This and That

Take a look at our new business blog!  It's a work in progress, but an easy way for us to start loading pics of the jobs we do. 

Jackson Lawn and Equipment

There's my little brother!  Ain't he perdy!  Hold on ladies, he's taken!  Getting Married in April!

 

Oh, one day I will be here!  One day!

I am speechless!

I am in Art Appreciation right now.  Thought I would share some art I appreciate!

Here's another one I appreciate!

One day this will be my kitchen!  One day!

My daughter at Twicon last summer!  I love this pic! 

*I have been so busy this week with school and my family and ORGANIC living that I am afraid my blogging has fallen to the side!  I promise I have some good ones coming next week!  Including a "Mommy and Me" cooking class I am attending with my daughter!

This is Me, Then!

I Give So Much More Than I Get!

This is my "Modge Podge" Pizza Tray!  I LOVE it!

(go over to Tater Tots and Jello)

I am feeling a bit strange in 2010

I feel like slapping on an apron, pearls and high heels and greeting my hubby at the door with a martini as I take his coat and briefcase. (well, not the heels, and not a coat and hat, more like tell him to take his boots off before he tracks mud through the house and to please not leave his baseball cap on the kitchen counter).

When you love someone you show them in SO many different ways!  One way is to let them know you are thinking about them all day, every day! 

With that said I wanted to make a special spread for my family this evening and enjoy this winter weather!  (Southest Texas is about to get hammered with some cold wet weather)

What better way than to fill their tummies up these next few days with some special treats made    by my own hands!

I liked an episode of Oprah a few weeks ago where an author said,

"If you are going to eat junk food, make it yourself.  Anything that has a shelf life is NOT GOOD FOR YOU".  As in, if a twinkie can sit in a box for a year and you can still open the bag, and eat it, that's NOT GOOD!  Something has to be in those ingredients to keep it fresh! 

That hit me like a TON of bricks and I have been really trying to make the best decisions for my family.  These are whole wheat blueberry muffins, chocolate sticks for coffee (which the kids can put in milk) and chocolate chip cookies!  Do I do this every day? No.Will I let them eat more than they should? No.

But my family will know I was thinking of them today and wanted to make them smile.  By making it extra special (not just throwing it on a paper plate) I also feel like they will know I took extra care. 

My son already walked by and said "Who's Birthday".  I said, "No one's.  Mommy just loves you, Daddy and Sissy". 

Give a little today.  Do something extra nice for someone you love. Bake, cook something they like or play a board game!  Oh, and using a paper plate is not a bad thing, but if you do draw a little heart or message on it.  That's what they want.  They want to know we care!

And after they eat their sweets tonight I will bag them up in correct portions for lunches this week.

This is Me, Then!

*Bonus.  If you do not have this little gadget below go and get it!  It's amazing!

I Can't Remember

I Can't Remember

by Julie Jackson

I can't remember the last bath I've taken, or drink I've shaken.

I can't remember the last time my bedroom floor was clean, or there wasn't something someone needed in the washing machine.

I can't remember the last time I was able to eat my meal while it was hot, because there is always something someone else needs and mom's needs are not.

I can't remember the last time someone had to wake me from a nights slumber, because I am the one that pulls off their covers.

I can't remember the last time I went to the mall, looked at makeup, shoes, purses or anything that didn't involve someone small.

*I plan to add more to this later but I needed to vent a little tonight!  Feeling a little "overwhelmed" with this thing called "motherhood".  No one can do it exactly right but if you try EXTRA hard, it gets to you!  Last week I literally cooked  a healthy organic/natural meal 3 times a day and didn't eat any fast food and I must say I am exhausted!  Then you add school, a home office, being a good wife and mother to it all!  Oh, and don't let me get started on keeping the house clean!  I want to challenge all you mothers out there to do something for me and I will do the same for you!  Take a deep breath each and every morning when you wake up and thank God for what you have and remind yourself that WE have the most amazing job on the planet!  We were handpicked by God to lead our families through this world and NO ONE can do it better than we can!  God Bless!

This is Me, Then!

Got Inspiration?

I am inspired by many different blogs I follow.

I may not always post but believe me, I look at each and every one that I follow.

The Lettered Cottage inspired this wall for me. 

 I even ordered the sayings from TLC myself!

The packet came with quite a few that I have framed throughout the house and they are a constant reminder to me and my family that we are wonderful amazing people that God loves.

The collage over my bed is a constant reminder that God hand-picked me to inspire and lift up my babies each and every day!  Sometimes we need a little reminder!

God Bless and please send me any "Inspirational" pics, collages, art work, or just a piece of paper you have around your house to "Lift Up" those you love! 

I would love to post them next week in a blog!

Please get them to me by Monday Night! I will post on Tuesday or Wednesday!

Starbucks....Mybucks!

2010 means change for this house! 

It means keeping things "semi-homemade",

easy, fun and smart!

It may not be Starbucks,

but it's Mybucks

and

I am keeping them in my pocket!

*What Changes Have you Made?

A little Birdie told Me...

A Little Birdie told me...

3 things

1. 
   
   Get the FACTS about what you are putting into your body
2. 
   
   You can find great deals and finds if you OPEN your eyes
3. 
   
   The Dollar Tree ROCKS!

I found this little guy for my office entry

way and he looks so pretty

"perched"

 on these books as people walk in and out! 

The most AMAZING part of all is that he was a $1.

I am serious! 

Fly over to Dollar Tree now and I bet you will find his brothers and sisters in all sorts of colors!  I think they would look

"Bird-Tastic" on a book shelf or desk.

Baptists and Lent

Re-post from last February!  Feel Free to Leave Comments on Your View of Lent or What your Family does to Observe it!
This is an article I found that was pretty interesting. I really want to observe Lent, NEVER did before, until Taylor's private school introduced us to it two years ago. I think, for me and my family, we will observe Lent, talk about it and focus more on our walk with God during this season. If we decide that walk means fasting or giving up something we will, but for us, we pray we keep our heart on The Lord all through out the year.

I have been researching on Lent and Baptists. This article struck me the most and I will share more if I find more that interests me and I wish everyone the best of luck, peace and happiness throughout this season of Lent.

The article:

Baptists and Lent…
Posted on February 23, 2009 by baptistparson
In the news media and perhaps from some of your non-Baptist friends, you will hear about “Fat Tuesday” (a.k.a. “Shrove Tuesday”) and “Ash Wednesday” this week.Why, Tuesday is even “National Pancake Day!“
We have come to the beginning of the Lenten season. Just who observes Lent, and who doesn’t in the Christian family of denominations? Do Baptists observe Lent?
The short hand answer to our main question is “no, most Baptists don’t.” But clarification is in order. Among those who do not practice the Lenten fast, there is not an objection to the fasting which is such a prominent part of Lent for other Christian denominations. Lack of widespread participation in Lenten observances by Baptists is probably more due to the fact that it goes against the “individual liberty” gene that runs so strong in the Baptist expression of Christianity. The concept that a centralized church authority should command believers to fast over a certain period is not part of Baptist teaching because Baptists hold that each believer is accountable individually to God in such matters.
Also, most Baptists tend to believe that fasting is a private spiritual matter, based on Matthew 6:16-18.
Baptists do not object to fasting itself, for it is clearly a biblical practice. In the Old Testament, different words and expressions are used to depict fasting. Fasting is often associated with wearing sackcloth and ashes; Moses fasted when receiving the Law (Ex. 34:28), when he broke the tablets because of Israel’s sin (Deut. 9:17ff); fasting was prescribed for the 10th day of the 7th month (Leviticus 16:29). Improper uses of fasting were condemned by Isaiah (58:3-7) and Jeremiah (14:12).
In the New Testament, we learn more about fasting. The Dictionary of New Testament Theology explains that the word fast literally means “having an empty stomach; to practice fasting is to abstain for some period of time from food”.
We read that Jesus fasted (Matt. 4:2). He also stated that His followers would fast once He was ascended (see Matt. 9:14ff). In Acts, prayer was mentioned in conjunction with fasting in 13:3 and 14:23; but there does not appear to be any discussion of fasting in the epistles, except for the personal experience of St. Paul in II Corinthians 6:5 and 11:27.We are also told that Paul fasted in Acts 9:9, 13:2ff, and 27:33.
Fasting continued after the Apostles all died, and it gradually became associated with preparing for baptism and preparing for the annual celebration of Easter. This is when the custom of “Lent” developed, when a forty-day period of fasting came to be observed. Lent comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word “Lenten” which referred to how the days “lengthened” in the Spring. Certain foods were avoided (such as red meat) during this forty-day period.
A period of 40 days of fasting was adopted because Jesus fasted in the wilderness for forty days (Matthew 4). The first day of Lent came to be called “Ash Wednesday” because the worshippers had ashes placed on their foreheads as a sign of repentance and grief over sin. Ashes long had this use in the biblical times, especially in the Old Testament, but we do not find a direct biblical command to incorporate this in our public worship. For this reason, many Protestants tend not to observe the custom. However, since it is not forbidden, we need not be critical of those who do observe the practice. I think it belongs to the spirit of Christian liberty spoken of in Galatians 5.
Fasting can be an important spiritual discipline that helps us know our Lord should be our master, not our belly. Fasting does have a place in the believer’s life. It should not be abused or overdone, and it should never be considered something to merit God’s favor. Fasting is more than not eating.
One of the “church fathers” said (I believe it was John Chrysostom) that the best fasts of all are when we abstain from sin, be it sins involving our words, thoughts or deeds. Maybe we could even think about fasting from television as being as wholesome as say not eating desserts for forty days! Want to know more? You can dig deeper into the history of “Lent” from a conservative, evangelical perspective at
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news/2004/lent.html
©Baptist Parson. All Rights Reserved.
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Fasting, Giving the Gift of Self to God: Papal Message for Lent 2009

New Organic Menu

I will be posting my "organic and all natural" menu starting today.  It will be on my right tool bar and will showcase me "trying" to get my family on the right track!  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE feel free to ask me a question or leave a comment about how or what you are doing to make changes in your home or kitchen.  It must be making an impression around our home because my daughter asked me if we could start a recycle bin on our back porch for glass, paper, plastic, etc. I am SO proud of her and told her we would get on it this weekend and either purchase garbage cans and label them or actual bins.  I of couse want to make it look "cottage'y" ha! 

I wanted to post a picture that went with "organic" living and all I could come up with is this one.

Aren't these people worth it? I think so!

*TIP: Find some Organic Living Websites or Blogs to help you with ideas. DO NOT let the price of organic things discourage you. I now stay ALMOST completely out of the middle section of the store and my grocery bill is LOWER.

Burlap Meets Pottery Barn Eat Your Heart Out!

I started with a yard of Burlap!  Less than $3 and it will see MANY more projects! Hot Glue (LOTS, I used 3 mini sticks), scissors, ribbon and a clipboard.

And you will get this lovely clipboard!  (I meant to load this pick first) sorry!

There is no science to this project. Just cut enough to cover your board.  Play around with it until you get it right!

The glue will be hot so watch out when you press down with your hands. Oh and I ONLY used glue on the front top to make it fit perfectly and flush, no foldover on the top.  The other three sides I folded around and glued on the back.

Then you glue a bow on the front, and/or hang it with ribbon.

I made two and they found a new home in my office.

(one has the school calendar)

The corkboard and dry erase board are from Home Goods.  The chalkboard is from Hobby Lobby at 50% off I might add!

My little "Mommy Command Center" cost me less than $45. 

Pottery Barn, Eat Your Heart Out!

Happy Valentines Day!

Well, Valentines's Day has started out pretty fab!  Let's take a peek.

• We all slept in
• We watched a sermon on TV
• Went out to eat breakfast together
• Home now to blogging while Hubby and the kids are putting a model together outside
• Then I am cleaning and crafting while my "Love" mix CD plays loudly in the background!
• Oh, first thing this morning we all exchanged Valentine's.  The coupon books were a HUGE success and Cupid brought Cash a Cars stamp set.  We all have "mater" stamps on our arms!  I got the sweetest card from my husband that he wrote "coupon" on and it says I can hand it to him anytime he's being a butt and he will immediately stop for the entire day!  WOOHOO!  And I got a gorgeous vase with a rose from Taylor and Cash and a "Twilight" card that is actually a poster of Edward and Jacob when you unfold it.  I already hung it in my closet with of course one of my purses hanging over Jacob's face!  HA! 
• OH, and my husband got us Michael Buble' tickets!  I can't wait!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! 

Now, I wonder which coupon my daughter will cash in first? My son already said "Dairy Queen"!

*pictures below of the kids at the deer lease a few weeks ago!

At granny's new house in town!  Closer to our lease now! 

"Let go of me"

Cash is always exploring!

Old Camp House at the lease.

Our Lake

Bus the kids and daddy found while exploring.

(Our Deer Lease used to be a girls camp)

Just hanging out in the main house.

Road into camp was flooded.

I think this bus looks like "Mater"!