Literacy Fair Project at School

Tonight was Julie's night..........she found out today at school that she won 1st place in her category of Fantasy/Fairytale for the Literacy Fair!!! She was sooooooooo excited!! The book she read was Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends. Here is a picture of her and her storyboard.

She was so proud of herself, and well, she worked hard on this, she should be!! (Well, she DID have just a LITTLE help, lol!) Anyhow.......she also found out that she has earned a spot in the district Literacy Fair which will be held at the High School on Jan. 30. She can't wait!! We are hoping she does well there too, but, we'll have to wait and see how things go that night!! Here she is holding her 1st place ribbon

And here is just a wonderful picture that I love of her!

My little girl is growing up right before my eyes and is turning into such a beautiful young lady, inside and out!! I know God has some special plans for my little girl and I am soooo blessed that God chose me, of all people, to be her Mom!! I am so proud of you Julie and love you so very much!! Always do the very best with what the Lord has given you!!

Get a Grip!

That title was the title for today's daily devotional on Encouragement for Today. I love it because that is one of the sayings I say a lot! It goes along with the verses for today ... "When I said, 'My foot is slipping,' your unfailing love, LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy." Psalm 94:18-19 (NIV)......when we think that the troubles of life are consuming us, "get a grip" on the Lord Jesus and He will hold us up! It sounds sooooo simple, but it's so true! I can think of so many times in my life that I thought things were just swirling out of control, and yes, even a few in the past few weeks, but I just have to learn to hold on to Jesus thru it all. He is my stronghold. This past summer we moved out here to Oklahoma.....from PA.......and from NY before that. We have moved three times since Christmas 2011....so, being it's JUST the first week of January 2014, that means that we've moved three times in two years....probably more like a year and three quarters or so.....yeah, that's too much goin' on for a family! BUT, the Lord has been in the center of it all. We prayed and prayed and prayed and seeked out the Lord and where He wanted us.....Oklahoma was the place for this move. I was all for it, or so it seemed, until we got out here. Not sure what was going on inside of my head, but, I just wasn't the same. This was a HUGE change for all of us, but for me, I just wasn't adapting very well to it. I still have troubles, and I know that God is helping me through, but... still not quite the same happy chipper person I used to be. I soooo need to memorize the two verses from today and learn to "Get a grip!" My grandmother used to tell me to just take one day at a time, one situation at a time.......sometimes that's easier said then done, lol! Well, I better quit this daily post, it kind of seems like my thoughts have been rather random here, but, oh well.....lolol.......guess that's how I think sometimes, very randomly! haha!! Well, tomorrow is another day! Take care and God bless you all, and remember, "Get a Grip!"

The Blue Whale

Wow, isn't this Whale HUUUUUUGE?!! That's what we thought too, lol!! I was looking for something to do with the girls today on their last "official" vacation day before going back to school........and I found this whale that we could go see in a town called Catoosa on the famous Route 66. We wish it had been a tad bit warmer, but it was fun nonetheless. I read that it used to be a little swimming hole type park, but closed back in '86 I believe it was. The giant whale had two little slides, one coming off each side of him. There are places to sit to have a picnic too........I think we might try to go there when the weather gets warmer! After visiting with the whale, we drove around to see what else we could see........we ended up going to the Tulsa Airport to see if any planes were taking off or coming in for a landing........the girls love to watch planes!! Then we just drove around for a bit and the girls saw some wild horses running in a group......they were just so amazed to see the horses staying in their group while running along.......... I'm just very thankful that I have girls that can find enjoyment in the little things of life, and don't have to spend toooo much money on them. Once in awhile they might get spoiled, but usually it doesn't take very much to make them happy! Well, that was our day today......now, some blanket forts are ahead for this evening! Enjoy your night!

Encouragement for Today - Triggers

Encouragement for Today is from the Proverbs 31 ministry that I recently found online. I've been looking for a devotional to help get me back having my quiet times with God. Today's devo was on Triggers. What "triggers" us to eat junk food or fill that void or whatever we are trying to fill in our life. I'm still trying to figure that out, and with God's help I will. You can also find the devotional here to read more about it. I need to read it over again to really let it soak in, and I believe the power verse that was used today was from Romans 15:13.

Happy New Year!! 2014!!

Happy New Year everyone!! I hope and pray that 2014 will be a healthy and joyous year for us all! As for resolutions......I am going to try to eat more healthful foods for myself and try to exercise more......those are always at the top of my list, but another important one this year is forgiveness. I've always thought that I really had forgiven someone when I said it to them, but then many times I would remember what they did or said to me, and I would keep replaying it in my head......that always stirred up thoughts of anger and discouragement for me. That is not what real forgiveness is and this year, with God's help, I am going to try to actually forgive people like God forgives us. He doesn't keep replaying the things we do over and over and get angry with us, He forgives us and forgets it, just like it never happened, and forgives us again if we happen to do them again. He is such a loving God, and loves us so unconditionally. I am sooooo thankful for his love, his grace, and most of all his mercy and forgiveness. As I was looking for online devotionals tonight, I came across this site .......... it looks very promising for a daily devotional, which is something else I need to do this year.......have more quiet time with God. The past few months I seem to be very unsettled inside.....I think our move to Oklahoma has to do with part of it, but I also think that I need to be more settled in my walk with the Lord as well, cuz if that ain't going well, nothin' else will either!! I'm praying that this year will be an exciting one and that God will pour out his blessings on me as I learn all over how to walk in His ways!