Normalcy

Today I'm feeling very thankful. Thankful that things are a nice normal pace. Sometimes it seems a bit boring, but you know what? Boring is good because it means there isn't anything crazy happening.

~Nobody broke any bones or came down with sickness.

~Our house is still standing, vehicles running, we have food in our bellies and a/c to cool us down.

~My kids are playing nicely this morning. They were inspired by a box of new crayons and created their own coloring contest, which occupied them for over an hour.

~The library let me renew our overdue books to avoid any fines.

Now, don't get me wrong here, there are plenty of fights and bickering and spilled drinks but right at this moment I don't care. The moments of laughter and fun, running and playing are what I'm thinking of.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
1 Chronicles 16:33-35

And the winner is.....

Sarah!!

Please email me and let me know which prize you want and your mailing info so I can get it to you!

Congrats :)

Birthday Contest!!

My birthday is coming up at the end of this week so I thought I'd try to have a bit of fun and host a giveaway!




All you have to do to enter is to answer one of the following questions in a comment, easy no?

Here's what I want to know:

1) What was the most helpful/practical baby shower gift you were ever given?

-OR-

2) What was the best birthday gift you ever received?

You don't have to have a blog to enter, just make sure you leave your name & email so I can reach you if you win!!

Now, onto the prize.

The winner will get to choose a $15 gift card to either:-OR-
Sometime between now and Friday at 12:00 p.m. (noon) leave me a comment, then I'll stick all the names in a hat and pick one. :) Good luck!

Favorite things

I was reading a blog yesterday where the lady made a list of 10 things that were guaranteed to lift her mood. I thought it was a good idea and it helped me get to know her better. So, now I'm going to take a stab at it.

Here are ten things that lift my mood.

1. Upbeat music. Praise music is good but I also like country, particularly Sugarland. Fun music can make so many things more enjoyable....like folding laundry.

2. A good book. I don't read that often, it usually comes in spurts, but when I do I LOVE it.

3. Games. I grew up playing games a lot with my family and now I like to play them with my kids & Ian. Board games. Dice. Card games. Online scrabble :)....I enjoy it all. (except strategy games like Risk or Stratego, I'm not any good at those!)

4. Finding a good bargain. I like to shop at thrift stores, garage sales and discount stores but the fun doesn't end there. Like this week for instance, there was a coupon online for $1 off water bottles and walmart had 6 packs priced at $1. I printed off 4 coupons (that was the limit) and got (4) 6 packs of lemon flavored water FREE! How could that not lift your mood?

5. Waking up to a clean house. This one requires that I actually clean it the night before and I'm sad to say that it doesn't happen often enough. But, when I do it and get to wake up and make breakfast in a clean kitchen...walk down the hallway without avoiding toys....stuff like that, well it's just refreshing.

6. Date night!! I love my kids, I love being around my kids. Some times though, I need to be without them. I need time with just Ian. Period.

7. Projects. This is another one that happens in spurts. I get the itch to change things or be creative, or it comes out of necessity (like the chairs I just re-did).

8. Watermelon. You might say this is a pregnancy craving right now, but a juicy slice of watermelon?? Watching little ones eat it.... *smiles* that's what it brings.

9. Newborn babies. I love babies. (Duh?) Not just my own either. I get really excited when other people have babies. Sometimes even people I've never met...like Jessica. Or a few months ago Melissa... I LOVE IT!

10. Sunshine. Getting outside and enjoying nice weather is a sure fire mood lifter.


How about you?? What puts you in a better mood and gives you a smile??