New Year's Eve Reflections

14 Questions for a New Year’s Eve Reflection

1. What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
Wayne getting a new job! and with that we’ll be moving!

2. What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
Having 3 different friends move away from the area.

3. What was an unexpected joy this past year?
Having one of those same friends move back.

4. What was an unexpected event?
My father-in-law passed away ~ I found it hard to be a support for my kids when I was also grieving.

5. Pick three words to describe 2014.
Intentional, Heart-warming, Thought-provoking.

6. What were the best books you read this year?
Forever Interrupted ~ Taylor Jenkins Reid
An Unexpected Grace ~ Kristin von Kreisler
Mean Streak ~ Sandra Brown
Keep Quiet ~ Lisa Scottoline

7. With whom were your most valuable relationships?
My family ~ all you gotta do is read my beautiful things each week and almost ALL of them include my family.

8. What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
Doing a daily devotional really brought me to a closer relationship in knowing God more intimately and deeply.

9. In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
Learning to accept the way I am.

10. In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
Having a deeper understanding of who God is and what he’s done for me.

11. In what way(s) did you grow physically?
Continuing to walk each day, despite my health issues.

12. In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
I’ve learned to be more intentional about who I spend my time with.

13. What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
Learning to play 2048 - internet game

14. What was the best way you used your time this past year?
By looking back over each week and writing about it for my weekly beautiful thing post. It really helped me to realize of all that I have to be thankful for.

Your turn ~ go ahead answer as many or as little as you'd like...

Blessings

Grey Day

Can you believe we are about to embark on a new year? 

2015 is just around the corner. When a new year approaches, it seems to roll in with much hope. There are 365 days in a year. No more and no less. And even though most of the days on my calendar are blank, God has a plan and a purpose for every single one of those days.

It’s at this time of year that most people often reflect on the year that is ending and make some plans for the year that will begin. Call them whatever you will ... plans, goals, or resolutions.

As I sit here this morning, I’m doing the same thing. Reflecting on my one word for 2014 and praying over the word for 2015.  

After a wonderful time of celebrating Christmas with our family combing food and games and chatter and hot tubbing and photo taking, today it’s quiet… almost too quiet, it feels kind of like a mental hangover.   It’s been a couple of days since the kids were all home for Christmas and while we had an amazing time together, I now feel a little lost… sure, there’s that post- Christmas cleanup and that huge to-do list that’s gotta get done, buuuuuuuuuuut, it isn’t the highest priority ~ all I really want to do is find a really good book grab more tea and settle in for a day of hibernation! 

Do you ever have those days when nothing seems to go right?

I’ve been there. Done that. Bought the T-shirt.

Trust me it’s not easy!

Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad…and sometimes it’s downright ugly.

Even though the day has started off a bit ‘off’ and grey there is a promise tucked away and I can take a deep breath and be reminded of the joy that will come…

… might be time for some power playlisting to get me moving.

Blessings

mhmm monday

This website shares these cocoa waffles studded with chocolate chips and finished with fresh strawberries, whipped cream, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. It’s a “Treat Yo’ Self” kind of breakfast.

Doubles Chocolate Waffles

Ingredients:
 1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
½ Tablespoons Baking Powder
½ teaspoons Baking Soda
½ teaspoons Salt
2 Tablespoons White Sugar
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa
⅓ cups Vegetable Oil
2 Large Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1-¼ cup Buttermilk
½ cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Sliced Strawberries And Bananas (optional)
Whipped Cream (optional)
Chocolate Syrup (for Serving)

Directions:If you need to keep the waffles warm so they can all be served at the same time, preheat the oven to 200ºF.
Dig your waffle maker out from the back of your cabinets and preheat it. I usually put a paper towel or wax paper under the waffle maker to make clean up easier.
In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugars, and cocoa. In another bowl, whisk together oil, eggs, vanilla, and buttermilk.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Batter will be lumpy.
Depending on the size of your waffle iron, you may need more or less batter. I used about a ½ cup for one waffle. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron then scatter evenly with a small handful of chocolate chips. Close the waffle iron and let cook—it could take anywhere from 4-8 minutes. I find that mine are just about perfect once the steam has mostly subsided.
Carefully remove waffle from iron and place in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 200ºF oven to keep warm.
To serve, top waffles with slices of fresh strawberries, bananas, a swirl of whipped cream, and a drizzle of chocolate sauce. This made 5 waffles in my iron, but if you have a large Belgian waffle iron, it will probably only make 3.
Enjoy!

Blessings

Kick the Bucket

Anyone remember this?

When I wrote my version of a bucket list, I didn’t have a plan in place for how exactly how some of these items would happen. It was quite interesting watching as these different events/activites occurred. Some happened the way I thought, others not so much, and some… well they didn’t happen at all, and you know what? ~ that’s ok too! But what’s most interesting, well to me anyway ~ is that while my intent was to step out of my comfort zone and try some new things I ended up trying others ~ it just goes to show you that we can make all the plans we want, but that doesn’t mean it’ll happen.

So here’s the list and I’ve linked-up some posts to give you an update of what I`ve accomplished.

Develop a better discipline in my life by spending time in God’s Word each day. Reading a daily devotional and writing my thoughts each day {or sometimes two in one day - because let’s be honest here, some days I forgot}
Attend a music concert. Went to an NHL game.
Participate in a 10K run with my girl.Walked the Macnaughton/mMorrison trail {11K}
Learn to say “no” without feeling guilty. This is still and will likely continue to be a work in progress!
Continue blogging at least two or three times a week.
Take a road trip with girlfriends.  My mom, sister, daughter & I went to Port Huron for a weekend of shopping.
Serve in my community {food bank, church, library} July, EBC hosts a daycamp where I volunteered to serve in the Kitchen elective
Get this tattoo. Adding this to 2015.
Make a difference in someone’s life. Stepped out of my comfort zone and made a friend.
Write a book. Made my parents an 50^th anniversary book.
Learn something new {language, skill, craft}.  Spent time with my girl making cards.
Get my belly button pierced. Adding this to 2015.
Read 150 books in the year. {on book 98}
Ride the train. Took a ferry ride when we supported our girl for her marathon. 

Blessings

Beautiful Thing ~ week # 52

From this post you can clearly see we needed to update our family photo… so when all the kids came home for Christmas we took the opportunity after a delicious dinner of roast turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, and coleslaw to quick snap this photo.

We then headed outside and took several more including this one.

Knowing that I would need the photos to add to this post, my son-in-law sent the photos attached with this note "Hello Mother, I have been advised to send you two pictures before we leave today, so here they are. Have a great day blogging and reminiscing of your wonderful day spent with me. ;)   g-man"

 

Totally made my day!

 

Having my family home is always a blessing.

What was your beautiful thing this week?

Blessings

Merry Christmas

From Us!

Blessings

Just Think

I am a planner, a list maker, a ‘I like to know what is going to happen before it happens’ type of person. I totally get excited as the new year approaches. It is a new beginning. A fresh start of our plans for the upcoming year. A time to make new lists!

Devotions {time with God}, I believe are an instrumental part of our faith walk. Being purposeful in reading a good devotional book alongside the Word equals wonderful time of growth in our faith.

So when I read
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 {New International Version {NIV}}I get excited thinking about the plans He has for me more than any list of plans I can make for myself. It’s not easy to let go of the ideas or plans that I have made because really, no matter how many plans we have, how many lists we make, our path is not our own. He has already made our plans. He knows our path. There is simply is so much we do not know and do not understand, and yet we can trust that HE is taking care of it all. He has a reason for everything. Each season in our life is made perfect in His timing with His plans for His purpose.

Somehow, we’re almost at the end of the year 2014 and as I look forward to what 2015 will bring, I am praying that I would see His hand in every part of my life and that I would be only in those places where He has placed me to fulfill His special purpose for my life.

Just Think ~ Roy Lessin
Just think, you’re here not by chance, but by God’s choosing.
His hand formed you and made you the person you are.
He compares you to no one else–you are one of a kind.
You lack nothing that His grace can’t give you.
He has allowed you to be here at this time in history
to fulfill His special purpose for this generation.

As the year comes to an end, I encourage you to take some time and spend it with God, and may you be reminded that He has great things in store for each of us. He has a plan for us to shine His light the brightest. Our future and our dreams are safe in His hands. 

Can you even imagine the plans He has for you!?

Blessings