Have fun tonight!

Source: flickr.com via Liz on Pinterest

I hope you all enjoy your New Years Eve! 

I'll be with my hubby & great friends kissing 2011 goodbye & saying hello to 2012. 

Here's to a fantastic year.

Vacation

Snow.

Uggs.

Hoodies.

Hot Chocolate.

Wassal.

Blankets.

Movies.

Games.

Long talks.

Snacks.

Peppermint Mocha Coffee (at night!).

Family.

Playing.

Relaxing.

It’s been a good week.

How was yours?

Hot or Hot Mess? New Years Edition

Dogs Get Presents Too

Traditional Christmas Morning Picture

And the best one we could snag this year (from my phone-for now)

Memories (My 3 Favorite People)

First, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Mine was beautiful & special, like it always is.

Because I have family in town & my sissies are on vacation, I will just be posting some pictures from past winters today & then some randoms the rest of the week. 

Enjoy!

Yes. My little & I are 2 peas in a pod. I'd show you the other versions of this, but I think you'd second guess your friendship with me :)

My man is so amazing with kids! He likes to say he isn't & that they bug the jeepers out of him, but it's clear he's got the touch.

My littles when Lexi still had super crazy long hair & G-baby still looked like that, a baby. Now they are growing up & making me feel o.l.d.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas.

I thank each of you for following along on this journey I call life. And to those of you who have become genuine friends, I am truly grateful & blessed by your words of encouragement & love. 

Enjoy today with your friends & family, celebrating the true meaning of this very special day.

Christmas Eve w/ the Hubby

How special & exciting today is. I love Christmas Eve! It just has so much meaning and makes me reflect on a young couple with no experience as parents, welcoming our savior into this world. It makes me think of our God who sent His one and only son to teach us & die for us, so that we may be promised eternity in Heaven.

I wanted to share some pictures from Christmas over the past 8 years that I have been able to celebrate with my amazing husband. It truly is a reassuring feeling to know that the man I chose to spend the rest of this earthly life with believes in that savior who was born in a manger many, many years ago. And that he will raise our children up knowing that Jesus is the reason we celebrate Christmas, not santa or presents.

(so as I was going through old pictures, I discovered that I have no clue where any of my pictures are from the pre-digital camera era! Which means I don't have pictures for the years 2003-2006, and friends, those would probably be the funniest pictures of all)

Recipe: Half & Half Cookies

These are seriously the best cookies.

Some might say they are a lot of work but it’s worth it for sure.

Enjoy!

Hot or Hot Mess? Christmas Edition

Wordless Wednesday {My Hubby}

I love my husband.

I don't always love that he won't smile like a normal adult for pictures.

But I love my husband.

Are you laughing yet?

Hubs would be happy your laughing.

That's his ultimate goal...to make people smile!

Love him.

God Chose...

a no one from no where.

Mary & Joseph.  

An engaged couple. A carpenter. A young girl.

Two people who were not well known or well versed.

Just 2 ordinary people.

Can you wrap your head around that for a minute?

God did not choose a king or elder. 

He chose no ones from no where.

With Christmas less than a week away, why don't we grasp the concept that God chose us.

He chooses us daily.

He chose us when He sent His Son to die for us.

Why, then don't we choose Him?

Why don't we make a daily decision to marvel at the fact that our God has set us apart to make great things happen in this world. We are chosen to bring a light to this dark world.

I pray that through this season, we will be showing our hearts to those around us.

And not to make this a shameless plug, but a great way to show your heart is by giving.

Being a testimony through your gifts to others.

This week is the last week that you will have the opportunity to shop for Operation Zipper Pouch.

I know Christmas is Sunday & life is bound to be chaotic, but I don't want to leave anyone out.

Today I...

...was trusted to do a very important job.
...ran the slides at church.

...didn't mess up the slides!

...enjoyed Jamaican Me Crazy coffee.
...trusted someone else to run the kids check in station.

...sang beautiful worship songs.

...listened to an amazing sermon!

...had a fabulous meatball sub.

...baked the most delicious batch of cookies.

...got to fellowship with some pretty great ladies from church at the cookie exchange.

(minus my bestie who is on vacation in sunny California)

...ate a bunch of tasty cookies.

...smiled.

...wore my cozy slippers.

...delivered a Thirty-One Christmas order.

...had a wonderful day.

Source: alive-to-live-a-lie.tumblr.com via Vivien on Pinterest

I should be more like that...

 An excellent wife, who can find? 
For her worth is far above jewels. 

Proverbs 31 : 10

The other day my sweet friend Ruthie wrote about the Proverbs 31 woman & it got me thinking..

I SHOULD BE MORE LIKE THAT!

I want to be an excellent wife...

I want the heart of my husband to trust me...

I want to do good, not evil...

I want to have strong arms...(don't believe me? read verse 17)

I want words of wisdom to leave my mouth...

I want to teach with kindness...

I want my children to bless me...

I want to FEAR the Lord...

I want to use the word "ironic" to explain this next sentence, but it's really not. It's really God.

I work for Thirty-One Gifts. Think about the name of that company. 

Yep, it's based off of the Proverbs 31 lady. And I get to call that my job.

I get to celebrate, encourage, & reward women anytime I have a party or deal with customers.

I strive daily to be more like that virtuous woman from the bible, it's a struggle.

Sometimes, I let my fear of people creep in and keep me from really sharing what my job is truly about. 

I don't share why I believe in the company & I why I joined.

When really, I should be fearing the Lord. I will have to answer for the many times I haven't shared the gospel with women who so desperately needed to hear it.

I'm ashamed.
I am definitely not anywhere near being that proverbs 31 woman, but with God's help I'm getting there.

This video was created after the Victoria's Secret fashion show.

I want that man to know just how special he is. God is using him to show women & young girls all around the world that their true worth, in the eyes of God has nothing to do with how great they look in very skimpy swimming suits (if you can even call them that). 

As you know young girls are on on my heart. I want to be a role model to them. 

A strong, Godly influence. 

I pray that a young man, like the one in the video, is being prepared by God to step in and give his heart to one of the girls, so that she can live out proverbs 31.

Help Wanted

You might remember me mentioning that I am starting up a young girls group at my church.

We have decided on a name....

G.L.O.W.

{Girls Lighting Our World}

and we decided on a background for the logo...

Now we just need to figure out how to put those two together to make it really pop out!

We want the word GLOW to literally glow.

Any of you Photoshop wizards willing to work your magic for me?

All I have is Picnik & it's just not cutting it.

I want it to be a fun, young, attention-grabbing logo! 

It will end up having more than just GLOW on it, such as my personal info and some info about the actual bible study, but for now I am just drawing a blank on how to make this look great.

Thanks ladies, I knew I could count on you to pull through for me!

Hot or Hot Mess? {December 8}

What I Wore..

Hat - Payless

Scarf, Sweater, & Jeans -  LOFT

T/Shirt & Tank - Old Navy

Shoes - TOMS

Why do my pictures look so clear on my iphone but then so blurry when I put them on here?

I think I need a brand new big-girl camera!!!!

*hint hint hubby*

{Hot or Hot Mess will be up late tomorrow! It's our Christmas party for ladies group & I'd love to schedule the post now, but that would require it being done. And well, life has been busy lately...so it's not}

Guest Post : Captivated by Grace {Change}

Hello lovely Behind the Scenes readers!

My name is Erin and I blog over at Captivated By Grace

I am extremely grateful that Liz asked me to swap blogs today.

I have been following along with Liz since I started blogging a few months ago.

I was immediately drawn to her sweet nature and kind heart.

I am so grateful for my new friend in Christ!

Thanks again Liz!

Bah, Humbug.

-Ebenezer Scrooge

     Let me start by saying, this is not what Christmas means to me, but this infamous quote from Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, keeps coming to my mind lately. Do you ever feel like this during the holiday season? Do you feel completely drained and burned out? There are endless lists of things we need to complete during the holiday season, people we need to please, and obligations we know me must take part in. Does it ever get to be too much for you? Do you find yourself complaining? Stressing? Losing joy? Resenting?

      Do you knows someone that is lost this Christmas? Unable to see the joy and beauty in this incredible day? Perhaps they have lost themselves or refuse to see the many blessings that they have in their life. For some reason, this has been on my mind a lot this past week. It reminded me of Ebenezer Scrooge, a man so unbelievably unhappy in his life. A man unwilling to see the good in life. Unable to see the blessings that surround him. A hardened heart. A heart needing the mercy and grace of God. 

     Anyone who knew Scrooge was terrified of him. He was mean and cruel. He was the last person that anyone thought was capable of change. He was a closed book. He was an end scene. Others looked at him, judged him, and condemned him. Would this do him any good? When we judge and criticize those who have fallen, are we doing them any good? Are we only making things worse for them?

     Perhaps we need to do the opposite of this. Perhaps we need to be there for them. Endure whatever trials they may be going through for a chance to help them see the light. To never give up on them. To keep pushing them. To lead them to a change. To guide them to the arms of the Lord. 

Even the coldest, toughest, 

and most hardened of hearts can be redeemed. 

In Him, we have redemption through His blood, 

the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with 

the riches of God's grace that lavished on us. 

-Ephesians 1:7-8

     We have all had our own "Scrooge moments" throughout our lives. Moments where our hearts were hardened with each new trouble placed upon them. We lost hope. We lost the joy. We affected the lives of those around us. What if everyone in our lives had given up on us? Had abandoned us? Even in our most ugly of times, would we have wanted our loved ones to turn their backs on us because we were too difficult to deal with? Where would we be if they had?

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      I want to be intentional with people. I want to lead my life in a way that can be of witness to those who are lost. I want to impact lives. I want to lift them up, guide them, and lead them to the one safe place they can always turn to. God has the power to right wrongs. To mend wounds. To change hearts. He has the power to save anyone. Who are we to judge the fate of others? We should do less judging of them, and more praying for them.

Even the most broken of hearts can be fused back together.

     This Christmas, I am praising God for the gift of His son. The Son that came to this Earth to redeem us. To die on the cross for us. To save us. Even through the hardest times of our lives, He is always there to save us again and again. I am so thankful to know Christ in my heart, to trust Him with my life, and to put my faith in Him. I want to live for Him, to be an example to those who are lost and broken. I will not give up on anyone, for Christ never gives up on me. 

I want to live like Christ. 

I want to love like Christ. 

I want to do all things for Christ who gives me the strength.

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     God, thank you for your Son. Thank you for sending Him to Earth on that glorious night. Thank you for giving Him as an example for how I want to try and live my life. Thank you for the ability to love. Help me to love more than ever before. Help me to lead others to your abounding love. 

Thank you this Christmas and always. Thank you for you grace.

I will start anew. I will make amends and I will make quite certain that the story ends on a note of hope, on a strong Amen, and I'll thank the world and remember when I was able to begin again.

-Ebenezer Scrooge

We are all capable of change. 

No one is unworthy of Christ's love.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. 

The old has gone, the new is here.

-2 Corinthians 5:17

Merry Christmas!...

Thanks for having me Liz!

Now go check out her awesome post here!

Custom Illustrations

Do ya'll remember Laura from Eight Day Designs?

She's the one who made my little blog look so spectacular!!

Well she recently started up a new aspect to her business & I couldn't be more excited for her!

She is making custom illustrations!

Here is what Laura has to say about her illustrations & some prices...

"Stock illustrations are great, they really are, but they are everywhere. You're awesome and you deserve to be represented by something that is uniquely you. That's where custom illustrations come in. They're great for blogs, businesses or even just on their own! You can see some examples of my style below!

Prices are as follows:

Full Body - $100

Waist Up - $75

Add a person/child - $50

Not sure what I mean?

Take a look at some of her work...

            

Amazing, right?

What better way to make those business cards really seem like they belong to you, than with a custom drawn picture of you!!

If you are interested, click here to go to her site & check out more of her work.

Make sure you tell her I sent you!!!

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Don't forget, Operation Zipper Pouch is still happening.