{Happy New Year}

So, tonight I sit all cozy in my favorite Barefoot Dreams blankie and sipping sweet tea. It's my one claim to being a wanna-bee-Southern-belle. I'm listening to the Acoustic version of Time after Time with Cyndi Lauper and Sarah MacLachlan and my pug Honey is sleeping next to me. Not quite the way I had intended on ringing in the New Year, but to be honest, it's a comforting way and keeps me close to home and hearth, no complaints there. So, I have skipped out on my invitation to the Fab Tina's(sorry, girlie!) and decided to hunker down at home and relax. My girls are hanging out watching tv and have kind of banished me to the livingroom. It's okay, I know I'm loved. Hee hee.

So, I decided to work on my resolutions for the New Year. I'm going to share them here. I hope everyone has an amazing New Year's Eve. May the New Year bring you happiness, joy, and love.

My New Year's Resolutions
1. Focus on my relationship with God and continue to foster an intimate and loving bond for my children with Him as well.

2. Continue losing weight and enjoying the new ways I find to excercise(hello, belly dancing class!)

3. Apply for school and start pursuing a nursing degree.

4. Let go and let God have control.

5. Be more organized.

6. Spend more time scrapbooking and following creative endeavors I love.

7. Become a Photoshop Pro.

8. Make a quilt(which entails going beyond just threading my machine).

9. Learn to play poker

10. Let my best friend know everyday how very much they mean to me and how amazing they are.

{Merry Christmas}

It's been a WONDERFUL Christmas this year and I'm so happy that my children were so happy with what they got. This was a very downsized Christmas from last year, but I felt like it had so much more meaning.

We did our traditional Christmas morning breakfast with Chocolate Chip Waffles(the recipe is from the Hillbilly Housewife website), scrambled eggs, and bacon. Normally, I add on fresh fruit and pastries, but with all the cookies, brownies, and truffles the kids are munching on already, we kept breakfast trimmed down a bit. This Mommy is a bit under the weather, so sleep has been a friend of mine, lol, and the kiddos have spent most of the day hanging out with their Dad.

The pictures above show some bits and pieces from our day. The holiday week has been amazing for us. It started on Saturday with a trip to the Toby Mac Winter Slam concert and has continued on with 2 fun birthday celebrations, exchanging gifts with friends and family, and just time together as a family enjoying one another.

I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas day! I plan on hitting the gym tomorrow, going walking with my daughter, and then a hiking trip with the family. Yes, I'm trying to do as much as possible to get rid of all the extra calories I took on during the break, lol.

Road Trip Adventure Tips

Have I shared yet that I'm the Mommy of 4 kids? Yes, 4 little joyous bundles of light, love, and sibling rivalry. We are making our annual trip home for the holidays and with a number of hours on the road I've been trying to think of everything I can to keep them busy and happy. So, here are a few of my tips.

1. Never leave home hungry, I make sure they eat before we leave or it's our first stop on the road. We travel with water bottles and snacks for along the way.

2. Don't forget at least one rest stop for the bathroom!

3. Ipods, MP3 players, and portable game players are charged up before we hit the road.

4. Everyone packs an activity bag before we leave which includes toys, games, books, etc.

5. Don't forget paper towels for messes and sweatshirts for when it gets cold. Oh, and pillows!

{Toby Mac's Winter Slam}

There are not mere words that can explain how awesome this concert was last night. Watching my girls smile and get caught up in the music was just awe inspiring. The message was so evident in the music and in the positive vibe of the crowd. It was such an amazing night and worth the 2 hour drive. We went out to dinner before the concert and it was fun to listen to the girls think back over past concerts and events they have attended. I don't think there was a moment of our outting yesterday that isn't just etched into my memory.

I can't even think of the words to explain how great these acts were. We heard B Reith, Stephanie Smith, Reliant K, and Toby Mac. I have now become such a big fan of Stephanie Smith. She sang a rendition of Silent Night that sent shivers down my spine. It was just awesome.

Overall, we had such a wonderful and enlightening experience. It was great and I'm so glad we went.

Listening to your child's heart

One of my goals this year was to listen to my children's hearts in a more intimate manner. It is so easy to dictate rules, chores, and expectations to your child, but harder I think at times to know them. My daughters are going to be 11 and 9 respectively and their personalities are so very apparent. I want to know their dreams and goals for today and their futures. I want to know their hearts intimately. One of my favorite things to tell them is I hope that when they are adults they will count me as one of their best friends.

So, my oldest daughter and I took our first road trip last weekend and it was amazing. I highly suggest getting away with your kids on a one-on-one basis if you can. It was so fun to talk with her and listen to the things that excite her. She came up with this amazing plan to raise $100 for a homeless shelter in our area and she had me in tears. I'm so proud of her heart and amazing spirit.

Tomorrow my daughters and I are off to attend the Toby Mac Winter Slam and I'm so excited. It's a birthday present for my youngest daughter, Miss Bear and she doesn't even know about it yet. I'm so looking forward to the message the concert will have for us and the time I get to spend worshipping in the car with the girls on the way there and listening to their hearts.

You can find time to listen to your child's heart in so many ways. A favorite of mine is to pop in a Veggie Tales CD while driving and sing in worship with the kids. We also pray on the way to school in the morning and each of the kids takes turns. Each prayer from each of my children is so different and unique. It's like getting a glimpse straight into their heart.

It's late and I am trying to get a post a day done, so I cheated and did this the night before. I will blog about the concert on Sunday. I hope everyone has an amazing day!

{An Introduction of Sorts}

Well, this is a hard post to write and perhaps a little raw as well, but I felt like I needed to be honest in introducing what this blog is about. Let me first start by saying that I am no stranger to blogging and have been a blogger for a number of years now. I started in the blogging world by sharing about my crafting, then sharing our homeschooling journey, and homemaking ideas. The last six months of my life have been quite a roller coaster ride and everything I thought the world was and would be has changed immensely. In those changes I have come to know more about myself and grow in amazing ways. I've also learned to fall into my faith and back into His arms that hold me so close.

The last six months have been quite a journey for me as a woman, wife, mother, daughter, friend, and sister. As my marriage has come to an end I've found a strength that I didn't know I had. As a woman I began to see how broken I had become. How I viewed myself was so skewed and I didn't believe that there was a whole lot of good things about me anymore. Then I began reaching out to my friends and they became my lifeline. I can't begin to explain how many nights I spent pouring out my heart to my cousins or girlfriends on the phone. I started to hear a message. I wasn't alone. The fears and insecurities that I carried were almost universal amongst these amazing women who sat with me for hours listening to me on the phone or at Starbucks. I came away believing and relearning how amazing these women were and just shocked that they even began to think that they weren't just wonderful. I came to see how I wasn't alone at all.

So, I came up with the idea to help create a safe haven for these women just like I need. It's still very much in its beginning stages, but as time goes on I am so excited to share more here in this blog. I also want to share my own journey, because it's going to be quite a year of change for myself in 2010.

One of the first steps I am taking involves the fact that I found a lump in my breast. I have a mammography scheduled and I won't be getting any results back until the beginning of January. My best friend told me that something like this, no matter how serious it turns out to be, changes how you view life. I truly believe that. I can already say that I have begun to view things a lot differently. It's a lot easier to let go of the petty things.

So, here is the little introduction. I'm sitting here about to knock out due to cold meds and listening to Kari Jobe on my laptop. I just have a heart full of blessings tonight. I hope everyone has a wonderful night. I'm up early to hit some Old Navy deals!