Texas

Sorry I've been away from the blogging world. We have recently moved from South Carolina to Texas. It was a long journey and there is still plenty to do but my house is feeling more like a home.



We started our journey with my hubby in the moving van pulling his car in front and me, my mother-in-law and the girls in the van. Birdie rode with Zach. We left that first day amidst a lot of goodbyes and tears. My best friend came by to tell me bye and represent my family. She was not a happy camper! I really felt bad for my father-in-law who watched all of us pull away and had to go back into what must have been the quietest house EVER! My poor momma and daddy were both at work back in Orangeburg.



We drove that day from Clemson, SC to Tuscaloosa, AL. From one college town to another! It was a long day of driving but the girls did so much better than I thought they would! The next day we made it to Shreveport, LA. We spent the night there, got up and hit the road again. Now long into that drive we made it to TEXAS. That night we stopped in Abilene. The next morning we got up early and headed to Bronte.

When we arrived in Bronte, we found our new home and a lot of new friends came over to help us unload all our stuff.

So we are here! Have been for a little over a month now and we love it. It's hard sometimes when I think about how far away my family and friends are. It hard on Carly too.
The good thing is we know this is where God wants us and He will Bless us for following Him!

Goals for 2011

As I mentioned yesterday, today I am going to write about my goals. I have done the whole new years resolution thing before and failed each time! So let me make this clear, this is not a resolution. These are goals...they will for the most part be measurable. I have been thinking about them for several days so here they go.

Physical goal: Lose 75 lbs (this is more than a weight loss goal, this is a goal to lengthen my life, be able to play with my daughters more, to feel better about myself, and of course to look better too.)

Social: Make new friends in our new home town, keep in touch with friends in Clemson/Seneca/Greenville/etc., Skype with my bestfriend at least once a week and let our daughters see each other

Spiritual: Read the entire Bible, have a quiet time at least 4 days a week (I want to do it every day but my first goal will be 4 times), share Christ with with my daughters every day, share Christ with at least one person a month

Financial: Pay off the van, save at least 1 months worth of emergency money

Marital: communicate better with my husband, support my husbands ministry, set up at least 3 hours a week of just Zach/Michelle time!!!!

At home: set up a revolving menu, establish a cleaning schedule that minimizes cleaning time and maximizes Mommy time, cut down on the wasteful time on computer, set up a family game night at least once every two weeks to play games with Carly

This year I want to make myself proud. I want to clarify that statement...it is not about being prideful...it's about being proud of yourself and having no regrets...it's living life to it's fullest! There are more things I want to do but these are my GOALS. I plan to update you at least once a month on my progress.

Are there any goals you have for this coming year! Remember for them to be goals they have to be measurable.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Sorry it's been awhile. We have been super busy around here. We went to visit a church in Texas and now will be moving there in January. To be honest, before we went to Texas I was convinced we were wasting our time by going there. I just knew it wasn't the place for us. What a difference a weekend can make. Bronte is a very small town in Texas. The people of Bronte are some of the nicest I have ever met in my life. Zach and I both felt like we were more welcome there than we had ever been. We prayed about and on January 8th we will become citizens of Bronte, Texas. There is a lot to do before we can pull out.

Please pray for us as we embark on this new journey with our family. We are trying to follow God's path for our life.

On other news, I can't wait for Wed night!!!!! Zach is taking me to a Garth Brooks concert!!!!! Woo Hoo!

Tomorrow come back for my 2011 Goals.

Prayer Photo Album

I just received a Christmas Card address list from a message board I am a part of. As I thought of sending out pictures of my family and receiving pictures of others, I wondered what I would do with the pictures this year. Most years they go up on the fridge and sometimes they fall and end up under the fridge. Sometimes they get shoved on top of the fridge. I love to look at them and think of the people who sent them to me but I have never taken a "next step" with them.

So this year I thought of a next step...I am going to make a prayer album. I will put the pictures sent to me in a special album and commit to praying for these families while looking at their picture at least once a week for the next year. I think it will be a neat way to remember to pray for them and for Carly to get to help by seeing the families we are praying for.

So I challenge you this year to do the same, esp if you get a picture of my family! Take the time to pray for blessing on others this season and this coming year. Let's see what blessings God will pour down!

If you want to receive or send a picture/Christmas card to/from me please email me at comment on this post!

Super Sunday...Super Dad, My Hubby

This post wont be long. I just want to say that I love my husband dearly and am so thankful for him. He is the best daddy! I love to see him with our daughters. A lot of dads don't do diapers, read to their children or put them to bed. A lot of dads don't take the time to learn how to put their daughters hair in a pony tail. My girls are fortunate enough that their daddy does all those things. I love to hear him sing to Carly at bed time. And even more...I love to hear her say, "Daddy" "what" "I love you!". It is just the most precious thing! He truly is a Super Dad!

A giveaway

http://wingerteam.blogspot.com/2010/11/giveaway.html

Head over and check out this amazing woman's blog.

Super Monday...Super Cool Way to Cut Up Grapes

So how many of you feed your young children grapes? If you are like me you love to feed them something good for them but hate the time it takes to cut up each individual grape. Be honest, it's a pain in the tucus. ( I have no idea if I spelled that right?) Carly loves them but I don't give them to her as often as she would like because of that.

Well that is in the past now. While watching 30 Minute Meals a few days ago, I saw the answer to this problem. She showed a way to cut several grapes at once. I have tried it a few times and it works!! You can also use this method to cup cherry tomatoes (which Carly also loves). So I just knew I wanted to share it with all of you in case you didn't see it yourself.

So go into the kitchen and get 2 deli lids (any small lids from bowls will work), some grapes and a knife that is at least as long as the lids are wide.

Step one: Lay lids side by side.

Step two: Put grapes on top of one lid turned upside down. Fill it up.

Step three: Place other lide on top.

Step four: Slide knife between two lids while pressing down.

Step five: Enjoy fresh grapes easily cut in half.

Go ahead and try it! it's too cool.

Hope this is exciting for you. I just love it!