A Moment to Rest

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. We had a great time at my in-laws. In the process of going over to my in-laws, I was left at home ALL.BY.MYSELF. because my food was still baking. It was one of those rare moments of quiet, with no responsibilites. The house was clean. The dishwasher was running. Yes, there was laundry to be folded.

What should I do with this free time? Fold laundry. declutter a drawer.

Nope. I turned on my "Favorites" playlist and sat on the couch to be thankful for the moment of quiet. 

It was a special moment of relaxation and overwhelming thankfulness. Even this morning, hubby took care of the boys so I could sleep a little longer. 

No, door-buster Black Friday deals here... unless you count a 4-yr old busting down the door to snuggle at 5am.

I am thankful for life where it is right now. I know that it will change (it's life, right?), so I am trying to savor each moment for what it is — a fleeting moment, a vapor.

This photo of me and the boys reminds me to enjoy those silly moments.
Source: my sis-in-law

I've enjoyed this week of thankfulness, hosted by Lil-Kid-Things. It's been great to read the other amazing bloggers share their touching stories and refreshing laughs. 

I am thankful for the silly things

The last two days of my "Week of Thanks" have been a bit more on the serious, mushy end (as my Dad would say) of the "thankful" spectrum. While I can't entire leave out the mushy-ness, I wanted to share something a bit more light-hearted.

I am thankful that my Mom started praying with me when I was young... about the man I would some day marry. As a six year old, it was pretty yucky. As a seventeen-year old, I was thankful. It helped me understand and think about the Godly qualities I needed in a spouse. Likewise, my Mom also taught me that I needed to trust God to make me the woman that this kind of man would be seeking.

Little did I know that he was praying for me, too. He and I had a list of qualities in a spouse. However, deep inside, we also had a fun list — a wish list. Who knew that God would love that list, too?

Here are a few of our favorites that God gave us:

Beef Stew. Oddly enough, we BOTH detest Beef Stew. Both our families think we're crazy. One of the first few questions hubby asked me when we were first dating was whether or not I liked Beef Stew. To his utter surprise and thankfulness, I loathe it! Don't get me wrong. I've tried it many times in hopes of liking it. I mean, I like all the ingredients. Put them all on a plate, and I'll have a blast. Please, just don't pull all of them in a gravy. And for goodness sake, don't put bread in the bottom of the bowl! Needless to say, I'm afraid this is one dish I won't be making for my boys, either. Sorry.

Texas. Hubby's mom was born in Texas and always wanted to marry a girl from Texas. Hey, that's me!

Dallas Cowboys. Yes, I'm from Texas... need I say more? In college, I only really cared if the guy liked football and didn't mind being schooled by a girl in the "football rules" department. However, it turns out that I couldn't date guys that were Redskins fans AND didn't know very much about the game. Yuck! Thankfully, the Lord knew I needed a Dallas Cowboys fan that was more knowledgeable in the game than I am.

I know these are some silly, trivial things. But I am thankful that God does listen to our every prayer. Even when we don't know what to ask, He can provide.

This post is a part of {a week of thanksgiving} hosted by Lil-Kid-Things. Hop over and check out all the great posts.

Why Books Make Fabulous Gifts

While we have been reducing the amount of junk in our home and only keeping things on hand that have multiple uses, I still am a book junkie. 

As a child, I remember holding a book and just thinking: 

This book has the power to teach me something I didn't know before.

I was enthralled with learning and with school. As a result, it's been a struggle for me to let go of my classics, anthologies, and reference books. These are the minimum for my library.

Yes, I AM a nerd and proud of it. I wasn't always so happy to be smart. I was the punchline of many jokes, and my classmates dreaded me being at school on spelling bee days. Thankfully, I had supportive parents, and I they encouraged me through those tough days.

When the boys were really little, I started selling Usborne Books as an Educational Consultant. I remember one marketing e-mail was about why books make such great gifts. I don't sell the books anymore, but I do have a quite a few (and love them!). Here's some of what I remember, plus a few of my own.

1. Books don’t need to be assembled.
2. Books don’t need batteries. 
3. Books don't come in the wrong color or size. 
4. Books don’t need to be serviced by a dealer. 
5. Books won't need replacement parts. 
6. Books are easier to gift wrap than footballs. 
7. Books don’t bite, scratch, or kick. 
8. Books don’t need watering or fertilizing. 
9. Books don’t irritate your allergies. 
10. Books don’t go out of style. 
11. Books look good with any decor. 
12. Books don’t get aphids, fleas, or draw ants. 
13. Books don’t bark, annoy the neighbors, or need to be walked or trained. 
14. Books don’t shrink, stretch, or fade. 
15. Books don’t need extension cords. 
16. Books won’t scratch the coffee table. 
17. Books don’t get stale. 
18. Books are not a choking hazard. 
19. Books never need ironing. 
20. Books, no matter how much you use them, are never empty.
21. Books offer a great reason for your kids (or grand kids) to snuggle in your lap.

For me, the gift of reading is something that can never get old. It helps build your child's vocabulary and helps them understand the world around them. I hope my boys have as many wonderful memories as I do, snuggling on the couch with Mommy and a book.

Do you have a favorite childhood book that you hope to share with your child or grandchild?

Lots of brothers means lots of sisters-in-law

You may know that I grew up as the only girl in a house full of boys. I was a dutiful sister and played cars, trucks, and legos. As my boys get older, I am supremely thankful for growing up with brothers. I can say that I am good at playing with legos. My header graphic is even a picture of legos. I took that picture as my older brother an I had a great time putting together a model made out of legos. It was one of those giddy moments, where you get to replay your childhood. It's like I was 8 again. My older brother was 9.

My role: the organizer. 

His role: the boss, the engineer.

He would call out a lego part (we had our own names for the pieces, of course), and I would quickly grab the part and pass it to him. We fell into our roles as if no time passed. Actually, we were 30 and 31, respectively. We didn't care.

Even so, as much as I love and adore my brothers. I often found myself begging my parents for a sister. At nine years old, I vividly remember my parents telling me they were having another baby. Can you PLEASE have a girl? When they found out it was a boy, I was very disappointed. To cheer me up, they reminded me of the blessings of being an only daughter:

• I would always be Daddy's favorite daughter.
• I would never would have to share a room.
• I would not have to share my toys (other than with friends).

Yes, that did the trick... never wanted a sister again. I was proud to be an only girl, and I am so thankful for my youngest brother (can't say baby anymore). As a 9-year old, I had no understanding that by having all brothers, I'd get to have lots of sisters-in-law. 

Now, that I'm grown and married, I do have LOTS of sisters. My hubby has two sisters (who I've known for many years... another story entirely), and two of my brothers are married. I can't tell you how much these amazing ladies have heaped blessings into my life.

Each one of my sisters-in-law are unique and fabulous in their own way, and I am honored to know them. They have taught me how to enjoy girl-time and just be silly. Yes, I can be WAY too serious sometimes. I know I don't tell them enough how much they mean to me. I am thankful for their friendship and encouragement.

As I write this, I feel emotionally full and overwhelmed. I got to grow up with three fabulous brothers. And, now, I get to hang out with four amazing women.

This post is a part of {a week of thanksgiving} hosted by Lil-Kid-Things. Hop over and check out all the great posts.

Hard Lessons Are the Best Teacher & A Week of Thanksgiving {2011}

When my friend Andrea from Lil-kid-things mentioned that she'd be posting all week about thanksgiving and encouraged others to join, I knew it was a no-brainer decision.

Today, I am thankful for life's hard lessons. They are not always fun, but they have taught me to value the things that matter — my faith and my family. Before we were married, hubby and I both knew we wanted to have kids and valued that our mom's each stayed home with us. However, we never really knew the sacrifices that our parents made to make that happen. Going from a two-income household to a one-income household, we did make many sacrifices. However, we did not understand the false security of credit and quickly found ourselves in too much debt and too little income. It was embarrassing and frustrating all at the same it. We worked so hard and already made so many sacrifices for me to be home with the boys. It was like a slap in the face to see that it did not work. Then, we found Dave Ramsey's radio show and Total Money Makeover book. On his radio show, we heard about people paying off debt and were making less money than we were. There had to be hope for us.

During the process of reading the book, I realized that I was holding on to "things" and giving value to them, rather than in my family. It was a serious epiphany for me. We quickly sold some furniture to get jumpstarted on our way out of debt. I sold my favorite dining room table. It was our first purchase, as a married couple. However, my boys were more important than a TABLE. If I had not seen my materialism for what it was, I'd still be wallowing in self-pity. 

We are continuing to live on less than we make, so that we can finish paying off debt. Our dream is to be able bless others with our freed-up income. It's so much more fun to give the money away and see what good it can do!

Through that hardship, I've learned much of what I am sharing on my Almost On Purpose blog. In order for something to stay in my house it must serve more than one purpose. Otherwise, I'm going to sell it or donate it. I don't have room in my life for clutter. Is my house still cluttered? Oh, yes! But I am willing to let go of it. Material things should not define me or my family. (I said "should" because I'm still a work in progress). Plus, we have a greater admiration and respect for our parents and all the sacrifices they made for us.

Have you experienced a life lesson that changed your perspective?

Thrifty Thursday: Repurposing T-shirts Project #3. Bag.

I can't believe I'm already on project #3 of my T-shirt repurpose challenge. I'm glad everyone enjoyed last week's project: the pretty petal tee. 

This week, I wanted to tackle something a bit easier (or so I thought): The Reusable Bag. You may remember my angst from last week about potentially using the Dallas Cowboys shirt as a lining for the petal tee. I saved it for this week. Phew! 

From all the tutorials I read, it's as easy as (1) cut off the sleeves and neckline and (2) sew the bottom opening closed. Just to save yourself some heartache, PLEASE don't try to make it reversible or add a lining unless (emphasis added) you plan on cutting the t-shirt into many parts. Yet, again, I have to learn things the hard way. In the end, just follow the simple directions from other tutorials. It really IS that easy. There's a reason why they were written that way. 

So, there you have it... the easy reusable bag. If you use it at Target for your purchases, you'll get $0.05 off your order for each bag. I've made a bag that was free AND saves me money. Now, that's my style!

The boys want to use it for their library books, and I have no problem flaunting our favorite NFL team.

Want to check out my other projects? Here's a quick breakdown:

• The Challenge: Can only use what I have in my home.
• Project #1: Necklace. Here's my inspiration piece.
• Project #2: The pretty petal tee. Here's where I got the idea.
• Project #3: Hey, that's today! Here's an quick tutorial.
• Other projects: scarf, kids pants, or bean bags

Wordless Wednesday: Playtime on a Beautiful Autumn Afternoon