Deck the halls with fall...

What a nice weekend we had! I love fun weekends that I get to spend with my family! Fall is my favorite time of the year besides Christmas of course! I love the crisp weather, and the BEAUTIFUL changing of the leaves! I love decorating the house with orange and browns, carving pumpkins, buying costumes, making goody bags, making fun treats like candy apples, and  theirs nothing like Halloween candy!!! We had a great party at my moms house Saturday night. She had it for the young kids so they could play games, bob for apples and just have a good time but the grown ups had a blast too. My brother cracked me up in his "gangsta" wear and my sister was the life of the party in her "Old lady costume". Her booty kept knocking the items off the shelf though lol. One year, we had a spooky trail over there. We made a trail in the woods for my dad to drive the tractor through and we had all kinds of spooky creatures along the way. It was so much fun!!! We thought about doing that this year but never got around to it. I think my mom is such a fantastic lady and she really goes all out for her grand kids! My dad is a ball of fun too and I am so thankful for them. My girls worship them!

Tonight I can't wait to take the girls trick or treating! Theirs nothing like dressing up and piling in the car going house to house loading your treat bag full of delicious treats! Eve is 10 this year so I know that she will only want to participate a few more years. I am going to enjoy it while I can.

We had a great trunk or treat at church last night too. My bestie and me (shout out to Andrea!!) decorated my car using a camping theme. It included, a fire (not a real one), marshmallows on skewers, old lit lanterns, picnic baskets, blankets, sleeping bags, hot chocolate, etc. We froze handing out treats but boy did we enjoy every minute of it. I love that sweet lady! She is such a wonderful, genuine person!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween, with lots of trick or treating, candy eating, fun costume wearing kind of night!

From our house to yours,

Peace out suckas (as Jasy would say :)

Heaven is for real...

I read an incredible book the other week. It is called "Heaven is for Real". It's a book written by a father (who is also a pastor) about his son Colton, a 4 year old at the time. I can't seem to get this story out of my head. It was so realistic! I don't want to go into details because if you haven't read it you need to! I do want to talk a little about how in the story it talks about a little girl that drew a picture of Jesus. An amazing picture of Jesus!!! She is a child prodigy to say the least. Her mom was atheist and she was not brought up in church at all. She had never seen the inside of a church. Just looking at it brings tears to my eyes. Look at His eyes and the peace that they give. So comforting and loving! This picture is different than all other pictures that I have seen before of Jesus. Makes you want to run and sit in His lap and tell Him all your worries, doesn't it? 

Rainy day scriptures...

Oh what a beautiful rainy day! A good day to hibernate! My girls have been feeling a little under the weather anyway so I was tempted to hit the snooze button and go right back to dream land. BUT...life goes on! Life has been throwing us dodge balls but I know that God is on my side and that He will take care of His children. That's the way life goes. No one ever said living a Christan life would be easy. It's far from it but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! God is so good to me and my family and I love Him so much! I know He is fixing to do something AMAZING and I can't wait to see what it is! I really have no clue what our lives have in store for us but I am just content living day by day as a Christian and as a child of the most AMAZING King! Sometimes I have found that it is easier to take the road most traveled but in the end it's always best to take the longer route, you know, the narrow, curvy road, it always ends up being for the best. I am trying to take that road everyday in my life, no matter who else is taking the "other paths" . I know my road is best. I take wrong turns all the time, I'm human, but He just gets me right back on. It's the people that we meet along the way that make a difference in our lives. Even those we dislike or those who dislike us. God has a purpose for everything and God will have the last word in our life, no matter what we might want. This life is so corrupt, people just don't care anymore but I know that the end is coming soon and in the meantime all I have to do is lean on Him and He will take me safely through.


Matthew 5:
37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. *this is a hard thing for me, but I know God's way is best*
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloke also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

My new thang...

I have just joined a company out of Savannah Georgia that I am very excited about! Their a lot like Thirty-one gifts, they have really cute monogrammed items. Every price on their website includes monogramming, so its not extra. You can purchase the items online and put my code as the representative ( my code is"Shannon") and I will get credit or you can just get me your order and I can bill you for it through PayPal. I LOVE their lunch bags, laptop bags, market totes, duffel bags, cooler totes, book bags, backpacks (small bags for everyday use)luggage sets, wallets (love these),travel mugs, Bible cases, diaper bags. Their so cute!!! They make really good gifts for Christmas! You can also host a show and you get free stuff! Here is what you get when you host a show;

At home shows we also offer special discounts and bring our "bargain bin" along with us for even better deals!
We have GREAT hostess benefits! Included in these are:
-$50 of free merchandise just for hosting
-$20 for getting $100 in pre-orders
-$10 for each $50 in orders over $250.
-A fabulous 2 Cutie Patooties Hostess Gift! (usually it's a really nice wallet!)
We also provide invitations, either mail or email, and fabulous door prizes!
We will provide you with catalogs before the show for those guests who may not be able to attend, but would like to place an order.
I have attached pictures of some of my favorite items but you need to check out their website to see EVERYTHING!! The website is http://www.2cutiepatooties.com/

Let me know if I can help you in any way! I am super excited!!!

Routines...

Routines...they are a way of life at our home. I don't think we could live without them. I have instilled major routines in my girls as well and didn't mean to. Get them off of their routines, and you are asking for trouble! Jasy is still adjusting to getting up so early and staying awake all day. She has a rough time in the morning lately getting up. It really breaks my heart to have to go in her bedroom and get her up out of her little bed when she is snoozing so well! Her and all of her "friends" and her blankie. She has to sleep with certain friends every night or it's just not going to work for her. The Eve doll that says big sissy on it, the Garfield that Jason won her out of the machine onetime, Eve's favorite blanket to cuddle with, her little chubby baby, my teddy bear from when I was a little girl and her blankie that she has been inseparable too since she was about 6 months old! Whew...now that's a bed full! If she gets scared during the night she will grab the picture of Jason and me that sits on her nightstand by her bed and put it near her heart and sleep with it. (I know...so pitiful) She is such a caring little girl. God has really blessed her with a warm, caring, sweet personality.

Eve has to have her milk 3 times a day or she will hurt someone! Her binder for school, has got to be in tip top order or she will have a meltdown (Gets that OCD from her mommy) and that's just the icing on the cake with that child!

Jason on the other hand, doesn't have to live by routines. He is good spur of the moment, go. He gives our family a little creativity there. ;)

I am killed over with routines and I honestly need counseling probably. It drives my sister crazy who is "go with the flow", "who cares" type of person. Isn't it so weird how two sisters can be so different? I was reading the Bible Story Cain and Abel last night to Jasy at bedtime (another routine) and it made me think about how different the two brothers were. Abel so obedient and caring and Cain so high strung and self centered.

So tonight, I might, just might, go to bed doing my bedtime routines in a different order!!!! Who says I can't be wild!!!

My mind...

Happy Tuesday everyone! What beautiful rain we have been blessed with lately! God is always so good to us! I really am trying to make time again to blog so maybe it will get more consistent. I can tell that we are back in the swing of things again bc my laundry has made it's way into a mountain again in my bedroom floor. Clean, I might say but not folded! Poor clothes get washed and then abandoned for a few days. Oh well, that's part of our life right now. I promised myself to look beyond the dirt in the floor, the pile of laundry in the floor, and the toys in the floor and just step right over them into the more important things. If I died tomorrow, people wouldn't care that I didn't do the laundry or sweep the floors, they would be thinking about what I did here that really matters anyway. Like, witnessing to others, loving my children, helping my husband, teaching and loving my Sunday school class. I am going to confess first hand that those little things bother me and I let them keep seeping into my mind. A lot of things bother me right now. I have a lot on my mind for some reason and I can't seem to shake it. It seems like the Lord has put a vast supply of opinion in me and I usually just keep things to myself but now I can't seem to keep this ole trap shut and it just slips right on out. I don't know if God is preparing me to be more outspoken since for now He has us moving far north in a few years. You know those northerners love to speak their mind lol! I dunno, maybe I am just getting mean the older I get. Pray for me!  One thing that has been on my mind and heart our my girls. (You knew that right!) I pray that my girls find a good christian man that is good to them. Not one that comes from a family of different religions that will not agree with our faith. That worries me because I know that the devil tries hard to fit couples up like that. You take your kids to church and raise them up strong in faith and then when they start dating all you can do is pray that they will find a mate that God sends to them and not the other way around. It's got to be really scary waiting and worrying about who they will bring home when they reach that age. Jason already said that he is not allowing them to ever marry so at least we don't have to worry about that right!? No really, when young couples are dating even the nicest of people can have the worst impact on your child's life. I know that's confusing but I have seen it happen first hand. People who "claim salvation" just to fit into your child's life when really they are living two lives! I know my girls are young but being a parent I have seen the years already fly by and I know I will blink my eyes and hear the door bell ring and some boy standing on our front porch wanting to take one of my girls on a date. Please help me pray for this and pray for our young people. I can see the devil working in them but I know that I serve a God who is bigger and He has the last word!

A mothers dream...

I'm going to put myself out there a bit here, but bear with me. I want to know what people think about a 10 year old training 17 1/2 hours a week. I see nothing wrong with it as long as it's what she wants to do and can keep up with her grades as well. As long as she loves what she is doing I will be her taxi. As long as she doesn't mind having aching joints, back pain, bruising, and no free time (even on Saturday mornings) and loves what she is doing, I will take her. BUT...I get snares, looks and people who think that it's us pushing her so this is for that. Here you go...

 I have big dreams for my child. I'd love to see her progress and be a fantastic, high level gymnast. I'd love to see her score high, be a top gymnast in the area, etc. Would I love to see her become an elite level gymnast - I think so, but that is just not going to be in the picture.I just want her to learn the skills that she wants to learn and do her best in all she does! So yes, if I fork out money all the time and back her up in her dreams then I will remind her that she needs to do her best just like in school and don't just do it to say she is doing it. Make sense?
That being said, I would never push her beyond her comfort, put pressure on her, make her feel "not good enough", etc. I would never punish for low scores, force her to stay in a sport she was done with, or force practices beyond what she could handle. I will always tell her how wonderful she did (assuming she tried her best), how much I love her, what a great little person she is, etc. She will try other sports and have plenty of other opportunities as time/finances allow and she wants.

I hear/see comments so often that are something along the lines of, "she is only 10". As long as the parent isn't pushing their hopes/dreams onto their child, putting too much pressure, or forcing the sport in one way or another on their child (extra practices, home practice, etc) - what is so wrong with wanting big things for your child? Or hoping that your child will be "that one", even though you know they likely will not be. I know a lot of parents can't separate the two and the hopes & dreams lead to pressure & burn out, but what about those of us who can?

What's so wrong with wondering how your child measures up (in general, obviously kids peak at different ages)? Or looking for a program that might push your child a little more (assuming your child is one that can handle it/desires it and that it isn't TOO MUCH)? Or even just talking to friends/family/other gym parents  about your dreams and aspirations for your child?
I dunno....maybe I've said too much and changed every body's opinion of me. Maybe you'll all classify me as a "pushy parent" now. I just think that there's nothing wrong with dreaming that your child will someday be an all around great gymnast, or wanting them to be "the best THEY can be" as long as you aren't forcing those dreams on the child or pushing them in a way that hurts their self esteem and/or causes burnout.

I hear all the time "she's only 10, or WOW that's a lot of time!"  Just because a parent talks about their child and the sport that their in doesn't mean they are actually putting pressure on the child and I think the conversation deserves a response without judgment or a glare. I often am just proud of my child just like anyone would be when their child does good on something. I am a proud Mom when she is raving and thrilled when I pick her up that she got her layout on bars, or her round off backhandspring backtuck on floor. She has been working hard to get them and deserves to have a mom who is proud! :)

I hope this all makes sense and that I've expressed myself well..... I promise I'm very easy to get along with, hate confrontation, and have a little to no pressure household. Eve is my oldest so this is new to me. We have a long journey ahead. You hear from various people that your child is talented, fast, strong, etc...it's exciting. You wonder where will they really excel...and a coach recommends your child move up to an advanced level...even more exciting. You want them to do well. You want to make sure you are doing everything you can to support them doing their best. But at the same time, balancing things so you don't become "that mom". It's hard.

I think some things will come with time. It is great advice for people with older children who are competing to say "let it be their sport" but when you have a 10 year old, you are deciding for them what they do. Sure, I ask her if she wants to go, but I am the one who started her in gymnastics...if I hadn't suggested it, she wouldn't even know about it yet. You need to go with your gut that they seem happy doing it. We can also decide that they aren't doing it.

I think the constant reminders to be "the most laid back, content gym parent ever" are fine....but I think that goes for every sport. Parents at baseball, football, hockey,cheer....every sport has it's crazy parents .

There is nothing wrong with wanting the best for your child, and maybe even believing your kid has a great future. It can happen.

I am just trying to constantly remind myself to take this one step at a time. She may or may not be the best in her group but as long as she still wants to go and we can afford it, she will. But also know that at some point she may like another sport better, ...and also reminding myself that gymnastics is a great base for everything. ;)