In the yucky cold weather, I like to checkout the WARM, inviting places to go. I found this cool site that showcases a few Amazing deals a day (or a couple of days!). I hope you enjoy it too!
SniqueAway to your own retreat TODAY!
At the moment, I am eying the great deal in Las Vegas! Join today and check out the deals!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Our January.
God has really been teaching us a lot this month. We are so grateful for our home, jobs, cars, furnishings and food that He so graciously provides us with. We started this month on our highest of highs and a very low low.
The high was returning from Reynosa, Mexico. We spent a week building homes for a family who JUST had a baby girl. The trip was hard work, but God met us where we were and provided strength, when I wasn't sure I could go on. (Uh-hum, we were required to be at devotions at 6:30a.m. and lights out were suppose to be at 11pm. With the organizing, socializing and sharing, often I didn't get to bed until 1am. This lady NEEDS her sleep to function. It was an enduring week!) As mentioned, we would start the day with devotions, a little message and some breakfast. Then, off to the site by 8am. (It was only a 10 minute drive). At the site, we got organized and then held a small group devotion with our team of 10 or so. From that point, it was all kinds of work, play, and connecting with the families, the locals and especially the children. While I hear from "old timers" that this year was different, I still saw and played with many kiddos. We usually left the job site by 5pm, had dinner and worship around 8pm and free time from 9-11pm. Our free time was busy with buying stuff for three houses and anticipating the needs of the families.
We were lucky enough to be blessed by a family in the colonial. We had two AMAZING lunches prepared by one of the first families our church provided a home for. Their love, devotion and humbleness was hard to comprehend. These people were at Rooftop's three job sites EVERY day. They helped paint, move wood, build the roof, clean, organize and so on! AND they cooked lunch for 35 people! What a huge blessing Margarita and Armando were that week. (And every year, from what I remember!)
Jerret and I learned about a few families' situations and wanted to weep. Instead, we committed to praying for them and unfortunate circumstances. I guess what hit home the most is this: These people are FULL of God's love and JOY!
They didn't complain that they had no propane to work their stove, they didn't ask for more food, blankets or furnishings, and they never complained. They were humble and happy. Grateful we were there to help with a new home-type-structure. (A small structure with four walls and four windows.) It is still hard to understand how they could feel such joy without needing/wanting/asking for more.
By the time we were really able to understand the needs of the families, we left. We were a little heartbroken over a few things and hope to initiate something to help out financially with the community. I mean, we have SOOOOOO much compared to these families, yet I complain EVERY day. I'm not a super complainer, don't get me wrong. But, I do find fault in something Every day. My wifi won't connect on my phone, we are out of trash bags, I forgot to get printer paper at the store, my favorite TV show isn't on tonight, and so on. Silly things. Unimportant things. Yet, I am not satisfied or Joyful.
I learned a lot from these amazing Mexican families. Jerret and I have agreed that we enjoyed the experience so much that we are very interested in doing it again in the future.
The end of the trip also brings me to the lowest of lows for our little family. Its not anything health related or severe, it just helped put a lot MORE into perspective for us.
The little man, the love of our lives, the one we have THOUSANDS of photos of....the Big E-man....was Extremely mad/confused/upset/frustrated/annoyed/angry/disappointed in his momma and dad for leaving him for a week.
At 19 months, he wasn't sure what was going on when Gma Al took him away in the car. I know they had a good week together and he loved seeing Gma Ash, Gpa Gordo and Gpa Mike. No doubt he enjoyed being spoiled rotten, playing with lots of doggies and visiting with his aunties.
Its just that when he returned home, he had it out for us! After jet-lag and pure exhaustion, we thought we would sleep well the first night in our beds. NOPE! Little man was up around midnight and stayed up crying, fussing, and throwing fits until 4:30a.m. It was horrible!
As if that wasn't bad enough, he ended up hitting momma Every time I told him "No-no." It has taken weeks to break his rage of hitting, smacking and bopping me. He also suffered from some anxiety issues with mom and dad leaving either with him or for work. It has been a long month of re-training our toddler to love us! I think J and I really took for granted the fact that he wouldn't remember us leaving....and HE DID. Then, when we returned we (or at least I) pictured this homecoming of love, kisses, hugs and affection. I was greeted with a smack across the face!
We realized exactly how much we LOVE to spend time with our guy and how much he really means to our family happiness. God blessed us with some extra time with little man through snow days, MLK day and my Friday's off. We have reconnected with Eph, shared stories, videos and photos of our trip and hope one day he will understand that we left him to serve others.
Pics and videos to come of our time together this month.
The high was returning from Reynosa, Mexico. We spent a week building homes for a family who JUST had a baby girl. The trip was hard work, but God met us where we were and provided strength, when I wasn't sure I could go on. (Uh-hum, we were required to be at devotions at 6:30a.m. and lights out were suppose to be at 11pm. With the organizing, socializing and sharing, often I didn't get to bed until 1am. This lady NEEDS her sleep to function. It was an enduring week!) As mentioned, we would start the day with devotions, a little message and some breakfast. Then, off to the site by 8am. (It was only a 10 minute drive). At the site, we got organized and then held a small group devotion with our team of 10 or so. From that point, it was all kinds of work, play, and connecting with the families, the locals and especially the children. While I hear from "old timers" that this year was different, I still saw and played with many kiddos. We usually left the job site by 5pm, had dinner and worship around 8pm and free time from 9-11pm. Our free time was busy with buying stuff for three houses and anticipating the needs of the families.
We were lucky enough to be blessed by a family in the colonial. We had two AMAZING lunches prepared by one of the first families our church provided a home for. Their love, devotion and humbleness was hard to comprehend. These people were at Rooftop's three job sites EVERY day. They helped paint, move wood, build the roof, clean, organize and so on! AND they cooked lunch for 35 people! What a huge blessing Margarita and Armando were that week. (And every year, from what I remember!)
Jerret and I learned about a few families' situations and wanted to weep. Instead, we committed to praying for them and unfortunate circumstances. I guess what hit home the most is this: These people are FULL of God's love and JOY!
They didn't complain that they had no propane to work their stove, they didn't ask for more food, blankets or furnishings, and they never complained. They were humble and happy. Grateful we were there to help with a new home-type-structure. (A small structure with four walls and four windows.) It is still hard to understand how they could feel such joy without needing/wanting/asking for more.
By the time we were really able to understand the needs of the families, we left. We were a little heartbroken over a few things and hope to initiate something to help out financially with the community. I mean, we have SOOOOOO much compared to these families, yet I complain EVERY day. I'm not a super complainer, don't get me wrong. But, I do find fault in something Every day. My wifi won't connect on my phone, we are out of trash bags, I forgot to get printer paper at the store, my favorite TV show isn't on tonight, and so on. Silly things. Unimportant things. Yet, I am not satisfied or Joyful.
I learned a lot from these amazing Mexican families. Jerret and I have agreed that we enjoyed the experience so much that we are very interested in doing it again in the future.
The end of the trip also brings me to the lowest of lows for our little family. Its not anything health related or severe, it just helped put a lot MORE into perspective for us.
The little man, the love of our lives, the one we have THOUSANDS of photos of....the Big E-man....was Extremely mad/confused/upset/frustrated/annoyed/angry/disappointed in his momma and dad for leaving him for a week.
At 19 months, he wasn't sure what was going on when Gma Al took him away in the car. I know they had a good week together and he loved seeing Gma Ash, Gpa Gordo and Gpa Mike. No doubt he enjoyed being spoiled rotten, playing with lots of doggies and visiting with his aunties.
Its just that when he returned home, he had it out for us! After jet-lag and pure exhaustion, we thought we would sleep well the first night in our beds. NOPE! Little man was up around midnight and stayed up crying, fussing, and throwing fits until 4:30a.m. It was horrible!
As if that wasn't bad enough, he ended up hitting momma Every time I told him "No-no." It has taken weeks to break his rage of hitting, smacking and bopping me. He also suffered from some anxiety issues with mom and dad leaving either with him or for work. It has been a long month of re-training our toddler to love us! I think J and I really took for granted the fact that he wouldn't remember us leaving....and HE DID. Then, when we returned we (or at least I) pictured this homecoming of love, kisses, hugs and affection. I was greeted with a smack across the face!
We realized exactly how much we LOVE to spend time with our guy and how much he really means to our family happiness. God blessed us with some extra time with little man through snow days, MLK day and my Friday's off. We have reconnected with Eph, shared stories, videos and photos of our trip and hope one day he will understand that we left him to serve others.
Pics and videos to come of our time together this month.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Mexico....the final day
I have more Mexico posts for those visitors to our blog, but I wanted to share the reveal of the home we built for the family. The prayer is amazing and brought me to tears. I hope you enjoy seeing this small snip it of our time in Mexico. I hope to have a montage/video and lots of picture posts to share very soon!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
2010 in Review
We had an amazing year. 2010 was a great year and we are SO thankful. God blessed us in SO many ways! This is our 2010 recap (with the rest of the updates on older posts!)....
Santa 2010
Santa 2010
LAST Christmas. We have come SO far!
From sitting up, to crawling to walking.
With lotsa love from our families
From Lots of naps, to two naps, to ONE!
New friendships with those we love! (Cousin Noah with E!)
Tons of time with all THREE Grandmas this year!
New toys and adventures
A whole lot of cuteness
New experiences (and remembering them!)
New places and lots of mommy & daddy time!
A FIRST birthday!
Healthy, happy and employed parents!
A bunch of fun in 2010!
We continue to be blessed and know that God has great things for us in 2011, too. Happy New Year!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Christmas Card
Fun Holiday Wishes Christmas
Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.
View the entire collection of cards.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Shutterfly cards--MY FAV!
This post will be my opinion on Shutterfly's holiday cards. I have always loved Shutterfly because of their fair prices and great codes/deals on photos, cards, and photo gifts. I started an account for the 50 free prints, and was immediately hooked. In previous years, I have done a variety of holiday cards--including Shutterfly. I like the modern designs and the classic ones too. Click here to see some of their options this year!
The HARDEST part about Shutterfly is making a decision! Seriously! The shipping is fast and easy, the uploading is just as quick. Using their site is simple....its just DECIDING what to pick! I've made some amazing photo mugs for my parents. They were so beautiful they won't even drink out of them! The coffee mugs are just great.
In years past, I made a calendar for Jerret. He would get it as a gift and take it to work (to think of me all the time :) This year, I'm going to make one for our family so we can see how Ephraim has grown. Each year in 2011 will have a photo of him that month in 2010~ I thought it was clever! Here is a link http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/
I do love Shutterfly's holiday card options, but there are great ones for Thank Yous and Birthday Cards, too!
For writing this post, Shutterfly is giving me 50 holiday photo cards. I know this gift for my review will go over great with the family and friends receiving the holiday cards!
Happy Holidays!
The HARDEST part about Shutterfly is making a decision! Seriously! The shipping is fast and easy, the uploading is just as quick. Using their site is simple....its just DECIDING what to pick! I've made some amazing photo mugs for my parents. They were so beautiful they won't even drink out of them! The coffee mugs are just great.
In years past, I made a calendar for Jerret. He would get it as a gift and take it to work (to think of me all the time :) This year, I'm going to make one for our family so we can see how Ephraim has grown. Each year in 2011 will have a photo of him that month in 2010~ I thought it was clever! Here is a link http://www.shutterfly.com/
I do love Shutterfly's holiday card options, but there are great ones for Thank Yous and Birthday Cards, too!
For writing this post, Shutterfly is giving me 50 holiday photo cards. I know this gift for my review will go over great with the family and friends receiving the holiday cards!
Happy Holidays!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Thanksgiving 2010
Everything in life is new. Rain is a weird concept. Its wet and coming from everywhere. People make you giggle, for no reason. Jumping (or as I call it "bummmppp") is entertaining ANYWHERE. My cousin, the big kid, teaches me how to play cops and robbers. I take Ham off the nearly ready Thanksgiving table and shove it in my mouth as fast as possible....mom catches me. This ham stuff that grandpa smoked is amazing. Green beans have a new look--in a casserole. I learn how to run in circles around the couch and Not fall down. I still don't like to sleep anywhere but my own bed. I stay up all night crying/fussing because I want to sleep in my bed. I sleep the whole car ride to grandmas. I taste this orange stuff....called pumpkin pie. I LIKE it. I get photos taken with my cousin. We could hardly sit still.
--Memories from Ephraim's Thanksgiving 2010
I am SOOOO Thankful for just SO many things. I am so thankful for my family, friends, church community and jobs. We have SO much when I look back to where we started. Jerret and I were both single, living in inexpensive apartments in Carbondale. We both had huge aspirations of being leaders in companies. Little did we know that God had different plans for us. Down a windy road and end up at today....we have a great little family. I'm just so thankful for Ephraim and the joy he brings me (nearly!) everyday. (Hey, he is approaching 2....he can't help it somedays!) Its so amazing to see the world in his eyes, to be unconditionally loved by him and to share and show that love to him, too.
This Thanksgiving I'm also thankful for HEALTH. For our families' health, safety and happiness, too. We have had a few medical scares, but God has provided healing. I'm so thankful for our jobs, our house and our church. We have clothes, cars, and money for food. While it seems we don't have "it all" sometimes, that is because we are comparing to unrealistic and selfish worldy views. In terms of MY life, MY family and MY God, we currently have it all....and, I'm thankful.
--Memories from Ephraim's Thanksgiving 2010
I am SOOOO Thankful for just SO many things. I am so thankful for my family, friends, church community and jobs. We have SO much when I look back to where we started. Jerret and I were both single, living in inexpensive apartments in Carbondale. We both had huge aspirations of being leaders in companies. Little did we know that God had different plans for us. Down a windy road and end up at today....we have a great little family. I'm just so thankful for Ephraim and the joy he brings me (nearly!) everyday. (Hey, he is approaching 2....he can't help it somedays!) Its so amazing to see the world in his eyes, to be unconditionally loved by him and to share and show that love to him, too.
This Thanksgiving I'm also thankful for HEALTH. For our families' health, safety and happiness, too. We have had a few medical scares, but God has provided healing. I'm so thankful for our jobs, our house and our church. We have clothes, cars, and money for food. While it seems we don't have "it all" sometimes, that is because we are comparing to unrealistic and selfish worldy views. In terms of MY life, MY family and MY God, we currently have it all....and, I'm thankful.
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