6:30 pm
nightly dance party…mase gettin’ his groove on.
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2011 theme
drum roll please…my theme for 2011 is joy and restoration
as i look into the window of this coming year i am hoping for joy and restoration. with this next year going to be yet another season of newness and transition i believe these words will fit in nicely.
joy-
joy is not based on circumstances or emotions but comes from within. i know we will feel great joy to have our own house, our own routine and our own little family back. yes, that is joy. and i can’t wait! but i also know that finding our own place in a new town will be hard, lonely at times, draining and overwhelming. even then i want to experience joy despite my feelings. so whether i am cooking dinner for my family in our new home or driving around and getting lost in our town or trying to make new friends with out being incredibly awkward i will choose joy!
res·to·ra·tion-
love the websters definition…
–noun
1. the act of restoring; renewal, revival, or reestablishment.
2. the state or fact of being restored.
3. a return of something to a former, original, normal, or unimpaired condition.
our time in ohio has been sort of a restoration process. we’ve rested, we’ve had space to step back and look at things in our family, our marriage, our relationships. we’ve learned, often painfully. we’ve made changes for the better. we are thankful for this time and how it will help us reestablish our family in Indy as we head in to phase 2, if you will of our restoration process. i pray that as we establish ourselves in a new town, with a new job, and new friends (someday!) we will take with us what we have learned and continue to grow our family for His glory. and do it with joy.
so there it is Joy and Restoration for 2011.
back to business
we had a wonderful time celebrating the christmas season, the birth of our savior and bringing in the new year. we slept in some, we took a break from school, we played with new toys, we watched a lot of christmas movies, we baked, decorated and ate a lot of cookies, we skipped naps, we melted down, we ate a lot of yummy foods we normally don’t, we laughed at each other playing wii, we got together with friends and family and laughed some more.
we loved it.
but…it is time.
back to routine. back to school. back to normal healthy diets. back to normal life. i’m a routine girl so i was ready. the kids? well maybe not as much as their mom and but i think they were ready too.
i’m not into making resolutions but i have been thinking of a theme for the year. i’m working on a word, phrase to capture what i want 2011 to be about. want to join me? i’ll be sharing mine soon!
happy new year!
color me happy!
have you ever made your own crayons? oh! it’s so easy and very “green” if I do say so myself. you use your old crayons that have been broken and peeled. or is that just my kids that do that? anyways. break the crayons into 1/2 inch pieces, spray a small muffin tin lightly with Pam and fill the cups up. you can put like colors together or make a rainbow crayon. heat the oven to 350 and pop them in. keep an eye on them though because it doesn’t take long for them to melt. let them completely cool and pop them out of the tin. Wowla! cute little crayons. perfect for little hands. perfect for stocking stuffers.
thankful thursday.
1. pandora. right now i love third day holiday station.
2. all the family and friends we have to send christmas cards too. and i am thankful they are all in the mail!
3. only have one more gift to buy and i know exactly what i’m getting! woo hoo!
4.making new christmas memories and continuing long standing traditions.
5. my dad who lets us park our car in the garage while his sits out in the freezing cold.
6. answered prayers in unexpected ways.
7. a friend that i can call up at pretty much anytime for anything and it’s really ok. though it feels like she is right next door she is far away. but i am so thankful for her friendship. she gets me:)
a moment in real life.
school in a tent is way more fun!
10:27 am
what are you saying???
confession: my fears get the best of me at times. my mind goes crazy and off on all kinds of “what if” scenarios. i have fears as a wife for my husband who travels frequently. fears as a mom for my kids. fears as a woman who is a work in progress and fails quite often.
What do I do with the fears when they bombard my head and I can’t move forward? How do I get over this wall that I keep running into? How do I break free from the circles that I find myself going round and round till I’m dizzy?
this is what i’ve been asking myself.
i found a wonderful article on girl talk blog that spoke directly to me and answered some of my questions. I am challenged by the article to stop listening to myself and start speaking more to myself. stop the “what if” questions that are not reality and start speaking the truth and promises to myself that are reality. stop listening. start speaking.
so what are you saying to yourself? or are you listening?
meet jingle jangle.
we have a new friend this christmas season. she may have another name at your house. she may not even be a she. to us she is a girl and the kids have named her jingle jangle. jingle for short. she is a little elf that “watches” the kids all day long from a high place in the house where curious little fingers can not reach her. for if she is touched her magic disappears. at night she travels to the north pole and reports to santa how the day went for the barela kids. then she comes back to our house the next morning, but in a different spot. so each day we start our day looking for this little elf. while i’m making breakfast i hear squeals of delight when she is found. hearing these sounds make me so excited for christmas morning! jingle jangle has brought much joy to our house for the kids and the adults as we have enjoyed hiding her. sometimes in not the safe places, like a light fixture when jingle caught on fire! she now has one leg shorter than the other. luckily kids were still sleeping and did see this comical episode! who knows this could be a new tradition that we do for years to come. When the kids are in college and come home for christmas. they will roll their eyes at me and say “mommmm” when i tell them jingle is waiting to be found. but secretly they will love it and a flood of “jingle” memories will come back to them.
what fun things are you doing this christmas season?
5 on friday.
1. The husband has returned from half across the world. He had a great time and we did pretty well ourselves. But it’s always good to have Daddy home. Things just run more smoothly. It’s a good thing. We are a family of 5 again…until the next trip:)
2. Made these cute ornaments out of pre-made pie crusts and used a dry soup mix to decorate. I like the look of them but they are delicate and little people wonder why we can’t eat them?????
3. How are you doing on the craziness of the Christmas season? Are your cards out? Are you presents bought and mailed or wrapped? Cookies made? Stockings hung? Are you enjoying the Christmas season or rushing through trying to get things done? My prayer this year is that I would enjoy each and everyday of the Christmas season. Not just wait until the “big day” but enjoy the build up and all that leads up to the day we celebrate Him! I pray that you experience the same.
4. We’ve been drinking a lot of hot chocolate around here. It’s the perfect way to start the day…or end the day…or anything in between. I love the classic hot chocolate but I found these recipes at Our Best Bites that put your normal hot chocolate to shame. I’m looking forward to trying some all of these out!
5. Found this picture in flickr in the group called Jars. First of all love that there is a group called jars! I am a big fan of jars, especially mason jars. And not just because of the name:) The photos in the jars group just make me happy, all things organized, collected, color coordinated. But this photo in particular makes me smile. I love the colors of the flowers and green mason jars are my favorite. Simple is better. Gotta love jars.
old to new.
My dear friend Stephanie from Chico came to visit me. It was a surprise for my birthday. A sneaky little plan set up by her and my mom. What a joy it was to sit with a friend from what I fondly call my “old life” and have her experience my “new life” or more accurately “my in transition life”. It was refreshing and comforting. It made me miss my old life some but I did notice that the sting is not quite as strong. It is fading some as my excitement and peace for what is to come grows. I am thankful for that. I feel so blessed to have had this precious time with someone who knows me well, who challenges me, encourages me and speaks truth into my life.
Thanks Steph!