Liebster Blog Award

Thank you so much Wendy for nominating me. Wendy has a wonderful blog that you can view here.

The rules, should you be nominated:

1. If you were nominated, post 11 things about yourselves.
2. Then answer the 11 questions the person who nominated you created.
3. Create 11 more questions to ask the bloggers you decided to nominate.
4. Choose 11 bloggers to nominate with less than 200 followers.
5. Make sure and let these people know you nominated them! No tag backs, so don't nominate someone who nominated you.

11 things about myself:

1) I am a VERY shy person. It takes me forever to warm up to people, but once I do I am a huge talker. Most people think I am a snob because I rarely talk and don't make eye contact and those type of things...I seriously need to work on this lol.

2.) I absolutely LOVE going to the beach. There are days I wish I lived on the beach

3.) I get the Christmas spirit by October and generally listen to non stop Christmas music from October through the New Year.

4.) I am a child of God and He is constantly showing me things. This year I have really focused on getting my faith back like it was when I first got saved. I have also been humbled quit a bit this year.

5.) I am a single mom to my three year old daughter Maddy. She is truly a gift from God.

6.) I am a weather geek. I enjoy keeping up with it and try to predict bad weather on my own, but I need a lot more practice.

7.) I play the flute. I started playing in middle school, midway through my seventh grade year. I started out on clarinet but my band teacher at the time didn't have time to work with anybody but the percussion. I needed help on fingerings, so I switched to flute so my mom could help me when my band teacher couldn't. We are the flute section at our church.

8.) I love to scrapbook, but generally don't have the time nor money to devote to it. I have started Maddy's scrapbook, but haven't gotten very far.

9.) I like to work out...I actually love it...it's just the time issue in actually doing it. I pretty much work 24/7 so by the time I'm off of work I either have the choice of working out, cleaning up, cleaning myself, or bed.

10.) I have high hopes of ONE day being able to own and operate my own daycare. I have a lot of opinions when it comes to daycare and how they should be run. I want to make my facility the best, or what I consider to be the best, but work with parents on the financial piece of it...daycare's today cost WAY too much.

11.) I love pretty much anything with hearts on it. I can't explain my fascination with hearts, but they are special to me. I actually have a heart shaped freckle on my knee. Needless to say I LOVE the liebster blog award lol.

11 Questions for Wendy's Nominees

1. What do you struggle with right now?
I have been really struggling with worry. I am a true worry wart even though we aren't supposed to. God has been trying to show me how He can provide for me if I just trust in Him, but that devil knows right where to get me. 
2. What's your favorite comfort food?
Well, mine is more of a beverage. For stress I go for mello yello, but my so called comfort food would be a cappuccinno blast from baskin robbins. My favorite food would be a variety lol...Olive Garden is pretty high up there.
3. What can you do really well that's unusual?
I'm very good at messing things up lol. This is a tough one. There aren't many things I consider myself to do really well...the only thing I am somewhat confident in is being a good mom. Maybe playing the flute??? 
4. What can you cook that everyone absolutely loves?
I'm fairly new to cooking all the time. I haven't cooked for people yet, other than Maddy. I did find a recipe on Pinterest that is just amazing and that is Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili....I HIGHLY recommend that recipe :)
5. What inspires you?
My daughter Maddy
6. What do you see yourself doing in ten years?
I'm really hoping I will be in a profession that I am passionate about such as daycare. I have a heart for the children and helping them see just how special they are...especially in the eyes of the Lord. I will also be crying over Maddy being a teenager lol
7. What's the best advice you've ever been given?
To pray about everything and trust in the Lord. 
8. What one word do you think describes you best?
shy
9. What is your best feature?
I'm really not sure. I think it's my heart. I  sincerely care for people and would do whatever I could to help. 
10. What's your favorite time of the day and why?
The end of they day when I'm rocking Maddy. We have some of the best moments when we rock. In fact she brought tears to my eyes last night because she had me fold my hands in prayer and she took it upon herself to pray my toe would feel better...that really touched me and is something I will NEVER forget. I was one proud mom!
11. Where is your favorite vacation spot?
For now Panama City Beach, Florida

11 Questions For My Nominees:
1.) If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
2.) What if you favorite TV show?
3.) Do you have a favorite type of car?
4.) Has 2012 been a good year for you?
5.) Favorite nonalcoholic drink?
6.) Favorite fast food restaurant?
7.) Favorite dine in restaurant?
8.) Favorite recipe?
9.) How do you cope with stress?
10.) What made you start blogging?
11.) Favorite time of year?

I don't know 11 blogs to nominate and most of the people I know have already been nominated. I may have to add to this a little at a time. I am tagging:

1.) Amy at All About Us
2.) Rachael at The Lewis Family

God Provides

This has been a very strange week for me. I would never imagine a broken toe could cause THIS much pain. The pain level has actually made me very nauseous all week. Yesterday/this morning was the worse. I didn't get much sleep last night. I fell asleep around midnight and woke up at 2 a.m. in excruciating pain. I decided to go ahead and take a pain pill and hoped I would be able to get up. I went back to bed around 3 and then was up at 7 and the pain had returned. Having a broken bone is no joke. I knew this wasn't going to be a good week, but it's nothing like I thought and in a way I'm kind of glad. I do NOT like having a broken toe. I find myself trying to hurry around the house like I normally do, but I just can't walk fast at all. I had our meals all planned out and was only able to cook one of them. I haven't been able to clean. I haven't been able to do much of anything. The reason I haven't been able to do these things is not because I'm physically unable to, but because I have been so sick and it has absolutely exhausted me. I am on constant overtime so I decided I needed to get as much sleep as I could and worry about the household chores over the weekend. I hadn't really stopped to think about how God has provided for me this week until recently. God is so good and cares about our needs and wants. Here is how God has provided: The only doctor I would see did not have any openings until November 7. I refused to go to anybody else. By Wednesday I felt so sick that my hands were tingling and I just felt weird and I got a little worried, so I tried going to my PCP but it was her off day. I had to see another doctor in the group and it was a huge mistake. He was a royal booty head. The first doctor that didn't have any openings would have given me an orthotic shoe to wear and would have taped my toe up and probably would have x-rayed it to make sure it was ok. My mom had unfortunately broken her toe 2 years ago so she still had her shoe. She found the tape at a drugstore to tape me up with and she also had crutches I could use. My mom helped me bathe Maddy because there was no way I could. She also picked up dinner for Maddy and me. My mom picked up Maddy for me Wednesday and took her to church and then brought her home. She also fed Maddy for me. I had forgotten that a pizza place called Papa Murphy's was going to be at Maddy's school giving out one free pizza to each family. The day I needed a meal the most is the day it was our turn for a pizza. I was telling my mom how God had just really provided for me this week and I was so thankful and she added that not only did God provide me food but He gave it with a smile. The pizza was in the shape of a pumpkin and they put a smiley face on it.

 I mean how cool is that. My mom came over tonight to help me bathe Maddy again and she brought over some dinner for us that will be great for tomorrow. I've been a little worried over what I'm going to feed Maddy, but God has just taken care of it all. I am so thankful my mom has been so willing to help. Bless her heart she has gone back and forth so much for me, but I truly appreciate her help.

Broken

Yesterday I gave Manny a bath, which he absolutely detests. Instead of drying him off some in the tub like I normally do, I just let him go wild lol. This was my first mistake. I wasn't really thinking about how much water he could really "shake" off of him, but it was a huge puddle in my bathroom. I was wiping it up with a towel and somehow managed to slam my foot into the corner of my bathroom cabinet. It was definitely painful and I had to hold back a tear or two because Maddy was in there with me. She asked me what happened and I told her I had a boo boo. I went on about my day as usual. At some point I even put on my tennis shoes. I noticed as the day went on my foot or toe started hurting more and more. After I washed Maddy I went and sat on the couch and realized I may have actually broken my toe earlier. After putting Maddy to bed I was in some intense pain. My mom has broken her toe so of coarse I called her asking what I could do. Tylenol is about all there is for now. Today it hurts so bad. It's discolored and just blah. It's the kind of pain that can make you feel nauseous. I have to drive with cold air blasting and spearmint gum in my mouth. On my way to get Maddy from school this afternoon I felt so sick. I found a way I could drive without it killing me. Yes, I did manage to put on a shoe...I actually sleep in my shoe because it puts pressure where I need it, but I also know it probably is squeezing my toe all at the same time.  Please know that I was stopped when I took this picture and I would not have driven like this had it not been safe or had it altered my driving abilities :)

Luckily for me it's the toe next to my pinky toe, otherwise, I don't think I would be able to put a shoe on. I did take my shoe off today to shoe my mom and to try out her boot from when she broke her toe, but it just wasn't enough support. It's the strangest feeling...yes, it hurts pretty darn bad but when my shoe comes off it just feels like it has a mind of it's own and will twitch and just feels weird. I'm contemplating going to the doctor to get my own boot but I'm scared of the pain they may inflict lol.

As the day goes on I find myself not able to cope with the pain as well. I'm not able to keep my emotions under control. As I was taking Manny out for the night I found myself listing all the things in my head that I need to be doing and with a broke toe I can't really do because the more I'm up the more pain it causes, plus it has exhausted me having to walk the way I do. My thinking started to turn into complaining and before it got too far I heard God tell me that this time was to be used to spend with Him. When I heard Him I immediately realized that even though I'm in physical pain, I needed to thank Him.  I needed to thank Him for showing me a positive in a negative situation. I needed to thank Him for being here with me as He always is. Thank Him for giving me extra time to spend with Him. The things I need to do can wait or they just aren't THAT important. God knows how busy my life is. No, He didn't cause me to break my toe, but He did allow it  and I know He allowed it so I could put my focus where it needed to be. I wanted to journal this because I do feel like I am gearing up for a hard battle. I don't know what lies ahead of me but God does. 

I watched a movie tonight that just really inspired me and I think it was based on a true story. I found it on Netflix and it's called A Greater Yes. I highly recommend this movie. One line I took away from it goes as follows (or similarly) "When God says no maybe it's because there is a greater yes in the future."  I want to write this down and next time God tells me no remember that there is a greater yes somewhere down the line. Jeremiah 29:11 is my favorite verse in the bible...For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper...not harm you...no, I don't always do a great job of remembering that no matter what I go through God has a great plan for me, but when I'm able to stop and calm down this verse is just so comforting to me. I feel like I'm not making sense at all, but in my own head I am lol. This movie just hit on what I feel like I am really fixing to be tested on...always having faith no matter what our circumstances are. 

Goodbye Weekend

It's that time again...the time where we say goodbye to the weekend and hello to the week :( I feel like I'm in for a really rough week and that kinda scares me. I have been trying to pray up for this week, but I haven't done too good.

This weekend was a Mommy and Maddy weekend. We woke up early...ok late Saturday morning and got ready for the day. I originally planned on going straight outside when we woke up, but it was WAY too cold for me. I let Maddy watch tv while I got coupons ready for the store. Maddy decided she wanted to help me organize...she did a great job!

After we were all ready we went to the gas station to get mommy coffee (french vanilla cappuccino) and Maddy some juice and candy. After we got our goodies we headed up to my mom's house to let her dog out for her. My mom and step dad took off early Saturday morning to Knoxville for the Tennessee/Alabama game. My mom is a TN fan, but my step dad is an AL fan. My mom surprised my step dad with the tickets for his birthday. They had a lot of fun and got to experience the whole package. Next year we may be heading down to Tuscaloosa for the TN/AL showdown...it all depends on how Maddy is by that time.

my mom's cute decorations :)

After letting Misty out we headed back home for nonstop play time. We went back and forth from her swing to her glider back to her swing back to her glider and every now and then go down the slide. Her picnic table got put together this weekend as well, so she now has ALL of her swing set put together. After we played outside we had to go to the store and then let Misty out one more time. We didn't make it back home to see the kick off, which was at 7:45 but we did get to see from the 2nd quarter on. I told Maddy that's where her Nana and Pops were and from that point on she was very interested in watching the game. She got her baby and put her right beside her and then sat down next to me and watched. I was surprised at how long her attention span was. She kept asking me what happened. I started cheering the first time and she asked what I was doing. I told her the Vols scored. The next time I started clapping she turned around and asked me if they scored...it was so cute. We never got to see my mom and step dad on tv.

she was looking for Nana and Pops/watching the game

We had a very powerful church service this morning. Our pastor's prayer had me so ready for the skies to open up and see Jesus' face calling us home. Jesus is coming back for us one day. We don't know the time, day, or hour but we do know He's coming back. I am beyond ready for that day to come. My pastor also got me to thinking. He was talking about when the rapture happens...gave a scenario of your colleague coming to talk to you and they see nothing but your clothes. They wonder what happened to you then figured it out and said I wished you would have told me. I don't want anyone who comes in contact with me to have to say that same thing. I have really missed our church these past six years...it is such a blessing to be back :)

I hope you all had a great weekend and have a great day!

Football Friday

Today Maddy's school had football Friday. They decorate the foyer in TN and AL colors and have balloons and signs...it's really so very neat to walk in to. Obviously Maddy was dressed in orange today and I must she was so super cute...as she always is. I wanted to get a lot more pictures than I did, but we were running late as usual this morning and the director was at the front desk so I felt a little awkward trying to take a picture lol. I then tried to get a picture of Maddy in front of their decorated door, but right when I put her in front of the door it flew open...her class was going outside. Photo op number two didn't happen. When I went to pick her up I came prepared and at least got a couple of pictures.

 She was hyped up when I got her. She kept swinging the football behind her and I was scared she was going to break it because she was pushing it pretty hard. Then on her right side there were some Alabama balloons that she kept trying to bring down to her level. To get this picture she was not being still, which is why she looks like she does lol. She was rocking herself back and forth and I caught her on the up right before she went back.

Nana and Pops finished the rest of her swing set. She immediately noticed the glider and swang on it for a while. She wanted it to go fast like her swing, but it just doesn't. She was not too happy because our next door neighbor's kid came over and talked our ears off. My mom and step dad didn't really get to visit with Maddy at all due to the kid talking...he must be very lonely :)

I'm not a big football fan at all, but I will be rooting for the Vols...GO VOLS!!!

Hello Princess

It's been a bit of a rough day today...not gonna lie. I was getting Maddy ready for bed and decided to put her in a gown for her pajama's. As soon as I put her gown on her she immediately said, "I'm a princess!"  She twirled around and kept saying, "I'm a princess!" I have no idea where she even heard about princesses because we don't watch them here at home. My only guess is one of her friends at school likes them. It was so cute seeing her twirl around pretending she was a princess. She is so precious! I didn't get a chance to snap a picture of her in her gown, but I'm going to post some random pics of her.

 lol...this picture cracks me up! I went to check on her one night and found her all sprawled out like this. She was sound asleep. I'm really surprised she does as well as she does when we sleep in the same bed because she rolls around a lot, but she does really well. She cried and cried tonight because she wanted mommy to sleep with her. Talk about melting your heart. One of these days I will get her pouty face so I can show her when she gets older. This girl knows how to stick out her bottom lip and get her eyes just so...she looks so pitiful but then sometimes she will look like she's starting to smile a little...as if to say, "ha ha ha...i know how to work ya lol"

This isn't the best comparison of me and her. I have no idea how old I really am here. My hair isn't AS blonde as hers but it's close enough. We have different face shapes, but apart from that we look alike. I mean no, we aren't twins by any means but she does have some my features. I actually see a lot of her in my picture :) 

This post is random, but not for me. I think we are definitely headed towards the "princess" phase. Maybe soon we can start getting some of the Disney movies...although I must say there are some things in Disney movies I'm not sure I am ready to let her watch just yet. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday tomorrow! I for one am SUPER excited the weekend is here. I've had a rough end to my week but I'm trying my best to just trust God will pull me through. 

Boring Meal Planning

I have slacked off on my meal planning the past two weeks because I hadn't had time to get to the grocery store. Yes, we ate but I had to scrounge around trying to figure out what we would eat. I finally got to Wal-Mart on Sunday to get things we had to have and picked up a few extras. I am hoping to get back into the swing of couponing this week to get stocked back up. Since getting my mom planner/calender it has helped me to really get things organized and it truly makes life so much easier. I have a spot for meal planning and all I have to do is cook it :) Here is what my "weekly" calender looks like...yes, I even schedule my cleaning and exercise lol.

Here is our meal plan for this week...so far I have really stuck with it.

Monday: Chicken fettuccine alfredo

Tuesday: Chicken Teriyaki w/rice and broccoli (we left out the broccoli and had macaroni instead)

Wednesday: Lunchable for Maddy and leftovers for me

Thursday: Spaghetti w/garlic toast

Friday: leftovers

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Beef stroganoff

I hope you all are having a great week so far!

Pumpkin Patch 2012

Over the weekend we went to OUR second annual pumpkin patch :) This year my sister and her family decided they'd like to go with us. It was a bit of a trying day because Maddy would not take a nap. We went out early to do a little shopping. I'm in search of boots and because I don't know much about boots and the do's and don'ts it took a little longer than I anticipated. We also got Maddy's halloween costume and to my surprise she did not pick Minnie Mouse...she chose to be a lady bug. She has a love for ladybugs. I also was searching for her some shoes because she only has one pair right now that she can wear and they are pink and while they go with most of her outfits, there are some outfits they just don't match very well. I knew exactly what I wanted to get her but can you believe that the three stores I went in did not have her size on anything really. She is size 8.5. I've found that after size 6 it's just been so hard finding anything she can wear. I decided to just order them online. I really need them for Friday because they are having their football Friday where they dress up in their favorite teams colors. She has a TN cheerleader outfit and pink definitely will not go lol. Anyways, she fell asleep on the way up to the pumpkin patch, but unfortunately after a few minutes of being asleep we had to slam on our brakes which made her head fall forward and from there on out she was awake. I'm going to let the pictures do the talking, but I will say it really seemed as if everybody had a really good time.

 Getting her to sit still and look at me and smile was just impossible. She would sit and look straight for literally .2 seconds before she was moving around trying to find things to do.

 Last year she wouldn't attempt to "milk" the cow. This year, she was all over it. I think it had something to do with my youngest niece doing it too. Maddy ended up sitting on the ground where all the water was going and had one muddy leg. After that luckily it was time to go in lol

 This is called the corn popper. All the kids had a ball on it! Maddy kept wanting to go back on it. I actually thought it would be loads of fun to do myself, I didn't see any adults on it so I decided to just be a mom and watch  :)

 Maddy could swing on the tire swing this year. Again, not something she could do last year. They didn't go high at all. She didn't like it as much...I think she felt like she was going to fall because she's used to a bucket swing where she can just sit there and enjoy.

 Even Nana joined in on the fun. It was so cute. Maddy "helped" my mom climb up on the bale of hay...she is such a caring little girl.

 Of coarse the corn box. It feels so good in there. It's a great way to relax. One of the moms said she'd like a bed made out of corn..I kinda wouldn't mind trying one of those myself lol.

 I thought this was a neat shot.

 Maddy takes baby everywhere and makes sure she gets to have some fun too. After this picture she did forget about baby...and so did I for that matter. Luckily my mom saw it and put it in her bag for us lol

 On our way to the pumpkin patch

Maddy had a ball looking for her a pumpkin. She originally had a small orange one that was sitting all by itself. For some reason she decided she didn't want it after all and when it was time to find "the one" she ended up with this tiny tiny green one. I liked her first one better because it was orange and bigger, but really in truly this was the perfect size for her. She carried it around and was proud of her pumpkin. My mom is keeping the pumpkins the kids picked out to decorate her front yard with. She sent me a picture and it is so cute. I will have to take a picture myself because the one she has has my nieces in the picture and my sister doesn't want their picture all over the internet :(

It was a fun filled day!

Favorite Moment

Ever since getting her swing set for her birthday, Maddy asks every day if she can play outside. Unfortunately for her she generally only gets to play outside on Monday and Friday during the week and then of coarse Saturday and Sunday. This week has been a little different. We weren't able to make it outside on Monday. Tuesday is bath night. Wednesday was Maddy's dr. appt. and we had no church. I had already told her she could play outside which had her super pumped. Before having a swing set all Maddy talked about was the slide, but I think since getting a swing set she has really come to love the swing. I love spending time with Maddy no matter what we are doing, but pushing her on the swing has become my favorite. We talk the entire time and I get to really see how she thinks and what she likes and things like that. It's a real bonding time and I just love it. I decided to video a little bit tonight. I only have the video camera on my phone since mine is broken. It's a little long because she just stared in the beginning. Anytime I pull out my camera she quits doing what she's doing and just stares.

She is such a good mommy and takes really good care of her baby. When she swings she notices the sky and the birds and hears all the noises and asks what it is. She also says she thinks it's going to rain tomorrow all the time lol. I'm so happy we were able to give her a swing set to play on...she absolutely LOVES it!

3 Year Check-Up

So I was a little late this year in getting Maddy to her 3 year well check. Her birthday party planning completely took over everything and I found myself a week later never having called to set up the appointment. I have since ordered me not one, but TWO mom planners lol. One is a normal planner you take with you and then the other is a magnetic calender you can hang on the refrigerator.

It's really amazing and from now on will be my planner of choice. They give you space to write in your family members names so you can see who is doing what. I know I only have a family of two...well three because Manny is definitely family and has his own spot, but between work and church and home I found myself forgetting to do a lot of things. Now I have our events scheduled in and I can rest a little easier.

Maddy had her dr. appointment yesterday at 2:10. It was the fastest appointment ever. She weighs 30.5 lbs and is in the normal range and is 3'2 tall which landed her in the 72nd percentile. Her BMI is 14.85. Her doctor's office has completely changed. They took her picture when we signed in...I guess to keep in the chart. Instead of looking on the paper for the growth chart is completely done on a laptop now. My favorite thing is they now send a copy of the stats with you now so I don't have to remember how much she weighed and all that. I just wish they put on there where she fell in the growth chart. Maddy was a bit nervous so she was super quiet and stayed attached to me. She did super well. Luckily there were no shots...there will be next year :( She is going into size 4T. She's been in a 4T shirt for a while, but we're slowly fading pants into 4T. She's still in a size 4 diaper/pull up. Yesterday I decided to let her wear her big girl panties. She LOVES them, but it didn't help in the potty area. She pottied on her bed and didn't tell me until we were fixing to go play outside. This morning for school she got mad at me because she couldn't wear her big girl panties to school. I'm going to start putting them on her when we get home.

Random Thoughts

I know I have been starting out or at least talking about how rampant the devil seems to be running lately. This post is no different. I myself am being attacked and I know several other people are as well. Through this rough time I have at least learned something, although it's sometimes going to be easier said than done. One thing I have learned is that regardless of our situation or circumstance, our joy should still be there. I have been reading the wonderful devotional my mom got me and I am amazed at how personal it feels. I'm going to write a portion of the devotion for October 5. "Remember that joy is not dependent on your circumstances. Some of the world's most miserable people are those whose circumstances seem the most enviable...True joy is a by-product of living in My Presence. Therefore you can experience it in palaces, in prisons...anywhere..." The next day, October 6 it talked about following Him wherever He leads though we may not see the big picture...walk by faith not by sight. I could go on and on up through today because everything  has just been so relevant to what has been going on in my life. I've recently learned of another fellow blogger who tragically lost her husband over the weekend. They have an 11 month old daughter and I just cannot even begin to fathom the pain she must be feeling. She lost the love of her life and became a single mother in just one night. Her daughter will never know who her father is. Sure she will hear stories, but she herself will have no memory of him. Today was a silent day of blogging and I chose to participate. It's not quite midnight, but it's close enough. I have prayed and thought about this family all day today. I do not know them at all, but my heart aches for them. As my personal circumstances got worse I read about how the uphill journey has been long and it's okay to vent but to vent to God because it helps us see things from His perspective. When things get real hard I do tend to want to complain. I thought of this sweet lady from Arkansas who was dealing with an unexpected death and how she has not one time complained over social media or her blog. Her entire world has been flipped upside down and if she can keep from complaining, so can I.
The second thing I have learned in all this is that I need to trust God COMPLETELY. I need to not worry about the future or try to plan for this or for that because it makes me self-sufficient. This is the part that is easier said than done. I know God has a plan for me and I know He will take care of me...I just have to trust . I had such a great year last year that I think I walked into this year thinking it was gonna be so easy. I didn't need to rely on God as much...I could take the reigns. When things get hard I cling to Him and when things get easy I tend to let go. I think I have a plan to work on that, but I won't know until I try :)

My blog is having a minor change. It will still look the same, it's just getting a different name with it's own domain and few other changes on the back end. These changes aren't entirely my choice, but I feel it's the best decision for now.

I am so thankful God loves not just me, but all of us. I am so thankful that He is patient with us because I have been quite slow in learning the lessons He has for me. If you are going through hard times please know I am praying for you. I may not know your name or the specifics of your situation but He does.

Continued Ramblings

I was originally going to make this an all out Christmas post. I know, it's not even Halloween yet lol. This is definitely been the earliest I have been in the Christmas spirit. I was listening to Christmas music towards the end of July and into August. This morning on my way home I was listening to Way-FM as I always do. The host, Wally, was doing the normal routine and they do something called a blog report. This morning they gave previews of the new Christmas music coming out. They played Francesca Battistelli, Jeremy Camp, Group 1 Crew, and Steven Curtis Chapman. Y'all I am so excited about it all!! The songs they played were REALLY good and ever since I have just been in full force Christmas spirit. I'm not a big Halloween person. I mean I like dressing up and taking Maddy trick-or-treating and all, but the holiday itself I do not like. I have listened to Christmas music on Pandora all day today and I think it will be from here on out Christmas music in my house lol. I don't want to overload this post with thousands of songs I like during the Christmas season,  so I am only going to do a few now and then maybe start back the song of the week posts. There are so many artists and songs to choose from that this is going to be a bit hard for me. I guess I will start with one of my most favorite albums. It's Point of Grace...A Christmas Story. I also really love their second Christmas album they did.

This is called When Love Came Down. It's a REALLY great song.

The next song of choice is Amy Grant's Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. I love this song because it brings that Christmas feel. I envision sitting by the fire, hearing it crackle, sipping hot chocolate, and admiring the Christmas tree or just talking with family.

I will end with Bing Crosby, Santa Clause is Coming to Town. What can I say...I'm a sucker for the older Christmas songs lol. I mean Bing just screams Christmas!!!

I will most definitely be posting a weekly song post again because there are so many Christmas songs I want to share lol. I know you all probably don't care, but it's fun so I'm going with it!

Apart from my Christmas mood, I have had kind of a rough day. It wasn't 100% one of those days where everything I did was wrong, but in a way it felt like every turn I made I was getting a slap in the face. That devil is just never ending. I did receive a wonderful surprise today though. My mom offered to pick up anything I needed at the store today and bring to me. When she got here she came bearing gifts.

They are beautiful! The top one is Jesus Calling. It's a 365 day devotional and it's written as if Jesus Himself were talking to you. I have already read tonight's and it is JUST what I needed to hear. Having it written this way just seems so much more personal and I feel like Jesus is sitting right next to me saying the words to me. It's gonna be a great way to start the day or in some cases end the day. The second book is called My Daily. It's a devotional prayer book. I haven't looked at it yet, but it's kind of like Beth Moore's Praying God's Word.

I curled my hair yesterday for the first time in a long time. The curls had started to relax by this point because I changed shirts a few times and then my hair kept getting pulled on things. My hair hasn't been this long in forever. Here is the pic I took right after I finished curling:

The fact that my hair holds curls at all is amazing. I'm still loving my herstyler flat iron. I would never be able to do this with a curling iron.

We only have one more day until the weekend...THANK GOODNESS!!!! I think this is the last of my random ramblings. I hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Midweek Ramblings

I'm finally starting to get back to "normal" after preparing for Maddy's birthday and then having a little time after to try to get everything back in order. My house is still decorated in her decorations. I had every intention of taking them down this past weekend, but I'm having a hard time parting with them lol. My mom and I took a lot of time in placing everything just so. I'm also using them as reminders of how Maddy reacted and how she kept telling me over and over she liked her birthday. I am also wanting them to stay for Maddy's sake because she just loves it. I think I may have to take baby steps and start with the living room and take down the balloons and swirly decorations, then another week take down the birthday banner, and then last the huge wall decal. A lot of love went into planning her party. Ok, I'm done reminiscing lol.

Maddy starts her dance class at school on Friday. I am super excited for her and hope she really enjoys it. I found the facebook page of the company that is teaching it love that it is God centered. The name of the program is Angela's Angels and Athletes. It's not a traditional dance class, but it looks like Maddy will have lots of fun.

Teen Mom is really starting to come to a close now. I don't know a lot of people who watch it, but oh well.

My schedule is really starting to fill up fast. I feel like I barely have time to grab on to the chair to hold on before it just takes off. I am officially back in our church orchestra. We are having a Christmas program on December 2. We got our Christmas music last week. Our normal rehearsal time is 5:30-7. Some of us have to stay till 8 anyways because we have kids in Awana's, so we are having Christmas music rehearsal after our normal rehearsal. We have a Saturday practice on November 3 and then the dress rehearsal is December 1. We have crunch week the week of November 26. I love the end of the year because it's so close to Christmas. I started watching some Christmas movies this week on Netflix and really starting to feel that Christmas spirit. It will be fun decorating our home this year for Christmas. I will find ways to include Maddy in the decorating :)

I seem to have made 1:00 a.m. my new bed time throughout the week. Why I do this to myself I have yet to figure out.

I ordered me not one but TWO mom planners lol. One I can take with me wherever I go and the other hangs on the fridge. I also downloaded a free app called mom's planet or something like that. It will kinda do for now until my real ones get here. I really hope they help get me on track lol. I failed miserably as a friend. One of my friend's birthday is two days after Maddy's. I thought I had time the Saturday before to get him a card in the mail, but no. Can you believe I am JUST NOW getting the card in the mail??? I am hoping this little shout out on here will help make up for my losing my mind in Maddy's party :)

Apparently even dogs love Elmo lol. Never really noticed how much Manny blends in with the couch. Poor buddy needs to go to the vet :(

This video is how I am ending things tonight. I feel so attacked by the devil, but with Jesus' help I'm gonna fight another day :)