A Life of Gratitude

The boys have been excited about building a Gingerbread House this year to start off our Christmas Season. While we were at Hershey last week we saw a Chocolate House....even better! They have been asking to make this thing for days! This afternoon we finally started building our Chocolate House. They had so much fun! Tyson just liked eating everything but Dylan and Evan were being very creative. They did a good job too! Today I am thankful for the chance to see Christmas through the eyes of little children. They enjoy every detail, every celebration, every little part of Christmas. They don't worry about the mess or the to-do list or the money. They just fully devote themselves to each moment. I want to be more like that. I want to truly enjoy this Christmas and stop wasting my time with worry. I am grateful for the lessons my boys teach me. Even a simple chocolate house can be a fun, exciting thing to do, especially with my family. I can't wait to experience

Over the past few days we have said "goodbye" to one family tradition and "hello" to a new family tradition. We've traveled to Pennsylvania for years, visited family, spent time together, gone shopping, and eaten Thanksgiving dinner at Ruby Tuesday. It has been such a fun family tradition that has created many wonderful memories. Since none of our family is living in Pennsylvania any longer, we said "goodbye" to that tradition when we drove home yesterday. Here are a few of our favorite memories from this year's visit to PA:  I got to ride an elephant!!!!!! This was the most amazing store! We all like this kind of shopping! Shopping at our favorite Grocery Store We got to ride a horse and buggy when we spent the day in Lancaster! Evan and Dylan got to ride a miniature horse! Tyson REALLY enjoyed his first time eating a Shady Maple! We went to Hershey Chocolate World! We created our very own Chocolate Bars

Today we said goodbye to an amazing woman. I met her this time of year exactly 20 years ago (WHHAATT!?? I'm getting old!) I was 14 years old at the time and already in love with her grandson! That year Bryan's family invited me to Thanksgiving and I met Nana Smith (or Pearl, as most adults probably call her!) I instantly felt like a part of the family. She hugged me the first time she saw me. Together, we made gravy and chocolate pudding every year! She has always lived in Pennsylvania and we live in North Carolina, so we usually only got to see her and Popop at Thanksgiving. I looked forward to Thanksgiving every year! About 7 years ago, Nana Smith had a stroke and could no longer visit in NC for Thanksgiving. So, we started coming to Pennsylvania each year! For 20 years, I have spent every Thanksgiving with Bryan's family and it has been such a sweet time for me! Once Nana had her stroke, she could no longer move the right side of her body and had to m

 I didn't realize how much I love our dog until we ate dinner without him here. I had absolutely no idea how much he helped me! Normally, there are no crumbs on the floor after dinner. Tonight was an entirely different story. I knew Max ate some crumbs but I could have never guessed.... This is what we swept up after dinner tonight! I'm not joking!!! Today I am thankful for the ignorance that Max has so eagerly given me! He has cleaned up a million messes without even realizing it. Ignorance truly is Bliss!  (For Max and for me!)

This evening, after our family devotion time, we shared "The Gift Catalog" with our older boys. They've seen a whole lot catalogs lately from Target and Toys R Us, of which they wanted to pick out all the things they want for Christmas. So we thought it would be a good idea for them to pick out some gifts for another child or family, that is truly in need. If you haven't seen "The Gift Catalog," take a look at the link below. It's a great catalog from Samaritan's Purse. It has lots of gifts options with many different price ranges. You can gift animals, blankets, food, milk, wells, etc.  We let the boys look through the catalog to find something they thought would be great for another child or family. They chose to give a family 12 baby chicks and Gospel Booklets in the correct language for a particular community.  Dylan was so excited about this! I mentioned that I would pay online for the chicks and booklets after he went to bed but he was not

Since my KEEP team keeps growing and growing, I decided to step of my comfort zone and do something new....a Team Meet Up! I have 65 ladies in my KEEP downline!!! They are scattered all over the USA. Many couldn't attend the Meet Up but I am so grateful for those who could make it today! We had a lot of fun chit chatting and sharing ideas and goals. We did a little training and a whole lot of laughing! Oh, and ate some yummy cupcakes too! It's truly amazing to see how KEEP brings ladies from so many different walks of life together and allows us to become great friends! Some of the beautiful ladies from my KEEP team! You know we all had on some gorgeous jewelry! Today I am thankful for the opportunity God has given me with KEEP Collective. When I joined this company, I just wanted to earn the money to pay for Homeschool Curriculum! I never, ever, imagined that 9 months later I would be an Associate Director and have such an amazing team of ladies under me! I have m

Today at MOMS, we discussed Heaven and Hell. We were reminded that even though many folks don't seem to take it very seriously, our relationship with Christ really is the most important thing in our lives and the lives of those we love. We can't live for ourselves and then end up in Heaven with God. If we want to live with God in the after life, we need to live FOR Him now. For some reason, it's "offensive" to talk about Hell and how horrible it will be so, we don't. Therefore, I don't think people realize that it isn't a joke. Whether they want to to believe it or not, they will be fully aware whether they are in Heaven or Hell. We won't be asleep---death is just a doorway into the next life, so we will still be conscious of what is going on around us. Hell is real. Heaven is real. Which would you prefer to be aware of??? All of this heavy discussion at our table turned into a time of sharing about those folks who have passed away and no

Exactly 4 months ago today, we said goodbye to our dog of 16 years, Mitch. He truly was the best dog ever! I just read the blog I wrote on the day he died and tears immediately started to flow again. That sweet puppy will always and forever hold a special place in my heart.  A few months before Mitch passed away, we got another doggy. It took a while for Max to get acquainted to our home and used to us. He was so scared of the kids and growled a lot because he was abused before we adopted him. I wasn't sure if he would ever get comfortable or feel at home here. Max and Mitch were good buddies and I believe Mitch taught him a lot about being in this family. When Mitch passed away, something changed in Max. He slowly became the dog of the house and is now very relaxed here. There is no doubt that he feels right at home! He loves the boys. He lets them chase him and play with him. He even lets Tyson pull his tail. Max is just like Mitch in many ways...sometimes it feels like Mitc

I got to spend most of the day today with my two littlest fellas while Daddy and Dylan were at a Cub Scout activity. We spent most of the morning shopping for last minute items to put in our Operation Christmas Child boxes. Evan really enjoyed picking things out! While Tyson took his nap, Evan and I packed all the boxes and then prayed for the children that will recieve them. I really enjoyed watching Evan pick and choose what should go in each box. He was very careful to make sure each box had the things the little boy or girl would need/want in it. He also enjoyed cutting out the little tags and marking the age on it. He took this very seriously! Look at all these goodies for our friends across the globe! Carefully packing the boxes.... Cutting out the tags Getting ready to tape the tags. Marking the ages on each box.  Today I am grateful for such a practical way to get children involved in spreading the love of Jesus to children all around the world. Samarit

Today at MOMS (Mothers of Many Seasons) we heard a wonderful lesson and then had a great time of discussion at our table. Someone at our table shared something her pastor said, it was "God's love for us is not a pampering love, its a perfecting love." I had never heard that before but I really like it. I've been thinking about it all day. Its so true, if you think about it. Believers and Non-believers often ask why God allows pain in our lives. Why does He let difficult situations occur? Why doesn't He heal everyone that is sick? Why does He allow abuse? Why doesn't He keep all evil from affecting His children? It's a good question honestly. It doesn't always make a lot of sense to us. I've been thinking about it and I believe that what I heard today is the answer....His love for us is a perfecting love, not a pampering one. We think that if He truly loved us, He would provide us with everything we want, heal us when we're sick, make t

This past month as a KEEP Designer has been wonderful! I woke up this morning to see that I had officially promoted to Associate Director!!! I would have never even dreamed of being an Associate Director only 8 months after joining. In fact, when I joined KEEP at the end of February, I really didn't believe I'd do anything more than make some extra money to buy homeschooling curriculum. Now, I have 65 ladies on my team and I am having so much fun! I know God has being using this opportunity to teach me some things about myself! He is teaching me that I am capable, I am smart, and I am passionate, oh and that it's ok to dream!  My Lord has blessed me abundantly with the women I've met who have been encouraging me and supporting me. This is journey is amazing and I can't wait to see what the future holds! Today I am grateful for KEEP Collective, my amazing team, and the lessons I'm learning through this experience. I made this KEEPer to celebrate my promotion