Christmas Gifts Part 2 &3

These few days off for Thanksgiving gave me a chance to work on Christmas gifts I’ve been making. 3 down, 3 to go!

This one is for another niece!

And this one for our beautiful daughter!

Christmas Inspiration

Some Christmas decorating ideas…

From Better Homes & Gardens:

From Coastal Living:

 

From Country Living:

From Martha:

From Pottery Barn:

From Room Envy:

Enjoy!

Thanksgiving

This year has been a whirlwind of things to be thankful for!

I am thankful for God’s sovereign grace! For years I turned away from the face of God and sought other paths. I am so thankful that God loves me enough to love me even though I turned away. I am thankful that he loved me so much that he sent his son to die so that I may LIVE!

I am thankful to have a wonderful husband who loves me and supports me in all things. I am NOT the easiest person to put up with! But I can honestly say he loves me more everyday despite the gray hairs I put on his head (he will deny them)!

I am thankful for Sara, who came along with hubs as a package deal! Am I a blessed woman or what!?! She is an amazing young lady who is growing up far too quickly! She is an amazing student, a talented athlete & I can’t wait to watch her grow into a woman.

Last year I found a scraggly looking pup at our apartment that looked a lot like an malnourished hyena. She was so ugly she was cute. Hubs had been asking for a dog & I kept saying no & I definitely did not want a puppy (They are adorable but we don’t have the time one takes). I am so thankful we took her in. She is the most amazing pup! and I am thankful that we are finally over the puppy phase!

My family tree is full of nuts!!!! But I love those nuts & am so thankful to call them family!

I am thankful for our families health! This year has been an exasperating year when it comes to health. My Daddy spent months in the hospital not knowing what was wrong. We finally found out that he has Multiple Myeloma. Not the greatest news in the world, but after months of not knowing, anything was good news! He has had a series of MM related health issues and has been in and out of the hospital this year & is likely facing more time in to have surgery on a collapsed lung that doesn’t seem to want to heal on its own. Please keep him in your prayers! My mother has also had a lot of health issues and has had her share of time in the hospital also. She is home now and seems to be healing slowly but surely. It may sound strange to be thankful for such things, but we know what’s wrong & when you know you can start to fix it, which is why..

I am thankful for doctors! My Daddy’s cardiologist (he has high output heart failure as a side effect of the MM & it’s thankfully starting to clear up) is a young guy who has been practicing medicine for a few years but Daddy was his first cardiology patient. He said early on in the process that he thought it was MM, but none of the other doctors seemed to want to even look in that direction. Finally they listened and now we are on our way. So I am thankful for Dr. Hemphill who has been an amazing doc!!!! And more generally, I am thankful that we have doctors to go to. So many people in this world have no access to medical care! I feel blessed to be able to go to the doc when I need to.

I am thankful for our amazing friends. I have always been one who said I had many acquaintances but few friends! Never more have I believed that more. With my busy life, I rarely get a chance to spend time with those I call friend but they are ALWAYS there!

I am thankful that Hubs & I have a place to lay our heads at night. We fuss all of the time about the place, but we are blessed to have it. We just can’t wait till the day that we are blessed to have a house to call our own.

I am thankful that Hubs & I have jobs! We both work for the state & they are constantly laying off. I have had furlough days but we are so blessed to be among the few in the world that have a job & can afford a home, medical care & food.

I am thankful that we live in America. For all the reasons I can think of to complain about this place and its current state, we are really blessed to live in a land where we have freedom to live & worship as we wish & I pray that it remains that way!!

I am also thankful for the wonderful blog-friends who lift me up!

Thank you!

 

 

Weeding Complete

Thank goodness that is over!!!

I had no idea how exhausting it would be to go through all of those blogs!

The great news is I cut down my list by more than half.

From 105 to 52!!!!!

Two of those are family & friends that I won’t be sharing with you in the New Year.

I can’t wait to share my favorites with you!

Etsy Alphabet~T

Every day I have the privilege of working with an amazing group of teachers.

Teachers who are a huge inspiration for me as I finish my degree.

so today….

T is for Teacher

These darling note cards are from Laura @ Sweet Bella Cards. Laura creates beautiful stationary when she isn’t busy teaching 6th graders. Be go by and check her out….Teachers always need a little help supplementing their income :)

I am a huge fan of Dr. Seuss, so naturally I love this bracelet from Sophie’s Beads! Sophie has some other mouth-watering bracelets! Go check them out!

This adorable stationary is from Bevin @ Gracie Girl Notes. Tons of beautiful stationary at this shop!

I love this! It’s from Lisa’s Pieces. She has lots of creative & unique works! Love her stuff!

If you have been there, you know! Love this button!!! Be sure to check out Bean Forest for a bunch of really cute buttons!

Enjoy!

Weeding is harder than I thought

Yesterday while Hubs was away watching football with his father, I was a busy woman.

*I pre-cooked 4 dinners for us to have over the next 2 weeks.

2 nights worth of vegetable soup

chicken for chicken & rice

and chicken for BBQ chicken sandwiches

*I studied for a math test on Monday.

*I started weeding.

There are so many great blogs out there!

This is much harder than I thought.

But I am down to 64 from 105!

and I still have about half a list to go through!

I can’t wait to share them with you!

Amy Marquis Designs

Remember this ornament from my Etsy Alphabet~O post?

Well today I went to check the mail and received this!

Thank you Amy!

If you think this is amazing….you must check out her website! Somehow I missed it when I found her etsy shop. She has some painted canvases that I LOVE!!! I have several in my inspiration file and I didn’t even know it was her. I’ll be posting one before Christmas that I made with her inspiration. I just hope my painting skills are as good as hers one day!

Here is just a taste of her work…

 

Please go check out this Amazing Artist!

Weeding

Where does all of my time go?

I work full time and go to school in the evenings, my father was recently diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and has been in the hospital a lot lately, I try to be active in my church and I am blessed to have an understanding husband that I spend way too little time with. In fact there are days that I spend more time in blogland than I do with him.

My list of blogs I follow has become quite monumental! You girls just simply rock!

But truth be told, I scroll through most of them glancing at pictures and stopping if something catches my eye. But there are a few that I read faithfully, even without pictures!

So I think I am going to do a little weeding.

While I was thinking of which ones to keep around, I decided on the following criterion….

1. Is is uplifting? Does it help me draw closer to God?

2. Does it help me draw nearer to my goal of being a Proverbs 31Woman?

(There are tons of blogs that would fit, but would I actually use most of their in my home and or classroom)

It will take a while to go through all 105 them, but I hope to share the keepers with you in 2010, so keep a lookout!

Etsy Alphabet~S

In honor of our Christmas theme…..

S is for Santa

These gorgeous glass art pendants are from Betina @ WickedWorld. Personal disclaimer: there are some topics presented in her work that I do not agree with or condone. I am a huge supporter of free choice but I also stand true to my beliefs & feel  I owe it to my readers to let them know if there might be something they find offensive.That said these were just to cute to pass by! Betina has other non-jewelry items in her shop & her photography is Phenomenal!!!

S is for Sleigh

This adorable Christmas card is from Bill Robinson @ Flim Flammery! His artwork is amazing! Please go check him out!

S is for Snowman (or woman)

  This adorable personalized shirt is from Monkey See Boutique!  If you have been living under a rock & don’t know about this Southern Gal yet please go check her out! Her shop is Amazing. She also has a blog to keep you updated on new arrivals!

 

Despite people thinking I am crazy, the biggest reason I put up my tree and get my shopping done so early is because I really enjoy spending the days leading up to Christmas reflecting on the miracle of our Saviors birth. I find it hard to do when I am running around to get decorated, shopped and wrapped!!!!  Check out out this post at This Southern Girls Nest and grab your button!

Without further ado…..

The Real Reason for the Season

S is for Savior

This stunning card is from Karyn @ Karylu. When I look at this peaceful card, I keep hearing one of my favorite Christmas songs…..Mary did you know?

This beautiful print is from Kelly Lish @ Kels Etsy. Kelly is a mixed media artist who creates beautiful & quirky art. I love her style!

 

And for those of you who have called me crazy because I have my mundane Christmas prep done……there is one FAR crazier than I. I could have done this…….

courtesy of HGTV!

(the sad part is….I really like a lot of this!)