some valentines thoughts~

i know many of you are familiar with gina's story

i was heartbroken to hear what she was going through...

i grabbed several of these from her shop

to use for valentines

bittersweet...beautiful dishes that will be a reminder to pray for young precious young mama

& her family

{the image used is actually from another website as i wanted to show you the entire setting of which she has since sold out of }

my girls all wants some Toms

please tell me you've heard their story

their shoes are 44bucks

they don't look like 44 buck shoes do they?

well that's because for every pair you buy

they send a pair to a child in need

good grief....no brainer

now get goin & purchase some too!

i am hoping love to make these for a few valentines in my life

her entire blog is dreamy , by the way

some william sonoma
yumminess

i would reeeeeeallllly reallly like this

don't you think dan would love one of these for his office
with the infamous foot pop of course!









hoping to snatch up this baby
very very soon....







grabbed this precious little pad for my little one

are these adorable or what?

i plan to fill these out individually for each of my girls

& have them tied to their red gingham napkins on

our valentines table

boden cuteness


i would also love to give a shout out to Sarah at jewelry art designs.


sarah sent me this gorgeous pendant a few weeks ago. honestly the image doesn't do this peice justice. its gorgeous!! her website is user friendly, customer service is fabulous, & the shipping is crazy fast.

she carries many lovely items,
especially the earrings!
go check her out & thank you again sarah!
i think my girls all are dying to borrow this piece!!
thankyou thankyou thankyou!!!!

shelter

this one might get a little wordy

so~

congratulations Kristin from Twinkle Life

once you hand over your secret family recipe for lobster ravioli (oh my)

i'll gladly get you connected with the CSN rep for your Caphalon dish

& congratulations!

I've tried to spend the last several weeks,

while enjoying the comforts of my new comfy sofa & chairs

( i know, enough already with the new furniture)

mulling over my word for 2010

the theme, if you will of my focus

i've had several words keep surfacing

& this morning feel like it sorta came together for me

each of the words that my heart keeps going back to

are all related to my home

the shelter i provide for my family

Webster's defines shelter as

1. a refuge from the elements
2. the protection from a storm
3. a shield
4. a place under a covering
5. to take under one's protection

most of us in this niche of blogging all share a kindred spirit
when it comes to our homes

we love the inspiration of others as we decorate
to slip cover or reupholster?
chippy paint or a natural finish?
cottage or contemporary?
organized clutter or decided minimalism?
grey paint or a chalkboard wall?

we copy & paste each others scrumptious recipes
with the desire to cook a healthy wonderful meal for our loved ones
we each try to balance the demands of our schedule with the desires of hearts
we hug,wipe away tears, pick up dirty underwear, & send little ones off to conquer their world

all done from our shelters



i'll be the first to admit

its much easier for me to straighten the pillows on my sofa
than to straighten up my grumbly spirit
its easier to keep a sparkling clean kitchen than clean up a critical mouth

there are days when i pour more words of encouragement
into the comments i leave for a fellow blogger
than into the hearts of my own children
ouch....

having a house full of teenage girls has felt like a crash course in parenting
all over again
~ the players have changed their offense
~ i have much less time to figure out my own next move
~ the teens in our home outnumber the adults
~ & i've discovered, this teen"age" is maybe not their best age. they might just be a little harder to love than when they were at the proverbial cute age of 5

regardless~

within the shelter of my home, grace needs to be dished out on days when its a struggle for me and the last thing that comes naturally


the shelter of my home needs to be full of
mercy when they fail
& not acting surprised
because they will

encouragement to empower them to be the successful joyful children i have set out to raise & the empowerment to do just that

the shelter of my home needs to fall within the matrix of the intentional
i have a choice to react or better yet , to respond
i will be intentional with my words
& my time spent with them individually
& not just "quality" time, but truly in "quantity"

2010
will probably be the last full year that all 6 of us
live under the same roof

i want to live it right
i want to look back & be able to say i had a focus
i had a goal
my shelter might not be the 100 year old farmhouse that i'd love to own
but it darn well better be a place of refuge for the 5 people i love most in this world
looks like i best pull on my wellies & get some serious shelter cleaning done



He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways

from psalm 91

Calphalon giveaway!

I was contacted this week by the promotions team at CSN stores

csn stores is

a huge website offering everything from

wonderful kitchen items

to just the right bar stool for your home

they allowed me to choose an item for a giveaway!

what fun, right?

so i've chosen the

Calphalon Creme Brulee 1 1/2 Quart Covered Round Casserole

here's the scoop~

Small is beautiful! This petite casserole is the ideal vessel for a small family side dish -- or even a couple-sized entrée of beef or shellfish stew. Its smoothly sculpted handles make it easy to carry from oven to table. Remember to keep the cover in place so foods stay piping hot.

Features:
•Ideal for traditional, convection and microwave oven recipes.
•Broiler and freezer safe.
•Contemporary covered design for cooking, serving and storage flexibility.
Specifications:
•Material: Ceramic
•Cover: Ceramic
•Oven Safe: Yes
•Broiler Safe: Yes
•Dishwasher Safe: Yes
•Utensils: Use nylon, wood or coated utensils.
•Warranty: Lifetime

so

you don't need to do anything crazy like tweeting about me

leaving me a facebook message

following me

or sending me a photo of you in your best julia childs apron

but how 'bout sharing your family's favorite meal

what you cook for them that's always a huge hit

you don't need to hand over any secret family recipes

just the name

my girls love

robin miller's creamy fusilli with mushrooms


i'll post a winner on monday!

thanks ya'll

~

some blog housekeeping

i love it when ya'll post random things about yourselves.
i love to learn all sorts of fun things that you might not share otherwise....
however truth be told,
i think i tell ya'll far more than you wish to know about me already.

but a few of you sweeties sent over some blog awards last week

thankyouverymuch

& since i need to do some blog housekeeping

what better way than to do in random facts format!

since i'm not all that interesting , a few of these are reruns! :)

~~Felicia is the winner from our giveaway.

thank you melissa!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 34 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

~~ 3 years ago today i joined the gym

again

again?

let me explain

i am a former fitness fanatic-distance runner- aerobics instructor

who after the joy of a new marriage and the heartbreak of two miscarriages

promptly put on some weight following the birth of my 4th child

YEARS ago

& never lost it

so

i dragged my tail ( albeit larger than in years past)

to the gym & signed on the dotted line

that year i lost 30 lbs

&

i pumped to tell ya

that 3 years later...

i've kept it off!!

that little post is ~ right here~

~~ i tear up every time i hear my georgia boys sing "cry out to jesus"

~~ i'm probably going to blow the speakers in my suburban playing this song

~~ My most precious patient ( as an oncology nurse) was a little girl named Grace who spoke of seeing angels before she passed away. a few weeks later i gave birth to my second daughter & named her Madison Grace, in her honor.
oh , & truly believe she saw those angels.
her tender heart has forever changed how i view the spiritual world

~~Purple Rain, the Prince movie. you probably are too young.
it pains me to tell you
but in the 80's i saw it atleast a dozen times
3 of which were in a 24 hour period
on 3 different dates
with 3 different guys
who says i can't manage my time well?


~~I'm terrible about shaving my legs
& no i don't mean that the actual technique
it means i don't shave them as frequently as i should
i'm certain you're glad i've shared that with you

~~ i'm an animal lover

& i hate the cliches

" kill 2 birds with one stone" &

" don't beat a dead horse"

yuck-i hated even writing those

~~i've never watched an episode of

24

desperate housewives

or sex in the city

gasp

~~i love setting a pretty table

which explains why i have about 35-40 different sets of dishes!

~~ admit these photos have nothing to do with this post

but she's such a cute cheerleader that i couldn't resist

~~apparently my correlation of expensive dog to potterybarn furniture

and rescue dog to ikea

was poorly executed & thus confused you

i don't have Lucy

but i do have Brinkley

we adopted this most sweet golden 2 years ago

after 15 years with 2 big dogs, we are now indeed a one dog family!

the sofas are new....the dog is not

ps-thank you amy, martha, marci, gina, & megan. you are all so sweet & made my day! blessings to each of you xo

tenderness....

i laid my head down last night on the shoulder of my sweet tender man

my rock

he is who steadies me

he is my anchor that is ever true & loyal

i shared with him all the events of the day that had left my heart burdened

i had woke up yesterday and spent much time listening to the stories from Haiti

& the mass devastation

devastation that i simply can't wrap my mind around

one of the reporters spoke of seeing these two women

waiting for "care" in a hotel lobby

one with an obvious broken leg

the other

her foot had been severed

off

sometime close to 24 hours earlier at that point

severed off?

her foot was severed off & she was still waiting for care

& in a hotel for crying out loud

not a hospital

no pain meds

no crisp white sheets

no iv with sedatives

& possibly

no, probably

no surgery to repair her

i just cried

i can't imagine the pain

is she even still alive now?

we live in country full of abundance

where many can have a spa pedi on any given day

& yet there is an entire country

probably the poorest in our hemisphere

where these people may not even receive the medical attention they need

to survive

i just can't comprehend

my heart broke

as i opened my google reader this morning i was so grateful

to see many of the bloggers with etsy shops

sending all their profits to Haiti

angela is just one of them

she has several listed on her blog who are doing the same

{update* as is melissa}

i urge you to find a way to give~

the day continued

i had confrontations

one fairly heated

with two of my girls

we've been smooth sailing for quite sometime

that was tough

on wednesday nights

i'm blessed beyond measure

to work with, mentor, lead a group of 6th grade girls

along with my eldest daughter , savannah & her bff

plus one of my best friends

we lead this amazing group of sweet girls

who love the Lord

we had asked them to spend some time over their Christmas break

while we were apart

& come back ready to share a scripture that meant something special to them

most of them shared

precious

tender

scriptures from their heart

i cried

each time they shared i cried

i was trying to get a grip

so i wouldn't be a distraction

then one of the girls began to share
she had actually been adopted by a wonderful family a few years ago

her biological parents are in & out of jail

as she shared last night

about wondering if they truly loved her

if she was to blame for their bad choices

but that Jesus was her rescuer

He had rescued her from the world she had lived in

are you kidding me?

tears just falling down my cheeks

i'm listening to an adorable blonde headed pig tailed 12 year old

speak of the tender heart of the Lord

12 years old

who receives letters from her biological dad who sits in prison

& yet

she's placing her broken heart into the hands of The Healer

when we were done

i pulled her aside

she & i both completely a wreck by this time

i took her sweet face in my hands

& tried to explain that sometimes people we love will hurt us

but that its never her fault

& that they did love her

Jesus sees each of her tears

& was indeed her Rescuer

i told her He was going to do great things with her life!

i brushed her hair from her face

reminded her she was loved

& wondered if instead of the Lord sending me to love on her

maybe He sent her ....

to me

~~~saturday morning quick update~~~

i'm happy to announce that through random generator via melissa

that Felicia is our winner!!

white slipcovered bliss......

i wanted a casey golden retriever

a gorgeous breed of dog

winners of top shows

used in commercials

gorgeous dogs

&

thousands of dollars

well

as it is often in life

reality & the desire to not over spend--snore--set in

& we decided to ditch the thousand dollar dog plan

&

adopt

since i was in no big hurry

i'd just wait for a casey dog to be adopted

not for a thousand

but a mere $200

done

our adoption agent

(yes, you heard me right)

was well versed in the dog i wanted

a full blood golden

calm

female--soon to be named Lucy

gorgeous & looks like a casey breed

she knew exactly what i wanted

she called & told me there was a golden available

that i had to see

the perfect dog

full blood golden

calm

male

gorgeous & but didn't look like a casey breed

she encouraged me to just see the dog

that he was very handsome

but not to go into the visit thinking 'casey breed'

don't compare she told me

i patronized her & figured what the heck

lets go see him

his foster home was just across from trader joe's

& we needed a few things anyway

i tell ya

we walked in

met that gorgeous doggy

& declared "SOLD" in less than 60 seconds

& he is the perfect dog

even though he wasn't a casey golden retriever

brinkley

part of his story is here

there comes a time in every woman's life when she declares

"no more"

"i just can't take it "

"not another day"

or the glorious words

"for such a time as this"

i had made my personal declaration

about our sofas quite some time ago

& i had my eye on the prize

glorious gorgeous perfection

all in white slipcovers

from potterybarn

to the tune of several thousand smackers might i add-sigh

but

i knew exactly what i wanted

my life would be perfection

contented

zen-like

heavenly

i would want for no more

i would never be grumpy

i would rise early in the morning & sing

sing as i made hot breakfast for my children

i would plop down into my down filled bits of heaven

feeling as if i'd been hugged by a soft overweight granny-like figure

( not that we have one of those in our family, mom)

& sigh

i would have arrived

whelp

one leaves for college in about a year

one will be driving in 3 months

4 colleges

4 weddings

not today

but soon

sooner than this 'i can't live by a budget' woman

realized

my potterybarnwhiteslipcovereddreamsofheaven

were put on hold

then my bestieblogfriend throws around the word ektorp

ektorp?

sounds like cp-30 or r2d2

certainly not cottagey heavenly blissdom

so IKEA we went

who knew?

who knew they would indeed have whiteslipcovereddreamsofheaven

cuz if you knew

why didn't you tell me?

my campaign for pottery barn would have been much shorter lived

as the golden retriever agent simply stated

i too told dantheman

just come for a look

don't think "potterybarnfatwomanhuggingyoubliss"

but you must respect the price

we took the surburban

and

the truck

just in case , you know?

i am proud to announce

that we

not just i

but we

are the proud owners

of

white slipcovered sofa, chairs, & an ottoman

&no

they are not like plopping down onto a heavenly cloud

but they are gorgeous

& all of it cost less than one...did you hear me?....one potterybarn sofa!

& i am simply thrilled

& yes

i've woke early each morning

& a song has been in my heart

i have yet to make the hot breakfast

but i did make little bit some hot chocolate

which she is drinking while sitting on the floor

NOT

the whiteslipcovered peices of heaven

and all is right with my little world

before i press the publish button~please let me say that i hope you know i am writing in jest,

i love a white slipcovered piece of furniture as much as next ocd beach cottage dreaming woman

but i am well aware

& would never take for granted

that white slipcovered bliss is not eternal

& no it really doesn't bring joy

it brings happiness-alot might i add

i know there are all types out there

some who could pony up thousands & thousans for a room re-do on anygiven day

but there are more

much more

who not only don't have new furniture

they don't have a home

& i don't take for granted

not a single day

that which i have been blessed

there is always some one out there who has more

but my desire is not to focus my thoughts on that person

but the one who has less

much less

& not only be thankful for what i have

but find a way to minister to & help those less fortunate

i just wanted to make that clear

xo

a giveaway!

A giveaway from mcc designs!

Melissa at mcc designs would like to offer my blog readers the chance to win a set of personalized note pads of your choice.

The set of 3 note pads includes two, 3x5.5 and one, 5.5x5.5 note pads.

You may chose any design

available in Melissa's etsy shoppe,

mcc designs and personalize each to your liking.

To enter, please leave a comment here on my blog and also visit Melissa's blog ,

mcc~create the life you love,

become a follower and leave a comment.

The giveaway will run now through

Friday, January 15, 11:59 EST.

The winner will be selected at random

and announced here on this blog.

Melissa's shoppe is full of precious items!

Her customer service

& attention to detail make her a must add to your etsy favorites.





Good luck to all!!

12,465 images from our last 2 weeks

we had a wonderful christmas holiday

we've been shopping

snuggling

drinking hot chocolate

reading

snuggling

watching movies

attending concerts

snuggling

& thoroughly enjoying each others company

well...

with a house full of girls

we're doing the best we can

i've been mia from the blogworld

& have forgotten to turn on my cell

sometimes for days at a time

here are a few

images from our little world

over the last couple weeks

some are dreadfully blurry

which is why

my goal for 2010

is to become well versed in the use of my camera!!

me &the girlies christmas eve

& since we had no one to capture a fam shot

dan & the girlies christmas eve

while i'm on christmas eve

i must tell ya

our church rented an enormous facility

in hopes that instead of doing 7 christmas eve services

as they did last year

they could provide one

fabulous

beautiful

service where we could all worship together

plus have room for others..ie , the community to join

i'm here to tell ya

i've never been in a more beautiful

worshipful

christmas eve service

even if i was in a completely full venue

with 8000

yes

8000 others

i was supposed to work that evening

but thankfully another nurse traded with me

spending that service

sitting between my most favorite people in the world

worshipping

was truly my best chirsmtas present

ever

priceless

madi's debut as a cheerleader

ice skating with savannah

watching my fave movie

you've got mail

with my dog brinkley

named after tom hank's dog brinkley

i love to set a cute table

since i stink at indoor shots

i moved a few place settings outside

to photograph

it was way too sunny

but anyway...

no i dont spoil the baby

those are not all for her

however

she clenched the award

for best reaction post gift opening

-eek....blurry deadgum indoor shot-

tickets for the harlem globetrotters with dad

cuz now she's a baller you know

i have thoroughly enjoyed

popping in on many of my fave bloggers

you , of course

through my google reader

{& even though i haven't left many comments

i have been checking in on everyone}

& seeing so many inspiring

eloquent

new years resolotions

hope to get back in the saddle

myself

very soon

Happy 2010!!!