Monday, September 26, 2011

Family

Just a random post of pics of my family taken this summer...love 'em all.All but my oldest brother & family(from Texas)live within 2 miles of each other.We have so many good times together.I've been blessed with 5 sisters and an awesome sis-in-law...lots of fun girl times-shopping,Starbucks,cooking...!!
Here's my lil boy who's growing up so fast!!



Eating Mexican food with my lovely sisters...

  Daddy and Kobe all dressed up for church..

 Aunt Nita and Kobe
My bro Philip who is a bullrider-more daring than I am!!

My big brother Lyndon (from Texas) holding his new daughter Alexis--

My sweet sis-in-law Lilly with her lil girlies-Amy & Alexis..

Proud big sis!!

The lil doll-Alexis...

 A family cookout in our backyard---
 My sis Brenda and her man Nate ...

...and their cute lil boy Karson...
My beautiful sis Missy who is fun and creative--

Gina just turned 14 and is homeschooling this year.                                                                                  
  
Angie-just started 1rst grade.She is very talkative & is learning fast.                                                        

Dad-love him!!                                                                         

My wonderful Mom holding Karson.

My sis Nita and hubby Paul.Such a wonderful and cute couple!!

 My bro Randall.He just turned 12.He loves horses and John Wayne=)
My Mr.Handsome--he's the best!!
And then there's me...
I found a vintage outfit in a repo barn and thought it would be neat to take some vintage photos of my lil heartbreaker..





6 girls-3 boys=lots of work,fun and memories...and lots of babies=)There have been 3 babies added to the family this year.Our family is together alot for meals in the evenings-except Lyndons who live 800 miles away.We miss them soo much!!I'm excited about getting together at Christmas time and watching all the cousins play together. 
I'd love to hear about things your family does!!




Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Lukewarm Coffee


Coffee-the wonderful aroma that fills our kitchen every morning.Well,mornings that I get up early enough to make it.It's what has kept me going these last few days.Baby is teething,fussy  and not sleeping good at night.The cool,grey rainy mornings makes me wanna crawl back in bed and get in just a few more long winks of sleep.But Mommies can't always do as they please.So there is coffee to keep them going.A wake-up drink to arouse your brain cells and urge your senses to come alive.

I've enjoyed studying about lukewarm Christians the last few weeks.The Bible talks about the Laodicean church-blindly conceited,smug & selfish,focusing inward instead of Christ.So many "Christians" and churches could easily be compared to them.America seems to be sleeping-an alarming amount of sins which are plainly wrote out in the Bible are now lawful and considered standard.What are we Christians doing-going to church,criticizing those people and becoming calloused to everything.Soon we don't think they are THAT bad and shrug it off-saying if they want to live like that and do their own thing,then let them.We can't change them anyway.No,we can't change their hearts and actions.Only Christ can.Are we showing them Christ??Up!Drowsy child of God,awake!
  So often when I think of the government,I think of the corrupt things they are allowing to happen.It seems as tho they have their eyes shut,not seeing the danger of it all.But what about my own life??Sure,I didn't have an abortion.Or do drugs.But what about the things I allow to creep into my life-thinking it won't hurt..it's not that serious..it's just little..causing my focus to dwell on things,myself and family instead of God??Think of the pain and jealousness God must feel when we serve Him with a lukewarm heart.He gave His TOTAL best-His ONLY Son-the one thing closest to his heart,so that I could have an intimate relationship with Him.Only to have me think more about my house,decorations,work piling up because my baby is fussy...the list goes on & on.Yes,I read the Bible,pray,go to church and am involved with the youth group...But is my heart really in it??
  Do I sigh when my turn to clean the churchhouse comes around?Do I get all nervous when I feel like I should talk to the worn out looking lady with the wailing snotty-nosed kid at the grocery store?When was the last time I really read His Word-soaking it all up,not keeping track of time??Do my prayers consist of thanking God for the day,my family and asking Him to bless me?To bless me when I don't even feel like praising Him?Am I willing to limit my time reading blogs,Facebook..looking at Pinterest.. and spend more time with Him??Ouch-I am SO guilty of ALL these things.I go thru all the motions of being a Christian,thinking that somehow that's enough.It looks good and others think I'm ok.It's all about me.As long as I can get by with enough "religion" to make me feel good about myself,I'm happy.Such a shame-considering about how MUCH Christ willingly did for me!!
  Lukewarm coffee is just disgusting in my opinion.I tried drinking some this morning.Steamy hot or iced-oh,yes.But half way in between makes me shiver and makes me wanna spit it out.God feels the same way about lukewarm Christians."So then because thou art lukewarm,and neither cold nor hot,I will spew thee out of my mouth."-Revelation 3:16.Lukewarmness is serious! You do the right things,but don't have the zeal & love for God that shines out & encourages others to be willing to serve God more fully.We lack conviction and are half-hearted.We have a false sense of security,thinking we are spiritually alive and well.We tend to gauge our spiritual depth or status -and justifying ourselves-with other lukewarm Christians.Extremely dangerous!!Jesus said in Revelation 3:15 that he actually prefers a spiritually cold person to one that is lukewarm.He does not want anyone to perish-it grieves His heart.How much more it must grieve Him to condemn the lukewarm Christian who is decieved and thinks that he is on the straight and narrow way.
  Christ is there for us ALL the time.Even when we half-heartedly worship Him,ignore Him too much and focus too much on ourselves.Which is great news,because I have a LOT of growing to do!!I want to serve Him with ALL of my heart,mind and soul-to have a close relationship with Him and give Him all the glory-which is why He created us in the first place!
  Check your temperature-hot,cold or lukewarm??

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Laundry Blues

I love doing laundry...despite the title of this post.
I love...
Emptying the clothes hampers.
The scent of laundry detergent.
Hearing the water swishing in the washer.
Reveling in the fact that I don't need to use a washboard to scrub mud-splattered pants.
Hanging clothes outside in the bright sunshine.
Seeing all the towels hanging in order from darkest to lightest.Biggest to smallest.
Yes,I am picky like that.
White sheets flapping in the wind-reminding me of peace.
It makes my heart smile (Is that possible?) to save money by using the washline instead of the dryer.
I'm glad I live in the country where it's considered standard (not redneck) to hang it all out.
I'm talking about laundry! 
Stacks of neatly folded clothes...only to have my son tear everything up.
The wonderful feeling knowing you have good smelling clothes in your drawers.


These pics are proof that I am the wife of a hard working man--check out the stains & holes.=)








 Even tho we have...
sometimes,there's no money or perfume that can beat the smell of sun dried laundry.

Who knew laundry could look cute??

Monday, August 22, 2011

Summer Mantel

I know...summer is almost gone.The steamy hot days that make the pool so refreshing,fresh squeezed lemonade,garden produce,a nicely mowed lawn...I'd love to keep summer here awhile longer,but I am really looking forward to Fall.Here are a few pics of my summer/beach inspired mantel which cost me about $1.Can't beat that!!=)Of course it's not as fancy-shmancy as a lot of peoples',but it's what I could afford.It also reminds me of our honeymoon in Cancun,Mexico and our anniversary trips to Santa Barbara,CA and Orange Beach,AL.I've had it up awhile-I'm just a little behind in  the blogging world!!





The only things I bought was the letters "SEA" and the blue book---the rest I made,collected from the beach or had already.Of course,ever-changing-things around-me took the pitcher of flowers,1 chippy picture frame and the blue book down.I thought it looked too a little full.
I'll be showing pics of the whole livingroom soon and the less cluttered mantel.

This last pic is in the living room too-just love this lil ole' fence.Reminds me of the fences at the beach.see Dave Ramsey peeking out of the crate?We love that man!!

Enjoy the carefree barefoot days.Soak up some lovely sunshine.Breathe in the refreshing scent of freshly mown grass.Swing from a tree branch.Go on  moonlit walks.Munch on the healthy garden foods.Spend each minute you can with the ones you love.Be bold-wear bright colors that make you happy.Or go parasailing 800 feet in the air like I did.Thank God for the "awesomeness" of this beautiful "sunshiney" season called SUMMER!!!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Evening Snack

Sparkling water,grapes and hot pepper cheese...a snack me & the hubby enjoyed one evening.







Have a great day!!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

$1 Treasures

I'm cheap.Very cheap.I don't like to spend more than $15 on one item-from clothes/shoes to dishes to decorations to you name it.That's why thrift stores and yardsales are my best friend.That's why my walls are still rather bare-I'm working on that.I always look at the discount aisles.I try not to buy things that I don't need.Try being the key word.I don't always follow the $15 rule tho in case you are starting to think I'm the Queen of Thrifty Shopping.I wish I was.Back before marriage and a kid-it was quite a different story.I've learned alot about making do and saving money since then.Trying to save has become a lifestyle-something I enjoy.Finding deals always makes me feel giddy.If you just look and are open minded and not afraid to repaint or use a little elbow grease,you can find some great treasures.Even tho we are almost debt free,I save everywhere I can.Your imagination has to work a little harder sometimes,but it's o so worth it!Anyhow,here are some things I found this summer for $.99- $1.00--

4 cone cups-$1 a piece.Perfect for sundaes on the back porch.I don't have cute summer dishes anyway..


A cute aqua colored birdcage.I love bird cages and birds!!



A curtain "holder thingie"-not sure of the name.There was only one.

Excuse the washed out pics.I blame it on bad lighting,but it's because my photography skills are about as good as my backing-up-a-vehicle ones.


I found an old cardboard box with a post mark from 1953 on it that was holding old chipboard letters.Mostly vowels..




A little wagon to hold my son's blocks and toys...
Some books with good ole' American history for Kobe to read/be read to when he's bigger...






A beautiful sea shell...

Picture frames that I want to paint and distress to bring out all the details...



A shelf that needs a little paint.I don't have 1 shelf on the walls in my whole house!!

Styrofoam balls that I want to cover with moss...

Vases from Dollar Tree...I added raffia and ribbon.



Tissue Paper PomPoms I made from $1 packs of tissue paper...

$1 letters from Hobby Lobby for something I'll post about soon...


A chippy old picture frame I've had for years...
Look for treasures-they are everywhere!!