Love Sundays and the Fresh New Week!

I hope you had a great weekend!  I love the weekends and getting to spend quality time with the girls.  My only wish is that there were more hours in a day.  Just doesnt seem to be enough time to get it all done. 

Question for today, do you prioritize or make a list of to do things for the weekend or just go with the flow?

Here is my attitude of gratitude for all of last week that I didn't post and then I will get to the random acts of kindness.

Nov 6 - Thankful for family time and dinner cooked for us :-))
Nov 7 - Thankful for time to get laundry and cleaning done :-)

Week 2:

Nov 8 - Thankful for God's word and His message
Nov 9 -  Thankful for lots of much needed rest

Now on to the Random act of kindness challenge.  How are you doing?  Are you making an effort to find time to do this?  I hope so because like everything else if you will continue to do this it will become like habit and become a part of your day.  I will be back with an added challenge this week to add some fun to your day and get you excited about RAKking complete strangers.    For me last week, my RAKS included taking a grocery cart back for someone at tar-jay.  I know this is going to sound funny but I asked to help an elderly woman last week, I felt she wanted the help with her groceries but was hesitant about me helping.  It made me think of how we live in a world of uncertainity and trust.  It saddens me some to think we can't always accept help and it does reveal our times doesnt it?  Do you ever find this when offering to be kind or wanting to help someone?  Okay so do you have plans to RAK anyone special today?  I want to hear, come on I challenge you to make my day with some great ideas.  I am volunteering today at my dd's school for scholastic week and will do the same tomorrow am.  I am excited because I have really missed being at the school and taking pictures and well just hanging out with them. 

Make it a great Monday and remember to put on your love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness and peacemaking garments today while getting dressed. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog today and TIA if you leave me some love and a sweet message.
Diana    

Day 5 Attitude of Gratitude and Random Act of Kindness

So I have decided to keep in lines with the day of the month since I am taking part of the Attitude of Gratitude challenge, I hope this doesnt mess you up if you are joining in with me.  If so stay on your schedule and keep going and I will still be posting here it you want to leave your comments and stories here. 

Today I am grateful that my parents were married 49 nine years ago.  I know it is bittersweet for my mom since dad is not here to celebrate the day with her.  I am so glad they stuck it out and in the end were still married and happily I may say when he passed back in 1998.

It is also Aunt Ra's bday in SA today.   Happy 40th friend, I hope it was a great day for you.  You are now in your prime, enjoy it and as I always say life is a gift and age is relevant in the big picture.

It has been one of the most beautiful weeks weather wise and is going to be that way through the weekend and next week - I am thrilled beyond words and will enjoy it while it lasts.  I have never noticed color here in TX like I have over the past week with the trees changing and leaves falling.  The sunshine sparkles in the morning and through the trees and glistens on the dew covered grass.  Loving every moment!

I will be back to post some projects I have created and my thoughts for random acts of kindness and my proposal via text for spending my life with a wonderful man I dated and is still pursuing me. I am flattered and he is probably one of the nicest men I know.  When I think about it, I really do know and have been blessed with wonderful men in my life for the most part.  I was thinking today that when and if I ever get married that I will be one of the happiest woman on earth.    I will just leave it at that for now.

So what about you?  Did you RAK anyone today or were you the recipient of a RAK today.  I hope you will share your story here with us.  TIA (Thanks in advance)!!

Diana  

29Gifts.Org Ideas - The gift of giving to yourself!

Here are some great ideas on gifting to yourself~

So this month, pay attention to YOURSELF. Give to YOURSELF. Love YOURSELF.You can continue your giving to others, but I myself have fallen into a pattern of overgiving the past two months, which has left me feeling drained, angry and resentful--not the ideal energy to be giving from. So I'm going to make a mindful effort to give something to myself each day this cycle.

Here are 29 suggestions for ways to practice self care.

1. Meditate daily (If you want to meditate with a group, check out the events tab. We've got two meditation telecourses starting in October--Meditation for Health and Healing and Meditation for the Entrepreneurial Spirit).
2. Pray daily.
3. Take a nice, long leisurely walk.
4. Enjoy a bubble bath.
5. Talk to yourself -- but say NICE things.
6. Write yourself a love poem.
7. Take a day--or even a few hours one day--off work.
8. Read a good book or two. (I highly recommend the 29 Gifts book :-)
9. Go on a bike ride.
10. Take a hike.
11. Go to the park and swing on the swings.
12. Cook yourself a yummy meal.
13. Let yourself off the hook if you make a mistake.
14. Write in your journal (or blog).
15. Light a candle and just sit and watch the flame.
16. Take some fun photos and make a collage.
17. Do something for yourself that you've been procrastinating.
18. Sit and BREATHE for five minutes a day.
19. Take a nap.
20. Dance in your living room to your favorite song.
21. Draw or paint a picture.
22. Write a story.
23. Throw yourself a party -- just because you deserve one.
24. Call a good friend and ask for support.
25. Spend some time in nature.
26. Sit quietly and let yourself rest.
27. Buy that little something you've been longing for and enjoy it.
28. Bring some fresh flowers into your house.
29. Kiss or hug someone you love

I hope you enjoy trying some of these and remember to find time to take care of yourself. (These suggestions were for Oct 09 but I think this is a gift we can give ourselves daily.)

Hugs,
BiT

Day 9 of the Random Act of Kindness challenge and thankful Tuesday!.

It is going to be another beautiful day. As much as I enjoy my new part time, full time position I love being at home as well. I have been able to give the gifts of kindness that I really enjoy over the last few days. I will work on being a better planner and will start using my day timer to stay organized so that I can plan for more RAKS and keep my commitments. I am sad to say that I missed our PTA board meeting and truly had intentions on going but got caught up with the early morning and time with Demi getting her mind ready for her day today.

I hope you will find or make time to give the gift of your choice today. I found a few sites yestesrday that I want to share with you for some great ideas.

**www.29gifts.org

1. http://www.power-of-giving.com/
2. http://www.giftofkindness.com/
3. http://www.kindnessinmotion.com/
4. http://www.onekindact.com/
5. http://www.thewinningattitude.com/
6. http://www.daretobeanangel.com/
7. http://www.attituteofgratitude.com/
8. http://www.chrisdunmire.com/


If you know of anymore please feel free to add them or let me know and I will keep a running log of these websites and blogs.

At one or more of these sites you can actually print business size cards to hand out or leave at the register for the next person in line or drive through window explaining they have just been RAKked...pretty cool huh?

Here is my short thankful list for today:
1. the gift of life
2. second chances to get it right
3. god's blessings and his protection today
4. faith, family and friends
5. my new part time position(s)
6. sunshine and fall weather
7. nature and it's beauty/colors and temperatures
8. positive people
9. B12 and energy and my swine flu shot
10.our good health - my life insurance policy- there is comfort in knowing that my dd will be taken care of should I be called home to heaven
11.My new kit for my DT position
12.our photo shoot on Sunday and fun family time together :-)
13.Being a mom, aunt, dd, sister, friend, business owner, an appreciated worker at my new job


There are many more but today those are the first 13 I came up with and will embrace. What are you thankful for today?

Again I hope you will enjoy your day and the blessings our heavenly father sends your ways. I am going to be catching up on my house, creating a few things with my new kit to include cards and layouts and praying that my girls have a great day today. Nadja is playing in her first tournament today in keller. I hoope she does well and that Demi continues to do well in all her classes and that she and her friends will have a great recess since yesterday was not so great. I will also try to get some equipment donated to our school from some local businesses so the kids have some fun toys to play at recess.

Hugs,
Diana

Verse/Quote for today: It is more blessed to give than receive. Acts 20:35

Day 8 - the gift of giving challenge

What another beautiful day, this week is going to be awesome, full of great temps and sunshine!!! Oh how I wish it would stay like this for a few months....to top it all off, our photo shoot of my girls and niece turned out fab-u-lous yesterday.

So today, the 8th day of this challenge, I intentionally made time to RAK some friends at some fast food establishments and my dd's teachers....just love the feeling of making someone else's day and making them feel special or maybe thinking that anyway because I know that is how I would feel. I did some baking and delivering and could do that everyday, seriously I am always shocked at feeling like I could be a SAHM. If you would have asked me that 10 years ago I would have said no way jose....but ask me today and I am all over that and then some.

Now let me ask, were you able to find time today to give the gift? I hope so. I am curious, what is the best RAK you have ever received and given and why? I will think about this and come back tomorrow with my response.

Now on to the creative side of me or my life. Have i already mentioned that I made or was asked to be on a DT? I got my new kit from thescrapbookget-away.forummotion.com tonight and may I say, love it and it will go so well with all of my 400 pics I had printed today? And have I mentioned how excited I am to start playing and scrapping again...it has been way to long.

Have a wonderful tuesday. I will be posting my thankful list tomorrow as I love to do each Tuesday. I have so much to be grateful for and love this place on my journey. I feel so blessed to be loved as much as I do by our heavenly Father. If you want to feel this way, it is so simple. All you have to is ask Jesus to be your savior and confess your sins. It is that easy. If you do this please let me know so I can celebrate with you. What a beautiful way to give yourself the gift of eternal life!!

Love and hugs,
Diana

Day 7 - Give the gift of __________!!!

You fill in the blank today....make it a good one and enjoy this day with your family. It is so beautiful here in Texas....the trees are changing, the leaves are falling and the sun is bright and warm. The music in church today was awesome and uplifting as always and the message Sam delivered today was great too! Blsd r d pure n heart 4 they wll c God Mat 5:8 - this is in texting form and so true. God gives us the gift of grace, mercy and love when we so don't deserve it. So awesome is He!! So God gives us this gift everyday, what will your gift be today? Maybe it is forgiveness of someone who doesn't deserve it or maybe it is calling an ole friend you haven't spoken to for whatever reason.

Whatever it is be pure in heart and make the most of your day and opportunities to give the gift of __________!!!!!

Diana

Day 6 - Happy Halloween

What a great day, busy and full and yet so full of fun and joy. Started my day with finding and picking up donation prizes for the church Trunk or Treat. Can I just say that I am so appreciative of all the local businesses in the local area that are always so willing to help out our school and church whenever I solicit their assistance in reaching out to others in our community who may not be plugged into a church yet. I hope everyone there had a great time and that a lot of kids had the best time ever! I truly hope these families will come back to church tomorrow or soon! I also hope that those who won tonight enjoy their prizes.

We also got to watch Cami play coach pitch today. It was a gorgeous day and again the colors of fall are brillant and spectacular. Kyle brought his new girlfriend and she seems so sweet and cute. It is always good to see Kyle as well. Love that we got to go today since it was my first day to see her play.

Today is Day 6, Saturday! I am so tired right now that I can't remember what my random act of kindness was besides my time in picking up these gifts for the church today and over the last week. I hope there were many who left with a smile on their faces tonight. Did I say that today, first thing this morning that I met a family who goes to our church at the bounce house place. That was so awesome and I cant wait to get to know them better and see them at church. Our church has grown so much and there are so many I have yet to meet since attending from the start of our church . Some days I feel like there are more folks that I dont know then I know but it makes it just as exciting each and every week to get to know more wonderful christian families.

Can I also say that my mom is the best. She is a great person and so thoughtful. She brought the girls big bags full of goodies and I got some very warm and soft purple jammies that I cannot wait to put on tomorrow. I think the best part of the trick or treating tonight was getting to see Brylee on her first Halloween. She was a lamb from Noah's Ark....just so cute and adorable. I so need to post some pics in the am when I locate the cord to the camera.

Did I mention that my heat is out and that I have had the brother of a friend from my daughter's school come by this week trying to fix it for us. I think he has it about done but there is a short and he was a no show so maybe tomorrow. I hope so because it is like 60 low and kind of cold in the am but it could be worse. I am so thankful he has taken the time out of his day to help us out.

So how was your day of acts of kindness? Did you do anything special and or find a way to give the gift of kindness? If so what and what was your feeling? Have you noticed anything different about you or how you feel and or notice a difference with those you have RAKked if you know them? next week, starting tomorrow or Monday I am going to challenge you to document your day with a pic or just some notes so you can see how your life changes by your giving each day. You can even create some cards to hand deliver or put in the mail next week. We love happy mail!!

Day 5 of our Random Act of Kindness Challenge

I love Fridays! Love our weekends! Love Fall and all the beautiful colors....and the wonderful pictures I took today. Love that Cami and Demi had a great time at their school fall festival tonight (even though Demi was grounded and not supposed to go, mom had to take pics for the PTA/yearbook and work a booth that had been abandoned). So much for my parenting skills or learning how to say I am sorry I can't. :-) It was a great fall day and so nice to end the day with friends and grandma.

Hopefully Nadja is having a great time at the football game. I am so proud of her and her efforts to join in the life she has created here by coming to the US. She is really a beautiful girl with so much to offer those who befriend. Demi loves her as if she has lived here her entire life of nine years. Now if I can just teach both girls to pick up and do a little around here. Any advice welcome!!

So how did your challenge go today? I am happy to report I had several opportunities to RAK but not the ones I had planned yesterday. It is funny how life happens when you have life planned. There is always tomorrow or next week. I hope you will take the time to share with me your RAKs and or how you were touched today by a friend, family member, stranger or anyone that made an impact on your day.

Love you for joining in the challenge and for wanting to make the world a better place to live!!

Love to love,
BiT

Joy~N~Jesus Blog....I hope you will read this post

Are you ever just drawn to people or places and are so glad you decided to listen to your heart...I have been reading this blog of someone who happened upon my blog. She is such an inspiration and this blog entry really does portray the true meaning of the 30 Day Random Act of Kindness.

I know it's a tough time financially right now for many in our nation, including us. But God is faithful and when we choose to place HIM first He provides all we need!


WOW! I can't begin to tell you how faithful the LORD is! I will give you a quick peek into our last couple of months and you will see how God has provided in so many ways! He is good! Even in tough times!
Well, it has been tough on us financially lately. With little room to spare in our budget for extras, a recent flat tire ($200.00) and a light tap/ fingernail scratch (accident) to another car (me :() ) this last weekend ($600) has put us in a tough spot. Not to mention we had about 10 dollars in our account until next pay period and just enough food to scrap by on some canned foods and bread. I am not exaggerating. I don't like talking about how we struggle financially when there are people all over the world without half of what we have, so I know I am blessed to have so much. However, this is a time I want to share to show the faithfulness of God and how He cares about all the details of our lives! Anyway, we I made some decisions not to go placed to save on gas, so we would make it to the next pay period, and on Saturday, while at home, I went to check the mail (which is right outside our house) and I found a envelope that said, "Thank you Price family for all you do" I opened it, thinking it was a thank you note from one of the players on Tu's team. Well, I still don't know who's hands dropped it in our box, but I know it was a direct answer to prayer and a true gift from GOD!
Thank you JESUS! Inside the envelope was a $40.00 gift card to Trader Joe's(groceries) , and a $50.00 (gas) gift card to Shell. As I held it in my hands all I could do was cry, and say...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~THANK YOU JESUS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was the two things that we desperately needed to get us to through. Man, I stand in awe of the Lord's faithfulness! God is soooooooo good! I went to Trader Joe's Yesterday and got some food for the week as I was walking out the Lord spoke to my heart and gently reminded me of three things:
**********1. Prayer of Wisdom: The importance of praying for our needs and asking Him for wisdom and balance to know how to manage the funds He provides
2. Prayer of blessing: Praying blessing upon those who have blessed us!
3. Prayer of being a blessing: Praying the Lord would show us who and when to bless someone else with what He has given us!
4. Prayer of Thanks: Just praising Jesus for all we have and all HE is!!!
*****************************************************************
I am overjoyed and thankful to the Lord for providing, I pray the Lord blesses those who gave ten fold, and I pray that I continue to pray and rejoice in His faithfulness to Provide! God is sooooooo good! Luke 11:9-13!!! THANK YOU JESUS!
Thanks for praising our Provider Our KING; JESUS!
Posted by Joy-N-Jesus



Isnt this so beautiful and the fact that someone just dropped it off, not wanting any recognition but wanting to help a family in a time of need. That is what I call COMPASSION and an ACT OF KINDNESS.



I HOPE YOU WILL VISIT HER WEBSITE SOON. I HOPE I GET AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO KNOW HER BETTER. I SO APPRECIATE HER BLOGGING ABOUT HER FAITHFULNESS AND LOVE FOR JESUS SO THAT WE COULD ALL SEE GOD'S LOVE AND ANSWERED PRAYERS.



Again I hope you enjoyed your day, our day was wonderful and filled with laughter from my 2 very energetic girls boxing each other on the Wii. The best sound in the world and like my friend here we are so blessed and thankful for another day to experience God's love!!



Diana aka BiT

Love working outside the home....

I was just sitting here thinking how blessed I am to get out and work with some awesome and funny women 3 days a week after working in the home and from home for the past 14 years.

It is nice feeling appreciated for something that comes so easy. I am sure the kids appreciate what I do but you would never know it. I sometimes feel like a glorified maid, chaffuer, ATM, cook and their cheerleader....it does get tiring but I love being a home to 2 wonderful girls. My only wish is that they would pitch in a little more and pick up after themselves a little more and without me asking...you know what I mean?

So today is Day 4 on our random act of kindness challenge. Have you done your good deed for today? I haven't really so I am going to be on the lookout for something fun and cool to do...maybe with the girls. Demi so loves RAKking someone too. Any ideas? I need some new and fresh ideas..got any?? I will be back later to post what we do and hopefully someone soon will be here to let me know what they have done for today. Anyone, someone..any one joining me in the fun this month? I know what I am doing tomorrow, we are baking cookies for our friends at Jack in the Box, they are always giving us free drinks and we just love them dearly! While we are there we will get our 4th grade teachers a soda...caffeine will be just what they need since tomorrow is dress up day and the PTA Fall Festival which always gets the kids going more than normal :-).

Talk with you soon and I am hoping to scrap a page or 2 tonight...going to do some challenges over at www.thescrapbookget-away.net foreum. If I can ever figure out how to add a blinkie you will get to see my new one for being on the DT there as well. I am really looking forward to all the fun in the months to come.

Muah,,
BiT

Day 3 of 30.....Ordinary People doing Extraordinary things

I hope you had a great day! I am happy to say that I am H1N1 protected as of today...woohoo! Now I just have to get my 2 dds vaccinated soon. Have you got your shot and or plan on it? I don't worry so much about me but want to make sure the girls get theirs. It seems that most of their friends in school have already had it and got over it but you just never know. I would rather be safe than sorry with this virus this go around.

So were you able to find time to give the gift of kindness on Day 3? I know if we think about our days we can think of something we did. Most of us live a life where we are helping others and our kids, spouses, co-workers. My challenge tomorrow is to plan something...cook a meal for someone who is sick or has been struggling just because, make an extra effort to do something special. Bring snacks for work or maybe volunteer at your child's school for an hour or 2...have fun and remember to come back here to tell me about it. I am going to use these specials updates in the future. (My day 3 consisted of collecting donations after work for our church function this weekend. I wish I would have done more honestly....I love the feeling of randomly surprising people....I love taking my dd's teachers drinks from Sonic...it is a huge treat and they love it. I will try to do that on Friday on my home from work when the drinks are .99 and after a week with the kids I think it will be a refreshment they will enjoy even more than the morning drink?)

I truly believe that it is the ordinary people doing extraordinary things everyday to make this world a better place to live and enjoy!!!

Now I am off to leave some love on a few blogs that I haven't been to in a while. Are you like me and could spend an entire day jumping from one to the next? There are so many great ones and I especially appreciate women and men taking the time to blog for our enjoyment. Please let me know if you have a few blogs that you enjoy daily/weekly/periodically so we can enjoy them with you.

I will end with how grateful I am for the gift of life and His protection. We are so blessed and even though life keeps throwing me lemons I am determined to make lemonade and smile while doing so.

Today was an interesting day...how was your day?

Do you ever start your day with all the things you are grateful for like I did today to have the day filled with challenges you never expected or saw coming? Well that was me today....lost a crown and then no heater for our cold evenings...but as I was driving I was thinking about what good could come from all of this and thinking about how I could I RAK someone today..where and when? Much to my surprise again I get my work done at the dentist done quickly and by my BIL's sister who just opened her practice. Talk about being RAKked with kindness today, she did not charge me knowing I had no insurance. Something I totally did not expect but am so grateful for to say the least. Then I contact my AC friend who installed my AC a few years ago to find out he can do my repairs tomorrow for little to nothing and that I can pay him when I can. I am always amazed at the goodness that comes my way when my heart and mind are in the right place and how God continues to show me his love and grace.

So how did you do yesterday with your challenge and were you able to find someone you could give to and or be kind too? I hope so. I was able to find time and a way to help a neighbor out yesterday. It took all of 2 minutes and I know they so appreciated this little thing I did and more than anything I loved being to help. On top of that this morning I was reading over a paper my dd wrote to find the subject of her story about her love of helping friends and neighbors. It warms my heart knowing her HEART is in the right place. Over the last few weeks she has wrote several stories that have totally blowm me away and I must admit I am so proud of the young lady she is becoming. She is filled with such love and is so giving and kind along with sweet most of the time. :-)

Today I read the title of a blog starting with the "gift of listening". It got me thinking about how we can give each day with something like listening, I mean really listening while putting our phones away, turning our computers and ipods off. Isnt this something we can all do starting with our children when they come in from school and so excitedly want to tell us about their day. We can easily give the gift of time by emailing our friends back or returning their calls back by voice and not just text. I so love this and totally agree.

I hope you had fun finding a way to perform your random act of kindness and that if you were RAKked like I was yesterday and today that you so appreciate it the full circle moments. Learn to receive gifts is hard to do but so important if you enjoy giving as well. This was a hard thing for me to learn but it allows others an opportunity to do some good as well.

Have a wonderful Wednesday and again best wishes in finding time to give the gift of kindness. I know you can do it and make the most of your day that is such a gift from above.

Hugs and love,
BiT

30 Days of Random Acts of Kindness Challenge...(RAKs)

Since there is one month to Thanksgiving, I thought it would be fun to create a 30 day challenge of Random Acts of Kindness. The challenge is to find a way to be kind or create someway to give back to someone else either planned or unplanned. Whatever works for you. Keep a journal for yourself to see how your life changes during this time. For me, RAKs give me a purpose in life all while trying to make someone else's life better even if just for a moment. I love finding ways everyday to perform acts of kindness and giving back. So are you with me?? I can't wait to hear what you are able to do each day for the next 30 days. If all goes well we will turn this into a 365 days of RAKs.....and trust me you can find the time each and everyday.

So here are some ideas....
1. Trim your elderly neighbors bushes
2. Treat your trash friends to a snack and drink each week....
3. Smile at someone
4. compliment someone
5. Send an email to someone you love
6. Pray for someone you don't know or know
7. Send a note in your childrens lunch box
8. Write a love message on your bathroom wall for your loved ones
9. Help a mom out with her cart or groceries when her hands are full
10.buy someone in line their lunch or coffee
11.Volunteer your time today at your child's school opening milks for the young kids
12.babysit for a friend so they can have a date night, you know they can't afford a babysitter
13.Do your sister's laundry just because you have the extra time
14.make a scrapbook album for a loved one or neighbor
15.Work for FREE...
16.Mail a letter to a soldier for the holidays, make a care package if you can afford too
17. invite someone over for dinner so they don't have to cook
18. buys some flowers and hand out to someone you don't know
19. Stop by a retirement home and visit with someone who doesnt have visitors
20. Bake treats to give away.....

If you have any ideas please let me know. Just do what your heart tells you and remember it doesnt have to take a lot of money or time. RAK. The key to making this challenge work and to create a better community is to give back with one random act of kindness for the next 30 days. I bet your life will be so full of JOY, love and happiness by making the world a better place one person at a time. For those of you know who know me, you know that I love this way of life and have included my children doing RAKs and being better girls. I can't wait to hear from you each and everday how you have spent your day giving back and how your own life has changed because of your RAKS. (This is the time to quit thinking about your challenges and create the life you were meant to live!!)

Are you ready to live an exciting life for the next 30 days? Get ready to change the way you look at life and learn about how much you have to offer during this lifetime. Wouldn't you love to know that if you only had 30 days to live that you lived the BEST life you could and that you left the world a better place then when you entered it? We all think about doing these kinds of things so let's put those thoughts into action and make it a great 30 days performing Random Acts of Kindess!!!!!

PS - Leave me a quick note to let me know you were here, I would love to venture over to your blogs as well and also if you don't feel comfortable letting us know what you are doing each day just let us know that you are joining in the challenge.

Hugs and love,
Diana aka BiT

Announcing The Scrapbook Get-Away Girls DT Team

Congrats ladies!! Should be awesome and lots of fun with these ladies, one of which I know (Kimmy) and some I can't wait to work with over the next several months!

http://www.thescrapbookget-awaygirls.net

Have a happy and fun Saturday!
BiT

Compassion......

So thankful to have been given another day to live out God's will!

When you give of yourself to someone who can't repay you, then you cut through all the boundaries and connect more fully - this is COMPASSION as said in One Month To Live by Kerry Shook

Have a great Thursday, I am going to find a way to get back into the swing of life and blogging.

Hugs,
BiT

It was a great weekend featuring Dine by Design with Iris Blue

I love weekends and I really love family time on Sundays, dont you? Games and just hanging out enjoying each other.

On Saturday evening I was invited to our church's Dine By Design with Iris Blue. Check out some of these tables and then Tabbie and I. I had a great time and Iris' testimony was very interesting to say the least.

I also wanted to say how much I love my neighbors. Thanks gramma and pappy for our bag of misc groceries. Thanks Bill for our pizza on Saturday. It is so nice to feel so much love. Also thanks Kim for your uplifing messages here and your prayers, they mean the world to me. Thanks Anna and FF ladies for being so understanding. Thanks Julie for the ticket last night and also for my bible study guide to the Esther session. Your friendship means the world to me. Thanks Shari for the fun summer at camp. Thanks Monica for the tickets to NRH2O for Demi. Thanks to my family for all your help and especially to you mom, you are such an angel. Thanks CPC for helping support Demi, Nadja and I over the last 4 months. Thanks Donna for you help as well not just financially but with your love and willingness to help always. Thanks Bernie and Dana for all the goodies and bread over the last several months. Thanks Sonia and Rodney for being here for us as well. Thanks Dave for helping me with our water leak. I wish everyone who was down and out could truly feel the love we have felt over the last several months. And there are many praying for us as well which means the world to me. I just hope that someday I can give back 10 fold what has been given to us. Again thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Have a blessed week friends,
Diana

The sound of laugher is such a delight!

Here is another layout I made about Devin, my Big Guy so brave while fighting cancer with chemo and radiation. Today he is cancer free thank God and with lingering eye issues is such a blessing. Love this Lil Big guy and the rest of my neices and nephews in NC as well as the ones here in TX. MUAHHHHHH!! (This was made for a contest at www.dixiepieces.com - these ladies are so wonderful, you should go and check them out to see what they are up to for the month of October!)

xoxoxo

BiT

A recent layout made for a round robin at SIStv!

Love when Angie puts these on at SiStv and the ladies who join in to make this a great time and a layout that I always love - this is titled Just Us in NY back in 2006.

Life as you dreamed it.....

Good Saturday morning friends and family,

I am sitting here this morning thinking about how crazy life has been over the last 8 months. With business being so slow due to the economy it has made me take a look at myself and family, my goals and my dreams. I have to admit that I did not picture being here at this moment and time of my life. It is so much better than I could have ever dreamed and yet there are golas and dream of mine unmet. But are they God's plans for me? Interesting question!

What about you? Are you living YOUR dream? If so what was your dream or goals you thought you would accomplish and where do you want to be in the next 25 years? At our Beth Moore's Esther bible study this week, Julie mentioned her and her husband are so excited about sharing God's kingdom and love in the next 25 years or whatever time they have left. Isn't that beautiful? It made me think about where I have been, where I am now and where I will 25 years from today. I know it can be more but for me lately it has been treating my family, kids and friends with the kind of love that Jesus would have shown in both the challenging times and the good times. Personally I think it is easy to be loving and kind in good times but it is during the challenging times that I/we struggle with dealing frustrations and expectations on how we deal with them, talk to our family members and those we love. Why is it that we always hurt the ones we love? It is because they are the nearest to us or that we know they will be there for us always. I always want my children to say that I lived a God Centered life at all times. Easier said then done but I hope and pray daily for my children to do so well. I want my daughter(s) to know that I am not perfect and that only through the grace of God that I am able to get up everyday and parent, work, learn, love, forgive and be all that I am. I want to learn how to get up everyday not only knowing how blessed I am but letting others see that through me as well. What better testimony could we give right? I want to have a positive and loving attitude EVERYDAY and as much as possible. To let go of the not so good and to truly feel blessed everyday starting at home when we wake up and then when we go to bed and every minute in between. . Not just say it but LIVE IT! To leave a legacy that will help my children be better women everyday showing God's love and treating others as they would want to be treated. So today I am embarking on a new me with letting go of the past, living for today and planning for tomorrow. I hope that when family and friends remember me some day that they too will have thought that I loved the Lord with all my heart and in everything I do. Truly a new season one of which I know I can do and be better with God at my side and as my partner. So what about you, if you were to leave this world today, tomorrow, a week from today or 20 years from today would this life be all that you wanted and hoped for??

I will be back with some pictures this week with mom and I going to work together, talk about a full circle moment. Pictures of Cala's birthday and of Sheri's birthday.

And for those who are following my blog, I wake up daily even with our financial struggles not feeling defeated but determined to make the most of each day I am here. I am so blessed and am grateful to have 3 part time jobs of which 2 have started and that I enjoy. I definitely have some decisions to make soon about my future and my employment status. More to come today and over the weekend making up for the last few weeks with posts and pictures.

Have a blessed day full of JOY!!!
BiT

DT Call for The Get-Away Girls!!!!

I am so excited to announce the call for a new DT that I will be a part of thanks to a wonderful lady and friend who is starting this new challenge blog at www.thescrapbookget-away.com. I hope you will want to join us for some fun!! You can read more here from Shana.

I am so excited to announce the start of a new Design Team called the Get Away Girls. Please read the following note from Shana! An exciting new kit company and forum is opening soon. The Scrapbook Get- Away will offer layout and card kits. On our forum we will have monthly/daily challenges and plenty of things to do. We are looking for two design team members to join us for the inaugural Get-Away girls. We are looking for a diverse group of scrappers, from new to experienced designers. International candidates will be considered, but must be willing to pay difference in shipping. Being that this is a new site/forum , it is critical that the dt members selected be dedicated to building our community.

To be considered for the Design Team, please email Shana at s_dilldine@msn.com.
Name
Forum name
Address
Email
Phone
Blog (if you have one)
Resume (if you have one)
Link to an online gallery

Please register and be active on our new site at http://thescrapbookget-away.forumotion.net/Participation on the site and activity will be a determining factor in our decision. We are looking for a crew that socializes with other members, shares their creations to inspire others, and participates in daily challenges in our forum. The new Get-Away girls will be announced in the forum on October 24th.

Shana Dilldine
Owner of The Scrapbook Get-Away @www.thescrapbookget-away.com

I hope if you are interested you will take the time to submit your work. We are so excited to see your creations and for having you join the first evah GET-AWAY GIRLS DT Team!!

MUAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Diana aka BiT

Thankful for Fridays!!!

Boy this week has just flown by hasn't it? So nice to have a three day weekend last weekend for Labor Day (see picture of the kids are Kevin's and Cala's - thanks for having the family over on Monday!) but I know for me, it throws my whole week off. I thought Tuesday was Monday and Thursday was Friday? On Wednesday we celebrated Happy Neighbor Day by handing roses that we got free from Bices Florist here in Hurst, TX. They were absolutely beautiful as you can see from the picture and on each rose we attached a personalized note to each neighbor and friend. We are blessed with great neighbors!!! PS - Thanks Sheri and Cala for letting us know so we can have fun on this day with our friends and also with Mom/Grandma, Cami and Carley. We took a rose to them as well and put it by their beds to say we love you and thanks for all you do!

Today marks several things for us. It has been 8 years since 9.11.01 when America was attacked and 2977 American lives were lost. It is hard to believe it has been 8 years already.

Also today is Nadja's three week mark here in Texas with our family!! We are so blessed to have her as part of our family. So many NEW things for her and us in just three weeks of living here with us and in this country. I am learning everyday as is Demi about her country, her language, her ways and most of all that we are no longer 2 but 3. We love her and who she is and what she brings to our family and are really looking forward to the next 9 months. What an awesome opportunity to share God's love and to learn things we may never had an opportunity to without her being here. I just hope she feels the same way!!

Today was "Bring Your Dad to School Day" at her school Donna Park. Since that is not an option, her uncle Darrell offered to go with her. He is the best guy and is the best dad to his own daughter Brylee already 7 months today!! Thanks D for helping me/Demi out and for offering to help raise her. I always say this but today is a great example of how it takes a village to raise a child. Again we are so blessed by so many wonderful Christian loving family members and friends. Thanks to all of you for everything you do for us but mostly for loving us and blessing us with your friendship!!

Now don't forget about Grandparent's Day this weekend. We love taking grandma out for lunch and showering her with homemade cards of love and appreciation. We love you mom!! You are the best Grandma ever. I sure wish dad was here to enjoy his grandkids and to meet Brylee. Miss him and his loving ways...his whistling to name one.

Enjoy and remember to put on your love and praise this weekend when you get up!!!

xoxoxo