Thankful Thursday

Happy Thursday everyone! Join us today as we share things we are thankful for today.

I'm so thankful for God's forgiveness today. In our Good Morning Girls study of Luke, we studied some on forgiveness this morning. I have been forgiven so much and I am so grateful. I tend to forget sometimes how much God has forgiven me and don't extend it to others. It's so important to extend grace to others just as it's been extended to us. If not for His grace, I would be on my way to Hell. I would be in utter despair and hopelessness. Thank God He loves me enough to forgive me when I ask. How can I not forgive others when they are truly repentant? It's not right of me to hold things against others. I'm 30 and I have done some major stupid/mean things in those 30 years. I have to ask forgiveness of something almost daily. I am so glad He is just and faithful to grant it to me. He is a merciful God.

What are you thankful for today? Join us and link up with Iris @ Grace Alone to share your thoughts.

My Daybook

Outside my window... it is pouring down rain. It's been raining since around midnight. We had thunderstorms last night and more is coming later today.

I am thinking... about faith and how important it is.

I am thankful... for my husband. He does so much for our family. He goes to work when he is sick or just doesn't want too. He leads us and guides us spiritually. He loves me and my boys so much.

In the kitchen... I am about to cook up some breakfast. Eggs,sausage,and toast.

I am wearing... night gown and my robe.

I am creating... a necklace for a friend to give to a friend of hers who lost twins recently.

I am going... to work on my menu for the week.

I am wondering... how can people not take seriously the task of raising children? It boggles my mind.

I am reading... Sally Clarkson's book The Mission of Motherhood and started The Four Seasons of Marriage by Gary Chapman.

I am hoping... for no bad weather. We need a break!

I am looking forward to... Sunday. Hubby has off again and we get to go to home meeting that night!

I am learning... having faith is harder than I think.

Around the house... the boys are playing and being boys.

I am pondering... the difference in my children and their personalities.

A favorite quote for today...

One of my favorite things... making jewelry. I rarely get the time,but I love to do it. I love to give it away too!

A few plans for the rest of the week: grocery shopping, making a few give-a-way pieces for my Facebook page, and hopefully reading a good bit!

A peek into my day...

The necklace I have started. There will be angel wings and little feet charms.

Friday's Fave Five

I am getting my post up a little late today. I've been up grocery shopping,doing school with my boys,and some housework. We have friends coming over tonight,so forgive me if I don't get to comment on your posts today or at all. So let me reflect on my week.

1. Home meeting... We have home meetings every 1st and 3rd Sunday at church during the evening. It is wonderful to gather with people from the church and talk about the Word and things on our hearts.
2. Gorgeous weather... we had at least 2 days of gorgeous weather before the storms came rolling in. It was splendid!
3. Off time... We are on our second off day with the hubby! He has 4 days off this week. So we get to enjoy downtime, friend time, some ministry time,and church together Sunday.
4. Family... We visited with my parents yesterday. We live about 45 minutes from them and haven't been doing as much traveling there lately. It was a fun day. My oldest got his first pellet rifle from Papa (late birthday gift). I helped my Mama figure out her tablet she got as an early birthday present from my brother and his family. The kids played outside though it was cloudy and they shot their bb and pellet guns with my husband and my Daddy.
5. Friends... We had supper with a couple from the church last night that we have known for years. It was an encouraging time for us. We were able to minister and be ministered too. We are very blessed.
6. A bonus... We are going on a vacation in April that is so a God thing. We have a 2 level condo all to ourselves right on the beach. It's only our second time away for an extended time. God really blessed us!!
7. Another bonus.. Sorry guys! I turned 30 this week (Wednesday) and it was fun! I received lots of birthday wishes from family and friends. My husband got me beautiful flowers and a card, that is what I always want. 

Life is hard,but let us not forget we are a blessed people. If the Lord is our God, we are blessed! Reflect back on your week and look for those glimpses of hope and share them with us today. Link up with Susanne @ Living to Tell the Story.

Thankful Thursday

Join us as we share our thankfulness this week. Iris @ Grace Alone is our host for the month. She always blesses me with her blog and writing. Link up with her and join us!

I am so thankful for the blessings and provision of God. If I told you all the things God has done for my family, you would probably not believe me. We started out very meager. We didn't have any sort of wedding showers or a home warming party. In 6 years we have struggled at times, really bad. God has never ceased to provide for us. It blows me away sometimes. He did this just yesterday. My husband came in from work around 4. He usually works the evening/night shift,but he had to be in court yesterday. He comes in and says well, we are going on vacation. I say, oookay where and when and HOW? In our 6 years we have only been on vacation once, that was this past September to a friend's lake house in Texas. We just have not had the money to do so. He went on to tell me our landlord (a generous lady who God has used numerous times to bless us) offered us one. The apartment owner (Hubbard properties) lets her use his condo throughout the year and she offered it to us this coming April. We pay nothing,just go. The best thing about it, is the condo is just an hour from us. We live on the coast of Alabama. I was blown away and really didn't know what to think or say at first. I was in shock. I love going to the beach, not so much for laying out, but just the feel in the air. That laid back feel and oh pictures, gorgeous sunrise/sunset pictures! God is just so good to us. When you follow God and do things His way, He will reward you. He will take care of you. That is one thing we know for sure. I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Friday's Fave Five

It's time to look back over my week and see my blessings. Join us! Susanne @ Living to Tell the Story is our host. You will love it!

1. Fruit... We put some strawberries in our muffins yesterday and I found this heart after I cut it. Thought it was cute! We love fruits!

2.Gorgeous weather... after heavy rains and storms, we finally had gorgeous weather today. It was just beautiful. Here's a flower we found outside while playing.  

3. Breakfast foods... We love pancakes, so I made heart shaped pancakes this morning. We added whip cream and strawberries on top. Oh and maple syrup! Yummy!

4. Valentine Candy... I love candy,but oh Valentine candy is one of my favorites. My hubby left this with a card and roses on the table for me this morning. He's a sweetie.

5. Outside time... Playing outside with my big boys is always fun! We played football and baseball. They have so much energy and this is a good way to get rid of some of it!

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Thankful Thursday- Love

What are you thankful for today? I have so much to be thankful for today and every day. It's love week, so I will share my thankfulness for love. Who doesn't want to be loved? Everyone does if they are honest. I love my husband or boys showing me they love me by their words or actions. The love of God is what I am most thankful for. Without the love of Almighty God, I would live eternity in hell. Thank You, Father for loving me.  I'm so thankful that He gave His only Son to die for me on the cross. His love for me drove Him to offer His Son up for my sins. If not for love I would have no hope. I can't express enough how thankful I am for love. My Savior's love. My God's love. My parent's love. My husband's love. My children's love. My friend's love. I want to love my God like He loved me without walls. I want to extend that love to my family and friends. First I must know the one who first loved me. Hope you all have a great day! Happy Love day!

Iris @ Grace Alone is our host this month. Be sure to read her post and link up with us!

Love Week At Our Home

This is my first year to do anything Valentine related with the boys. Since they are old enough to understand, I decided to do somethings. Our theme is God Is Love. I wanted to do some cards,crafts,and food. I let the boys pick out family members to make cards for last week. They ended up making the Grandparents, an Aunt, and a family friend some cards. We had fun! I kept it simple with stickers and colored pencils. I found some small cards that had scripture on them from Rachel Wojnarowski's blog. They are adorable! I took some pictures and I'm gong to post them with a description of what we did.

These are the cards with scripture on them. There are 12 on a sheet. You just print them out. I glued ours to construction paper too.

Daniel making cards. They decorated them with stickers, then Daniel wrote on his. He made Ms. Rachel (family friend),Papa,Nana,Aunt Robyn,and Daddy a card.

Here's Aaron decorating one of his cards. He made Mama,Daddy,Johnathan,Mimi,Pawpaw,and Aunt Robyn a card.

So cute! They had fun. I just folded construction paper in half and tore it, then folded each half into a card.

These are 2 of Aaron's cards. I helped him write in them. I put the one scripture card inside each card.

You can see his work up close. ;-) 

I found a cute card design on Pinterest that I wanted to make for my husband. I love homemade things! The card design was here. 

The front of his card. :)

The inside. The cut out and design was so easy!

Another shot. I added some writing I printed off the computer, but forgot to take a shot of it. I glue it to each side of the heart. :)

Here are the boys goodie bags. I put some of the candy hearts,a few kisses,a note pad with pen,and an activity pad in there. Something small,but to show my love for them.

I saw this idea on pinterest and tried it. I put some kisses in the bags,tied them up, and stapled the tags on there. I typed up the tags on my computer and printed them out. Thought it was a cute idea. 

This is the original design. 

I made a Strawberry Ice Box pie for the week too. Saw this on Pinterest too.It's supper yummy and easy! I'll add the recipe at the end.

Add a little whip cream and ummmm.

We had strawberry and blueberry muffins this morning. I found this heart after cutting the strawberry. Thought it was neat! 

I didn't want the boys to necessarily think the day was about getting. I wanted them to give more. That's why we did the cards. They also colored a teddy bear with a heart that says I Love You and gave it to my husband. I made them a card a piece and put a scripture card in it too. We don't do every holiday and the ones we do are done differently than how most people do them. I thought this was a great month to focus on love and God's love.

Strawberry Ice Box Pie

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 tub of whip cream

1 pack of kool-aide (whichever flavor you like, I used strawberry this time)

1 graham cracker crust

Mix the ingredients in a bowl very well, then scoop into the pie crust. Cover with lid and put in the freezer over night. Add toppings if you please. The one online had whip cream and strawberries.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and love day! We are spending it at home. Then the next evening we will have a couple's banquet at our church, kid free! It will be nice!