Wacky Wednesday

It’s time for your digital freebie!   I have enjoyed these cute two-page layouts from My Memories.com.  All you have to do is select your pictures and put them in the empty spaces and voila – a beautiful scrapbook page!  I love the colors of this kit, and guess what!?  Next week’s freebie coordinates with it as well!




http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_2
 
If you don’t have a digital scrapbooking software program, you can get the newest version of My Memories Suite that was just released!  Use the promo code STMMMS94566 to get $10 off.  It is a great gift idea for yourself or that scrapbooking friend that is so hard to buy for! :)

How is your week going?  I am busy packing and sewing and doing as much preparation for Christmas and the BIG MOVE as I can.  My husband is in a meeting this week in Georgia, so the kids and I are home alone!  Party on! :)

To Be, or Not to Be???

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I have broken with tradition.  I always drag out the Christmas decorations the Saturday after Thanksgiving and start beautifying our home.  I love Christmas decorations – there is something about the red and green that just makes me feel festive.  The tree comes a little later, but the rest of it goes up almost as soon as we close the door after our relatives! :)  This year however, I have a dilemma.  We are moving in three weeks ( give or take).  I want to put up just a few things, but I am thinking it might be more trouble than it is worth.  What do you think?  If you were me, what would you do?  Nothing at all until after the move, or just a touch of color here and there (they take possession on Dec. 20th – not much time to decorate after the move)?  I know what my hubby would say… but I will not ask him.  :) 



This picture is from last Christmas.  I love the tree and the white lights and the touches of red.  I will definitely miss having a real tree this year.  The little one in the corner will be our main tree again this year.  It has been our “trailer tree” for about eight years now.  It will be fun to decorate the trailer again.  When do you start decorating your home for Christmas?

Did I Really?

I told you I had plans to go Black Friday shopping.  I had planned to leave early Friday morning and go all day, but my plans changed late Thursday evening. I ended up dragging my poor mother out at 9:15pm to start our adventure.  We hit Wal-mart, where it was wall-to-wall people.  There was some serious drama in the towels and sheets department from women who wanted to claim all the towels and sheets, despite the line of customers.  How exciting!  If there had been a fire, we would have all died, because we were so jammed in there.  Insane – that’s all I have to say about that.


We also went to Kohl’s where there was a huge line(See above). We had to stand out in the freezing cold air for about 35 minutes.  The lines inside were almost as long, but we passed the time chatting with other customers.  After leaving there, we headed to Sears, Penney’s, and the mall stores, where we shopped until about 5:45am.  We headed back across the road to Menard’s and stood in line for another 30 minutes to get the much-coveted Cricut cartridges that were on sale.  Our last stop was Hobby Lobby, which, disappointingly enough, had no special sales.  I hope they do better next year…

I was able to get those last few items on my list, and now I am set for Christmas.  In fact, the sales were so good that I actually got more than I had planned!  (All those garage sale earnings came in handy!)
I will say that I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home.  I pulled into the driveway, parked the truck, reclined the driver’s seat and fell asleep for about an hour before even taking my purchases in the house!  I am not sure that I am fully recovered yet, but at least I can function without falling asleep!  How was your BF?  Did you brave the teeming masses, or did you shop from the comfort of your living room?  Did you find any awesome deals?  What will you do differently next year?

Shop ‘Til You Drop!

Yes.  Shameless promotion of materialism coming right up!  I look forward all year to this day -

                        Black Friday

I love shopping for the best deals of the year, planning my strategy, hoarding my pennies, and gathering my coupons.  I am going with my mom again this year.  We always have such a good time!  I am hoping to score some really good bargains this year.  I have been using a lot of Amazon gift cards that I have earned through Swagbucks to buy Christmas gifts.  I love not having to spend out-of pocket money for my gifts!  If you haven’t signed up for Swagbucks yet, start today and start saving!

Well, by the time you read this, I will have been out for several hours, and hopefully I will still have all my skin and will not have been trampled or bitten or stabbed by the frenzied shoppers.  (Usually, the worst incidents seem to happen at Walmart, so be careful!) 

Happy Thanksgiving!

This will be short and sweet.  We are planning to spend some time with family, eating, fellowshipping, and counting our blessings.

Take some time to thank God for some specific things He has done for you.  These are a few of my personal blessings:

1.  My eternal salvation through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice
2.  An accepted offer on our house
3.  Good health
4.  A wonderful marriage to a godly man
5.  Friends who encourage me

I could go on and on, but my words could never tell all that God has done for me.  One of my favorite verses sums it up rather well.

And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they were written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.  Amen.  - John 21:25

And to think that this verse was written 2,000 years ago – think how many more things He has done since then!  What a great God!  Take time to praise and thank Him today.

Wacky Wednesday

One of my childhood memories is reading the book Wacky Wednesday by Dr. Seuss.  I seem to have the same problem as the character in the book at times – nothing goes the way I think it should…

However, I am starting a weekly digital freebie for those of you who need a mid-week pick-me-up.  When the going gets tough, it’s time to start scrapping!  Right?!  So walk away from those dirty dishes – they will be there when you get done!  Download this page kit and add another precious memory to your digital album.  nothing could be easier, especially if you have the My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software.  Use the code STMMMS94566 to get $10 off the program, making it only $29.97 – a great deal!  You will also receive a $10 coupon for the online store.  Hurry over and snag this great tool!




http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_2
 
“And that’s how Wacky Wednesday began…” – Dr. Seuss

Pack ‘Em Up…

Move ‘em out!  My days are now consumed, along with all the normal activites of a stay-at-home, home-schooling mother, with packing.  Yes – you read that right!  We have accepted an offer on our house, and will be leaving the perma-frost of Indiana for the balmy breezes of Southaven, MS on December 20th of this year.  Just about four weeks from now.  What ever possessed us to move the week of Christmas, I will never know, but that is how it worked out.  I am already mourning the decorations I won’t be able to put up in our house – some of them will be up in the RV, but not too many, lest I clog up what little living space we have with trees and garlands.  :(  Truly a bummer – I love decorating for Christmas! 

We will not be moving into a new house immediately, so most of our belongings will end up in storage for a few months, it looks like.  We are praying that the Lord will open up the perfect place for our family.  In the meantime, I have to pack up all the junk we have collected over the past few years and put it in some kind of order.  The logistics of this move are a nightmare, so pray for us! 



I just finished packing up the last of the books – well, except for the kids’ books, which are in everyday use.  All told, there are about 35 boxes of books alone.  That does not include any of our school books, which are stored in the garage and the current year’s school curriculum.  The only drawback to having your own library is moving it! :)  All the pictures are down, knick-knacks are wrapped in paper and gently placed in boxes marked fragile, and the extra sheets and towels are also boxed.  I left the clocks up, so we would have some idea of what time it is, but my living room is so bare and spartan.  I makes me want to cry!  :)

Well, pray for us as we prepare to move and be a part of a new ministry.  I will keep you updated on the move and its particulars.  Stay in touch!