A New Habit...

With the new year a day away, I've been thinking like we all do of what I would like to try and do better in the coming year.  There are SO many things that come to mind.  And the list could begin...but, instead of exhausting myself with these unrealistic expectations, I see it more as the question of, in what ways can I create new habits and improve on the ones I already have, to glorify Him more and seek Him more in all that I do?

One of the most gifted ladies I have yet to come across in this life journey is Ann Voskamp. If you aren't familiar with her, she is an amazing woman of God. She has written a book, One Thousand Gifts, which has transformed my mind in so many ways. And her blog, A Holy Experience, is so refreshing and purposeful that every entry of her's leaves me pondering and meditating on His goodness. Yesterday, her entry was on "wearing new habits."  You can check it out here...but, she says "A habit is what we wear. A habit is the way we wear our days." And that is so true...so, my prayer is that I may approach this new year thinking of ways to better the days the Lord blesses me with...what habits do I need to incorporate into my days?

One thing that I have never been gifted at or more correctly, made myself focus and do on a day to day basis is journaling...And, as the girls are growing, I am realizing there is so much I want to remember about these days together...because they will pass by all too fast. So, a new habit I'd like to start is a daily journal. But, for me, I need something simple.

So here are some journals that have caught my eye...

In this journal, you record one line a day...and for 5 years, you can see what you wrote the previous years.

Same for this one, just has the "Mom" Cover:)

This one has a quote at the top of each page to reflect on and respond with a sentence.

I got this one for my sister for Christmas. It has a question a day and is a 5 year journal as well. Love the look of it and the variety of questions it has...my sis is looking forward to seeing year after year her different or similar responses!

                

I love this homemade one.  Just index cards cut up and stamped with the year's dates.  I think something like this is super-cute, but sure would hate the girls to get a hold of it and get all the cards out of order! Yikes - that would be crazy to put back in order!

So, maybe I'll just grab a good 'ole Mead notebook and start my own...There are simple ways of doing this I guess...either a notebook per month or a notebook that does have 366+ pages in it.  And my goal will be to write a sentence/thought a day.  Should be fun to begin and hopefully turn into a habit that continues for years to come.

He has come!

So, sadly, it has been a while since I have blogged...life happens and blogging has just not been a priority over the past 2 months.  But, I am ready to get back at it and enjoy it!

Before the season passes, I wanted to share our Christmas with you...I love decorating at Christmas...and creating a festive atmosphere in our home.  December has been filled with lots of fun crafts, Christmas music, advent celebration, nightly book readings, worshipping with our Church family, Christmas movies, and lots of other family fun activities and times together. And even though Christmas day has come and gone, the celebrating of our Savior's birth seems to be just beginning for me and our family. My sister and I went out the day after Christmas, and I was so saddened that every radio station had already stopped playing Christmas music.  But, that seems to be how we "Americans" celebrate holidays...we move from one right to the next.  For me, all the anticipation and preparing to celebrate the Savior's birth continues on after Christmas day! He has come and He is our Emmanuel! It is amazing how my perspective of Christmas seems to be shifting from what once was so focused on the gift giving, to now truly celebrating our Savior's birth and continuing that celebration leading up to the ultimate gift of His giving of life for our's at Easter. So, for now, we will keep up our fun decorations and continue celebrating our "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Different books of Elisea's wrapped...she would open one each night and we'd read it as a family before bed...she LOVED this! They were all books we had...some "Christmas" and some not - but, something fun to do:)

Our tree from Mom and Dad's Christmas Tree Farm

 Our beautiful big girl

 Our Dining Room...simple & festive.

 Our Advent House as Elisea called it...there was a Bible verse for each day and some days a piece of candy as well...great fun for the big girl.

 A free printable from here - love this blog!!

 Our advent wreath...the youth at church made the candles.

 Fun letters that I originally was going to put on our wreath, but then thought of hanging them...and there was a spot for all 5 of us:)

 Our cozy kitchen

I switched out E's artwork for Christmas cards...lots of fun:)

 Mine and E's first snowflakes together...so fun to make with her:) I was reminiscing the whole time...

 Elisea's first time using kid scissors to make a snowflake:)

 My sister arrived the Wednesday before Christmas and finally changed out our board for Christmas:)

 The stockings were hung...

Our cozy den...

 Another free printable from here.

 And another from here...so fun to fill the home with fun art that is free! And, I use the same frames and replace the art with other pictures depending on the season or holiday.

 My 3 loves...

My little Jewel...sweet, sweet Julia...

I pray your Christmas was a day of rejoicing and celebrating with friends and family - and that we will continue to celebrate and ponder on the awesomeness of God coming to earth to give us life!

More Fall Decorations

It seems like our days have been crazy; which, I guess is pretty normal for our household!  But, I've been wanting to decorate for fall and wanted to have some fun projects to do with Elisea.  She loves "helping Mommy" and loves anything crafty.  So painting pumpkins and gourds is what we did!  And, it was a lot of fun...perfect for a morning while lil' sis was napping.  And, I love how budget friendly of a project it was!

 Michael's had their pumpkins and gourds 50% off, so I got both bags for $5 each. Paint and paint brushes were under $5 total, and the gloss spray paint was around $5 with a 40% off coupon I printed before heading into the store. After painting, I still had lots of the paint and glaze leftover for future projects, along with the sponge brushes. I'm having to build up my craft supplies! 

Our paint choices.

"Look, Mom"! She loved painting, and I loved watching her paint! And, yes, those are Christmas pj's in October! 

 She concentrates so hard! I love her little hands and delicate touches with the paint brush! 

After painting the pumpkins and gourds and letting them dry, we took them outside and gave them a spray with this glaze finish.  And, it dried super-quick.

 Glazed pumpkins and gourds.

 Pretty cute, I must say!

 Added some acorns.

 

I picked up this pumpkin at Michael's for $1. Just added some acorns I had collected from my parent's home. The little stand was a Goodwill find.

 A fun project for some fun fall decor.  Once again, happy fall to all!

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting
and autumn a mosaic of them all."-   Stanley Horowitz

Ready for Fall

Finally, a chill is in the air where we live! And it's time to do some decorating around this parsonage.  This week, my goal is to get some fall decorations up! Sadly, we don't have a fireplace...so, no fun mantles to decorate. But, here's a sneak peak to some fun fall decorations I found a while back at the thrift store...

These little guys were grouped together with tape and walked out of the store in my bag for $2! I love their shape and color...a start for fall decorating. But, we'll see what the week has in store:) 

For now, here are some pics that get me in the fall mood. 

Happy Fall to all!