Car Transformation...Work in progress.....

So "we" bought a new car several months back....new to us that is!! LOL Its become my husband's newest hobby and he has worked soo hard on it!! Its finally to the point we can enjoy it and this past weekend we took it out a few times!!!

Here are some transformation photos of it!

Abby's First Reconciliation

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee, and I detest all my sins because of thy just punishment, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Saturday Abby had her First Reconciliation. Now she has done two of the Seven Sacraments. Baptism and First Reconciliation. She was so nervous but she has prepared since August for this big day!! To make it even more special her Daddy took her in the antique car!
First Reconciliation is a childs first confession. This is usually done when they are in second grade.

Sacrament of Penance The sacrament consists basically of four acts of the penitent and the priest:

Contrition: First the penitent (the repentant sinner -- the root word in "penitentiary"), must be aware of his sinfulness and must be truly sorry (contrite) for his sins. Another word for repentance is "contrition". He must repent his sins, and seek the sacrament of penance -- that is, to go to confession to a priest.

Confession: The penitent confesses to a priest all the sins he can recall -- after examining his conscience -- that he has not confessed before. The confession is entirely private -- the priest-confessor never reveals anything the penitent confesses. Traditionally confession takes place in the "confessional", a small room where the priest and penitent are separated by a screen to assure complete privacy and anonymity. It is also permissible, if both the priest and penitent agree, to administer and receive the sacrament of penance "face to face" in another room in the church reserved for this purpose. The sacrament can take place elsewhere, in an emergency.

Act of Penance: The priest-confessor proposes certain actions -- penance -- for the penitent to perform. This may be saying certain prayers and/or performing some other fitting action. The person who performs this penance thus shows his sorrow for his sinful acts. This helps him to overcome his faults, and the harm his sins have caused others -- to be reconciled with them and with the Church, and to return to behavior consistent with being a disciple of Christ.

Absolution: After the penitent accepts the acts of penance, the priest, by the authority that the Church has given him (see the quote from John 20:22, 23 above), absolves the sinner; that is, he grants God's pardon for the sins.

We are so proud of you Abby!!!! Your such a faithful little girl!

Busy Times......

We have been super busy since the holiday season ended. Abby started her new school, it has snowed ALOT, and things are just settling down from Christmas!

We had a wonderfully big snow a couple weeks ago. Chad was off work and Abby was out of school and we took advantage of it and went outside and played for a couple hours. Brady liked it this time, last time he HATED it and cried if we sat him down.



My last hair cut and color was about 4 months ago I am guessing. My hair was such a mess with roots and dull color!! I went yesterday and got pampered some and had my hair colored and trimmed up and shaped. Felt good to have that time to myself and I walked out of there feeling like a new person!!



Brady is a sleeper!!! He loves to sleep and he sleeps ALOT!! This was the other morning when I had to get him up to go take his sister to school an hour late due to weather...he did not want to get up! Notice he is holding Woody's hand, he sleeps holding Woody, he LOVES Toy Story!!! Rise and Shine sweet baby!!!

When snow falls, nature listens. ~Antoinette van Kleeff

It has been a very snowy winter here in Tennessee! We actually had a rare white Christmas. January has proven to be WINTER!!! Lots of snow this week and more expected over the weekend. This morning was a little strange, we had alot of snow and fog. I have never really seen a foggy snow before and when the sun was rising it was just kind of strange outside.

I love snow and winter. If it has to be winter and cold--snow just makes it better.

I think the air is crisp and the world just seems so beautiful during a great snowfall. The snow we got last night is by far the prettiest we have had. It laid on the trees like I have never seen it before. The snowflakes yesterday were HUGE!! SO pretty and the best part about it was travel was not treacherous so you could get out today and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

I cant wait to see if we get more snow this weekend and this may seem strange but wouldn't a white Valentine's Day be nice??

Outside my kitchen window this morning




Drive home yesterday afternoon


My front yard after about 2 hours of snowfall


I took these two on my way to the store this morning

Our Lifestyle Change...

"We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like."
— Dave Ramsey (The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness)

So with the new year my husband and I have decided to take on a new financial lifestyle as well. Don't get me wrong, we do OK but like most Americans we have our fair share of debt and bills to pay.

My husband has become a huge follower of Dave Ramsey. After reading his book Total Money Makeover my husband insisted I download it to my NOOK and read it as well. He says "this is what we need to do". So I am in the process of reading it and we are working on baby step #1. In the meantime,we have sworn off credit cards and cut them all up--NEVER to use one again! We are working on a budget and getting ready to live out of paper envelopes with cash only! I know that sound FUN doesn't it??!! LOL Plastic just seems to fit in a wallet better huh?? LOL

What I like about Dave Ramsey is that he has been there. He has been in debt, he has fell on financial hardship and he came back and it worked for him! We need to change our family tree so our kids will not see the financial hardships generations before us have seen. If we don't change it then who will?? I cant tell my kids credit cards are not OK to use and then they see me use them. I want my kids to grow up knowing how to use, save, and manage money.

I know some people who read this will say "oh they must be having financial hardship to do this", well no not exactly. My husband has a great job and we do OK. BUT, do we have a nice emergency fund-NO, do we own our home-NO, do we have consumer debt-YES, so why not take control now before something happens and its too late to do anything about it?? I am so excited to try Dave Ramsey's plan. I know several people who have and are far better off because of it.

I read somewhere once that marriage is about love and divorce is about money. LOL!!! It seems according to statistics that alot of divorces happen due to money issues and the stress money issues can cause. I don't want that to happen to me and my husband. So as of Jan.1 if you ask us to go to dinner or go to the movies and we say no, its nothing personal. Its an experiment we are doing as a family to as Dave Ramsey says---"Live like no one today so we can live like no one tomorrow!"

YES, we cut those suckers up!!!!!


We are going on the Dave Ramsey Financial Plan and excited to do it!!!


Debt Free and Saving Money is where we want to be!!!!!

I will definately keep you posted on how we are doing with it. Here's to 2011 being a financial success for us! Now to continue with baby step #1-gotta save that $1000!!

A Few of My Favorite Things......

So its the start of a new year and with that I wanted to share with you some of my favorite things!!! These are things I use everyday or at least a couple times a week!!
1. Neutrogena Deep Clean Cream Cleanser
2. Keurig Coffee Maker
3. Bare Escentuals Mineral Make Up
4. Black Berry Curve
5. NOOK by Barnes and Noble
6. Worlds Softest Socks- I can only find them at Socks Galore in Tanger Outlets
7. Bruno Mars CD
8. Faux Fur Trapper Hat- Yes, I have a fur one and I LOVE it!!
9. Old Navy Lounge Hoodie
10. Dearfoam House Slippers
11. Under Armour Tennis Shoes
12. Chick Fil A #1 Combo- once a week treat!
13. Green Mountain Breakfast Blend Coffee K-Cups (with cream and sugar!!)
14. Bruces Wood Floor Cleaner
15. Yankee Candle Farmhouse Apple (which is discontinued but back for limited time!)
















Happy New Year!!!!!