Kicking the Habit

Well I have decided to get a jump start on one of my new year's resolutions. I am determind to kick my mt. dew/caffeine addiction. I just know that its not good for my body and therefore I want to stop consuming it! I am two days into my recovery.

Anybody got a valium? Xanax?? Anything?!?!?!

Just kidding.

Sort of.

Yesterday I ended up with a terrible headache and today I am just flat out exhausted. I had so much planned to accomplish tonight and it looks like I'm going to get none of it done, lol.

Here's to recovery!

AAAHHHHHHHHHHH

I've taken this moment to step away, breathe, collect myself, and prepare to get back to work. So pardon me while I momentarily freak out...



*AAAAAAHHHHHHHH* *RAAAAWWWRRRRR* *GRRRRRRRRRR*



Okay. Much better.



Its just this crazy time of year. I love every minute of it even if it does make me a little crazy. I devoted the entire day today to Christmas shopping, hoping that I could complete it all. Boy were those lofty hopes, LOL. I spent the entire day on my feet in Lexington and the three people that I went to Lexington to shop for, I bought nothing for! I'm just not very original, I'm a person who needs specifics. *sigh* But I did get some others marked off my list, so I'm happy. I also had a marvelous lunch and some fun shopping with Haley, she came down to Lex from Georgetown to meet me for a while.



As for the moment, this is what I am buried in:

Tonight I have to finish the Christmas cards I volunteered to make for the gift baskets the church is giving out tomorrow night when we go caroling. They're the burgundy ones with the gold christmas trees on them. I also REALLY need to get my butt into serious gear to finish my personal Christmas cards and get them in the mail. *doh* And throw in there somewhere finishing the last of my shopping.

Can somebody get me a valium?

Kidding, kidding! Sort of.

;-) Here's to wonderful holiday madness!!

I <3 Gatlinburg!!!

Every year since 2004, the Jones family has taken a family trip to stay in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains for Christmas. It has seriously become one of the highlights of the year! We always have so much fun, see beautiful sights, eat like pigs, act like dorks, relax like slobs and love each other's company!! ^_^ I'm usually a picture taking freak on these trips, but for some reason I just wasn't this year. I did catch some good stuff, tho!!

I am hoping that this kid's *serious* adorable-ness is distracting you from the strange distortion of my face....wait now I told....dangit!

We love getting in an outdoor hottub when its 30 degrees outside! Its a tradition!

Movie time snacks!!! Yay!!!

I know...we're adorable. ^_^

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas!!!

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!! WOOO HOOOOO!!!! I love everything about it, the music, the decorations, the gift buying and wrapping and giving!! It truly is a magical time of year. I do realize one important thing about myself this year. For my family (which currently consists of Keith and I LOL) I want to make sure that the true meaning of Christmas--Jesus' Birth--is the center of our holiday. I don't want that to ever get buried under the glow and magic of the season!

I've started my Christmas shopping, but I'm not done yet. But hey, I've done better than I usually have by this time of year!

Hopefully soon I'll be posting some pics of our family trip we took last weekend to Gatlinburg, fun stuff!!!

Poor, dried up and shriveled, neglected blog...

Don't you just *love* it when life steps in the way of all the fun stuff you wanna do?? LOL My poor little excuse of a blog has been so neglected and dejected. Courtney, you've inspired me to get in touch with it again......more to come!!

She's growing up!

Me and the sister, lol.

Haley and "Jimmy" aka, Secret Asian Man, LOL.

Linel, Bailee, Haley. Pals of several years.
My baby sister graduated high school last Friday night, with the grace and beauty of woman. It was kinda weird, seeing her all grown up! I wish her all the best as she blazes her own trail through life.

Lord, I need patience. Amen.

Well Keith tore out the old shower in the house so that we could replace it with the new one. Only it turns out that there is significant moisture damage to the floor. AAAHHHHHH!!!! So the bathroom project is growing, and my patience is waning, LOL. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that we have to be out of our apartment by April 30. This means all our stuff is moving to the house, and we are going to be going to my inlaws to stay until the bathroom is finished. I don't mind staying with my inlaws at all, I love them to death, but its not very convenient for our everyday routine, LOL. Anyway, here are some pictures of what my bathroom looks like at the moment. Heaven help me, lol.

WOO HOOOOOO

WE ARE NOW OFFICIALLY HOMEOWNERS!!!! Praise the Lord we finally closed on our house today at 2pm!!! It doesn't even seem real yet, I don't think!! More updates and hopefully pictures to come later....God Bless!

House Update again

Today is Monday, and we still haven't closed. *sigh* The selling realtor still hadn't taken care of the termite treatment like they were supposed to do. (The house had some live termites in the landscaping timbers that had to be treated, but we're going to take out all those timbers once we close.) So now we're just waiting once again for yet another closing date. It should be this week. At least it better be, LOL.

House Update!!!

Isn't it funny how in the middle of victory and answered prayers how quickly we can become discouraged? We were originally set to close on our house on April 8th. Man we were excited, gung-ho, ready! As it turned out, our loan wasn't quite ready yet. Our mortgage broker was working on getting us a "Welcome Home" grant from the government that would be a down payment on our house. Even when we should have viewed that as the blessing from God that it was, we instantly became frustrated and discouraged. (And when I say "we" I mean mostly "me" LOL, Keith is not so quick to emotional outbursts as me.) We didn't know how long it would take the grant money to come in, and we had already turned in our 30 day notice here on the apartment. Now I am so happy to say that the money has come in, and we are set to close on our very first home on Monday, April 14!! God is so good to us. We are so thankful for this home that He has given us and for blessing us with this government grant as a down payment on it. Now the stressful part begins---packing and moving!!!! ;)

Card making!

I've been trying to make some actual cards with all of my new Stampin' Up! goodies my WONDERFUL hubby let me buy!


For the card above, I used the One of a Kind stamp set, with the Boho Blossoms punch, chocolate chip ink and Pretty in Pink ink. The big flower is actually three layers, and has a very dimensional feel to is. The patterned paper is DCWV and the brown ribbon is from Offray.

My inspiration was sadly lacking so I went to Splitcoaststampers to try and find some. I found this beautiful card: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/858203 and decided to case it. I used the SAB set Friendship Blooms, with Chocolate Chip ink. I used my SU watercolor pencils and blender pen to color in the flowers. The striped patterned paper is DCWV, and the pink paper with white dots I made using a Sassafrass Lass stitched border stamp and Whisper White ink.

It felt good to get a little creative again, even if I did borrow some ideas, lol. Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

Life is crazy, but God is good

I've been negligent of my blog, as Ashley informed me, LOL. These past couple of weeks have just been kind of crazy! The weekend of of the 8th, we had our biggest snow of the season, go figure. We ended up stuck at my inlaws for the night. While we were there, Keith decided to browse houses online. He happened to stumble upon one that seemed to be exactly what we were looking for. An older home that was well-taken care of and updated with a huge yard, and what we *thought* was an affordable price for us right now. We called a realtor we know, and he had Keith do some mortgage pre-approval work. It turned out that what would be our monthly payment on that house was going to be too much for us. We were so bummed. We started getting really discouraged and it began to look like we were just going to have to put house-hunting on hold for several more months. Then a few days later, Keith found another house online, right across the road from the other one! It was the same type house, just with a smaller yard and a much more affordable price. We met with the realtor so we could get in the house and look around. It has an awesome, updated kitchen, spacious living room, good sized bathroom, and three small but do-able bedrooms. Just needs a tad cosmetic work. Within one week we saw the house, bid on the house, had our bid accepted, and now we have plans on Monday for an inspection. If the inspection goes well, we will close on the house April 8 and be moved in by the beginning of May!!! How's that for crazy?!? And just when we were getting so discouraged and doubtful, God came along with this HUGE blessing for us. We prayed that if God really wanted us to have this house, that He would allow our bid to be accepted and it was. Now we're praying that if God still wants us to have this house, that the inspection will go fine. Its exciting, scary, wonderful all in one! God is so good, even when our faith wavers.

Losing Wisdom......Teeth that is!

Well I went under the knife Friday morning and finally had my wisdom teeth cut out. I was absolutely terrified!!! Keith and his mom were both with me. They let Keith stay in the room while they hooked me up to laughing gas and gave me an IV, but then they asked him to leave. All I remember is the doctor telling me I was going to be feeling goooood and then zzzzzzzz. Next thing I know they were helping me stagger out of the building LOL. I would say the numbness in my tongue, bottom lip, and jaw when I got home coupled with keeping gauze crammed in my mouth to stop the bleeding for 3 hours was the worst part. Once I was finally able to take some pain pills I zonked out for a few hours! I woke up feeling good enough to eat some applesauce and mashed potatoes, took another dose of pain meds and zonked out again for a few more hours. Such has been my routine for the past 30 hours. I am weaning myself down on the pain meds now, which is good b/c I was tired of feeling so loopy and sleepy. And itchy, too. But now my left jaw is really starting to swell and feel uncomfortable. It doesn't really hurt, just doesn't feel good. Anyway, I have to praise the Lord for taking care of me, I couldn't have asked for things to go better, really. I've not been in any pain, so that has been a blessing. And I have to thank my sweet hubby for taking such good care of me! That's all for now!

"The Judgement"

I only wish I could figure out a way to actually add the song on here so you could listen to it, but I don't know how, LOL. This song is so powerful to listen to, it really makes you think about what it will be like one day.

"The Judgement"

All is still, Heaven is silent
As the Mighty Judge ascends the throne
The Book of Life is opened
As countless souls begin to mourn
From the throne, comes a voice like thunder
"Depart, I know ye not,
For the names written in this Book
Are the very souls, My blood has bought."
Faces turn, as into the courtroom
Comes the very seed of sin.
He who was the saints' accuser
Must faces the charges, against him.
With the fury of all the ages
That demon voice begins to cry,
"Its not fair, I almost had you,
On Golgotha, I watched you die."
Then Satan begins to tremble
As his fate, to him was known
From the throne comes the verdict
The lake of fire will be your home!
And I see every knee is bowing
Every hand in honor is raised
Every voice to Him is lifted
"Thou Art Worthy, The Lamb Be Praised"
Angels standing at attention
As the redeemed begin to sing
Heavens courts resound their anthem
You are our Savior, Lord and King
Heavens courts resound their anthem
You are our Savior, Lord and King
Thou art worthy
Thou art worty
The Lamb be praised!

Little Updating

Woopsy! I've kind of been neglecting my blog lately! Well I thought I'd update with a few scrapping goodies I've created lately. I have finally jumped in on Patter's Scripture Challenge (you can find it on Scrapjazz), but I'm 6 weeks late! LOL So I'm just trying to catch up. I got weeks 1-4 completed. The words for those weeks were: Faith, Kindness, Beauty and Wait. It was a blessing to search for these words in the Bible and to study them.
FAITH: "...for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." Matthew 17:20. "...for we walk by faith, not by sight." II Corinthians 5:7
KINDNESS: "And by ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32 (Show the love of Christ through kindness!)
BEAUTY: "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that I will seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple." Psalm 27:4
WAIT: "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalm 27:14 "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." Psalm 37:7

We shall reap what we sow..

So far this has been a pretty good week. Nothing overly exciting, but not boring, either, LOL. Monday evening, my sister-in-law, her husband and their two kids came over for dinner, and we FINALLY got to have our Christmas with McKenna (3 yo) and Adam (1 yo). We still hadn't yet, because the day that the family all had Christmas together, Keith had a stomach virus, and we just hadn't had the opportunity to make up for it since. So that was fun. It was so cute to see little Adam opening his gift because he would gasp in excitement, LOL.
Tuesday evening, Keith went visiting with Bro. Davis, and I went with Natasha (This picture is the yearly Christmas Parade picture of Natasha and I, aren't we cute? hee hee Gosh that's a lot of teeth in one picture.). We have really enjoyed Tuesday visitation with them so far. Its a good opportunity for us to spend time together, and we're also doing something for Jesus at the same time! Afterwards, we ate at the Mexican restaurant for dinner, and just had a silly time. God truly blesses our efforts. Bro. Davis was just saying at dinner Tuesday evening that sometimes it seems like we visit and visit and visit, and nobody ever comes to church from those visits. But last night, a lady and her children that Keith and Bro. Davis visited came! AND SHE'S A VERY GOOD PIANO PLAYER, lol, and if you knew how desperately our church needed one right now, you would understand my excitement!! So we're hoping God will answer our prayer through her and her family! And also, another lady visited the church last night as the result of Thursday night soulwinning. It was such a blessing. Just last night in my Bible reading I read this precious promise:
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: fo rwhatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." Galatians 6:7-10
When I get weary in the work, I can hold to that blessed promise, that if I faint not, I will one day receive my reward in Hea
ven! Thank you, Jesus!

Artist Trading Card & Thought for the Day

I feel like I have been sickeningly lazy today! But I have washed a couple of blankets, paid some bills, yada yada. I have also been working on my Artist Trading Cards for a swap I am in. These little guys are so tedious! We had to use a Dr. Seuss quote on them, so I used: "Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you!" Anyway, gluing all of the words on it has been the most tedious and annoying part. But in the end I think they're pretty stinkin' cute! Unfortunately the picture is pretty dark because I am camera challenged, but its a pretty mixture of pinks and greens.

The thought for today: "God honors the faith of His people because the faith of His people honors God." -- Dr. Jon M. Jenkins

Blogging Challenged

Okay, I am definitely blogging-challenged! And I don't even know who would read my blog, except maybe Ashley! But at least it will be something for me to do when I am bored. Maybe I can post my scrap work...should I ever get around to accomplishing any! :-P