#1000 gifts {January 2016}

having a new puppy in the house
Natalie on Pinterest
watching Little Women with the girls
finding scriptures on the back of Houston's door
two new devotionals to start the year out with

{my friend Regina bought this for me for Christmas. I am loving it. Brennan Manning was Rich Mullins mentor} 

Houston being able to run an errand for us when we are sick
a Love God Greatly bible study on prayer
January scripture writing plan

older kids lunch out after church with friends
chilly winter weather
warm soft blankets to curl up in
a note from Ally
down and alone time while being sick
lingering Christmas decorations
watching my favorite movies with Natalie
a new book in the mail to read and review

{if you're familiar with the national radio program Rick & Bubba, this is a book written by Rick's wife, Sherri, about the death of their toddler son around 4 years ago} 

safe travels and back for Bryan to Tennessee
fun for older kids, bowling with the Hale's

eye drops for eye pain
comforting foods
peppermint creamer for coffee
finding junior mint hot chocolate in a local store after seeing it online months ago

shopping time with Natalie at Hobby Lobby
confidence in knowing friends pray for me when I ask them to
women's night at church, painting together
time with Regina at Panera bread
Natalie and Mackenzie getting some time together
our first read-aloud of the new year

{it's about a cow that loves the music of Beethoven}

humor in the above book and the laughter it has brought us
ordering Ally's birthday present
lunch with the Hale's after church
Ally's unmatched outfit

girls dancing together around the house
conversations around dinner table
laughter around dinner table
kids crowded into kitchen helping to make dinner
soft pillows
animals to cuddle with
watching the movie War Room together
sweet tea
soft cozy socks to keep feet warm
celebrating our Ally girl
Annie decorating and baking for Ally's birthday celebration
Houston driving his sisters to a sleepover
when Houston walks through the front door and yells, "Lucy, I'm Home!"
watching the kids at ballroom dance class
Annie & Emmy doing the Viennese Waltz in dance class
Emmy finding boots for 2$
watching Ally enjoy a milkshake from Sonic with a gift card a friend gave her for her B-day

snow falling on our faces
 snow falling while driving home from dance class
soft PJ's
relaxing weekends
the girls spending time with friends, baking
new Bath and Body Works lotion
watching the old TV show, My Two Dad's, with the kids
Camden's creative Lego creations
Annie taking pictures of the clouds
shopping at Aldi's with Annie & Natalie
finding a pure raspberry jam at Aldi's
Annie's love for fruit, especially raspberries and strawberries
a new chicken and wild rice soup that was yummy!
Mexican cornbread like my mom used to make
grocery shopping
new soup recipes to try

{it's a copycat recipe of Olive Garden's Pasta E Fagioli} 

Chex Mix
a break from Benei Aor
Sonic's strawberry vanilla Sprite
hand soaps from Bath & Body Works on sale
a new journal to log my #1000 gifts in this year

ice cubes
solitude
warm banana bread, hot out of oven
finding jars of pesto at Aldi's
pesto and cheese stuffed chicken breasts
Emmy interviewing at Cracker Barrel
attending a pre-screening of the movie, God's Not Dead 2, with my Annie girl

movie popcorn 

seeing Nan and Pastor Ken at the movie theater 

Houston spending the day with the guys from church

a friend buying Houston dinner 

my gingerbread coffee cup 

"Without exception, every person I interviewed who described living a joyful life or who described themselves as joyful, actively practiced gratitude and attributed their joyfulness to their gratitude practice.
" -Brene Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection

Houston & His Truck!

He was around 14 years old when he first fell in love and claimed the truck as his. It was on a visit to Meme's (Bryan's mom's) and Larry's in Missouri. He never dreamed the truck would actually become his. On his 16th birthday, he was told that it would one day be his. Two years later, on his 18th birthday, he received the title in the mail from his Meme & Larry. They gave him the truck for his birthday. This past Thanksgiving we drove up to Missouri and we brought his truck home with us. He is so excited to have it home. 

It's a 1993 F150 flair side. 

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Weekend Re-Cap

Friday morning found us at dance class like normal. The kids are learning the Viennese Waltz right now in class. It was really fun to watch Emmy and Annie in the advanced class. After dance ended we headed over to Sam's Club for lunch in the cafe there with our friends, the Hale's. It's a cheap place for us to eat after dance each week. Their pizza slices are huge and cheap. While we were in Sam's it started snowing. It was predicted for later on that afternoon but I had noticed when I checked my phone at dance that they had moved the time up for it to start. It came down off and on in heavy spurts during our drive home that afternoon but it was too warm still for any of it to stick. It sure was beautiful to drive home in though. 

Benei Aor was supposed to start back for us Friday night but it was cancelled due to the weather. We bundled up in blankets with the heaters running in each room and enjoyed a quiet evening at home. 

Bryan is doing much better with the sickness he has been fighting but shortly after waking up on Saturday morning he coughed and it put his back out on him. Thankfully, it hasn't been as bad as when it normally goes out. He has been able to still get up and walk around but he was in a lot of pain at first. 

On Saturday afternoon, Emmy and Annie headed over to their friends, Destiny and Bridgets, for some baking fun and they spent the night Saturday night. They had fun holding a bake off between each other. Emmy and Destiny were a team against Annie and Bridget. It sounds like Annie and Bridget won the bake off but everyone had fun. 

{Destiny and Emmy with their hot fudge sundae cake which they said didn't turn out} 

{Bridget and Annie's reaction to Emmy & Destiny's cake} 

Bryan's back was still not back to normal by Sunday morning so he stayed home from church and I stayed home in case he needed anything. Houston drove the older kids to Sunday school and church. When they got home from church we made peanut butter banana pancakes for lunch. It was a new recipe from Pinterest and everyone liked them. We spent Sunday afternoon relaxing. Some napped. Some played. Some read. Some organized. I worked on some school stuff for the week. Sunday evening our entire family worked together for a couple of hours to prepare the house for a new week. Everyone was assigned cleaning chores. It took a couple of hours but we got it all done. Bryan made burritos for us for dinner. 

Overall, it was a really relaxing weekend. 

Through My Lens: Framed

My winter mantel right now.

"The best and most beautiful things cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." ~ Helen Keller 

Quiet {my 2016 word of the year}

I adore words. I always have.

For a handful of years now, my FIAR sisters have been choosing one word each year. This is often in place of the common new years resolutions. Prayers are offered up and the words are typically ones that God places upon individual hearts.  I love the idea but have never felt lead to chose a word for the year. That is, until this year. During the month of December God kept bringing the idea of a word for the year to my mind and towards the end of December I was certain He had given me my word for 2016.

qui·et

Noun- absence of noise or bustle; silence; calm:
Verb- make or become silent, calm, or still:

I have to admit that I found the word a bit funny at first. After all, I live in a home with 7 other people. Our home is rarely quiet. But then it hit me that maybe that is why God gave me this word. Maybe He is telling me that I need to be quiet more and just listen. To the kids, to Bryan, but especially to Him. Maybe I need to carve more quiet into my days?

Since receiving my word, I've felt Him leading me. Leading and reminding me, placing before me verses about having a still and quiet spirit.

"Let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,
which is very precious in God's sight."
{1 Peter 3:4}

Reminding me that it is good to be quiet.

“It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Lamentations 3:26

Reminding me that my Lord fights for me, but I must be quiet.

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Exodus 14:14

That aspiring to live a quiet life is important.

And to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.
1 Thess 4: 11-12

Reminding me that my silence could be my wisdom.

Oh, that you would keep silent, and it would be your wisdom!
Job 13:5 

Reminding me that in the business of this life, I need to remember to be still.

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10 

And reminding me that a gentle and quiet spirit is beautiful.

"Let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit,
which is very precious in God's sight."
{1 Peter 3:4}

I am excited about having a word for the year. I am excited about being quiet before the Lord and seeking Him. I am confident that God has much to teach me this year as I quiet myself before Him and listen.

Journal Challenge 2016: Favorite Room in Your Home

I really love our home. It's my refuge and retreat and the place I always long to be most. Choosing a favorite room was hard for me because I love so many things about each room in our home. In the end, though, I chose our formal dining room. I chose it for several reasons.

I love the color on the walls. I find it soothing and comforting.

{the paint is a chocolate brown- a favorite color of mine}

I love that this room is the place where our family gathers to eat meals together, to play board games together, or work on projects together. I love the conversations and stories and laughter that are so often shared around this table.

I love the bay windows and the view they offer.

{they are covered up with artificial snow right now, but the normal view is of the woods across the road from our home} 

Thankful for my entire home and especially the people who live in it.

"Home is the nicest word there is." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder 

Weekend Re-Cap

It has been a rough start to 2016 for us. I got sick right after Christmas and lost my voice. Bryan got sick right after the new year and it quickly turned into a severe upper respiratory infection. He is still sick and I don't think I have ever seen him this sick before. He's been on an antibiotic for a week now and we are seeing a little improvement but he's still really sick. He has missed a lot of work this month because of it. My own sickness never got as bad as his, but I am struggling off and on with ear pain and a sore throat still. 

On New Years Eve, our Ally came down with a fever which turned out to be some type of fever virus where you run a high fever for 5-7 days. Your weak and cannot eat during that time and have a sore throat and heavy congestion. Three people in our family ended up catching it. As of this weekend we have been fever free for a few days now and I am hoping that means that we are done passing the virus around. 

Camden, Bryan, and I all three caught pink eye this past week. 

So needless to say, it has indeed been a rough start to the new year for us. For this reason we have been home a lot. In fact, Friday was the first time in two weeks that I actually got out of the house. It was payday and I needed to get us some groceries. I wasn't really feeling up to it but I knew it needed to be done. I dropped the girls at dance class Friday morning and then headed to Walmart. We hit Sam's Club and Aldi's after dance class. Friday evening was a women's event at our church called Sit, Sip, and Stroke. It was a time of painting together. I went and did enjoy sitting with friends and painting a canvas piece. After it was over my friend Regina and I headed to Panera Bread for some more visiting. 

I woke up Saturday feeling pretty worn out from Friday. Partly due to the fact that I am just getting over pink eye and still not feeling completely back to myself. Bryan and I spent Saturday resting. The older kids were invited to go bowling with some friends of ours and they did so on Saturday afternoon. Houston drove them to the bowling alley and they had loads of fun. After bowling they all hit Taco Bell for some dinner together. 

Saturday evening, Annie had a performance with her exhibition team and so after bowling Houston and Emmy drove her to her performance. 

Bryan, Camden, and I stayed home from church on Sunday morning. Camden is just getting over the pink eye too. Houston drove everyone else to church. It's so nice to have a son that is driving in times like these! After church they went to lunch with friends and then came back home for Annie to get her exhibition team outfit. Her ballroom teachers featured a show case of talent at the dance studio from 3-6pm. Annie's exhibition team performed during the show case. Afterwards the kids all headed over to Abby's, Emmy's best friends home, for Abby's birthday celebration dinner. 

All in all it was a restful weekend for some of us and a busy weekend for others. 

Please be in prayer for Bryan's complete healing from this upper respiratory infection he is fighting. We are ready for our family to be completely well again! 

They Say The Darndest Things.......

Camden (9): Mom, I'm going to wear my Christmas sweater to dance class this morning and if anyone says to me, "dude, Christmas is over," I'm going to tell them, it's not over in my heart. Christmas is never over in my heart. 

"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!"

- Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

Journal Challenge 2016: A Favorite Family Outing From This Past Year

One of my favorite family outings from this past year took place in September. After dance class one Friday, we ventured out with friends to the Tip-top grill in Hoover. It was our first time to eat there. 

It's just a small little hamburger joint in what was once a gas station. The food is good but it's the view that makes the visit. 

We took friends along with us. 

{next to grill}

A walk down to Lover's Leap. 

{Natalie & friend} 

We ended our afternoon with a movie at the dollar theater. 

Through my Lens: A Christmas Memory

"One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly."

~Andy Rooney

Andy would have been proud. We left our mess for a day and even had friends that came over and trampled through it on Christmas night. *grin* 

Christmas in Unsell Land

{On our Santa table}

Santa and I in front picture- Ally & Camden in back 

{Houston's 1st Christmas} 

{Annie & Natalie} 

{Houston & Emmy} 

{on the coffee table- one of my favorite Christmas books} 

“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” 

― Laura Ingalls Wilder