Sweet Boy!

Introducing Sweet Boy!  This was taken last summer when he was only 2.  Now he's 3 1/2 and even wilder and crazier, if that's possible.  I tell him everyday that he is My Sunshine.  I mean look at that face. . . isn't he just the cutest boy you've ever seen??  Today I want to share a few facts about Sweet Boy so in the future you'll know just a bit more about him when I reference him.

1. Sweet Boy is a Thomas fanatic and has been since he was just a little over a year old.
2. He is very loving and tells everyone "Goodbye, Be Careful, I love you!" when they leave.  And when I say everyone I mean everyone.  Total strangers, the mail carrier, everyone.
3. He has never went to daycare.  He stays with me at work most days, and attends a Mother's Day Out program 2x a week.
4. Sweet Boy is ready for a baby sister.  Lately, he's been saying "I want a baby.  Will you get her for me when I turn 4?"
5. We definitely planned for Sweet Boy.  We were young when we got married (only 20) so we waited a looooong time (6 years) to get pregnant.  By the time he was born we were 27.
6. Sweet Boy has a great appetite, but he definitely picked up his Mom's odd eating habits.  I don't like to bite into things so I eat everything with a fork or by pulling it apart into little pieces.  Yes, even sandwiches, burgers, pizza.  He has definitely caught on to this.  Sometimes he refuses to eat until we "take it apart".
7. He's "Mommy's best friend" and "Daddy's buddy"
8. Currently, he can count to 10 and knows his ABC's.  He knows colors and most basic shapes (square, rectangle, circle, oval).
9. This kid can TALK!  And he talks super fast.  Sometimes people can't understand and I have to interpret for them.  But it's not because of baby talk - it's just because he talks too fast.
10. Sweet Boy is definitely spoiled rotten.  Not with material things, but definitely with attention.  I have a huge family and we're very involved with our church.  Right now he's the baby of 17 grandchildren (not for long, though) and he's known as the "church baby" within our church family.

I plan to share a few "facts" about Sweet Boy every few weeks.  I haven't been very good about documenting his life, and maybe I can use this Blog to help me with that.  I have tons of pictures, but I haven't been good about writing down his little sayings and firsts.  Of course, I'll always have them in my heart :) 

My verse for today:

And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.
                                                                                                                                                            Isaiah 54:13

I pray you all have a great week!

-Joy

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

So far my Valentine's Day has been great.  Last night I helped my sweet boy make Valentine treat bags for his Mother's Day Out class.  He was so proud to take them in today.  He ran in the room talking 100 miles per minute about all of the "valentimes" he had made for his friends.

Then I decided to run by Chickfila on the way back to work.  What do I see setting in the CFA parking lot??  The Loomis truck.  My husband works for Loomis.  I'm always nervous to stare at the driver too hard because they're a little jumpy.  Understandably so because they carry around thousands (sometimes millions) of dollars.  Anyways, I'm peering into the Loomis truck and sure enough - it's my Valentine!  I get in the drive thru line and he drives around and blows me a kiss on the way to his next stop. 

But that's not all.  Not only was my Chickfila biscuit fantastic, but it was shaped like a heart!!  So cute.  And they put a Hershey kiss in my bag.  Of course, I ate it. . . and now I only want more.  What is about chocolate that I can never have just one bite????

I'm thinking I'm going to use my lunch break to go get Brandon (My Valentine) some cologne or something special.  I'm such a procrastinator about some stuff.  But, it's okay.  I don't feel bad because I might get my Valentine tonight. . . or I may get it next week.  I'm not joking.  Sometimes our friends ask if I get my feelings hurt because my Valentine's are usually late.  And honestly I don't.  Because I ALWAYS know that I'll get them.  Brandon has this little tradition he started the first Valentine's Day we spent together married.  Our anniversary is in May so when Valentine's rolled around we hadn't been married a year yet.  But that morning there was 1 single rose for me.  The next year, we were coming up on our 2 year anniversary at Valentine's, and there were 2 roses.  I didn't really think much about it because I know that roses are sometimes sold in singles, doubles, and even up to 3 together.  The year I got 4 roses, I thought "hmm. 4 roses?  This is a little strange."  But not wanting to hurt his feelings I just kept my thoughts to myself.  The next year I received 5 roses.  At this point I couldn't keep quiet anymore "Why didn't you just buy me half a dozen?  Why 5 roses?"  He looked at me like I had 3 heads and said "You really haven't figured this out by now?"  Apparently every year he had been giving me the amount of roses for our next anniversary.  And he always has.  Like I mentioned sometimes he may be a week late.  Last year he had to get me 9 roses.  Which is kind of expensive because he would have to buy a dozen and throw 3 away.  I think he waited a few days because the flowers were cheaper after Valentine's!  By the way, he's not a cheapskate AT ALL.  He would spend every dime he has, but he knows I would die if he bought $30-$40 worth of flowers only to throw some away.  And yes, he better be throwing those extra away.  Unless he's giving them to my mother or mamaw (I'm a little jealous).  We will celebrate our 10th anniversary in May (geez, that's a loooooooong time) so I'm looking forward to my 10 roses. 

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's!!  May you receive so many flowers your home smells like spring!  May you receive so much chocolate that you gain 5 pounds!  But, if you aren't given either of those I hope you receive love.

I'll leave you with this beautiful thought.

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. . .
Song of Solomon 8:7


Joy

By the way I have no idea where Lulu is. . . she's an even bigger procrastinator than me.  She may get around to blogging on here sometime before St. Patrick's Day :)

Peace!

Hello!!  It feels like it's been FOREVER since I've posted last.  A whole week. . . YIKES, who waits that long to blog?  I hope I don't make that a habit.

Well last week, I mentioned that Lulu & I  were supposed to meet with a business owner about our products.  We met with her on Saturday and guess what?  She loved EVERYTHING!  She has it all on display in her shop.  Her store is very unique.  There are so many items on display, but her product is actually refurbished wooden furniture.  She will paint and distress a piece, post it on Facebook, and it's sold within minutes.  Then the buyer comes in to pick it up.  That's when they get the opportunity to see her other goodies.  She has other crafters' products in her shop as well.  It's a little haven for all things pink and frou-frou (what I call anything princessy).  At this point we're praying our stuff sells.  If we leave it there awhile and nothing goes she gives it back and we can sell it on Etsy or at a craft show.

Since we just put all of our products in her store our little Etsy shop has been put on hold yet again.  Just until we can get some more things put together.  Y'all would have loved the stuff we took over there.  Lulu made THE CUTEST cloth diapers and matching paci clips.  Seriously, they were absolutely adorable.  I have a few pics on my camera.  I'll have to get them loaded on here so you guys can love 'em as much as I do.

Moving on.  You may wonder why my blog title is "Peace!".  I know all I've talked about is our meeting with the store owner.  But this morning I've been thinking on peace. . . and how thankful I am that I can feel at peace.  There are times in life when it seems like we are so troubled, but then, just when you need it, when you think you can't take another step,  the Lord will give you a momentary reprieve.  Even through the troubled times of life I'm glad that I know the Lord's peace - the kind that passeth all understanding!  There aren't words to explain the feeling I'm describing.  If you know what I mean, then you know.  If you don't know, well, you won't until you experience it for yourself.  And I hope one day you will.

It's Thankful Thursday!!  Today I'm thankful for:

• My husband feeling better today.  He wasn't feeling so hot last night, but this morning he was able to go into work.  He texted me earlier telling me that he felt alot better.
• My baby boy asking me to help him pray for his daddy last night.  He's the sweetest!
• That this past weekend worked out for one of my sisters.  Their family had been planning on being in a certain place and then my brother had to work over and it looked like it wasn't going to work out.  But he was able to get off work just in time for them to make it.
• That our crafts are in a highly trafficked store where they will have a great a opportunity to sell.
• The rain stopped.  Yes, I know the earth needs rain.  That rain is good.  But, sometimes, I just need a break from it.
• Peace

I hope you all have a great day!  Hopefully it won't be a week before you hear from me again.

"Even in the valley God is good.  Even in the valley he is faithful and true. . . "

Joy

Thankful Thursday

Yippee, it's Thankful Thursday again!  Like always, there are tons of things I could list.

Today I am especially thankful for:

• My church.  It's a small church.  But, the love I feel there is overwhelming.  The congregation is truly my family.
• Mother's Day Out!!  I love my Baby Boy, but sometimes even the best mother needs a break.
• My "email sisters".  At times when I can't see my way they give me strength and faith to keep going.
• Peace.  I don't like chaos, and I'm thankful to say that I don't have alot of drama in my life.
• Wednesday nights at McAllisters.

There are so many more things I could list, but if I tried I'd still be here tomorrow typing. 

Just to let you know we haven't forgotten about our Etsy shop.  But, we've been presented with (what seems to be) an awesome opportunity that would use our current inventory.  We didn't want to list our items only to (hopefully) have to take them back down.  We have a meeting with someone Saturday morning.  After that we should know if we need to go ahead and list our items or start making some more for our shop.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!  I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes and verse.

"Never mind the cloudy days"

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.  Isaiah 26:3

Happy Homemaker & Menu Planning Monday

It's just another Manic Monday, Woo Hoo, I wish it was Sunday, Woo Hoo, That's my fun day, Woo Hoo...  For all of you who grew up as a teenager in the 80's like I did that song will surely bring back some memories!  I love me some Bangles!  A Monday doesn't go by that I don't sing that song at least once!  This is Lulu by the way.  I am the older sister that Joy alluded to the other day.  Truly I am the procrastinator of the bunch.  I love to make things, anything actually, and I have more time on my hands since I am at a Stay at Home Wife/Mom.  I say that in that manner because my children are in college and don't require a lot of my time so my husband is my main focus at this time in my life.  Today I am posting not about the crafts we make but about my day.  I love Sandra over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  She has awesome Portuguese recipes, wonderful pictures, and great stories of her life as a Mom and wife of a military man.  You all should go check her out.  Every Monday she hosts Happy Homemaker Monday.  I've followed her for a long time but today is my first time linking as Lulu!  I hope to have a few of my handcrafted items and some of the fabric I am currently working with to show you all tomorrow.

The Weather

The day started out with bad storms.  I was expecting a lazy pajama day but then the clouds rolled away and out popped the sun!  Now it's 62 degrees outside.  It turned out to be a perfect day!

On My Reading Pile

oohhh I love to read.  I received a Kindle for Christmas from my son, and I have about 6 books waiting on me.  Next though I hope to start the Mark of the Lion series that I received from my sister-in-law for Christmas.

On My TV

Grey's Anatomy from last week awaits me on the DVR, and my daughter has me watching Glee on netflix.  I've moved from Season 1 to Season 2 this week.

On the Menu for This Week

Another blog I follow is I'm an Organizing Junkie and on Monday's she hosts Menu Plan Monday so I'll be joining that today too!

Monday - Cube Steak with Mushroom Gravy

Tuesday - Vegetable Beef Soup with Cornbread

Wednesday - Out to eat with church family at McAllisters

Thursday - Grilled Chicken

Friday - Spaghetti

Saturday - Orange Salmon

On My To-Do List

Getting ready to put supper on then before the day is over I need to fold a load of laundry I washed this morning. 

What I am sewing, crafting, crocheting, knitting, or creating

I am several different pacifier clips that I have to finish or Joy is going to kill me! I am also working on the cutest baby gift set for that new Valentine's baby. It will include a bib and custom burp cloth. Come back by tomorrow and you should see the finished product!

Looking around the house

The sun is already starting to set and it's getting dark.  No one has made it home yet from their days at work/school so I am sitting in a quiet house.  All I can hear is the clicking of the keyboard as I type and the cars going by on the road outside. 

From the Camera

Now this picture isn't actually from my camera but my daughter Izzy B.  She is a Fine Arts Student at Maryville College.  I think she has awesome potential, don't you?

Something Fun to Share

I love Pinterest!  I am completely addicted and I think I need to join Pinterest Anonymous.

On my Prayer List
An elderly gentleman that we go to church with.  He wasn't at church this weekend and I missed him.  I know he is getting older and can't always come to church but his empty seat saddened me.

Bible Verse; Devotional
Isaiah 41:10  "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

Thankful Thursday

Hello, friends!!  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thankful Thursday!  I am so blessed to have a ton of sisters.  Every Thursday we have a 'traveling email' that we each list things in our lives we are the most thankful for right then.  Honestly, it helps me to type up my blessings.  Seems like it's hard to stay down or in a bad mood when you're looking at a list of items you know that you are not worthy to have, but the Lord has blessed you with anyways.  I would like to incorporate Thankful Thursday into our new blog.  Sometimes it's hard to stop when I get going, but I'll try to keep it short & sweet :) 

Today I'm thankful for:

• A wonderful husband.  He is my best friend. 
• My sweet baby boy.  His laughter is contagious.
• Family.  When you come from a big family there is always someone there to teach you something new.  Often times these are lessons you're unaware you even need to learn.  But, I'm thankful for them just the same.
• Vacations to plan.
• Sunny Days.
• Mercy & Grace.

On another note I have a couple of  wreaths to show you :)  Hopefully they will be available in our etsy shop in just a few days.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/LuluAndJoy

Hot Pink & Red Valentine's Wreath

White & Silver (Grey) Winter Wreath

Maybe my sister, Lulu, will get a chance to post soon.  You guys are absolutely going to love her and her crafts.  She's actually the talented one.

Joy

Nice to Meet You!

Hi, I'm Joy.  And my big sister is Lulu.  We're super excited to start our new blog and open our new Etsy shop.  It's something we've wanted to do for awhile.  But, as you'll all soon find out. . . we procrastinate.  Horribly.  Hope that doesn't start us off on the wrong foot.  Please don't hold it against me. 

Alas, moving on from confessing my faults.  Where was I?  Oh, yes.  Our Etsy shop.  We do have a shop.  One small problem.  It's empty!!!!  We hope to have that problem rectified by the end of the week.  Give us a couple of days and then come by.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/LuluAndJoy

We hope to have a variety of products - all handcrafted.  And, honestly, we don't really specialize in one particular area.  So, it's definitely a variety.  We hope to have the following items available:

• Baby Bips
• Burp Cloths
• Pacifier Clips
• Hair Bows
• Hair Pins
• Yarn Wreaths
• Tulle Wreaths

And just about whatever our little hands can make. 

I'll leave you with a few pics of some of our "work".  Hope you like (love) it!  And please don't judge me by my photography skills.  Hopefully, my super talented neice, Izzy B, will take the photo's for our shop.  She is one very talented art student.

Oh yes, and it was very nice to meet you!  Hope to see you again soon.