A little tree just for me!

Well, not just for me, but for our master bedroom.

This was Scott's tree growing up and we used it in our room for the first few years we were married. Last year due to all the renovations to our room and just the craziness of having two kids.... we just didn't use it.

I thought we should get it out this year and make our room a little more festive.

I decorated it with some of my favorite colors! : )

This angel was on our family tree most of my childhood.

I think she is super pretty.

I just put the tree on our trunk under the window.

For a tree skirt, I used my parent's old chenile blanket (it's my favorite old blanket).

I also added this sweet all white nativity.

I used white lights, a few ball ornaments, lots of angel or victorian ornaments and my favorite ones. They are metal engraved ornaments in different shapes from both our childhoods. We have angels, drummer boys, bells and rocking horses with our names/dates on them.

Here is a shot back a little, but the bed covers some of the tree. It just makes me happy to come up and see it in the window. {please ignore all the boxes and bags...christmas gifts yet to be wrapped} This I guess is a sneak peek of part of our room. I hope after Christmas to do a room tour because we are very proud to have such a sweet little spot just for us!

This is a shot from this morning.. you can see the colors:

teal, tiffany blue, pearl and silver/ gold

I love our traditional family tree downstairs, but this little tree makes mommy so happy!

Putting it all down.

I am a journal keeper.

Well, I used to be before I had children that is.

Yes, I'm sure everyone who reads this blog or talks to me in real life is tired of me blaming my children for things. To be honest, I am too.

So I want to do something about this journaling business and make it stick.

I saw New Years Eve...the movie this weekend and it made me think of the dreaded resolutions. Seriously, I hate new year's resolutions. I just feel like I'm so unsuccessful at those resolutions specifically. For instance, let's say on June 16th, I decide to make a resolution to start dusting every week {oh, you do this already? good for you : ) } then I will be better at keeping it than lets say I resolve to loose 5 lbs a month on new year's. Just saying.

So I'm making this a Dec. 11th resolution: journal!

I'm asking my husband for a new journal for Christmas.

I've gotten an iphone recently and hated the thought of never using a pen and paper again. I love pen and paper. So to keep from loosing my great handwriting genes or little random jots here and there, I've wanted to still have a paper calendar too. The only problem is I don't want to spend a lot or feel pressured to use it everyday. I also don't want to feel pressure to journal long entries as I just don't have time. So he is going to get me a journal that is thick enough to write a year of dates at the top of each page and small enough to fit in my purse/diaper bag. This way I can jot down to-do notes, appointments and small prayers. Maybe if I want to focus on a specific verse or a quote i can do that on there too.

Here are some things I've been finding or that inspire me to get back into journaling.

Check them out:

a pinterest find

My Daddy is a journal keeper. Now it's mainly just the highlights like the weather, important moments and fun random happenings. But I love that he has done this for sooo many years. Sometimes we have looked back and read funny things about days where I got my braces or Johnah went for her drivers permit. It's neat to look back on.

This lady did the same thing and I thought if nothing else, what a great treasure to have.

I got this from Geninne's Art Blog. She is someone that incredibly inspires me in journaling and in painting. Very talented lady! I would love to do more drawing/doodling in my journals. Hmmm.. maybe I'll have to get a cute little pen/pencil box like I had from my college art class days to carry in my purse as well!

There is something hopeful and even exciting to me in a stack of empty journals.

I guess it's the thoughts of what could be, victories won and even a place to escape to during the most mundane of days.

This stack I found here... cute journals!

And then there is this magnificent post on journaling by none other than, Ann Voscamp. Love her.

I've heard of someone doing a journal by recording their: peeks, pits, prayers and praises. They would write about the best of their day (peek) and the worse of it too (pits). Then add any requests or praises they had.

When I look back through my years of (off and on) journaling, I see a switch take place. I used to write in them like a diary...just to whom ever. Then in middle school or early high school, I switched to writing prayer journals. Don't get me wrong...they are not lofty or eliquent prayers written out. I've even shuddered looking back through some entries thinking of how my grandchildren might find these one day. They would know the good, bad and extremely ugly. But that is ok...because I'm hoping they'll see God's grace mostly. Because I write about nothing, I plead of things I desire and I gripe too. The good thing of journaling in the form of prayers is I find it always brings me back to HIM.

Anyways, one last little quote that makes me laugh and remember I'm not the only adult out there that still thinks like a child! : )

"She sat down before breakfast Decided how to spend her day: climb trees. run fast. sing at the top of her lungs. Do the dishes tomorrow." - unknown

Happy Journaling!

Snapshots of turning FIVE

Well, this is a week or so coming, but better late than never. Here are a few pics of my boy's 5th birthday celebration. It's still hard to believe he is five. We started off by doing our normal day of celebration with our traditional cake for breakfast. This has quickly become a fav tradition in our household. We wake up and celebrate first thing! This might get harder as some of our children's b-day will be a school day, but we'll still do cake for breakfast I'm sure {poor teachers}. They also get their toys from us that morning. Which is great so they can play with their new toys all day on their actual birthday. It's fun and nice to be settling into a few family traditions. Also it is interesting to see which ones stick or which the kids really look forward to.

Here is the birthday boy!

Blowing out FIVE candles is tough work.

Playing with his new pirate ship with Daddy.

And here are a few from the Pirate Party! I'm actually really sad to say that I don't have tons of great pictures of the details of this party {which is some of fav parts}. Hard to believe I worked so hard at some of the details and didn't get a chance to take pics. To my defense it was a CRAZY day... church, cleaning, preparing food, nasty storms and finally cramming thirty or so people in our sweet little home! : ) But here are a few shots.

Blowing out another set of candles on his treasure map cake.

My sweet sis, Nina came through once again! Isn't this cake amazing (wish I'd gotten better pics of this too) and it's complete with the (choc.) gold treasure marked with the x!

We had little party bags for our cousins which included eye patches and earrings with the rest of the loot!

Opening his many presents...this kid racked up. Everyone was so gracious!

Mommy and Son Pirates.... ARGH!!!!

I like to entitle this image as "Daddy Nonsense". I'm learning pictures of these two are getting harder and harder to get because they are too busy goofing off! : )

and finally, too much sugar, presents and Daddy nonsense and this is what you get:

CRAZY FIVE YEAR OLD

I really wish you could see his face in this picture...it is hysterical!

We had a great time and it seemed to fly back just as all the days seem to be doing lately.

Too bad we can't slow life down a little.

Update...Not what we were hoping

For those of you not friends with us on facebook, Wednesday did not turn out how we imagined. We were contacted just two hours before we were to report to court that the hearing was being moved. One of the father's attny was just appointed and needed a continuance because he needed time to learn about the case. Needless to say, we were bummed. Our new court date is January 31st which pretty much guarantees that we won't be able to adopt before baby Livingston gets here as I hoped. I know God is BIGGER and has HIS own plan. I can say that I'm still sad. In the beginning I expected this process to take forever, but we kept hearing dates they expected it to be done. So I would get my hopes up each date. Then finally, I placed the hopeful date of having the children adopted by the birth of our third. Now if I had to guess (which I should probably stop doing) if we are able to adopt it will not be until at least summer. BOO!!! Please pray for this to all happen earlier if God sees fit.

So I've been trying to fix my eyes on the Lord and my heart on happier things.

We are continuing to trim and perfect our house for the holidays.

We've been enjoying time with cousins.

Hoping your days lately are slow and full of joy!

Update for Prayer....

I'm writing this as an update to our foster/adopt process. It's been 17 mo. since we've been blessed to have L and E in our home. The goal in Family Court on July 1st was changed to Adoption as mother was deciding to sign over her rights and there was no word on either father.

Here we are still waiting for the official business to occur so that we can more towards adoption. As of the last two weeks, both fathers have been found and are wanting a chance to have their children back. Tomorrow we will have our first TPR (Termination of Parental Rights) hearing. What this means is that the State is requesting the rights of the fathers to be terminated and the mother's act of voluntarily signing over rights will be allowed. Because of some recent changes to the case it will most likely be a red tape sort of hearing and getting a few things legally in order before we can officially have a TPR hearing. I guess my most outrageous request to God is that He would see fit to terminate on both fathers and accept mother's signing over rights tomorrow. Please pray this what seems to be a crazy unrealistic request with us. Our God is BIG and can do ANYTHING He sees fit. If that happened tomorrow, there is a 30 day waiting period for appeals. But if that happened, we could possibly have our first two children adopted before baby Livingston arrives in March. Besides that being my top request, there are some other things we'd ask you to pray: If we have to wait for another hearing, that it be quickly added to the docket (as in no later than January), that in the mean time we will not have to start visits with the fathers (neither child knows them) and that their mother doesn't change her mind about her voluntarily signing over her rights. Please pray with us. My heart longs for God to be glorified through this all and selfishly that I can call these children OURS in just a few short months. Thank you for your help in fighting for our children.

and for my nervous spirit and anxious heart:

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

20Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3: 15-21

Starting off the season....

I feel way ahead of the game this year.

I hate it to sound like I'm bragging, but if you know me at all....you know it is only by the Grace of God that I'm ahead of the game with anything!

Seriously, not my norm. Although, I feel like I'm getting better in this area since I've been home with the kids full time now.

Anyways, back to this very important personal victory! : )

I've FINISHED shopping when I normally would just be really starting.

We've put up all our decorations.

Last week we even had a Christmas Kick Off party!!!

We made some cocoa.

and excitedly drank the cocoa!

Then we decorated the tree while watching a Christmas movie.

I really need to update my collection of holiday movies to dvds since our vcr doesn't work downstairs. I know, what is a VCR anyways? haha! I have a few favorites, but I'll have to watch them in our room while I wrap after the kids are asleep.

I think I'm going to LOVE being ahead of the game as far as the holidays go because now I feel like I can enjoy them and of course

make lots of memories with these two cuties

oh and the cute Man who took the pic too!

Maker of the Moon

I'm not sure why, but this Christmas more than ever I've been thinking about Mary.

Maybe because I'm "with child" and for the first time in my life have really had my mind on childbirth, the miracle of conception and just the joy a newborn will bring to our home.

I just can't help but wonder how she really felt. Her fears, doubts and even the thoughts of anticipation of her child's arrival.

Today's sermon was on Mary's story and I thought our pastor did such a great job.

He talked about her graceful willingness to be God's servant for such a task.

Even her excitement and praise of all God was going to do for His people through this miracle.

It made me wonder why I'm so hesitant to praise God for all the paths He puts me on. Especially when they are challenging and could lead to some sort of distress for me.

And here is young Mary who is now with child before being married and I'm sure has fears about what will happen to her marriage, baby or even her own well-being.

Yet she praises God!

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy,

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

(Luke 1:46-55 ESV)

I'm praying that God would help me have more of Mary's heart. Another reason I've thought so much about her part of this glorious story is due to one of my favorite holiday albums.

Read the lyrics below to "Labor of Love" by Andrew Peterson and Jill Phillips. There is a link to a video so you can hear how awesome the song is to. My favorite line is...

"But the baby in her womb

He was the maker of the moon

He was the Author of the faith

That could make the mountains move"

Gorgeous!

Anyways, hope you enjoy it as much as me.

And check out the rest of the album,

Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love
For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love

Here is the song/video!