Family time

I can't believe Christmas is a few days away! It's already the end of 2012 which is a bit insane! I haven't had a chance to blog lately, thankfully I've been busy fulfilling orders this time of year! I have crosses coming out my ears...not really but you get the crafters picture!
We are headed home for Christmas tomorrow so we got to have our little family Christmas this morning! The one morning Jaxen could getaway waking up early we had to wake him up at 8:30! Finally he woke up and we read the Christmas story then opened our gifts. I'm so thankful we have him! Christmas is way fun with kiddos!!! I'll attach a few pictures of my recent orders. (Yes the teal/brown cross is off centered on purpose) Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

Crafty Crosses and Hairy Beards

Today is December 6...barely, but still December 6!  This is our first winter in Texas and I must say so far it isn't barely fall yet!  We've been enjoying our 70-80 degree weather since, well, since the 90-100 degree weather.  I will say it is odd plugging the Christmas tree in when the a/c is still on in the house!  I do hope I get to wear a coat at some point!  I'm sure we will eventually!  We'll be going to Oklahoma and Missouri for Christmas so hopefully we'll see snow then!  I would love for Jaxen to play in it!

Lately I've been making custom cross orders.  My new thing is painting and assembling these crosses.  They're so fun to make because I get to put each buyers personality into their cross!  I originally made mine for the house not assuming to sell them, but one thing led to another and now here we are 12-15 custom orders later and loving it!  I will say bigger crafts take bigger time but also make bigger money, so give and take! I'll post a few pictures of the most recent ones. 

This was my handsome husbands beard growing abilities for the month of November!  Isn't he charming!

It's beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Yesterday was glorious! My hubby took me to Hobby Lobby and we spent almost 2 hours wondering the store!! We're hosting a Christmas party Tuesday night so I wanted to get a few things done to the house before then! So last night I made my first Christmas wreath! Full price at Hobby Lobby the wreaths were averaging $99!!!! I made mine for $17!
What about you? Have you crafted lately?

The Lords Table

This past Sunday night we got to experience an awesome experience together as a church body! There were tables and chairs set up in the sanctuary and there we observed the Lords table similar to how they did during the Passover times. Pastor had a plate of types of food that would have been present during their typical meal. It included a shank of lamb to represent the lamb that was slain to offer as a sacrifice, some herbs, apples and cinnamon, horseradish to resemble to bitterness that Christ went through, and a roasted egg. He taught us why each of these items were present and about the reason for unleavened bread. We had real unleavened bread that he started to break then passed around the table. He taught us quite a few things about their customs and traditions.
It was such an unexpected blessing to break bread with our church family! Tears were shed, laughs were shared, and memories were made.
I don't know how as a typical communion service we've demeaned it down to stale crackers and a swallow of grape juice! I hope we never go back to the wafers!

Thankful Thinking

I'm laying here on an air mattress in my in laws house at 12:32 in the morning so today is now Thanksgiving! I have so much to thank God for! He is more giving then He should be! I'll do a top 5!
1) my salvation and life in Christ! He protects me and guides me through so many things, some I can see but other I can't.
2) my Brandon! He is the ketchup to my hot dog! The ranch to my salad! The sloppy to my joe's! The sugar to my lemon aid!
3) my Jaxen! There was a phase in our life where we didn't think we could get pregnant, and wondered if God would let's be parents some day, but then came my Jaxen! He rocks my world!
4) church family! God has placed us at the exact place with the exact people He wants us to be with right now in Coleman!
5) my family! I'm blessed to have a Christian family that supports us and loves us unconditionally!

Rosie my Love

In the realm of life I know things mean nothing, I know that items and materials do not make it to heaven. But...if there were items in heaven my Rosie would be there! Rosie, my love! She's my red Kitchenaid mixer!! I've saved up crafting money here and there over the past couple years and was able to purchase my beautiful new love! A major part of my excitement is the pricing of my new mixer! Here is the low down:
I wanted red.
Walmart has white only for $199.
Target had red for $209 on Black Friday.
Alco (store here in Coleman) ran an add for $229+$30 store gift card.
Alco advertises they match prices.
Took Walmart add in, got RED for $199+$30 store gift card.
So it's as if I purchased my mixer for $169!!!!!!!!
God is good and cares about our little things!

Oh to Vote!

This morning after getting around we walk to our voting station, which happens to be our church across the street, on the way I tell Jaxen, "Momma gets to go vote!" Oh course this means nothing to him in his 3 yr old world! But he still looks at me excited bc he knows momma is excited!
I'm not big into politics nor making people feel dumb for not voting the same way I did. I think that's bc I vote to make my voice heard then I leave it up to the One that I know is in control! Don't get me wrong, I think it's our right as Christians to stand up for the unborn and the Bible, but I don't stress about the election. I know that the person that takes office will be whom God has purposed for the job.
That being said: I can't stand it when people don't think voting is a big deal. Or when self proclaimed Christians don't care to vote morals! If Christians don't stand for the unborn babies then who will? It's no wonder we don't have a cure to cancer and other deadly diseases, we've killed millions of future doctors, scientists, and leaders that could have done something about it!

My Lil' Miracle!

My sugar baby turned 3 in the middle of Sept. Last week we borrowed a friends camera and decided we were going to snap Jaxen's picture in hopes we could do him justice and call them "His 3 year Pictures!" Not only b/c we are cheap, but b/c he doesn't sit still!  And when we say, "say cheese Jaxen" he chooses to look at us like a weird winking gnome that is constipated!  So we we're forced to snap action shots.  Praise the heavens they turned out fantastic!  We snapped over 130 pictures and I'm pleased with 80% of them! We have friends that do photography so we emailed our top pics and they edited and enhanced what we captured!  We will not be entering the photography world by any means, however I really enjoyed snapping my sons pictures and capturing him as he plays and explores the world from his stand point!  God has blessed us with so much more then we could imagine! Here are a few of my favorites!

Go God!

Last Wednesday night I had the opportunity to introduce a 14 year old girl to Jesus and help her discover she can have eternal life through Him! The week before Brandon got to lead another student to Christ! We're so blessed to be serving where God has placed is here in the heart of central Texas! Each of these students got saved because at school they're friends began witnessing to them. Our students get it! They understand that school is their mission field right now! We can see the students passion and desire to grow and witness but for visitor students to stand in front of big church and proclaim to the adults what happened to them is incredible! It helps our church family catch the vision and encourages them that the students are actually "getting it" they're not just showing up to church for fun and food! So excited to see more growth!

Money, Money, Money

So on TLC there's a show about extreme cheapskates. Some of them are pretty odd! But on the other hand some of them make good sense. By influence of the show I think we will start having a "no spend paycheck" once every 6 weeks or so. We will pay tithe then not spend another dime that entire week. Simply eat what food we already have in the house, whether that's pancakes for dinner or odds and ends. Just think of the money we could put towards our car payment. Other ideas on the show we will NOT be implementing are eating goat heads, eating out of a dumpster, and using reusable cloth toilet paper!

Wardrobe replacement

Ever since Jaxen was born we've attended these massive kids clothing resale weekends. They typically have them 2 times a year, fall and spring. Therefore you purchase enough items at the fall sale to last all winter and then in the spring sale you purchase summer clothes. When he was younger it was easier to find cute clothes still in great shape since they don't wear them as long and aren't as rough on their clothes. Now that my big man is in 3T the clothes are more worn and its harder to find "good" ones.
Yesterday we went to one of these sales and thankfully it was a huge success! We limited ourselves to getting items he needed! Not just bc something was cute! For instance we narrowed down our items to 10 long sleeve shirts, 6 church shirts, 2 zip up hoodies, etc. We still spent more then we came with but were so happy it was a success! We found him some Buzz Lightyear light up shoes for $4 and some cowboy boots for $5!
Last night after we cut the tags off and cleaned the shoes and threw the clothes in the wash machine I looked at Brandon and said, "when he's a freshman or sophomore and we have to spend $300 for back to school clothes to only get him 3 jeans, 6 shirts, and 2 pairs of shoes not counting the football gear, baseball cleats, and everything else in between we will be missing these days of dropping$120 twice a year for his wardrobe!"
It's so hard for me to clean out his closet twice a year with things that are too small to wear! I don't like packing away my favorites! Makes this momma sad!!

Investing

I think part of why I space in and out of posting regularly is simply b/c I feel that my life isn't anything "special" that I don't have anything to share.  Kinda like when I was growing up and I heard other people share their cool testimonies and I always thought "I don't have a good story of what God saved me from" then as I matured I realized God did save me from everything else He saved others from, I just simply didn't have to experience the hurt they did, He saved me from it before I ever did it.  Make sense? 
Today I feel the urge to share my passion about purity.  Some people think this is an old fashion word that isn't relevant to today's society, however its still as relevant as ever.  My husband and I have a calling on our lives to serve God in full time ministry so we have the privilege of seeing people at their best and worst.  It breaks my heart when girls come to me and share that they've "gone too far" or "messed up" in the realm of their purity.  It makes me want to kick Satan in the throat and rip his finger nails off!  Makes me so mad that these poor girls find their fulfilment and satisfaction in what others think about them and chasing boys to fill that void. I understand it takes 2 to tango and girls aren't innocent.  Which is why it is so important to teach our daughters, nieces, friends, any young girls to keep themselves modest and not throw themselves out there for everyone and their brother to see!  If we think its cute that a girl has 6 boyfriends in 1st grade, allow her to start wearing makeup at 10, give her a cell phone at 12 b/c all her friends have one and don't monitor whom she is texting and talking to, buy her wardrobe from Victoria Secret when she's 15, then we should be surprised when she comes home and says she's pregnant at 17! I have a desire to see girls wear white on their wedding day and it still mean something!  To walk down that isle with pride holding their daddy's arm knowing she has saved herself for the man God has purposed her to spend her life with! If there is a young girl or a teenage girl that God has placed in your life reach out to her and know that you have the possibility to impact her life in more ways then you know! 

writers block

I know it's been way to long in between posts!  Most of you probably don't check this page regularly anymore since I've stoped writing often!  I guess I just felt I didn't have anything interesting to write about so I'll call that writers block!  When in all actuality I can write about anything I want!  Kinda like an online diary of sorts.  So I will do my best to post more regularly, once a week if not then once every two weeks! 
Catching Up...
We've been in Coleman for 6 months now and still loving every part of it!
Jaxen turned 3!!!!
We've tried and failed potty training! Will attempt again soon...
Successfully made gravy!
Failed at chicken fried steak!
Crafting to my hearts content!
Doing dishes more often then I ever have in my life!
Attended my 10 yr hs reunion!
Decorated for fall! Love!
My 1st born, Toby the basset hound, had an eye removed!
Discovered Pinterest thanks to my baby sister!
Missing my family like crazy!

 

Coming to you live from Texas!!

Let me first quickly apologize for not blogging since March!  I could give you a list of excuses, but I'll spare the time.  A sum of our current Texas life...
We are so blessed beyond our dreams!  God is so faithful to us when we aren't faithful to Him!  He has placed us in Coleman Texas at a little church full of amazing people!  We felt at home quicker then we expected and have been loved on more then we deserve!  We've only been here for 2 months and it feels like its been a great 8 months!  The first week sweet grandma's brought us food daily!  Jaxen attacked one with his toy drill that he pretends is a gun to her ribs...then brought her a book to read him! 
Our teens are so much fun!  They all mostly have accents that make them so much cuter to listen to when the say "yes ma'am," most of them wear big shiny belt buckles and are so respectful!  We have had so much fun with them!  It is great to get to watch Brandon do what he was created to do in life, minister to people he has settled in with the Pastor and his routine quickly and is so thankful for God's plans unfolding!
Jaxen has adjusted without one hiccup!  The first night he went to bed like normal and hasn't acted like he knows any different!  His speech is developing  rather nicely within the past few weeks and we're getting excited b/c he is now mimicking after what we tell him to say!  He has gone from saying around 10 words when he was evaluated in November to now probably 50-70 words give or take.  He is putting 2 words together without hesitation and thinks about putting 3 words together.  We've looked into starting his speech therapy here, but we're still up in the air with that. 
I get the wonderful opportunity to get to stay at home with Jaxen since we've moved!  I've always wanted to be a stay at home mom/pastors wife!  The first day Brandon went to work here was so surreal simply b/c I've waited for 28 years to be at the spot we are at in our lives right now!!!  Since staying home I've found myself trying more recipe's and some succeed and some fail, but when I put on that apron it feels like my super hero cape!!  I don't like the clean up process so much but the trying new things is fun!!  I'll post pictures of the new house up soon!  Stay tuned!!

We're moving!!

I am proud to announce that we are moving to the state of Texas!!! Concho Baptist Church voted 100% to hire Brandon as their youth pastor! So we are anxiously getting ready to move the third week of March! We are in the process of going through boxes that have been in "storage" for 2 years and re-organizing and packing those up! Donating, selling, cleaning, etc! We are color coding our boxes with colored duct tape! The sweet pastors wife has asked for specific details on how we want the house painted so it is our "home!" I am thrilled beyond belief that God isn't done with us! He still has plans for us!

Cakes, Texas, Valentine's

I'm sitting in a quiet house listening to the the wash machine and dryer and smelling a chocolate cake in the oven! Jaxen is still napping and it is a Friday! Friday's are my days off and I look forward to them so much! I love getting to play with my Jaxen and get things done around the house!

This past weekend we attended a church in Texas to candidate for a youth pastor position there. It is 10 hours from our current home and praise the Lord we were able to fly! That 10 hours is projected but I'm sure they don't take my 2 year old in to account for the timing! We had a fantastic trip! We absolutely love the pastor and his family! The were so welcoming and made us feel like part of the group just sitting around the kitchen table! Their youngest daughter is 7 and my Jaxen was smitten! He would have followed her anywhere! The church there will be voting on hiring us this upcoming Sunday and then the ball is in our court.

Valentine's Day was Brandon and my's 9th one together! We both had to work all day but that night we went to Fazoli's which is where our first date (group date) was in 2004 and sat in the same booth!! Then we went to see the movie "The Vow"! Loved it! There were a few things in the movie I wish they would have left out but overall good!

The above pictures are 2 cake orders I've made and then Jaxen posing showing his tattoo!

It's been a while

Hello friends! It's been a while so here are some of my favorite pics since I've blogged last!

Sorry I have slacked lately in the blogging dept. With Christmas crafting I have been super busy and married to my hot glue gun the month of December, now January is here and the decor is back to normal in the house so here I am blogging again!

I'm sitting in a nice warm and quiet house thinking of how blessed I am! We had a fantastic Christmas with both sides of our families! It was odd not having my daddy there however I'm sure their celebrations in Heaven are way better then anything we could do down here! Gifts were given and received and the moral of the story we are very loved!

We are still actively pursuing a full time ministry position to wherever the Lord has for us! We do however struggle with the thought process of serving some place we wouldn't choose to be members if we moved to the area. We want an up and coming church, nothing liberal but we love good worship music and great preaching. We prefer bigger churches with more then 1 staff member. So we struggle with the option of taking a job simply b/c its offered to us and there is evidently a need to reach people in the area and is that where our preference is to be. It might sound silly or over thought but it is something we discuss often especially now we have a child in the mix. So please pray with us as we follow God's will in our life and pray that the job He has for us will show itself clear very soon!

As you can see above the cake orders coming in! I absolutely love them! In the midst of it all its a bit stressful but at the end when you know it turned out exactly the way you wanted it to be it is so worth it!