Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY~December 12, 2011
Outside my window... Cloudy right now, it looks like the sun is trying to peek out.  It is much too green outside yet for my liking!
I am thinking...about volunteering to run our church's Christmas program for the children next year
From the learning room...We've cut waaay back.  It is time for a break, and I want to be able to do some fun Christmas things with the kids~baking, decorating, crafts. 
I am thankful for...our health~a few of us have had bad colds and coughs and it reminds me to be thankful for good health
From the kitchen...taco night
I am wearing...jean skirt and white long sleeved t~shirt
I am creating...baby quilts for the local hospital
I am going...to take less time on the computer and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas
I am reading... Bible
I am praying...with a friend this afternoon.  We are going to start calling each other every Monday to pray for our kids and the challenges they are all facing
I am hearing..."Silver Bells" playing in the background, the washing maching running
Around the house...more decorating (I just love Christmas time!), and getting the house ready for a family Christmas party this weekend
One of my favorite things...sitting in the living room with just the Christmas tree lights on and drinking egg nog
A few plans for the rest of the week...IEP meeting for Spud, Youth group Christmas party for Stinkerbelle, and Christmas party with hubby's family on Saturday
Here is picture thought I am sharing...

I love how much he likes to  help out around the house!

Thanks for stopping by!  For more daybooks, please visit Peggy at The Simple Woman's Daybook.  Have a great week!

Blessings,

Thankful Thursday

“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thessalonians 5:16-18

Happy Thursday!

If you read my post last Thursday, you know how our son convicted me to take a more thankful approach to life.  Participating in Thankful Thursday's is just a small way I can take account for my attitude.  Today I'm thankful for....

Grandparents!  My own grandparents,, my husband's grandparents, and my children's grandparents.  My husband lost all but 1 of his grandparents when he was small.  His last living grandmother passed away just after we got engaged.  I did not know her long, but for the short time I knew her, she was a blessing.  I know his grandparents left an impression on his heart as he still speaks of them.  I am blessed to have a few grandparents living yet, and I am very thankful for their health as they get older.  And since I still have grandparents, that means my children have their grandparents and great grandparents.  They are a blessing in my children's lives and they love them very much.

At Christmas time, I am especially thankful for grandparents.  My grandparents lived near to us and we visited them often.  They were (and still are) a very important part of my life.  They were included in some of the best memories I have as a child.  I miss the grandparents that have passed away more at Christmas time~I miss seeing their faces at the table, listening to them, their hugs, and just having them around.



Sweetcheeks with her great grandma



My grandparents left a big impression in my life and are a part of who I am today.  I have a grandmother who has passed on her love of sewing to me.  I have a grandmother who has passed on her love of baking and having her family near to her.  I have a grandfather who used to make me crazy when he called me that pet name in front of others~how much I would give to hear that again (in front of the world!).  And a grandfather who taught me that sometimes keeping quiet was the best way to solve things.  They have passed on their love for the Lord, for family, and for others.  I know I would not be the person I am today without their love and care.



Sunshine with his grandpa



Sunshine and great grandpa~almost 90 years between them!

If you still have grandparents in your life, consider yourself blessed and be thankful.  If you are a grandparent, never underestimate the value you have in your grandchildren's lives.  You can never be replaced, and are loved more than you know.

All our kiddo's with grandpa and grandma

What are you thankful for?  For more thankful thoughts, please visit this months host, visit Iris at Grace Alone.  Have a blessed week!

Blessings,

How Our Christmas Is Free, Part 4

This is a part of a series of posts sharing with you how we are "purchasing" our Christmas gifts this year for FREE!  I set out a couple of years ago to try to save money on gifts and spend more time reflecting on the TRUE reason for Christmas.  This is our journey...

 

Pampers Gifts to Grow:  

 I didn't use disposable diapers very often, but I do use wipes and Pampers are the only kind I like.  We are now in the season of potty training, and we use training pants at night.  There are codes on each of the packages of wipes, diapers, and training pants, and after creating an account, just enter your codes for points to be added to your account.  I used those points to "purchase" a gift for our son.  There is no charge for shipping (except on some of the gifts from Shutterfly), so this gift was entirely free!  Just by purchasing something I already needed.  Some of the rewards include toys, books, digital downloads, free pictures, picture books, magazines, coupons, and many others.  It is easy to start, and has helped with my FREE Christmas gifts for several years in a row.  Also, Freebies 4 Mom is a great resource for promotional codes.  I wouldn't have gotten nearly as many points this year if it weren't for Heather!



Give it a try!  Head over to Pampers.com!



Blessings,

Attitude of Gratitude

Each year at Thanksgiving time, we pull out our Thankful Box.  This is just a box that I decorated many years ago when my first kiddo's were small and I attended a MOPS group.  It had pine cones glued to the top~most of which are now missing!  It has seen better years.  But each year it is the kids that want me to get it out and put it on the table.  Then during the month or so before Thanksgiving, we all add little notes stating what we are thankful for.  We usually save last years notes so we can look at them this year, but for whatever reason, last years are missing.  So we started new again. 

On Thanksgiving day, after we are all thankful for our stuffed bellies, we go around the table and take turns reading the notes.  There are the ones you would expect~family, home, food~ and there are silly ones~the window, snow, chocolate, and our annual Thanksgiving Monopoly game~ but this year we had an abundance of thanks due in part to one child.

One of the kiddo's had put a LOT of paper into the thankful box.  And each piece of paper had more than one thing listed on it.  We laughed as we read some of them.  Some of them touched my heart.  But that night after all the kiddo's were in bed, I started thinking about that box.

While he hadn't intended to, the child that placed all those notes in the box was right on track.  He had listed some of the ordinary, mundane things in life to be thankful for.  Things that we usually take for granted.  While I am very grateful for the blessings in my life, I don't always (I can even say rarely) say thanks for the little things in my life.  The things that I take for granted.  The things that I expect will happen.  The things that I've been blessed with even though I don't deserve them. 

Gratitude is really a choice.  I can choose to see all things as a gift from God and be thankful for everything~even the things that I wouldn't really have chosen~ or I can complain about those things.  I am sad and ashamed to say that my children haven't always seen their mamma with a grateful heart.  I am purposing to change that.  I want my children to see that life is a gift from God, and all things that go with it are also.  I want my children to grow up with an attitude of gratitude.  I want my children to fill their thankful boxes even when they are adults.

I have been reminded often lately of something that was said at our wedding by a sweet aunt....

"He does not promise all sunshine and roses, but He does promise that 'My grace is sufficient for thee'."

So...what can you find to be thankful for today?

Blessings,



As part of my desire to achieve an attitude of gratitude, I am going to start participating in Thankful Thursday's again.  Please visit Iris at Grace Alone as I am linking up with her this week.