woops!

If you have ever looked up at the top and thought, "Hey, I think I'll look up that verse reference she has there on her blogger header" only to find that Philippians 91:4 doesn't exist....I'm soo sorry! Woops!

I needed to reference this verse today:

"He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection."

I knew this was the verse I needed and couldn't remember the bible address so I thought I would just look on my blog and find it quickly. I decided for whatever reason to double check this reference on my phone ( I was out painting) only to continually get a "no results" answer. I kept wondering what in the world was going on...then it dawned on me...I had the wrong bible reference! OMGOODNESS! That verse is actually found in PSALM 91:4 and in my haste to finish my blogger header a few months ago, I totally typed the wrong thing! WOOPS! To say I am embarrassed is an understatement! :)

So, I corrected the reference in my header and will never, ever forget this verse or its reference. :) And once again, if you were ever left wondering if maybe your manufacturer accidentally left out your Philippians book 91 ;), I'm seriously sorry! :)

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Dont Blink

Oh my goodness! How is it even possible for me be writing that my baby is 6 months old!?! It is just crazy that this little bundle

has already grown to this little dumplin

My little boy is too much for my heart. Having a boy has definitely been a JOY to this momma. I feel so thankful to God for the opportunity to have the experience of raising a daughter and a son and the gift of seeing how delightfully different the two are!

Here are some tidbits of Carsten at 6 months old:

You are a very loving little boy, especially to your momma. :) You want to be cuddled and held almost all day...which makes for not much getting done around the house..haha

You are very nosey. You want to know what is going on at all times.

You DO NOT like to be left alone for even a second. You will do almost anything to get someone's attention like screaming, making loud noses, cooing, ect. It is the cutest thing and usually makes me giggle :)

You take 2 naps a day. A short 45 minute nap in the morning and a long 2 hour nap in the afternoon.

You sleep mostly through the night with a random bottle at some point in the night.

You love baby food and you love it when momma lets you have a bite or two of something mushy off my plate.

You can sit up unassisted and love doing so.

You can roll from front to back and back to front!

Your favorite toy is your interactive puppy and your rattling ball.

You wear size 3-6 months clothing but are moving into more 6 months clothes.

You wear a size 3 diapers.

You have the cutest patch of curls only on the top of your head and your momma and pretty much everyone else thinks it is the cutest thing ever!

You are a true joy to our lives Carsten! You are the perfect piece to complete our family and we are looking forward to watching you grow and develop into the little boy God has designed you to be!

A glimpse of my crazy

I have people fooled! Or maybe I think I have people fooled. On the surface, I may appear to have it all together or to really know alot about alot of things but....here's the truth.....

I'm a hot mess sometimes..more like a lot of the time...I mean a true HOT STINKIN MESS....

My day to day is often a regular rollercoaster of emotions and my poor, sweet family has to ride along with me willing or not....{a good ole southern "bless there hearts" would be appropriate right here}

My new favorite blogger, Glennon from http://www.momastery.com/, must have come from the same bloodline somewhere down the line because I READ myself in soooo many of her lines almost daily. I have never laughed so hard as when I read her recent blog post "Home to Myself"...I have borrowed a bit of her post below because in this portion of her post she might as well have been writing this about me:

"I come from a long line of dramatic Irish personalities. We are an emotional bunch – my family. Our highs are high and our lows are low. We love easily, but we cry and yell easily, too. We are quick to hug and quick to anger. Now I know that you won’t believe me, because I am so sweet and calm on this here blog. But that is because no one in my house is awake yet. After people wake up, I tend to get dramatic. I often struggle through the day. Trudge through the day. I have to take a lot of deep breaths. I experience joy, too, everyday. But I am not the type to roll with things. I get very down – for reasons that I can never identify. I decide, thirty times a day, that no one in the history of the world has ever had a harder life than I do. When I say this to God and He brings homeless people to mind, I actually think, well – at least they don’t have to SWEEP.
I also worry. Worry, worry, worry. Obsess might actually be a better word. Not about the plight of the Sudanese…I TRY to worry about things like that, but I ACTUALLY worry about whether I chose the wrong throw pillow for my new couch. I snap at my kids for acting like kids. I resent them for getting hungry three times a day. And even though I don’t believe in mommy guilt, I feel guilty all the time. If I could choose a phrase to describe the polar opposite of my personality, it would be “easy-breezy.” As a matter of fact, I call Sister daily crying and whining and I CANT DO IT ANYMOR-ING and I always end the conversation with “Whatever. I’m easy-breezy, Sister.” And she says, “I know you are, Sister. I know you are. Me too.”
Sometimes I get so upset that I become debilitated…I’m talking crumble to the ground, tears, head in hands… the whole she-bang. My break downs appear to be brought on by one little thing… like a grocery bag breaking in the driveway - and so Craig will say, “It’s okay honey, it’s just a grocery bag,” and I’ll say: “IT”S NOT A GROCERY BAG! IT’S EVERYTHING! WHY CAN’T YOU SEE IT’S EVERYTHING???” And I don’t want anyone to try to fix it or fix me - I just want to be upset. I just need to be upset for awhile. Because life is upsetting, obviously.
I’m just A LOT to deal with on a daily basis. And I know this. I do not cruise through life. I sort of crash through life. But I also “WOW” through life, too. And so it’s okay. I’ll take the lows with the highs. Basically, I really like myself. And I think I’m an awesome mom. God chose ME for these kiddos and He knows me better than anyone, so I’m gonna be myself. My kids don’t need some fake idea of a perfect mom, they need me -Glennon, the real person. I get that."

I read this portion of Glennon's blog to my husband just so he could see that his darling wife was not the only one that still has melt downs and crying fits over absolutely nothing...and he laughed and smirked. For Glennon it was a grocery bag that "was the straw that broke the camel's back" so to say, but for me the other day it was the steamer bag I couldn't find (that may or may not have been right where I put it) that sent me to the couch crying...

But like Glennon, I'm OK with me and my occasional dramatics and hysterics..lol...I am a REAL person. I am a little bit crazy.I have learned to look back and laugh at myself and to ALWAYS thank and apologize to my family who are regular spectators to my "crazy" but love me anyways! I am always learning...learning to pray my way though the "crazy" instead of dramatic crying on the couch...haha... and....

I am ever thankful that God made me just the way He wanted me to be.crazy.and.all! :)

Satan is a LIAR!!

Has Satan ever lied to you and tried to convince you that this isn't true?

His evilness has been trying to make me believe that one (ok maybe like 14) bad day means my life is horrible. Im not even gonna lie...there was one day in particular last week that I LET him win.  I have been battling the CRAZIEST most ANNOYING health issue that has NO cure or explanation and bad news about it last week led me down a path of negative thinking. By the time I finally got a hold of myself, I had convinced myself that I had the worst life ever...which is sooooo not true!

You know what is real and true? The ONLY way the devil can win is if we let him! Life is going to be filled with health issues, disappointments, people letting you down, money issues etc. etc. and these things are never going to change or go away, but what can change is our attitude....and boy am I having to remind myself about this right now. So....I am choosing to praise my Savior in this storm! I am thanking him that my health issue is not life threatening. I am choosing to thank Him for his love and for his provisions for my family. I thanking him for my PRECIOUS husband and my PRECIOUS children! I am choosing to thank Him for the PRECIOUS friends I have that have been soo encouraging and who have lifted me up when I feel down. And the list could go on and on...

So, one bad day, week, month or even year DOES NOT mean that your life is horrible. Its just a season and in EVERY season God is with you and wants to work in you and through you if you'll let Him. Beloved, I pray you let HIM!

I adore this song and thought it so fitting for where I am right now

Housekeeping

One of my goals for the year was to become a better housekeeper. I simply have so much going on all the time that I let this job go to the very bottom of the list and sometimes, I admit, its not even on the list. haha.. One day I will hopefully hire a maid but right now its just not in the cards since we are trying to get out of debt. Until the glorious day that I hire a cleaning angel, I think the Time Warp Wife's  daily housekeeping schedule will be a great tool for me to get in the habit of doing the chores that I need to get done.

I will check-in in a few weeks on how this plan is working for me. How do you keep up with your chores? Or do you? haha

Eat your peas!

My TOTALLY awesome, ROCK STAR hairdresser blessed me with a

as a baby gift! I was overwhelmed with her generosity and have been anxious to try it out! Im not excited that my baby is 5 months old, :( but soo excited that I can finally play with my new toy! :)

I cannot believe I fed my first born processed baby food but I was naive and knew not of the fun gadgets available. When you think about it....a banana does not naturally have a shelf life of 3 years so what in the heck is in those cutesy little jars that allows banana's to last that long?? yick! Anyways....

Tonight I made my first batch of baby food and it was sooo much fun!! I made peas, bananas, brown rice and sweet potatos. My cutie pie ate some of his peas and loved them! SUCCESS!! One batch of peas cost around a $1 and made 8 servings!! Better nutritionally and CHEAPER!! woop woop!!

I thought you might like a picture or two of my little cutie eating his first homemade baby food :)

not quite sure at first

These are good dad!

(please excuse that my son is wearing a Halloween bib haha)



                                                                                   

I cannot wait to try out new foods and new combos as he gets older! Do you have any recipes you have tried that your baby loved? Any tips?

17th Century Nun's Prayer

This prayer was in the bible study "Divine Design" that I am studying right now and I loved it so much I just had to share it! I love that even though this nun lived centuries ago, her struggles are timeless and ageless. I believe we could all find some truth for ourselves in this prayer...Whew! I sure did!

 

"Lord, You know better than I know myself that I am growing older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occassion. Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful, but not moody. Helpful, but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but You know, Lord, I want a few friends at the end.

 

Keep my mind free from the endless recital of details; give me wings to get to the point.. . . . . Teach me the glorious lesson that occassionally, I may be mistaken.

 

Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a saint - some of them are so hard to live with. But a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people. And give me, Lord, the grace to tell them so. "

Amen 

 

What part of the prayer stood out to you?

Psalm 75:1

We are memorizing a verse every week at our house and my little birdie girl wanted to share our first memorized verse with you.

What is your favorite verse?

A Few of my favorite things...

I have always been a LOVER of fashion and all things GIRLY! This is no big surprise to me considering my mom is the EXACT same way....the apple doesn't fall far from the tree y'all!. :) It is also no big surprise to me that my almost 4 year old daughter is ALREADY a LOVER of all things girly, such as makeup, clothing, shoes, and her favorite, purses! So, in honor of 3 generations of SUPER GIRLY girls...I give to you a sampling of a few of my favorite girly things right now :)

Got this for Christmas and I am in LOVE! Urban decay eyeshadows and their eye priming potion (the purple bottle) are MY FAVS!

I LOVE me some cowboy boots!! Once I reach my goal weight, my hubby has said that he is treating me to a shopping spree and I PROMISE you I am going to buy myself some fancy boots like the Old Gringo pair above!

I LOVE great jeans! The ones pictured are by Miss Me and you can count on my hiney being in a pair once I'm a skinnier version of myself! :) In fact, these very jeans are part of my motivation to lose weight....kinda of like hanging a bikini on the wall for motivation...I actually considering titling my blog "Losing for my Miss Me's or something catchy like that..haha). A friend recently asked me what the big deal with designer jeans is and I had to fill her in on the wonderful qualities such as booty lifting :) cute embellishments, great quality etc...if you have never had a pair or even tried them on...you should! You will be hooked! :)

I also adore clutch purses! I would say I have a small collection that a certain almost 4 year old has claimed as hers only based on the fact that she thinks they are the perfect size for her ;) Something about the daintiness and detail on these small bags just grabs me and it could also be that life feels simpler when all you can fit in your purse is a few dollars, a card or two, a mint and a lipstick. That's all a girl really needs anyways right? But my reality is I carry this beauty:

I can fit half my house in it and for my life right now, its GREAT! 2 of my sweet friends got this for me as a baby shower gift and I am soo grateful to them for their generosity!

I could keep on and on with this list but we'll save some for another post :)

What are some of your favorite girly things??

Gobbling it UP!!

For Christmas, my precious hubby surprised me with an ipad as a gift which has helped in reminding me how much I ADORE reading! When I realized I could purchase almost any book imaginable and have it instantly, I was hooked!! Being an English major, I have ALWAYS had a deep love for reading but for the past 5 years it seems like life has just gotten in the way of me doing so. One of my goals this year is to watch less TV and read more books and I am happy to report...I am doing GREAT at this goal. I actually have to be careful to not stay up till 2am reading (which has happened a few times..yikes). I am literally GOBBLING books up and I LOVE IT! :) Here are a few books I am reading right now:

I would say I am more of a "self help" kinda girl when it comes to reading. I also ADORE victorian literature!

What are you currently reading??

Family Devotion

When contemplating our goals for the new year, my husband and I decided that a part of our "intentional parenting" was going to be to start a family devotion. We wanted a devotion that we could read together at dinner time that could lead into further discussion with our almost 4 year old. I had a specific idea in my head of how I wanted the devotion to be structured and was thrilled when I found this devotion that fit my requirements:

This is a sample from one of the first devotions from the book:

The second page of the devotion features a life application question and a prayer. So far, the book has really been a blessing to us. Just tonight we were discussing the trinity with our daughter and were really surprised at how well she was able to grasp what we were trying to explain to her. While we know she might not totally understand some of the complex subjects, such as the trinity, we are confident that we are planting seeds that will one day take root in her precious little heart and, God willing, grow into a deep love and devotion to the heavenly Father. We are so excited to see the ways God uses this time to teach us and reveal himself to us this year!

Does your family have a devotion book/program that you treasure?

New Year = New Blog!

Welcome to my brand spanking NEW space in the blog-o-sphere! Life has changed so much for me since I first became a blogger in 2007(Highheels and Hairbows), so I decided it was time for a fresh start in the blog world! Don'tcha just love a fresh start?? I sure do! I feel like a nerdy kid with a fresh clean note book to write in :).

So to get this party started, I have decided to share my goals for this new year...while I know that such a list is totally cliche, I felt compelled to share because these goals will DEFINITELY be the main focus of topics on this blog this year.

1. Lose 100lbs---yep your eyes read that correctly....100lbs! I actually started this endeavor on December 1st, 2011 and to date I have lost 29lbs!! Woop Woop!

2. Actually finish the Couch to 5K program AND run in a REAL 5k! -currently on week 2!

3. Become debt FREE! -a goal my husband and I are working towards together

4. Read more and watch less TV-currently on my 2nd book of the year!

5. Become more intentional in my parenting-I am REALLY focused on having set plans on how my husband and I will raise our children from a biblical perspective.

6. Gain a deeper understanding and knowledge of God's word

7. Research and develop an action plan for Homeschooling my daughter in the fall

8. Expand my business or start a new bigger business with my mom

9. Join the choir and possibly the praise team at church-I was a part of the youth praise team at church all 4 years of high school and walked away from this ministry after being "burned" my senior year. I have prayed about it and feel God calling me back into this ministry.

10. Become a better "housekeeper"-not gonna lie..if I was rich, I would have a maid...I'm not so great at keeping our house spotless or the laundry cleaned and put away...but I'm gonna work on that...maybe a schedule of some sort would help?

So...there you have it! God is REALLY up to some GREAT things in my life and I cannot wait to share with you all the details along the way!

What are some of your goals for this year? I would love to hear from you and pray for you as you work toward your goals!

Happy 2012!