Thanksgiving 2012

The start of the holiday season is officially upon us.  We just celebrated Thanksgiving and realized how very much we have to be thankful for.  It was a quiet Thanksgiving for our family as well celebrated together at The Lodge at Wilderness Ridge.  No leftovers to enjoy, but no clean up and dishes either ;)  Then, Santa made his grand enterance into Lincoln on Saturday night, complete with a couple of his reindeer, several elves, and Mrs. Claus.  The next several weeks will be full of special activities, family time, and remembering why we have the eternal hope that we are blessed to have... as it all leads up to the birthday of our precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  

Boy, if this isn't classic for my girls ;)

Waiting for Santa to arrive.  That's the last shot you will see of Miss Hannah... She spent the rest of the night hiding from Santa and his entire crew.  She is still terrofied of things like this.

The big guy finally arrived :)

 

We ended our evening by snuggling up with some snacks and sparkling cider and watching Santa and the Three Bears (my personal favorite Christmas Cartoon:)  Poor Miss Gracie couldn't make it through the whole movie.  When it was over, he daddy carried her off to bed and she never even woke up :)

My fun find...

Anyone who knows me at all, knows I LOVE to create. I love all different mediums, and it really just depends on my mood what you might find me working on at any given time.

I don't know what I'd do without my Cricut Cutter. I seriously use it all the time. If you have one, you know how much you can do with it. Consequently, there's a ton to learn about all that it does. I have some wonderful dvd's that teach me some of the amazing things this machine does and how I can get professional results with mine too. However, there are just times I want to look something up quickly without watching a video. Today, my wish came true:). I stumbled upon this book in the magazine section at Hobby Lobby. It has tons of information, it's full of tricks and tips, and it has some great projects with step by step instructions.

If you have a Cricut, check this book out. I think you might find that it helps you take your projects to the next level. Oh yeah... Don't forget to use your weekly 40% off coupon too, that makes this book at steal at only $12.00:)

It's so nice to hear....

I was shopping with one of my daughters last night and as we were checking out, the cashier commented to her that she was lucky to find so many things in a small size; that it seems all this particular store ever has is sizes for bigger people.  I commented to them "Hey Hey Hey... watch it now:)"  The cashier looked up and said, "What?  You're not very big"  WOW!  That was something I haven't heard in a long time and it rang so sweetly in my ears:)  I have Plexus Slim and Accelerator to thank for that compliment.

In the past 2 1/2 months, I've lost 25 lbs and gone down 2 sizes in my jeans without dieting or exercising.  I'm still enjoying normal foods and even a little treat each day, but Plexus keeps me in check and I don't over indulge; I'm not hungry anymore and it's impossible to over eat.  Beyond that, Plexus Slim actually burns real fat... hence the reason I've gone down 2 whole sizes in my jeans.  As we are heading into the holiday season, I'm actually looking forward to all the festive foods that we enjoy as we spend time with our family and friends.  I'm not dreading starting the New Year with even more pounds to lose after the holidays; I've already gotten a jump start on that particular resolution:)  Would you like to enjoy everything the holiday season offers without fear of paying the price on the scale come January 2nd?  How about having extra energy to get through all the extra activities the holidays have in store for you?  Try the 30 day Plexus Slim challenge... you've got nothing to lose but those extra pounds.  www.getslimLiveWell.com    

Planning....

I'm betting I'm not the only one who's already thinking about the upcoming New Year and my resolutions.  The older I get, the sooner I try to get a jump start on them because I'm realistic enough to know that they'll all be out the window by February anyway;)  Can you relate?  There's 2 things on my resolution list: lose weight and simplify life.  

I've already lost 25 pounds; that's a pretty good start, right?  It's my goal to be at my goal weight/size by spring this coming year.  Thanks to Plexus, I'm positive that I can reach that goal.  Not only am I getting smaller but I'm also getting healthier and that is a HUGE blessing:)  I actually enjoy getting on my treadmill these days... did you just faint?:)  It's true.  Without that extra weight, I don't have such a hard time with my asthma and my joints aren't bothering me as much.  It makes it easier and more desirable to workout, play with the kids, chase the dogs, whatever the day throws at me.  

As for simplifying our life, I'm getting a jump start on that too.  Cleaning out the closets for starters and donating everything rather than storing it till spring for a yard sale.  It's a freeing exercise actually, to shed all your excess "stuff".  It feels just as good as shedding all your extra weight:)  I'm tackling the toys before the holidays hit too, then it's on to all the household stuff that we save, thinking we'll use it one day, but that day never seems to come.  Simplifying life is more than cleaning out though; it's also about putting things into their proper perspective.  I'm spending more time in Scripture and seeking God's guidance in everything.  With God as my true central focus, my life will be in it's proper order and will automatically simplify.  This is the message I want to get through to my children as well.  This world is so full of excess and along with all that it offers comes a ton of stress.  Focus on God, not the world, and the worldly stresses will begin to shed away. 

In 2013 I want to focus on and count all the simple joys... the ones we tend to miss because we are too busy with life's excess to see them.  I'm asking the girls to also keep a blessing journal this new year, so that they can also see the joy in all the little things and not always focus on what they don't have (which honestly, isn't much.  They are incredibly blessed:)  Would you consider joining me on this journey to simplicity?  Look for the little joys and blessings and acknowledge those, even admidst the chaos of daily life.  

National Adoption Month

As a mom blessed through adoption, I just want to encourage everyone to consider adoption ~ There are so many sweet young ones all over this world waiting for their forever families and so many ways you can help.  Even if you don't personally feel called to add to your family through adoption, you can still raise awarness and help in so many ways.  Maybe there's a family that is in the process of adopting that you can help out.  Maybe there's a young woman facing a hard choice, encourage her to know that there are good, loving families that already love her child and would love to add him/her to their family.    There are children in the USA as well as other countries around this world that need sponsors to help them find their forever families, you could be their HERO by sponsoring them and helping raise funds for their adoption funds to help their forever family bring them home sooner.

Personally, my family loves and supports Reese's Rainbow, an organization that specializes in helping Downs Syndrome children in other countries to find their forever families.  They help children with other disabilities as well, especially children who are HIV+.  They do amazing work.  I encourage you to check them out and choose to be a warrior for one of these precious children.  

Being an adoptive mom doesn't make me anything other than "just a mom".  She may not have grown in my womb, but I assure you, she grew in my heart.  I adore and love her more than life itself.  I'm proud to call her my daughter and am blessed that she calls me MOM:)