What I Pinned, March 2013

Isn't it amazing how Pinterest has changed our lives? It wasn't even around a few years ago, and here we are madly pinning away every chance we get.  

What do you pin? Things you want to make, or dream of making? Recipes or fitness? 

I pin all of the above.  I bet we all do.  

One thing that I have been pinning a lot lately is Infographs. Here is one that combines two things that I love to pin, fitness AND Infographs. Bigger bang for your buck!

Nesting for the Spring

I have a really cute craft to share with you all! 

This precious little nest with eggs.

Isn't it perfect for Spring?

It was really easy to make and super quick.  And, this is another one that was completely and totally free.  I had all of the supplies on hand.

Chic On A Stroestring

Hi everyone! I wanted to let you know that I have a guest post up at Chic On A Shoestring (http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com) as Kate is taking a short blogging hiatus. Kate is a lovely blogger with great parties, tips, and tutorials. Go check out my guest post and hang around to see all the other fun things!

Pssst: This is being posted from my phone, so sorry if its not perfect!

Stress Less and Live More

We are merely moving shadows, and all our busy rushing ends in nothing. We heap up wealth, not knowing who will spend it. Psalm 39:6

As you know, one of the reasons that I started this blog was to share about our changing lives and

priorities.  In that journey, I have learned a few things about what makes me feel stress and how to manage it in a better way. I will be starting a regular feature here about how to live with less stress, or rather, how to keep from creating more stress in your life. 

Don't get me wrong! I have plenty of stress and often let it get the best of me, but I am much more aware of what stresses me and how I can turn it down. And, you want to know what my secret is?

Organizing.

There, I said it. That word that is popping up all over the blogosphere with more speed than a teenager's acne.

Spring Porch Spruce Up

Welcome friends!

I have a had a busy Saturday so far, with cleaning the house and doing the grocery shopping. Fun times. Riiiiight....

But, we have good friends coming over for dinner tonight and we love to spend time with them.  And, it doesn't hurt that one of them is a pastry chef!

I had mentioned in my after Spring Break post that I had spruced up the front porch and I wanted to share it with you.

Our front porch is a little difficult to decorate because it is long and narrow.  It's really hard to get a good picture of it.  

I have had a large grapevine wreath hanging on the wall for a while, and I change out the embellishments with the seasons.  For Spring, I added simple scrapbook paper bunting:

I had some colorful mini clothespins that I used to hang the scrapbook paper.  

If you remember from the previous post, I added a simple wreath to the door, too.

10 Easter Printables for Your Home

I love printing new artwork for my home.  It is one of the easiest ways to update your look at any time.  I have collected a list of a few Easter printables for you to check out. 

1. He Is Risen at One Dog Woof

2. Happy Easter at 5thirteendesigns

3. He Is Risen at aka designs

4. Easter Eggs at 6th Street Design School 

5. He Is Risen with Easter Egg by Clumsy Crafter

6. Truly I Tell You from The Fresh Picked Blog

7. He Is Risen from It's Always Autumn

8. He Is Not Here from The Fresh Picked Blog

9. Easter Subway Art from Remodelaholic

10. Christ Has Risen from A Step In The Journey

Aren't they fun?

I really love the chalkboard backgrounds, but the aqua is calling me in all of the others!

Here is a freebie from me, as well!

Scriptures and Supper

Hey, friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

We did.

We got all the last of the Spring Break projects wrapped up and began brainstorming about some new ones.

I wanted to share with you what our church calls 10:22 Family Time.  We meet at..wait for it...10:22 AM, and it is for all families with kids of all ages.  It only lasts about 10-15 minutes, which is perfect for younger kids, and we always end with a few minutes of family discussion and praying for each other.  

A different family decides on the weeks scriptures and comes up with questions for each scripture that are age appropriate.  

Here's an example:

Today's scripture

It is good to praise the lord and make music to your name, O Most High

Psalm 92:1

Questions for the younger kids: What can you thank God for?

Questions for older kids: What is something that you should be thankful for that you don’t often acknowledge?

There are scriptures and questions for each day and we have found that a great time to have the discussion is at the dinner table. Even kiddos as young as 3 can get in on the conversation, and it is a great way to expose them to scripture in everyday conversation.  

It's really great to get the kids talking about their faith and belief in God.  They can really surprise you with some of their depth of thinking and how they apply their faith. 

If you would like to check out the full week of scriptures and questions, click here to go to the Youversion Live Event .

A new event is posted every week. Feel free to follow the FB page to access each new conversation.

4“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. 6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. 8Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. 9Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.  Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Happy End Of Spring Break!

Woot Woot! We had a great time during Spring Break.  That's why I haven't posted this past week.  We were too busy having an awesome time together.  

I mentioned in a post last week that we were going to spend the first weekend of SB with my extended family.  It was a blast! 

First was my sister's birthday party at a local Mexican restaurant:

These are a few of my favorite peeps.

The next day we celebrated my Mom's birthday and had our Family Baseball Game. We did it right, too. We sang the National Anthem, then said the Pledge of Allegiance, and my Mom threw out the first pitch. Here are a few pics of the day.

Family Fun Time! Let's Hope No One Breaks Anything...

Hello, my lovelies! I am looking forward to the next week off of work for Spring Break with the family, how about you? Even my hubs was able to take off for the week. It will be a time for family and relaxation. The kids may be a little bummed that we aren't actually taking a trip, but that's just not financially possible right now. But, we do have some fun things planned.

Last night at our Community Group (our church home group), a precious friend of mine made that comment that I have the most Norman Rockwell family that she has ever heard of. I took that as a compliment. She mentioned the fact that at my parents house, we all exchange homemade gifts for Christmas. Or, as she put it, "Exchanging handmade gifts while sipping hot chocolate and giving hugs", or something like that. LOL!

Awesome Handmade Gift Action....

The subject came up because of what we have planned for this weekend. My hometown is only an hour away from where I currently live and my mother and sisters still live there. We will be gathering at my mother's home for an entire weekend of festivities. Other family will be coming in from Dallas, as well. I can't wait to see them all.

Here is the agenda:

Becoming: Sharing Your Homes Mission

This is something that has been wiggling around in my mind for a little while.  Thinking about the mission of my home.  Not just the structure, but the feeling and personality of my home.  

We create brands for companies, our blogs, and so much more, why don't we brand our home?  Not to  create revenue, but to draw people into our home.  Give them the feeling that they want their own home to have the feeling that they get when they are in your home.  

I've been considering creating a mission statement for our home. Letting the world know what our home is about. Wikipedia says this about mission statements for companies and organizations:

A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company, organization or person, its reason for existing.

The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. It provides "the framework or context within which the company's strategies are formulated."

To that end, I have just been brainstorming single words that I feel describe our home and how our family feels about it.

Life In Pictures

Happy Friday and a Merry Weekend to you all!