Tidbits of randomness

It's December 1!!!! Where has the time gone this year? I for one thought the year flew by...
My one goal this month is to get to the gym every single day of the week! Doesn't matter if I go in the AM or PM, as long as I get there!
What are your goals this month?

I couldn't wait to show you these:

This first one is of A's solo. I know I shared it on here how much it meant to me that she did this solo. I used all American Craft stuff on this one and my main focus is to document that night so that I can remember it forever!

Supplies: AC cardstock, AC Pearl Brads Brights, AC Correspond Remarks, CM corner rounder, Zig black writer, Ruler, AC Sweet Flair, AC Regards Chipboard Thickers, AC Everyday Greetings papers, AC Everyday What's Happening papers, AC Junior papers, Pop dots, Bazzill cardstock

This next one is a card I did for Pink Sketches. I am always challenged by cards, but when I am challenged I think I do some of my best cards! Ha. Not like I'm braggin', I just happen to like them once I do them!
This one is all American Crafts too!! I LOVE their stuff a lot!

SUPPLIES: American Crafts Merrymint Wintergreen papers, CM corner rounder, American Crafts Snickerdoodle clear stamps, American Crafts cardstock, American Crafts Merrymint Peanut Brittle papers, Color Box Aqua ink, American Crafts Merrymint Figgy Pudding papers, Bo Bunny Tis The Season embellishments, American Crafts Merrymint Marshmallow papers, American Crafts Cinnamon Foil Thickers, American Crafts FieldHouse Foil Merrymint, American Crafts Eggnog Flair, Twine

I also tried out for the Treasured Scrapbooking DT and got an email
from Erin asking me to join the team! So happy about that! I am even more
happier to find a scrappy home! Go check them out!

We went to see Christmas Carol the other night. I surprised them both! Straight after I got off of work on Wed. night we went up the street {see how cool it is to have a movie theater right up the street! Cool!}. I will tell ya though, it was pricey!!!! It cost us 34 to get in and then we got treats, which was about another 20 bucks.. Believe that.
But.. The movie was pretty good! I have to share that I wore 3-D glasses back in the day and they were horrible, so were the 3-D movies back then! Ha. But this one was incredible! I enjoyed the story, even though parts of it were pretty scary {for kids I think}. They put a lot of effort into the animation and details of the movie and I appreciate that a lot.
Have you seen it? What did you think of it?

Dayv is away for a week TDY {we are prayerful that he comes home on time!} please pray for him!

My grateful list this week:

1. People who are honest.
2. Reaching out to others.
3. Family.
4. The Lord showing me areas where I still need to dig deeper so that He can roughin' the edges within.
5. The ability to slow down during this busy time of year.
6. Alyssa having a full week off, she needed it and I loved having her here all the time!
7. Snowmen!
8. Still basking in God's freedom within myself!
9. My health. My family's health. The health of my friends.
10. Clean laundry that smells wonderful.
11. A list that I can follow, check off, and feel accomplishment!

I have my family's package all wrapped up that lives in TN ready to go! I wrapped them this past weekend and am pretty excited about shipping it soon! I think every year I am going to get the shopping done early and mail them off even earlier! This way I can check that off and focus on my family!

There is this conference going on in our church one weekend in January and I am going to go! My friend B and I are going to do a girlie weekend together and I am totally stoked!

Well I sure hope and pray that your December isn't too busy and you take the time to smile, find joy, and live in the moment!

Kit reveals!!

The newest kit reveal for Treasured Scrapbooking is here!
I am SO excited because this kit is chalked FULL of fun things for December!

Kit reveal #1



Products include:
Papers from: Crate Paper, Prima, October Afternoon, Sassafras Lass and more!
Embellishments from: Prima, Pebbles, Jenni Bowlin, American Crafts, Kaiser craft, VINTAGE, and more!

Kit reveal #2




Manufacturers include:

Making Memories
May Arts
Queen & Co
Little Yellow Bicycle
Teresa Collins
Webster's Pages
Jillibean Soup
Kaiser craft
VINTAGE
And MUCH MORE!

They are totally fun and exciting so check them out!

Wake up lil' Suzie, wake up!

Okay so in A's bible study we talked this week about
choosing to get up on time. On the right side of the bed so to speak.
Seriously.. It was about this chick named Hannah and how she chose to do things
and make bad choices concerning getting up on time, using her time wisely,
and causing others to have to work for her because of it.

I didn't honestly feel at first this was applicable to A or myself.
Neither of us need an alarm to get up daily.
We just wake up.
Neither one of us can sleep in either.
However...
A's been struggling with waking up on Mon. & Wed. at 5:30 instead of 6:00.
Why that 30 minutes makes all the difference in the world I will never know, but
to her it does. So she struggles.
The study this week was a gentle reminder about using time wisely but more
importantly about choosing to wake up on time and ready for your day.
All I got last week was grumblings about waking up early, not having enough time
to do chores, even getting back in bed and falling back asleep!

So we've been trying to discuss ways to make it more easier, what chore
could she do the night before, setting her alarm a little later, etc.
But it didn't work. She wasn't choosing to wake up refreshed and renewed. No.
Her issues were she was tired.
I suggested going to bed earlier those days, nope.
I suggested her doing night/day chores to better prepare.
Nope.
I even suggested *gasp* that she actually move
a lil' faster doing her morning chores to have more time to sleep in.
Nope.

So when A&I sat down and did this study on Monday night,
she was slapped in the face.
We do this thing in our house with our hands by putting your hand in
front of your face and making a sound as if to resemble being slapped {convicted}.
And that was A.
The entire study she sat there looking as though someone had said
she could never sleep again! Ha.
I found it a little funny.
Well actually I found it a lot funny because Elizabeth George was
saying the same things I had been, but managed to not only
convict Alyssa, but help her to realize it is a choice.
Yep. Simple as that.
A choice.

So she's been trying to wake up in a much better mood
and looking at things differently when she does get up!
That's a good thing!

So how do you wake up each morning?
Do you make it a choice and choose to have a good day, or do you roll
out of bed wishing that you could crawl back into it and sleep the day away?

I know for myself there are days where I wished I wasn't working.
So that I could get up and not have to go anywhere.
It often sets me in a bad mood and makes the tone for the rest of my
day. So not only did this speak to A, it spoke to me.
Because after all, I have a choice too!

Here is to ensure that we are
making good choices!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am sure everyone is off spending time with their families.
I just wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving today!
My prayer is that you find things in your life big or little
that make you thankful. That are placed into your memories
as special times and cherished moments!

I have much to be thankful for this year!

Check it out! {photo heavy}

Go over to the American Crafts blog really quick!
Check out what I created this month with the
really cute and glittery papers!

This is a sneaky peeky! When I got all that fabulous glitter paper when my box came,
I was TOTALLY stoked!! All that glitter made me feel like a princess and there
were so many colors in that stack too!

Here are a bunch of other things I've recently done as well.

This first one is of D and how much I appreciate him being the family provider for us.
I am so thankful for that. This is a pretty simplistic layout for me, but I enjoyed keeping
it that way! I wanted to really focus on the title and how much he means to me because
he provides for us.


I use my Studio Calico's November kit for this one! This was one of my favorite
kits with SC! Totally up my alley!

This next layout is the three of us. My mom, Alyssa and myself. I did it for a challenge
on Treasured Scrapbooking. It was to do a layout of those that we were thankful for.


I am really thankful
that we took these photos, they are such a sweet memory for me! I really wanted to get away
from the "fall" look with this one and I think I did that!!! LOL.

For the next couple of weeks my schedule will be set again! Ha. I'll be working Tues, Wed,
Friday's, and Saturday's. I am excited to have Monday's off because it will allow me to hang
out with anyone from my Monday bible study and not rush back home to get to work too.

Oh and one more photo! I couldn't resist this tree for our den! I think I am in love and I am going
to keep it up all year round!!! Isn't it cute!

This tree makes me really happy, its SO cute! I can hardly wait to decorate for real!!!!

Well I am off for the day, I hope and pray your day is wonderful!

Freedom.

I have spent the past year in imprisonment.
I have chained myself.
To food.
To Weight Watchers.
To obsession about gaining weight back that I lost.
To looking in the mirror and going from seeing God's beauty to see my ugly.
To worry.
To strife.
To food controlling me. Taking over.
To feeling fat. Unwanted. Ugly. And most of all a failure.
To not being able to love the gym and release stress, it only caused more.
To being a slave to the world and its torked views.
To feeling unbeautiful.
To not believing when Dayv would and says I am beautiful. Sexy. Hot.
To hating myself.
To binding myself in chains.
To feeling horrible about food and the things I stuck in my mouth and not enjoying food for what it was.
To desiring unhealthy.
To seeing a torked image, believing in that torked image, and becoming that torked image.
To loosing enjoyment in my life because of me choosing chains...

But on Saturday night I found freedom....
And I am not feeling 20 pounds lighter, or fresher, or like I can conquer the world.
No today what I feel is inner peace.
To know that it is okay.
Because last night I found freedom standing in our church praising God!

There was this worship service. It was a 24 hour service that started at 12 and ended Sunday at 12. Since Alyssa was at camp D&I decided to go. I am ever so glad that we did. The service was directed by God's hand.. Truly it was. So many people talked of freedom that night. The more I sat there and listened to words of worship and people's testimonies about various things I realized how much time, effort, and strife I have brought upon myself this past year. And I felt trapped.

And I realized I had done this to myself. I trapped myself. Then they showed this.



I have seen this before in church. But seeing it again I realized that all of those things that had been pulling me from God were the very things that God wanted to save me from. To release. To give me peace. Humility. Grace. Victory.

No longer will food have control over me.
No longer will I worry about what I am eating and how bad it is for me.
No longer will going to the gym be a chore.
No longer will I allow myself to look into the mirror and feel ugly. fat. unwanted.
No longer will I not believe Dayv when he says I am beautiful.
No longer will I be bound to thinking I am going to go back to the shape I used to be.
No longer will I hate myself.

Because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
And I have found freedom!

Play the movie, ya play

This weekend D&I went to see this

I can attest
it was a lot better than the first one. Although I've seen the first one 3 times thus far
and after awhile it just kind of grows on ya!
So New Moon...

The theater was packed.
A bunch of swooning women to see the hot guys in the flick.
And there were a few men, mine included.
The girls behind us talked a lot throughout and made really sappy comments too.
But I suppose that is what draws people in.
The movie itself stuck to the book pretty good, from what I can remember
of it. I actually need to re-read them. They were SO good that I flew
through them and have forgotten a couple of things! Ha.
Aside from the buff dudes and Kristen's weird acting the movie
was pretty good. I enjoyed it for some of these reasons:

1. It is really nice to have a movie theater right up the street from where you live.
It makes it easier to go see flicks whenever you want too.
2. Their nachos were yummy.
3. The seats were comfortable.
4. I actually thought that sometimes in scenes Edward was attractive.
5. I thought that Kristen looked more naturally pretty.
6. The love that Edward and Bella has is so romantic!
7. I love how Jacob feels for Bella, honestly he loves her.
8. I love Bella's house, I want to live there.
9. I think Victoria is beautiful.
10. Dakota's part wasn't very big, but she is a good young actress.
11. I enjoyed the fact that Bella cannot be read.
12. I love Alice, I want a friend like her!
13. I really like the fact that D was willing to go see the movie with me. We watched Twilight
together on Friday and saw the new movie on Saturday. He got sucked into it straight away!
14. I love the fact that Edward humbles himself and tells Jacob thank you for watching out for
Bella. I think Jacob respects him even though he loathes him.
15. The awkward relationship between Bella and her dad. It's endearing because he is trying
to make up for messing it up with her mom but loving Bella like a daughter and allowing her
to be free in who she is. Love is like that.

If you saw it, what did you think?