Wordless Wednesday...Doppelganger

Someone told me my daughter looks like Adele. I'm wondering if Adele is her real mom!

Edyn/Adele

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Bible Verse - Week 15

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmastime and Gingerbread houses

I can't believe it's already Christmas week. Didn't I just put the tree up yesterday? I really think I just want to keep that bad boy up all year because if you're anything like me, then you put a LOT of blood, sweat, and tears into putting the tree up.  I actually splurged and got a new tree this year. I like to use my tree until it's not much more than a base with a limb hanging on with nothing but a hope and a prayer.  Last year we swept up more of the tree than we decorated so I knew this year would be the time I had to replace it. I got a nice new tree and got it all decorated with the kids help. It's my favorite so far! I added a lot of decorative mesh and it makes the tree so much fuller!

After the tree is up and we set our little village up, I pretty much give the kids free reign on the rest of the decorating. They like to string lights up all over the house, and I pretty much let them lol. What's Christmas without lights on anything that will sit still? I was raised with no Christmas due to the religion of my family, so I like to make it super special for them. I want them to grow up with memories of family and fun!

After Thanksgiving it's traditional that our little elf Jake comes to stay with us until Christmas Day.  We have had him for 4 years and look forward to him every year. He is like part of our family. We've never played into the "Jake is watching you, so you better be good threats", so we just like him to have fun and be silly. Just like our family! This may be the last year for Jake because I think we've held on to the magic as long as we can.  I have to say that this makes me sad. Sure we will still make Christmas fun, but we've moved into a new chapter after this year. It's just another thing that seals the deal on the fact that our kids are growing up. It's so bittersweet for me as a mom. Why can't they stay babies forever?  On a happier note, it's my sweet granddoll's first Christmas, so I can't wait to start new traditions with her, and keep the magic alive!

I had all of these Christmas crafts and projects that I wanted to do this year and we didn't do much of anything! We made snowflakes and gingerbread houses and that was about it. Yes I'm a failure at Christmas Crafts. I hope there's a support group for moms like me. Planners who don't always follow through because....Life. Life tends to get in the way all the time.  We were out of town, and then sick, and then moving the homeschool room to the loft. We just didn't have as much time for crafts. I hate that, but we did get to make the gingerbread houses. My kids love to decorate, and if it's messy, then that's even better. We bought the pre-made houses because last year we tried to make our own. That ended in crumbles and regret. It was nothing but a mess. I think the pre-made worked much better and lasted so much longer. They can still be creative, and the house is actually standing. It's a win win!

We actually have already had Christmas in our house. Since we've moved away from all of our family, we have to travel back at holidays to see them. Last year we had Christmas right before we left, and the kids had to leave all of their new stuff behind a day later. We wanted them to be able to have time with their things and enjoy them so we did Christmas last weekend. They were all fine with it so it was perfect. Well it was a perfect thought. We decided that Santa was going to come on Saturday night. The Friday before our A/C went out. Now you may not think it's a big deal with it being December and all, but we live in Texas. The state next to the sun. It was 80 degrees outside and this girl likes the thermostat set to nothing above 70 degrees!  Well needless to say it was 84 degrees in our house, so it was a very HOT Christmas Eve for us! I think Santa almost melted when he came in! We were very thankful for a cold front that came in in the middle of the night. At least we didn't all melt!

Gavin opening his Xbox 1

Drake opening his Playstation 4 

Edyn with her new Canon Rebel T5

Well we will be headed back home at the end of the week to see the rest of our family for a short trip and then back home. I hope that you all get to spend this time with friends and family. Don't forget what the season is all about!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Bible Verse - Week 14 {{with link-up}}

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Book Review - Worship Changes Everything by Darlene Zschech

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

From the Back Cover

An Invitation to Praise and Honor God in Every Area of Life
It can be easy to have a heart filled with worship on a Sunday morning as the church band is playing your favorite song. But then comes Monday morning's commute and Tuesday afternoon's pile of laundry. How do we maintain a heart of worship in the daily grind?

Darlene Zschech has spent her life thinking and teaching about worship. With wisdom and contagious joy, she shares her thoughts on what worship truly is and how it should invade every facet of our being. Everything we do can be an act of worship to the Lord, transforming our work, our friendships, our churches, our families. It's all about living in His presence--being aware of the Lord by our side and at work in our lives.

Learn to live a life of worship. You will be amazed by the purpose and freedom it will bring.

Review: What is worship? Darlene explains it well. "Worship is a response to the revelation of just how great God is."  Those are powerful words! He deserves our worship in all facets of our lives, not just on Sunday mornings!

I am really glad I got to read Darlene's take on the importance of worship in our day to day lives. I, like others,  have been the person that can get so into worship on Sunday that you can literally feel the heartbeat of God, and then forget to worship him in my day to day life. Darlene really breaks it down and explains how important it is to have an intimate time of worship everyday. She divides the book into 2 parts. The first part is basically why we should worship, and the 2nd part is applying worship to different aspects of our lives. The sections that really spoke to me personally were My Service, My Love for Others, and Loving myself.

She has plenty of scriptures, stories, and quotes to reflect on throughout the book.  I chose to read this book in small segments rather than a page turner. I think it's easier to sit and reflect on it if you take it in small bites.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a better understanding of worship and wants to apply worship to your day to day life.

"Worship changes everything because it is the reality of His presence that leads us to the heavenly, forever experience of worshiping God for eternity." - Darlene Zschech

**I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review**

Author Bio

Darlene Zschech and her husband, Mark, are copastors of Hope Unlimited Church in Australia. Acclaimed worldwide as a singer, songwriter, worship leader, author, and speaker, Darlene continues to be involved in the music ministry at Hillsong Church, where she served as worship leader for many years. Darlene and her husband live outside Sydney, Australia. Learn more at http://darlenezschech.com/

Word of the week is....Joy

Have you ever had one of those weeks that just wouldn't quit?  I am OVER it! I have been on an emotional roller coaster that I am screaming to get off of! First of all, everyone has been sick. Gavyboy started getting sick last week with upper respiratory and coughing. Luckily some Mucinex knocked it out pretty well. Monday, I had talked to my oldest daughter and she shared that she was going through a bunch of life junk and of course her baby was sick again. Tuesday, Edyn started feeling bad so we had to head to the Dr. with her. Wednesday didn't give me anything better. Drake had surgery back in July, and has had complications ever since. He tells me that he's having an issue and that he needs to go back to the surgeon. Well off we go today, and he ended up having to have a small procedure in the office. Not fun, and too gory of details to go into. You'll thank me for that. Here it is Thursday night, and guess who's sick now? ME!! Guess who doesn't have time to be sick? ME!! My husband has to work late tomorrow, and all day Saturday but one word...overtime There's that silver lining I was looking for! The grocery shopping also has to be done, and I honestly don't feel like going. Do I have to feed these people? Can't they just order pizza the next few days?

Hey 2nd week of December, it's been fun, but you can go now!  Since I try and be a glass half full kind of girl, I have to say, among all the chaos, and among all of the junk, God has really shown up and shown off. God's timing is so funny to me. You can pray heaven down for something or someone, and just when you say "Uh hello, God, are you there?", He shows up in pure chaos and reminds you that His timing is the only timing. His grace and love have amazed me today. He was working behind the scenes this week on all of the big AND little things. While I was whining about a little kink in my plans, He was restoring relationships and healing people I love.  He has reminded me that He does hear my prayers, and also the most important thing is that my JOY is found in Him. This entire week I was focused on the crazy and the out of control. I wasn't seeing all of the happiness and love that was still happening all around me.  It doesn't matter how bad your week is or what you're going through, there is JOY to be found in Him!! 

Wordless Wednesday...It's all about that Jake

A few things our elf Jake has been up to!

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Weekly Bible Verse - Week 13 {{with link up}}

I hope everyone has a great week this week!!

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WordlessWednesday...Tree 2015

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Bible Verse - Week 12 {{with link up}}

With the Christmas season upon us, I am excited to share verses about the birth of Jesus! He is the reason for the season!!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Thanksgiving and good news!

  Thanksgiving 2015 has come and gone.  I hope everyone ate good food and made lots of memories. We had a wonderful time back in our home town visiting our friends and family. It was such a busy time that I didn't even have time to turn my computer on!

I spent most of my time with my beautiful grand baby, Mila Rose.  What a blessing she is!!  It is amazing what a few months time does to change a baby. She has gone from just being cute and cuddly to a wiggly, rolling, crawling, constantly moving little ball of joy. She is one of the happiest babies I've ever seen!  She loves to play pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo.  She can say baby, and ba ba, mama, dada, and bye bye.  She loves to look at herself on my phone and say "baby baby". It's absolutely precious. I am so thankful for her. She brings me a joy and happiness that I can't even explain. I wasn't sure what to expect when I had grandchildren, but I can tell you that I would take a 100 more. They are absolutely precious little gifts. I hate that I live so far away from her. It makes it very hard to leave to come back home! This was the best Thanksgiving so far. I had my sweet husband, my 4 wonderful kids, and this new addition to our family. I thank God everyday for these blessings that he's so graciously given me.


Probably one of the most special things that happened this Thanksgiving is a memory and a lesson that was taught to my 10 year old Gavin.  My mother in law had gone to an auto parts store on Wednesday to get a part for my father in laws truck. It had broke down unexpectedly and he needed to get it fixed asap. A young homeless man was there and they struck up a conversation.  In the conversation she asked him if he knew Jesus, and he said that he didn't. He said that there was so many bad things going on in his life that he didn't feel that it was the right time to know him. She told him it is the PERFECT time to get to know Jesus and that He loves him no matter what he was going through! They prayed the prayer of salvation together and she told him to meet her there on Thanksgiving at 2 p.m and she would bring him dinner.

Well if you know Gavin and his heart then you know that he wants to feed and shelter every person that is homeless and hungry. When he found out that Mam-Maw was bringing Thanksgiving dinner to this young man, he wanted to help. What a humbling experience for this 10 year old boy.  He saw first hand the gratitude and pure appreciation this young man had for a meal provided by a stranger. Gavin decided that he wanted to give him the $3 that he had so that he could also have a meal for Friday.  He thanked Gavin and said that he was going to eat his (3 plates full) of food on a park bench near by. I believe that God places people in your life at certain times for different reasons.  I believe that he placed my mother in law in his path so that he could have a meal for Thanksgiving and at least go one night without being hungry. Remember the saying, "You may be the only Jesus that person sees." How true that is!

On another note, I have some wonderful news to report! I have been chosen to be a member of the Homeschool Review Crew for 2016!  I am super excited about this! I can't wait to use new products and give a personal review of each one! I know that I don't order anything before reading reviews on it. It's helps so much to see how someone else used a product and what they think of it. I hope to give you the most thorough review of each product that I'm offered.

I'm off to get the Christmas tree and all of the decorations out of the attic. It's that time of year again! The kids won't let me go another day! Have a blessed week everyone!

Memory Verse Week 11 {{with link up}}

I am definitely standing on this scripture this week with all of the sickness that's been going on in this house! I hope everyone has a great rest of the week!

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Review of "Homespun Holidays" by The Old Schoolhouse

With the holidays fast approaching, I had the pleasure of doing a review of Homespun Holidays by The Old Schoolhouse Magazine. This 89 page printable e-book is chock full of all things that represent this time of year. Although The Old Schoolhouse is offering this e-book for free right now, it is definitely worth paying for! Hurry over and get your copy here, so you too can stop stressing over the holidays.

This was my first Old Schoolhouse product, and I am thankful to have the chance to review it for the Schoolhouse review crew. Let me tell you, upon receiving this e-book I was immediately impressed with the beautiful cover. It completely represents this time of year for me. From the sweet one room schoolhouse to the fall/winter pictures that surround it, it gets me in the spirit for my favorite time of year! After opening Homespun Holidays you will find a treasure of beautiful and colorful pictures, fun poetry, fall and winter inspired recipes, and tons of crafts to keep the kids busy all season long.

One of my favorite things about this e-book is all of the fall and winter inspired recipes that are included in it! I would purchase this book just for that. They are all lined out on beautiful and colorful recipe cards that you could print out on card stock to keep. They also have them in a regular page format if you would rather print it that way. I wanted to try every single recipe in here. They aren't recipes full of ingredients that you have to go out and search for which is always a plus for me. I like what I call "real people" recipes and this is exactly what you get here. I am looking forward to trying so many of them this season.

I'm going to be honest, I am not good at decorating for the holidays. I can take an idea and run with it, but coming up with them myself is hard for me. There are some easy but very cute ideas throughout this book for both seasons, fall and winter. Anything from making your own scarecrows and pumpkin carving, to making your own door hangers and wreaths. They are all family friendly and great for all ages.

Gavin decorating his bag

It has been kind of a crazy week here with Edyn recovering from an awful case of food poisoning, so we haven't got to try as many crafts as I would have liked to. 

There are so many great ideas it was hard to choose between them! I did want to try one for the fall and one for the winter. We decided that we wanted to make the thankful bags. We are going to be making lunch for the guys that work with my husband and we thought that we could use these bags to put their utensils and napkins in, plus they would be kind of like a placeholder at their table.

Edyn painting her hand to make the turkey

We decided to get out our paints, colored pencils and markers to decorate our brown paper bags. I just let the kids create whatever they wanted to do. They both wanted to paint their hands and make turkeys out of them. I really loved this craft because they got to talk about what they were thankful for this year. They are really pleased with how they turned out! 

Finished bags

While scrolling through, my kids knew immediately that they wanted to make the giant paper snowflakes. When I first saw them, I thought they would be kind of complicated. I was wrong. These snowflakes were so much fun to make that the kids are already talking about making more in all different colors and sizes. I suspect our home is going to look like Elsa's ice palace by the time that they're done!

This is how Gavin liked to hold his tape

We got our supplies which only consisted of white construction paper, scotch tape, and a stapler and got to work. The book has very detailed instructions along with some very good pictures to help you along the way. Once you understand where to cut and where to tape, it's so quick and easy from there.

We decided to hang them in the entryway

Overall I give this e-book a big thumbs up. It is just so full of holiday spirit on every page. We had so much fun planning what recipes we were going to try first, and deciding what crafts to do next. Get your free copy of Homespun Holidays, a big mug of hot chocolate and have a great time with your family making new crafts and decor, or simply coming up with new family traditions.