Holidays
Song: “While You Were Sleeping” by Casting Crowns
A great song to remind of all the amazing events that have taken place in history and a reminder of what is to come. It is a very peaceful yet powerful song.
Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you’re lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight, tonightFamily Recipe: Cream Cheese Candies
My cousin Rachel shared this recipe with me many years ago. These are perfect for holidays, weddings, showers, birthdays, or any special celebrations. You can make them any color to match the theme of the party.
Cream Cheese Candies:
- 1 package Cream Cheese, softened (8 oz)
- 1/3 teaspoon Peppermint or Almond Extract
- 3 cups Confectioners Sugar
- Food Coloring
- Colored Sugar, optional
In a small mixing bowl combine cream cheese and extract. Beat in 1 1/2 cup Confectioner’s Sugar. Knead in remaining Confectioner’s Sugar until smooth. Shape into 1/2 inch balls. Roll in colored sugar if desired. Place in ungreased baking sheets and flatten with a fork or form into the shape you want. Let stand 1 hour to harden and store in airtight container in the refrigerator. Yields – 6 dozen
Photo by Jo Naylor
Blessing Lives Everyday with Special Surprises (B.L.E.S.S.): 25 Days of Christmas Blessings
I have been thinking about ways we can be a blessing to others throughout this Christmas season. It is easy to get caught up with the shopping, parties, celebrations, and everything else that we lose sight of what’s really important. I want the girls to experience the joy of giving and helping those around us so we are delivering special surprises over the next 25 days. I came up with the acronym B.L.E.S.S. to help remind us why we are sharing these little blessings.
- Blessing
- Lives
- Everyday with
- Special
- Surprises
The plan is to deliver a small special surprise to at least one person every day from December 1st to December 25th. Each bag contains an activity to spread cheer and a scripture verse to discuss. At dinner we will discuss our current days activity, pray for the people that received our gift, and get our bag for the next day. The girls and I have came up with a lot of great ideas of ways we can share blessings with people around us (some will go to people we know and others to complete strangers or people we will never meet).
Here’s how we put our B.L.E.S.S. activity together:
Stack of B.L.E.S.S activities with scripture verses
B.L.E.S.S. Cards to give out during our activities
One of the B.L.E.S.S. Cards we made
Day 1 through Day 25 bagged and ready to hang up
All 25 Days of B.L.E.S.S. hung up and ready for us to start!
The girls are very excited about doing this fun 25 Days of Christmas Blessings activity. I hope to share some of the stories, what we did, experiences, pictures and lessons learned as we go throughout the the 25 days. It is my intention to update you at least once a week. I will share as much as I can but the real reason for doing this activity is to teach our family the joy of giving to others.
(Update) I have been asked by a number of people for a printable version of the 25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S. activities, verses, and sheets to handout so here they are for your family to enjoy as well:
- 25 Days of Christmas Blessings B.L.E.S.S. – Acts of Service (we came up with more than 25 activities, around 40, then narrowed them down and decided as a family which ones to do together. I decided to give you all the activities we had listed so you can choose which ones work well for your family from the list. Just print these out on colorful paper, cut out, and place into your B.L.E.S.S. activity bags!)
- 25 Days of Christmas B.L.E.S.S handout sheets to leave on an item or to give to the person you are blessing.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Our family had a blast spending some time together for Thanksgiving last week. I was beginning to wonder what kind of week it would be when we started the week tired and with a little one throwing up. Thankfully we didn’t have any big travel plans and have gotten past that little spurt of sickness now everyone seems to be on the mend. Over the Thanksgiving week together we laughed, snuggled, read books, worked on projects, ate delicious food, went shopping, put up the Christmas tree, and just had fun relaxing as well as doing stuff around the house. I am thankful for a wonderful family and an opportunity to spend some extra time together.
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everydayRead a book to the girls everyday- Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week – didn’t make do it 5 days
- Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed) – not quite every night
Spend extra time with my family over the Thanksgiving Holiday
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – the first half of the week went well
Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday and Tuesday
Home Management Goals
Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the houseDinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Wednesday)All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one dayPut up the Christmas Tree
Business Goals
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk – my desk was buried by the end of the weekend, time with the family took priority
Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
Ministry Goals
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4 – ahem….this one didn’t happen with birthday and Holidays, my sweet husband did a trip for me which brought it up as well.
- Pay off remaining debt – working on it
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – on hold until the debt is paid off
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
- Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed)
- Get the girls passport pictures taken
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday and Tuesday
- Finish reading The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year by Crystal Paine who has a blog called Money Saving Mom (VERY excited about the opportunity to preview this book by a blogger I have been following for years and thankful to be featured on her blog weekly with the Save A Lot Deals!)
- Listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (I am going through this book with my Community Group)
Home Management Goals
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- File the receipts and coupons for the last couple of months.
Business Goals
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
- Work on ideas for upcoming blog posts
- Review my 2011 Business Goals and start planning ones for 2012
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
- Make at least $25 towards my Creative Cash goal this week so I can give more to others.
- Deliver a meal to a new Mom.
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Pay off remaining debt
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
May you have a truly amazing day with your family and friends. I am thankful for the many wonderful blessings in my life. I love this quote because even during the difficult times there is “always something to be thankful for”. What a great reminder not just for Thanksgiving Day but for everyday of our lives!
Family Outings: Fall Festivals & Fun Activities
A little behind in posting these pictures but I figure it’s better late than never, right!? Since a couple of our family members have requested these pictures here we go…..
One happy and one scary pumpkin on the front porch In celebration of Fall Festivals, events, and activities we had the girls do a pumpkin this year. Brina wanted a happy pumpkin and Karlie wanted a scary pumpkin. They did the outlines for their pumpkins and Daddy cut out the pieces. They were both quite pleased with their pumpkins.
One Blue Crayon and One Violet Crayon The girls dressed up this year as crayons! They were super excited to wear their crayon costumes that we picked up on clearance last year.
Goody cups for the girls class at school. The girls helped pack the goody cups for their teacher and friends in their classroom! Besides stickers, pencils, glow in the dark silly bands we included a toothbrush and toothpaste.
Candy Corn Cupcakes for the girls class We made candy corn cupcakes for the girls class at school. They were so excited to take them and share with their friends at lunch.
Karlie and Brina carrying their goody basket into school They were thrilled to carry the goody basket into school. Several other students stopped to express their delight in the cool basket on their way to class, I think that alone made the girls day!
Two little crayons and Daddy getting into the teacup This was the first ride the girls went on at the Fall Festival. So thankful Jake was willing to ride with them, last year I went on it and almost threw up from the spinning!
Hold onto your hats little crayons! It made me dizzy just watching them spinning in circles but they had a blast!
Fun fall festival rides Our two crayons are in the blue one. They loved this ride last year too.
Having fun They loved looking out of their “cage” as they called it over the rest of the Fall Festival. When they got off they told us everything that they saw on the ride and what activities they wanted to do.
Ready to fly on the bug Two little crayons going for another spinning ride on the little bug, too cute!
Bug in flight It was hard getting a picture when both of them were looking at me. The bug got cut off on this one but at least both girls are looking my direction! 🙂
All buckled in...now ready to swing and spin Daddy was such a sport and went with the girls again on this spinning ride. Everyone is all buckled in and ready to SWING!
There they are swinging It looks pretty innocent doesn’t it but if your stomach does flip-flops while going in circles…..
Checking out all the equipment in the medical helicopter They had a emergency helicopter there so you could show your kids. Pretty neat seeing on the devices they put into it.
Two little crayons coming down the slide They had a blast jumping on bouncy castles, racing through bounce house mazes, and zipping down the slides.
Two cute crayons next to a giant black cat The cat was having problems staying up but I snapped a quick picture with them in front of it. They thought it was so funny seeing a giant black cat.
Intentional Living: Weekly Goals
Last week was packed full of a lot of extra activities, appointments, refinance closing, and travel some of the events were on the calendar and others we squeezed in because it was necessary. The biggest blessing was being able to cross off our Refinance Closing. The paperwork was submitted back in September and several of the documents re-submitted over the last couple of months because the lender couldn’t find the paperwork we gave them or one person didn’t give the next person the right information and so forth. Now we can breathe a little sigh of relief to get that completed.
Even though I didn’t get everything done the good news is I am at least taking small steps in the right direction. This week will not be a huge goal driven week because of the Thanksgiving Holiday. My biggest “goal” is to spend quality time with my family. Hopefully, as we spend time together I will get some necessary items accomplished but if not that is okay too because life needs to be fun every once in awhile, right!? Jake and I have several joint projects that we are hoping to work on over the next few weeks and the girls want to put up the tree. Some of my goals will be on “hold” during this week, you’ll see it pick back up again after Thanksgiving! 🙂
Here is the update on last weeks goals:
Family Goals
Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everydayRead a book to the girls everydayHave the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week- Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed) – really need to do better on this one, we spent extra time before bed one night talking on the phone to Daddy since he was traveling this week instead.
- Get the girls passport pictures taken – did not get their pictures done
- Finish filing the last several weeks of coupons in my File Folder and Binder – didn’t get this done, other priorities popped up
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week – did much better (4 days) but missed one day so can’t cross this one off
- Finish reading The Money Saving Mom’s Budget: Slash Your Spending, Pay Down Your Debt, Streamline Your Life, and Save Thousands a Year by Crystal Paine who has a blog called Money Saving Mom (VERY excited about the opportunity to preview this book by a blogger I have been following for years and thankful to be featured on her blog weekly with the Save A Lot Deals!) – still reading other activities took priority this week
Listen to the next section of Desiring God: Finding Complete Satisfaction and Joy in God by John Piper (I am going through this book with my Community Group)- Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday through Thursday – I was really bad at the beginning of the week getting to bed on time because I was trying to finish a project but I paid for it the next day.
Home Management Goals
Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by MondaySpend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the houseDinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Thursday)- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day – Jake was traveling this week so I had to move my laundry day up 2 days to help with packing and since we were only home for a couple hours that day I wasn’t able to get it done in 1 day, it took me 2 days this week.
- File the receipts for the last couple of months and organize the table in the office. – still waiting to be done
Business Goals
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk – it was a wild week with Jake being gone, long doctor appointments, phone calls, refinance, and I didn’t do this really important task and now feel the side effects of it
Pay all bills that come in the mail this weekWork on ideas for upcoming blog posts- Research ways to create more residual income – didn’t get to it
- Review my 2011 Business Goals and start planning ones for 2012 – I did write down a couple thoughts but didn’t get really in depth in this one so don’t feel right about crossing it off
Ministry Goals
- Make at least $25 towards my Creative Cash goal this week so I can give more to others. – wasn’t able to do this one.
Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requestsMeet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch– I got to have lunch with Jake and his co-workers while supporting a local charity!
Financial Goals
Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4Close on our Refinance – Our plan is to go from the 30 year mortgage that we have been paying off to a 10 year mortgage with a lower interest rate.Sooooo THRILLED to have this one done! 🙂 We knocked 11 years off what we were currently paying by switching to a 10 year and the best part is we are now paying about $20 less every month with the new mortgage!
- Pay off remaining debt – almost there
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses – on hold until the debt is paid off
Here are my goals for the upcoming week:
Family Goals
- Spend 1-on-1 time with each child everyday
- Read a book to the girls everyday
- Have the girls read 1 book to me 5 days this week
- Do devotions with the girls every night (sometimes it gets late and we rush to get them into bed)
- Spend extra time with my family over the Thanksgiving Holiday
Personal Goals
- Exercise – walk at least 5 days this week
- Go to bed by 10:30 or earlier on Monday and Tuesday
Home Management Goals
- Weekly Dinner Menu planned and written by Monday
- Spend 30 minutes every day picking up / cleaning the house
- Dinner on the table by 5:30 PM (Monday through Wednesday)
- All laundry for the week washed, folded, and put away in one day
- Put up the Christmas Tree
Business Goals
- Spend 10 minutes a day cleaning and organizing my desk
- Pay all bills that come in the mail this week
Ministry Goals
- Email our weekly Community Group update including upcoming events on the calendar, praises, and prayer requests
- Meet a friend or family member for Breakfast or Lunch
Financial Goals
- Stay within Budget on Groceries $40 for 4
- Pay off remaining debt
- Emergency Fund – save 3 months worth of living expenses
I think it is important to share and encourage each other as we seek to improve our lives and the lives of those around us. I want to live intentionally not just hope all my dreams and goals come true. When I focus on small steps of improvement I am able to see results as I get closer to my goals. Some weeks I get closer to the goals I have in my life and other weeks a take a few steps back (life happens, emergencies occur, people get sick). Once the goals are written down and shared it provides a guideline for what I aim to accomplish this week.
Why Share My Goals?
- To keep me accountable
- To share a piece of my life with you as I strive to be a better Child of God, Wife, Mom, Friend, Homemaker, Entrepreneur and the many other roles I have each week
- To have my goals consistently written down so I can gauge progress more accurately
- Create healthy habits in my life
- To encourage you to share your goals with me as you continue to grown and learn
How did you do this week on your goals? Feel free to share or link to your list of weekly goals.
The picture above is one that I created for my own purposes, however, The “SMART” acronym was originally coined 30 years ago by Peter Drucker in his classic work, Management by Results
Starbucks: Buy One, Get One Free Holiday Drinks (11/17 to 11/20)
Starbucks will be offering Buy One, Get One Free Holiday Drinks!
Starting Thursday November 17, 2011 through Sunday, November 20, 2011
from 2:oo PM to 5:00 PM!
Operation Christmas Child Packing Party
One box ready to be opened by a girl and another one for boy! Every year our family and our church participates in the Operation Christmas Child. Our church collects items for Operation Christmas Child throughout the year. Each month they have an item or two that they request donations for and in late October they have a big Operation Christmas Child Packing Party. The girls enjoy donating items throughout the year but they really look forward to packing the actual boxes. We were not able to go to the church’s big packing party (the girls were very disappointed) but we were able to have a packing party at home. We had so much fun doing it I totally forgot to take pictures of the process! I was simply amazed at how many items we were able to get into the boxes. Our kitchen table was full of goodies and we were able to get almost everything into the boxes. The children getting these boxes will be very surprised at all the fun stuff the girls included.
How did we do it?
- We collected items throughout the year to put in our Operation Christmas Child Goody Box (toothpaste, tooth brushes, soap, toys, trinkets, notebooks, books, socks, shirt, sunglasses, crafts, etc…)
- Once our OCC Goody Box was full we donated any extra items to our church’s packing party
- Throughout the year during the girls devotions we talked about helping others, Operation Christmas Child, and prayed for the children who would receive their boxes.
- The girls saved some of their money to purchase a few specific gifts for their child
- We prayed for the kids who would receive their boxes and went to the store to pick out items for them.
- We set all the gifts out on the kitchen table and packed as many gifts and treats that would fit into the boxes (the boxes barely closed with all the items).
- The girls proudly carried their boxes into church so they could be sent to their kids.
- We are continuing to pray for the girl and boy who will receive their boxes in the next few weeks.
Brina picked out items for a little girl and Karlie picked out items for a little boy. This activity provided many great opportunities to show the girls what it is like to give to others, pray for people who we will probably never meet, to share, and many other learning moments. The girls enjoyed donating to the church’s packing party throughout the year and it gave us an chance to discuss giving each time we donated items.
They love putting together their individual child boxes. I am amazed at how much thoughtfulness they put into each item they pick out for their kid. Even though we may never know the full impact their gift has on the recipient it is a true blessing to see them desiring to give generously to others without any expectation of getting anything in return. I pray that Operation Christmas Child will be a blessing to many children this Christmas Season and for many years to come.
Halloween Candy Buy Back Programs
Hope everyone had an amazing Holiday. Halloween is a great time to create memories with your family. The Fall Festivals, pumpkin carving, hayrides, dressing up and candy…..sometimes too much candy. Every wonder if you’ll be able to eat, share and giveaway all the candy before the next Halloween hits.
Dentists all over the country are participating in a Halloween Candy Buy Back Program. They buy the kids Halloween candy then donate it to the groups that send it to those in Military Service.
- Example: Holly Tree Pediatric Dentistry in our area (1334 South Hwy 14, Simpsonville, SC 29681 / Phone: 864-297-5585) is Buying Back Halloween Candy and giving the kids $1 per pound ($5 max per child) and a Treat bag. The Buy back dates are Tuesday 11/1 to Thursday 11/3 between 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. All the candy will be donated to our Troops Overseas.
If it is something you interested in participating in you can read more about on the FAQ page and search for locations near you!
Photo by Rochelle
