A Simple Truth

Do you remember how it felt when you first fell in love and you knew that love was reciprocal? You knew you were loved...

The feelings of "love can conquer all" and "I can do anything with you by my side" abound, right?  You felt empowered and special in their eyes.

What about those who have never felt this love?

Oh, friend, do I have something to share with you.... you are missing out if you have never felt this way. So, today I am speaking to the hearts of those who have never felt this way and those of us that have "lost that loving feeling".

I came across an amazing devotion on the Proverbs 31 website the other day and it has begun to completely change my perspective. I asked God to embroider a simple, yet profound truth into my heart.

I am loved...and you know what... You are too! I know simple, right? But look deeper...

For quite some time I thought that the disciples were calling John "the disciple whom Jesus loved" in John 13:23, but I recognize now that John is actually calling himself that. He is acknowledging in that passage that Jesus loves Him. Do you know what that must have felt like for John. What strength and power that must have given him, not a boastful spirit, but one that replaces fear and timidity. God's Word says that He did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, love and self discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7

Isn't it empowering to feel loved? He was confident that Jesus loved him and it had a powerful effect on his life. He approached his life with fearlessness and confidence! Look at these examples:

• He stood at the foot of the cross to care for Mary while Jesus was being crucified and persecuted, risking that he might end up in much the same position.
• He was one of the first at the tomb of Jesus to face the Roman soldiers.
• He preached to those who would listen to the message of the cross, risking imprisonment and persecution.

He was bold and fearless! Why? Because he knew he was loved! John's confidence in that love empowered him. Those of us who believe and are Christians are called his friends, but do you realize that you are in His "inner circle" because of His love for you? The only thing holding you back is you from this truth!!!!

May this truth seep deep into your heart today and remain there all the days of your life.

You are the one Jesus loves!

With that said, He is doing a mighty work in my life and I am embarking on a new adventure. Would you please pray for me? I am committing this adventure to Him, for it is His and He has called me to it. I pray that I would honor Him in everything that I say and do because He loves me.

How about you? What's holding you back from that realization too?

Much Love!
Paige

Sweet Seven... Ramblings of a Mom

So my first baby girl turned seven...another year. Time flies. Time does not wait for me to be ready for her to grow.  God gave her to us as a gift, but only for a moment.  That time is passing quickly.  "In the blink of an eye" she will be a grown woman. 

This morning as I was reading my Bible, she wandered downstairs and into my lap (as she does each morning because she is always the first to wake).  What a treat to just sit and love on my girl.  What a special time we were able to share in the quiet of the morning before the day began.  As we sat together, I initially thought about needing time to finish my devotion.  Then, God revealed to me an opportunity I hadn't thought about... Teach her to do as I was doing.  I encouraged her to get her Bible and read with me.  So, she did!  I was fascinated just by watching her look up Scripture and read what God's Word had to say to her. This is the verse she chose:

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

My prayer for her today is that she hides this verse in her heart all her life.

Faith is believing in that which is unseen...

Hope is holding onto what could be...

And Love covers it all.

What a beautiful time spent together... I think I got my greatest Mother's Day gift this year a couple of days late! My hope is that we continue this devotion time together indefinitely!

Thank you, Lord, for these precious moments with her.

Sweet, Sweet Mickey!

A sweet friend of mine was so helpful with Jenna's party that I decided I needed to repay the favor. Her daughter is having a Mickey/Minnie Mouse themed party soon where she is having a candy table for the kids. So, here is one contribution...

Love it! Can't wait to use this idea for Ty's party in the summer with red cardstock instead.

My "Cast of Characters":

Styrofoam wreath

Styrofoam circles

Hot pink cardstock

Dowel rod

White acrylic paint

Glue gun

Glue Sticks

Dum Dum Lollipops

Scissors

Paint brush

Here is how I did it...

I cut two inch wide strips out of hot pink cardstock. I knew that I would have to overlap or cut some to fit the entire way around the wreath and the circle styrofoam.

Then, I used my glue gun to attach the cardstock strips to the styrofoam. I highly recommend using the white styrofoam for this project.  I discovered very quickly that the hot glue did not want to stick as well to the green styrofoam.

I covered both ears.

Then, I did the same thing to the styrofoam wreath (mickey's head).

Once covered, I inserted a short dowel rod into each ear. Then attached each ear to the wreath with the other end of the dowel. Notice how part of the ear is uncovered... this is where I inserted the dowel and attached it to the head.  The styrofoam did not show once attached.

At first, I was going to cover the ears (as shown).  Instead I decided to use lollipops on the ears, too.

I started off inserting the pops around the outside edge of the wreath, working all the way around. Then, I started another row.  In all, I made three rows.  Just watch your spacing as not to expose too much of the styrofoam.

At this point, I removed the pink cardstock over the top of the ears and began placing the lollipops on the ears, too.

Once both ears were done, I needed a way to display it.  At first, I was going to use a dowel (that I painted white) placed inside a hot pink tin and cover it with colored licorice.  What I found was that the finished piece was just too heavy.  The weight of it pushed the dowel all the way through.  So, Plan B was to shorten my dowel, insert it into the back of the wreath at an angle.  This worked well and allowed it to stand propped up.

So, again here is the finished product...

Too, too cute!

Bad, Bad Blogger

Well, well, well...

She's back.

What can I say...

I have been a HORRIBLE blogger!

My last blog was, oh, let me see....

um, well, let's just move on, shall we?

Let's just say its been a crazy couple of weeks - not to mention I think I got food poisoning!  Uugh!

So to all my followers...

I am sorry for not checking in and keeping up.

I truly do not know how people do it.  How do they do all these amazing things, take pictures, and then find time to blog about it daily all the while going about all their "normal" daily routines.  Again, its the time management thing, I guess.  Maybe I will take a lesson from my SIL and set an alarm each night before bed to blog. Great Idea!  For now, I think I am doing the best I can.

So, here is what I have been up to...

Yep, that's right, more cake balls!

120, to be exact

All for St. Patty's Day

This was the first set in the making. I decided if I took three cake balls, formed them into hearts and used melted chocolate in between, then they would form a shamrock!  I took it a step more and purchased a shamrock candy mold.  I poured a lighter green candy into the molds and attached them to the front of each shamrock. Aren't they cute? Even cuter when they are wrapped!

Because these took soooooo much longer to assemble and I had soooo many to complete, I decided to finish the rest in plain cake ball style.

And more...

And more...

And more...

Once I finished these I went to work on cleaning out my bedroom.  What a mess!

It's finally done, but I DID NOT want to post pics of the before of that one! WoW!

Finally, I am so EXCITED! A dear friend asked me to make a cake for her! She wanted a tombstone for an over the hill themed bday party.  Once she posts pics from the bday party I will share.  I am kicking myself that I did not get pics of that amazing cake. I had a blast doing the cake and hope I get asked to do many more.  I am still learning and defintely a "newbie", but I had a blast doing it!

One Room A Day Challenge: Days 6 & 7

This is our "Belle"

Now I know where this nickname comes from...

I adore Beauty and the Beast... so, its stands to reason that I would consider my little princess, "Belle", but it also means "beautiful".

 And beautiful she is! As the mom, I know I am certainly biased, but let me tell you that she is truly one of a kind!  Quite possibly the sweetest spirit I have ever known.  To me, she just radiates beauty in so many ways.  On the outside, golden wavy locks and bold baby blue eyes... Gorgeous! On the inside, even more...

Compassionate, Unselfish, Peaceful, Joyful, Loving, Thoughtful, Gentle...

Just to name a few! Now don't get me wrong, she has her moments where those characteristics don't exactly shine through, but God blessed us with a truly beautiful baby girl! I can't wait to see what He has planned for her.

With that said, here is one of her weak spots.....

Her Room Before:

Yep, this is what I pulled out of her closet!

And this would be just a glimpse of her filthy bathroom sink.

And the messy bathroom drawers.

and her unmade bed and Barbie house.

We caught her on a good day because she did clean up her floor.

And this would be her "computer storage area"

Now, I must confess the bulletin board is my fault.  I decided to hang it in a different spot and had not done it yet.

and her idea of putting her books "away"

And the corner of her room

(Anyone need a spoon? Why is that there?

Like the new and stylish TV? You know you want one too!

How about those wires! Let's just let it all hang out!)

I am just struggling with the kids' rooms in general.  Bean's was pretty easy, but the last three I have left to complete just seem off.  My decorating is just "not right".  So I took a picture of this particular area before and have plans for this spot, but am still working on it.  For now, I am just organizing and cleaning, not redecorating.

And After:

(Remember, I am not redecorating! So just focus on the organizing and cleaning here.)

A beautifully made bed

An organized bookshelf

(yes, I did go through the bins, too!)

A Clean Closet Floor

A fully organized closet

And remember that filthy bathroom...

Sparkling clean

And the drawers

Even the stuffed animals have their own space now!

Well, it looks like I just have some decorating to do! Overall, her room was really not that bad in comparison to Bean's room.  The worst is yet to come though...

How about you? What have you been organizing?

What was your challenging room of the day?

One Room A Day Challenge: Day 3,4,5...

"Bean's" Room

Let me preface this by saying that we affectionately call her our "Bean" because we have just always called her Jenna Bean! Don't ask where it came from... I don't know. Just a little nickname for our girl.

So, the messy monster officially struck her room.

Welcome to a home were the mom was sick for weeks, the working dad is playing Mr. Mom and the kids, well, are acting like kids!

Gross! 

This is just a mess. I seriously could not walk in there without clearing a path.

Her Armoire

Her closet (bottom)

Closet (top)

This is actually not too bad...

After:

Her closet wasn't too bad, really.  Its amazing how after sorting through her full closet, this is what actually fits her.

And the floor is completely clean!

 This room honestly took forever.  Between just picking up, organizing and cleaning it took a couple of days. She and I are working on keeping it clean each day and NEVER letting it get that out of hand again. Wow!

So, what are you working on?

My Very First Award!!!!

I am bummed because I missed Thankful Thursday this week! The last two days have been so busy here that I missed a day of blogging on challenge and it took two days to complete one room.  With that said, though.....

I owe a HUGE thank you this week to

 There's Just One Mommy

for awarding me the

Stylish Blogger Award

I am still so new to all of this and feel blessed to have been thought of for this award! Thanks!

There are rules that go along with this award.  Here they are:

                      1.  Thank and link back to the person who awarded you this award.

                      2.  Share 7 things about yourself.

                      3.  Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers, or less, its up to you.

                      4.  Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award.

Seven Things About Me:

1.  I am a child of God and a work in progress.  I like the song "He's Still Working On Me...".  For those of you who know it.. CONGRATS that will be officially stuck in your head all day now!

2.  There was a time I did not think I would be able to have children and NOW..... I have four beautiful blessings!  Two boys and two girls.

3.  In my former life, I was a teacher.  Currently, I am the Director of Operations at the Harmon Home. I am so blessed to have a job I truly love and enjoy.

4.  I am absolutely a Texan by birth and virtue, but never want to live there again.  I HATE being hot!

5. I met and married my amazing hubby of eleven years in a time span of eight months. He's the love of my life even if he makes me crazy... It's a good crazy!

6.  My favorite phrase is "Oh my word".  Who's word???? Mine, yep, all mine.  Sometimes I wonder about myself.

Again, "He's still working on me...".

7.  Just recently, I have discovered that I have become a true hockey addict.  Never thought I would say that!  I don't like sports at all, but there is just something about boys fighting over that puck on the ice that gets me.

And the Stylish Blogger Award goes to:

1. Daddy Can Cook
2. The Real Life of a Hockey Wife
3.  Love From Texas
4.  Oueen of Pink In a House of Blue
5.  Organized Chaos
6.  The Farm Princess
7.  30ish Mama
8. Wacie's Way
9.  Love In Num8er3
10.  Just Another Crazy Day In Our Lives