Happy New Year

A New Year means new resolutions! One resolution I have made is to leave all negativity behind. During a daily devotion with my Community Bible Study material, I was able to see an analogy between this concept and a family outing. There is a creek behind our house that has been pretty much dry all winter, but as the rains came, it has slowly begun to fill back up. As I watched it while my husband and 3 year old were "hunting dinosaurs" in the woods, I realized that I should be thankful for all the good things in life. At the same time, it is important to let all the negativity (weird family situations, bad days, worries, etc) flow away like water in a creek after a heavy rainfall-never to be seen again- hopefully to evaporate and disappear, leaving me with flowers on a river bank that root themselves deeply in the soil. ~ Lord, plant in me new beginnings and help me to let go of the old, stale mess of life that I dwell on.

Thank you for new, healthy, fabulous beginnings!!

monthly post!

Okay,okay,...sorry I have been behind. Hope your holidays were awesome and filled with safe craziness. We are just counting down the days until # 2 gets here. Times are crazy now, but focusing on the good will always help. One thing that has helped me recently from allowing my mind to float off to "negative" thoughts is this, " If you practice consistent thankfulness, negative thought patterns will gradually grow weaker and weaker.", from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. If you don't have this awesome daily devotional, please run out and get it- the bookstores can hardly keep it on the shelves. Enjoy your New Year's and have a safe 2009!!

Finally the rain

Finally!! The rain!! Even though the outside world is beginning to go dormant, we still need the rain desperately. Even though it can set a mood quicker than a 3 year old can undress himself- it is a blessing! Speaking of ..... since when does a 3 yr old develop an opinion about his clothing and what matches?? I miss the days of picking out an outfit and just slipping it on him quickly- now I must lay out clothes and leave the room so he can dress himself (an hour later!!). Gotta love them!

Just a little FYI- if anyone is looking for Santa- he is at Bass Pro Shops. We accidentally found that out last night. You can get pictures with Santa as he is surrounded by taxidermied (sp?) reindeer!! You know, those real genuine pictures where your child is leaning away from Santa with that great fake smile on his face!! They even give out Bass Pro Tattoos!!

Impactful

WOW-
2 statements that have made a huge impact on me lately are;1)Jesus can see through the crisis to the other side...& 2)The WILL of God will never take you where the GRACE of God will not protect you. Is that powerful or what??? For example: My husband & I just returned from the "Gateway to the West" and visited the arch. We saw a movie on how it was made and beginning in 1962 and ending 3 years later, those craftsmen never once wore a safety harness of any kind. It was unbelievable to watch- I was a nervous wreck for them. They were walking across beams over 630 feet in the air and if they fell, it was all over. Just like that, God protects us- But thank goodness that when we fall-because we all will at some point, He will catch us and put us right back up on that beam-with the wind blowing and all! It's comforting to know that even though he has given us the opportunity to choose to walk on high dangerous beams, He is still waiting there-like a safety net. Peace.



Have a great week!

Priorities

Holy Cow- Ever have a problem with putting your priorities in line??? I am a LIST girl!! I should've invented the post-its. I have to say that my mom taught me how to make lists. When done properly, they are very useful in clearing the mind so you can focus on a specific task. Ever sat down to do your quiet time and your head keeps reeling over what you need to do next. Sometimes its so bad that I just complete a task to check it off the list and it's not even quite done to the best of my ability. Ever been there?? I have learned not to put too much in one day- because if you overestimate what you can get done and aren't realistic, you get a big let down at the end of the day! Well, I can check "post on my blog" off my list- I've done it!! Maybe this was helpful to some and boring to others- but you know what?? It's done-

Ciao for now!

sheila

Well, obviously, my internet has been down for some time now! Now that we are back in the swing of things- I'm not sure where to begin! Scrapbooking is going great- of course and after my son's 3rd birthday, I will be going fully digital! StoryBook Creator has some awesome new page layouts for digital story books. Christmas overlays, doodles and swirls can now be ordered and can be recolored to match the page! Way too cool.
My sweet boy recited his first memory verse to me the other day- Matthew 28:20- It was the sweetest thing. He was just hanging out on the kitchen floor and came out with it, "God is with you always". So how could I get upset with him for not taking a nap or wanting to help with dinner??? Not only that, but he has learned the Pledge of Allegiance and dinner blessings! What is it about children repeating "big people stuff". Maybe it's because they are so genuinely innocent about the whole thing!
Take advantage of the scrapbook dates to the right- you could truly get some early Christmas shopping done on October 9 at the Crop or Shop!

Major Help!

Tina!!! Need I say more? Thank you sooo much for helping me with this bolg design- you are awesome. To any of you out there who are thinking about starting a blog for any reason- contact For Goodness Sakes Blog Designs. She is amazing. Props to her. I am excited to be entering the "bloggin" world. I am learning more about the digital and traditional scrapbooking world- For those of you out there who think "That's cute, but it's not for me-there's no way I could do that". I understand, I have been there. Just start with getting your pictures in order-chronologically or by person- whatever works for you. It is so important to your loved ones, if, God forbid, you were not there to tell them one day. Going through my grandmother's attic was so hard- there were TONS of old photos (old timey black and whites). People in soldier uniforms- who were they? what war did they fight in? It could have been General Custer himself and we wouldn't have known!! Don't let your families history go unnoticed. Check out my crop schedule for times to work on this- now you don't have any excuses!!