TT ~ Resolutions ~ 12/27/12

THIS WEEK’S topic is:

New Year's Resolutions.

I don't really do resolutions.  I like to call them "goals".  I have a few goals for 2013.

1.  13 in 2013.  Run, walk, skip, jump or drag myself through 13 "5K's" in the next year.  You can see more information under the "13 in 2013" tab at the top of my blog.

2.  Read the Bible through in 2013.  This is a goal I am sharing with some of the other members at my Church.  If you'd like to join in, I have the first 3 months schedule already listed on the Church blog I am creating.  I think we're going to have a facebook group to help encourage each other.

3.  Open my Etsy shop back up today and stay caught up on orders.  I also want to dust the sewing machine off and add some more sewn items to my shop.

4.  During slow times with the shop, work on creating a nice inventory and have a booth at Homecoming in October.

5.  Stay current on my Bible Study and set aside quiet time each day for prayer.

6.  Get my house organized and strive to keep it that way.

7.  Try to have at least 4 family sit-down dinners a week.

8.  Get back to having a "Family Movie Night".  Lately Doug and I have been using it to get caught up on DVR'd shows instead of watching a movie for the whole family.

9.  Continue with my weekly calendar to keep me on track with each day's tasks as well as keep up with my blogging notebook.

10.  I joined into a few reading challenges for 2013.  You can see them under the Challenges button at the top of my blog.  I want to stay current on my review books and then read from my TBR pile.  I will see where that gets me with the challenges and then somehow try to fill in the blanks.

11.  Re-establish the "once-a-month-date-night" with the hubby.

12.  Get Laken through Kindergarten and get Kaylee through 7th Grade :)

13.  Fitness Friday Goals that I still need to work out and will share more on that post.


Wow!  I had more than I thought but really most of these I already am doing to a certain extent.  It is all about planning and my handy-dandy calendar.  I color-code it, BTW :)  Pink highlighter for bloggy things, blue highlighter for appointments, yellow highlighter for Church events, orange highlighter for school events.

It is so fulfilling at the end of the day to look and see all my tasks crossed-off!  I do use pencil, though, because it is all about flexibility and sometimes I need to move something to another day.

Looks like I have some scheduling to do....

Next week's theme:

Winter.

TT ~ A Wedding Story ~ 12/13/12

THIS WEEK’S topic is:

A Wedding Story.

I'm going to be going an unusual route with the topic for this week.  I'm not going to tell you about a wedding I've been to or a story I've been told about a wedding.  Instead I'd like to talk about a wedding(s) yet to come.

As the mother of two girls, I sometimes wonder about their future.  What will their teen years be like?  Will we stay close or will they rebel?  What will they choose as a profession?  Will they move away or live close by?

Among those questions are:  Who will they marry?

I know that God has their future spouses already picked out for them.  I know that He has a wonderful plan for them.  But what heartaches and challenges will they face along the way?

How will I feel when the day comes that one of them tells me they are getting married?  Hopefully, I'll like the guy and be joyful.  But I still imagine that I'll be sentimental and a bit sad.

Songs like "Butterfly Kisses", "Cinderella" and "I Loved Her First" always choke me up.  Thinking of either of my baby girls dancing the Father/Daughter Dance with their daddy is just so overwhelming.

Of course, they are only 11 and 5.  That does give me some time.

I have a feeling that it won't matter what age they are when they marry.  I'll still feel that sense of loss.  The loss of their childhood and our little family unit.

Maybe by that time, I'll be so ready for some grandbabies that I'll be shouting with joy and rejoicing!

Either way, I'm going to try to enjoy the here and now.  I'm going to strive to be present in the day-to-day life as we live and grow together.

Then one day, Lord willing, we'll have some good wedding stories to tell.

Next week's topic:

Reality TV.

TT ~ Christmas Love/Hate ~ 12/6/12

THIS WEEK’S topic is:

What I Love/Hate About Christmas.

There are so many things I love about Christmas.

~Shopping!
~Wrapping presents!
~Not being able to wait so I give presents early!
~Writing Christmas Cards!
~Receiving Christmas Cards!
~Parties!
~Parades!
~Baking Christmas Cookies!
~Eating Christmas Cookies!
~Picking out the perfect Christmas tree!
~Decorating the Christmas tree!
~Seeing the excitement on my girls' faces!
~Christmas Programs!
~Christmas Concerts!
~Christmas movies!
~Christmas music!
~Family getting together on Christmas Eve!
~My parent's staying over on Christmas Eve!
~The girls seeing the presents under the tree!

Those are just some of the things I love about Christmas.  But my absolute favorite things is something we do on Christmas morning.

Before any presents are passed out or opened, my Mom reads us the true meaning for Christmas from the Bible in Luke 2.  I love that the girls sit so patiently while we remember why we are truly celebrating.  They don't even touch the presents but sit quietly in front of the tree and listen to the beautiful Christmas Story.  Of Jesus being born.

What I hate about Christmas is when people try to take Christ out of Christmas.  I find it sad that some children don't even know the story of Jesus' birth.  I find it sad that most schools can't even mention Jesus without serious repercussions.

It IS hard to find a balance between Jesus and Santa during the Christmas season especially when your children are small, but I feel it is so important that my girls know that Jesus is the real reason we celebrate.  Santa is just for fun :)

Merry Christmas!!

Next week's topic:

A Wedding Story.

TT ~ Vacation Disasters ~ 11/22/12

THIS WEEK’S topic is:

My biggest vacation disaster?

I really had to think long and hard about this.  I couldn't remember having any disastrous vacations.  Sure there were bits and pieces of vacations that could have been better.  Like, it would have been nice if our 5-year-old hadn't puked for the first 300 miles of our drive to Disney World this Summer.

It also would have been a bit more comfortable to have an air conditioner in our cabin a few years ago when we went to Gifford Pinchot State Park and it hit 103 degrees for at least 3 days straight.  But, it was kinda fun roughing it a bit :)  We survived and had fun and after a few days it cooled off.

Oh, and when we went on our Niagara Falls trip and forgot to take "Blankie" in the van with us on our day trip to Fort Niagara.  THAT was almost a disaster because if we hadn't found a Wal-Mart and bought a faux-Blankie I would have gone insane listening the crying!  (FYI, after that vacation we started the weaning of Blankie.  Blankie no longer leaves home.)

And, of course, there was always the counting of the days on the calendar and hoping that my "friend" would come either before or after our vacation.  It is just NO fun being menstrual on vacation, especially on our "Anniversary Getaways".  Can you say "bummer"?  I find it is VERY nice not having to think about that anymore!  Whoot!

Come to think of it, there was a bit of a vacation disaster the summer after I graduated.  My best friend and I took the train to my aunt's in Daytona Beach, FL.  We were only there a few days when a hurricane was predicted to hit.  My friend's parents spazzed and made us come back home early.  The ironic thing is that the hurricane didn't hit my aunt's area but DID follow us the whole way up the East Coast as we drove home.  It still wasn't all bad and I can say that I traveled on a train and then had a teenage road-trip home.  Ahh... Memories...

I'm really not that particular when it comes to vacations.  I'd be perfectly happy to just get in the car and drive stopping at places along the way that we find intriguing.  There's always something that can be seen or done to make a trip entertaining. 

Maybe I just haven't hit that terrible vacation yet.  Maybe it will be next year's vacation!  Did I just jinx it?!?

I'll have to let you know...

Next week's topic:

Things I've had in my mouth since becoming a parent!  lol

Theme Thursday ~ One Lesson ~ 11/15/12

THIS WEEK’S topic is:

If you could impress one lesson, ideal, or moral on your children, what would it be?

As a parent, there are so many things that we want to teach our children.  We feel the need to impart all the wisdom we possess to insure our children's future success.  Everything from how to sort laundry to being trustworthy become lessons we want our children to learn and exercise in their lives.


Being a parent can seem like quite a daunting and oftentimes very scary job.  We second guess ourselves and our child-rearing abilities at every turn.  At least I do, so I imagine others are the same way.


We feel that the kind of adult our child turns out to be reflects our success as a parent.  Did we do everything we could?  Should I have done things differently?  Should I have been more lenient?  Should I have enrolled my daughter in dance class or gotten my son braces?  There are so, so many choices to be made on the day-to-day basis of parenting.

But, honestly, I don't think those things really matter all that much.  Yes, our children need to be taught life skills and be shaped and molded into upstanding adults who can be a great asset to society at large.  I believe that all things are valuable and believe that all these qualities can begin by instilling one very important truth in their hearts.    

That truth is that they are a Child of the King.  They are loved beyond comprehension by the God who formed them in my womb.  Everything God has done is for them, me and you.  

He created this beautiful earth for us.  He sent His Son to die for us.  We are always in His thoughts and He can't stand the thought of not spending eternity with us.  We are precious to Him.  We aren't just a collection of cells or alone in the world.  We each are loved with a love that will never end and never fail no matter what happens here on Earth.  

We are not promised that everything will always be rosy or that bad things won't happen but He will be with us through those bad things.  Even when we can't "feel" Him, He is there.  God is more than a feeling we have.  He is real.  He is truth.  He is trustworthy.  He is love.    

I hope and pray that I can impress this love on my children.  I hope and pray that I can teach them that because of this love, we should love God with all our heart and soul and cling to Him always.  He will be our Stronghold but it is our job to hold strongly to Him.  It is also our honor to serve Him because of His great lovingkindness.    

This is the one lesson I would impress on my daughters.  The rest will all fall into place.    

      Next week's topic:  My biggest vacation disaster.