SATURDAY FUN DAY!

Today is Saturday, and I LOVE Saturday. Saturday is our family day. We spend the day together, eat out for lunch, and occasionally take in a thrift store or two. Today we ordered Chinese and went to a local thrift shop where we found the game Operation. Operation is by far the greatest classic game. I really do like it. What a great way to spend family time, and as an added bonus we found it for $2.00. GREAT DEAL!!!!

Pinterst-anonymous

Hello...My name is Gina, and I'm a Pinterest-a-holic. For those who have not tasted the pure greatness of pinterest, I highly recommend that you do NOT start. It is highly addictive, but for those who are interested I will be your enabler and explain...


Pinterest (pronounced to rhyme with "interest") is a vision board-styled social photo sharing website and app where users can create and manage theme-based image collections.

The mission statement of Pinterest is to connect everyone in the world through shared tastes and the “things” they find interesting. 

There is everything from DIY crafts to recipes to lesson plans to quotes...you name it, they probably have it. I can spend hours pinning and re-pinning. I have actually done a few of the things that I have found on there. For example, if you read a post in December about Photo coasters that is where I got the idea, and Amelia's birthday cupcakes...yet another Pinterest find. It is a great place to find ideas for things to do during your free time (if you have it). You can visit the link here. ENJOY!

LAZY...the best word to describe me thus far today. I must get moving. I have the usual house work, groceries, and homework. I just haven't gotten my kick of motivation yet. Still in my jammies. Sometimes it is nice to just laze around and relax, and I have done a great job of that today. Now my time is now up and I must get started so...READY...SET...GO!


"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Sleeeeeeeeeeepy!

All I can think about right now is how sleepy I am. After being awake until 12:30am this morning and waking up at 6:00am followed by a full day of school...I am exhausted. AND the older 2 kiddos just walked in the door. So now I have to switch gears, put on the Mommy hat and take care of them. Luckily, it is near 60 degrees out so needless to say, they're outside. I have a few minutes to recharge (by sitting at the computer) and then it's off to make dinner and praise team practice. Wednesdays are my looooongggg days. I am so tired by the time we get home from practice that it takes all I have to peel off my clothes and crawl in to bed. I CAN NOT WAIT for that time to be here today. I am so tired right now that I literally feel sick. My prayer right now is for patience (hard to have being tired) and one good boost of energy to survive the next 6 hours.


My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2)

My new crazy life!

I have not posted in 2 months, and for that, I am sorry. I will try to get better, but no guarantees. A lot has happened in the past 2 months. The year ended nicely. I passed both classes with "A's" last semester, Thanksgiving and Christmas both spent at home, and we rang in the New year in our basement as usual (because that is how we roll). 
Thanksgiving was great. We had dinner at my FIL's (father-in-law)house and it was just the family. Each of us brought side dishes an all sat around the table. It was nice to have a traditional family dinner for Thanksgiving (and to not cook everything).
Christmas was just as nice. We took in our annual Christmas Eve Movie and saw "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked." It was cute, but I must admit I enjoyed the second one better. Then we had Christmas dinner here and had my FIL over. I cooked it, and it turned out great!
Then we did our annual New Year's dinner: Crab legs, black-eyed peas, and greens. My FIL joined us for that too. It was nice to spend the holidays with just the family and not travel, but I do miss my side of the family.
 In January, daughter 2 turned 6. I made these cupcakes. 

Brownie base with strawberry cake...Pinterest recipe. YUM!

Birthday Princess.

She got tons of Littlest Pet Shop stuff. She is a big collector now. 


Now, my spring semester is in full swing, and by full I do mean full. I am carrying 5 classes. That is 15 credit hours in case you didn't figure that out. This is the heaviest course load that I have ever attempted to carry in my college career. I must admit carrying this many classes and wrangling 3 kids along with homework, housework, grocery shopping etc. has it's challenges. BUT I am managing thus far...granted it has only been 2 weeks since the start of this semester. I am enjoying it, though. Keeps me busy! I am ever so grateful for my FIL. He has been a Godsend. He is watching Annie while I go to school. This is a huge help, and baby A adores her time with him. Win...Win. I am also thankful for a great friend of mine that helps out on days that I am off school, but need time to catch up. She has a baby boy that is the same age as Annie, and they love playing together. I often help her out by keeping her kiddo while she needs to catch up...so yet another Win...Win situation. 
God has blessed me tremendously over the past few months. He re-vamped our small group,which at first was upsetting to me, but he worked it out in the end, and now I am excited to see his plans for our new group. I am looking forward to the next few months. I hope to have time to do some more blogging...it helps with the insanity of my new crazy life.


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.” (NIV)

Gift Idea for the Grandparents

I have recently discovered the pinterest website. If you haven't checked it out, you don't know what you're missing. It is FABULOUS!!! Check it out here.  http://www.pinterest.com/  I found a really neat and inexpensive crat to do for a gift for the holidays. These are photo tile coasters. They can also be used as a display. So here's how you make them.



Step 1:

Supplies:

4x4 ceramic tiles

photos

glue stick

mod podge

bowl for mod podge

foam brush

clear spray sealane (top coat)

felt

scissors/paper cutter

ruler





Step 2:

Next: Choose photos for your coaster, and cut them to fit. I left about an 1/8 of an in on each side to have a border. You can choose how big you want your border.  You'll want to leave a little room to be able to mod podge over and seal it to the coaster.

Step 3: Glue cropped photo onto ceramic tile using glue stick.







Step 4: Once you have finished gluing you will be ready to coat with mod podge. I put 2 to 3 coats on just to make sure it is sealed. It will look like this at first, but it dries fast and clear.

Step 5: For this step you will want to take your photo tiles outside in a well ventilated area and spray a generous coat of clear gloss on top. Let them dry over night outside. Then you can add felt dots to the back corners or cover the back with a square of felt to finsh. Put a pretty bow around the set of 4(or how ever many you choose) and you have a great gift.



Tame your Tongue

Ok...I need to vent a little so I thought what better place to do so than my blog. So...here goes. I have come to the conclusion that the phrase "agree to disagree" no longer holds the value that it used to. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, and that is all good unless, in the midst of expressing your opinion you decide to discredit someone else's. Just because we have different opinions doesn't make us right or wrong...it makes us individuals; sometimes it even makes us unique. I'm all about listening to others opinions, and have from time to time expressed my own, but what I try not to do is disrespect those that I don't agree with. It is fine to have a different opinion, just DON'T disrespect someone because of it. Afterall, what makes one opinion better than the other? They are OPINIONS not facts.  It is also fine to ask why they feel as they do,  as long as you do it respectfully.  If not please LEAVE IT ALONE, and agree to disagree. It is that simple.  As Bambi said, "If you can't say something nice...don't say anything at all." Ok, so now, off of my soap box. Thanks for listening!

Here is what the Bible says about taming your tongue. (English Standard Version ESV)

 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs 21:23


There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 12:18 

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1

Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
Proverbs 17:28



Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
Proverbs 17:9