Friday Favs . . . . of the Year

Family Events:

Goochland Drve In Movie
Climbing the Dunes
Christmas Lights in Jammers

Mommies that Create Jewelry:
Lia & Tonja

LisaLeonardLove

i got a piece for Christmas

Fotography Friend:

 

(click on picture)

Book:

Movies:

and

Books of the Bible:

Jonah

Ephesians

Phillipians

I'm sure I'll add more favorites as I think of them
that apply to this year.
Happy New Year Friends!

One Word

for years now i've seen on other blogs

the idea of choosing 1 word

to represent the upcoming year

in the past i've never done that

but this year i will

many of you know the word

believe

really ressonates with me

it has for a while

for years

last year it was a real focus for me

i still believe 

this year i'm choosing

joy

i believe in joy

(other blogs referring to the one word theme

and i'm sure there will be more over the next few days)

http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/blog/2010/12/30/new-word-of-the-year-necklace/

http://aliedwards.com/2010/12/one-little-word-2011.html

http://networkedblogs.com/cvhMr

http://jillbotham.blogspot.com/2011/01/2011.html

http://myoneword.org/

http://www.gritandglory.com/2011/01/01/look/

do you have a word?
i'd love to hear it

It's the Little Things

I just realized I never posted these pics

from way back when . . .

Thanksgiving to be exact!

I just loved all the little touches

the owners of this quaint bed & breakfast

added to make their place so cozy.

these bell jars were in random spots around the outside

even a child sized sitting area

The Christmas Story

this is so sweet ~ thanks for sharing meg.

December Delights

This month we've had tradition

and we tried to implement new traditions as well.

I've been brainstorming ideas to help the boys bless others

as well as look out for others in need.

Black Friday my mama & I headed to WalMart

on the hunt for items to fill our own

Blessed to Bless Bags

shortly after, we set to work!

We have them ready in the car

to spread a little love & warmth.

*   *   *   *   *

I've ALWAYS wanted to have a cookie exchange

with the boys & friends.

When chatting with a friend we decided to have one

only with a little twist.

We would each make cookies with our families

and then meet together to distribute

and do a little tasting as well.

We packaged them up pretty

and took them to an Assissted Living Home.

We sang at their request!

I hand delivered the invites so I didn't get the word out

to as many people as I had hoped.

We still had 6 families represented.

Be ready to join us next year!

or next month ~

one resident mentioned

that they are now going to expect us each holiday!

*   *   *   *   *

We had missed our friend Landon so much

that he stayed the rest of the day . . . & night with us!

He was so excited to have a sleepover w/ the boys.

After dinner we headed out for some Krispy Kreme,

Hot Cocoa, and Christmas Lights.

Roxy came along for the ride.

The line was so long that 2 of the 3 boys fell asleep.

We waited for about 30 minutes.

 They woke up long enough to eat their donut

then they were out again.

Jacob & I enjoyed lights at homes we've never seen

in years past.

Sweet Dreams Sweet Boys

Five Friday Favs

unplanned play dates

today was our calmest day of Christmas break

and we had 4 boys here

i even took all 4 to make a target return

that was the easiest trip to target w/ boys in tow

ever

generosity of friends

even if there is no name on the package

i love the surprise

but do wish i could write a thank you note

thank you sweet friend/elf

a spur of the moment trip out to look at lights

complete w/ a stop at krispy kreme

the line was so long

that once the boys ate their snowman dougnut

they fell asleep before we got back to all the lights

J-O-Y

it's been my prayer this season

that God won't let anything steal it!

a morning with some of the residents at Spring Arbor

we gathered w/ friends ~ mama's & children

sorted cookies into pretty boxes

delivered & sang

one lady mentioned that they will expect a visit

EVERY holliday!

Unspeakable JOY

Five Friday Favs

* "The LORD will fight for you;
you need only to be still."*

Exodus 14:14

* the sweet former youth that brought this scripture my mind

and ministered to me.

* i love reading this to the boys before bed

a real hoot & holler

* this is the cutest ornament i've seen this year

click on the pic for tutorial

 

i can't wait to try w/ my guys

* our lime green tree in the play room

covered with ornaments the boys have made over the years

Join Jonah & Me

As some of you know I LOVED this study I did in Jonah. Well besides starting late . . . I then got behind in the last 2 weeks on it ~ so . . . . imagine how excited I was to get this email announcement.

Dear friends,

Life has gone from busy to frenetic in the weeks leading up to Christmas. I welcome the silence of an early morning run, the moment to worship in church this morning, and the anticipation my children feel when they open their advent calendars each morning! But even as we approach Christmas, I’ve been thinking ahead to 2011. This week, I’ll reunite with a small group of girls that I led this summer. My question for them:

what kind of woman would you like to be in the next three months, and what do you hope for in the next five years?

I’ve found myself pondering my own answers to the question! What about you?

As I think back over the fall, I want to thank you for allowing me to join you on your study of Jonah through The Divine Pursuit. I hope you’ve enjoyed the study and found meaningful ways to relate the story of Jonah to the story God is writing about your life.

The study has been an incredible experience for me, and to get to share it with so many people has been outstanding. Your support of the printed guide has already sent over $500 to International Justice Mission, and the chance to interact with many of you—in small or big ways—has been rich.

So in the spirit of giving, I’d love to extend a special offer exclusively to you.

For this week only, the printed version of the Divine Pursuit is only $7.50 if you visit this page:

www.thestubbornservant.com/the-divine-pursuit-friend-discount

If you’ve found the study meaningful, I’d love for you to consider gifting it to a friend, or pass this email along to others that might benefit from the guide.

And if it’s still sitting on your shelf (these things happen!!), perhaps you can ask someone to join you, start your own group using the leader guide, or join our next round of online discussion groups that begin the week of January 10.

One more thing: if you want to lead a group, I’ll send you a free leader guide. Just order 3 or more books and the leader guide will be included as a free download!

Wishing you peace, laughter and delicious cookies this Christmas,

Nicole

http://www.nicoleunice.com/

SO ~ anyone want to join me?  I really did like it that much! 

Five Friday Favs

*  i'm pretty sure this needs NO explanation

4 different flavors of chocolate covered joe joes

milk cocolate covered peanut butter

dark covered peppermint

white chocolate covered ginger

dark chocolate double chocolate

* http://www.thevintagepearl.com/

love the simplicity

* i had so much fun reading this to ben ben in bed

Dear Santa,

What I want most is a loving home,

with someone to hold me

and call me their own.

Love, "Roxy"

memaw & pawpaw gave us this book for Christmas

right after we got Roxy.

* love the Baxters!

couldn't put it down & couldn't stop crying.

* shop & bless

interesting

she's also hopeful

i am

* hopeful

* overwelmed

* not embarrassed

* wading . . . but long for depth

* crumbling

* protecting

* in love

* human

* a sinner

* cleansed

* emotional

* thankful

* impatient w/ my kiddos

* not ashamed

* craving time with God

* creating

* fearfully & wonderfully made

My ONLY Hope

Good Sunday Morning

Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Psalm 51:7



whew

so so SO glad i'm not the only one!

one of my favorite bloggers ~ her home looks very similar to mine!

i've been home all day to make some dents in our piles though.
except for a trip to the bank
& to pick up our computer
in my jammers!

have i mentioned my theory that one can not be creative & organized?!

too bad i have a couple of friends that are both!

Truly Thankful

* to hear the whirlpool lady say, "you've only had that dishwasher 13 months & it shouldn't be messing up for you.  i'm going to extend your warranty.  when our service man comes, you will pay nothing."  thank you God for your provision

* for the enrollment in my gingerbread camp this weekend to jump from 4 to 9 in 24 hours time

* for calm easy going boys tonight that so easily went to bed well before 8pm for this tired mama

* for parents & in laws that notice a place to help and do it!  keeping a clean house is a little overwhelming at times . . . my daddy ran a vacuum last week and changed all the sheets on the beds and tonight bj folded more laundry and washed the dishes in the sink.

* for an evening snack of ben & jerry's a whole lotta

* our warm cozy home

* pajama day at school tomorrow means stay home jammer day for mama

* free tickets to bb

* the weekend is here

* God's Faithful words & promise

the name of the Lord is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.

prov. 18:10

these words have blessed me in unexplainable ways this week