All Dressed Up!

Here is what I wore to church today! We have had great weather, so I decided to pass on the boots today and wear a pair of flats!

 White T: Kohls

Tank: Banana Republic, thrifted

Sweater: Gordmans

Belt: Thrifted

Skirt and tights: Target

Shoes: Naturalizer

Flower pin: made by me

Linking up at:

Drab to Fab!

I am being featured today over at Sugar and Spice for Amy's 'Drab to Fab' challenge. She is encouraging ladies to find something they haven't worn for awhile and re-style it. Head over for some great inspiration!

Journaling

I have always loved to journal. My mom made me start keeping a journal when I was 10 for writing practice. (I was home schooled.) As I got older I told her I was keeping a journal of how I felt so I wouldn't be as mean to my kids as she was to me! :) It is pretty funny to go back and read some of my entries!

Apparently "See you later alligator, after while crocodile" is a natural end to a journal entry.

Here are a few gems:

(Age 10. When my mom was due with one of my sisters) "I had to got to my grandma's house cause mom started having contractions we were really excited but it was a fake."

 (Age 10.) "I did my Penny Saver route. Dad he got bit by a dog. It was a sheep dog. It made teeth marks and stuff. Cool."

(Age 12. After a bible camp) "I will miss Veronica, the piano player. She was so da-bomb (that's small talk for awesome.)"

(Age13.) I blew up at Mom and said "You always want to now (know) why, when, were, (where) and how and I'm sick of it!" That's when she grounded me. Well, just one last thing. I think __________ is the Cutest GUY in the whole world! SYS  (See you soon) Lisa (My nom de plume) 

p.s. __________ is sooooooooooo cute! :)

Mature, wasn't I? (Sorry, Mom!)

Any how.....

I haven't done as well recently with journaling, but this week I was talking to a friend who shared something she had found on Pinterest and was going to try. I really liked the idea and am going to do it myself.

It's called Peaks, pits, prayers, and praises.

Here is the journal I got to do it with:

Those 4 words are a guide to help you reflect on the day.

1. Peaks of the Day: The highlights. The good moments. Something overall positive that happened during the day. 

2. Pit of the Day: The low point of the day. But, rather than just complaining about it, see if you can find a way to look at it positively or as a blessing in disguise. 

3. Praise: Simply praising God for specific things that happened 

4. Prayers: Prayer requests that may have arose from the new day or that have been lingering. I love this idea!

Thanks for the great idea Morgan!

Family

We had our last Christmas celebration with my extended family this past Saturday. It was a lot of fun! Here are a few photos I snapped while we were together!

 My step-grandma made these for all my girl cousins and I!

(C Likes them too)

Opening gifts.

Getting dinner ready! Even the guys help!

Snuggle time with Mommy!.....

....and Daddy!

Cousins on KP!

Working hard?? :)

C and Sadie. C loved this horsie! Horses are his favorite animal right
now and he even has learned how to make the sound, complete with a head toss.

Fun times! It is such a blessing to have so much family close by!

Our Tree

You're probably thinking, "This girl is a little late on the tree post." Yes and no. Christmas is past, but I actually just put up our tree on the 27th. 

Let me explain. We have a 15 month old that is very curious and explorative (I just made up that word) and I thought that putting the tree up might be more trouble than it's worth, but he has done so well when we're at his grandparent's I decided to put it up after all. After Christmas. I've always been a bit of a rebel. My Hubby likes to leave the tree up till Valentines Day anyways, so we still have lots of time left to enjoy it. :)

Growing up I always thought our tree was kinda ugly. Lots of construction paper ornaments with glitter, macaroni, and ric rac. Not Martha Stewart-ish at all, more 'I was made by a 3 year old' chic. I loved the trees at department stores. Color coordinated and perfectly decorated.

When I got married I decided to have a themed tree. Silver, white and red. I bought little holly clusters and a variety of coordinating ornaments and a matching red star. It was quite lovely, but it meant that some of the ornaments we had from childhood (My mom bought me one every year.) didn't match. This made me a little sad, but I left them in the box. Each year I put up the themed tree I couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing.

This year I decided that while themed trees are pretty to look at, they don't have a lot of heart. So I hauled out the childhood ornaments (Minus a couple of real rag tag ones. :) and now have a tree that makes me smile and brings back childhood memories.

 This was an ornament from my mom the first year we got married.

 This is a vintage ornament from the 60's that was my grandma's.

 Our first Christmas.

 We got this one on our honeymoon Alaska.

 This is one of my favorites. My parent's got it for me the year I was born.

 C loves the tree! When I first turned it on his eyes just glowed!

Trying to take a bell off. :)

Happy New Year!

 

Resolved

I am one of those people that likes to look forward to the New Year and set goals for myself. I love that there are endpoints in time where I feel like I can end one season and start another. Here are some of my resolutions for this year:

Resolved:

-----To make spending time with God a priority every day. 

This has been a year of transition having a new baby and learning what life looks like, but the time I spend in prayer and reflection is always the most important thing I do all day. I need to remember this and make it a priority.

I can't be a good wife unless I spend time with God.

I can't be a good Mommy unless my marriage is a priority.

It all comes back to trusting God with each day and walking with Him.

----- To be more creative in ways I show my husband I love him.

To be a better listener.

------ To take time every day to sit down, ignore my to do list, and just play with C.

------- To read non fiction. I may set a goal each month for how many books I'll read.

-------To be intentional about connecting with my siblings. Text, fb, calls. Life gets busy, but I want to nurture a friendship with them like any of my other friends.

------ To realize there is almost always more than one 'right' way to do things. (Parenting, household tasks, finances, etc...)

------ To count my blessings.

------- To never forget that I am so rich and to care for others who are less fortunate.

Not to get caught up in our materialistic culture.

In a word: to be CONTENT.

------- To encourage my husband's dreams.

------- To not get so caught up in my to-do lists that I miss relationships.

-------- To exercise at least 3x a week.

------- Learn from my mistakes. (Instead of repeating them. :)

-------- Remember that everyone is fighting a hard battle. Be kind.

------- To not compare myself to other women.

(Talents, externals, spirituality, mothering, etc...)

Instead to look to Jesus for my example.

------ To be a blogger that shares more of myself and encourages others in their lives.

------ To challenge myself.

------ To learn to type correctly. (Maybe.)

------ To be a cheerful wife and mommy.

------ To try new things.

------ To have a garden again and preserve more stuff.

----- To do what works for us, not what I think I'm 'expected'  to do by others.

------ To re-use more and buy less.

What are some of your resolutions?

Making it work.

Do you have pieces in your closet you don't wear anymore because you don't think they're flattering or cute anymore?

I do.

I came across this post from Amy at Sugar and Spice of her revamping a shirt she wasn't in love with and it inspired me to give it a whirl!

My Items:

Khaki jacket from Old Navy that is short waisted.

Tunic that I never know what to wear with.

Skinny Jeans that aren't quite skinny enough to tuck into tall boots without the above the knee "poof".

Here's what I came up with:

 I paired the short jacket with a longer tunic which balanced it well.

I tucked the jeans into some boot toppers which helped with the pouf.

Jacket: Old Navy

Wooden necklace: Dollar General
Tunic: thrifted

Toppers: Kohls

Boots: Target

I like how it turned out! Thanks for the inspiration, Amy!