December 4

Yep, we are still strolling down memory lane. This is from 2008! I guess I better get busy putting up the Christmas decorations around here or I'm not going to be able to post anything after tomorrow!
I love this picture because what it means to "Believe" has evolved around our house every year. Of course, when the boys were little (and Delaney still) to "Believe" meant Santa....flying reindeer...elves...and trying your best to be good so that you would get presents and not coal. But now for my boys to "Believe" means....a baby in a manger...forgiven sins...wise men and shepherds...and living your life for Jesus so that you can go to Heaven!
I loved and still love every year that my children "believe" in Santa. But I'm so thankful and grateful that each one of my children have come to "believe" in the true meaning of Christmas. It's still fun to pretend that a fat man in a red suit brings presents in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. But it's a blessing to know that the God of Heaven came to Earth as a baby, lived his life to show us how to live ours, died on a cross so that we could have eternal life and rose again 3 days later to show us that he has all power! Now that's something to "BELIEVE" in!

December 3

Another trip down memory lane today! This picture is from 2007.
I always make sure to get a picture of the kid's faces on Christmas morning when they come in to see the tree for the first time. The look of wonder and awe on their faces makes every sacrifice worth while.

And I included a picture of what they saw as they rounded the corner on Christmas morning. Every year my husband and I stand back after all the presents have been wrapped and placed under the tree and give God the glory and praise for how he blesses and provides for our family.

December 2

I thought I would continue with the walk down memory lane today. 1) Because it's fun 2) Because I have no Christmas pictures ready for this year :)
This was taken in 2006. Our first year in Florida. It was very hard for the boys and I to get into the Christmas spirit that year. Our brains could not convince our hearts that it was time for Christmas when we were still wearing short sleeves and flowers were still blooming in our yard. But one trip to Walt Disney World to see the Osborne (has nothing to do with Ozzie) Family Christmas Lights and we were singing Christmas songs for the rest of the night. (On a side note if you have never seen this fantastic display, you really must! It is amazing!)
And just encase you cannot tell from the picture my daughter, had no trouble at all getting in the Christmas spirit. I love the look of pure wonder on her tiny face as she is overtaken by the glow of millions of lights).

PS I thought some of you might want to join me on this little adventure so if you click the picture below you will be taken to a website that will explain this project better than I ever could!

December Photo Project

OK I'm not going to offer any excuses or even try to catch up on all of the things that I have not blogged about. I'm just going to pick up here and start fresh! I'm not even going to promise that I will not disappear again (cause sometimes life happens and there is nothing we can do about it).

This month I have decided to participate in the December Photo Project (Thanks Tammy, I think). Everyday I will post a picture of how I see the Christmas season.

So here goes.

December 1

I thought I would start off with a walk down memory lane. This was Christmas 2005! My goodness how they have grown. This was back when reindeer still flew, Christmas lists were filled with toys, growing-up seemed a long way a way, and paper chains counted down the days till Christmas.
How precious are my memories of those days! Blink and they are gone. That's why this Christmas I'm determined to hold on to every minute and count every second because in a few years the pictures of this Christmas will be my walk down memory lane!

A Little Apology

I just wanted to apologize for not posting anything lately.

August is not a good month for my family and I. August 31st is the birthday of our third son (our angel baby). While it has been 11 years since Darin came into our lives and left us in a blink of an eye. In August (when we should be celebrating) and in October (when we remember his passing) I still have a very hard time coping with life in general.

So, I just wanted to say that I will be back to posting again soon. I will leave you with a picture of my sweet little Dare-Dare (Andrew's nickname for him) and the scripture that has seen me through the darkest days of my life and given me hope when I had none.

The LORD [is] nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18

First Mother-Daughter Trip!

My daughter and I went on our FIRST Mother/Daughter trip this past week. We went to an All-Girls Conference called "Hadassah" with my best friend and her two amazing daughters.

Hadassah was the Hebrew name of Queen Esther. Her story is one of the most amazing and inspiring stories in the Bible. A simple girl, chosen by a King, who saved her entire race because of her boldness and courage.

My favorite scripture from this story is found in Ester Chapter 4 Verse 14

"For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, [then] shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for [such] a time as this?"

The SUCH A TIME AS THIS is the part that always chokes me up (but I think I'll save that for another post).

We had a wonderful time. Delaney and I started building the foundation for our future friendship. My daughter is 8 years old and I know that I cannot be her best friend right now (I need to be her mother, she needs a mother more than she needs a friend) but one day I hope and pray that I will be her friend. I am smart enough to know though that our friendship is not just going to happen, that I need to begin building that friendship now. So that is what I started doing! And it was wonderful. I learned that my daughter is a special little girl that is growing up into quite a little lady! I cannot wait to see the woman that she will become and I'm very excited to have a friend like her in my life.

Here are a few pictures from our trip (part of my plan is for us to start a Mother/Daughter scrapbook), I hope you enjoy them.

The first night is a formal banquet (tiara's are optional)! A prettier princess there never has been! The plan for the tiara is that she will wear it every year to Hadassah and then she will wear it on her wedding day.


The first day is Princess Prep classes and yes, you may wear a tutu when learning to become a princess!

Butterfly wings, tutus and games with other princesses! What a great way to start the day! OH and they throw candy at you too!

The second night is a church service and the perfect opportunity to give her a special gift. I gave her a grown up Bible (it's pink with little fake diamonds on the clasp - she is a princess after all).

She loved it, of course!

After church it's time to PARTY! And nothing says PARTY like butterfly wings, tutus and roller skates! This was her first time on skates and she did great! By the end of the night she was barely holding on to the walls and she has now added skates to her Christmas list.

The last day is more Princess Prep Classes and then Coronation for the 15 year old girls.

So I'm going to mark our first Mother/Daughter trip down as a huge success! I'm already planning our next outing and counting down the days till our next Hadassah!

My New Habit for August

THIS IS NOT MY KITCHEN!
OH HOW I WISH IT WAS THOUGH!
I borrowed this picture from
another great blog.

Well, here goes!

I am not the best housekeeper!

Confession is good for the soul right? So let's confess!

I am way better than I used to be (that is actually an understatement) but I'm still not the greatest. My house is never company ready (unless I spend a day getting it that way), I have piles of things everywhere. You can write your name in the dust, your white socks are not going to be white once you walk through my house, and NO NO NO you may not open any doors that are closed!

I have tried lots of things, (Fly Lady, The House that Cleans Itself, Side-Tracked Home Executives, just to name a few) but in the end nothing really worked for me 100%. So now I'm going to try and combine the things from each program that worked and see if I can come up with my own "way"of getting things done.

I decided to start with the area of the home that I feel I need the least improvement in, THE KITCHEN. I hate, hate, hate to cook in a dirty kitchen and since I cook 3 meals a day, seven days a week, my kitchen stays fairly clean. There are of course areas that need to be improved on so that's what I'm focusing on in August (or longer if that's what it takes).

One of the areas that I really want to improve on is cleaning the kitchen one last time before I go to bed. I hate to wake up in the morning to a dirty kitchen, but I also don't want to get off the computer to go and clean it :) So, usually I don't and then I wake up in the morning to a sink of dirty dishes and I'm not happy with myself. So I'm going to FORCE myself to clean up the kitchen one more time before I head off to bed.

Another area that I really need to work on is sweeping and mopping the kitchen. I have 3 children who will be taking broom in hand and learning the fine art of sweeping up the crumbs :) I'll do the mopping but Child Training 101 is about to start and we are going to start with sweeping the kitchen after every meal! I can hear the groaning and the moaning already.

The other thing I want to do is at night before I clean the kitchen for the last time, I want to set up the coffee pot for in the morning and also pack my husband's lunch for the next day. I do these things in the morning now but I just think it would give me more "alone" time with my man if I did these two little things at night (before I clean the kitchen for the last time).

So those are the three areas that I'm starting with. I'm sure that I will be adding more things as I go along but I'm really trying hard not to overwhelm myself.

I have already cleaned my sink the Fly Lady "WAY" this morning and I must admit it looks so nice and sparkly.

So anyone want to join me in picking a room and really trying to get some good habits going in them?

"THE MOM" song! I Love it!

I found this over on another blog that I read and I love it! So I wanted to share it on my blog.

Thank you Mrs. U.

Slow Cooking Thursday: Pot Roast

I saw this on another blog and thought it would be fun to participate!

Sandra's Slow Cooking Thursday from Diary of a SHAM.



So I am sharing my Pot Roast Recipe. I love how easy this recipe is and how wonderful it tastes. I got the recipe from my mom (I have no idea where she got it from) when I was just newly married and let me tell you I have made it a lot!

I throw it in the crock-pot on Sunday Mornings and Sunday night dinner is HEAVENLY!

Pot Roast

1 large Boneless Pork Roast (I try to find one that is about 4 - 5 pounds)
1 small bag Baby Carrots
1 medium Sweet Vidalia Onion (Sliced)
4 -5 Russet Potatoes (Peeled and cubed)
I envelope Onion Soup Mix
2 cans Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

Place carrots, potatoes and onion in bottom of slow cooker. Add Roast on top of veggies. Sprinkle roast with onion soup mix. Cover roast and top of veggies with Cream of Mushroom Soup.
Cook on High for 1 hour. Reduce slow cooker to low and continue cooking 6 to 8 hours.
I usually give this a really good stir about 30 minuets before I'm going to serve it.

I will serve this with homemade dinner rolls and sometimes hot buttered noodles.

50s Housewife: Be a Cheerleader!

One of my favorite Blogs is 50's Housewife. She always has such uplifting and encouraging posts and once again she did not disappoint!

50s Housewife: Be a Cheerleader!
I am going to cheer on my family this week. Below are some of things that she suggested we do this week.

1. Ask for God's help to focus on the positive.
I think this is a great idea. Of course, I know that without HIM all of my ideas fail but most of the time I need to be reminded to ask for help!

2.. "Catch" them being good and praise them for it. "It's so thoughtful of you to offer to play a game with your sister!" or "Thanks honey for researching all the different dishwashers so we would know which one would be the best buy!"
This is something that I definitely need to work on. Why is that I find it so easy to see the bad or the mistakes in my family and so hard to see their good?

3. Be aware of what I'm saying and try to make sure that my positive comments far out way any negative comments (including the comments to myself in my head).
OH MY how I need to work on this one. I feel that I'm a pretty positive person (when it comes to my children)! I do feel that I'm their biggest cheerleader (but I'm probably one of their hardest critics too). Unfortunately, I'm not the most positive person when it comes to my husband or myself. But since I recognize that, I should be able to fix that right?!

4. Find a small, practical, fun way to bless them such as renting a favorite movie, taking them for ice cream, surprising them with an outing, etc. Do a little something nice for myself too. Maybe I'll light a scented candle in the bathroom and have a long, relaxing soak in the tub at the end of a busy day.
This is an easy one! As a one-income family that tries to live on a budget my husband and I like to plan special (low cost to no-cost) family times. We have family move nights and if my husband has a day off we will go to Sea World or Disney World (we have annual passes).

5. Say something nice about each member of my family to other people.
I think this one should be easy! I think! I'm pretty sure that I'm always positive about my family with others (OK maybe not with my Best Friend, but that's what Best Friends are for RIGHT!?). But I'm going to try and take extra care this week and just make sure that what I think I'm doing I'm actually doing.

6. Respond to complaints and problems in a positive manner and with hope.
This is one I certainly need to work on. I tend to borrow trouble (a lot). So this one will be a great one for me to focus on but also a difficult one at the same time.

7. Avoid any passive aggressive behavior. No heavy sighs and martyrs faces while I say something like "Don't worry, I'll take out the trash myself. I do everything around here anyway."
I think this one is my favorites. I do tend to play the martyr at my house and I'm sure it gets very old to my family. So I am going to try and quit the sighing and the martyr comments.

I am very excited to give these idea a try and I pray that I'm successful and that this new "attitude" catches on and stays much longer than the end of this week.

The Five Love Languages

Last night our church had a Married Couples event that was wonderful. We gathered in around 7:00 pm for pizza, soft drinks and fellowship. Then at 7:30 we watched a presentation by Dr. Gary Chapman on the 5 Love Languages.
It was a wonderful video that was not only funny but also eye opening. I'm pretty sure that I have figured out my love language (Quality Time) and my husband's love language (Physical Touch) but I did not know that children have a love language. I am very excited to give my children the on-line quiz that they have at the above website so that I can know how best to show them that they are loved.
One of the best things that Dr. Chapman said in his video was that, while you need to love your spouse and your children in their primary love language you also need to sprinkle in the other 4 love languages so that they learn how to receive love and give love in those ways also. It kinda makes them multi-lingual :)
Now let me explain the picture at the top of my blog. As I stated before my love language is quality time. Every morning I get up and fix my husband breakfast so that I can sit and have a cup of coffee with him and have him all to myself! The kids are still in bed, the house is quiet and I get all of his attention (OK I have to share some of his attention with the eggs and toast)! But I realized last night that I get up and fix his breakfast FOR ME! Sure, he gets the benefit of a nice hot breakfast but if I was really being honest (and I'm trying to be) I'm not doing this to bless him I'm doing it to bless me and I think that's OK. But my goal for the next few weeks is to try and find ways to bless my husband. I want to learn his love language and how to communicate with him in his own language. I want him to know that I love him and that he is important to me. So over the next few weeks I'm going to be reading Dr. Chapman's book and learning a new language!

What I do Matters!

I found this quote posted over at Mrs. U's blog Making a House a Home! It really encouraged me and I hope that it will bless you also.

C. S. Lewis once said, "A housewife's work...is surely in reality the most important work in the world. What do ships, railways, mines, cars, government, etc. exist for except that people may be fed, warmed, and safe in their own homes?... We wage war in order to have peace, we work in order to have leisure, we produce food in order to eat it. So your job is the one for which all others exist."

There are days when I feel like what I am doing (taking care of my family, cooking, cleaning, educating my children), really does not matter all that much. That anyone could do what I do, and maybe even do it better. But then I read something like this and it's like the Lord is telling me that What I do Matters! Not just to my family but to society as a whole. I am raising three amazing children who will (Lord willing) be great contributors to the human race one day. My oldest dreams of being an anesthesiologist, my middle son dreams of creating and building amazing homes and hotels, and my daughter dreams of being a mother and an artist. I don't know if their dreams will be realized or if there is another greater plan for their lives but I do know that I am working and striving everyday to give them what they will need to reach their full potential. And I do it because I love them and no one could ever love them more than I do!

From OOPPSS to YYUUMM!

The other day I tried a new Banana Bread recipe and well let's just say that I had some difficulties removing the bread from the pan. (I wish I would have thought to take a picture but since I figured I was going to be throwing it away I didn't really see the point in capturing my mistake on film). I could only got the top part of the bread to release from the pan.
So I sat staring at my loaf of ruined Banana Bread that was supposed to be a treat for my family and wondering what I was going to do :(
And then I got a BRILLIANT (even if I do say so myself) idea!
I whipped up some vanilla pudding, sliced up a few bananas, and took a container of cool-whip out of the freezer :)

TA-DA! Banana Bread Trife :) Of course after dishing it up I just could not resist adding one more little thing to it....
CHOCOLATE SYRUP ANYONE?
Needless to say no one seemed to mind that I had some trouble with this new recipe!

What's in a Name?!

I thought I would start off my blog by explaining the name that I picked for my blog.
As you may or may not know I am a homeschooling stay-at-home mother to 3 wonderful children. I love being a stay-at-home mom and I love the fact that we homeschool. But there are days when nothing goes right. The laundry is piled over my head, the kitchen is a mess, the children are crying and not listening to a word that I say and it's not even noon!
It's on these days that I need to rejoice even more. But it's on these days that I have the hardest time trying to remember why I need to rejoice and what I have to rejoice over. So I have decided to start this blog to keep a list (a reminder) of the blessings in my life, the rejoicing moments of my day.

Rejoice is a verb! It's something that you do, it's a choice that you make! It means to be glad, to take delight. I want to be glad in everything and in every day. I want to take delight in all things.
For example, the laundry piled over my head is a blessing. It means we have clothes to wear and a washer and dryer right off the kitchen for me to use.
The kitchen that is a mess means we have food to eat and at least I have a dishwasher that will do most if not all the dishes for me.
The children who are crying and not listening to me are my biggest and greatest blessings and joy. And I know that once I calm down and talk calmly to them they will listen and in just a few minutes the tears will be gone and we will continue on with our day.

I am so excited to be starting this blog and I hope that you will come with me on this journey and together we can REJOICE!