Genesis to Revelation, and Shallow Hal

For the past few weeks I have felt God urging me to read His word. I spend time in prayer and the Word daily, but this is different.

I have a sense of urgency to read His word from beginning to end.

I researched different reading plans, because I knew I wanted to do it in a short time frame. I had originally planned to do this three month reading plan. However, after much prayer and thought, I decided to commit to reading the Bible in one month.

That's right. One month. As in 31 days.

Daunting, yes. But I know that God is wanting to show me something. I'm not sure if it's a specific scripture, or the bigger picture I will see when finishing. All I know is He has placed it on my heart and I have committed to obeying.

For anyone who would like to follow along and pray for me during this month, or if you would like to take on this challenge, you can find my reading plan here.

So, yesterday I committed to the challenge and spread the word to my friends so they can help encourage me and hold me accountable. I read yesterday's assignment and already saw things I have missed in the past.

I am a detail oriented person. Usually, I am focusing on the who-what-when-where-why questions. This time though, I am focusing on God. I am on the look out for Him in each situation. Constantly asking myself  "How is God moving here...how is He responding to this situation..." I want to know His heart more, His character.

Now, I know you are wondering why I mentioned Shallow Hal in the post title. Let me just tell you how the Devil works, my friends.

After I finished yesterday's reading assignment, I was pumped. On fire. Confident. I couldn't wait to devour more of the Word. I went to bed perfectly fine. Then around 2:00 a.m. I woke up because I felt like something was in my eye. I flushed it with saline, and tried to go back to sleep.

When I woke up this morning, I couldn't keep my left eye open. Last summer, you may remember me posting about this, I had a bad scratch/tear on my cornea. I was afraid that had happened again, so I called my dear friend, T, and had her chauffeur me to my opthamologist. After all, I have a beach trip coming up in a few days and that leave no room for crazy eyes.

Luckily, no bad scratch on my cornea, just some abrasions around my eye. Enough to irritate it and cause it to burn/water. He game me some antibiotic cream to use every two hours, so ya'll, I now look like Shallow Hal when he faked a sickness and put vaseline in his eyes.

Yes. I look gross.

I was so worried because I obviously cannot read today. Heck, I can barely see! I am determine not to falter on this committment, though. My husband and I have a Bible app on our phones that will read the Word aloud to us, so I will take that route, and meditate on the passages, until I can read. That will keep me from falling behind :)

Spiritual warfare, no doubt. If I wake up tomorrow with my right eye irritated, then on my way to the doctor, I will make a little detour to the church and have someone anoint me with oil and pray over me. Seriously.


I had planned to do a special each day this week in honor of my sweet one turning two years old. Be still, my heart. Obviously, I have had a set back but hope to have one of them up tomorrow or Wednesday.

Hope your Monday doesn't include a bad case of crazy eye!

Friday Five

This has been one of those weeks that just flew by, and I am sitting here sipping coffee, smiling, and thinking to myself  "well hello Friday".

I just realized that I haven't posted one. single. thing. all week.

My apologizes. Truthfully, there really hasn't been anything glamorous or note-worthy happening in my world lately, so I figured I'd spare you from having to read pure random posts that are rambling and full of blah.

{one} Antique Windows
A friend of mine was working on a little project that I fell head over heels for- it involved turning old windows into picture frames. Too cute and I am totally stealing borrowing her idea- but I am giving her the credit :)

{two} In Bloom
The world is in bloom and I am in love. Green is one of my favorite colors and it's starting to pop up everywhere! I especially love seeing the daffodils and Bradford pears in blossom.

{three} Speaking of in bloom....pollen!
I loathe pollen. Just this afternoon I had the urge to open my windows, enjoy the warmth, and let the fresh breeze blow through my curtains. That lasted all of 20 minutes, then I saw a fine yellow dust covering my just cleaned furniture. Boo to you, pollen. You ruin everything {especially my porch cushions}.


{four} Rehab Addict
I love a good flip, and this girl is one of my faves. She doesn't just flip homes, she restores them to their natural state. If you haven't seen her show, you are missing out. It inspires me to do things like #1 above :)

{five} Spring Clean
Not to long ago I blabbed out my adventures cleaning out my closets and purging my home of unecessaries. On Monday I decided that since we were stuck indoors due to the cool temps, I might as well be productive. Ya'll, I drank some Spark and became a cleaning machine. I climbed ladders and dusted ceiling fans, polished kitchen cabinets, steam cleaned chairs, scrubbed and cleaned out the pantry and fridge, mopped, cleaned bathrooms. I even washed all the decorative pillows on the couches. All this after getting up at 5:00 and running 4.5 miles. My husband married well. :)

Today marks one week until we leave for the glorious sand, sun, and salt water at the beach. Let the countdown begin.

You know what to do- head on over and check out Joy at The Sowell Life's Friday Five, along with others who have linked up.

I have a fun little special coming up on Monday. Be sure to check back :)

Happy Friday, lovelies!

 

Pain Redeemed {Giveaway Winner}

I am a day late announcing the winner of the Pain Redeemed Giveaway- sorry!

The lucky duck who will be receiving a signed copy is....Abigail W!

Congrats!

Thanks to everyone who participated! Head on over to Natasha's blog and pick up a copy :) It's also available for download.

Happy Saturday! I hope you are enjoying this gorgeous day outdoors!
As I type this, my windows are up, the birds are singing, and a breeze is blowing across the lake.
Happiness.

 

Spring Bucket List {2014}

Great news, lovelies: Today marks the official first day of Spring!

Oh, happy day indeed.

Spring is one of my favorite times of the year. New life abounds everywhere, and the world seems to wake up and come alive. One day the world is gray and dreary, then it seems to turn green overnight. I love the anticipation of beautiful, warm, sunshiny days and a fresh start.

As always, I wanted to make a little list of all the fun things this season has to offer that we want to enjoy. This list involves a lot of time outdoors, soaking up the sunshine.

Spring Bucket List {2014} by bsjames on Polyvore

• {Read the Bible} Lately I've been craving the Word. I want to know Him more. I read the Bible daily during my study time, and I meditate on the Scriptures He shows me. But for the next three months, I want to read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Every. Single. Word.
• {Focus on Jesus} I want to focus on Jesus and His sacrifice for me. I want to start preparing my heart for Easter, and what it truly means.
• {Grow a vegetable garden} I couldn't keep weeds alive if I tried, so this should be interesting. My husband and I have it in our heads to grow a garden. Like, a full scale garden. We're talking tomatoes, cucumbers, peas, butter beans, squash, okra... this should be interesting.
• {Plant flowers} Mary Grace and I planted seeds in our little seed starter mini greenhouse yesterday. She loves watering them!
• {Have a picnic}
• {Fly a kite} I'm thinking the beach for MG's birthday will be the perfect time for this!
• {Feed the ducks} Mary Grace goes bananas when we drive by the lake and there are ducks. I want to take time to get out of the car, feed them, and watch my sweet one enjoy the moment.
• {Visit the zoo} A friend and I are talking about taking our little ones to the zoo together. A zoo trip + friends = FUN!
• {Open the windows} I've already done this a couple of times lately, and there's just something about having a warm breeze blow through your home.
• {Find a four-leaf clover}
• {Watch the bumblebees}

Happy Spring!

 

Potty Training {Phase Two}

Mary Grace has been successfully using the potty since mid October. There are days when she only has an 'accident' once or twice! Way to go, Mary Grace :) She let's you know when she needs to go potty, and will pull down her bottoms and go potty completely by herself. I've walked in on her several times lately while she was going 'potty' all by herself.

I feel like it's time to 'move forward' in this department, so yesterday she and I bought  'big girl undies'.

Of course, she picked out the Minnie Mouse pack :)

Ya'll, she loves them! She doesn't know what they are for yet as we haven't put them on, but because they have Miss Minnie Mouse on them they are her new favorite thing.

I know she will have several 'accidents', but my hope is that she will transition pretty smoothly/quickly from slip-on diapers to undies. We plan to use diapers at night still, and when we are out of the house {until she get's adjusted to using the potty full time}.

She will be in her 'big girl panties' for the first time today. Here's to hoping she is out of diapers completely by her second birthday!

Our Lucky Charm

Happy St.Patrick's Day from this little cutie!

Pain Redeemed {Book Review & Giveaway}

Instead of the usual Friday Five, I thought I'd change things up a bit and do a book review, plus a fun little giveaway which involves a signed copy of an amazing book.

I recently shared {this} post about my struggles of wanting more children, which was inspired by Natasha Metzler's blog post Why Does She Get Babies.

My sweet friend, Sassy, mentioned that she was reading Natasha's book, Pain Redeemed, and thought I too would be moved by it.

Moved is an understatement.

I started reading it on a Friday night around 11:00 pm and was finished by Saturday around 2:00 pm. I couldn't put it down. Every page seemed to speak the words my hurting heart could not. God spoke so much to me through this book. I can't even begin to name all the ways.

Natasha is real. Raw. Her struggles and pain are very personal, yet she never holds back. Instead of battling quietly, she pours out her heart like water so that others may see the One who truly makes life more beautiful. She doesn't sugar coat or try to down play anything. She shows the ugly side of the internal battle we face when consumed by a longing for babies, or something someone else has that we desperately want.

Through her journey of infertility, Natasha's faith and deep love for Christ abound. He is the balm of Gilead that heals her broken heart. She includes journal entries, cries to the Lord, scriptures, and personal experiences that leap from the pages and stir your heart. After seeing our Sweet Jesus make beauty from her ashes, and turn her bitter to sweet, you can't help but want to know Him more. Love Him more.

Whether you've struggled with infertility or not, this book is a must read. We have all longed for something out of our grasp, envied someone's blessings, ached for a dream to be realized. Natasha addresses all of these, and more, in a way that is sure to leave you in awestruck of a Savior who can heal them all.

Natasha and I are partnering together to give one lucky reader a signed {yes, signed} copy of her book, Pain Redeemed. I am so excited about this amazing little giveaway, and would like to thank Natasha for making it possible.

To enter, simply log in on the rafflecopter via Facebook or Email, then you will be prompted to give your name/email address. After entering the mandatory requirement {name/email}, you will have the option of earning extra points by leaving a blog post comment or liking Natasha Metzler's Facebook page. The rafflecopter closes next Wednesday, and a winner will be announced here on Friday {also via email}.

Best of Luck!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm Back From My Mini Vacay

The wee one and I have been in Philadelphia the last few days on a mini vacation of sorts. I love visiting my grandparents, and lately I have really been missing them. It was a spur of the moment idea to get away, so I didn't have anything planned to post on the blog.

Anywho, we had a fabulous time, as always. Mary Grace loves going to the camphouse and feeding the fish, playing with their puppy, swinging. This time the dafodils were in bloom so she picked several little boquets for my grandmother. So sweet!

Judging by the number of text messages and phone calls, I'd say my husband has missed his girls! As soon as we walked through our door Mary Grace was calling him and looking everywhere. She is going to be oh so happy to see him this evening.

Is it just me or does everyone feel the need to clean, clean, clean once they arrive home? My husband didn't make a mess or anything, but I always feel like I need to clean/unpack asap. I'm weird.


The little one is napping {thank goodness} and I'm going to do a little unpacking then some relaxing.

Happy Wednesday!

 

Friday Five

{one} Movie Date
I have a fun little movie date with a sweet friend {I need to come up with a pseudonym for her}. We are going to have dinner then watch Son of God. I am so pumped about seeing this movie and, of course, spending time with my sweet friend.

{two} Breakfast With A Friend
My neighbor invited Mary Grace and I over Wednesday morning for breakfast and a play date. We showed up in our jammies at 9:00 and before we knew it 2.5 hours had passed. We both loved visiting with our sweet neighbors and will miss them when our house sells/we move away. Until then, we have agreed that breakfast dates should be a weekly event.

{three} My Five Wives
Okay, you all know that Sister Wives is my guilty pleasure. They had a special showcasing this new family a few months ago, and I told Bob that I hoped they would give them their own show. Well, my wish has been granted! The new season premiers Sunday night. While I don't agree with polygamy, it is still fun to see how these families work together.

{four} The Little Couple
I guess this week I'm going to blab about television shows. I love the Little Couple and enjoy seeing how they are building their family through adoption. I adored the new season premier where they met their new daughter, Zoey. I teared up several times during the episode. So heartwarming!

 

{five} Half Marathon Wishes
My running partner is tackling his second half tomorrow. We ran our first half together in the Fall, and I feel so sad that I am not running this one with him, too. I will be sending many prayers and well wishes his way as he runs 13.1!

That's all for today, lovelies! I am getting ready for a busy weekend: movie date tonight, doughnut sale for our Mission Trip Saturday morning, and lots of family time with my two loves :)

Don't forget about the fabulous time change this weekend. I'm so looking forward to more daylight in the evening. More play time, running time, gardening time :)

Click on the Friday Five logo below to check out other bloggers who have joined in on the fun!

Happy Friday, Blogland!

 

BIG Birthday Surprise

Miss Mary Grace is going to be one happy, happy girl when she walks outside and sees this sitting in our backyard!

You will soon be able to tell we have a kiddo just by driving by our house :)

I am beyond thrilled, so much so that you would think it was my birthday surprise! Mary Grace loves to 'wiiing' {in her language} and when it's warm, we are constantly going to the park.

Those days are over. We will soon have a park of our very own. She already loves being outside playing on the porch on in the sandbox, so I know it will be a battle getting her to come inside every day. Oh well, we will have great tans and lots of excercise.

We browsed several different sites comparing sets, prices, shipping, etc. We always liked the display set in Sam's Club, so I ended up ordering one similar to the display from their website. We decided on the Saratoga Cedar Swing Set by Backyard Discovery. The fact that it was on sale and had free shipping to our home made it a bit easier to decide, too. It has two swings, a glider, monkey bars, a playhouse on bottom, a covered snack stand on the back, a fort on top, and slide. I went ahead and added a toddler bucket swing, also, since she is still to little to use the big kid swings. So. Much. Fun!

I do feel bad for my husband and father-in-law who have the lovely job of putting this monster together. I think MG and I will have a girls day out of the house that day :) 

Big Birthday Surprise by bsjames on Polyvore

Last Month To Be One {Birthday Plans}

Today marks the one month countdown until our sweet Mary Grace turns two.

Where oh where has the time gone, I ask.

I cannot wait for her special day so we can spoil her even more than usual ;)

We are doing things a bit against the norm for her special day. Instead of a big party, we decided to take her on a fun little beach trip.

Last year I went a bit over the top and we gave our sweet girl a wonderful first birthday party. But we know that, really and truly, when they are this little the parties are mainly for the adults.

I know by next year she will start wanting parties so she can have all her little friends over, eat cake, and celebrate. This year she is still so little that she really won't know what the big fuss is about, so we decided that as a family we would take a little trip to the coast.

We've booked our condo and all I have left to do is make her birthday outfit {of course ;) } and order her cake {we will take it with us for her special day}, and craft a cute banner.

Oh my, this is so much simpler than planning a huge party! Maybe she will ask for a beach trip every year!

I'm going with a Mickey Mouse theme, and have decided on the 'Oh Two-dles' idea for her cake and outfit {if you watch Mickey Mouse clubhouse, you'll totally get this}. I'm also thinking of making a cute banner to hang up, which I could also use for her 2nd birthday pictures.

Oh, TWOdles by bsjames on Polyvore

I can't believe I'm already planning for her second birthday!

 

How We Are Spending This Rainy Day

This yo-yo weather is taking its toll on us. We will have a few pretty days of gorgeous sunshine and warmth, days which we spend almost entirely outdoors. Then a cold front comes and we are driven indoors where we try our best to make the most of the cold, rainy days.....building forts, play dough masterpieces, and books galore.

Today is one of those dreary winter days that make me long for Spring.

I mean, it's March already. It has to start warming up sometime.

We have spent the day in our jammies. Mary Grace decided she wanted to watch a 'moooody' as she calls it. She always picks out 'Marley and Me' because of the 'daaawwwg' on the cover. Which is fine by me because it's one of my faves :)

So, as you are reading this, me and my sweet mini are cuddled up in bed, snuggling together under my great-grandmother's quilt, as my sweet little one entusiastically yells 'daawwwg' every.single.time Marley appears.

I am going to miss these days. One day she will choose other things over movies and nap time with Mommy.

Time, slow down.

Today is dance / gymnastics day so we are looking forward to a break from the house. My sweet hubs is meeting us for ice cream in Meridian, then he will get to watch her at dance for the first time.

I cannot wait to share this fun experience with him! I'm sure Sweet Pea will be in rare form, showing off all her little moves and tricks for her daddy.

Happy Tuesday, lovelies!