3 Reasons I get out of bed

Some mornings it is extremely difficult to get out of bed. Other mornings, I have absolutely no difficulty. So I got to thinking, what’s different on those mornings that I jump out of bed ready to take on my day and I came up with 3 things.
The first thing I came up with is that I have something big going on that day. On mornings that I can’t wait to jump out of bed there is something that I am looking forward to happening that day. Shouldn’t I be more excited about what’s happening on a regular basis. It’s an exciting day to be able to wake up and get out of bed even if all I’m doing is spending the day in my pajamas playing with blocks and dolls. Bri makes my day exciting every day, so maybe I should show her how to be excited about taking on the day.
The second thing I noticed is that I am thinking about how God has blessed me. When I begin my day thanking God for all that He has given to me and my family I am tons more excited about my day because I’m looking forward to seeing what He has planned for me. I couldn’t imagine going through each day without Him.
The third thing I noticed that makes me get out of bed each day is the smile on my beautiful little girl. Now that she’s in a toddler bed (and has been for a few months now) she gets herself out of bed and will come into the bedroom already smiling and handing me her blanket. When I look over at that beautiful smile I am ready to take on anything that can be thrown at me.

And a word from BriAhna

I'm not certain on what she was trying to say, but as I sat down to post she decided that I needed help and typed away...So enjoy...

Gghjkl
,jgfrrrkl.,mnb. Bbm--'',,,,,cz g[gjjjjjj j [jdfgnkn


And some current Bri-isms:

While preparing breakfast I asked Bri what she wanted for breakfast thinking she'd respond with cereal or a cereal bar. Instead, she responds with "coffee". I then tell her that she's a bit to young for coffee and I get the response of 'Oh'. It provided for a very funny start to the day.

I told Bring to put her dirty laundry in the hamper this morning and I notice that it has disappeared. I begin looking for it when I notice exactly where she stashed it....in the bottom of her daddy's closet. And so it begins!

My New Adventure

Recently I began a new endeavor that I'm sooooo excited about. I became a marketing distributor with SendOutCards. What an awesome business this is. I have sent more cards in the last month than I have in my entire life. It's so quick and easy, but the response has been phenomenal. I can send out cards sharing the things going on in our lives including pictures without having to spend a lot of money or time in finding the right card. The system has thousands of cards to choose from and they're awesome quality. I also like being able to include a gift with the card when I need.
Oh, and the calendar in the system that keeps up with important dates is a wonderful thing. As long as I have the dates included in my contact manager on the system then it will remind me in plenty of time to make and send the card to arrive right on time. I love being able to schedule a card ahead of time to be send out on a certain date.
Every time I send a card I get a phone call or email about the card and the impact the card has made. There is a 30 day gratitude challenge that I decided to take part in and have been sending a card each day to someone that has made an impact in my life and it has been a blessing to me to get into words how grateful I am for the person. A few friends have decided to take on this challenge as well and it has really impacted their lives.
Can you think of anyone that needs to know how grateful you are for them? Who do you know that needs to hear a few words of encouragement? Or what about those of you that already own your own business, how do you keep your customers coming back? Have you thought about the impact a card thanking them for their business would do for your business? There are so many great features with sendoutcards. I can't wait to make my Christmas cards this year.....something that I've always dreaded because I have never liked having to sit and address and stamp so many envelopes. Then again, I think I'll send a fall card out too! I'd love to tell you more about how you can get started in sending cards for less than a dollar.
Visit me at SendOutCards

Oh from a toddler

It's amazing the things that we can learn from kids. BriAhna teaches me more and more every day. She has such a heart for people and for God. Nightly, she wants to read her Bible and read about Jesus....why can't I have that longing daily that she has to learn about our Saviour. She has even been encouraging me in my prayer life, by building one of her own. Daily I pray with her a simple prayer before her nap and before she goes to sleep at night. There's nothing better than hearing her want to pray and saying the simple prayer of  "Thank you, God. Thank you, God." What other words do you need? All the things we teach our children and they turn around and teach us more than we could have ever imagined. BriAhna's love for people shows when she walks up to a crying child and wraps her arms around them and pats them on the back saying "you okay." If that's not enough, then she will bring them anything and everything that she can find that may soothe them. I want to love others the sweet way that she loves. Oh the innoncent love from a child.

She's been showing me how to take a break and just play. As she rolls around in the floor and pulls at my hand to sit with her and just play. Sitting in a swing leaning back with the wind blowing our hair and enjoying the sun shining in our faces, we pretend to sleep. She talks and tells me about everything, "look", "see", "woah". We just play and enjoy each other and she teaches me. And teaches me and teaches me.

I only thought I would be able to teach her. I do try though. I've tried teaching her about God's love....but she already knows it and shows me how much more she knows of His love for her. I try to teach her to pray and share with God everything.....but again, she shows me how she already has conversations with God. I am grateful that God is allowing me to be her mom and learn about life from her!

Berry Rhubarb Pie

I have been cooking a lot lately. Not necessarily more than normal. But different things that usual. Justin has been very willing to try new foods lately, which led to me making a couple of pies. While in Sprouts on Sunday after church, as is our usual stop on the way home from church, he spotted some stalks of rhubarb. He proceeded to ask if there was anything that we could make from it and the first thought was PIE! I had not had any rhubarb pie since I was a teen.

Tuesday night, I made a strawberry rhubarb pie which Justin took to work with him on Wednesday....which meant I didn't get any of the pie and that was just not going to happen. So Wednesday afternoon while BriAhna napped, I put together a berry rhubarb pie which in my opinion was soooo much better than the strawberry. We had picked up plenty of blueberries and blackberries so I needed to use them.

So here's the recipe:

Berry Rhubarb Pie

2 pre-made pie crusts, at room temp
3 ½ cups chopped rhubarb (about ½ inch pieces)
1 container of strawberries,sliced
2 8oz containers of blueberries
2 8oz containers of blackberries
1 cup sugar
¾ cup flour
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 egg yolk

Mix all of the fruit and rhubarb in a bowl with the sugar and flour. Allow to sit at least 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line pie pan with one of the crusts. Pour fruit, sugar, and flour mixture into the crust. Drizzle the melted butter into the fruit. Place the second crust on top, sealing the edges using water. Brush the egg yolk over the top of the crust. Cut into the crust making vents for the steam from the pie to escape.
Bake for 35-40 minutes. When it's golden, turn the oven off and allow to sit in the oven for 15-20 minutes before removing to allow to cool.

Life's Been....

quite busy lately. Our family was re-united in December as Justin returned from his year long deployment. We spent Christmas in Kentucky with family and really enjoyed spending the time there.  During April, Bri and I made a trip to SC and had a blast. In the beginning of May, we had a friend and her two precious children come stay for a few days while she had her wisdom teeth removed. For mother's day, we spent a weekend in Julian enjoying the sites and learning the history of the area. We visit the zoo a great deal and Bri loves to see all of the animals. We recently planted some tomato and pepper plants and Bri loved helping out with that. I can't wait until she gets to try the tomatoes that she helped plant.

 

Bri loves to help clean
around the house

Bri is always on the go. She's growing and learning so much. It's hard to believe that she's almost 19 months old. We started potty training her around 16 months and she's doing extremely well with it and hardly has an accident during the day. I am definitely loving not having to deal with diapers any more. She still loves being outside and would spend her entire day every day out on the playground....well as long as she has her cup of milk. She has a great vocabulary and says several sentences. If you say it, she'll try to say it as well. Although her duck and dog sound a lot alike. She loves to color and draw as well as play with stickers.

We have found out that we'll be heading to Germany as our next duty station at the end of the year and we couldn't be more excited. We always look forward to our next adventure in life and this will for sure be one. The best part is that we'll be so centrally located that we can easily travel throughout Europe.