You Gotta Love Her!

This is the conversation that me and my 6 year old had on the way to dance class this evening!

Anna - Hey momma.

Me - Yeah babe!

Anna - I am so glad I was born!

Me - Oh, me too! Life would not be near as much fun without you! Don't you just love life?

Anna - Yes ma'am

Me - There's not anything you would change?

Anna - No ma'am.........well, if I were God, I would deffinately kill all of the bad guys and it would be like heaven where no one is sad and everyone gets along!

Me - Wow! That sounds pretty serious! Don't you think that you......

Anna - ......and when I become the queen, I can marry _______ (name withheld to protect the innocent) and he can help me rule my kingdom!

Me - Yeah babe! I am so glad you were born!

Bible Studies

Hey friends! I just wanted to throw this out there to see what the responses were. I am looking for a Bible study and hoping that you can help. It seems that so many of the studies I have bought are very "surfacy." By that I mean that the questions that are asked are not very thought provoking or should I say have a lack of depth. PLEASE don't get me wrong! I know there are new Christians out there who need some of the basics laid out for them, and there are not so new Christians who benefit from these as well...these types of studies are necessary, and it depends on where you are in your life at that moment! Also, I am not by any means suggesting that I am "above" those types of studies. I know God can use anything to speak to me.(Even a blog post gone awry!) I guess what I am saying is that studies I have done in the past have not met me where I am and I have felt like I was going through the motions of a study that was not really challenging me to grow in His Word.
Gosh, as I type this I feel like I am digging myself a bigger and bigger hole. Those who truly know and love me know where my heart is on this. I am not judging nor proclaiming greatness. Oh well, my point is that I would love to hear from you about some studies you have enjoyed. What is surface for some may be deep for others and vice versa so I would like your input. I LOVE Beth Moore's studies, but aren't hers more geared towards group settings as opposed to quiet time? I love you all and hope you know my heart! I can't wait to hear about what studies God is using to speak to you!

Not a Domestic Diva

***UPDATE***
Thank you to my domestic diva friends. Although I was hoping to get a tip on a miracle cleaner, you provided music to my ears when you told me to buy new ones! After all, if all of you ladies whom I admire would go buy new ones....gosh darn it I too will buy new ones!

Let me begin by saying that just because I am not a domestic diva does NOT mean that my houshold is in chaos or that it is a pigsty. What it DOES mean is that I am not one who knows all of the little shortcuts and neat ideas about how to get things done in a cheap, quick, or fun(yes I said fun) manner. I do, however, know that I have some blog world friends who fit the bill. I need your help...not your judgement:):):)


OK, now that I have gotten the important stuff out of the way...HELP! OH PLEASE HELP! I decided that I was going to do some cleaning in my kitchen that does not normally get done. Such as under and around my fridge, washer/dryer and stove. Again, we are not talking pigsty here, I just don't consider these things daily clean up spots. Well, I decided to take my burners apart to really get a good cleaning on my range top and HOLY COW. Now, keep in mind that you have continued reading which means that you have silently agreed not to judge...right? Ok here we go...

Not too bad, right? my stove top is clean and shiny!

Now, this is what was revealed when I unplugged my burners and took them off.

This is the worst one A.K.A the one I use the most!

OK, so now that I have exposed my domestic downfalls to you, let me tell you one more thing...these pictures were taken after they had been soaking in the sink for 2 hours, scrubbed with soft scrub, and scrubbed again with another cleaner. Are you still with me? Good, because this is where your help kicks in. I know it would be easy to say "oh, Leslie, just go buy some new ones." But I know you will not tell me that because, as I mentioned above, you are domestic divas and part of that involves saving money. So for dinner tonight, I am going to call in for pizza (since I am not the expert on saving money here) and wait for you nuggets of wisdom. I appreciate you!

Just Scrap It

Hey all! I rarely know what to post about at any given moment because I am never at the computer when I think of something to write, and when I am at the computer, I draw a blank. Well, the other day I was commenting on a friend's blog over at Cardiff Central and as I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote, I realized that I should just blog about it myself instead of leaving the longest comment known to man. The issue of scrapbooking came up. There is always worry about where to start and how to know what "book" to make first and feeling like it will never all come together. Well, here is how I make it fun and not just bearable.

I used to feel like it was such a daunting task to scrap all of the pictures that I take, but I have come up with a solution that has changed my scrapping world!

First, I decide what brand of pages and books I want to ultimately use, whether it is creative memories, or others that you can get at Target, or Michael's. Once I decide what brand I will use, I buy a bunch of pages and page protectors and don't even worry about buying a book yet. Then, I just scrap things as they come to me. I do not let myself get wrapped up in a theme, or the idea that I have to create a whole book at a time. The end result is that I have scrapped all of my pictures, and they are no longer stacked up to the moon and back, and when I feel like I want to, I can organize the pages into the book of my choosing.

For example, we went to Sea World, Anna Started School, and Anna had a birthday all in one month's time. Well, instead of feeling like I had to make a book about Sea World, a book about her first day at Kindergarten (sniff, sniff) and a book about her birthday, I just scrapped each event and down the road I can put them together into books. I will not have a whole book for her first day of school, but down the road I will have enough pages for a book of ALL her first days of school. I will not have enough pictures to do a whole Sea World book, but we go every summer and one day I will have enough pages to make a Sea World book over the course of several years. Then it does not seem so daunting because you have been making pages as you go, and you just go buy the book and fit all of your pages in. Clear as mud?

Last but not least, I want to address all of the pictures we have that are PRICELESS, but do not fit into any category, they are just fun. Well, I mixed several ideas I have heard of and came up with a solution that works for me. Just as I mentioned above, I decided what pages and book I wanted to use, and then gathered up all of my random pictures. Then, I went to my husband and asked him to make a list of his favorite scriptures, then I went to Anna and asked her the same thing (yes she has favorite scriptures at age 6! Thank you AWANA) Then I made a list of my favorite scriptures, and my FAITH BOOK was born. Each page has a scripture written out and the initials of the person whose favorite it is. Then, you just add any random family fun picture, and it does not have to "match" the scripture. It has been so fun making this book, and the greatest thing is that as we continue our walk with the Lord, we will add scriptures that He has laid on our hearts, and add pictures as we go.

Oh, and as far as embellishments go, I think, personally, that less is more. As you can see in my pictures, I don't spend all my scrapping energy on the major embellishments. I want it to be about my pictures more than anything. The cool thing about scrapping is that you can make it as plain or as busy as you want.

Also, as far as journaling goes...I am so bad at journaling(surprise, surprise) I use books, and scriptures to journal with. Stealing ideas is the best form of flattery, right?

This may have just sounded like a big dumping of thoughts, but I hope it makes sense. Srapbooking should not be frustrating! Make it fun! The minute it gets frustrating, put it away for a while. Anyhoo, that is all I have for now. Remember to pray for my dear friend at Cardiff Central as she and her family await the arrival of their 3rd baby girl! Sooner than later, right?Happy scrapping!

Here are 3 pictures of my Faith Book. As you can tell, I have put in the verses and made the page layout but have not added my pictures yet. Why? Because there is no hurry:)

Here are a few pictures of a book I made for Anna. I had her first 2 years in photos, but no real theme, so for her 2nd birthday, I just stuck them all together, and the Journaling? I used Max Lucado's book "Just In Case You Ever Wonder" and it is a story book that she reads to this day!

And here are some of my random pages. We did some traveling before we had Anna and we do not have enough pictures from one trip to make a whole book, so here are my scattered pages, that I will probably put into one big travel book one day. You will notice my lack of big embellishments. Just paper!

Isn't She Lovely?

Do you like her? I have been inspired by several of my bloggy friends to update the look of my blog. I decided that maybe a facelift for my Blog might inspire me to post more often, and look....it must be working because I am posting! Truly amazing! Really the last few months have been quite a bit of a blur for me, but in the best way possible. It included visits from friends, Anna's play, work activities, family getogethers, illness, Dr. visits, Thanksgiving festivities, Christmas chaos, trip to Alabama, visit from family in Colorado, and now...back to work on Monday! I know that I can never say that life has been too busy to keep up with posting, becasue I know that a large number of you stay as busy if not busier than us and do a fine job keeping up with your blogging. We all have our busy lives and try to fit everything in.
I have to say that I am looking forward to this New Year with the precious family God has blessed me with. Please know that we wish all of you best wishes in this upcoming year and hope that you are richly blessed.
I will porobably be posting a bunch of pictures here pretty soon, but bear with me as I think of things to share. Love you all and Happy New Year!