Nylah Faith

Wow!!  What a crazy past week my family has had.  We had such a wonderful and very blessed Thanksgiving with a lot to be thankful for.  One of the best things that happened last week was when my beautiful niece Nylah Faith was born.  She anxiously graced us with her loveliness on November 20th. 

I am so proud of my little sister for courageously going through all that she did during this pregnancy, and especially during the birth of little Miss Nylah.  

I am so happy to introduce you to our Sweet Angel, Nylah Faith Vincent.

We really, really, really love her.

And those cheeks, They just make ya wanna kiss them :)

Black Friday Blues

Well first off I want to say that I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving full of many blessings.   I sure did but I'm going to save that for another post.  

Last night Mr. Fireman and I decided that we were going to hit up Walmart for Black Friday.  They had their door busters starting at 8 pm  and we went in with a small but still doable budget, and our plans on getting one child completely done for Christmas.  When I say done I mean all their Christmas presents bought.  With three kids it can be so pricey to buy Christmas gifts, I really don't know how the Duggers do it.  

Anyhoo back to the Black Friday thing.  So we went in to a small town Walmart thinking because last year it was so calm this year would be too.  Wrong.  They were crazy, and I too found myself being crazy right along with the other ladies there.  Needless to say I did get a few things picked up for the youngest of my brood but not nearly what I wanted, so I was bummed out the rest of the night.  

I told my hubby no way will I be going to that Walmart on Black Friday ever again.  Then my lovely husband reminded me that there is no way that our kids are going to be without and that I shouldn't stress so much about Christmas for the kids because regardless God always provides.  And  no matter what our children receive under the tree they will be thankful because that is how are children are. Thankful for everything they have.  What a wise man my husband is, and I know that he couldn't be any more correct.  I love him.

So I wonder did anyone else have any bad Black Friday Blues??  Or did it go exactly according to planned?

100 Reasons For Me To Be...

Thankful

Since Its just about Thanksgiving time I wanted to write 100 reasons why I am so thankful.  I'm sure in life there are many more than 100 but I knew that I could never write all that I'm thankful for since there is no end to what I am thankful for.  

So without further adieu and in no apparent order, my list.

1. Jesus loved me so much that he gave his life for me.
2. The Bible, which is a guide to how I need to live my life, and to remind me of the love and plans that God has for me.
3. My husband's love for the Lord, Me, and my children
4. My husbands job, because without it we would not eat.
5. My pastor 
6. The wonderful men and women who serve and give their lives for our country
7. My parents
8. My sister Helen for loving my children as her own 
9. my nieces and nephews
10. Beverly Lewis for writing the best Amish stories ever
11. premade pie crust, cause I cant seem to get it right on my own
12. Chapstick
13. Breath mints (I think everyone should be thankful for breath mints)
14. Having a roof over my head
15. Our new car
16. Ice tea, without it I would die of thirst each day
17. Netflix, it keeps us from having to pay a high cable bill
18. Modg Podge
19. Every single blog that I have listed on the right side of my page, they inspire me :)
20. Chocolate
21. The internet
22. My iPad
23. Algebra calculators
24. My childrens's teachers
25. Having the means to take the kids to Disney World this past summer
26. My in laws for raising such a wonderful man
27. Colorado mountains, I sure do miss them
28. Deodorant (another one everyone should be thankful for)
29. Excedrin, even though they don't sell it anymore.  I really hope they bring it back, then I can be even more thankful. It was the only thing powerful enough to get rid of my migraines.
30. My church family
31. Christmas
32. Facebook
33. Aldi, for being much cheaper than Walmart
34. Coupons
35. Being able to take the kids to Six Flags throughout the year
36. Texas BBQ
37. Country music
38. Dermalogica eye cream, It really is a miracle worker for the eyes
39. Flowers, could you imagine the world without them?
40. Shelters that help women and children leave abusive situations
41. Shelters that help the homeless
42. The freedom to pray and worship God
43. Electricity
44. Water
45. Firefighters, Police officers, and Teachers
46. Pinterest
47. Iced Coffee
48. My sister in law, for giving me two wonderful nephews, and for loving my children endlessly
49. Blogger
50. My dishwasher ( I hate doing the dishes by hand)
51. Air conditioning, because even today in November here in Texas we still need it.
52. The ocean
53. Vicks Vapor Rub. I love the smell of that stuff.
54. Books
55. My online college
56. My health and the health of my family
57. Burlap material
58. The Wiggles, for keeping my children entertained when I couldn't 
59. My Comfy Cozy Bed, 
60. Gods Amazing Grace
61. Fuzzy socks
62. Baby Nylah (my niece, who has yet to be born, but is a miracle baby to our family)
63. My memories
64. The start of a new day
65. The sunshine after a storm
66. My extended family
67. Friends old and new
68. The ability to make sure my children are clothed, fed, and entertained
69. Rain
70. The smell of the crisp air in the Fall
71. Sushi
72. Wasabi for my sushi
73. My niece Sarah
74. Sarah's amazing doctors
75. Everyone who's ever prayed for Sarah
76. My sister Kristine for keeping me informed on Sarah's progress
77. My sister Janice for all that she has done for me in my life
78. Pottery Barn
79. Lessons I have learned throughout my life
80. The Serenity Prayer
81. My Grandma Frances, for loving me so much  even though biologically I wasn't hers.  I cant wait to see her again in Heaven someday.
82. My Grandma Davis, she loved me even when she didn't know me.  I met her when I was 14 and she showed me all the pictures she kept of me from my childhood.
83. McDonald's, because sometimes ya just need a Big Mac
84. This wonderful country we call home
85. The Texas Rangers Baseball team
86. The color yellow
87. Snow Angels
88. Ruthie, my second mom.  She was always there for me and my sister when my mom couldn't be.  I love you.
89. Extreme Couponing show
90. eBay
91. Lego's, for keeping my oldest son so entertained, and bringing out his creative side
92. My daughters friends, Because upon meeting them at her school the other day I realized how much they love and care for her.  It's important for everyone in the world to have friends like that.
93. Double sided tape
94. Tim Hawkins, he is the most hilarious christian comedian, and he always makes me laugh
95. My vacuum, It doesn't always want to work, but when it does I am oh so very thankful :)
96. Bug repellent, especially now with all that West Nile flying around
97. Lazy days 
98. Soap, yes its so simple, but what if we didn't have it?
99. The right to vote
100. My life!!!!!

Well that does it.  I know that a lot of these things may seem silly to some, but honestly if you stop to think of all that you are thankful for you will find that everything, and I do mean everything is worth be thankful for.  Just imagine you life without something, you will soon realize how thankful you are.  

Fun At The Pumpkin Patch, Past and Present

I have been such a busy bee lately.  But before fall turns to winter and since Christmas is just around the corner I wanted to hurry up and show ya'll a small timeline of my kiddo's at the pumpkin patch starting from Ross's (my youngest) first time.

My goodness, how these last few years have gone by, but boy am I loving every minute of it.  :) 

Happy Halloween!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very safe and Happy Halloween!!!!

Halloween Mason Jar Lantern

So for the Pinterest Fall Challenge I must say I had a real "challenge" trying to come up with something to do.  With all my current finances going towards Halloween, a baby shower, Hubby's birthday, and yes even Christmas I have not had much money left over for much else.  So I knew that whatever I decided to do had to be completely free, hence my challenge.  

After searching Pinterest for what seemed like minutes FOREVER, I came across these inspirations.

Source from The CSI Project Blog

Source from Our Best Bites Blog

Source from Lauren Elise Crafted Blog

I have a real love or maybe even a bit of an obsession with mason jar crafts.  You can see a few others that I did here, here, and here.  So it was no surprise to me that I leaned more toward craft ideas where there was a jar involved. 

 I really loved how the silhouettes looked on the jars but I also liked how the jack o lanterns looked when they were all lit up. I decided combining the two would be my best choice.  So I did.

All I did was download the free silhouettes from Google search, printed them off to fit the jars in black then carefully cut them out and mod podged them to the jars.  I don't know why I didn't take pictures of the process, sorry.  Once that was done I simply added a couple drops of green food coloring to my homemade mod podge mixed it up and painted the inside of the jars.  Sooo easy!  

This project was completely free.  I already had the jars, and like I said I made the mod podge from a recipe found on this site.  

These were defiantly a lot of fun to do, and so quick.  Also I think they look pretty great and even a little spooky :)

I will be linking up my Fall Pinterest Challenge to the Lovely Ladies who are hosting the Pinterest Challenge Katie from Bower Power Blog, 

Sherry from Young House Love Blog

Sarah from The Ugly Duckling House

Carmel from Our Fifth House Blog

Also I will be linking up to 

The Dedicated House
You are taking too much, meet me Monday
DIY Showoff
 

Liebster Award Nomination

                                                                                 

Today I was nominated for the Liebster Award by the Lovely Ellora over at the Creatively Southern Blog.  The Liebster award is given to new bloggers who are just starting out and have less than 200 followers.  It's a way for up and coming bloggers to get noticed.  The rules are:

• Each nominee must share 11 things about themselves.
• They must also answer 11 questions asked by the person who tagged them.
• They must create 11 questions for the bloggers they choose to nominate.
• They need to select 11 blogs with less than 200 followers to nominate.
• The lucky bloggers they choose must then be told about the nomination.
• No tag backs.

Easy peasy, and such a fun way to get to know other bloggers.  I'm excited to read other's questions and responses.  

First things first my nominees for the Liebster award go to

Saved by Grace

Heather Hughes Photography

I'm a Thriftaholic

A Wicked Happy Life

The Novice Homemaker

Rita Barton

Britty's Big Ideas

More Than Mommies

Sweet Little Bluebird

Reporting for Duty: Mommyhood

Momma's Sunshine

Now 11 Random things about me;

1. I hate the look and feel of raw chicken so much so that I have a hard time eating it.
2. My  favorite color is yellow.
3. I've been obsessed with the Wizard of Oz ever since I was 3.
4. I love to coupon, even though I still have yet to be really good at it.
5. I hate cleaning but I love to organize, weird I know.
6. I grew up in Colorado and moved to Texas at the age of 18.  I miss those mountains.
7. I first met my husband on an online dating website that my friend Shanna made me sign up for.  Thank you Shanna I will forever love you for that.  :)
8. My hubby and I will be celebrating our 9th year anniversary on the 1st of March even though our actual anniversary is on February 29.  
9. The number 28 on my blog comes from my families lucky number 28.  My husband was born on the 28th of October, My daughter was born on the 28th of April, My birthday is on the 20th of May, My oldest son Russell was born on the 8th of July, and My son Ross was born on the 4th of October.  4+4=8 or 4/2=2 so there you have it.
10. Its 12am and I'm watching She-ra on TV while typing this up.  She-ra was my favorite cartoon when I was a kid.
11. I still have homework to do right now, but I'm procrastinating because that's what I do best.

Now I get to answer Ellora's questions

1. Who is your hero and why?

My husband, he brings me chocolate whenever I want  need it.  :)

2. What is one chore that you hate doing? Yes, just one. :)

Laundry.  Not all of it I just hate putting it away.

3. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

I'm about to graduate with a degree in Healthcare administration, then on to nursing school.  I'm pretty proud of that.

4. What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?

Stress Kills, so don't stress too much :)

5. Why did you decide to start blogging? What inspired you?

I love writing, but the one blog that inspired me to create my own blog is Biblical Homemaking

6. What dream do you hope comes true?

I want to own a house again soon.

7. Who is your celebrity crush if you have one?

Jensen Ackles

8. Are you morning person or night owl?

night owl, its my time to myself

9. What 3 words would you use to describe yourself?

happy, blessed, and hopeful

10. If you had one 25 hour day and everyone else still had 24 hours, what would you do with the extra hour?

Absolutely nothing :) or read, yea probably read.

11. What do you want to be when you grow up? (I'm still a party planner wanna-be!) :)

a nurse.

Now to my nominees, answer these please;

1. What did you want to be when you were younger?
2. Besides blogging, what are your favorite hobbies?
3. If you could meet anyone in the world who would it be?
4. One thing off your bucket list is?
5. What is your favorite quote?
6. Who inspires you the most?
7. If money was no option where would you go?
8. What TV show can you secretly not live with out?
9. What is your favorite scent?
10. What is an item that you bought on a whim but then wished you didn't afterwards?
11. If you could learn another language what would it be??

So there ya have it.  Cant wait to read everyone's responses :)  And don't forget to head over to the different blogs listed and show some love.