Decorations

This week at Live Every Moment, the challenge is "Decoration". Here is my take:


For more "Decorations", visit Live Every Moment.

Blessings,

Menu Plan for December 13th

Well, here we are in week two of hubby's crazy work hours. Last week went pretty well. This week I've tried to keep things really simple again. However, I have no idea when I will get a chance to get groceries, so all of this is subject to change!

Monday - Spaghetti

Tuesday - Taco's

Wednesday - Beef Stew

Thursday - Chef Salad

Friday - Nacho's

Saturday - Tator tot casserole

Sunday - Not sure, probably leftovers or whatever we can find!

For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie.

Blessings,

News!

I have a secret.......

Can you guess what it is?

Blessings,

Little P turns 3!

My little man turned three on Sunday, they sure grow up fast {sniff, sniff}! So, in honor of his birthday, I grabbed the camera and set-up a quick mini photo shoot. This shot was my favorite. I just love his eyes in this one =)

I'm linking this up with Live Every Moments weekly challenge, "Anything".

Blessings,

Holiday Bokeh

Here is my attempt at some holiday bokeh. I had a lot of fun with this one! (And, yes, the first one is a self portrait =))

Linking up with the Holiday Bokeh Party at my3boybarians this morning!

Blessings,

Zoom, Zoom!

My little man loves his Thomas!!


Linking up with Sweet Shot & Shutter Love Tuesdays

P.S. Head over to Trendy Treehouse to vote for my photo!

Blessings,

Menu Plan for December 6th

It's been a while since I've posted my menu and I've decided it's time to get back into it! I have had a menu, I just haven't taken the time to post it. This week we're going into 3 weeks of basically no hubby :-( He's got a temporary job driving truck for the post office. It will be 7 days a week from 3pm to 4am (yuck!), so we will only see him for a couple of hours over lunch. Consequently, I decided that dinners needed to be easy! So here is my plan for the week:

Monday - Leftovers

Tuesday - Pot roast, potato wedges, green beans

Wednesday - Crock-pot chicken, rice, salad

Thursday - Potato bar

Friday - Beef tips, rice, broccoli

Saturday - Tacos, beans, rice

Sunday - Sandwiches.

For more menu plans, visit Organizing Junkie.

Hope you have a blessed week!

iheartfaces - Self Portrait

This week at iheartfaces they are doing self portraits. Now, you should know, that I HATE being in front of the camera and avoid it at all costs. I don't think I take a very good picture. I much prefer to be the one behind the camera creating something beautiful =) However, I decided to try a self portrait. I also wanted to experiment with some holiday bokeh, so I used the Christmas tree as a background. This is what I came up with. Technically it's a "mistake", I was just trying to check my light, but I kinda liked it =).

For more great Self Portraits, visit iheartfaces.

Blessings,

I Am Weary

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens"
-Ecclesiastes 3:1

The verse above is one that I've tried to keep forefront in my mind lately. There is a season for everything and this season won't last forever. But it's been a long year.

I am Weary.

At the beginning of the year, my husband was working for a mortgage company, but it was solely commission based. The paychecks were few and far between. He then decided it wasn't the path God had for him.

He worked for my parents business for a few weeks. But, it's seasonal and mostly out of town. He was gone. A lot. But it got us through a few more months.

Now, he is officially a member of the unemployed. He does have a temporary job coming up, but it will only last 3 weeks. Plus, it's an evening/night shift that will be hard on the kids, especially Peanut. She doesn't do well when daddy isn't home to pray and give lovies at bedtime.

He has been sending out applications, resume's and cover letters like crazy. But so far nothing else has come up. As it stands, we have no idea what the new year will bring.

I am Weary.

God gives us this promise:

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
-Isaiah 40:29-31

I try to hold onto this verse like the one above. I try to glean strength from it. I want to shout "Where is my strength Lord?" I am tired. I am tired of waiting, of not knowing what is to come. It is so difficult when He only gives you enough light for the step you are on. I SO want to see where I am going!

I try to focus on the "here and now" and try not to think too much about what tomorrow might bring. But what is the "here and now"? Laundry. Cooking. Cleaning. Kids arguing. How do you find joy in the mundane when you don't feel like there is anything good to look forward to? Sure, I could try to go the other way, that the mundane is more joyful than not having a home. But, instead of finding joy, I start to feel anxious and fearful that that is where we are headed.

I know that we are not promised lives filled with joy and no heartache. So I know that His answer may very well be that we loose our home and everything we have. I HOPE and PRAY that His answer will be different. And so I wait. I wait on the Lord. The waiting is what's getting to me.

I can't help but wonder what lesson the Lord has for us in all of this. Are we somehow failing to grasp it? Is that why we are still waiting? Or is waiting the lesson? In which case, I still feel like I'm failing to grasp it :).

There have been many blessings during this season. The biggest being that, somehow every month the bills have gotten paid. Sure, we've wracked up more debt than we'd like, but we aren't drowning in it {yet}. The Lord has provided for us. It was definitley him, there is no way we could have done it ourselves! We still have our home. We are also still able to homeschool and I am still able to stay home with the kids. There are many more, but this is already a long post as it is :).

I am still weary. My faith has been deepened. My trust is in the Lord. I don't panic about our situation near as often as I used to. But I still have a long way to go.

"Dear Lord, Please help me to continue to put my trust in you. You have promised to never forsake us, help me to remember that. Help me to remember Your blessings and to be thankful for all that I have. Help me to find joy in the waiting. Give me strength for my weariness. And Lord.....Please.......Could this season end soon? In Your Son's name, Amen"

Blessings,

Giving Thanks

So this weeks theme at The Trendy Treehouse is "Giving Thanks". I immediately started trying to come up with a good picture of my kids. However, it's rather difficult to get a "good" picture of 4 kids! Then I decided to do something a little different. After all, everyone does pictures of their family when it comes time to give thanks*! So here is my "Giving Thanks" picture. I'm thankful for the country we live in and the freedoms we enjoy. And I'm also thankful for the men and women who, have given, are giving and will give their lives so that we can continue to enjoy those freedoms.

I'm linking this to The Trendy Treehouse.

*Disclaimer* I very much love and am thankful for my family =) Mostly, I couldn't pick just one picture, lol.

Blessings,

Sweet Shot Tuesday 11/30/10

I think this collage pretty much speaks for itself =)

For more Sweet Shots, visit Darcy at my3boybarians.

Blessings,

LEM Photo Challenge - Something Hot

I'm joining another new challenge this week =) The theme at Live Every Moment is "Something Hot". I took this photo trying to be creative during one of our camping trips earlier this year.


For more "Hot" photo's, visit Live Every Moment.

Blessings,

Fall

I found a new photo link-up! The theme for this week is "Fall". I took this photo just two weeks ago and today it's snowing =)

Linking up with Trendy Treehouse!

Blessings,

Sweet Shot Tuesday 9/23/10

It snowed today! It's not typical for our area this time of year, so it was a fun surprise! Here are some fun shots that I got =)





For more Sweet Shots, visit Darcy at my3boybarians.

iheartfaces - Paper

So this photo probably deserves some explanation =) For Father's Day this year I was trying to come up with something fun and economical for the kids to give Daddy. I decided on a poster. During the "photo shoot" I had each of the kids pose with a piece of paper. Then later in Photoshop, I added one word to each piece of paper to say "Happy Fathers Day Daddy". This is Miss Bits' picture with a piece of paper. If you'd like to see the finished product, click HERE (it will probably make much more sense than my explanation, lol).

For more fun Paper Shots, head on over to iheartfaces.

Blessings,

Sweet Shot Tuesday 9/16/10

I confess. I actually took these pictures about a month ago. But I only got around to editing them yesterday {sigh}. My girls were actually willing to be my models! Bits and P obliged me, but weren't really willing to let me snap away. The older two were more than happy to pose away (that doesn't happen very often!).

For more "Sweet Shots" visit Darcy at my3boybarians.

Blessings,