Who Knew....

Who knew that there was a north pole in Texas?! A great lil'
place that celebrates the true meaning of Christmas!

Yep! That's right we decorate gingerbread barns around here!

                                      

With a little help, of course!

Hope your Christmas season is looking Merry & Bright!

All year long......

Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One; give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son. And now let the weak say, "I am strong," let the poor say, "I am rich," because of what the Lord has done for us. Give Thanks!

Not just now, but the whole year long.

The Lord has done great things for us, & we are filled with joy.    ~Psalm 126:3

And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.     ~Romans 5:5

Our Favorite Lil' Rest Stop

Settling back into a routine after spending some much needed time away. The fall foliage was beautiful & the weather was perfect. A wonderful reflection of God's beautiful creation. Lots of time spent with stacks of books, watching movies, & playing games. Loved being outdoors enjoying the view from our cabin & sitting around the campfire every night roasting marshmallows & eating way too many smores. Such a great place to relax & rejuvenate! Look at that gorgeous view! If you look closely you will see a river in the middle.

Hiking near Trails End

                                                              

Autumn

Come said the wind to the leaves one day,

Come o're the meadows and we will play.

Put on your dresses scarlet and gold,

For summer is gone and the days grow cold.

Children's song from the 1880's

Give This Christmas Away

I couldn't have done it alone.................20 shoeboxes packed for Operation Christmas Child.

If you aren't familiar with this program check out Samaritan's Purse.

Such a great ministry they have going & not just for Christmas but ALL throughout the year.

We always pack shoeboxes as a family but this year I thought it would be fun to get others

involved & make it a community project with the home school group we are a part of.

Get this.....I ordered 20 empty boxes having no idea how many item donations

I would have coming in. We had a packing party this past week & we were

able to fill exactly 20 boxes!

How AWESOME is that!

God is truly in the details! 20 happy kids across the globe will have Jesus

shared with them this Christmas because of a few sweet families & their

hands of generosity. And if you haven't heard Matthew West & Amy Grant's

duet "Give This Christmas Away" check it out. Better yet watch the video at the end of 

this post which has footage of shoeboxes being distributed to kids around the world.

Makes my heart happy!

Give This Christmas Away featuring Matthew West & Amy Grant.

Also scenes from the Veggie Tale movie A Story of Joyful Giving!

Cherish

Take some time to cherish the little moments in life.

 Sometimes we get so busy with life we forget to look around & marvel in the wonderful blessings that God lays all around us. I just wonder how often that which we view as obstacles in our life, God may have put there for a reason. A longing for us to turn to Him but we are too many times distracted by the inconvenience of such an obstacle that we never stop long enough to think about anything other than our own agenda. So today take some time to cherish the little moments & relish in the thought that God has a perfect plan for each of us! Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

My Fun Lovin' Girl

 Okay, so I just had to share some pics that really live up true to my words in the title of this post. I can't believe this girl is 11! I am so blessed that God gave me Sierra & couldn't be happier watching her grow up into what created her to be. Something truly special!

Cuteness!

Miss Delilah posing too! My brother's dog.

Girl Time

 A special birthday surprise! Aunt Kim treated Sierra to a manicure, pedicure, & a little shopping on top of that. From what I hear they had such a fun time. The smile says it all!

                                                               Lovin' the zebra stripes!

Full Circle of Blessings!

What started off as a sweet gesture turned into a multitude of blessings. About a year & a half ago Sierra started taking her keyboard with her when we would go visit my grandmother at a local rest home. When the staff found out that Sierra could play the piano they asked her if she would like to play once a month for all the residents. Over this past year or so we have been so blessed to have the opportunity to go each month & they are so generous in letting Sierra put together whatever she would like to do. Play the piano, sing praise & worship songs, recite scripture! The residents are always so happy to see her & last month when we were there they honored Sierra with the Jr. Volunteer of the Year award. She was so surprised! The staff presented her with flowers & a piano trophy engraved with her name on it. It is my prayer that Sierra continues to choose to minister to others by using her talents, to have a compassion for others & to serve the Lord with her whole heart!

Sharing a Quote Today

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. ~Helen Keller

Little Chefs + Yummy Ingredients = Fun in the Kitchen

This summer Sierra & I have been hosting kids cooking classes. All the kids have been doing a wonderful job chopping, mixing, slicing, dicing, stirring, whisking, baking, tasting :)! Plus they were able to take home dinner for their families to enjoy the fruit of their labor. Although, if you ask the kids I am sure they would say it was all fun & worth every bite! Sierra loved doing all of the cooking demonstrations & it was a win-win because she prepared our dinner right along with the students. :)

Light Up the Sky

Firework show at our house put on by Sierra & Friends! They did an awesome job!!! :)





This was the first 4th of July in many years that we were able to pop fireworks. In years past it has been so dry from not getting any rain. The Lord has blessed us tremendously by sending rain over the last few weeks! Things were pretty exciting around here gearing up for the big show!








I think this one looks like a heart being drawn in the sky!

What's Been Going On Around Here?!

Celebrating Birthdays! Happy Birthday Steve!





Lots of sewing projects! This one tote bag Sierra made for a friend & it serves as the gift bag too!

Swimming parties are always fun!

Lots of time spent cooking too....More to come on that!

Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Stirring Up Dust

Oh, Just To Be Near You

Is it true that some pictures are worth a thousand words!? Well, this may be one of them. Sierra sometimes takes her books out to different places & it never fails that Princess will find her way to her. This horse just loves to be close to whatever is going on. She is so sweet & loves any attention she can get. She actually stood there & dozed for a long time.

The only thing that could be better would be to be reading on horseback. Sierra would probably try it if she could. :)

Tea Anyone?

Sierra & I had the privilege of attending a very special Mother's Day Tea Party! It was set up outside & everything was so lovely. A perfect way for us to spend the day together. There were a total of 62 women of all ages. We shared a table with a dear friend of mine & her mom & we had the best time sharing stories, laughing, & sipping tea, of course.

The beautiful Walker Manor

We had lots to prepare for the night before the tea including a personal french manicure, painted toes, & hair rollers for pretty curls!

Tea of the day was a delicious Blueberry Pomegranate!

Fall Into the Words of Books

What an exciting year the girls & I have had this year with book club! I have been so impressed with the discussions that these girls have during our monthly meetings. All the girls have a way of devouring books & it excites me to know that they all share my love for reading! Here are some pictures from the year. This past week we had a balloon release to commemorate our year of "books" & to go along with our book of the month The Twenty-One Balloons. The girls thought it was a wonderful way to say good-bye.....Hopefully we can all come together again through the love of books!

My Sierra on the left.