Merry New Year

It is always challenging finding the time to have Christmas with my side of the family, between work schedules and distance it is always tricky. When we do find the time to get together, we normally travel to my sister's home (3 hours away) with the big back yard and we have a blast. We spent this past weekend celebrating Christmas and New Year's and despite the South being frozen this weekend, we had a great time!

Spunky needed to be at church on Sunday, so my kids and I rode down with parents on Saturday afternoon. Addison and Finn woke up super early because they were ready to gooooo and see their cousins. I loved catching this sweet moment between my Dad and my youngest nephew.

On Sunday, Spunky made his way down after church and we were all so ready to see him. I love that he and my brother in law were friends before they were brother in law's and they still have a close relationship.

We opened gifts on Sunday afternoon. You never know what kind of gift that you're going to open. It could be good, or somewhat humerous! My mom gifted my brother in law with a couple of boxes of his favorite soda!

On Sunday evening, we drove to a popular park to watch a famous Egg (yes, egg) drop and see Christmas lights. During the Christmas season it takes hours of waiting in line to see the Christmas lights, but on New Year's Eve there was no wait. The lights were all so beautiful.

The kids enjoyed the chicken "Cooper" and the Egg drop. They were also gifted New Year's hats, noisemakers (thankfully I wasn't in the minivan with all 5 kids and noisemakers) ! Ha!

The weekend was just wonderful, just not long enough. My nephews are growing up into such mighty men of God and I am so thankful for my sister and brother in law for the great values that they are instilling into these sweet kids. I gave my sister a small picture for Christmas that says "You're the mom that everyone wants" and it's true! She is such a fantastic Mom!

All good things must come to an end and I can't wait to get these sweet kids together again soon!

Until Next Time....

Friday Favorites! 12/29/17

Cute Image courtesy of  www.hallofquotes.com

Happy Friday everyone! I hope that your week was short and sweet!

I have a new batch of favorites this week, some of which happen to be Christmas gifts that I received

this week!  Let's get started revealing my favorites this week and you may have some new favorites

when we get finished!

Favorite #1: "All in All" Journaling Devotional by Sophie Hudson

I asked my darling husband for a new devotional for Christmas, I didn't give him any specific titles,

only that I wanted a "good new devotional".  Needless to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I

opened up my gift on Monday to discover Sophie's devotional.  I have been reading Sophie's blog off

and on for a couple of years and she always cracks me up. I am loving this devotional, especially

since her sense of humor is evident in this devotional and she has generously given adequate

journaling space for people with big messy handwriting like myself! I'm sure that you will enjoy your

own copy! So pick it up today!

Favorite #2 : She Reads Truth Bible

Another Christmas gift, but this one  I requested and I am so in love!  I have always loved reading the

Bible, but this one is so so good! I love all of the maps and other devotionals included in this Bible!

Not to mention that I love the coral color! They have a few other cute colors as well! I

find myself yearning to read my Bible more than I ever have!  I have even noticed my husband

reading some of the devotionals ! He agreed that this is an awesome Bible! Purchase your own She

Reads Truth Bible here!

Favorite #3: Ivy and Fig Tote Bag

Ummm....my Birthday is in 4 months and 4 days. I know that I recently switched to carrying a

wristlet from a purse because of years of toting a big purse to disguise diapers, wipes and leaky sippy

cups, but I am IN LOVE with this big tote! It also comes in so many pretty colors!

Grab your own Ivy and Fig tote

Last, but not least...

Favorite #4 : "Captain" by Hillsong

I'm so in love with this song. Just listen to it and let the words soak inside your soul.

Thank you for such an awesome 2017!

See you in 2018!

Good Gifts....

I love getting good gifts.  I love it when someone has put a lot of thought into a gift for me.  A few Christmas' ago, my sister bought me a birds nest necklace with two bird eggs (symbolizing Addison and Finn) and it brought me to tears. She knew that I had complimented her necklace for years and I had always secretly wanted one of my very own.  This was a gift that could not be bought in a store because her friend custom makes the necklaces and this one had been customized especially for me.  The entire gift brought me to tears and it was my favorite gift that Christmas.

I also really enjoy giving good gifts.  It was not so long ago that my husband and I could not afford to give each other gifts for Christmas.  Even gifting each other a $20 fast food gift card was too much for us. We sacrificed our gifts to make Christmas a bit sweeter for our children. During those years, we gifted each other hand written letters and placed them in each others stockings.  We were fortunate enough to be able to purchase gifts for each other this Christmas. We stuck to the 4 gift limit like we did for our children (which I loved and I will be doing in the future). The 4 gift limit encouraged me to put extra thought into what each person wanted and this was true for my husband as well. 

I have noticed that each time we visited the stores at Clemson, SC (his favorite college team) he oohed and ahhed over the sports memorabilia  and the photos of the greatest moments of the Clemson football team.  He had always said that he wanted pictures like this to grace his office.  While searching for a framed picture of the Clemson Stadium in my price range, I quickly discovered that it wasn't going to be possible to purchase this gift for him this Christmas.  However, I discovered the framed picture of Hunter Renfrow scoring the winning touchtown for the 2016 National Championship game.  This picture was in my price range, but I was still a little uneasy as I was shopping on Amazon and this vendor was not supported by Amazon Prime and there were very little reviews from this vendor.  I put my fears aside and purchased the picture anyway.  I was so relieved when the picture arrived wrapped in bubble wrap and everything was legit!  I showed my children who (thankfully) kept this gift a surprise and we all couldn't wait to gift it to Spunky on Christmas morning.  I could not wait to gift it to my husband!!!

Quickly after we saw the gifts from Santa on Christmas morning, Addison brought the gift out from under the tree and placed it in her Dad's lap excited to have him open it.  He looked so confused as he shook it and nothing shook because of all of the bubble wrap inside.  He was moved to tears as he realized what was inside. He was so excited and he couldn't figure out where I had found this gift.

I noticed him looking at the picture all day. He was like a little kid with a new bike, he showed everyone who visited our home on Christmas and called his mother in FL to tell her about the gift as well. My heart swelled knowing that he was truly happy with his gift !

My friend, giving good gifts is how God feels when we spend time with him.  God delights in us and he loves hearing from us, just like we enjoy receiving good gifts.

"For the Lord takes pleasure in his people. Psalms 149:4A

"The Lord your God is among you, a warrior who saves.  He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will be quiet in his love.  He will delight in you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

God loves it when we spend time in his word and speaking with him.  He loves it when we speak of Him to others and sing his praises.  He loves it when we acknowledge Him in the good times and in the bad times.

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

My sweet friend, may I encourage you to devote a daily quiet time? Spend time falling in love with God. He desires for you to have a relationship with you.  Devoting a daily quiet time does not have to take more than 10 minutes of your day.  I will be posting more about this in the near future, but for now Check out the First 5 App by Proverbs 31 Ministries. Simply devote 5 minutes out of your day by reading this devotional and praying each day.  Just see what a difference this will make each day.

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." James 4:8A

Until next time....

A Different Spin on Christmas... and My First Giveaway!!!

Disclaimer... No offense to anyone who does not see Christmas this way.  I like to use my blog as a personal journal and to encourage anyone.  I do not judge you if you are purchasing 20+ gifts for your children. I just know that in this season, this is what is working for my family.

We're doing Christmas a little different this year.... Something that I never imagined that I would do. My name is Keisha and I am tired of stressing about Christmas. Tired of stressing about paying for all of the gifts. And frankly, I am tired of stressing out about making sure that my kids have as many gifts as so and so...  This year, we are adopting the 4 Gift Rule.

I first heard of this a couple of years ago from a wise friend. I chewed on it that Christmas as I struggled to wrap the 10 gifts each for my kids on Christmas Eve.  I strongly thought about it the following January when the credit card bills came marching in with their large minimum payment that was due.

However, it was not until I began reading " Raising Grateful Kids in An Entitled World" by Kristen Welch that I decided that we were going to "swim upstream" and only give our children 4 gifts each. For years, I had wanted my kids to be happy, proud of all of their abundance of gifts, but it was stressing my husband and I out keeping up with it.  It was not worth it. I was not doing my children any favors by getting them every gift that they wanted. I was not teaching them the value of saving for something that they really wanted. I also was not spending quality time listening and learning what my children really and truly wanted. I love the quote that Kristen says "The only thing that a child is entitled to is his parents love." All of the gifts are just extra things...

So far, I am a lot less stressed in the gift giving department.  My husband and I will also be only getting 4 gifts from each other.  The same 4 gifts that my children are getting.  I have also loved truly figuring out what 4 gifts each person really and truly wants.  My husband and I have also had a blast scouring the internet looking for deals and the perfect 4 gifts.

My children know that they are only receiving 4 gifts this year and yes, they are okay wit h it.  It has also been nice having the tags on the gifts so that they know what is inside the package instead of having to be badgered to death with the hundreds of questions about each gift.  But yet, they are still excited!  After I wrote on my gift tags, I found gift tags with scripture regarding the 4 gifts here and I will definitely be using these tags next year!

We are still encouraging our children to resemble Christ in this season and to talk about Him and the true meaning of Christmas (Matthew 1:18-25). We are also encouraging our children to be servants of Christ and to show His love to others around us by paying it forward and sharing the good things that we have been given. I want to raise grateful children!

What ways are you celebrating the season? Share your comment below, like and share this post on social media for your opportunity to win Kristen's book "Raising Grateful Children in An Entitled World"! One lucky winner will be randomly chosen on Wednesday, 12/13!

Festival of Holidays

The holidays are upon us, but I am reminiscing about The Festival of Holidays event that the women's ministry at my church hosted a couple of weeks ago.  The event was lovely, filled with great food, beautiful tables and a wonderful speaker, Brittany Price Brooker. 

Several of my friends hosted and decorated tables and they were all beautiful!

My friend, Amanda and her beautiful Thanksgiving table!

I just love sweet Mrs. Pat! She is always such a joy to be around and she is an encouragement to so many! I love calling her up and having coffee with her at a moments notice!

My good friend and life group leader, Ceal (center) was the host at the table that I sat at.  I loved the way that she decorated it with buffalo plaid and a rustic theme!  It was so fun to meet her daughter (right) and sit with sweet Sarah (left) !  Behind you can see these awesome men who worked all day and dressed up for the event and were our waiters for the evening! 

Ceal worked so hard on her beautiful table!  Sarah and I were joking that if we did a table it would be complete with red solo cups and plastic tablecloths! Ha!

Our speaker was precious Brittany Price Brooker.  She is a precious woman of faith and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her story. You can hear her story for yourself here. Warning, grab some tissues before you listen! She is powerful!

And...here are all of the other tables!  They were all so gorgeous!

This table was my favorite!!! It was the only table that I noticed had a New Year's Theme...

That centerpiece....wow!!!

It is hard to tell from the picture, but the placemats were made of black feathers and they were gorgeous!!! Each guest who sat here, left with a black party hat! So adorable!!!

I **may** get enough courage to host a table next year!!

Until Next Time!!!

Friday Favorites 11/3 Soup, Shirts, Songs and adorable clothes!

Happy Friday everyone!!!!!

I am so happy that it is Friday and I have NO plans for the weekend. Zero. Zilch. Nada. And I am completely fine with that!

And now it is time for my favorites for this week!

Favorite New Boutique Little Mistress! And yes, the name does crack me up!  I love the clothes, especially the dresses! I really really want to order everything on this site a few items!!!

Is it too early to order my Christmas shirt?? I don't think so!!!

Check Out these awesome Christmas shirts! From AwesomeThreadz.com

My favorite is  "Don't be a Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins!"

I really hate that time changes back this weekend.  The evenings are SO long when we can't spend time after dinner outside! I am striving to have more game and craft nights to keep the littlest one entertained without tv! Check Out these Cute Crafts! 

Annd it's also soup season!  I have been on the search for a new soup recipe and this one is my favorite!! Cheesy Enchilada Soup! Yumm!!! Check out the recipe here!

Romans 8:28 was everywhere I went this week!  I know that I posted Romans 8:28 from The Message Bible earlier this week, but I have re read it almost every day this week! I love it and IT definitely made my list of favorites this week!  Read it again here

And last, but not least....

I have begun listening to Spotify Praise and Worship on the way to and from the office and I love hearing different songs that you may not hear on the Christian Radio Station. This song had so many tears coming down my face that I almost had to pull over !! Listen to Bethany Dillon "I Believe In You"

Have a fabulous weekend!!!

xoxo

***Adorable Friday picture courtesy of Google Images

My Favorite Blogs...

Many people frequently ask me "So, you blog...why do you do that?" The answer always makes me blush, but I have always enjoyed reading blogs of other women, their words are always encouraging.  I remember reading different parenting blogs after having my daughter in 2006 and their words always seeped into my soul and left me feeling encouragement after realizing that parenting is much harder than I ever imagined.  When facebook and Instagram began to take off I noticed that most people began writing on their blogs less and less, but I still yearned for their descriptive postings and encouragement.  I began to get frustrated and I felt God tug on my heart and tell me one evening (while reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson) that "you are called to write." So...after procrastinating for what seems like eternity, I began to slowly put together my blog.

I also wanted to share a few of my favorite blogs to read, so that you may find encouragement also.

#1. Kelly's Korner  Kelly's blog is one of the first that I began reading.  She lives in Arkansas with her husband and 3 children.  I love Kelly's style, her openness about her faith and her honesty that parenting is HARD! I loved reading about her struggles with infertility and seeing how God provided 2 sweet girls and an (unexpected) baby boy! Kelly and her family were at Disney a couple of weeks ago when my family and I were and while my husband and kids were keeping their eyes peeled for Mickey, I was hoping and praying to bump into Kelly and her family (and no, I do not know her and I know that she wouldn't have a clue who I was, but we can all hope that she would have pulled me aside and asked to go and have ice cream with me in the castle)!!

#2 JoanneHeim.com I began reading Joanne's blog about 5 years ago.  Joanne has an amazing testimony from where God brought her through a massive stroke and the new challenges with life.  She has undergone intensive therapy and she now drives and does a lot of traveling!  She and her dog now help stroke patients as Maddie is a therapy dog! I love reading about all of her adventures and seeing God's faithfulness in her life!

#3 Before the Morning This is another wonderful story of God's amazing love!  The Williams Family has a special place in my heart (as their son, Jonah goes to school with my nephew). I began reading their story in 2008 shortly after Jonah was born. Jonah suffers from epidermolysis bullosa, which is a painful skin condition.  A better explanation is here. Parents Patrice and Matt have been faithful and done an amazing job taking care of Jonah and his new adoptive brother.  Their story always warms my heart!

I hope that you can find some encouragement in these blogs also!

xoxo