Mikayla is 11!

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This year we spent the day celebrating her by just relaxing. Yep, that’s what she requested for the day because she asked to go to the American Girl store in a few weeks when we travel to New York City for a gymnastics meet.

Relaxing is right up my alley so we spent the day just hanging out. With her schedule she rarely has time to watch her TV shows when it is a TV day. So I let her lounge in the family room for the day and build her birthday Lego’s and catch up on her favorite shows.

For her birthday breakfast she requested bacon, eggs, grapes, and hot chocolate with marshmallows. She normally doesn’t eat a lot in one sitting, she is more of a grazing kind of girl. Don’t let the little bit on her plate fool you, she had 2 plates plus a special glazed donut the Lt. bought her :)

Marie made this sign on the chalkboard wall this morning and McKenzie came along and decorated it herself with a picture of the Lt and I holding hands. Check out my hair, Love it!

Mikayla is still pretty heavily into Lego’s and American Girl. I don’t mind that during her free time she spends hours playing with her dolls and Lego’s. She also got some nifty District 12 knee high socks from her Daddy. Because she is a sock girl, that was the one gift that got a big reaction. Our weather has been pretty yucky and down right cold this week and that delayed her American Girl of the Year, Isabelle, and the accessory kit from her Grandma Great from arriving before her birthday. She’s a trooper though and will be super excited tomorrow when it arrives!

Tonight we head out for dinner at the Japanese Hibachi restaurant and Sweet Frog for dessert. The girls always try to keep their birthday dinner restaurant a surprise. Usually someone ends up guessing where we are going before we get there. This year I think Mikayla has them beat as no on is even close.

photo credit

The Lt and I are so proud of the young lady that Mikayla is turning into. I get teary eyed when I look at those smiling pictures up above. My girl is growing up so quickly. So thankful I have a camera that can capture each special moment in time.

Happy Birthday sweet Mikayla!

Beauty captured {1/365}

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In an effort to learn to use my new camera I am joining up with my fellow Crewmate, Miranda, from The Pebble Pond to capture the beauty I see through my camera lens.

I hope to be able to keep up with this and learn along the way.

Here I go!

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year

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photo credit

myWord ~ 2014

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With just a few more days of 2013, I am evaluating and planning for the new year. One thing that I have done in the past few years is to pick a “word” to focus on throughout the year.

The people over at OneWord365 state the concept as:

Forget New Year’s Resolutions. Scrap that long list of goals you won’t remember three weeks from now anyway.

Choose just one word.

One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. One word that you can focus on every day, all year long.

It will take intentionality and commitment, but if you let it, your one word will shape not only your year, but also you. It will become the compass that directs your decisions and guides your steps.

Discover the big impact one word can make.

One word. 365 days. A changed life.

 

~ website

So far I have used the following words:

2011 & 2012 ~ LOVE

2013 ~ Moxie ~ Grace

Reflecting on 2013 I noticed a trend within myself… I was lacking in several of areas of priority. As I have been praying about what word to use for 2014, several popped into my head over the last few weeks. God has made me a pretty good multi-tasker but that has its downfalls at times. The stress I placed on myself at times had me unbalanced and as much as I hate to say it, my relationship with God suffered the most. I was always either too tired or thought I did not have the time. Boy was I wrong and I have seen the errors of my ways. My speedbuilding did not get off the ground even though my machine is sitting here ready to let my fingers fly.

My eyes are finally open wide and for 2014 I am ready to FOCUS:

On God

my husband & children

my home

my court reporting speedbuilding

  on photography.

If I want God to be at the center of my daughters lives I need to mirror that and let them see that He is front and center in mine. No more excuses for any of the five things I mentioned above, I need to just do it!

So here’s to a year full of God-centered FOCUS in 2014. I know that I can not do it without Him on my side and I am ready to let the blessing he has for me to flow.

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Do you have a Word that you will be focusing on in 2014? I would love to hear or read about it. I am linking this post up with the Schoolhouse Review Crew as well as with the OneWord365 team. Throughout the year I plan to blog on my progress so I hope that you stick around!

A look back at our year

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Today I am participating in the Year in Blogging review hosted by Tracy @ Work of Heart and Soul. It’s pretty simple and I hope you will join in on the fun too.

To participate, simply post the title or first sentence of your first blog post from each month. You can also add a favorite picture from each month {my pictures do not correspond with the blog titles}, even though it doesn’t necessarily go with that post.  I would love to see your year in review leave me a link in the comments.

~A Stable Beginning’s Year in Review~

January ~ Happy New Year

February ~ Missing his master

March ~  Dress up box treasures

April ~ Busch Gardens

May ~ I bought this

June ~ 2013-2014 Plan of Study

July ~ Happiness is…a cupcake

 

August ~ 1st day back

September ~ Edible cell

October ~ Something colorful

November ~ Fruit

December ~ Red

Thanks for taking the trip down memory lane with me.  We have had a truly blessed year! I encourage you to start your blog or to write more on your blog in 2014 so you too can look back at the end of the year. 

From the fullness of His grace

we have all received one blessing after another.

~John 1:16

Christmas traditions recap {lots of pictures}

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I wanted to quickly write about our Christmas Eve and Christmas day celebrations. This year was very special and relaxed because we stayed home and didn’t travel. Not that I don’t like traveling up North to visit friends and family, but sometimes it makes the few days leading up to Christmas quite hectic upon our return.

This year we were not as rushed as we anticipated the celebration of Christ’s birth {Montana made this picture in her art class at co-op}. Our family tradition includes going to see the Christmas lights on Dec. 23rd. This year we ventured back down to VA Beach to see the lights as we road down the boardwalk. Even though it was raining this year we still had a great time as a family!

Christmas Eve we go see the big man in red bright & early. This year we left later than our usual 8AM, and had to wait in line a bit. However, this mall Santa and elves always make it worth the wait.

Santa doesn’t play a huge part in our Christmas celebration, but the girls, young and old (even though they wont admit it), like to go and visit him. I love the photo op so it’s win-win for all. At Christmas I like to display all of our past years of Santa pictures to see how the girls have grown. Next year we will have 6 kiddo’s in the picture, fun!

After Santa pictures it is home to make cookies and decorate the gingerbread house. While Marie and I cut out and baked cookies, the younger girls decorated the gingerbread house.

 

This year the girls wanted a lot, 68 to be exact, of sugar cookies. I think they will rethink that next year as they all got tired of frosting and decorating with about 20 cookies left.

Now, normally we go to Christmas Eve services during the 3PM service, however, I slept through my alarm clock but not McKenzie spoon feeding me pretend baby food. So instead of rushing to get out the door we decided to just stay home this year. I will definitely plan better next year :)

Montana is always a willing model :)

For dinner we always either make or get Papa John’s pizza. Lately we have been making our own pizza’s which the girls enjoy because they shape the dough into creations. Plus, It’s cheaper on the wallet to make the dough and by all the fixings they like. Montana can’t handle too much red sauce so she gets to put on just the right amount for her belly on her pizza. This year Madison made me a snowman shaped pizza and I do not have a picture of it, bummer!

After dinner and chores it’s time to open Christmas Eve secret santa gifts and the yearly pj’s gift. This year because I was such a bargain shopper I was able to get the girls each 2 pair of pj’s for the price of 1. Score for me! The only thing is that I usually have them wear matching pj’s. Everyone was please with their pj’s but I think next year I will go back to coordinating pj’s :)

 Once everyone was fast asleep the Lt and I placed the girls gifts under the tree and Santa came and dropped off his one gift while everyone slept. Christmas morning the girls slept in until 630AM then the fun started as we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and opened the gifts.

All those cookies the girls frosted become apart of what is a Christmas morning breakfast tradition of the 4 C’s. Cinnamon rolls, cookies, candy, and Clementine's.

McKenzie was the Christmas pickle winner this year! She was so excited to win!

The rest of the day we just hung out, relaxed, and watched Christmas movies. McKenzie ate so much candy she went into a sugar overload. She was good after we flushed her system with water :) The girls played with their toys, pretty much Lego’s all day while I talked to family and friends on the phone and FaceTime.

I pray that you and your family had a great Christmas filled with love and joy. It was a blessed year for us and I can’t wait to see what is in store for 2014!