Wild Olive Tees - One of my favorite things!

Check out this blog/website for a $50 gift certificate give away!
http://store.wildolivetees.com/transform-your-mind-p98.aspx

Mistletoe Market

Come see me at mistletoe market this weekend! Today 10-7 and tomorrow 10-4 at the Boys and Girls Club in Russellville!

Blue Cricket Designs GIVEAWAY!

This is a really great give-away! LOTS of great items! It takes a little bit of time but it will be worth it if you win! Plus, it's a great way to find out about great blogs and websites. Click on the link to enter, but HURRY the deadline is today at 6pm CST! http://www.bluecricketdesign.net/2011/08/come-back-giveaway.html#.TkZ5l-WraGo.facebook

Wild Olive T-shirts and Hoodies

Ladies! If you have never heard  of Wild Olive be sure to check out this website and blog! They make the cutest and coolest scripture based t-shirts for women! Now is a great time to check out his blog because they are giving away 5 of their hoodies! You won't be disappointed!

http://www.wildolivetees.com/blog/

Learning to Let Go, One Rope Burn at a Time

I am writing this post through tears. They are happy tears for the most part. This evening has been good, but as it goes on, I am becoming emotional. As most of you know, Jordan is 17. He will be 18 in September. I am quite certain that I will go to sleep tonight and wake up tomorrow on September 17th ready to celebrate his 18th birthday. I can't even explain to people who have young children how painfully fast time flies when your child reaches high school. I keep having these mini motivational speeches with myself that go something like this: "Stop being such a cry baby! This is the way God intended it to be. He gave you this child to nourish, teach, love and raise so that when the time comes, you can let him fly from your nest! And, he is a good boy! Not only is he a good boy, but he is a Godly young man! He will be fine!"

And so, I am fine for a little while. Until I face a situation that forces me to think about and process what is happening. Like today. I was driving home from Conway which is about 45 miles away from Rsvl. About half-way through my drive, I passed Jordan driving TO Conway to meet up with some friends. My first thought was, "Wait a minute! He isn't ready to just hop in his car and drive on the interstate, by himself, to hangout with friends in Conway!" My next thought was, "It's bound to happen sooner or later. I can fight it, but a year and a half from now he will, more than likely, be living in a different town to attend college. He will be living independently. Taking care of himself. Preparing or finding his own meals. Washing his own clothes. Managing himself as it relates to classes, finances, relationships, etc. I have to be able to let go, even though I am not ready. If it were left it up to me, I would never be ready. It's better that I face up to it in baby steps."

All evening, my mom has quizzed me: "Have you heard from Jordan?" "When will Jordan be home?" "Who did he go to see?"  The truth is, it isn't easy on any of us! Even my mom and step-dad are struggling! I told my mom that she just needed to deal with it to which she responded: "I don't have to if I don't want to! Poppy isn't ok with it either!"

We can either go through the next year and half kicking and screaming (or in my world, sobbing and bawling) OR, we can embrace it. We can cherish every single moment by committing it to memory through journals or blogs like this. We can laugh and give thanks to God for Jordan's health, both physically and spiritually. We can be thankful for all the fun times AND the hard times. We can rejoice in knowing that we still have time to mold and teach. We can look forward to all of the fun times Jordan has to look forward to during his Sr. year. That is what I will try to do. I want to enjoy the next year and a half, but more than that, I want Jordan to enjoy it without having to listen to his momma blubbering in the background.

I can't imagine that I will ever hold on loosely to the rope that Jordan holds onto at the other end. I will probably always hold on to it tighter than I should, making for some irritating and uncomfortable "rope burns" from time to time. When my rope burns sting, because I held on tight when I should have let loose, I hope that I am able to remember that God has a plan, purpose and love for Jordan that is more than I can fathom.

Lord, please guide me and give me the strength to hold on tight when necessary and the grace to loosen my grip when the time comes.

Seriously?

Yep. That is the kind of week I have had. You know, the kind of week, where you have these little conversations with yourself and the Lord in an effort to keep your sanity? The kind of week where you go "Seriously God? Couldn't we have waited for the heat to go out on a warmer winter day?"  The way I look at it, He knows our heart and our thoughts whether we say it or not, so why not just talk to Him about it? I wasn't ugly - just asking. But I quickly followed those questions with thanks for the fact that our upstairs heating was toasty and thanks for a home, period. It hasn't been the idea situation, but it is more than so many people have so I quickly remind myself of that and move on. No sense in dwelling on it. At the end of the day I am blessed beyond anything I could have ever asked for. And, if it helps any, I have these "seriously?" conversations with the Lord about good things too. Especially in times when He just knocks my socks off with his mercy. This happened not too long ago with Jordan. I was moved to tears every time I realized how God had protected Jordan from making poor choices. "Seriously God? Did You really just do that? You really do love Jordan (and all of us) enough to guard and protect his heart in this particular situation. I can never thank YOU enough Lord for watching over my teenage son in this day and time and under the sometimes difficult circumstances of his life. Please continue to watch over him and guide him and love him so that his desire to make Godly choices continues. PLEASE draw him closer to You through this situation. Thank you Lord for showing me in such a clear way that You and You alone have my boy in Your hands."

In addition to our little heating problem, Colt came down with croup / bronchitis (only a few short weeks after having a MAJOR stomach bug that resulted in a week of missed preschool, a trip to the hospital followed by a trip to the doctor, along with endless loads of laundry). He missed another week of preschool. Nothing like paying $90 a week for absentee childcare! It's a wonder the rest of us haven't gotten sick because you walk down the stairs and the temperature drops a good 40 degrees and I am NOT even joking. James has teased that he is surprised a thunderstorm hasn't broken out in our stairway because of the collision of hot and cold air!  It's so true! That would be a great science project for some kid out there trying to figure out what to do for Science Fair!! If the collision of hot and cold air is what causes storms outside, then what is missing for it to not happen in my stairway - moisture maybe??

Needless to say, the downstairs of my house looks atrocious! I have  blankets, pillows, anything I could find covering every window, door, vent, etc. We have been using space heaters to keep it bearable since that is where we hang out most of the time, so I had to do something to lock in as much of the heat as possible. Thankfully, the part needed to fix our heater is supposed to be in this afternoon. Hopefully I can start de-blanketing our house tomorrow! My family (especially Jordan) will be thrilled. . . as will I.

I guess that is about it for now. We are finally celebrating Colt's 5th birthday tomorrow with a party at the local bump-n-jump place. His December 1st b-day makes it nearly impossible to schedule anything for his friends because it falls right after Thanksgiving or on a weekend when so many people start celebrating Christmas early. Since it is his 5th b-day, I wanted to something a little bigger, so we decided to wait and do the party in January to make sure lots of his friends would be able to come.  He is super excited!

I will try to post pictures afterward. maybe even a video of my funny little guy hamming it up at one of Jordan's basketball games last week. They play music during timeouts and he loves to get his groove on! It is quite entertaining!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
Jennifer

Legacy

Well, another Christmas has come and gone in a hurry.  It seems that, as a family, we can't seem to make it through important events without someone getting sick. This year, my step-son, Jake, got a 24 hour stomach bug late on Christmas Eve. He managed to open his gifts Christmas morning but spent most of the day in the bed. He ended up staying at his sister's house so I hate that we didn't get to spend the day with him. He heads back to Arizona today so I am praying for a safe flight with no sickness. Just thinking about the possibility of him getting sick during a flight makes me thankful for the option of "barf bags" as opposed to an airplane toilet!!

Other than that, our Christmas was wonderful! It's always nice to spend time with the family. Each year, I try to do a better job of remembering the real reason we celebrate so that I can, in turn, do a better job of reminding my kids. I want so badly for them to understand that it isn't about the number or size of gifts they receive but about the ultimate Gift given when Jesus was born. I know they understand this, but I want them to understand it more and more as they grow so that their faith can grow more as well. Lord, I am so thankful for your never-ending love!

I can not believe that another year has come and gone! It really seems like just last week that I was gearing up for 2010! Now, here I am gearing up for 2011. I wish I was better at savoring every moment instead of stressing about how quickly it is flying by. I try to soak it up, but I'm just not as good at it as I would like. Hopefully this blog will serve as a way for me to journal about what's on my mind as it relates to my day to day life. If nothing else, I hope it becomes a place where I can look back on my thoughts, hopes, desires, prayers and stories and know, with out a doubt, again and again, that my God has blessed me beyond my wildest imagination. I am such a "black and white" kind of person, that seeing something on paper (or screen in this case) gives me something tangible to observe and therefore grasp. The older I get the more I can't remember so I hope that this blog and my entries will help me remember the emotions I feel as I carry on as a wife and mom.

James' grandma, Nannie, as she was so affectionately known as, passed away almost a year ago. During a visit to Houston this summer, James' mom had set aside a box of Nannie's belongings that she thought the grand kids might be interested in looking at and taking as a keepsake. As I looked through the box, I noticed a notebook. It was a prayer journal that Nannie had kept over the years. She had consistently written down her requests with a date, which, in and of itself was just cool. But, what she did next was even cooler. When she saw that a prayer had been answered, she put a check mark beside it. As I read through her requests, I noticed that my family was mentioned several times. I was moved by the fact that she really did pray for us. Not that I ever thought she didn't, but SEEING it WRITTEN was so encouraging. I wanted badly to just stack the journal with the items we had set aside to keep, but knew that Carol must not have realized it was in there; I knew she would want it; what daughter wouldn't? I told her that I would love to make copies of some of the pages to keep. Nannie left an amazing legacy with her daughter, grandchildren, great-children and so many others. How cool will it be for Colt to SEE that his great grandmother prayed for him before he was born? How much cooler will it be for him to READ her prayer request in her own writing? It's things like that, that I want to do a better job of in 2011. I don't just want to leave an emotional or mental legacy for my kids, grand kids and so on. I want to leave them a legacy they can grasp and hold on to! I want to leave them with sweet thoughts and prayers to help remind them of how much they are loved, cherished, prayed for and thought of. I can think of very little else as encouraging as someone saying to me, either verbally or written, that they have thought of me or prayed for me. In general terms, it is profoundly encouraging to me, but when someone tells me they have thought of me or prayed for me concerning something specific, it just rocks my world with gratitude, humility and a desire to the same for someone else.

So many times, I think and/or pray for someone and I start to tell them, but don't because I either I don't know them that well and I'm afraid they might think I'm weird or it's someone I know really well and I am afraid they will think I am a fake. But, I'm done with that. I know how much it encourages me when I hear and/or read someone else's encouraging words to me. Furthermore, I'm tired of thinking and/or praying for someone and feeling like I can't share that with them for whatever reason. I'm convinced that the "reason" has to do with the enemy who doesn't want people to be encouraged or feel loved.

So, there you have it! If you ever think of and/or pray for me, I would LOVE to hear about it! And I will try to do the same for you.

Hoping your Christmas was merry and that 2011 is blessed!
Jennifer

Identity Crisis

Struggling with settling on a name for this blog. About the time I think I like something, I change my mind. So, for now, I will just use my name until something more exciting and creative comes to mind. I'm open to suggestions. I want something that is different, but not cheesy. Something that I feel describes this point in my life, but not dramatic or cheesy. Did I mention, I don't want something cheesy? Since I can be the QUEEN of cheesy sometimes, not settling on a cheesy name for this blog is proving to be a challenge.

Oh well. For now, my name will do, but if you have any ideas, feel free to let me know!

Have a great weekend!
Jen

Scripture Memory 2010

Many of you know that I particpated in a Scripture Memory Challenge in 2009 that was led by Beth Moore using her blog: http://www.livingproofministries.blogspot.com/    I encourage you ladies to check out her blog because it really is a blessing to me. Beth is hoot and I really just love her and her gift to write, speak and teach God's Word. Anyway, just so you know, on her blog, her female readers are not called ladies or women. We are proudly identified as "Siestas". She explains the reasoning behind this on her blog. . . so CHECK IT OUT! Anyway, I NEVER in a million years thought I would have the motivation to stick with the Scripture Memory Challenge for an entire year, but the Lord proved to me how much sticking with it would help me grow in my walk with Him. The goal was to memorize 24 scriptures for 2009. As a group, we would post our selections on the 1st and 15th of each month. As I sit here this morning I am happy to tell you that I was able to memorize 21 scripture segments in 2009! As I study my verses it becomes so clear to me how God used these verses to walk me through a very trying, tear-filled 2009. My way of studying them has been to use the dates because those dates pinpoint what events were going on at various times throughout the year. As I think of a particular date, it helps me remember what was going on at that time which in turn helps me remember the verse that I chose to memorize during that time. As a reward for those that stuck with the challenge for the entire year, Beth Moore is holding a private conference at her home church (First Baptist Church of Houston) next weekend. It is free for those that participated and since James' family lives in Houston, the trip is virtually free. I AM SOOO EXCITED!

All of that to say that in 2010, Beth Moore's blog isn't continuing the challenge for 2010. BUT, it has been such a blessing to me, that I have decided to continue it on my own. I have talked to a few of my friends that are also interested in doing it for 2010 so I am just going to do my own challenge on my own little blog.  I am not near as gifted of a writer as Beth or her daughters, nor is my little blog nearly as interesting, BUT, I don't care. All I care about is continuing something that has been spiritually fruitful for me. I don't have alot of extra time to participate in women's Bible studies or events to help feed my spiritual growth. This scripture memory challenge is something that I can actually manage and reap HUGE rewards from. So, there you have it! This is your INVITATION and CHALLENGE to particpate in the life-changing process of memorizing scripture. THe goal is to plant the seeds of scripture deep in your heart so that it remains with you always. Sometimes, it is easy to think that you can memorize one big chunk of scripture at a time. That didn't work so well for me. I have done better keeping my selections to 1-3 verses at a time. In doing so, I feel like I will ALWAYS remember the verses I have learned in 2009. I will post my entry on the 1st and 15th of each month (or there abouts). Please log on to this blog and post yours as well on those dates. Please include your verse, the translation (NIV, NLT, KJV, etc), and your name. If you don't have a verse in mind you can share mine or someone elses. I am excited to see this through! To help you in the process, I suggest getting a spiral bound index card notebook OR a spiral bound journal notebook to write your verses in. I also underline and date the verse in my Bible to help me in my memorization.

I won't be able to offer any type of earthly reward at the end of this year, but I hope the idea of the SPIRITUAL reward you will receive will be what motivates you to particpate and stick with it!

OK - In order to catch-up with the already fast-moving 2010 I am posting 2 selections today:

January 1:
Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelrey, or beautiful clothes. You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfaing beauty of a gentla and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. 1 Peter 3:3-4 NLT

January 15:
. . .but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Keep away from every kind of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 NLT

OK - let's hear yours!!!

Love to you all!
Jen

Whew! One of these days I really am going to be more consistent about posting entries on this little blog. I always think of things I want to write about but when the ideas hit I am in my car or in the middle of cooking supper or getting Colt ready for bed. Maybe I should start wearing a clip board around my neck so I can jot down my ideas when they hit!

CHANGE IS GOOD

My first order of business with this little blog of
mine has been to find a better name for it. Pipes Place just isn't cutting it for me. After flip-flopping back and forth between various ideas and options, I think I have decided on sincere-beauty. . .  not because I think I am beautiful but because in 2010, I want to be about becoming sincerely beautiful as described in 1 Peter 3:3-4.  I love this verse and want to use it as a guideline for my life this year.

PIONEER WOMAN
 I have recently began reading a new blog. Many of you probably already read it. It is the Confessions of a Pioneer Woman by Ree Drummond. First of all, I LOVE her name. Ree. How simple and cute is that? She lives on a ranch in Oklahoma with her rancher hubby and their 4 children whom she home schools. In addition, she appears to be a fabulous cook and photographer. My mom got me her new cookbook (Pioneer Woman Cooks) for Christmas and I absolutely LOVE it! She took all of her own photos and it is not full of weird recipes, but real life, home cooked recipes with ingredients I think I can actually find at the neighborhood Kroger. I am in the process of figuring out which of her recipes along with my own that I can use to have an "assemble and freeze my meals in advance day"! I have wanted to do this for a long time and I think I am finally motivated to take on a weekend full of cooking, assembling and freezing some meals to have ready for those times of the year when I don't have it "together" which, by the way, happens too OFTEN. Anyway she really has a way with words and a camera. And the fact that she grew up a city girl and is now a full fledged ranchers wife in the middle of nowhere is amusing to me. I highly recommend you check it out if it sounds like your sort of thing.

FAMILY STUFF


Moving on, my step son arrived on Sunday. We had an absolute blast playing our new family Christmas present - a Nintendo Wii. I am embarrased to say that I have become quit addicted to it. I think my favorite is Super Mario Brothers, but I am also becoming quite the hunter by playing the Cabela Big Game Hunter game. . . . it is really cool and scary and fun. The funniest part about it is how tickled Jordan gets that I even play that game! He thinks it is "so cool" that his momma likes to play this pretend hunting game. Needless to say, I think it will be a great way for us to bond. Jake on the other hand is super good at tennis. I've played him a few times and I think that is also one of my favorites because it is so close to the real thing. It's crazy! I came down stairs last night to find James playing bowling - by himself! So he is even enjoying it! Colt isn't really old enough to make the connection between pointing the remote and pushing certain buttons at certain times but we let him think that he is participating. I am so happy that my intuition was right about it being a great way for to bring us all together this week. We are even planning a New Year's Eve family game night with appetizers out the wazoo (thanks to my new cookbook)! I can't wait!

I guess that is all for now. Thanks for stopping by my little blog. I hope you and yours has a wonderfully Happy New Year!

With love,
Jen

How Sweet It Is . . .

The weather that is! We are in the midst of absolutely FABULOUS weather right now in our neck of the woods! It is supposed to be in the upper 50's tonight and the upper 70's during the day! Last night I just had to go for a walk in our neighborhood, but I waited until dark to be sure it wouldn't be too hot . . . wasn't even hot at all! And, to top it off, Jordan decided to meet up with me (on his own free will I might add) so he rode his bike while I walked. It turned out to be a great time for us to talk . . . I miss the days when I ALWAYS had a captive audience. But, it does make it even more special when HE initiates spending time with his momma . . . I love it! It's one of my most favorite "surprises" when it happens. Anyway, I guess that is it. I've gotta pick out my Sept. 1 memory verse - any ideas? I hope you all have a wonderful week. I'll try to post again soon!

Beautiful Day

Ok - so it's been awhile - as usual! But, I'm bound and determined to keep going with this blog. I'm not sure anyone has even read it since I last posted. Oh well!

We have had a fabulous day today! The weather here is FANTASTIC! It is about as good as anyone could ask for and I think it is supposed to last through this week. . . YAY! Anyway, after church we loaded up our bikes and some food for lunch and drove out to the lake for a picnic. Mom and Ray met us and we found the perfect little spot in the shade. Colt got to do LOTS of bikeriding and we enjoyed grilled hot dogs and SMORES! YUM! It certainly wasn't anything fancy but we had such a good time just relaxing and enjoying this beautiful weather. These opportunities to spend time with each other - outdoors - don't happen very often in AR so I'm thankful that today's weather was cooler . . . and that all of our schedules "jived" . . . that REALLY doesn't happen very often!

Here are some pics of our day! Jordan was there but left early to go workout. Unfortunately, he left before I got my camera out. . . I'll catch him the next time!

Oh well - gotta go for now! Gotta get geared up for the first FULL week of school (and traffic)! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

A Fresh Start!

Ok, so I am going to try this blog thing again. I hope that it is an outlet for me to get things off my mind. I don't know that anyone will really care about what I am writing, but I'm not concerned with that. I like to write but don't ever do it. I think it will be a stress reliever for me, so here goes . . .

SCRIPTURE MEMORY TEAM

At the first of the year I decided to participate in a scripture memory challenge on Beth Moore's blog (livingproofministries.blogspot.com). The goal is to memorize 2 verses each month of the year. On the 1st and 15th of each month, Beth posts a scritpure memory team post and we all enter our verse, with the reference and translation and our name and location. I don't ever talk to another soul that participates, which seems like it wouldn't be motivating. But, I am actually sticking with it. Earlier this week, I picked my 12th verse. So, some of you might be asking "why is she doing this and for what?". Well, so many times I now bits and pieces of scripture but can't remember where it is found. I thought this would be a fun way of memorizing scripture and it has been so much fun for me! It is a challenge which keeps me going and keeps me trying. I write the date next to each verse in the margin of my Bible and I also keep a list of them on an index card so that I can recite them whenever possible. In January there will be a Living Proof conference in Houston that will be free for all participants, BUT I will have to recite a certain number of my verses for entrance into the conference. I am so pumped!

COUPONING
On another note, I have recently started couponing! So far I have made two grocery trips and have saved around 50% off my grocery bill each time!!! PLUS, I am bringing home a TON more food for the same amount as I was spending before. I actually am running out of room in my pantry because of all the stuff I am getting. I have listed several of the websites on this blog in case you want to try it out for yourself. My favorite new way to save is by loading e-coupons onto my Kroger card. When you scan your card at the check-out, it autmatically deducts the coupons for any grocery items that match - PLUS you can stack the e-coupons with paper coupons for even more savings. . . here are a few examples of my bargains: last night I got a box of plain Cheerios for $.90, a bottle of Kraft BBQ sauce for $.25, 2 Maybelline mascara's for $6 (B1G1 free)!! Anyway, I neve thought I could be "one of those coupon people" you see on the morning talk shows bragging about their bargains - but I am loving it! I love getting a great bargain. Speaking of bargains, our family vacation is even a bargain this year. We are getting 7 nights in a beachfront condo for the price of 4 due to a real estate special! Woo hoo!

BOYS

Well, all of my boys are finally home. Jake arrived Wednesday night after a brief visit with our Houston fam. He is taller, his voice is deeper and his frame is thicker! I think he is going to be a stout boy as he continues to grow! Jordan got home this morning from his 10 fishingtrip tothe Boundary Waters of MN. I think he was happy to have access to the often overlooked comforts of home - like a REAL toilet! And, of course, Colt is always here, but he has been beside himself with excitement to have his bubbas at home . . . he loves them so much! This morning he said to me "mommy do we have a sister?". To which I answered . . . "nope, just brothers - no girls except mommy". Sometimes, I find myself wishing for the little girl I've never had and never will have. I think about things like who will I teach to cook, scrapbook, plant flowers, etc. And then I hear a thud from the other room followed by hysterical laughing and I quickly realize that I have all I will ever need in my house full of boys! They bring something out in me that I'm not sure I even knew existed before I had them around to show me. They are carefree, fun-loving and mischevous little personalities make me realize how fun it is to just fly by the seats of our pants sometimes! Life doesn't always have to be so structured and serious . . . they have taught me that it is OK to have fun on purpose!