Adieu 2013

New Years is one of my favorite times of the year. The slate is wiped clean and everyone gets a fresh start at a brand new year. Everyone loves a second chance, right?

I'm saving the big obligatory 2014 resolution post for tomorrow, and instead today I'm taking a moment to say adieu to two thousand thirteen.

I'm not going to do the expected 'year in review'. I did spend time looking back a previous Year in Review posts {2010 and 2011} and smiled as the memories flooded back. That's why I journal.

I have a thing with odd numbers, especially odd years. They are never my best. This ranked as our second hardest year yet, right behind twenty twelve which still holds the blue ribbon. Oddly, it hasn't felt like a hard year. The difference: we've leaned more on Jesus than ever and He has been carrying us through.

Rewind to March. March was a game changer for me. I'm not quite sure of the exact date, but March was when I found myself at the alter of my church one random weekday after work. For a while I felt God calling me to deeper waters, to go further in my faith with Him. My sweet friend Shelly was beside me and I remember praying with every fiber of my being. I have never prayed like that before or since. I think that was one of the defining prayers of my life, in a way.

I prayed anything. Anything. Anything. Lord, I'll do anything.

Don't pray anything like that unless you are ready for what's in store. For the majority of my Christian walk I've lived according to my dreams and plans and did my best to mold Jesus to fit me. It wasn't until March that I realized how futile that is and how it has hindered me. I surrendered everything to God and prayed for anything.

By Summer my husband was praying anything with me as well. We put everything on the altar, nothing was off limits. Slowly, bit by bit Jesus started whispering His will and desires for us. We committed to turn from everyday Christian fans into devoted Followers.

Now here we are, at the end of the year and we are following.

I'm following by being a wife and mother and nurturing my family in Christ.

We are following by growing and studying with a small group of fellow followers.

We are following by putting our home on the market in the hopes of selling it in order to pursue an adoption.

My life today is completely different than a year ago. My views and thoughts are being changed each day to fit Jesus' desires for me. It's not always easy. Being a SAHM or adoption were never written in my planner, but on the tough days I remind myself that I prayed for anything. This is His anything for me at the moment.

The potter's wheel is never an easy place to be. There's nothing pleasant about God's pruning process. But I've never felt closer to Him than I do now. And that is worth more.

Two thousand thirteen was our year for falling in love with Jesus. It has been a year of change for us and this new year looks to bring even more changes our way. Looking back at how I've grown since last year, I'm so glad I am on the path I'm traveling.

Hide-And-Seek Lovey

Ya'll, I just had to share my little adventure today at Winn-Dixie. Today is definitely a Monday for me.

Today was grocery shopping day and it just so happened to coincide with one of Mary Grace's I-Can't-Go-Anywhere-Without-My-Lovey day. Recipe for disaster in the making.

After venturing to a few stores and having a fun little lunch with the best friend at Sake Sushi, I felt we were having a pretty good day. One more stop on the list before heading home: Winn Dixie.

As I'm getting MG out of her car seat she starts whining for moo {moo is what she calls her lovey moo cow}. I suggested moo wait for us in the car, but oh no, miss priss had other plans. So in the hopes of keeping her quiet in the store and avoiding a tantrum in the parking lot, I caved and myself, Mary Grace, and moo all headed into the store.

I shopped about 45 minutes. Checked out. Loaded the groceries. Put away the buggy.

As I'm strapping the wee one in her carseat she starts whining for moo. I'm glancing around inside the car. No moo.

I thought maybe she left it in the buggy, so I get her out of the car and walk back to the buggy return looking for lovey. No moo.

Okay, maybe we dropped it on the way to the car. Retracing my steps. No moo.

Hmmm... I bet she put it in one of the grocery bags since she was digging in them while I was unloading. Fast forward 5 minutes and I've dug through every bag. No moo.

My sweet pea takes my face in her hands and says adamantly 'I want moo' and points to the store. In we go, and I ask her where is moo once inside the doors. She holds up her hands and shakes her head.

Checked with customer service to no avail. So, here we go retracing our steps through the store. TWICE. I'm looking on shelves, under racks.... no moo. Fast forward 30 minutes later and I'm at my wits end. Just as we pass the produce section and I'm contemplating leaving my name and number at the front in case moo turns up, my wee one starts going crazy. She's yelling MOOO, MOOOOOO.

Mystery solved. At some point while I was picking up onions, my little sweet one decided to toss her lovey on the top of the onion pile.

A sweet elderly gentleman saw the commotion and handed it to Mary Grace and gave me a wink. Then, I kid you not, as we were walking out the front doors, the customer service lady saw we had found precious moo and started clapping and cheering.

At this point my frozen goods are definitely thawed and I'm perfectly humiliated.

But alas, precious moo made the trip home with us safe and sound.

Hello Mommyhood on a Monday!

I still need to run to our local store to pick up meats, but I decided I'd wait until tomorrow when the hubby is home so I can go solo.

 

Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve is finally here and the wonderful festivities that make this season so special are in full swing. We will spend the next couple of days celebrating with family and friends, and most importantly, spending time reflecting on how the Word became flesh.

I plan to take a mini vaca from blogging, FB, and other social media so that I can soak up every moment of this wonderful season.

Before I sign off, I wanted to wish my sweet readers a Merry Christmas season. I hope that the true purpose of Christmas overshadows all the gifts and Santa. I hope you come to realize that Christmas doesn't come from a store, it cannot be bought. Christmas is about a precious gift that was given to us so long ago, but one that is still here today for us to receive: Jesus, Our Savior.

I hope you will take time to read the Christmas story. I'm not talking about reading it in a hurry so you can open gifts. I mean truly meditate on the enormity of it all, that Jesus was born destined to die...for me and for you.

This year my husband and I are starting a new tradition. We are giving a gift to Jesus for the upcoming year. We've prayed and reflected on what we could give of ourselves to deepen our love for Him and draw closer. This new year is going to be our year of sacrifice for Him on so many levels. I hope you will do the same. Whether it's more time with Him daily, being involved in church, faithfully tithing, mending broken relationships for Him, or doing more to be His hands and feet. What can you give back to the one who gave you the ultimate gift?

All He wants is you. All of you. Totally devoted to following Him. He wants you to fall so madly in love with Him that all else pales in comparison. He simply wants you. Do you want Him?

Friday Five

Happy Friday, Lovelies!
For all of you last minute shoppers, this is the last big weekend rush! I have one small last minute gift to pick up, but thankful that it doesn't require having to go to the hot spots {i.e. the mall etc}

Here's today's Friday Five.

One. Mild Temps. Are we seriously a few days from Christmas? Judging by our mild weather, it feels more like Spring is approaching, rather than the holidays! No complaints here though- it was nice running in warmer temps this morning. The wee one and I are spending the day crafting on our back porch. I may even clean out my car and tackle my pitiful flower beds.

Two. Philadelphia. I am so excited to spend a couple of day with my grandparents for Christmas. Mary Grace and I are always spoiled by home cooked meals and having our favorite sweet treats ready and waiting on our arrival :)

Three. Bethlehem Revisited. This is a bit of old news for most, but Bethlehem Revisited was last weekend. We made a last minute plan to go Friday night with friends. It was just amazing. With everything revolving around Santa {we are praying about the Santa issue} it was nice to spend time reflecting on that Sweet Savior born for us all. I hope they continue to this every year, because we are hoping to make it a new tradition.

Four. Sweets Overload. Ya'll, for the sake of my figure and health, I have got to learn to say no to the yummy deliciousness that arrives with Christmas. Oh, but they are so good! Thank goodness I have another half marathon looming over me in February so I have no choice but to get in gear ASAP!

Five. Small Group Study. We just finished our short study on the Purpose of Christmas with our small group. We are gearing up to do another in January - Experiencing God. We are considering branching out into a third small group if we can get enough people interested. If you'd like to join us at our home for a small group study, let me know!

That's it for today, blogland. I must say I am quite proud of my blogging motivation lately- I posted something every day last week, and this is my fourth post this week!

You know what to do: Head on over to Joy at The Sowell Life and check out her Friday Five, along with others who have linked up. We'd love for you to join the fun!

My Favorite Things {Christmas Edition}

I've been brainstorming blog ideas and realized that I haven't done a Favorite Things in quite a while. With all the Christmas festivities in full swing, I thought it would be fun to post my favorite Christmas lovelies.

Confession: I may have a slight Polyvore addiction, but it is oh so much fun :)

My Favorite Things {Christmas Edition} by bsjames on Polyvore

• {Movies} Nothing says Christmas quite like watching The Grinch, The Griswalds, or Ralphie from A Christmas Story. Now that I have a wee one, they are playing constantly at our home. We've watched the snot out of Rudolph and Frosty!
• {Books} I love reading the Christmas Story from the book of Luke. It's nice to spend time reflecting on the humble beginnings our awesome God chose to enter this world through. Listen to the Silent Night is on of Mary Grace's favorites right now. She's into animal sounds so she requests it daily. I always read The Handmaid and the Carpenter, which is centered around Mary and Joseph's life together.
• {Music} Nothing beats the voice of Bing Crosby singing classic Christmas songs. Lately my Pandora station has been set on the classic Christmas music sung by the greats: Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby.... the new stuff just doesn't compare.
• {Hot Cocoa} I may be overloading my system, but lately I've been drinking at least two cups of this warm deliciousness every day- with marshmallows, of course!
• {Christmas Crafts} If you visit my mom's home during this season, you'll find a plethora of Christmas crafts made by yours truly {and my little brother} cluttering every inch of her home. That's what makes a house a home during the holidays. Mary Grace and I are spending today and tomorrow doing some fun Christmas crafts- I'm talking painting, glue, construction paper... all the messy fun stuff.
• {Pajamas} One of our Christmas traditions is to open new jammies on Christmas Eve. This makes those otherwise yucky-early-morning-no-makeup Christmas pictures a little less scary :)
• {Yummy Treats} One word. Divinity.
• {Christmas Dinners} Bob's family has a tradition of eating a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner. We go every year and it's one of my favorite things to do. I love having family together, seeing Mary Grace play with her cousins, and listening to the excitement as the wee ones talk about Santa coming.
• {Christmas Decor} I turn on all of our indoor lights as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning and often times they stay on all. day. long. My favorite time of day lately is those precious few hours after Mary Grace has gone to bed, when my husband and I sit and read/watch TV with the Christmas lights shining. So peaceful!
• {Christmas Cards} I love opening our mailbox and seeing those colorful Christmas happies. I especially love the ones with family photos so I can see how the little ones have grown over the year! And yes, I keep them all. To me, that's part of the fun of decorating- pulling out Christmas cards from previous years and reminiscing.

Christmas is less than one week away! 

Loads of Love

This must be 'blog about laundry week' for me. I promise the rest of the week I will gab about something other than my least favorite chore.

On to today's topic: Loads of Love.

My husband and I have been married for nearly 8 years and I can count on one hand how many times I've done his laundry. I'm a pitiful wife, I know. It's just that for so long I was working and in school so my days consisted of 16 jam packed hours with little room for being a homemaker.

The other day while cleaning up I came across my husband's Not A Fan journal we did a few weeks ago. I casually flipped through it {feeling a tad guilty for reading bits and pieces}. I saw prayers for our daughter. I saw prayers and desires to be a better husband for me. I saw petitions for Jesus to help him fall more in love with Him- to go deeper in his faith. I saw a glimpse into his heart. I realized that I am a blessed wife and in turned wanted to do something to bless him in return.

So I decided to do something for him to help 'lighten his load' and ended up picking his closet/laundry. His laundry routine consists of two baskets: clean and dirty. He doesn't hang/fold anything, bless him. So, I spent a day washing every. single. piece of clothing he had. I cleaned and organized his closet and decided to make it part of my duty as a stay at home mom/wife.

I left a note on his closet door as a surprise when he came home. :) I love how this small little task helps lighten his load and show him how much I appreciate all he does as a husband and father.

I almost look forward to finding a full basket of dirty clothes that need washing and folding. I look at it not as a chore so much, but rather as a way to show my love.

Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe

Two friends on mine make their own laundry detergent. I had never really given it much thought until I stopped by for a chat with my friend T on her laundry day. Her house smelled so yummy! My friend Shell {my blogging name for her} also uses the same recipe and says it is much more cost efficient- and considering she does laundry for her large family, I'd say she knows a thing or two about saving money on the laundry front.

So, I decided to give it a try. I heart our new powder- it smells so good, cleans great, and is easy on my checkbook {versus buying Gain}. Jackpot! I found a simple glass canister as storage which I love because it's so pretty and doubles as a decorative piece.

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

• 1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap {I used the pink Zote brand- either is fine}. 
• 1/2 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup 20 mule team Borax 
• Oxyclean {optional}

Here's what I did:

1. I grated 2 Zote soap bars using the rough side of a cheese grater. Place in seperate bowl.
2. Then, I started mixing. The recipe calls for 1/2 cups but I used more. So, I would mix 1 cup of washing soda, 1 cup of Borax, about 1/2 cup of oxyclean, and one cup of Zote soap. 
3. Since I have an HE washing machine, I needed my Zote soap to be as fine as possible. So, once I mixed my ingredients, I would put it in my chopper {my friends used food processors} and get it as fine as possible. The reason I did it after mixing was because when I tried chopping it finely solo, the Zote soap just globbed up. It worked better for me after I mixed the soap with the other powders then finely chopped it.
4. Pour mixture into container. Then, repeat steps 2-3 until you've used all your ingredients.  
5. When washing, use only 1 tablespoon of powder per load. I saved the blue scoop from the oxyclean container and use it :) 

After using all my ingredients, I was able to fill my gallon sized glass container, plus I have about 1/3 of a gallon left that I stored in a Ziplock back. So, it does make quite a bit of detergent. And since you don't need more than 1 tablespoon per load, I can see how it will last longer.

Be warned- it makes quite the mess and takes a little time to do. I've seen other recipes on Pinterest as well- I used this particular one because it was friend tested and approved.

Here's to all things Homemade!

Five on Friday

Helloooooo Friday! We are oh so happy to see you again!
Today's list is all about parties- I'm talking birthday, Christmas, and even sewing.

1. Birthday Boy
My nephew is celebrating his big first birthday tomorrow and I am still trying to find where the time has gone. Babies grow up way too fast. Tomorrow our little man enters the world of toddlerhood and we are celebrating with a cute Mustache Bash!

 2. Christmas Cantata
Confession: I have wanted to sing in our Christmas/Easter cantatas for years and years. It's always been my little secret wish. My husband insists that I cannot carry a tune, so for fear of embarrasing him {and myself} I refrained from taking part. Well, I spilled my secret to a church friend who insisted I give it a go :) I promised my husband that I would not do a solo, but would instead try and blend in with the choir! Our cantata is Sunday evening and I. Am. Stoked.

3. Women on Mission Annual Party
Our WMU Christmas party is tonight and I'm looking forward to a night out with my church sisters. It's one of my favorite parties every year!

4. Children's Christmas Party
Tomorrow is a busy day- choir practice, birthday parties, and then ending the day with the children's Christmas party at church. Mary Grace loves playing with her church friends and I cannot wait to see all the kiddos enjoying the season together!

5. Sewing Parties
On Tuesday morning, my sweet friend Missouri Momma stopped by for a mini sewing party. We made her little ones the cutest Christmas outfits! They are going to look so cute in their matching lovelies! Nothing beats a sewing party filled with ruffles, girl time, and laughs- all while in sweat shirts and yoga pants!

Okay, you know what to do! List your five randoms  for today then link up with us through Joy over at The Sowell Life. Don't forget to check out other fun Five on Friday lists while there!

Happy Friday, Lovelies!

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

May your heart be light.

Little and Light are the two words that stick out most to me. This year I've tried to keep Christmas simple.

Last year I was so caught up in having the Pinterest Perfect Christmas. From spending hours baking and decorating the perfect cookies to spending gobs of money so my gifts had those fabulous hand-made bows topping them. I was miserable! I would get so frustrated when things didn't turn out perfectly that it made the process less than enjoyable. In a way I began dreading the very things that are supposed to be fun!

This year I am all about Pillsbury, twine bows, and simplicity.

I enjoyed putting up or Christmas tree so much more than last year simply because I made a point to enjoy the process rather than striving for the perfect product.

She loved digging out all the Christmas goodies!

A little Christmas music and a cozy fire :)

Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa {much more enjoyable than making the Pinterest mix :) }

Yummo!

Little Helper

Found these lovelies from last year- our picture with Santa and our 2012 Christmas card. So sweet!

Her ornament from last year.... Be still my heart!

Sweet little handprint!

From our honeymoon

From our first anniversary trip.

Let the Christmas season begin!

I let Mary Grace decorate the bottom of the tree with unbreakable ornaments. Then it is was naptime while I finished up. When she woke up and saw everything lit up, she kept saying "Awwweeee pretty". She loves the lights and is in awe of all the holiday fun!

Now, about those coookies. Pilsbury has ready to bake Reindeer and Snowmen cookies. Perfect for pairing with Rudolf or Frosty movies :) Mary Grace loves to 'help' make cookies by putting them on the cookie sheet.

 Simple. Fun. Enjoyable. Those are the Christmas memories I want to make this year.
 

My Christmas List {2013}

1. Time.  This year I want a little more time- to get lost in a book, to craft, to snuggle with my baby, to spend talking with my husband over breakfast, to do all the fun holiday lovelies that make this season so special.

 

 2. Sleep. Sleeping late with my wee one, afternoon naps on a pallet by the fire...

3. Laugther.  The belly laughs that leave you in tears. I'm looking forward to loads of fun and laughter with my family as we reminisce!

4. Breaking Bread With Loved Ones. You know I cannot leave out the yummy food. I love our big family meals together during the holidays! Whether it's fellowship meals with our church family or the traditional Christmas Eve dinner at Nannie's home- I'm looking forward to them all!

4. Enjoy The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year. Last year I was so caught up in having the perfect pinterest Christmas {a post on this to come}. This year I want to make things more simple, and focus more on enjoying the process rather than fretting over the finished product. I don't want to complicate things so much that I lose the joy of the season.

 5. Family & Friends. I love seeing family that often we don't see much during the year. It's always so much fun seeing how much the little ones have grown and catching up on all the happenings in our lives. I am looking forward to spending time with the ones we love most- after all, that's what really makes this season the best time of the year.

I'm wishing for all the things that make this time of year so wonderful. And just in case Santa finds my name on the Nice List, this little lovely will be the perfect ending to a wonderful season.

 What is on your Christmas list?