Happy New Year 2010!!

I hope everyone has enjoyed their holidays with loved ones and friends.  I love celebrating Jesus' birthday and hope that my girls came away excited about their gifts but more importantly understanding the Real Christmas Story and why we celebrate this holiday.

So does anyone have big plans for the New Year?  I don't normally venture out and love to bring in the evening with my daughter.  I am excited about 2010 and am ready to say goodbye to 2009.  Not that I haven't been blessed in so many ways but this past year was challenging in so many ways.

I hope to write my list of my top 10 things to have happened in 2009 because we have had some awesome times and things happen to our family to include our exchange daughter/sister, Nadja who has been living with us for almost 5 months now.   So do you have a list?

Also one thing I do thanks to Ali Edwards is choose one word for the new year that will impact my life.  I started this in 2007 with Ali when she started this and you can read about this on her blog at www.aliedwards.typepad.com. 

2009 - Live my BEST life now
2008 - JOY
2007 - LIVE

I will come back with a list I am choosing from as I have been thinking about this the last few days.  I hope to implement a mission statement as well.  I also would like to have some goals this year with some direction instead of flying by the seat of my pants.

Here is one of my latest layouts I scrapped with the November kit from www.thescrapbookget-away.com.  I love how this turned out and love that I have the fun memories of this special fall day with three of my favorite girls.  As I get older, I have really seen more beauty in the everyday things like the color of the year, tress, leaves, clothes....the changing of the seasons.  I guess that is one thing about getting older is that you really learn to appreciate so many things today.

So I have a few more goodies to upload and then I hope to scrap some tonight while it is snowing again here in TX.  This snow is so so unusual but we love it and will enjoy while we have it.  Hope you have a blessed day!  Diana 

Friendship page layout...

Love how this one turned out to considering I bought this page at a garage sale for $1.00 and I only had to add a few things :-).

I am so thankful I had the opportunity to be at Demi's school for the last 5 years.  I have so many great pictures of her and her friends that we will cherish forever.  BiT

 

More scrappy layouts......

Here is the finished round robin that Kimmy over at www.thescrapbookget-away.net started as one of the fun games during the Harvest Crop.

More to come today.....
BiT

Some Scrappy Goodness to Share today......

Happy Saturday to you!  Today it is very chilly here but sunny so overall just a great day.  I wanted to share some scrappy goodness that I have made over the last few weeks for my DT and also for some challenges over at www.thescrapbookget-away.net site.  We had our first crop and also have challenges everyday.  If you haven't been you should stop by to say hi.

this was a scraplift (___________) that I just loved, everything except the thickers is handmade and with doodles!

Be back with my other layouts.  BiT

 

No one ever said life would be easy.....

Somedays it is so hard to stay upbeat and positive even when you know how blessed you are and that has really been good.  I am determined even though this year has been challenging and obstacles keep popping up, like daily that I am not going to give into the enemy.  tomorrow is a new day full of new and wonderful blessings!!

That is why I like to start my day off with my thankful list which I always did over at SIStv, so starting tomorrow I am going to start back there for the last 31 days of the year.  I have been consumed with all the wrong things and feel myself being dragged down but not anymore.  Today I got my heat fixed finally and the best part was that it only cost me for the supplies, my new friend Dave did the labor for the love of knowing he was helping a single mom out all on a night when it may snow.  I am thankful for heat and for men like Dave!

I am grateful that tomorrow I will find out what is wrong with my frig and freezer?  tonight it seems to be cooler after I had to throw out half the food.  That was not good since it is everything I have to put food in there but I have to remind myself that God knows my needs and our needs.  I am thankful for my mom and honestly hate that she has had to help me has much as she has....this coming from someone who is and has always taken care of others.  I hate being in this place and feel like I am cheating my kids of me because of all the stress of bills, house and just life.  Do you ever feel like this?  I somedays don't know how I actually have the energy to get up but somehow you do.  I know that I am upset with myself and blame myself for being in this position again.  I said after 9/11 I would never be here again and now here I am?  I hate that 9/11 happened and now the economy is what it is...why I ask?  I feel bad for us, feel bad for so many others.  I wish that I could take away everyone else's pain, stress and do more.  But in order for me to do so I have to take care of myself and lately that is a tough job in itself but I will overcome this with God as my partner.

To all those who continue to leave encouraging prayers and well wishes, thank you!  It really does mean the world to me.

So lastly I wanted to encourage you to find time to find time to do something for someone else.  I want everyone to feel the goodness that overcomes you when doing this.  As much as I have done this, I feel like more has been done and given to me.  I am so appreciative of all the kindness shown by friends, especially my friends at jack in the box.  Nothing like starting my day with a Dr Pepper and free, everyday if I go by. Love them!

Have a great Wednesday!
Diana