Christmas 2010

This Christmas (December 2010):

• Isaiah was 10 months old.
• My parents came to visit from Ft. Benning, GA.
• My brother Matthew and his wife Cari have been married a year.
• Cari is expecting her first baby in May.
• Luke has finished his first semester of college.
• It snowed.

And now for some pictures:

Christmas Dinner

Isaiah walking

messy boy

loving on my uncle matthew

i think this happens like every year...

reading the Christmas story with papa

new bath toys

has it really been?

Has it really been...

A week ago that I read my cousin's birthday blog? 
Ten months ago since Isaiah was born?
A year and 2 days since Christmas?
A week since the Christmas choir program?
A month ago since Thanksgiving?
Two months since my trip to North Carolina?
6.5 years since I bought my second car (which I recently traded for this)?

Has it really been an entire year since I graduated from WKU?
Has it really been 6 years since I moved back to Kentucky from Alaska?
Have my brother and his wife been married for a year already?

And the list could go on and on and on and on... God has done such wonderful things in my life.  I don't really think about these things while they happen, but looking back on this year and previous years, I see how God has worked in my life.  I see how even small things are important in God's plan.  Thing is, God cares about me.  About me!  And, the awesome thing is, He cares about you too! 

It is ultimately about love.  God has taught me to love through sacrifice.  He taught me through His sacrifice, and through having to sacrifice so much for a new baby.  I've given up sleep, eating, time alone, reading, watching t.v., taking hours to get ready... And all because I love my baby so much.  God gave up so much more.  He gave up His entire life.  We think, "oh He died for us. That's great..."  But Christ did so much more! First, He came to this Earth!  How humble is that?!  Then, He had to live as a human.  That's not easy!  He had to be the perfect sacrifice.  And He was tempted.  He loves us with a love so deep and wide, that we cannot even fathom that love.  We cannot even begin to understand that kind of love.  And He teaches us how to love.  Its not easy.  Love covers all things!  Its amazing what a love that is selfless and sacrificial can do.  That love saved me.  That love can save you.

Has it really been almost 20 years since I learned of God's love?

I love to remember the day that I learned of God's love.  It seems so long ago, but I remember that day as if it was yesterday.  And the years have gone by so fast.  So, as I look forward to the New Year, I want to take a moment to remember things of this year and years past.  We are always so anxious to set a resolution (which is usually pointless).  We are so eager to celebrate and watch the ball drop as we countdown the minutes and seconds to midnight.  But, we often fail at looking back on our past year/s.  I never thought of it this way before, but I think we should take a moment to remember.  God gave us memories.  Memories bring back so many different emotions.  Sometimes memories enable us to do better in the future.  The way I see it, they are important.  So, this year, I will take some time to remember.  And... maybe... just maybe... I'll post my memories. 

new car?! why, yes, i'll take one!

thank you DAD

my year on facebook.

So I found this great facebook application in which you can basically summarize your year with facebook posts... thought it was neat, so I did it!  You can also pick posts to share in the summary, but I just let the application put it together for me. Thought I'd share. Its pretty interesting to look back on the year through my facebook posts!

the last time...

The last time I made any of this...

was when I was barely a kid!  My mom bought a kit (it seems like it was for Christmas), and we melted candy, put it in the molds, and let it set.  Then we devoured every piece of chocolate.  Well, I'm pretty sure my madre melted and poured the candy into the molds, then I added the plastic stick (look at picture)... Candy on a stick.  What's cooler than that?!  Well, I had a great coupon for a kit at Michael's. So, I bought one! And, let's just say, it was a huge mess.  And the results look nothing like the pictures on the box...  So, here you go:

the mess... and it only got worse.

chocolate snowflake.



apparently, you're supposed to be able to use the little blue
paintbrush in the picture to "paint" colors of chocolate
on each candy so that it looks something like the Santa Clause
wearing a red hat in the picture above.  (Yeah right!)

i'm certain that the chocolate is supposed to be in the mold,
not all around the outside! but i couldn't smooth the chocolate without
extra, and then it got all over the mold...



So, there you go. I DO NOT recommend doing this!  Just buy candy. Although with another person, this could ultimately be fun.  Making this with kids would also be entertaining. Just be prepared to clean up a huge mess... and I mean a HUGE mess.  Other than that, if you do have the patience, go for it.  Otherwise, steer clear of this little project.  I started this an hour ago, and so far I only have 6 chocolates done.  Yay. 

hey.

i haven't blogged in a while, but thought i'd share this with you.  Isaiah has been working on saying "bye bye" and "hey".  he even tries to say "Dixie" (the dog's name), but it comes out in the form of "D".  so, today i went outside to start my car before we had to pick up Zoey, a little girl i babysit half-days... and i put Isaiah in his pack and play while i ran to start the car.  i return to him standing up looking at the door for me, and when i walked in, he says "hey".  it was the sweetest moment ever.  i love my baby boy.

Giggles...

look...

 look what my husband brought me home yesterday...

i believe i have the best husband in the world.  i know many wives who would say the same thing about their husbands.  here's the thing: there are a lot of wonderful husbands out there, but the important thing is that you feel like yours is the best one!  i love you matt.

one more.

One more post before I call it quits (I just may be taking this blog thing too far).  But I just had to share this with you. Black Friday madness. My dad and brother braved the crowds and arrived at Bass Pro Shops at 3:30 in the a.m.  And just when did the doors open: 6:00 a.m.  So, brother comes over bundled up with his shot-gun shaped thermos and camo hunting chair in hand. Dad thinks its a good idea to take blankets.  Rightly so. It turned out to be 27 degrees that morning.  Amongst the Black Friday madness, they were filmed by WHAS... thought I'd share.

shopping success.

Follow-up post to the previous coupon post.  So, I went shopping, used most of my coupons... And I found some GREAT deals.  Here are some of them:

photo calendar: .50 cents
mini loaf pan: .60 cents

an entire candy making kit from Michael's:
reg:  $9.99
got it for: $4

nativity set from Lifeway:
reg:  $6.99
got it for:  $3

And I also attended a local Christmas Bazaar earlier today which supports local vendors and includes booths such as Premier jewelry, Mary Kay, Avon... you get the picture.  And this is where I found these for $1:

I babysit a little girl who will absolutely love these rings so I just couldn't resist. Overall, it was a successful day of shopping.  I purchased a few other things; mostly things I needed (example: paper towels). And I found a couple of presents to myself from the hubby (at great prices as well). 

coupons...

So, I'm all the rave about coupons these days. Mainly because I saved like $25.00 a while back on groceries. Since then, I only buy things I that need without coupons... maybe that's an exaggeration, but still, coupons will save you money and I highly recommend taking your time to cut them out of the Sunday paper or sale ads throughout the week.  I cut out almost every coupon... even that 15% off your purchase of $100 or more at Home Depot. First, I rarely spend $100 in one store unless I'm buying groceries. Actually, I rarely spend $100 period.  And I'm definitely not going to be using the $100 at Home Depot.  That is, until something in the house breaks!  And guess what, if I cut out that coupon, I just saved 15%.  Anyway, this post is more or less dedicated to my father, Ed Hamlin, aka "Coupon King". 

For Example:

 Dad:  Where do you guys want to eat at tonight?

Family:  Mr. Gatti's... maybe Chick-Fil-A. (other ideas include: Chinese, Los Nopales, Steak and Shake...)

Dad:  Well, I have coupons for Taco Bell.

(Inevitably, we end up eating at Taco Bell.  And, everyone must order something on the menu that Dad has coupons for)

So, here you go Dad...

I am going shopping today. And yes, I will be using these coupons.  Pictures of what I find will be posted later!   

Great is Thy Faithfulness

So, for those of you who do not know this song... look it up, seriously! I stole a hymn book from my dad before he left for Georgia. And, I like to randomly find songs in it and sing them to Isaiah before I put him to bed at night. Of course, being raised in church, I already knew this song, but I love it, so I decided to sing it to Isaiah Saturday night.

Part of the lyrics say:

... morning by morning new mercies I see...

Well, I started thinking about how I can relate to that (although I am completely convinced that Jesus' mercies are new every morning). And, I thought of a mother and her relationship with her newborn (or in my case 5 month old) baby. Saturday, Isaiah happened to be CRYING because he DID NOT want to go to sleep. I was getting frustrated because 1. He NEEDS to sleep 2. I NEED to sleep 3. He was crying FOREVER (okay, like 30 minutes).

Anyway, Isaiah, although technically innocent, was in his own way, complaining and fighting me trying to put him to sleep. We are like this with Jesus (minus the sleep). I wanted and needed Isaiah to go to sleep. Jesus wants us to turn to Him. He wants us to follow him. And oftentimes we are complaining and fighting against it.

So, the next step was sleep for baby Isaiah. He finally did what he needed to do, and what I desperately wanted him to do... SLEEP! Well, we are SO much like that. Although we complain and fight Jesus' plans for our lives... we often end up doing what He wants us to do! Even if we happen to take the long road like Isaiah took the long road to sleep.

HOWEVER... the most important part of this incredibly long story... Well, Isaiah woke up Sunday morning to a fresh start. I was no longer frustrated, I was, I guess you could say, merciful. One definition of mercy is: a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion. No matter how much Isaiah fought me, I continued to love him. He did not neccessarily NEED to play and rock and eat (just fed him... don't worry he's not starving). I didn't have to continue to do these things. I could have laid him in his crib and let him cry. I didn't have to sing to him. I didn't have to say anything... BUT I DID.

After rebelling against OUR SAVIOR, we do not deserve life. We don't deserve God's blessings. After going the long route (think Jonah and Ninevah), we don't deserve things to work out for the good because ultimately we did not obey! But, EVERY SINGLE MORNING, our Lord gives us NEW MERCIES. He does not change his mind and revoke our salvation. He does not strike us dead with a bolt of lightning. He continues to love us... LOVE us. He continues to be faithful, to save, to work things together for our good, to use us to glorify him...

Think about it. This is the God I serve.

thoughts from facebook.

Prior to becoming a blogger, I posted notes on facebook. I didn't post many notes because, well, its facebook! And because I am now a blogger, I thought I would transfer my thoughts from facebook to my new blog...

stay at home moms...

I often hear people talk as if staying at home with your children isn't a "real" job. Then I had this random thought: while we go to work, we leave our children with people who have a "real" job.  And, here's a news flash:  they are watching our children! Whether we leave them with a sitter or at a daycare, these people work hard to care for our children while we work.  Yet, if a mom chooses to stay home with her children, she seems to be criticized for that decision... because she is not "working"?!  Please... explain.  And do not talk down to moms who stay home.  My mom stayed at home with my brothers and I.  And not for one second should she regret it.  I have so many great memories of coming home from school to my mama.  She is an amazing person.  She never "just stayed at home with her kids."  To all the moms out there-working or not-you are awesome.  Children are a blessing.

new.

I am officially a blogger. I enjoy reading other blogs; so I figured, why not create my own blog. My friends and family will have the opportunity to share my life with me, which I am ok with.  I think people enjoy knowing the happenings of the lives of other people. So, here I am... to share my happenings with you. I wanted to wait until the beginning of the new year (only 29 days away) to begin blogging, but I just had to start it now. My favorite holiday is coming up, and what a better way to share that holiday with you than to blog about it! So, this is my blog. Enjoy.