The Simple Woman's Daybook-January 19,2009

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For today~ (January 19,2009)...

Outside my window... A thick blanket of white is covering the ground. There are tiny little snow flurries falling and every tree branch is outlined in white.

I am thinking... about spending a quiet day inside, tidying up the living room, reading to the children, coloring together, cooking, washing dishes, doing laundry, and sorting through baby clothes for Colin, (my friend Heidi's son, who will be here within a few weeks.)

I am thankful for... My beautiful children, and all they mean to me. I'm thankful that Sanctity of Life -Sunday was yesterday, and I hope the celebration and observance of the day will stir our hearts as Christians to stand against the proposal of FOCA (Freedom of Choice Act H.R. 1964 and S. 1173) that is currently being introduced to Congress.

From the kitchen... Oatmeal with cinnamon, apple slices, yogurt, and juice.

I am wearing...Charcoal pants and a bright orange-red LuLu's t-shirt, and flip flops. Yes, I did say flip-flops...I don't wear shoes in the house, unless I'm going down into the basement to start/bring up a load of clothes. So, I keep a pair of flip-flops at the kitchen door to slip on.

I am creating...a special photo album/scrapbook of my mom's pictures. I won a candlewic embroidered photo album in a silent auction, not too long ago. I knew right away that it would be perfect.

I am going... to the library later today to pick up a few movies for the kids, and the next season of Lost for Hugh and I.

I am reading... The Shack by William P. Young. -Thanks to my sweet friend Heidi.

I am hoping... to start sewing again, and maybe even do a little painting.

I am hearing... the hummm of my computer, and the sound of water running through our aquarium.

Around the house...There are toys everywhere. Lots and lots of toys that need to be picked up.

One of my favorite things... My new 1895 antique Pictorial Family Bible. It was my christmas present from Hugh. I first saw one here and here -at Pearl's Sentimental Journey. And I fell in love! Hugh found one for me on E-bay, and gave it to me for Christmas. I have been spending my quiet time reading out of it. I started reading the Bible in chronilogical order at the beginning of the year with a few ladies from Marsha's Musings.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Hummm.....meal planning, exercising, cooking, reading, cleaning, sorting and organizing. Daily Life of a domestic diva. Oh, and the girls are comming over for our Ladies Bible study Tuesday night! Yeah!

Here is picture thought I am sharing... These are from last winter. It's been a little too cold to let the kids play out in the snow, so far, this winter. But, this gives you an idea of life right now in our Winter Wonderland!

Peggy at The Simple woman created this day book meme for her readers to enjoy an inside view of her thoughts and daily life at home. I found her through Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight. In keeping with striving to simplify my life and yet create a warm, inviting and peaceful atmosphere within my home, I thought this would be a great way to journal a snippet of my daily thoughts, feelings and ideas.~Blessings.

Weight Watchers!

It's official....Hubby and I have started back on weight watchers. We both had great success with it a little over a year ago, right after Anna Grace was born. Unfortunately we didn't take the next step of maintaining it as a life style. -Hey we all learn from our mistakes, right?! So, we're back on the band wagon. And I'm really excited about it. I'm not usually one to talk about weight, maybe it's my southern upbringing, but, I feel like it's something very personal, and not something- in good taste- that you talk about all the time in public.

But, I know that those of you that actually read my blog are good friends, who know that I'm not trying to indulge my vanity, as much as I am trying to learn to live a healthy life style. The only person I'm worried about impressing visually is my husband. I don't dress for other men or other women for that matter. I'm never going to be on the cutting edge of styles, fashion or trends. It's just not who I am, but I'm comfortable with that. I'm much more of a classic, low-key type. I guess if I aspire to be anything, I aspire to be more like the Jackie O type. A very crisp, clean, well tailored, well put together, yet very feminine and very lady-like.

I am so glad that my hubby and I are doing this together. He is very encouraging and supportive, and that makes all the difference in the world. But, I also decided to post it, because like actually saying it out loud, it will make me more accountable. There are so many things I'm looking forward to. Most of all, I can't wait to have more energy! I'm also trying to be more intentional and plan out meals ahead of time. so, a Great Big -THANK YOU to all the ladies that gave me nutritious ideas for breakfast. I'm on a roll! Ready for success! Hope everyone is having a great day! ~Blessings!

Breakfast ideas for kids!

Good morning y'all! I am searching for new ideas for the most important meal of the day. I need to put a little variety in our lives, with lots of nutrition. My little ones love breakfast, hot or cold. I want to get away from "processed foods" as much as possible, because my kids would eat an Aldi breakfast bar every morning if I let them. I want that to be a quick back up only if we have to be somewhere early in the morning. So here's what I have already......

Muffins (blueberry,banana, and sweet potato) with Apple slices, half of a Banana, or Yogurt.

Scrambled Eggs with a slice of Toast or side of Sausage.

Cheese toast or a Cheese tortilla roll up with Orange slices.

Oatmeal with milk, sugar, and sometimes Cinnamon. Or a bowl of Cheerios.

Pancakes or French toast, with a side of Fruit or Yogurt.

So, does anyone have any new ideas or recipes I can try? I would really appreciate it. ~Blessings to all!

A Photo Meme!

OK, OK, I know some of you are probably tired of looking at all my pictures. But, Leah at South Breeze Farm was kind enough to include me in a Photo Meme. Here is the way it works...

I am supposed to open my photos, choose the 6th folder and then the 6th photo in that folder. Then I am to post the photo with a description about it and then tag 6 friends to do the same. Almost all of my photos are in files here in our computer.

This is one of the first pictures taken of Hugh and I. We were 18 years old and freshman in college at Delta State University. -Wow, we were just babies. This was taken at my sorority's Fall Fling. I love this picture, because it brings back such good memories of our courtship.



I am going to tag eight people. I know you're only supposed to tag 6, but I'm kinda weirded out by the whole 6-6-6 thing, so I'm picking 8.

M.C. at The Four Fabulous Fords
Mrs. Jules at Casa de Jules
Ray-Ray at The Crazy Carellis Chronicle
Demetria at The only Girl Here
Jen at A Good Cup Of Coffee
Suzanne at The Barnette Family
Jenny at The Winstead Family
Ashley at Happily Ever After of the Lancasters

I can't wait to see your pictures and read some hilarious story that goes along with it or learn a little more about you. This should be fun. ~Blessings!

Christmas 2008 -Part II

Christmas at Paw-Paw's and Nana"s What a wonderful time we had filled with good food, family, lots of silliness and child like wonder.

Demetria and I thought it would be nice to cook a Christmas breakfast for everyone. I made a breakfast casserole and she made very yummy french toast. We sprinkled powdered sugar in the shapes of angels, stars, candy canes, and snowmen on the kid's.

Here is Kaden enjoying breakfast. He is definately a very happy "morning" person.

An angel for my sweet "Angel." She's still so sleepy here.
My Lil' Man chose a star.

Russ looks so sweet and innocent his eating breakfast.

Kyle is enjoying his yummy french toast! Um-Um-Good! -Such precious babies!

The boys building a bridge, so they can play cars together.

Time for presents! Yeah!!!! Lots of toys, lots of fun.

Paw-Paw, Kevin, Chris and Heath took the kids riding. They had a blast! Then they decided to play in the leaves, roll down the hill, and gather pebbles in the dump truck. It was a sight to see.

Our last night all together. M.C. and me all teary! We couldn't help ourselves. I miss them all so much already.OK, enough with the water works. Let's Party! Time to celebrate and stay up late!

Merry Christmas everyone-and a Happy, Happy New Year! Thanks for sharing some memories with me!

Christmas 2008 -Part I

OK, I'm going to have to separate my pictures into two posts. There are just too many, and I can't get my photo bucket to work for some reason. So, here is part one...Christmas at Momma Donna's! Aka... MIMI! -I love this picture of Granny and her three beautiful daughters. Granny in the center with Aunt Barbara, Ms.Donna and Aunt Jean around her. I'm making it one of our traditions to take this same picture every year.
I love this picture of Hugh and his mom. And the one below is of both of them and the babies all in scrubs. Ms. Donna got them for the kids as a little happy for Christmas. She wanted them to have a pair that match their daddy's scrubs, and as a nurse, she already had a matching pair. -So cute, aren't they?

HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Yes, I'm out of my slump. Nothing to worry about ladies. But, thank you ever so much for your kind comments, encouragement, and prayers. Prayer is one thing a girl can never have too much of. I have "real" days too, but I'm not one to sit in the muck for long. I just get up ~brush myself off, smooth my hair back into place, put on my rose colored glasses and sash ea my way back into life. Sometimes I even hum a little tune. I guess what I'm saying is life is too short to miss all the good stuff, dwelling on the bad.

So, on to more important things.....How was everyones holiday? I had a very restful, peaceful day with my babies. Hugh had to work New Years Day. We did get to bring in the New Year together though. We had a nice quiet time, just the two of us. The babies were already asleep. I spent yesterday playing baby dolls, Little people and Geo-Tracks. And it was a lot of fun. We also snuggled up together in my bed, read a couple of stories and took naps together. I also got the chance to sit down and have an extended "quiet time," with the Lord. And what better way to start off the New Year? Things just look better, even if they don't go better, when I make sure to make my "quiet time" a priority.

I changed my layout look. I always think of January in terms of snowflakes. January is always like a cool, clean, crisp beginning. I'm not yet ready to give up the colorful glitz and glitter of the holidays, so I thought this would be a nice new look to face the year with.

It's always fun getting an unexpected surprise, isn't it? Well, my sweet, lovely, oh so sassy sister, Demetria, made my day by passing this award to me.


and I am to try to answer the following questions in one word. Oh my.. I will try, but that's a hard one for me too D.

1. Where is your cell phone? charger
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? black
4. Your mother? Momma
5. Your father? Daddy
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? peaceful
8. Your dream/goal? happiness
9. The room you're in? living room
10. Your hobby? bloging
11. Your fear? private
12. Where do you want to be in six years? "Home"
13. Where were you last night? here
14. What you're not? Hateful
15. One of your wish list items? healing
16. Where you grew up? Indianola
17. The last thing you did? Read
18. What are you wearing? pj's
19. Your TV? -OFF
20. Your pet? fish
21. Your computer? better
22. Your mood? dreamy
23. Missing someone? family
24. Your car? Pathfinder
25. Something you're not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? 2many
27. Your Summer? can't wait!
28. Love someone? YES!
29. Your favorite color? champagne
30. When is the last time you laughed? last-night
31. Last time you cried? recently
And the award goes to........
Penless Writer
Mustard Seeds
Itty Bitty Bits of Me
The Ingram Gang
Pigtails and Pearls
Pearls Sentimental Journey
My Petite Maison
I really love everyone of the blogs on my blogroll, but I wanted to highlight a few that are thoughtful and uplifting -or fun and fabulous! Have Fun Reading! And Blessings all around!