Scripture Saturday

We have read Bible stories to our son, Elijah, since he was born. Recently, we noticed he could almost remember his Bible stories word-for-word. His favorite is Joshua's Shout. One night my husband was reading it to him and stopped in the middle of the sentence. Elijah, 2-years-old, just preceded to finish it for him. We both just looked at each other. So.....Mitchell started to just randomly stop at points in the story. Every time Elijah could say the next line word-for-word. It totally amazed us(even though you hear all the time how much little minds can absorb) how much he was able to memorize.

 This got us to thinking. If he can memorize Bible stories, then we should be using this opportunity to teach him scripture. It is never too early to learn God's word. We recently had read and studied, "Shepherding a Child's Heart". He speaks about the importance of teaching little ones to obey their parents. We have to get that instilled in them at an early age, so we decided to start Elijah's scripture learning with Ephesians 6:1.

"Children obey your parents, in the Lord, for this is right."

Within three or four nights he has been able to quote this back to us word for word. Truly amazing! We will definitely be building on this. It is NEVER to early to teach your children about God and the wonderful story of His love for us. Get started today!

Stumble Upon-Random Acts of Kindness

So, I just stumbled upon a website called...wait for it....Stumbledupon (Ha, ha, ha).  You join up and let them know your different interests and they randomly share websites with you that fit your interests. Pretty cool....of course I  only made it through one site before I came across an idea that I just love.

Robyn at Mix, Mingle, and Glow (http://mixmingleglow.com/blog/?page_id=1393) recently celebrated her 38th birthday. For a celebration she completed 38 Random Acts of Kindness in one day. WOW that is amazing.

What a goal! I love this idea. To make your birthday not about you and getting gifts or celebration for yourself, but making it about other people. I want to try this. I'm not sure about 38 acts in one day(I'm just not that creative), but what about trying to complete that many random acts of kindness for the year?

So, this year I will turn 36. Can I do 36 Random Acts of Kindness this next year? What better way to show God's love.

Easter Krispie Treats

Thank you, Ree Drummond! I was looking for the perfect treat to take to my in-laws Easter dinner and her she comes to save the day. I whipped these little guys up (Well it took a little while. Ever try to shove rice krispies into tiny Easter eggs?) and they were a big hit with the kids (and a few adults, too)!

Here is a link to Ree's Website with all the information:

The Pioneer Woman

Hope you have a blessed Easter and please remember the egg hunts and treats are lots of fun, but they are not the true meaning of Easter. Love this video that gives a glimpse at the real meaning.

Magic, Magic, Magic

I love my magic eraser! Our town recently had a kids consignment sale, and besides that fact that I spent WAY too much money, I scored some great deals.

One of my favorites, these Converse shoes for my little boy.

There is no way I would buy these new, but I got these babies for $3 at the sale. They were in pretty good shape except for the scuffs on the front. Steps in the magic eraser and some elbow grease! These babies look brand new. 

Before & After

Happy Valentine's Day

Today I want to send a shout out to my wonderful husband. Happy Valentine's Day!

(Made Using Tagxedo.com)

Photo Books

So.... I'm not a scrapbooker. I don't like to have to come up with all those decorative ideas and then actually cut all the little decorations out. Not my thing. BUT, I love to make photo books. It is a great way to combine all those digital photos I take every time we go somewhere into a neat little memory.

I really started making photo books when Elijah was born as a way to record his life and it is a wonderful gift to share with the grandparents. So, now I'm branching out and completing one for our last summer vacation.

If you have never tried a photo book, give it a shot. I've tried a few companies and so far Shutterfly has the best layouts and is user friendly. If you are an expert book maker, who do you like to use? Share your ideas.

Here is my latest creation.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Build your own high-quality photo books at Shutterfly.com.

Out with the Old and in with the New

This old guy has been faithful to me for the last 8 years. I remember the day a friend of ours called us up and told us they were at a garage sale and the people had an old piano they were trying to get rid of for cheap. I had been wanting a piano since we had got married, so we headed over and loaded it up. Ok, so it wasn't THAT simple. We had to get a trailer and about 8 big guys to help us, and we still managed to drop it a couple of times and break a wheel off. Whenever we tell people that this baby is heavy, they just smile and I know they are thinking to themselves, "It can't be THAT heavy." IT IS! My husband's exact words were, "That baby is never being moved again. If we sell this house, the piano goes with it!"

I loved this piano. The first time I saw it, memories washed over me. It looked just like the piano my Mamaw and Papaw had in their home when we were growing up. Every family gathering someone would attempt to play that old thing. The keys would stick, it was WAYYY out of tune. Great memories! Lucky for me, this piano was in a little better shape, but it still had that old-timey piano sound to it.

WELL, for Christmas this year my husband decided it was time to retire the old guy and replace him with something a little more modern. I don't think my husband ever had the same love for the old guy as I did. He always complained about how big it was and how much space it was taking up. He decided I needed this new guy.

I will admit the new guy is less bulky and MUCH lighter. It is a weighted keyboard and I have to say I am very impressed with how realistic it plays. I miss my old-timey piano sound, but hey, this new guy has a setting for that!

So what happened to the old guy that my husband said was NEVER moving again? A friend of ours took it with the stipulation that they bring their own trailer and their own men to move it. All we had to do was sit back and watch them! (O.K., my husband gave in and helped them a little.)  

The New Year

Yes, I know I am a day behind, but I actually used yesterday to to start organizing and rearranging. I took all my Christmas decorations down and packed them away. I even hauled myself up into the attic to arrange the boxes we have stored up there, so that I could make room for more. (That sounds sad doesn't it. I had to rearrange stuff to make room for more stuff.) Elijah is growing out of most of his baby items, but I don't want to sell or donate them in case God blesses us with another child so up to the attic they go. Anyways....

I spent some time yesterday reading about everybody's new year resolutions or Word of the Year. I'm not a big resolution person, but I actually like the idea of a Word for the Year. I thought about it all day yesterday and have come up with CONTENTMENT. This is an area of my life that needs some work. I pray that God will work on me in this area of my life this coming year.

 I pray that he will teach me to be content with:

            - being a stay-at-home mom
            - the person he has made me to be
            - what he has blessed me with
            - my abilities
            - this season of life


Are there changes I want to make? Are there changes I need to make? SURE, but I pray that no matter what the future holds, God will help me be content with where he has me at in life.