Son It's Your Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday to a boy who fills my heart with joy; and great anticipation towards his future.  He is a boy full of life, determination, and a drive to always do his best!
Most of all he loved the word of God since before he could read, is thoughtful; and for his age- quite the gentleman. 
I will never forget when I picked him up from kindergarden one sunny afternoon; his reading teacher pulled me aside with the biggest grin on her face.  She told me that when Brenden found out that they were going to begin learning to read that day; the first words that came to his mouth were "NOW I CAN READ MY BIBLE!!!"  She said he was ecstatic; and she was so blessed.
Brenden-
You are officially double digits!
Today you are 10; and I can't believe it's been a decade since God blessed your Father and I with  your sweet presence in our lives.
Don't ever stop being you,
you are a blessing to others in so many ways.
Keep reading that bible of yours
it is truly the book of life; and you will continue to gain so much wisdom from reading it.
Wisdom you can carry with you all your life,
and wisdom that will allow you to be a blessing to others;
even more than you already are!
I Love You so much!  

Oh and here is a Rockin birthday song for you!!!

"Well that's Because they are the Daughters of the President of the United States"!

Many of you have heard of the social network called "Instagram"; well it didn't use to be a social network.  At one point it was just a camera app to place on your smart phone to take really cool pictures; with all kinds of neat filters.  So you can imagine my upset as a parent when it quietly became a complete social network for kids and teens. Scary!
My daughter and a couple of her friends had secret instagrams; where they shared pictures- gossiped about people- and knew entirely too much about people they hardly know in real life.  Pictures were loaded with poses of attitude, some posing trying to look older than they were, and most having followers that were old men- this absolutely disgusted me!  My daughter doesn't even have a smartphone; but she was using her friends phones to check up on an account she created using a friends email address.

Many kids have an instagram; many parents don't even know; whats disturbing to me is that a lot of parents "do" know and find it to be okay.  
I am not the parent of anyone elses child; so what I write here are my own thoughts based on what I have researched.

We hear as parents that the stricter we are; the sneakier our children will become.  
To me this does not mean my children should be part of things that expose them to sinful actions, words, or inappropriate photos just because if I don't let them they will sneak it anyway.

As you may or may not have heard; Michelle Obama once stated that her girls were not allowed to have a facebook. 
As a side note you need to know that Instagram was bought by facebook, it is now no different; it's actually worse.  
She doesn't see the point in it; when most of the people they would be talking to are people they see in school everyday; or get together with often.  
Michelle Obama is all about the good old fashioned way of communicating with others, and thinks its very important her girls know those skills.  
I am right with her on this one.  
In fact when I mentioned this to my nearly 13 year old daughter her response was- "Well of course they can't have a facebook, they are the Presidents' daughters!"

This got me pondering her comment.  

My daughter is the daughter of someone much more important than the President of the United States; 
she is the daughter of a Mighty King who loves her very much; and so is your daughter or son.  

If the decision for your child to be on facebook or instagram, twitter etc. was based on biblical values (which it should be) you would find the following scriptures as instruction to us as parents of His beautiful creation to make an informed decision based on His word.

Ephesians 5:3-4

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for Gods holy people.  Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.

2 Corinthians 7:1

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Revelation 22:7

Behold, I am coming soon!  Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."

  

Yes this is the real world; and it is unfortunate that our precious children feel the need to step out of Gods word and join it to fit in.  It's as if people think children and teens need to be exposed to nudity, sexual inuendos, and profanity to prepare them for it.  
It doesn't make sense to me; 
I, as an adult, have made decisions on my own; to not expose myself to the things of this world just because that's the way it is.  We no longer need to conform; 
God warned us of the patterns of this world; and urges us to stand out amongst all the sin and proclaim His love for all the world to see. 

Romans 12:2

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is- His good, pleasing, and perfect will". 

When my daughter and sons are grown adults; they may decide to join these networks; and they may- like me, decide for themselves like I did that it's an empty form of communication. Or they may use these social networks as a means to stand out; and use them responsibly like so many do. 
As for right now- 
when teens are so prone to temptation, 
and a desperate want for attention, I as a parent am not going to be the one who makes the choice to expose them to things they shouldn't.  
It is not necessary to expose ourselves to the things outside of Gods will for us to grow up; 
true growing up is found in His word; 
that's what prepares our children for the things they will be exposed to in this world of ours. 
His word is what prepares our children to know how to react when they are faced with vulgar situations.  
Bottom line is they need Gods word to prepare them for this world; not being purposely exposed repeatedly to poor language, un- biblical quotes, sexual sin, gossip, hatred and violence. 
Even as an adult; God shelters me- 
it's not a bad thing- 
He gives me a check in my spirit called discernment; which has shown me what not to expose myself, or my children to.  

Yes they may go astray; like I have done; but I will know I have instilled in them what is important in life, and why.  
And I thank my precious Savior for His precious hand is placed on the lives of my children; 
I strive to lead them; 
where He so patiently leads me.
Amen. 

Way to Kick Off Winter Break

My husband and I are two extremely proud parents!  Our son Brenden accepted the award of "Honor Roll" this past Friday at school.  What a great way to kick off winter break!  

We are so proud of his determination and hard work when it comes to school; he takes it upon himself to do his best.  We Love you so much Brenden!!!  Keep up the good work!!!

On his way up to receive his award:

Brenden receiving his award from his fabulous teacher:

Brenden with his classmates

Oh Christmas Tree

Evening View... Not completed yet

My beautiful helper!  See all that paper garland- she did it- and she is so happy she's done!

Still not completed; I was still in the process of snow flaking my pine cones...

LOVE the gift tags from my Mom; they look adorable on our tree.

Just one pinecone; can't wait to get more on!

YAY!!!!  PINE CONES!!!!!!

More gift tags

My favorite tree topper; it has never looked this good on any of my other trees!  I'm so happy!

Gotta Love Burlap!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!!!

Project Month

December has turned into an all out project month for this household; which completely explains my absence here in blog land.  I love the smells of Christmas; pinecones, and the smell of baked goods.  As I work hard on projects at my dining room table I am creating like my Grandmother.  My Grandmother (we call her Gi-Gi) owned one of the cutest country gift shops; when I was a little girl I got to work in it with her.  I have such special memories of that cute little shop of hers.
I remember going to her house and seeing a hot glue gun, doilies, lace, tacky glue bottles, dried flowers- you name it- she was making it!
This month I sorta feel like her; because my table is covered with projects; that bring me so much memories of my childhood.  I think I am finally over doing things just right; and instead not being so afraid to try to create new things.  So Far - so good!

A sign I made using a board, card board letters, and paint- I am loving the white on white:

A sign I painted over; it used to be red with a different message.  I made it based on the verse "Love Covers a multitude of sins" :

The angel is actually my tree topper; it's my favorite:

A Frame I made using frames, paint, fabric, hot glue, and timeless black and white photos of my children:

Not the best picture of this project because it was taken at night; (but you get the idea) I used an old frame, paint, book tag from my scrapbook supplies, hot glue, burlap, and Heidi Swapp date stamp:

 I frosted my pinecones with help from my daughter using epsom salt, modge podge, and hung them with twine:

I hung these from my chandelier;  cute and simple:

 LOVE LOVE LOVE

Pinecones: