Kindred Spirits

Tonight something happened that does not happen to a lot of people. One of my friends from high school called me. I found her on Facebook and gave her my number. It was awesome. It was like we just picked up where we left off 12 years ago! I love it when that happens. I now have 4 friends that I consider my kindred spirits. We can be apart for years but you would never know it when you see us together. What a blessing! How good God is to give us friends like this! Jalyssa brought a little bit of sunshine into my evening. It was so good to get caught up on her life and fill her in on mine. What a joy!

Potty trained before he's 2?

Ok, I am so excited! Sam went potty in the toilet 3 times today! We only used 2 diapers today! Wowee! I am so stoked! He is only 20 months old....is there any hope that he will get this down before he's 2? I promised I wasn't going to share any details but I can't help myself. The first time he went potty he got a steady stream and was so proud of himself. Now imagine him sitting backwards on the toilet the second time he used the potty and he was only able to get dribbles out. He kept pushing out dribbles and then saying " oh, maaaaaan!" every time! Seriously! It was so stinking funny! Ok, that's the only details you get!

Anyways my hubby is away so I'm staying up late so I can fall into bed in exaustion. I can never sleep any other way when he is gone. Christie, how do you do it? You are a strong woman and I envy you, lady! I'm going to start praying for you when I go to bed at night. Alright, exaustion is setting in. We had a full day of playing with pigs so I am pretty tired. Did you know that their squeal is pretty outrageous? Ok, I'm done....for reals!......goodnight!

More on Grace...my word for the year

"What is Grace?" taken from the NIV Mom's Devotional Bible

Charis, the Greek word for "grace" is one of the most difficult Greek words to translate into English. Words like favor, beauty, thankfulness, gratitude, delight, kindness and benefit are all derived from the root that gives us the word grace. If we have a tough time translating the word, it's no wonder we struggle to comprehend the concept of Grace. Digging through scripture, we can come up with a picture of grace. Grace is always tied to the heart and character of God. In Deuteronomy we're told that God drove out Israel's enemies not because Israel deserved his intervention, but because He chose by grace to fulfill His word to His nation. In Isaiah we see that God longed to demonstrate His grace to a disobedient nation. In Jeremiah God underlined His grace by promising to bring Israel back from captivity.

Grace is God's character demonstrated in undeserved love. In fact, grace is God. It is His character illustrated in our lives with the scrawled signature of a cross.

Wow! This is an excellent definition of grace! I can't imagine having the word grace describe my character. Words like favor, beauty, thankfulness, gratitude, delight, kindness, and benefit. These are what we should be striving for in our every day routines. We were made in the likeness of God. That means we should be striving to have a character like His and grace is His character. Wow, that's all I can say.

A few of my favorite things

My scrapbooking table...obviously I don't spend much time here! I bought these slip ons for Norman but I think I use them more! They are great for slipping on to go outside and feed the animals or get food out of the freezer, love them!
AHHHHH, my morning tea and cup....can't start the day without them!
I would not be sane without these magical little tablets!
The next three pics hang in my bedroom. We got the pics as a gift from a friend for our wedding. The clock I found at Ross a couple of years ago. I love Ross!


I got this photo collage frame at Costco recently! It holds 16 4x6 pictures, how easy is that?
I can see this wall when I sit on my couch...I can sit there and look at these pictures forever. Ok, I know Sam's baby pic is missing so it's kinda off center but the frame that it was in broke so we have the pic somewhere, I just can't find it to put in the new frame! The story of my life! Not being able to find things!

Oh my goodness, my favorite appliances! Electric tea kettle is used everymorning to heat up water for my tea, and my new favorite thing...smoothie maker! I love this thing! Now instead of reaching for candy or sweets when I want something sweet, I make smoothies! I make them everyday right now! Love it!

This goes without saying, it should have been first on my list! I loooooove my camera and I looooove taking pics. But if you know me, you know that already!
We got this clock for our wedding and it's kind of funny why it is one of my favorite things. I love the look on people's faces the first time they hear this go off at the hour and they are trying to figure out what is making the chiming noise. Hilarious!
Fridge art by Levi Soyster. One of my favorite things from my little artist.
Ok, my wedding band and engagement ring. Love them....still. After 8 years....amazing, huh?

I stole this idea from Christie. I needed something fun and out of the ordinary to do this morning and when I was looking at blogs I remembered this idea from Christie. Enjoy! These are a few of my favorite things around the house. Ok, more than just a few here but I can't do anything in moderation! How can I not include all of these? Ok, a few things that I didn't add pics of. God is one of my favorite things....how could I put up a pic of God when I can't see Him? My Bible is one of my favorite things...just forgot and I'm almost done so I'm not going to go back and take a pic. And my family...lots of pics of them interspersed(spelling) so I didn't add individuals of them. Thanks for checking out my rambling. Maybe you know a little more about me now!