Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Catching Up!!!!


I never intended to wait so long to blog! I thought about it a lot! But, Instagram is just so easy to fall back on!! (My Instagram link is on the sidebar!)

Winter is still holding on here in North Carolina! We can't seem to get rid of this cold, wet weather! As I type, there is still a chance of a little snow! I don't know how you people up north handle it! I truly don't! We had a pretty bad ice storm a few weeks ago. It may take up to six months to clean up from all the damage here. Amazing what an inch of ice can do....AMAZING!



Come on Spring. The calendar says you are here!!!!!! 

My oldest son and his family have been flipping a house. They were FINALLY able to move into their semi-ready home this past weekend. In the last couple of months, my DIL and the children have been living out of state with her parents. They just returned and I was OVERJOYED to be reunited with them all. The children have grown so much....especially the twins!!

I have been trying to shed a few winter pounds! Weight Watchers is always my *go to* diet....and, YES, it is a diet. We are fooling ourselves if we say it isn't. Sure, it's a lifestyle. But, that's what I call maintenance. What I'm doing now...that's a D I E T! I have lost seven of the ten pounds I wanted to lose. And no, I don't have a picture. Trust me. The pounds were there. I had a birthday this month and I let myself indulge a little. Hubs had my favorite cake ever made:
 Strawberry Buttercream!

I plan to be more consistent with my blogging again. I want to do a *Favorite Things* post and update you on my Stitch Fix shipments! Stay tuned!!!

Tuesday, March 04, 2014

What To Give Up…Not Just For Lent

I have mentioned here before that I didn't grow up recognizing Ash Wednesday or Lent. As I got older, I realized people *give up* something for Lent to bring them closer to God. I wanted to share what a pastor in New Jersey had to say about Lent, and *20 Things To Give Up For Lent.* Whether we recognize Lent, or not, we can probably agree we all need to work on giving up the following things:


  • Guilt – I am loved by Jesus and he has forgiven my sins. Today is a new day and the past is behind.
  • Fear – God is on my side. In him I am more than a conqueror. (see Romans 8)
  • The need to please everyone – I can’t please everyone anyways. There is only one I need to strive to please.
  • Envy – I am blessed. My value is not found in my possessions, but in my relationship with my Heavenly Father.
  • Impatience – God’s timing is the perfect timing.
  • Sense of entitlement – The world does not owe me anything. God does not owe me anything. I live in humility and grace.
  • Bitterness and Resentment – The only person I am hurting by holding on to these is myself.
  • Blame – I am not going to pass the buck. I will take responsibility for my actions.
  • Gossip and Negativity – I will put the best construction on everything when it comes to other people. I will also minimize my contact with people who are negative and toxic bringing other people down.
  • Comparison – I have my own unique contribution to make and there is no one else like me.
  • Fear of failure – You don’t succeed without experiencing failure. Just make sure you fail forward.
  • A spirit of poverty – Believe with God that there is always more than enough and never a lack
  • Feelings of unworthiness – You are fearfully and wonderfully made by your creator. (see Psalm 139)
  • Doubt – Believe God has a plan for you that is beyond anything you could imagine. The future is brighter than you could ever realize.
  • Self-pity – God comforts us in our sorrow so that we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
  • Retirement – As long as you are still breathing, you are here for a reason. You have a purpose to influence others for Christ. That does not come to an end until the day we die.
  • Excuses – A wise man once said, if you need an excuse, any excuse will do.
  • Lack of counsel – Wise decisions are rarely made in a vacuum.
  • Pride – Blessed are the humble.
  • Worry – God is in control and worrying will not help.

Do you recognize Lent? 

Saturday, March 01, 2014

Birthdays and Dedications!!!!


February brings lots of birthdays for us. My father in law was 88 on Saturday!!! He is pretty amazing! He still comes to the office to work every morning! He is still driving and still working in his yard! He is so well read and keeps us all on our toes with current events! He is passing along some good genes!!!!! Here he is last week showing the twins what he can do!!


This is blurry because I was laughing so hard! He is 88 people!!!


My mom had a birthday in February too! We all pitched in and surprised her with an Apple laptop! She was very surprised and we were all so excited to give it to her! We had a nice lunch together celebrating mom aka *Nanny*….she is the best!






Baby S, and big sister, A, were dedicated to Jesus in February. What a sweet, precious time we had committing to point them to Jesus as they grow. We all feel so blessed to have the opportunity to love on them and show them Jesus and what grace is!






Hubs turned the BIG 6 0 in February! I surprised him with a party. I sent out invitations to his buddies and invited them to drop in during the work day at our office.  We had a great day celebrating him. He is very much a people person, so he really enjoyed seeing and talking to the friends who stopped by. Thank you to everyone who helped make his birthday special!











(My dear friend, Meredith, has an amazing cookie/cake/cupcake business! Her cakes and cookies taste as good as they look! She is amazing! You can find her on Facebook at Sweet Stuff by Meredith. Hubs LOVED the cake and cookies!)


Finally, I decided to jump on the Stitch Fix train! If you don't know about Stitch Fix, click on this link: http://stitchfix.com/sign_up?referrer_id=3027860
I got my first fix last week. It was so much fun!!! If you decide to order, and you do so thru my link, I will get $25.00 towards my next *fix*….take a look!!



(I forgot to take a picture of the items in my box and the items I kept…duh!!! 
 I'll do better next time!!)

Oh, and look who is walking!!! One of the twins started walking last week!! He is 10 months and nothing can stop him now!!! Not even that pesty twin sister!! :)


Well, that was our February! Lots and lots of things going on! I took down my Winter/Valentine decorations today. I think it's only 19 days until spring…. and daylight savings time is next weekend! Bring on the buttercups and the longer days. This winter has done me in!!! Until next time…..Happy Spring!!!