Look how cool!!

Getting in Shape for the new year!

It is totally cliche, but what better time to re-evaluate and set some new fitness goals?!?
My friend, Wendy, over at Showered With Grace has been quite the inspiration to me this past year - what with her marathon training and all! Well, she has begun kind of an impromptu exercise accountability group here. We are all planning on just keeping track of our mileage for 2008. Some of us will set monthly mileage goals and others will not. I talked with my husband and we are going to both do this - together! We are setting a goal of each of us working out 3 times per week. It is a do-able goal and yet is a challenge since we haven't been making it a priority in 2007. He plans on running each of the three times. I plan on skating (yes, ice skating) once a week; walking at the lake once a week; and tread-milling it once a week.

I will be posting a mileage counter in my sidebar...soon!!

Merry Christmas 2007

Well, our cards are still not ready to go out, but here is our family Christmas picture! We just took it by the tree before bed on Christmas Eve. We all got to open one present tonight here at home (more were opened earlier at a family gathering). We all got new PJ's!!! (This is one of our traditions that is seriously a pressure-free, delightful way to make memories!) So, we all changed into them as soon as we opened them and then gathered for a family picture! Even Bella got in on the action!

Merry Christmas! From our cozy, flannel-clad family to yours!

Merry Christmas!!

Well, I have been taking an unofficial sabbatical this week due to all the fun we have been having with our family & friends for Christmas. I have been swamped and I am loving it!

I look forward to the lull that will come next week - and I plan on posting a whole bunch then!


Oh, and I have news! Starting in the new year, I will be writing a column called "Standing in the Gap" for a new on-line homeschooling magazine!


Contributor to:

Have a very blessed and HOLY Christmas!

Umm, can you say CUTE?

The past two days have been an adventure having our new puppy get used to being a part of our family. She has been transitioning well - eating at regular times, peeing outside some, and inside more than we'd like. Sigh.
She has a favorite spot in the kitchen curled up on a strawberry shortcake towel. I am afraid my 4 year old will have to bequeath that towel to Bella - like it or not.
She also loves her Mommy. (That would be me)

When I returned from the laundromat (more on that another time) today she was so docile sitting on her towel in the kitchen just kind of watching my Beloved and my babies be, well, crazy. And wonderful. And themselves. And when I walked in the kitchen she hopped up and her tail started a-waggin! And Tim said she hadn't wagged her tail in at least an hour or so! She was so happy to see me and I was so happy that she is already finding us safe and familiar.

What a blessing she is to our family.

Introducing.....

"Bella Lightning"
me holding her for the first time


Emma holding her for the first time


Timmy holding her for the first time


A close up shot


On Julia's lap (my brother in law's girlfriend met us in Kansas City and came with us to pick her up!)


Finally at home with Bella - the kids reading her a bedtime story


Emma is bravely playing with her ...


and loving every minute!

Today is the Day

Well, we're off.

We (and by that I mean the kids and I) are driving today for 4 hours to get our puppy.




Wish me luck.

WFMW: Hope

I have renewed hope.

I don't know about you but man, when my hope in something has been restored, it is like a weight is lifted off my shoulders. I walk taller, and have more energy, and I am a more patient wife & mama.

Hope. It works for me.


Please join me in prayer today for a very special intention.

I do not think it is a coincidence that I will be seeing my obgyn this morning about the new possibilities he has researched in regards to our trying to conceive another child. See, today is the Feast of our Lady of Guadalupe. And this is historically known as the apparition when Mary appeared to Juan Diego while pregnant. So from this mama yearning to be pregnant, I am asking the prayers of the pregnant mama of Jesus.

I have always felt a special connection to Our Lady of Guadalupe and have prayed many prayers seeking her intercession for a miracle to help us conceive once again. (for you non-Catholics, click here to help answer your questions about praying with the saints in heaven.)
So, today, like I have asked for the Mother of our Lord to beg of her son a mercy and a miracle, I ask you my friends to pray with me that this new possibility come to fruition....in my womb, in the form of a child.
I am once again filled with hope. Won't you hope with me this Advent?

Here is a quote from the late Pope John Paul the Great:

" It is interesting that Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared at a moment in history when people were questioning the use of images, even many priests wanted to downplay them. For that reason devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe had a slow start officially. But the faith of the people was not so reticent. They saw her as their mother, the one who would bring them the Savior, her very Son.

This morning we ourselves should not be so reticent. We have already lit the third candle of our Advent. Its rose color signifies "rejoicing." I know for many of you that is not an easy emotion at this moment. But St. Paul tells us today, "Rejoice always...give thanks in all circumstances." We have such a lovely motive for doing so. Before our eyes - the Blessed Virgin, the mother with child. She not only brings glad tidings; she bears within her womb the gladdest of all tidings."

We are OKAY!!

Wanted to just let any inquiring minds know that we here in St. Louis are okay. We really didn't have much of any actual weather over the past few days. I mean, there was freezing rain, and today lots of fog, but other than that, the severe weather system has missed us.
I know it did hit a lot of rural areas, and seeing them on the news tonight on day 2 of being without power made me think of last winter.
If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time, you would know that by now we are pretty tough and should we lose power, I doubt we would leave. We had to leave twice last year - once in the summer and once in the winter for 8 and 5 days respectively. The summer storm was by far worse seeing as without electricity everything in your fridge goes bad - whereas in the winter you can plop a cooler on the back deck and be fairly certain that all your frozen goods will stay that way.

I am saying a prayer for all of you who are affected by this current round of storms. (Not that you are likely reading this.) Stay safe, keep warm, hug your loved ones.

Talk About Tuesday

First off, this is my 300th post! Wow!!! I cannot believe I have reached 300! I know for 2008, my goal is to write something every.single.day. So I should double my 2.5 years worth in the next year! But still, I am proud that I have been at this crazy endeavor called "blogging" for this long. Who'd of thought?


Christmas Gifts. That is what I want to talk about. I have to tell you, for the hard-to-buy-for men in my family, I think I have come up with a new favorite:
The Twelve Days of Christmas.....personalized! Go ahead and sing the song with the following lyrics: (Everything in parentheses is changed to protect the identity of the recipient...just in case that someone is reading this blog)

On the first day of Christmas my "sister" gave to me a "very special gift certificate"
On the second day of Christmas my sister gave to me two packs of peanuts, and a very special gift certificate.
On the third day of Christmas my sister gave to me three glow sticks, two packs of peanuts, and a very special gift certificate.

ETC, ETC.
So what you do is you find out some of the recipient's favorite things and then you build your song according to your budget and your creativity. In my case, the higher the number, the less expensive the item. Twelve = one dozen doughnuts; 9=nine golf balls; 8= eight silly trinkets....etc. You also make some of them just plain silly or nonsensical. You can poke fun at age, inside jokes, their team of choice, or do themes like colors, shapes, teams, food, lifestages, whatever.

It is a very fun gift to plan and an even more fun gift to watch them open - and ofcourse you have to make folks sing the song along with the recipient!! In my case, I am actually planning on making a cd with the "personalized" song on it to play while he opens the gift - that way folks will hopefully sing along!


What are your great gift ideas??

Gold Medal Extraordinary Chocolate Chip Cookies

(MY chocolate chip cookies!!!)

So, chocolate chip cookies and I have a sordid history.

Used to be that I couldn't make 'em to save my soul. Then I discovered those peel & bake variety or whatever they are called. I would buy a pack of those and call it a day. But I have secretly been wanting to really perfect this art. I mean, I want to be the mom whose house the kids all come to to hang out, and well, I don't want Pillsbury's cookies on my counter for them, I want MINE!

Okay, I found this recipe on the back of a Gold Medal Flour package. And I am telling you, these are AWESOME!!
I only made one change that you can do or not.

1 1/2 C softened butter
1 1/4 C granulated sugar
1 1/4 C brown sugar
1 T vanilla
2 eggs
4 C all-purpose flour (ahem, Gold Medal, ofcourse!)
2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 bag chocolate chips - here is where I made the change. I did THREE half bags each of chocolate chip, white chocolate chip, and butterscotch chip cookies. It made a HUGE difference - they are so flavorful!

1. Heat oven to 350
2. Beat butter sugars, vanilla & eggs. Stir in dry ingredients. Add chips.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 12 -14 minutes.
5. Let cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.
6. Remove to wire rack and let cool completely.

Makes about 6 dozen cookies.


Needless to say, this is the recipe the neighborhood kids will all be eating at my house for the next two decade and a half!

Our Weekend

Just a pictorial recap of our weekend....


We had some snow! And even though you could still see every.single.blade.of.grass and it was really more slush than snow, the kids had to get bundled up to play in the white stuff. I mean, it is December in St. Louis - these kinds of things are quite rare!







We had their cousin Charlotte - "Charley" over for a sleepover....bathtime was probably the highlight. Cheap entertainment - I love these kids!
Here is a darling one of Charley....isn't she GORGEOUS? I love this little girl! Oh, and she is going to be a big sister soon - my sister in law just found out she was expecting. We are all thrilled!
And here are my two lovelies at home during our Immaculate Conception party! We went to mass, came home, baked THESE amazing cookies and made these crowns that say "I love Mary" - I mean what else are you going to write to celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Conception?
"Way to be sinless, Mary"; "Conceived without Sin"; "Pure & Holy Vessel"?!?!?!?! No, we thought a simple, "I love Mary" would suffice.





And here is my girl watching The Nutcracker. Be still my heart.

Caution: Celebration Zone

Should Christmas fun be wrapped in caution tape??

Go now and read this post.

It is just delightful. She puts voice to so much of what I am feeling. Certainly, we aim for virtue and having our hearts in the right place, but celebrate - oh how I enjoy celebrating! I enjoy making long lists of the delightful things we will do together and all the ways we will bless those we love with gifts.

Shower me Happy - the Sequel

Drum roll please.........





Shower me HAPPY, indeed.

(if you are confused by this post you simply need to scroll down for the before pictures)




And in other news. I just made this. In my new craft room.
Isn't it cute? You may need to click on it to see more detail. I made our advent calendar - I got the idea from a friend (who I wish she had a blog so I could show you hers!) who got the idea from Pottery Barn. Basically there are numbers on each square and a hook - and then you hang an ornament from each for each of the days of Advent. Way better for you than having a chocolate advent calendar!! Then I went ahead and put some hooks on the back to hang it on the wall - or in this case, the mantel. All told, this project cost me about 3 dollars! And pottery barn wanted something like 130 for their version!!

Here is how it looks in the room:
You cannot tell but our tree is right to the right of the little moose in the bottom corner of the picture - actually, it goes Moose, Nativity table, and Tree.

Anyways, this is just something fun I wanted to share!

Platform Beds...

I don't get it, personally. I know that these platform beds are all the rage but I just don't get it! Are they comfortable? I can tell you I think that they are gorgeous and I would love one to just look at....but then, that is not my life. I do not have extra rooms with extra beds that sit untouched and unused. And that is a lot of money to spend on a guest bed! I think what I have to do is find a friend who has one and ask if I can sleep over.....yeah, maybe that is just weird. Do you have a platform bed? What do you think about it??

You'll thank me.

About a year after we got married, we finally decided to go ahead and get some life insurance. I am so grateful that we did. It is a relatively small amount that we pay each month and it provides enormous peace of mind. Especially since I am a stay-at-home mom with two little ones, the fact that, God forbid anything should happen to my beloved, we would be okay...financially. Do you think they offer insurance for broken hearts? I guess that is what faith is. Hmmm. That sounds like another post in the making!
So, if you do not have life insurance, I can't encourage you enough to get your paperwork together and just do it. You'll be glad you did. It is the best thing we pay for that we pray we never have to use.
Click here for a term life insurance quote .

Just Say No

I certainly thank God that drug addiction is not a demon any one close to me faces, but I have extraordinary compassion for those who do. I know that addiction can be a nasty beast that grips the very life-blood of those who suffer. I have seen addiction destroy families and lives on more than one occasion. If you or anyone you know suffers from drug addiction, please pray for them and encourage them to consider a drug treatment program.

Getting Green for Christmas

Greenandmore.com is a really cool new website I discovered recently that offers all kinds of eco-friendly supplies and gadgets for your home. All of their environmental products are aimed at making your home a healthier, more environmentally sound place to live. Their slogan is: caring for tomorrow’s world.
One of the coolest products they carry is this Blueair Airpod Air Purifier. It is relatively inexpensive – as far as air purifiers go and you can take it with you when you travel! I am thinking about getting this and bringing it with us on vacation next year since I always find the air in the tiny little cabins we stay in to be, um, well, foul. Plus, these are cute!

So if you happen to be in the market for some gadgets that will make your home healthier this Christmas season, you want to learn more about how to “green” your home from the inside out, or you just need some eco-friendly ideas for gifts check out greenandmore.com!! Right now they have a special offer going:

Opening Discount: Get 10% off your entire order with coupon code: GREEN10 (Expires 12/31/07) Special Offer: Opening Discount: Get 10% off your entire order with coupon code: GREEN10 (Expires 12/31/07)

Talk About Tuesday

Well, yesterday I thrilled you with pictures of my old bathroom tub & tile, today I want to talk about my craft room. I promise I will come back with an update on our bathroom once there is something to update. Currently, it looks like this:

weird, huh?

Yeah, so we are looking forward to him finishing today!

Recently, I finally tackled the room that was going to be the nursery. It has been closed off from the rest of the house for the past 6 months or so becoming sort of a black hole for miscellaneous crap we didn't want to deal with - literally and figuratively. All the baby stuff needed to be taken back out, as well as all the extra crap that had somehow found it's way in there.

We decided to make that room my craft room. A place of creativity and joy. A place that would be used on a regular basis for all of my little projects.

Here is the transformation: I don't really have any before pictures but just imagine a room full of baby stuff and then a bunch of random furniture and "exploded" junk!!!

Here are the "after" pictures:

this is standing at the door and looking left. you can see on the long wall a huge picture collage. I love that ....it's very inspiring for my creative spirit. We have repurposed the changing table there that you see to act as a storage cabinet for gifts and gift wrap . I also added my ancient analog television complete with bunny ears. I like to have some tv while I craft sometimes - especially if it is a longer, more monotonous task!

this is the view when I am standing close to the changing table and looking out the window. You can see we need to replace that window shade - it got ripped by one of the kids back when this was their room!! Closest to the window there is my sewing station. I typically sew during the day so that window gives me amazing light! The desk that my machine is on is our old repurposed bathroom vanity!!! It was in three pieces so we just moved it into the craft room and voila! Sewing desk! With great drawer space!


And finally, my favorite: my scrapbooking/all-purpose craft table! This is a cool story: I got this cabinet base for free - it was going to be our new bathroom vanity. Someone gave it to me since it was an extra from a remodel they were doing. Well, the dimensions didn't work for our bathroom so we were going to get rid of it. Then I told Tim that I thought I could use it in my craft room if he could make me a top for it. I wanted the top to be sturdy and look nice. Well, when I was cleaning out the room, I found this piece of wood - it is the base of the baby's crib! (you know, the part the mattress goes on!) I tried it on there and it fits perfectly - hanging over on the sides, which is what I wanted, and it looks fantastic! It is very sturdy and durable!!! I couldn't be more thrilled!

SO this is my new haven and I am just thrilled to have this room back. I have enjoyed spending my evenings in there working on my projects. The best thing is I don't have to keep pulling my supplies from downstairs, messing up the dining room table and then packing it all in before bed. I also love that everything has a place now, so getting some crafts done has been so easy and quick!!! I whipped up some homemade embellished burp clothes for a friend's baby shower the night before the shower - easy as can be because everything was right where I needed it!

And with Christmas here, I can stash gifts-in-progress and have a place to keep all of that organized!

Thanks for letting me "talk about this"! For more Talk About Tuesday - go here.

Shower me happy.

Our bathroom is finally being worked on! The St. Clair Corporation has custom built us a shower liner & tub insert. I am thrilled! I cannot WAIT to take my first shower in the new shower & tub! It will be delightful! I also cannot wait to give my kiddos a bath in the new bathtub!
For now, here are the before & midway pictures:

The old yucky liner with nasty grout & hideous "liquid nail" lines that were beginning to show through the paper thin walls of the liner itself. Yuk.

The very old, very broken faucet & fixtures. In order to get the shower to work, you have to press as hard as you can while you turn the middle knob. It is awkward and hard to do - and even then there is still a constant stream of water coming out the downspout while you shower! Sheesh.

Here is the dated pink tile that was underneath the old liner. In the corner there you can see "Les" - the worker guy. He is the one working his magic to give me a new tub & shower and all new plumbing in my shower! And new Moen fixtures!

The last of the demo - ready to prep the surface so he can put the new shower in! Check out the old school soap dish! Wow.


Stay tuned for the finished product pictures sometime tomorrow!

She Said Yes

Christmas has literally thrown up all over my living room! We moved the tree this year so everything feels "new" - does that make sense? I needed it to be new this year. Different.

So much has changed since last year. I needed some fresh perspective considering part of me didn't really want to do this whole Christmas thing at all. Not really feeling up to it on some days.

But then I remembered that, well, Mary was not really feeling up to the whole "give birth in a stable" thing much either. She really, really wanted a room at that inn, y'all. Of that I am sure. Just like I really, really wanted to be holding our newborn baby in my arms this Christmas. But not everything goes as we had hoped or planned.

And a dear wise woman I know has this "mantra": There is what you plan, and then there is what happens. And it is in what happens that we find God.

Isn't that what happened to Mary? She was planning on marrying her betrothed, Joseph. She was planning on having her first child within wedlock. She was planning on being able to raise a 'normal' child who you know, wasn't God. And we all know what actually happened.

She found God. In what happened. Not in what she planned. If she had said no to the angel Gabriel - as we can all envision ourselves doing - "Um, no thank you, that doesn't really fit within my 5 year plan!" she wouldn't have found God in her womb, in her arms, in her home. But she said yes.

Thank God she said yes.

So, it is with me. With a humble, breaking heart that I say yes to our Lord. I say yes to what has happened and what will happen and I will let my plans go. In these chilly dark days of Advent I feel so close to Mary - she knows the intense pain of a mother's heart whose hopes and plans for her family are not met. She knows me. She walks with me. On my own journey to Bethlehem.

And she wants me to find God this Christmas. In my heart and in my home.