Wordless Wednesday - January Snow Fun (2nd Post Today)

A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

Please keep dear Judy & her family in your prayers. The flu has hit their home in the past week. Much love & prayers for your family, Judy!

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

Lord, today I thank you for the gift of the five senses...

1) Thank you Lord for my eyes! They enable me to see the beauty of the many gifts you've given...Casinodad & the Munchkins, the beautiful cardinals & blue jays in our pear trees w/ the fresh snow as a backdrop, the words in books which draw pictures in my mind.

2) Thank you Lord for my ears! They enable me to hear the loving words spoken by Casinodad & the Munchkins, children's laughter, the music of nature, & music in general.

3) Thank you Lord for my nose! It enables me to smell Casinodad & the Munchkins fresh from the shower (& even when they're stinky...LOL!), the lilacs & other flowers of the earth, fresh baked goodies in the kitchen, & that pot of coffee brewing first thing in the morning.

4) Thank you Lord for my tongue! It enables me to taste those fresh baked goodies & coffee from the kitchen, know whether something does not taste right, & helps me to speak kind words.

5) Thank you Lord for my hands! They enable me to embrace my family, to feel the smooth skin of the Munchkins & the warmth of Casinodad's hand, and allow me to perform the day to day tasks needed to make our house a home.

Challenge of the Month - Week One Results

Well, I made it through week one for Angie's Challenge of the Month. My goal was to do 10 minutes of Pilates for four days last week & I DID IT!!!! This week, I need to do 15 minutes each day for five days.

The only problem I've found so far is that I cannot do these exercises when the munchkins are in the same room. The older three aren't too bad...just making noise so that I can't hear the DVD as well. The Saint, on the other hand, likes to either get underneath me or sit on my back while I'm trying to exercise. Makes it a bit difficult w/ that extra 24 pounds!

My Dad's Screen Name!

A few posts back, I wrote about how our screen names came about. I mentioned that my dad requested one for himself since I refer to him frequently on here. We've been tossing around a bunch of names & just today come up w/ one that will fit. Incorporating our need for the occasional call to 1-800-CALL-DAD & the fact that he is grandpa to the Munchkins, he will now be referred to as...

(drumroll please)

HandyGramps!

Small Successes

Danielle Bean says, "It’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. So on Thursday of each week, we do exactly that."

1) I cleared out our hanging files, something I try to do every January. I recycle/shred all the stuff we don't need anymore & put the rest in file boxes to store away. It's amazing how fast paper can pile up, isn't it?

2) I baked some super easy muffins. You only need 2 ingredients. Mix one box Devil's Food cake mix w/ 15 oz. of pureed pumpkin (canned or fresh). Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Eat as is or top w/ cream cheese frosting. I know it sounds like a strange combination, but they are delicious! (My mom also made them, but she used a spice cake mix. She said it was good.)

3) I registered for our parish's upcoming study of Jeff Cavins' A Quick Journey through the Bible. I'm really looking forward to this 8-week series.

BONUS: I actually got this post & my Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings post done up ahead of time (Monday afternoon) & scheduled to post on their days.

Please hop on over the Faith and Family Live to share your successes & see how others are doing w/ theirs.

Challenge of the Month

My dear college friend, Angie (whom my munchkins nicknamed GiGi when The Archangel couldn't say Angie!), is running a year-long challenge on her blog Pretty in Orange. Each month, is a new challenge. She says, "It might involve something for your brain, something for your soul or something for your body." Each month's winner will receive a $25 gift card for Amazon.com AND she will make a $25 donation to the charity of your choice. You can see the full details of her challenge HERE.

Angie's challenge for February is a physical one to try something new. The timing couldn't be more perfect for me! Someone had suggested that Pilates might be something good for my lower back pain. Just a couple days before I read February's challenge, I had picked up a couple Pilates DVDs at the library.

So, my goal for this month:
Week One - Do 10 minutes of Pilates, four times during the week.
Week Two - Increase to 15 minutes, five times during the week.
Week Three - Increase to 20 minutes, five times during the week.
Week Four - By this time I plan to do the whole DVD (34 minutes worth), five times during the week.

I think that is doable for me & I plan to update here each week to share my success (& yes, I WILL make this a success!!!!!!!) Even if I do not will her prizes, I win...because I will be doing something good for my body, something I NEED to be doing anyway.

As I was thinking about this post ahead of time, I began to wonder if this might be a better idea for us instead of making New Year's resolutions. By choosing one thing & challenging ourselves for one month at a time, it makes it easier to accomplish our goals & make them successful. After all, it takes 21 days to make something a habit, so why not focus on just one thing at a time.

A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

1) Thank you, Lord, that I'm getting my voice back after being sick last week. It's amazing how much I find to say when I can't say anything!

2) Thank you, Lord, that The Saint was not injured more than just his chin when he broke a glass bottle on Friday. He received a big gash that needed about six stitches. We are SO THANKFUL that the glass didn't hit his eye, or even worse, his neck.

3) Thank you, Lord, that I was able to remain so calm when my dad called to say they needed to take The Saint to Urgent Care. (They were watching the munchkins so that I could rest my voice for the day.) I think that if I had been there when it happened, I would've been quite shaken at seeing how big the gash was.

4) Thank you, Lord, that we didn't have to take another trip to Urgent Care the next day when The Saint stuck a Lego in his nose. I was able to get it out w/ tweezers & no scratches. WOW! This 2 year old is REALLY keeping us on our toes! He was NOT alone in either instance...he's just very quick!

5) Thank you, Lord, for the eight year path on which you led Abby Johnson. Her eight years w/ Planned Parenthood gave her the opportunity to share what really goes on in their evil clinics. (You can read my review of her new book, unPlanned HERE.)