Ch Ch Changes!

No, not the song!  But in the fall trees and in my life!  I believe that we are all growing people and it is important to change things sometimes.  So while riding through the mountains the other day I did a lot of thinking and praying.  I feel like it is time to make some goals and changes for my life.  I once heard that it was proven if you write them down you are more likely to follow through them.  So here is my list of changes I want to make

• Wake up before Tempe and shower, dress, and put make up on each day.
• Only spend two hours a day on the computer.
• Daily devotionals each night.
• Work better at saving my family money.
• Keep laundry washed up.
• Mop and vac each day.
• Plan menus for weekly meals.
• Only eat out once a week.
• Give more to the church.
• Attend church on a more regular basis.
• Give more to others.

There are some more personal ones that I don't want to post for the world to see that I am writing somewhere else!  And I am sure there are more to add to this.  But these are a few and are important to me.  Most of these I do sometimes just not always or used to do but don't anymore so it is time to get back on track!!

Fall Leaves

Today we took a family trip to the mountains to see the fall leaves.  We had a very relaxing day.  We went up and stopped and bought Tempe a pumpkin for us to carve for her

and some apple butter, blackberry syrup, peanuts, and Josh some pickled eggs (yuck!).

We drove to the Mill and walked around also.  We had such a great day and it was so nice to take the time to look at everything God created.  It gave me a really good chance to do a lot of thinking and praying about several things that have been on my mind.

Ziploc Book

Mrs. Leslie came this morning!  She had a great activity I had to share with you.  It is called a Ziploc book.  What this is for is an inexpensive way to make your own books.  Babies at the age need books with pictures of real things.  What you do is cut some construction paper to the size of your baggie, cut out or print off pictures of real things, glue them to the paper, put them in the baggies, and hole punch and tie your baggie together.  You now have a book of real pictures that if your baby chews up you can just throw it away!!  Very inexpensive and I bet you have all of this laying around your house.  :)

You can choose to tie them together on the zip part so the little fingers cant open them or you can do it along another edge of the bag so that you can open it and change out the pictures.

Just make sure you glue the pictures going the right way if you do them on both sides!!  Mrs. Leslie and I got to talking and we glued some of them the wrong way!!

Share Your Talents and Ideas

Tonight was the first night of our MOPS share your talents and ideas night.  It it was so much fun!!  It was nice to get with the ladies and learn something new.  Elizabeth showed us how to make bows.  She also showed how to fold napkins but I had to leave before she was able to do that.  I have to tell that although I am just really getting to know her Elizabeth is such a inspiration to me.  She is a wonderful, friendly woman that has so many talents.  I just really admire and look up to her.  All of the ladies of this group are wonderful women.  I almost left in tears because of something that one of the ladies I knew before Mops said.  Someone asked if we had known each other before Mops and how and her answer was that God brought us together.  That really meant a lot to me because I feel the same way.  God put her in my life right when we started fertility treatments and her and her husband had just had twin babies as a result of treatments.  I had no one in my life that had been there and gone through what I was getting ready to go through and He brought her to me to help me get thorough what I was getting ready to go through!  I know that He has also brought all of these ladies to me right now in this perfect time as apart of His plan!

National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Day.  We all light a candle at 7pm our time in remembrance of those babies lost.

Our candle lit.

This is a very sensitive subject for me.  I have several friends that have lost babies in both ways.  Where I can not begin to imagine the sadness and lost they or any parents as felt losing a baby I do know how it feels to do everything you possibly can to try for a baby.  Each month that you try you feel as though you "lost" that baby for that month.  No it wasn't a true baby yet but it was that chance at a baby.  And that chance is now gone.  While waiting in the waiting room at my fertility specialist office I was reading a magazine for parents with infertility and an article written by a doctor that had done studies described a parent dealing with infertility as suffering from the same emotions as those parents that had lost a baby.  So where I have never knowingly 100% for sure lost a baby I light this candle in remembrance of all the babies that could have been for us. 

I urge you to light your own candle, even if it is after 7pm because I know I am late posting this.  And when you light that candle pray for all of the babies, parents, and families of babies that have been lost.  One's that were lost before they came to this world, one's that were only here a short time, and one's that could have been for parents suffering with infertility.

How to add gadgets to your blog

There are a lot of things you can add to your blog such as pictures, counters, links, and lots more.  Most of these are called Gadgets.  There are several different ways to add these and I am going to show you the basic here.  Your blog is set up with three started gadgets followers, blog archive, and about me.  First log into blogger and then go to design.  On the left hand side click "Add a Gadget".

There will be a list of all kinds of gadgets you can add.  I am going to show you how to do a picture gadget.  I use this alot on my blog.  You can use this to add photos on the side of you/family or you can add graphics you find online as I have to label my Favorites, Followes, etc.  Once in "Add a Gadget" click on Picture.

You can title or caption your picture but remember that will show on your blog!  I am going to upload a label picture.

Once you have added your picture and you are back to your design page you can move it around to where you need it.  It will go in any of the spots with the dotted line around it, or where it says Add a Gagdet. 

Now you can add pictures of yourself or labels for your gadgets already there!!  Now I am going to show you how to get those lables online!

 

Autumn Leaves (Failed to post on Saturday and went to draft post)

Friday morning I hosted my first play date for my small group within my MOPS group.  It was one at a local park where we painted pumpkins and played.  Only one mom and her son (3) were able to come because of vacations but we had a blast.  Little Eli was so much fun and so fearless. I was surprised at him running and sliding!!

Pumpkin I painted for Tempe

Friday night we took off and drove to a near by town and their fall street festival.  I am a little obsessed with street festivals this time of year.  I love to walk around and people watch and see all different types of crafts.  Tempe is going to be just like me when it comes to this!  While we walked around she waved and said "hey" to people.  She had so much fun and it brought so much joy to me to watch her smile and try to talk to everyone.  Things are still no new to her and she is learning and experiencing so much that the looks in her eyes are worth all five years of tears, meds, doctors, and anything else we had to go through to get her here.  It is just so amazing not only to watch her but realize that yes we did do this.  Even with never knowing what was wrong and being told that they couldn't find out why we couldn't have a baby and thinking that there was a possibility of never having a baby we did it!  We have our daughter, she is here, in our arms!  It was a great evening just us three as a family all on our own.  We do so much with extended family and friends, which we love, but it was nice just to be us for a change.

Operation Christmas Child

If you have never heard of Operation Christmas Child it is a program that has been around for years (I looked but couldn't find the exact number) that is through Samaritan's Purse.  What happens is people like you and I fill shoe boxes with different items for children and then volunteers take those shoe boxes to different countries where children other wise would not get gifts and give them the boxes.  What makes this so special is that those volunteers minister to the children that may not have ever heard of God or Jesus. 

I can remember doing this as a child and plan to do it every year with Tempe.  It is very important to Josh and I to teach her to give back.  Even at this young of an age we involve her in the work we do.  When she gets older she will be allowed to choose which she wants to be involved in but will have to be involved in something.  I hope to encourage her to not only do work for other countries but also work here in her own town as well.  We are just so blessed to have what we have and God has given us every bit of it that we feel it is important to give back.  I have done volunteer work ever since I was in middle school.  Most of which I do not tell about but this is so easy and great to do that I wanted to share it with you.

If you would like more information on Operation Christmas Child click here or comment and ask!

Matthew 6:3-4 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:  That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Everything Happens For a Reason

This morning I attended my MOPS meeting.  Not only do we have fun play dates, MNO (mom's night out), and great friendships but we have some awesome guest speakers. 

Some of the great food we have at our meetings!

Today's guest speaker, Jennifer, was from our local pregnancy center.  She told a lot about what she does and the center is there for but more than that her testimony was very moving.  She had found herself a pregnant teen within a Christian home. She told us how difficult that was for her and she had turned to this center for help.  She wonderfuly chose to keep her baby and 20 years later found herself in her parents position when her daughter got pregnant out of wedlock and by what she called "a real loser".  She had returned to the pregnancy center years later and became an employee there.  She has been able to use her experience to help other young mothers that come into the center for help.  I can not tell her story near as well as she does and this is not nearly all she told us but there was not a dry eye in the place, including hers.  She was a very good Christian woman and was telling us how we may not see why things happen but they all happen for a reason and that God will give us the opportunity to use our experiences to help others.  As she had first as a teen mother with her own daughter and then as a mother to a pregnant teen mom.  This was a very moving testimony for many of us within the group.  Just one of the stories she told us was of a young college girl that came in pregnant.  She had been to another pregnancy center and they had not given her any information other than that she was 13 weeks pregnant.  Jennifer took the time to councel her.  The young girl wanted an abortion and had not even been told that was not an option this far along, she would have to birth the baby.  They had done any ultrasound but not shown her the baby.  Jennifer took her to the doctor's office the center uses and let her have another ultrasound and see the baby.  The girl later gave birth to a little boy that she is now raising and will be returning to college soon.  Because Jennifer took the time this other center did not to counsel and help this young woman she was able to keep her baby and the baby will grow up with his mother.  ALL of our experiences can help others even when we don't think so, good or bad.  God has a great plan for each of us. 

Our wonderful speaker.

Our group of lovely ladies!

God is so GREAT

God is so great isn't he!!!  I have had a wonderful few days and am just so thankful to Him for everything He has provided me and my family.  I have a wonderful husband that loves God and us. He cares and provides for us in more ways than I ever imagined possible.  We have our beautiful daughter that has brought us so much joy and teaches us something everyday. In this world today so many people are hurting in so many ways that I am just so greatful for what I have.  If someone asked me tomorrow to give up every material thing I have in order to spend my life with these two people I wouldn't hesitate before I said yes. 

Today was Josh's day off so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to the zoo. It was so much fun as always and Tempe was such a good girl! 

Getting Crafty, Sorda!!

I love doing crafts.  All kinds of crafts.  But I have relized that I haven't taken any pictures of ones I have done lately.  Haha!!!  I also love searching for craft ideas.  All types.  I like home decor, kids, anything crafty.  Tonight I have been searching online for crafts and found a really cool site, Dollar Store Crafts!!  All kinds of things to make with stuff you buy at the dollar store!  I am going to be checking this site out often!

Coupon Notebook

One of the ways I save our family money is to clip coupons on Sunday's out of the local paper.  I found when I started this that I would clip the coupon and then not use it or it would expire before I remembered I had it.  The way I fixed this is I bought myself a handy dandy notebook!

The first thing in the notebook is a zipper pouch.  In it I put a pair of scissors, extra tabs, a pen, etc.

Next in the notebook I put baseball card sleeves to stick the coupons in.  I separated these by aisle at the grocery store.  For example Baking, Cookies and Crackers, Can Goods, etc.  I put the coupons in the sleeves so that I can see what the product is and exp. date. 

After all of my coupons I have a section of recipes that I want to try and ones we use often but I just can seem to remember everything that goes in it!

And I have a page protector that I put all of my recipes in.  At one point I want to add a list of items we buy each week and the price of them so that I can look and see if another store has them on sale.

I am currently creating a weekly calendar that has a place to right what meals we will have and a shopping list so that I will know just what I need.  I am a lover of lists so this really helps me.  And helps me not buy unnecessary things!!!

I know it sounds like a lot but once I got the notebook together now each week I clip the coupons I think I will need and then make my list of items I need for the week.  I plan out all of our meals so that I can use leftovers to make another meal the next day.  I have found this really helps me to save my family money!!  It feels so good when the cashier totals our bill and I hand her the coupons and she scans then and I see just how much I saved!!

What things have you found that helps you with using coupons?

How to center that header you just added!

This is going to get a little harder!!

First go to Dashboard then Desgin
Then you will go to Edit HTML

Next you will need to press Ctrl and F on your keyboard.  A box will come up at the top of your screen. In that box type ] ] > < / b : skin > Without the spaces.

It will highlight that code in the HTML.

Once you find that area you will need to copy and paste the following BEFORE ] ] > < / b : skin >

#header-inner img {margin: 0 auto !important;}

#header-inner {text-align:center !important;}

Then click PREVIEW first. It should open in a new window. Make sure everything looks correct and then close that window.  You may now "SAVE TEMPLATE".

Your header is now in the center of your background!!

Making a header for your blog

After you get a background you need a header to tell everyone the name of your blog!!  First you will have to find a header.  My most favorite place to find these are at Shabby Blogs.  This can be easy peasy or a little more involved.  However you want to make it.  I will tell all the steps and you can skip some if you need/want to.

You will need to save the image to your computer by right clicking and Save picture as...

You will then need to edit your photo in your choice of photo program to add your blog name and a photo if you choose. I edit mine in Paint Shop.

You will then go to your desgin page and click edit in the header box.

You will then need to title and write a description of your blog.  Then upload your picture.

Click save and you now have a header! 

How to add a pretty background!

If you are like me you will want to make your blog pretty!  The first thing to do to do this it add a background to it.  You will need to find a website that has free backgrounds.  I like to use Shabby Blogs, The Cutest Blog on the Block, and Hot Bliggity Blog.  Once you find one you like you will need to copy the html code that goes with it.

You will need to highlight and copy the html code like I have done here. Once you have done that go to your blog dashboard.  Once there click on "Design".

Once you are in your design page you will need to click on "Add a Gadget".

You will need to chose "HTML/JavaScrip".  You do this by clicking the blue plus button next to HTML/JavaScrip.

You will then paste what you copied from the website into the box.  No need to give it a title!  And then click "Save".  It will save you HTML and take you back to your design page.

You now have a pretty blog!!  We will be adding more to it so don't worry!!

I chose a three column background to use.  I will show you later how to make your blog three columns!!