Goodbye 2012

Another year?! It went by so quickly...too fast at times.  As I reflect on what this past year has brought I'm overwhelmed by God's goodness in my life. Sure it hasn't always been easy, but there have been so many blessings - and yes, even in the midst of the trials. He has given me peace and joy, strengethened my faith, blessed with new friendships, strengthened relationships with family and friends, added a new member to the family, and so much more!

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{You should try this. Sometime this week, as you go to the Lord in prayer don't ask Him for anything...focus on thanking Him. Turn those prayer requests into praises. You will be blessed!}

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As we say goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013, may we endeavor to become more Christ-like and take the time to daily look for the Lord's blessings in every situation. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for the coming year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

8 more days!

It's almost here! Hard to believe Christmas is next week! Here's a little look at what we've been up to...

{The Nutcracker}

This was my very first ballet, and I loved it! So much fun!

{Christmas baking}



Gingersnaps! I also made what felt like a million peanut butter balls. :) Lizzie's mom asked me to participate in her work's cookie/candy exchange, so I made 10 dozen for that plus some for us!

{Christmas cantata}

On Sunday is our Christmas program, so we've been working really hard to get the music and play ready!

{Christmas Party ... Photo Booth Fun!}

{Snow!!}

Fail

You know how I've been trying to do things that I've pinned on Pinterest? While most things turn out great there is a slight percentage that are fails. Take these cookies for instance...

I like caramels.

I like apple cider.

I like cookies.

But caramel apple cider cookies? Not so much. It sounded good, but they didn't taste very good. They weren't gross necessarily, but they weren't delicious either. A waste of caramels and apple cider in my humble opinion. I'd much rather drink a cup of cider and eat a caramel and cookie. :)

But hey, who knows? Maybe you'd like them. Here's a link to the recipe in case you want to give them a try!

December

December is here and I have a feeling it's going to go by as quickly as it came! There is so much planned for this month it's crazy, but I do love this time of year!

A while ago, I saw a table centerpiece box on Shanty 2 Chic and loved it! So, this week I bought the supplies and asked our resident handy man (aka: Dad) to help me with it. :) I showed him what I wanted and he did a great job! I stained it and filled it with some Christmas-y decor...I'm loving the way it looks!

I used branches left over from our Christmas tree to to fill in the box. See those red ball ornaments in there? Those are the ones I bought at the thrift store for 50 cents. Oh, and remember that wreath form I also bought at the thrift store?

Ta da!!

I'm loving our decorations this year. Maggie put the mantel together...doesn't it look great?!

Do you like our snow? Shhh...don't tell anyone, but it's epsom salt! Thank you Pinterest!

And our tree :)

Let's See...

What have I been up to lately?

It snowed! ... and then it melted :(

Spending time with my kiddos...I can't believe he's almost 3!

Going on 'adventures'

Literally a month after this conversation, Amy announced that she was pregnant! Gift of prophecy perhaps? Haha...I kid, I kid...but seriously, how funny is that! I can't wait to meet this little one in July!

We made bird feeders out of pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed

Enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends...along with some delicious desserts like this Caramel Cappuccino Cheesecake...Mmm!

Today we spent the afternoon in search of the perfect Christmas tree!

It was fun being up in the snow! In some places it was knee deep!

What Can We Do?

As we come away from the election this year, some may feel discouraged and not sure what to think. But, as we were reminded in church this morning - 

"And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:" (Daniel 2:21)

"The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will." (Proverbs 21:1)

God is in control. He allowed those who were elected to be placed there. We may not understand, but there is one thing we can do. We can PRAY! Pray for their hearts to become softened and that they would turn to the Lord. Pray for revival in our country.

I love the words to this song, Turn the Tide. Let's remember that God is in control, we are on the winning side...and don't forget to pray!!

"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." ~ James 5:16b

*Turn the Tide by Abigail Miller

Our Best Kept Secret

Tucked away in a little corner of town in the best thrift store. It's run by the senior citizens of the community, and on any given day you go in you might find the ladies talking about how they think a certain gentleman might have a crush on them or the men are playing a game of pool. :) They have the greatest prices and lots of treasures waiting to go home with you!

On my first visit there I found this J. Crew skirt for 50 cents! It's brown corduroy and perfect!

The other day I was able to go again and look what I found!

25 cents ... I plan on giving this a coat of paint

50 cents ... this is going to get some paint too. I've seen painted baskets on Pinterest (go figure!) and love how they look! Now to figure out what color!

25 cents ... I have big plans for this wreath form.

1 dollar ... I couldn't pass up this milk bottle. I thought it was so cool! It's currently sitting on my dresser acting as a vase with some mums in it.

50 cents ... these mini ornaments will be adorning my Christmas wreath

2 dollars ... their clothes can be really hit and miss, but I saw this dress and loved it! Can't wait to wear it!

All of this for $4.50! Needless to say, I was pretty excited about it. :)

Joy Dare

As I was scrolling through my blog list today, a post jumped out at me. It was a November Joy Dare by Ann Voskamp who blogs over at A Holy Experience. If you're not familiar with her, she encourages her readers to have gratitude journals - to look for the beauty in life. This Joy Dare is part of a series that she's been having monthly. Those who started in January will have written down 1000 gifts they are thankful for by the end of the year. It's like Thanksgiving all year round...sounds pretty amazing. Just imagine what an impact it would have on your attitude and outlook on life if you are consciously looking for things to be thankful for!

I'm looking forward to this challenge. Will you join me?

This video is inspiring...let's make an effort to treasure every little detail, every moment, every day of life.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 ~ In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

DIY Foaming Hand Soap

I don't know about you, but I prefer foaming handsoap over regular. I don't know, there's just something about it.  I really like Bath & Body Works, but it can be pretty pricey if you don't hit the sales. A while ago I saw a diy project for making your own foaming handsoap. I love it! It may not smell as *pretty* as B&BW but it's much easier on the wallet. As you can see from the picture, I used peppermint soap, but you could also use a more neutral smelling soap and add essential oils if you wanted to give it more of a girly smell.

All you do is add 1/4 cup of soap to your container, fill it up the rest of the way with water, give it a shake and you just made your very own foaming hand soap! :)

Go here to see the original post for DIY Foaming Hand Soap.

Fall Is Upon Us

It has been for several weeks now actually. Most of you probably know how much I love fall! One of my favorite things about the season are all of the vibrant colors. God sure knows what He's doing when it comes to surrounding us with beauty. Actually, He knows what He's doing in everything. Period. End of story.

The kids and I were able to spend some time outside today. We decided to take a little stroll around the house, and were greeted by fall beauty everywhere we looked!

Pin Happy

For any of you on Pinterest, you know how easy it is to pin things but never get around to actually making the recipe, doing the craft or project, etc.  I've decided to try and make an effort to put action to my pins. :)

Here's a few to get us started!

This past summer when Selma was with us we decided to try some different face masks.

Here we are trying this mask. I'm not really sure what it did for our skin after only one or two uses, but it smelled wonderful! It was like putting pie on your face. :) My only complaint was that the warmth of your face makes the honey melt so it was constantly dripping.

Source: petitelefant.com via Kali on Pinterest

We also tried this peel off mask...ouch! I do not recommend putting it over your entire face, it's true to it's claim to be like pore strips. So, for putting on problem areas it's great...your whole face, not so much!

Source: myfavoritethings-miranda.blogspot.com via Kali on Pinterest

This crockpot spinach tortellini soup had good flavor, but we found it to be lacking. It wasn't as hearty as it looks in the picture. We also made the mistake of using frozen tortellini instead of dry, so the pasta was overcooked.

Source: javacupcake.com via Kali on Pinterest

I had the urge to make a breakfast cake this morning, and I found this! It was very yummy! Next time I think I'll only make half of the struesel because there was alot and it almost seemed to keep the center of the cake from baking properly.

I started off with a helper, but he didn't stick around very long. :)

Have you tried any of these? What were your thoughts?