Valentine Decorations

Tomorrow is VALENTINES DAY



Tomorrow is Valentines Day.  We are keeping it simple and having dinner at home.  I am making sweet and sour chicken for dinner, and warm brownies with vanilla yogurt ice cream on top.  We are going to grate different candy bars on top as a topping.   My husband is coming to my office and having lunch with me on Monday. 

Tonight my son has to decorate a shoebox for his Valentine's box.  Boys are so funny, he does not care what it looks like, what he puts on it, he just wants to get it over with.

Something I really like that the schools do now days is not write names on the cards.  That way every child gets a card and no one gets one that the is better than the other.  They keep everything equal.  Kaleb chose to purchase cards that were created by terminally ill children.  A portion of the money you pay for the cards goes to the children.  It is refreshing to know that my son has a big heart and likes to help others.  We are going to the store to get candy to add in the envelopes.  We also need to get a sweet treat for his teacher.

I will post some pictures of the above soon.

I love this kid

He is so cute.  He kept his 3D glasses from a movie we watched, and he punched the lenses out and made some vintage glasses.  He wears them around the house and looks so cute.  I looooovvveee him. 

Can you tell I love the Picasa photo editor... hehe



Beauty and the Nan

Today while sitting in the car when my husband was renting a movie from the Red Box, I read Melanie Chitwood's blog.  The entry that caught my attention was titled "Do You Think I'm Beautiful?" It talks about how as we grow older we tend to struggle with insecurity, low self-esteem or low self-worth.  I can say I am guilty of that at times.  In the entry Melanie talks about little girls and how they dress up when they are younger and how beautiful it makes them feel.  She asks the question "Do you remember moments like that?"  That question is what made me want to write this.  I instantly thought of my grandmother, Nanny.  I remembered dressing up in Nanny's clothes, putting on her makeup and jewelry.  I always admired my Nanny  and wanted to be just like her.  She was so stylish and beautiful.  She always wore such beautiful colorful clothes, stylish heels and beautiful perfume.  My grandfather, Poppy, had to add a room on to their home for Nanny to use as a closet.  She would wake up early every morning, make coffee, and get ready for work.  She would even squeeze in a few phone calls to family in the morning.  When I would wake up she would already be ready and I could smell all of the beautiful things that she used, hair products, makeup, powders, and perfume.  I can smell it now just thinking about it.  Nanny always seemed so confident and I never heard her complain or stress about her looks.  When Nanny would leave for work I would sneak a spray of her perfume, put on some earrings and just look at myself in the mirror.  I would sit tall and proud in her chair at her vanity.  That area of the bathroom was like a candy store to me. Poppy built a vanity that ran along the back wall of the bathroom.  It had wood legs and a tile top.  It had shelves on each side and jewelry storage areas.  She kept all of her face creams, makeup and perfumes in the side storage areas.  It had lots of big lights that ran across the top.  I remember standing on top of the vanity and above the lights she had really nice jewelry stored.  The stuff she did not wear everyday.  She had drawers below that had rollers and irons for styling hair.  Underneath she always had this red travel makeup box for when she went to the lake house on the weekends.  Her slippers were always tucked under that vanity waiting for her to slip off her heels after work and slip them on.  In the wall next to the vanity was a cabinet that contained all of her hair products, lotions and various beauty products.  Growing up the color of the bathroom changed colors many times.  Nanny and Poppy would spend weekends at their lake house.  A lot of the time I would join them.  When I was a young girl and I didn't go with them I would stay home and play dress up, school teacher, dolls.  I would dress up in Nanny's clothes and makeup.  I felt like I looked just like her.  I felt so beautiful.  I miss that house and I miss her. 

Below I copied Melanie Chitwood's entry that I read today as well as a link to her blog.  Her blog has really good information and inspiration for married couples. 


http://www.melaniechitwood.com/search?updated-max=2011-01-23T09%3A27%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=3

Do You Think I'm Beautiful?


Hi friends! Thank you for stopping by and for joining me after reading my Encouragement for Today devotion running today with Proverbs 31 Ministries free online devotions.

I found some photos of adorable little girls, as in my devotion I recall a time when I felt beautiful as a little girl. Do you remember a moment like that? Maybe dressing up in your princess outfit or mom's high heels. Maybe sneaking in to mom's make up and paining your lips imperfectly with lipstick? Maybe, like me, your first pair of grown-up boots that made you prance.

Maybe you want to find a picture of yourself as a little girl and display it somewhere you see it frequently. Remember that pretty, little girl, and be reminded today that you are now a beautiful lady.

It seems to me as we grow older we women struggle with insecurity, low self-esteem or low self-worth more than men. Why do we women tend to think we're not pretty enough, smart enough, doing enough...just not enough? Why do we compare ourselves to other women and think they're doing a better job than we are at everything?

I think there's one big reason: the stinky, enemy of our souls is looking to rob of us our joy and our purpose. God's Word tells us in John 10:10, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

I'm including some other great verses here to post somewhere in your house, maybe several places, and to memorize one, so when the thief tries to steal your joy and life, you use God's truth as your weapon.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (NLT)

Psalm 45:11, “The king is enthralled by your beauty…”(NIV)

Zephaniah 3:17, “The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (NIV)

Psalm 149:4, “For the LORD delights in his people…” (NLT)

Psalm 139, 13, 14, “For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works and my soul knows it very well.

Isaiah 49:16, “See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.” (NLT)

Ephesians 1:4, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.” (NLT)

1 John 3:1, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are…” (NAS)

Deuteronomy 7:7, “The LORD did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!Rather, it was simply that the LORD loves you…”(NLT)

Today I challenge you to believe what the Lover of your Soul says about you. Choose to believe what Jesus alone says about you.

And maybe you want to put on your favorite boots or heels, turn up the music, and dance!

Thanks to Picasa

I was able to create this collage.

My son

I love him so much.  He is growing so fast.  At this moment he is 9 years old.  He still loves to snuggle on the couch with me, watch a movie, laugh, play games.  It is amazing to just listen to him talk.  Time goes by so fast....  I need to really really take every moment in.  I get sad just thinking about how much time has passed.  I need to be better at taking photos so I have things to look back on.  

Our wedding and Picasa

While messing around on my laptop today, and staying warm during our winter storm, I stumbled across Picasa. Picasa is a photo editor that Google created.  It can add tons of neat little tweaks to pictures.  I love it!

The above picture is from our wedding day.  I am so blessed to be married to such an amazing Christ-like man.  When people say "marriage is hard work," that is no lie.  When you endure hard work with your best friend, everything becomes easy. 

AT&T Don't Text While Driving Documentary

I was reading a blog and I noticed this video. The girl in the blog mentioned that she was guilty of texting and driving and after viewing this video, she hoped to stop.  This video is really scary and very real.

Great Halloween Pics 2010 (from camera phone)

I was going through my phone today and found these great pictures from Halloween.  My son wanted to be something really scary this year, and settled for a crazy clown mask.  He wore all black and had a hug knife to complete the costume.  He made plans to trick or treat with some friends.  When we left to go meet them, I made him leave the knife at home as I thought it might just be a tad much.  I felt like his costume might be a little too grown up and a little too scary.  When we arrived at his friend’s house, to my surprise, his friends costume was way scarier than his.  It made me feel a little better.  We had such a great time that night.  He got so much candy.  I think we still have some…. Ekkkkkk, I need to get rid of it if we do.

 

 

 

 

Go Green

Last Sunday we went to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese for my cousin’s daughter.  I have not been to there in soooo long, and I don’t miss it.  I even had a bag of tokens for my son to use from when he was 4 or 5 years old.  He is now 9.   Who keeps tokens that long?? I was surprised they still worked.  My son and husband had to have the green glasses in the picture.  They are so cute.

UP IN THE AIR

 

A few weeks ago my son went to a birthday party where they had gravity ropes that yourself to these poles that run along the ropes to catch you if you fall.  You then  walk  along the ropes high in the air.  My son did it! I was so proud of him.  He challenges himself and seems not to give in to fear to easy.  Somethings still freak him out, but this didn’t.  I was so proud of him!

It is true what they say about Texas – Wait a minute and the weather will change

Last weekend we were in the 70s. This week we had a sleet/ice storm and had temperatures in the single digits. I cannot remember having temperatures this low, ever. The city has been closed down for most of the week. The schools in North Texas have been closed for four days. That is unheard of! My son spent one of his snow days at home and the other three at his dad’s house. It was nice staying in with my son, we played a card game that I grew up playing called Slap-Jacks. I had to work on Wednesday and Thursday and did not feel safe driving with him in the car. It snowed 5 inches last night. The cars, streets, and highways were covered in white. Today I attempted to drive to work, as we have discovery that needs to get out due to a deadline, and I got a call from the office letting me know they decided to close. They had originally planned to open the office at 11 a.m., but everyone called in. I turned around and headed home (can you say dedication…hehe).


I called my son to see what he thought about the snow. When he answered I said “so, what happened last night?” His response was “oh, the Miami Heat/Orlando game?” He is so funny, he eats, sleeps and breathes basketball. He goes to the gym every day after school and practices with his dad or grandma. He also practices with his team twice and week and typically has a game once a week. That is some dedication and serious basketball. I need to learn from that and workout myself.

While everything in the city is closed due to the storm, I managed to find a Starbucks near our apartment which was open. I when home, picked up my husband and headed to get a Chi Tea Latte (and oatmeal and a biscotti). After Starbucks, I headed home and decided to do some blogging. I changed out of my jeans and rain boots, got a warm blanket, grabbed my laptop and planted myself on the couch. Feels good! I do have to work tomorrow, Saturday. I will worry about that tomorrow and enjoy being lazy today.