I am in Heaven!!!

OK Girls, we are now in the count down time until Thanksgiving! 9 days until Thanksgiving! So here are some tips, and some very cool websites to check out for some freebie decoration to help get you ready for Thanksgiving.

First thing first - remember the sweet ladies in your life who are trying to do it all or think they should be trying to do it all - take some time out this afternoon go buy a yummy box of tea. (I used Yogi's Mayan Cocoa Spice) and send each of the wonderful ladies in your life (your mom, your grandma, your aunt, your best friend, even you mother in-law) a little note (yes, through snail mail!) along with a tea bag reminding them to take a break and enjoy this time of year!

I will even send you one, leave me your address in the comment section and I will send you a little note, and tea bag as well!!- (Yes, even us ladies need a little pampering now and then!)

Secondly, my girls have 7 more days left of school and the blog CraftsandSutch has the CUTEST Printable Lunch notes for your kids for FREE!! See there print a few off and your kids will have the cutest little seasonal love note from mom in their lunch box. (well now that your feeling like your a wonderful capable person again lets attack the house!)

Thirdly, decorate your entrance - be that your front porch, your entry way, even your laundry room if that is how you enter your home - put a smile on your house!

Fourth, you must check out the blog Today's Fabulous Finds {Tomorrow's Treasures}

This blog has cute FREE (yes, I did say FREE) printable subway art to print out and frame for your house!!! Isn't that the cutest (they would also make cute teacher gifts/or friend gifts!)

For more cute, very cute festive Free art work check out: Flamingo Toes, and check out Anna's blog Take the Side Street - she has a cute Free printable artwork about "gratitude" if you printed it out in red/green you could keep it up through Christmas!!

I do not know about you, but I am so very grateful to all the wonderful bloggers out there that share all their cute ideas with us!!!

Also a quick idea for all of you who have children who can read - and you are working on bible verse memorization. The church we attend (Lifechurch.tv) places information for upcoming events on the back of the bathroom stalls - they joke about having a captive audience. Well I thought they had a good point! So I now take home the bible verse memorization cards that are given to my kids, and place them for the week in the above frame next to the sink in their bathroom. My kids see it when they are washing their hands (yes, as a mom I know you are all giggling) and when they are brushing their teeth, and even when the older one is doing her make-up I know she is seeing this!!

Well I off to attack my kids bedrooms and "declutter" when they are not around to help me! but remember if you would like a note and a free tea bag, leave me a message and an address and I would be glad to send you a little lift me up! (now please remember that I am only an individual and I am not selling anything I have 2 boxes of tea bags to share - so I have 40 bags to send out for those who would like to reply!)

Oh and a Big Thank you to Beverly@theBuzz for a shout out for my post

The Cleaning Prayer

Happy Monday to all you Girls!

Feeling grattitude

I will be honest there are times that I am soooo buffered by my own reality (a warm home in the winter, a cool home in the summer, even if it is dirty it is mine, tv, computer, ipod, friends, family etc....) at times it is so easy to whine over something that in the Big Scheme of life is nothing. I have been trying to have a thankful heart and help my family not have such a case of the gimme' me's that I have been looking outward and praying "God show me where I can help others, remind my pampered self what I have to be soo very thankful for". Boy, has God thrown open the curtains of my house and showed me some stuff that breaks my heart, it stirs me to want to help! Thank you Lord Jesus for being so patient with my foolish, selfish heart!

Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! Has God every broken your heart over a situation, that did not involve you -not one ounce, and your prayer became all about that situation? Did God show you how he could use you to help in that situation?

Where has November gone to?

I look into the stores and all I see is Green and Red. I wonder down the candy aisle (yes, I know my hips wish I would not!) and I see the candy Christmas kisses and candy canes stocked on the the shelves. I watch the evening news and they tell me because of the economy is down, retailers are now stretching the Christmas season to begin the day after Halloween. Well let me tell you (yes, I feel a lot like Jimmy Stewart in "It's a Wonderful Life" when he is telling people that they needed to save the old building and loan.) Well girls we need November and Thanksgiving if for no other reason it allows us to prepare our hearts, our minds, and our homes for the Christmas season!!

The Christmas season is filled with the gimme Me's. Just look at how marketers encourage you to make a "Wish List". Don't believe me take a minute and think about the The Great Big Christmas Book, or Toy land Catalog marketed for our kids to make their "wish list" up or the Lexus commercials geared to us older kids. Marketers have made the Christmas season about "what do I want" to every individual out there. Well Let's start in November remembering what we have been blessed with.

Let's take the next 21 days and prepare our hearts,with an attitude of Thankfulness that helps prepare us for the Christmas season ."In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. "Thessalonians 5:18 Take a look at what you fill your mind, and your time with. Are you starting to be frazzled, looking at the calendar thinking about how the marketers are wanting you to feel about the holidays. Well just stop! This is the beauty of November take a deep breath make a game plan and prepare. Do not let anyone cheat you out of November!!

I always prepare my house for the holidays by first - CLEANING IT OUT!! How do you plan to put anything new into your homes, (AKA your kids bedrooms) without first cleaning out the junk, the things that are broken, things that are no longer used, things that have been out grown. Just making a pile of things to donate or have a garage sale helps make it abundantly clear how really blessed we are!!! I also do not want to struggle with dealing with C.H.A.O.S. (can't have anyone over syndrome -this is from the fly lady) during the holiday season. I want my house to be a warm inviting home, to my friends and family as well as my children's friends. The only way that will be possible is if I take the time to get things cleaned and organized now!!

So don't overlook November - we need November to help us enjoy the Christmas season and share the joy of Christ with others through out December. Remember you can not share what you do not have - so make sure that you will have joy in your heart during December by taking the steps necessary to enjoy December right now!! Prepare your heart and your families heart to make the trip to the manger this Christmas!

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14

(p.s. for those following my blog I am thankful that I have a husband that works on project for me and I will post pictures of the completed projects when he has completed the kitchen, and yes, I will be thankful for that! and no I have not been holding out on you it is just taking longer than we anticipated!)