain ourselves!
We arrived at the cabin on Wednesday evening and were thrilled at the atmosphere! The inside walls looked exactly like the outside walls, denim curtains hung on the windows and all the furniture was made of rustic wood. A perfect setting to our old fashioned Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Day dawned cool but clear...fallen leaves surrounded the cabin as well as all the walkways and roads throughout the campground. Mike fired up the smoker early which resulted in the few other campers dropping by to say hello and see what we were up to. Mike and I took turns preparing food and checking on the smoker and taking the boys for walks and playing in the leaves.
Finally, the turkey was done! It was dark from the smoker but still looked beautiful. Mike had no more than removed it and settled the bird on a platter when it started to snow! A beautiful setting to enjoy a wonderful meal and enjoy the company of those we love the most.
This year we have plans to continue our new tradition.
Now it's your turn! Share your Thanksgiving traditions and/or your favorite memory of the holiday. Can't wait to hear from you!
PS--That is sparkling grape juice in the first pic! ;)
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