BSF

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This dog didn't want to let me finish my BSF homework this morning before my meeting. 

It was hard to ignore her but I did. 

I'm not the most studious BSF member.  But I figure, Walking with Jesus is a Walk, a Journey, and I'm at least on the Path. I'm glad I pushed to get it done and attend. I won't get any further on my Faith Journey if I do nothing at all, or skip like I did the last two weeks.  I skipped because of Fall Break.  And I didn't really get my groove back until yesterday.  I figure I'm trying, and that's something. God just wants me, and He knows I'm not Perfect, that I'm never going to be, but I can Be Better. And every time I go, or get tucked into The Word, I feel better, and I don't ever regret setting the time aside to do the study.  In fact, I get sent all kinds of convicting signs that I'm not alone, that studying is hard, walking the path of the Faithful is hard, but that it is the right thing for me to do. 

Now I just need to speak less, Listen first, and Study More, and Go in Peace, Serve the Lord. 

Thanks be to God.  

2021 - Happy New Year!

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HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thank goodness 2020 is Over!

We pray that 2021 is a Better year! 

Gearing up for the new year, we watched the Rose Parade this morning.  

We are 'hopefully' gonna need to prepare for our  big trip to Macy's this coming fall. 

So let's get used to Parades! 

Her Royal Highness takes over the couch when the boys aren't looking. 

She didn't want to do much but lay there.  

I don't blame her, I think she spent most of the day Recovering 

from everyone staying up so late last night.

I'm so Close, I spent most of the day finishing this hat that Jacob asked for. He finished knitting his first scarf, and he wanted a hat to go with it.  Reminds me of a Mouse a Cookie book. 

We played games. 

Here we're playing Apples to Apples. 

It's fun now that everyone is old enough to participate in most games. 

The Family tradition is to do Ham and Cabbage.  

We mutated it to Grandma Willman's Ham Balls and Cole Slaw. 

Some folks use other meats for good luck, or black eyed peas, but E's fam swore by ham and cabbage. They used to just do a huge crock pot / boil.  But we've changed it over the years. 

I missed having the fam around for the holidays. But it's kind of nice to have the quiet too. 

I was a woman on a mission.

I finally finished it, nearing midnight.  That counts right?!

Maybe yellow is my color too? 

I'm looking forward to 2021 being a quieter and calmer new year.

Happy New Year.

2020 Christmas Cards

This was my favorite photo of our family that we put on our Christmas card this year.

It seems appropriate for 2020, we're all Done, so we're on the floor.  And we're also all in our Jammies.  It seemed perfect. 

For our actual Christmas Cards this year, I did something different.  I hand painted watercolor cards.  I've been practicing watercolor painting over the Quarantine.  I'm not fantastic, but enough that I could create some basic stuff with my watercolor pens and water brushes.  

For every person to whom we sent cards, I made something special.  I don't know if they loved them, and I repeated a few styles that I enjoyed making.  But Eric told me that I should take photos of them before I sent them.  So I did. I missed a couple, so if you got one you don't see here, please take a pic for me. ;) Anyway... Here you go.  Feel free to tell me if you got one, or which one you like best. 

Christmas star filled with love

Christmas Star - also a cross. 

3 hanging ornaments

Rainbow Tree

Holy Family

Impressionistic Christmas tree with Blue Angel on top. 

Christmas tree - wet first

Christmas tree - wet brush

Holy Family with evening sky. 

Christmas tree with golden angel and gold sparkle

Christmas Star over blue mountains

Christmas star in starry sky

Peace wreath with berries

Watercolor trees

Holy Family with Christmas Star

Tree sillouettes at Sunset

Joy wreath

Christmas star/cross

Choral Christmas Tree

Watercolor trees

Christmas Tree with Gold Angel

Joy to the World with Wreath

Magi Find the Child

Gifts under the Tree

Christmas tree

Christmas star cross

Watercolor trees with a touch of gray

Rainbow tree wet first

Christmas Star with Cross

Christmas tree with two tone swooshes.

Wreath of Peace

Kathy's dogs got paw print balloons for Christmas - 

I had a friend in mind when I painted this.

Ahsoka on a card with trees- my first dog

Little wonky, but Lisa said she wanted it, sight unseen.

Sunset at Lake Michigan 

This one was for Uncle Rick and Trish who joined us in Michigan City this past year.

I know it's a lot of photos, thank you for checking them out.  

I'm quite proud of myself for completing these.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Maybe next year, I'll try again... but start before December. 

Happy New Year!

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For Christmas I received a New Camera, so this year I'm going to work on it, take more Photos with it, and do the Photo A Day Challenge from Fat Mum Slim. 

Last year, I took photos, most likely daily, but I didn't post about them.  

This Year, by gum, I want to.  

In addition, my New Year's Goals, are to Exercise More.  When I weighed in yesterday, I had lost a net of 3 pounds in 2019.  Yeah, not so groovy.  I'm starting to feel the weight of being heavy.  Being down with this last surgery, I have not been able to bounce back like before. Last night, I started a Wall Sit Challenge I found on Pinterest.  And a 31 Day Challenge of 5 minute exercise boosts from LiveStrong Women.  The Exercise is only 5 minutes, but it made me break a sweat.  That's Enough for This Month.  I hope to also work my way up to completing a Couch 2 5K.  Eric's going to train for the Mini Marathon again, even though he's also committed to Serving on a VDC Weekend the same time, so he'll have to complete it Virtually.  But that's a thing he can do.   Meanwhile, I'll be happy to drop 10 pounds, maybe more, and get my butt off the couch.  

I want to get out with the Kids more.  

They've spent this Break playing Video Games.  

But that makes them happy.  

We talked them into playing some other games this week. 

This is my HAPPY Photo.  

Eric's Parents come over for New Year's Eve every year, and this one we took  as we watched the 

Ball Drop. 

This is more like it.  

Boys playing games.  

Star Wars Monopoly. 

I like this version so much better than the other one. 

This one is from this morning, just a bit ago, because they are HAPPY playing their Minecraft game. 

They did all their jobs in record time so they could play.   

That makes them happy, therefore, I'm happy.  

 Cheers to a New Year! 

Liquid Resolutions

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It's a New Year, another year for great New Year's Resolutions.   I always get a little overwhelmed when thinking about what I want to do in the new year.   It never fails I fizzle out come spring.  This year I decided to participate in my Young Living Leadership Support Team Challenges for January.  I can commit to a month.

One diamond leader is doing a Water Challenge.  I've done this before... but always in summer.  I'd not thought of upping my water intake in winter.  Rather brilliant really.  I know the effects.  I guess I'm so dehydrated, I'm just not thinking that something as simple as water is what I need.  But I do.  So I am all in.  In fact, I just pulled my decorated jug out of the cabinet, didn't add anything fancy.  I've done this before, set the numeric goal, drink half of my body weight in ounces of water per day. Gotta tell you, after hopping on the scale this morning, that number was HIGH.   But I've been eating Holiday style for days, and my body is done, I just need to stay home. And that is the Plan. Luckily, we have little going on, so staying home and drinking  and peeing all the time sounds Great. 

Step 1 - Water with a drop of Slique Essence Essential Oil blend.  

This blend contains Grapefruit, Tangerine, Lemon, Spearmint, Ocotea, and a tad of Stevia extract.

It's refreshing, and balancing to the blood sugar, while supporting the whole body during weight loss. 

So, I thought I'd start my day with this. 

130 ounces is a Lot of Water. 

Plus, I've been sick. 

Even my tissues are talking to me. 

I'm tired of being sick and tired. I'm weaning off the prednisone and I feel terrible. 

I lost my voice right after Christmas. Drinking and peeing all this toxic crud out of my body sounds Fantastic.

The other YL leader Challenge is a Ningxia Red challenge.  That one won't be hard for me to hit, as I've been drinking it daily since I started feeling crummy anyway.  I don't have stash enough to get all 5 of us going on it. I should've started drinking it in November to keep my immune system supported through the season, maybe I wouldn't have gotten sick at all.  Who knows? 

I want to jump start my YL business again, I want to get off my duff, I want to take more photos, (thus starting the count again), and I want to do these drinking challenges.  

Hopefully,  the combination of these liquids, drinking good things will lead to getting healthier, and moving my butt will help me lose weight too.  These are all my New Years goals.  Wish me luck!   

#19 Out of 20

We crossed another one off our Date List.  

Saturday morning. 

The Church borrowed all the boys so they could practice for the Christmas Pageant. 

In return for giving them our kids, we get to go shopping for a couple hours, and have lunch. 

Best deal ever! 

First we went to Target, and stopped at the Starbucks there, and finished up some shopping for the boys.  I got a Medicine ball, which I must confess has really been help opening my chest and throat. It's half steamed lemonade and half two teas, Defense with Pineapple and Jade Citrus Mint.  And honey.  It's not the sweetest beverage they offer, the combo of peppermint and citrus can overwhelm. But it does the trick. 

I felt good enough to have a date lunch with my hun. 

For lunch, we went to Thai Lanna. 

It's a great Thai place on the west side, but since word has gotten out it's good, it's usually crowded when we go by.  They don't staff for crowds, so we hadn't been in a while. 

But it was dead quiet at 11 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Luckily for us. 

So we got some crab rangoon, which was so yummy.  And tried the last Thai curry puff in the place. And of course, my chicken on a stick.  Aka chicken satay.  

I wish I knew how to make that cucumber sauce they serve.  It's like sugar and vinegar and tiny bits of cucumber and red pepper.  I love it, I could drink it! 

I got this. Eric got his usual Pad Thai so Thai Hot flavored it makes him cry. He likes it that way. 

Mine was Thom Yum soup with Pad Thai, was it Thom Thai, or Pad Yum, Thom Pad?  I don't remember. 

Whatever you call it, it was magical soup with noodles. 

That stuff clears my chest out too.  And my sinuses. 

Thom yum is magical, and I liked having it with noodles. 

We love getting out for Thai food, but it's not very often. 

I really crave oriental food in winter. I don't know why. 

And the soup whenever I'm sick helps. So I guess it all works out. 

And we crossed another date off our list. <3

1 more to go....