Homeschool Life

2020.

Wow. I don’t think anyone could have predicted what an unpredictable year this would be for everyone across the world.  It’s changed so many things for all of us.  Jobs, school, church, get togethers, and even down to shopping and eating out! 

I know I’m not the only mom who jumped into the homeschool wagon this year, given the COVID-19 crisis and what it has done to the public school system.  Now I don’t know how things are going down where you’re at, but here in West Virginia, it’s nothing short of crazy.  We have a color coded map that’s released every Saturday to determine if your county gets to attend school in person, or remote.  And if you do go, it’s only 2 days a week based on your last name if you go Monday and Tuesday or Thursday and Friday.  Then you have the virtual option.

And then, thank God, there was homeschooling!

Now let me say first and foremost, I’m not one of those “anti-public school” people. I love our school (I still call it our school because I hope we can return one day when things are more normal). I love the faculty. I love the sense of community there.  I was active in our school in years past and volunteered a lot. I loved it!  I loved doing read aloud for Makayla’s class and being there to help the teachers out when I could. 

But I have to say, I don’t miss the craziness that is there now. I’m glad I don’t have to wonder what color we are this week or if this is the week the virus hits our school.  I miss what was.  I am so thankful we live in a country where we can homeschool our children if we please. I’m thankful I CAN stay at home and do this. 

Now I’m not going to lie, we have had our struggles. Each day presents a new challenge. But we have learned to work together as a team.  There are so many resources out there to help along the way.  I’ve also had a couple teachers reach out and ask how we are doing or answer a few questions I’ve had from her school.  That means A LOT!!!  But all in all, I feel like we are doing extremely well thus far! 

I’m just going to leave y’all with a few pictures of our life now. I know most of you see this on Facebook, but for those who don’t, welcome to our homeschool world this year!

(And yes I realize this is the first time I’ve posted in over a year!)

(Making imprints of leaves)

(Field trip!)

(Doing some latitude and longitude) 

(Learning about Betsy Ross)

 

Low Carb Dishes-Dinner ideas!

I’m so glad y’all enjoyed my last post about how I’ve dropped 50+ pounds following a low carb (Keto) lifestyle.  I really try not to call it a diet, basically because I have no intentions of going off of it, like the trend is with “dieting”.  I’m in this for the long haul!

I’ve made a lot of old standbys for our dinners with some modifications to make it low carb, as well as tried a lot of new recipes that are now on our low carb “roster” when it comes to menu planning.

I will stress this the most.  If you really want to stick to this lifestyle, you need to plan ahead.  Plan ahead your meals.  Plan for snacks.  Plan, plan, plan!  Where I live, Walmart is an hour drive away.  So if I run out of certain items, it’s not like I can hop in the car and have it 10 minutes later!   Some of the things I like to have on hand are:

• Almond flour
• Coconut flour
• A sugar substitute like Monkfruit or Swerve
• Pork rinds
• Cheese
• Pepperoni

As I said in the beginning, there are some old standby recipes I tweaked to make them low carb.  

• For chili: substitute the beans with extra meat or extra veggies!  I use onion and celery in mine.
• For a dish with rice: try cauliflower rice!
• Potatoes?: try a bag of frozen cauliflower, especially in a soup dish
• Side dish: take away the starch and double up on veggies.  Don’t forget the cheese! Or bacon!
• Craving bread?: there are low carb options for bread out there now. Check out the mission tortillas that are carb conscious 
• Use lettuce in place of a bun! 

I have found many new recipes on Pinterest as well that are staples in our menu rotation.  Pizza casserole is amazing and great for a quick meal as is egg roll in a bowl.  Both are packed with so much flavor you won’t feel like your missing a thing!  I just discovered a recipe for a Cheeseburger casserole that was so amazing and simple!  

I also love Italian sausage stuffed portabella mushrooms!  That is one of my all time favorites and I believe what I made for my birthday dinner last month!  A summer favorite is Big Mac salad!  It is delish and makes enough for a crowd!  You can also make a fat head pizza crust if you feel like you need a crust for pizza.  It’s a very versatile recipe in which you can use the dough for not just pizza, but cinnamon rolls, bagels, or breadsticks!

I hope you have enjoyed learning about some of our new favorite dishes!  Next post I will have some sweet treats in store for you..yes..you can satisfy your sweet tooth while on a low carb diet!  Again, modifications but I promise you won’t feel like your missing a thing!

Low Carbin’

I started a low carb diet at, ironically, a low point in my life last year.  Damon had an injury at work, which thankfully wasn’t as bad as it could have been.  Ravey passed away, leaving a huge void.  Makayla was struggling in school.  Our church fell apart.

It seemed like everything that could go wrong, did.  Things we thought would last forever, didn’t.

It was a mess, and so was I.

I was already very overweight, but with all we endured during that very short span (probably 3 weeks) I turned to food.  And it wasn’t pretty.

I packed on an additional 20 pounds.  When I went to the doctor for my yearly visit, I cringed when I saw the numbers that looked back at me.  We had went on a little day trip 2 days prior.  The picture Damon took of me and Makayla summed it up.  I had definitely let myself go.

Makayla had a tudor during this and told me she had done the low carb (aka Adkins) diet and had lost and kept off 50 pounds.  I brushed it off when she’d mention it.  “Oh gosh give up potatoes, pasta, and  

sweets?!...I could never do that!”  

Until the day I went to the doctor and saw those numbers.  Those numbers.  Something crept up inside of me and I knew something had to give.  I have so much to live for.  Lord I don’t want to die young and leave my daughter without a mother.  

So I dove in head first.  Every time Makayla went to see her tudor I’d ask her for advice.  I scoured Pinterest and Facebook for recipes.  For support.  For motivation.  

And you know what, I found it!!  Before long I was posting before and after pictures.  Not to show everyone “hey look at me”, but honestly the first one I posted I did out of curiosity if I could see a difference.  

Before long, I had people wondering what I was doing to lose weight.  People were coming to ME for weight loss advice!  Ha!  Never did I ever think that would happen!  No, not me.  

I’m not saying I’m a pro at weight loss, or have bad days, or anything.  I’m saying, this is what’s working for me.  Some call it an unhealthy way of eating.  Everyone is going to have their opinion.  All I know is I am currently down 52 pounds since the end of April of 2018, my bloodwork is spot on perfect, and I no longer have to take anti-inflammatory medication for my foot problems.  

I have lots of low carb recipes that are my go-to’s..is anyone interested in knowing more of the way me and my family eats?  If so, I could start posting some of our favorites!  Please let me know!  And I’ll leave you with my latest picture for a boost of inspiration that you can do it too!

Yes, it’s me!

Hello again blogger world!  I think it’s been *gasp* two years since I last did a blog post?  Blame it on burnout, being uninspired, or what have you.  But I always hung on to this little blog.  I always enjoyed the interactions with all of you and just putting my life “out there”.  I think the latter may of actually been why I stopped.

Fear.

We went through some really big stuff a while back.  Things I never thought I’d have to deal with.  But, God helps you to learn how to deal and move on.  And goodness if anyone knew half the stuff we have been through they would be first to tell you God has kept us moving on!

But enough of that.  I just wanted to do a brief fill in on the in’s and out’s of what all we’ve been up to!

• We’ve had a couple fabulous vacations to the beach the past few years!  I thank God we are able to do things like this because I know some are not fortunate enough to do so.
• I lost my beloved Ravey cat last year.  Definitely the hardest thing I had dealt with in a while.  She was like my first child.

• Makayla repeated 1st grade this year.  It was the best decision we have made for her.  She was one of the youngest in her class last year and just wasn’t as mature as the other kids in her grade.  I’m happy to say she is THRIVING this year!
• I’ve lost 50 pounds doing the low carb/Keto diet.  It has been amazing.  After losing Ravey and going through some other things I just lost control of myself.  I saw a picture of myself in late April and didn’t recognize who I had become.  If you had asked me a year ago if I could give up bread, potatoes, pasta, and sugar I would have laughed in your face.  Funny the things you don’t miss once they are out of your life.  I hope to continue the trend of this lifestyle and lose more!

• We have grown spiritually in leaps and bounds after dealing with some church stuff.  I could go into detail, but I’m not.  I’ll just say this, people can really let you down.  I’m glad where we are now and that Makayla has a Sunday school class (first time for her!), and I’m happy to say I assist with teaching her class!  It’s been a great learning experience and I have some great mentors to learn from.

Many, many other blessings in large and small form as well!  I’m hoping blogging will be a part of my new year!  So please comment and encourage this chick to keep this thing going!  I miss all of you and hope your New Year is the best yet!  

So much...

I feel like so much has happened since my last post.  Again, as you can tell my blogging is going to be sporadic for the near future.  I just don't think I'm ever going to be a regular blogger.  I don't think it was really meant for me.

But enough about that and more on our life lately!

Like I said above so much HAS happened since March!  Damon is working again, praise God!  It's not coal mining but it's something.  And we are very grateful for that and feel very blessed.  I think the past 9 months have been a big test and time for learning for us.  We have learned to lean on God more and not our own understanding.  In a time where we could have been like "why Lord?" we have learned to be content.

Makayla is now FIVE.  How is that possible y'all??  She had a Barbie birthday party and is ready to start Kindergarden in the fall.  And no, I'm not homeschooling her for it.  Her desire is to be with other kids, so that it shall be.

We also have gotten chickens!  And when I say I have become slightly obsessed about all things chicken, it's not an understatement!  Our girls have a swing in their coop and I'm constantly searching for new ideas for them!  What a joy!  Makayla loves them too and has held them a few times!  Oh and yes, they all are named!

Our church is growing and doing really well too!  We are so proud to be apart of a great group of people and see what God has in store for the future!  We recently had our first wedding in the church and also now have a steeple complete with a bell!

So yeah..a few things going on as of late!  Looking forward to the summer months and God's blessings!

I "might" be back!!

I had been thinking about my little blog a few times lately.  Then tonight while scrolling Facebook I read a post shared by another blogger.  It hit home.  Talked about how she was thankful for others who blog, let their feelings, their lives, be out there for whoever wants to read it ( and comment) to do just that.

I think the reason I stopped blogging last June was a few reasons.  One being I didn't really feel like anyone really cared what I wrote.  Which may be true, but when you've done something for so long, you kinda hope someone looks forward to your posts.  You know what I mean?

Anyways.  Life these past 9 months have been filled with ups and downs.  But honestly, we are in a good place.  A really good place.  You might look at our current circumstances right now (unemployment..oh yes again!), and think how can she say that?  But it's true.  We are so incredibly blessed.  Damon and I are in such an amazing place, spiritually.  We are walking close with God daily.  We have grown by leaps and bounds in the last several months and I wouldn't trade where we are now for anything.  Makayla is growing into quite the little girl as well..singing her heart out at church and learning about prayer and our almighty God.  I am thankful for the positive influences she has in her life.  She is surrounded by the right kind of God fearing people that is helping to mold her.

So yeah, I think I may give blogging another chance.  I hope you'll follow me on this journey.

Unmotivated...

I know I haven't blogged in about a month and a half.  I have been debating on whether to put "Country Roads" in retirement so to speak.  I just haven't had motivation to blog.  Don't get me wrong, life has been great!!  It's not that I don't have anything to share, I just don't have the time as of late.  I've been busy with a very active 4 year old, being a wife, being involved in church, and so many other things that when I do have a spare moment to get online I do it for fun (like check Facebook or check the weather).  Blogging has felt like work and not been fun for me for a while.

I'm not going to say goodbye and I'm not closing down the blog.  But I am taking an undetermined amount of time away from blogging.  I hope to be back sometime!  And I'm sure when I do return I'll probably be boring y'all with all kinds of stuff!  Please feel free to reach out to me via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Until then!!

Catch-up

So yeah..been about a month since my last post..again!  Thought I'd just do a little catch up post to let y'all know what's been going on around here!

• Got to see my grandma in Kentucky..finally!  In case you missed the info..she had a stroke and heart attack last month.  Me, my mom, and Makayla made the trip down and stayed over night.  Makayla loved the hotel and the pool..just wished I had brought bathing suits!  Oh well..at least she got a cute UK shirt!  
  
• Things were moving along great..until Monday of this week.  I hurt my back. Bad.  Guys, when I say I was in pain I do mean it!  A pulled muscle is what the doctor said and gave me some muscle relaxers and an anti inflammatory shot.  I'm doing much better but scared to death to do much of anything!  Please pray for me when you pray!  I've had to rethink everything I do, especially when it comes to lifting Makayla.  I am a feared those are days in the past.  :-(
• Speaking of Makayla, while many are signing their tots up for preschool around here for the next school year I have been receiving homeschool catalogs in the mail!  Excited to see how it works for us!  
  
• We can now say that we are debt free!  We paid off our mortgage this week and it's an amazing feeling!!  Praise be to God!
• I've had Netflix for about a month now while I cut our directv down to a smaller package.  Definitely not turning back!  I signed up for a free month of Hulu and am loving it so far!  If this continues we may cancel directv all together.  Yes, they have great service, great selection, etc.  But they also hike up your bill at least once a year too.  I think when we started with them 10 years or so ago we were paying around $70..before I downgraded our package, it was $101.  And that's after we dropped a receiver a couple years ago.  We used to have 3.  You do the math.
• Needing to do some remodeling in our master bath.  Let's just say I already can't wait for it to be done?!  
  
• I love my church family.  Like beyond words.  And I'm excited for our growth and what's to come.  :-) 
• Don't you just love the Duggars?  From Jill's wedding, pregnancy, and new baby, to Jessa's marriage and pregnancy announcement, Josiah being in a courtship, and Anna carrying her 4th..there is never lack of something going on!  Love their values, how they raise their children.  Great role models.  

I'm such a bad blogger!

I promise guys, I do still like to blog!! Just seems like since the beginning of 2015 it has been a nonstop roller coaster ride.  With changes in our church, to my mother-in-law passing away, snowstorms, water problems.  Not to mention the situation as of late. My dear grandma had a stroke and a heart attack just a few days ago.  ~sigh~

But life has been going and hasn't all been bad, I promise!  I've been enjoying my new bible I bought for myself a few months ago, and while I have had some set backs with everything that has gone on around us, I am in the book of 1 Samuel almost in 2 Samuel.

Makayla is and has been fully potty trained, both days and nights, for what seems like forever now.  Potty training was a total breeze with her.  I give God the credit..and waiting until not only her, but until I was ready as well.  Makes a big difference!

I picked a lovely bouquet of spring time daffodils the other day.  My dining room smells so good!

Spring cleaning has begun!!  5 rooms down y'all!!  I'm doing good so far!!

We downsized our television package.  Picked up Netflix.  Love it.  Plus $$ saved. Score!

We have been having the best Fridays ever!  Our church has been having  a fellowship and food Friday each Friday where we gather and eat and fellowship.  It's awesome!!

And tomorrow I'm getting a very long over due haircut.  I cannot wait..I've looked like a lion with a huge mane lately!!  After pictures to come!!

I need to seriously get back into using my "big" camera.  I've barely picked it up since Christmas!  Christmas!!!

So as you can see, life hasn't been all hum drum around here.  Just hard to get our of a rut when a lot hits at once.  I'm so encouraged when I get some comments on here because a lot of the time I feel like nobody reads my blog anymore!!  So please..if your reading..leave me a comment whether you do on here or on Facebook!!  And let me know if there are any topics you'd like me to discuss in the future!!!

Chaos

For the past month, that pretty much sums it up.  It has been nothing but pure chaos around here since the end of January.

The one thing I can say positively about it all is that I know my God is real.  He has been with me and my family through all the things we have dealt with.

We started with some horrible circumstances our church dealt with.  Totally heartbreaking and made me realize sometimes you really don't know people you think you do.  If you wish to know more, please fill free to email me..we still desire a LOT of prayers in this area.

Then on Valentine's day, a day Damon finally had off of work, we went out shopping.  Only to get stuck in a freak ice storm, having to cut our trip out that day way short and try to manage to get home in one piece.  PRAISE be to God, we got home safely. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get home from what is usually a 50-60 minute car ride.

The next day, I made a mad dash to the nearest store which is half an hour away, to get the groceries I wasn't able to pick up the day before.  As soon as I walked in the door and got everything unloaded, we got a phone call.  Nobody had seen Damon's mother that day and she wasn't answering her phone.  Damon rushed to her house, had to have a neighbor call the fire department to get in her house since she had it latched from the inside.  He found her on the floor, she had a stroke.  Still alive, but not in good shape.  The next few days were a blur, as we had to have her transferred to a hospital 1 1/2 hours from us and we were hit with the biggest snowstorm of the season.  Wednesday night, I got the dreaded phone call.  She had passed.

For the next two hours, I had to think, how do I tell my husband his mother is gone?  I prayed.  I cried.  I leaned totally on God.  It felt like ten years went by before he got home.  It was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do.

He took the rest of the week off work.  We made funeral arrangements and had a very helpful neighbor plow our driveway so we could get in and out from all the snow we received.  We also had water issues this whole time from the extreme cold temperatues.  As if that wasn't enough to deal with, the day before the funeral, we had a dispute about where she was supposed to be buried.  A family cemetery, and we were told her husband (Damon's dad) was buried on the wrong "side" and she couldn't be buried next to him.  They forbade it, in fact.  So, we had her buried next to her sister, and will have her husband moved to be next to her come this spring.

A couple days after the funeral, I took myself and Makayla out for a day to unwind from everything.  Coming home, we made a potty stop at a local restaurant and I got another scare.  Makayla screamed at me that it hurt when she was trying to pee.  She had never done this before and I freaked.  The next day I took her to the doctor to be checked and a couple days later all her labs came back normal, praise God again.
She is totally fine..had developed a little bump in that "area" that didn't show up until a couple days later.

Friends, when I say life has been challenging lately, as you can tell from reading this post, I'm not lying.  I wanted to explain all of this so you would know why I haven't blogged in over a month.  One thing that hasn't changed, is my faith and belief in God. He has been with us through everything.  I have been mentally exhausted from everything and it might be a while until I get totally back into the swing of things.  In the meantime, any and all emails are welcome as are prayers!!!!  I love my readers and have made so many great friendships through blogging.  I hope to be back in full swing soon..love to all who have read this very long post!!

Dinner ideas

I'm a huge fan of Pinterest, for many reasons really.  Craft ideas, homeschooling ideas, home decorating ideas...

And some pretty awesome recipe ideas!

I have more pins related to food than anything else.  But, for me, I am more apt to try new things in our menu rotation. I know some people say they pin a lot but don't actually try the recipe (or craft, or whatever)! People..try out some new things!!  You might be pleasantly surprised!!



Last week I tried two new soups on my family.  First was lasagna soup.  It was super easy and hubby loved it!  Score!  The only thing I would do differently is add some mushrooms next time around.



We also tried chili mac and cheese. Oh boy, this was a HUGE hit guys!  Damon took one bite, looked at me, and said in a voice you know he meant it, "This is good!".  Its a cross of chili and mac and cheese (in case you couldn't tell from the title..ha!).  I added at the end a little bit of cubed velveeta cheese.  It was beyond awesome and will be a staple around here from now on! 

This week I have made a baked steak and gravy (not a recipe from Pinterest but one hubby shared with me on facebook).  It was definitely good, but a little heavy on the onion side.  I would have preferred mushrooms.  Can you tell we like our mushrooms around here?

Also something I make regularly (and I 'think' I got the recipe from pinterest) is crockpot baked potatoes.  Guys, if you haven't made these, you should do it and now!  All you do is wrap your potatoes that have been coated in oil (I use olive oil) and sprinkled with salt in aluminum foil and put them in the crockpot!  I do mine in a combo of high and low heat (probably 2 hours of each?)..but you seriously can't mess it up.  Just check them every now and then by inserting a knife in one to see if its tender.  So easy and so good! And a great alternative in the summer months when you don't want to heat up the house by using the oven to bake potatoes!  We had them on sunday for dinner.  Smothered with broccoli and cheese sauce, topped with bacon!  You might of seen the picture on facebook if you follow me on there!

Later this week, I'm making some taco soup, courtesy of my friend Natalie over at She Builds Her Home!  I can't wait to try it!

Up new next week, Sausage Potato Spinach Soup and another recipe I found on Facebook, it's a Spicy Italian Crescent Ring! 

My only thing with Pinterest, and I have to admit I just thought of this, is they need a check mark system on it!  So you can check off recipes or crafts that you have tried!  If they did, you guys, you would see a lot of check marks on mine!!  I encourage you to try something new today, whether its from Pinterest or someplace else!  You never know when you might find a new favorite!  :-)

Judging "up" and "down"

This post may not be what you are expecting, but I encourage you to read it through to see what is currently on my mind and heart today.

As I was cleaning I was thinking about how people judge one another.  Now the bible commands us to not judge because God is the ultimate judge of people.  But lets face it, we are guilty of it at one time in our lives of judging someone.  And most of the time we judge them wrongly.

As for judging "up" and "down", let me explain.  Sometimes (and most times when you think of this subject), someone gets judged "down"....

They aren't doing a good enough job.  They could do so much better. 
They aren't pretty enough.
They aren't smart enough.
They don't have enough money.

You see where I'm going with this?  It's a judgement in the negative sense.

But, the more I thought about it, some people judge others "up" as well....

That person has it all together.  They know what they are doing.
They have lots of money.  More than enough to share.
They are the best parent I've seen.  They never make a mistake.

I feel lately like I have been judged "up".  People have been coming to me for various things, like I have all the answers/resources/etc. 

Let me tell you right now, I DON'T.

I'm not rich.  I don't have all the answers.  I'm not a perfect mother.  I don't have a perfect life. 

Yes, I try to strive towards perfection.  The Bible wants us all to. 

Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.

Do I want to help?  Yes!  I love when people come to me, seeking advice.  It actually honors me that someone thinks enough of me to seek me out for help in an area of their life. 

But let me ask this, is that all you use some people for? 

I have feelings just like you or the person next to you does.  While I am honored that you look for advice from me, remember, I am just as human as you are.  And for that matter, the one you may need to turn to may not be me (or whoever you have been turning to). 

We ALL need to turn to God FIRST, in all things.  If we seek Him first and foremost and live for Him and do as He guides, we may not be running to this one or that one so often.

Food for thought.

:-)

A few craft projects!

I'm so excited!  I picked up a few small, inexpensive items, at Hobby Lobby over the weekend to make some little cute craft items in the coming weeks!

You guys KNOW how much I love Hobby Lobby!

They have anything and everything and if you haven't been to one I suggest you find the closest one and go there.  Now!

If you have been to HL, then you know they have these awesome little craft booklets hanging virtually everywhere!  I found this one near the felt and saw a great idea for making a pouch for your Kindle (in my case, or it could be for an IPad, whatever you have basically!).  I saw the cute pink sparkly glitter fabric squares in the area where they sell felt and thought it would be perfect for my Kindle.  Craft project #1!

In the scrapbooking paper aisle, there were tons of Valentine's day papers to choose from.  Simple projects to do with Makayla (aka homemade Valentine's).  Craft project #2!

Then I picked up a bottle of black fine glitter.  My main purpose for this?  Damaged heels, as in my high heel church shoes.  I plan on using the glitter, some mod podge, and a clear coat to seal it all.  Look for before and after pictures in the near future.  Craft project #3!

And lastly, craft project #4!  A plain pink t-shirt and an Eiffel tower iron on.  Makayla is really into anything Eiffel tower right now, so this was a no brainer!  Cheap and easy!

Are you doing any Valentine's crafts?  Care to share, I would love to hear all about it!!

New Year, New Meaning

2015.  Its really hard to believe its 2015 already, isn't it?  Time seems like it just flies.  And time has a way of getting away from us.  From me.

Having a very active toddler and being a stay at home mom, some people would think I have all the time in the world.  Not true.  While yes, I'm not bound to a job that takes me away from my home or my family, I have a job at home that is never-ending.  Dishes, laundry, cooking, house work, toddler to teach/raise/discipline/keep safe/guide, husband to tend to as well. 

Sometimes it's hard to keep it all in focus.  Its hard to make time to do the things just for me.  Like read my Bible.  Like have time for Bible study.  Time for things for 'me'. 

After coming across a picture on Facebook (yup, you read right!) of a Bible that belonged to Jessa Duggar-Sewald (from 19 Kids and Counting in case you don't follow, she just got married to Ben Sewald in November), I was very intrigued.  It was a Bible I had never quite seen before.  It was just set up differently, same format (King James Version which is the only type I'll have in my home), but different.  I did some research and found it was a Hebrew-Greek Study Bible, KJV. 

I had never heard of this Bible before!  It was something that just 'stuck' in my head.  After Damon got his new Bible for Christmas, I decided maybe it was time that I got myself a new Bible as well.  I got to thinking about it, and I had actually never purchased my own Bible before.  They have all been given to me as gifts.  Loved them all, but it was time for something that's just 'mine'.

I received it in the mail this week and already am loving it.  I also bought a Bible devotion/journal and I hope to really get into God's word and have Him open my eyes up.  I hope to learn more.  I hope to get stronger. 

What Bible do you read regularly and do you have a devotion you follow?  Care to share?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Christmas Recap

I've been a total slacker with this blog..again for the millionth time..I'm so sorry!!  I hope I can do better in the new year!

Which I never got around to posting about our Christmas!  It was great.  Makayla was just really into everything Christmas.  Baby Jesus, opening presents, listening to the story of Christ's birth.  You name it, she loved it!  I think this was really her first 'big' year of really getting into the Christmas spirit and realizing what its all about! 

I'll do a post over on the other blog all about her (if you didn't know, I made another blog just about Makayla and if you'd like to follow it just let me know!) with tons of pictures.  But our Christmas consisted of having Christmas Eve at our house with my parents for the first 'half'.  We opened presents from them (and vise versa) and I had a big appetizer spread which I LOVE doing every year!  This year we had shrimp chimichungas, coconut shrimp with mango salsa, bbq little smokies, cheesy crab and artichoke dip, chips and dip, peanut butter balls, cookies, and cinnamon pecans!  It was quite the spread!  Some of the things were new (the chimichungas and the crab dip) and were kind of big fails..but the only way you find out is if you try it out right?!  Better luck next year!  Ha!

After they left (with a huge wind storm that blew through right at the same time, it was scary!  Thankfully nothing was damaged/no power outages/etc.), we read the story of Christ's birth from the Bible.  This is a new tradition we started after we had Makayla and I just love it.  We stress to her why we celebrate Christmas and what its all about and I do believe she understands already! 

After we did our reading, we started opening the gifts!  I mostly got shots of paper flying and blurry pictures..haha!  But that's all apart of the fun, right?  We had a great time!  Damon's favorite gift was his new large print Scolfield Study Bible and mine was, well, I had a lot to be honest!  Makayla's was probably all her new Frozen stuff.  You know the girl loves all things Frozen!

 

Damon and his bible!

 

New purse, yay!

 

A new tracfone!

 

 

Christmas Day, we opened up our stockings and then headed to my parent's house for dinner.  Afterwards we went to visit Damon's mom for a bit before coming home and recouperating from the past couple days activities! 

 

 

Looking forward to Christmas 2015 already!



Ramblin'

Bear with me, as the first Monday after Christmas I'm just going to ramble for a bit.

Makayla got some new bedding and wall decals for Christmas.  She is going to have a Frozen themed room.  So bye bye to the baby room and hello more grown up little girl room.

Sniff sniff.

Anyways she was DYING to get the new "stickers" hung on her wall.  I told her we first had to take down her big tree (you remember that?  It was gorgeous..and I put it up when I was 30+ weeks pregnant).  So I peeled off her tree and some paint with it.
Sigh.  So I just finished re-painting that area on her wall after sanding and priming it on Saturday.

Nothing is ever easy.

Damon has really been enjoying his new Scolfield large print study bible I got him for Christmas.  I have had my eye on a study bible too..its a Greek-Hebrew study bible.  I think I may order it soon.  Oh..and both are King James Versions in case you were wondering.  :-)

I'm wanting to try a couple new recipes this week. One is something called "funeral sandwiches".  Seriously.  Has anyone tried them before?  I'll let you know how they turn out.  The other is some Mediterranean food.  Chicken schwarma, tabouli, and this lamb meatball thing.  It all looked very interesting and yummy!  Ill have to do a food post later in the week.

Gearing up for the New Year too.  I always take my Christmas decor down then, have a meal of corned beef & cabbage, fried potatoes, black eyed peas, and cornbread. Yum! Though I do feel like after all the sweets we've had maybe some good old fruit salad is in order.

Hope you've enjoyed my rambling Monday!

Santa 'business'



 

 

I'm gonna talk a little bit about this guy today.  Santa.

 

This time of the year he is everywhere.  He's at the mall, on Christmas cards, on tv, and even in cartoons!  Makayla knows who he is.  But 'he' isn't something I have pushed.

 

Media has.

 

I don't care really, that she knows who he is.  What I do care about is that she knows 'he' isn't the reason why we celebrate Christmas. 

 

Its not called 'Santamas'..its CHRISTmas.

 

And she knows.

 

I've instilled in her since as early as she could possibly understand that Jesus is why we celebrate Christmas.  And she knows who baby Jesus is, and the angels with their trumpets as she points out every time we go down the road and she see's the decorations along the road.  She knows we give gifts because they gave baby Jesus gifts when He was born.  We read the story from the Bible every year before we open gifts. 

 

The one thing that does bother me, is when unassuming people come up and ask her if she's "asked Santa what she wants for Christmas and that he will bring it to her if she's good".  Um no.  I don't teach my child that.  And I never will. 

 

Why?  Because its a lie. 

 

Yes its all in good fun and nature, but it is a lie.  Why would you lie to your child, only years later to have to tell them it wasn't true after all?  Then how does that shape their minds to believe you about other things? 

 

Just like the Easter bunny (don't even get me started there!), Santa is right up there with biggest lies children are told.  Why don't we tell them the truth?  Because Santa is more fun than Jesus?

 

Jesus was a miracle baby.  Born of a virgin.  Lived 33 1/2 years.  Died on a cross.  Rose again 3 days later.  He gives us hope in a world that is full of lies and darkness. 

 

Sounds pretty good to me, doesn't it to you?

 

And you know, making Jesus' birthday a celebration isn't hard.  We can throw Him a birthday 'party'!  We even found a gingerbread nativity scene this year at Target!  We have plays at church and choirs sing Christmas songs. 

 

So this year, make Christ the center of your Christmas!

New Blog!

Just in case you may have missed my announcement not too long ago, I started a new, private blog for posts pertaining to Makayla.  Well, the first post is now up!  If you want to follow along, just leave me a comment here along with your email address!

Massage, anyone?

Have you ever had a massage before?

I haven't myself (though it would make for a nice gift, hint hint!).   But I have a good friend who just opened her own massage business in her own home!  I have to say, her determination through schooling and every aspect afterwards (getting licensed, etc.) has impressed me.  I've read more about massage since she started her new journey and learned so much just by her posts on Facebook than I ever thought imaginable! 

Did you know....



 

There are so many benefits to massage, especially if done on a regular basis I would imagine.  Who couldn't use some stress relief?  Or improved sleep?  I know I could!  If you live in my area and would enjoy some of these benefits, some of the areas she concentrates on are:

 

• Swedish Massage
• Hot Stone Massage
• Bamboo Massage
• Deep Tissue Massage
• Trigger Point Therapy
• Geriatric Massage
• Prenatal Massage

Offering in-home massage as well as being located in Madison, you can call today for an appointment and/or questions at (304) 247-6768 or (304) 382-5296 or send a PM on Facebook.  Just look up "Balancing Touch"!