Christmas in NC 2007

My simple decorations for this year!

This year we are going to spend it in Florida so we decided not to buy a Christmas tree and instead my kids took my 3 trees and decorated them for there rooms- This reminds me of Charlie Browns Tree

Jasmine's Tree

Boys Tree

Even though they are not beautiful to the eye they are all so PROUD of there Christmas trees this year!

Living Well on One Income

Catchy title? Well I just finished reading this book by Cynthia Yates and it was an eye opener. This Christmas like many others we are financially tight and I am trying to find ways to celebrate my Christmas in a frugal but exciting way. I have heard many christian talk radio programs about this topic in the past few days and I have heard great ideas I would love to share with you all.

1-Ask your family what 3 things are needs for Christmas-My kids all said family and HOT COCO
2-Empty out all of your wallets and collect all the gift cards you have not used -- There you have $$
3- Skip a week of grocery and play Survivor with your family -- I bet we can all find things we have not cooked - You have extra $$ Go to allrecipes.com for ideas

These are things I did in my family to get some extra $$ for Christmas.

One thing I have learned is that Christmas is about people and not gifts - We try to show how much we love someone buy how expensive the gifts are or how much we buy. If we use things to value love how do we show love without $$??
One thing I have done is I went thru some of my books and I am including them in a gift basket for gifts - Some are books that were a blessing to me and can bless others. I am also doing some family gift baskets and buying gift all the family can share or do together.

God is showing me how to think out of the box and to use my resources to show my love this Christmas. I have decided that I am not going to charge anything for Christmas and I am allowing the Lord to give me wisdom this year.

Here is a question we all ask ourselves with a very clever answer -- Read and Enjoy !
I only pray you all can use this to make you think of how you are going to celebrate your Christmas this year in order to Honor God!

How can you honor God by living wisely-and well-on one income?

• You honor Him by having an attitude of thankfulness for His blessings and an attitude of earnest obedience as you strive to be more like Him.
• You honor Him when you show self-control and live responsibly and satisfied within the circumstance you are in.
• You honor Him when you maintain order and harmony in your surroundings and recognize that He who is timeless has created time for you to use wisely.
• You honor Him when you consider prices and purchase skillfully(Proverbs 31)
• You honor Him when you consider the ant and take control of unnecessary expenses by doing things yourself.
• You honor Him when you recognize the bounty of your life and live content within that bounty.Or when you dig up your buried talent and use it to His glory.
• You honor Him especially when you are not greedy,glutonous,or wasteful of His prvidence,and you recognize the needs of others.
• You honor Him when you turn to Hime for help when you trying to find the path of least expenditures.
• You honor Him when you remember that He who created the world and all that is in it alsocreated (and mandated!)festivals for celebrating and feasting on His faithfulness.

This came from Living Well on One Income book by Cynthia Yates.

I know that as I read this it really reminded me of what the Lord wants of me in my life today.

Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Day is a very special time of year it allows us to reflect on what the Lord has done or is doing in our life.

1. I have so much to thank my God one is my salvation in Jesus Christ and my life in a FREE country.
2. I thank God for all the troops who are defending our freedom and are teaching a country to live in freedom.
3. I need to be thankful for my family - Jose a man who loves God and is a true servant a great father,friend,son and husband- I love you so much!. My children - Angel who is a boy that seeks Gods will in his life and lives for him daily- he is my right hand when daddy is working and is always willing to go the extra mile. Jonathan- my loving hugging boy who is always willing to help me in the kitchen and decorating who is my little encourager! Justin- My love bug always behind me and loving mommy he is my little helper when it comes to his sister Jasmine- I love you ! Jasmine- my little princess full of life and laughter and trying to be just like momma-She is my reminder of how God gives us our hearts desires and true miracles- Love you girlie!
4. I thank God for our move to NC and finding CBC to worship him and all the wonderful people in CBC that try to fill the void of my relationships in FL.
5. I thank God for my sisters - Liz,Edith and Loren all women of God who teach me each day how to live for the Lord with there lives-- I love you sistas!!
6. I thank God for my solid Godly friendships in so many different levels to be able to have women in my life that point me to God everyday is more than I can ask for.
7. I thank God for all the trails in my life I have learned to live for him in all my seasons of life and to PRESS ON!
8. I thank God for my health and all the times he has allowed me to come thru health issues in my past year!
9. I thank God for the everyday things- Jose's job, our vehicles and our NEW AMAZING HOUSE- After living in a 850 sq feet home for 3 years and now in a 1680sq feet!!! My little mansion is what I call it - I look around and I am mesmerized by all its beauty!!!
10. I thank the Lord for growing me spiritually each day as I read and study his word!
11. I thank the Lord for allowing me to memorize a verse for the first time in so many years!!!

God is faithful and just! He keeps his promises ..

I pray this would encourage you all and remind you of all the things you should be thankful for - Lets rejoice and give thanks to the LORD for he is worthy of PRAISE!!!

My New Crock-Pot a gift from my sister Edith

Thank you Edith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The kids with the FLU

Take a look at my sick BABIES!!!

Please pray for the kids to be well before Thanksgiving Day!

My Sisters VIsit

We had a special VISIT Sabrina got the FLU and it was horrible!!! By the end of the visit all the girls had the FLU and 2 of my kids.

Here are some great pictures just before the very sick week.

LightHouse Festival 2007

In our house we don't celebrate Halloween! It is a family conviction. So this year we decided(Candace and I ) to have a Festival that reminds us of Gods light in this dark world. So here are the pictures of some of the game we played with the kids.

Donut on a String!!!!

We even played Candace and I - it was so much fun!

Jasmine thinks she played, she just ate lots of donuts!

Next game was a contest on which 2 teams dressed up and the first to empty the nag of clothes WINS2nd game -they have to see who wraps the person the first

Look how cute the little ones were! Don't tell them but they did not WIN!Then we did a bonfire as it got dark we roasted hots dogs and made smores!

Here are Steve and Candace yes they are the Parents of those 5 boys we always talk about and they are not adopted!The night was cool enough for my first night with a coat- Yeah!!!

We just had a great time with the Anderson family when you have so many kids together you need to get creative! Thank you Candace for putting it all together!!