Yes, we are those organic kind of people...

So many people have asked me about eating organic that I thought I would post about it! About 3-4 years ago, Anli was enrolled in public school. She was having some attention issues and so we began looking into some options that would help her. At the time we were not ready to place her on medication, so we looked into natural things we could do to help her nutritionally.

We were very blessed to have a Harry's Whole Foods store near us and I began to shop there for our food. It was in order to get products without refined sugars, red food dyes, etc. We were hooked! We loved the quality and the taste too.

Well, on many things Jay was excited and on board...but there were others that took a little coaxing. He was really scared of Organic Milk, Organic Mayonnaise, and Cuties (Ice cream sandwiches made with Tofu!). But, I must say that everyone in our family is now so used to the healthier eating that they don't even notice the difference.

Then we moved...away from my precious Harry's! But, I want to let everyone know that Kroger has the most amazing amount of organic food that I have seen ever in a local grocery store. I am able to almost ALL of my shopping there without having to sacrifice the quality!

Do we eat out? YES! We LOVE to eat out...but when we are home we eat almost strictly organic. It's just a small way to ensure that what goes into their little bodies is free from hormones, pesticides, refined sugars, dyes, and sludge (yummy huh?). It does cost a bit more at first...but then you just kind of maintain and only buy what you run out of. It took a while to find products that I love so I thought I would share my MOST favorite things:

Diet Steaze: Organic Green tea and black cherry soft drink sweetened with Stevia instead of any artificial sweeteners (Stevia is from a plant 300x sweeter than sugar and all natural with no calories...another favorite thing!)

Applegate Chicken Nuggets: My kids go crazy over these...and it's hard to find chicken nuggets from organic meat

Stonyfield yogurt: Organic yogurt that is found everywhere! Walmart even carries it.

Horizon products: This is a line of organic dairy products. They have the milk that we drink, chocolate and strawberry milks, cream cheese, shredded cheeses, mozzarella string cheese, sour cream, and sliced cheeses. Kroger carries all of these...at least mine does. They are awesome and kid tested!

Celestial Seasoning Zingers: On the go teas for your water bottles...sweetened with Stevia with no calories.

Annie's Products: Excellent line of snack foods my kids love! They have lots of goodies that are all natural and wonderful tasting.

Kashi: We love them! We eat their cereals, pizzas, protein bars, snack crackers, etc. Not all their products are organic...but they are all from very natural ingredients. A very good company.

Animal Parade Vitamins: I find these at my local nutrition store. They are from whole food concentrates which is very important. I use the multivitamin and the "greenz" which is a combination of tons of greens (like kelp!). This boost immunity, but also gets the greens I can't get into them!


Amy's products: This is an organic line of pizzas we love and they carry lots of other things like burritos, quick meals, etc.

Bolthouse Farms: OK, this is one that is not organic...but it is a great quality product that does contain organic ingredients. They have a wonderful drink called "Green Goodness" that my friend Michael introduced me to. It's green(you gotta get over that) and it contains TONS of veggies that you need each day...but tastes so wonderfully sweet from the fruit that is also in it. There is not any sugar added so everything is natural. But, I LOVE the Hazelnut latte and Cappuccino protein drinks...watch out Starbucks I might have a new love!

Holy Cow cleaning products: These are organic cleaning products that are great and get the job done without lots of artificial stuff around your house!

I could go on and on (and most of you would say I have already!) about the products that I love. Because, you see, you can eat organic and not give up the things that you love. It's just something that I do and so many people have asked me about what products I love and why we eat organically that I just wanted to share it with you!

Getting back into the swing of things...

Well, we are trying to get back into our routines and that means ballet and climbing classes start again. The girls had both been involved with classes in Roswell, but now that we have moved we had to find other places for them to take their classes.

So, Virginia has been enrolled in the School of Ballet and Anli is resuming her rock climbing at Escalade. They both are so different in their interests! Anli has been rock climbing for over 3 years with the last 2 years being in classes and on the YMCA kids team. She had meets last year and did very well. She will be able to continue in house competitions at Escalade and they do theirs a little like karate. As she progresses, she receives patches for leveling up.

Virginia will be performing in her show in May and we can't wait! She has been taking for 3 years also and is now in a class where is the youngest. We'll see how that goes. It is quite challenging, but the teacher said it was the right class for her.

Anli went last week and had her teeth fixed where our dog accidentally jumped up and chipped her teeth. It took AN HOUR! My little one was in that chair for an hour while they worked on her teeth. She did amazing and the dentist even commented "she's one smart girl". Anli is interested in everything and the dentist spent time talking her through the entire process. It was very reassuring to her to know what was coming.

Her little mouth was numb for quite a while, but they look great! He did a fantastic job and was very good with her. Hope your week started off wonderful and that you are in God's Word today!

New Element to the Blog

Well, I just want to let you know that the above Daily "bread" will be at the top first thing each day as you start the blog. It will remain at the top and the daily posts will be right below it. If there are spelling errors forgive me because there is not a spell check on that feature. The Daily"Bread" will change...obviously daily...or at least as often as I update the blog!

So, enjoy the daily things that God is saying through His Word to me and then if you scroll down a little you will see the family updates too!

This weekend was just so much fun! We were able to go over to some friend's house on Friday night and hang out with folks we haven't seen in a while from our old church. It was really laid back and kind of a spontaneous thing. The kids had a blast and the guys enjoyed playing John's new Xbox 360. They were like little kids on the couch all together staring at the TV. It was a nice time of fellowship!

Saturday morning, we went to Walmart and when we pulled into our building we heard fire trucks...lots of them. Before we knew it, they were pulling in all around us as we stood with groceries in our hands! Then, one of our neighbors runs down the stairs! I was a little worried about the fact that our building was ON FIRE! So, we stood by our car as 4 fire trucks came speeding up all around and men began running around everywhere. We came to find out that the person on the floor below us had burned some food, placed it in a garbage bag on their porch and then left. The bag caught fire and was burning their porch! It was only about 30 minutes before all was taken care of and we were headed back upstairs grateful to God that no one was in their home and that no one was harmed...it's always an adventure!

Then, on Saturday afternoon, we went with some friends from Noonday to go see the new Veggie Tales movie that came out this weekend! It was really fun and the kids loved hanging out together and getting to eat their body weight in popcorn. The movie was cute and they laughed out loud. Then, we went back to our house and just enjoyed some time for the kids to play and to fellowship together...very fun night!

During worship on Sunday, both of our projector screens bulbs blew out! So, we didn't have the words to the songs as we began the service. So, our worship pastor Steve did something that was awesome! We have a third screen in the back with words for the worship team to see. So, we had us all turn around and face the screen in the back. He said, "you don't need to see anything that is going on up here." You could tell those that weren't ready for a change...they were a little uncomfortable turning around. But, I tell you that really unleashed a freedom that was truly amazing. It was one of the sweetest services that I have been a part of so far!

It was an amazing time of worship with our family at Noonday. Each Sunday, we are blessed with a body that worships in Spirit and Truth freely. We just love it! I pray that your Sabbath was as filled with worship...of God. Allow what you heard from Him yesterday change you this week!

Nehemiah 8...WOW!

Well, I can't think of a thing to blog right now because my head is just spinning about what I have been reading in Nehemiah. God has been really encouraging, challenging, rebuking, and changing me daily during the past 11 days.

I pray that today you have been in the Word yourself. It's critical...you can't live without it! I will share with you as I finish processing and praying through what He has said to me through Nehemiah 8...I journaled 5 pages already this morning it was that good! I look forward to sharing with you soon!

Princess Night!

Right now on Wednesday nights, Jay has scheduled meetings at church for a committee he is a member of but the girls are home. I was attending a Bible study, but I was already leading one study and trying to do another one at the same time...just wasn't working. So, for now, the girls and I are home on Wednesday nights together.

We began designating this "princess night". This was inspired by a devotional book that my mother-in-law gave the girls for Christmas. It is a little book studying the stories of women in the Bible and what God did in and through their lives. So, last night began with the girls taking in "princess" bath in our huge garden tub. Then, we had manicures complete with jewels for sparkle. After that, we sat down together as girls and began to study Eve and her life.

We learned that God made us to be His children because He loves us and wants a relationship with us...which is to His glory. We also talked (there are great discussion questions to talk about together) about what Eve could have done differently, how we can see that God still loved her even though she had disobeyed, and that He cares for us in the same way. We are children of the King of Kings!

The girls wore their crowns to remind themselves that their identity is found in Jesus Christ alone...and that makes them heirs! Look at this verse:

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." Romans 8:17

We are children of God when we accept the gift of Jesus' death to pay the payment for your sin. Then we are heirs of God...and get this, co-heirs with Christ! That is too huge to wrap my brain around!

But, don't miss the last part of the verse. Even though we are his precious children, it doesn't mean we get a life without problems, hurts, or challenges. No, this verse tells us that if we are children of God...then we will indeed share in Christ's sufferings (betrayal, beatings, denial, no home, unbelief, death, etc). But, if we fellowship in His sufferings this same verse also assures us that we may also share in His glory. We don't get the glory...we get to experience what it is like to see Jesus' glory! We get to behold Him as He really is...to see Jesus with worth and value.

That is what being a "princess" is about. It's not about being the next Cinderella, Hannah Montana, or living an enchanted life. It is about being a child of God who experiences suffering in this life, but also is one who shares in the glory of Christ daily.

Last night, as girls, we began to unpack that verse and understand who we are in Christ. This world wants to define us and tell us what we should be, what we should wear, and what life should be like. But, it's a lie...it won't last. But, God's Word tells us the truth about who we are...and who we are in Christ. Those are two different things. We are sinners headed straight to hell just as fast as we can...in Christ we are co-heirs of a kingdom! What kind of life will you have?

Doing a little homeschool myself!

Last year I began classes through The Seminary Extension. It is a great extension of the 6 major Southern Baptist seminaries where people can take classes through the Internet, extension locations, or correspondence. The first class I took was through correspondence and that was NOT the way for me! It had very little accountability and I had way too much time to complete the course.

So, last week I registered for my second class using the Internet class. This will give me a lot more accountability with weekly classes to view, weekly discussion questions, papers, book critiques, forums, and deadlines. I got my email and was able to check out my class and classmates last night and I was really excited.

The course I am taking now is called "The History of Christianity". It was between that and Systematic Theology which I will take in May. I will be working towards a diploma in Biblical Studies...of which both of the classes I am most interested in taking will simply be electives! But, that is OK, because I am not taking the classes for the diploma...that's just a nice little bonus.

Jay attended seminary for 4 years and I really wish I had been able to take some of the classes because he would come home and talk to me about them. They sounded so interesting! But, with a baby at home full time, I knew right then was not my time.

But, now I am thrilled to be taking these classes! They are just my speed and I love the fact that while the girls are working on some reading and individual work, I can be spending that time learning more myself. And the topics...well, there are simply too many classes I want to take! I think they ALL look good!

Anyway, just wanted to share this fun news with you! I'll keep you updated on how the Internet class works out. I start next Monday! The professor is one that Jay had in seminary so I am looking forward to hearing what he has to share from God! Have a great day...

Do Not Store Up Treasures on Earth!

Last night I had a wonderful time of Bible study with a group I am leading in Roswell. I had just come in and was talking with Jay for a few minutes when he asked me to sit down. Now, that can never be a good start to a positive conversation! I was worried and did NOT want to sit down. He began to tell me that someone had found out our bank account number and had made numerous counter (teller) withdrawals on December 31st.

Normally, I would have laughed because we never have had any kind of money in our bank account. The joke would have been on that person. But, at this time since we have sold our home and are living in an apartment we have a little more in the bank than usual. It was a significant amount of money that they took from our account. I don't want to put a number to it on the Internet, but trust me it was a good day for them!

Well, that was a shocker for me last night! We had never had any kind of identity theft before. But, the good news was that they only had our old address which we haven't had in about 6 months so that was a huge clue. The problem was that this person went to the counter and either the bank never asked for an ID or they had a fake one made up because they went to several different banks to take out all the money that they did.

Afterwards, it was late so I went in to spend my time with the Lord at night. As I was praying and reading, the Lord brought this verse to my mind:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. BUT, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven , where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21

The money is God's! He's in control and this was not a shock to Him. So, last night and this morning I prayed that this money would be used to draw this person to God. I asked God to use this in their lives to bring about a salvation knowledge. And I thanked Him for allowing us to be a part of that.

Do I like that a very large amount of money was taken from us? No! The bank hopefully will take care of that today. For us, it is a minor inconvenience. I was a little uneasy that someone had so much information on our family. But, this verse has focused me on the eternal. Money is just a treasure of this earth. It can be stolen, destroyed, and won't be in heaven with me. So, today I am focusing on laying up treasures in heaven...where it lasts!

I pray today that you are laying up precious treasures in heaven. We do have to live in this world...but we don't have to be a slave or consumed by the stuff it offers. Begin to take your hands off of the treasures you have for yourself here and make a huge deposit today in God's kingdom that lasts!

PS. We believe they got the information from a deposit slip that I kept in my car (for emergency deposits)while I was getting my car detailed. Please make sure you don't make the same mistake that I did! Lesson learned!

Sabbath Reflections

For several months now, I have been enjoying the book "Morning and Evening" by Charles Spurgeon. I have been having my time with the Lord both in the morning and before bed...so this book seemed to be a great companion...and I love Charles Spurgeon! On January 3rd I came to an evening of exhortation in the book that I wanted to share with you as my Sabbath reflections because I have been rolling it around in my head and in my prayer time.

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the crooked will be made straight, the rugged places a plain." Isaiah 40:1-4

The four directives in Isaiah 40 must have my serious attention:

"Every valley shall be raised up or filled." Low and groveling thoughts of God must be given up, doubting and despairing must be removed, and self-seeking and carnal delights must be forsaken. Across these deep valleys, a glorious causeway bust be raised.

"Every mountain and hill must be made low." Proud creature-sufficiency and boastful self-righteousness must be leveled to make a highway for the King of Kings. Diving fellowship is never granted to the haughty, high minded sinners.

"The crooked shall be made straight." The wavering heart must have a straight path of decision for God and holiness marked out for it. Double-minded men are strangers to the God of truth. My soul, take heed that you are honest and true in all things as in the sight of the heart-searching God.

"The rough places shall be made plain." Stumbling blocks of sin must be removed, and thorns and briers of rebellion must be uprooted. So great a Visitor must not find miry ways and stony places when He comes to honor His favored ones with His company. Oh, that this day the Lord would find in my heart a highway made ready by His grace, so that He make a triumphal progression through the utmost boundaries of my soul, from the beginning of this year to the end of it!" - Charles Spurgeon

Take time to look through each of these words in this passage found in Isaiah. Allow God to challenge your heart. Make this year a complete investment in the kingdom that will last forever. Commit those prideful places of your life to God and allow Him to be the one to direct your path. Give Him those places that you seek fulfillment from friends, money, attention, food, self and success. Allow God to fill those places and to straighted your crooked heart. We all have gone astray. But, in this passage the encouragement is to allow God to have His way in your life so that you are prepared for every good work!

Start this year in God's Word! Enjoy the ride!

Christmas at Grammy and Granpa's house!

On Christmas day after celebrating at Jesus' birthday, we packed up the car and headed to spend the rest of the week with Jay's family. We hadn't seen his nephew Parker since July when he was just 2 months old, so we were so excited to get to play with him for the week. The girls loved time with Emma who is almost 4.

We got there just in time for a wonderful Christmas dinner with the family and then more presents! It was so much fun seeing all the kids together opening gifts and giving them too. The time was too short, but it was wonderful!

Here are the kids ready to dig into the first present of the night! That's Parker and Emma on the left. We were all so happy to have the cousins together!

Virginia puts on the Santa hat...which means that she handed out the presents for that round. Everyone took a turn handing out presents and wearing the Santa hat.

The girls dig into a Little Princess Devotional book that Grammy gave them! We LOVE it! Thanks Grammy and Granpa for a wonderful Christmas.

Parker gets his own present unwrapped and loved the Baby frog that he got...he's just so cute! This is Amy, Jay's younger sister.

Emma gave me this beautiful necklace...she picked it out! Good taste girl! This is my only niece...isn't she a doll?

And don't forget sweet Parker! He is about 8 months old now and is the cutest thing...how he will make it with only girl cousins...good luck Parker!

One of the most enjoyed presents was called Gazzit. It's a bunch of little balls that doesn't dry out and you can sculpt it into anything you want. It's really cool...unlike Moon sand and floam which never worked well for us. Anli made the entire nativity...it was amazing!

While we were there, we went to Tanglewood. It's a large lights display that you drive through and in the middle they have a bonfire where you can roast marshmallows for smores! We have gone for many years when we are with Jay's family. It was really cold, so the fire was a great chance to warm up...and the smores were yummy!

Granpa let Anli wear his "Stitch" Christmas hat that he got in Disney when we went last year together. She looked so cute I had to share it!

Since I am "blog booking" this year...you may notice more pictures than before since I am printing the pages out and making a book for 2008 also. So, instead of just one or two photos, I am trying to make sure I get some of the best to include in the album for this year...enjoy!

Happy Birthday Jesus Party!

This year we changed some things around in our Christmas celebration. We opened our presents on Christmas Eve, then went to our church's Christmas Eve service and spent the rest of the night getting ready for a birthday party for Jesus. The girls absolutely LOVED it and we loved the focus we were able to put on the true meaning of Christmas morning...without the distraction of opening presents. It was a hit!

We all made the cake together...but the girls were in charge of decorating it themselves. They loved that! Then, Christmas morning we lit the last Advent candle and listened to Jay read from Luke.

It was a wonderful day...

On Christmas Eve, it was so exciting to see the presents they had gotten!

They loved everything and Pacey tried to get in on the fun...never fear he got to open his own present too! This year they were all about American girl doll accessories.

I did NOT pose this picture...I promise! But, Pacey got this little guy for Christmas and he carried it around all day and, as shown here, even slept with it. I couldn't believe this picture moment!

I told you about those wonderful gifts the girls earned from Awana. Well, Anli gave me bath beads because I love to take long baths at night. And Virginia gave me a new pot holder because I asked for one! It was so sweet to see how well they knew what I would like!

My amazing husband surprised me completely with tickets (and I mean AMAZING seats!) to The Lion King for our whole family! I love to go to shows...and have been to lots. But, this will be the first time the girls have gone with us. I can't wait until April...what a sweetie I have!

Virginia helped to decorate the table complete with Happy Birthday tablecloth, napkins, and plates! The two cards on the table were the ones they made at church on Sunday...birthday cards for Jesus.

Anli helps put balloons up on the chandelier for decorations. It turned out so cute!

Jay lends a hand on the green flowers around the cake. It was a little hard to work the icing...but they did almost all of it themselves! They didn't want our help at all.

Here are my two precious girls with their cake...isn't it wonderful. We gave him 7 candles to represent the completeness of the work Christ did in coming to earth and dying for our sins! Thank you God for such a wonderful gift!

Christmas morning...Happy Birthday Jesus! We welcome you into our lives and hearts every day! We love you.

Christmas Memories!

We had a great Christmas and enjoyed lots of time together as a family...just the 4 of us! Yesterday, none of us wanted Jay to go back to work! I am so blessed that our family loves being together and never tire of each other's company. I don't think there was one cross word the entire time. We just enjoy each other so much!

We spent much of our time here at home resting and relaxing together, but we did take a short trip to see Jay's family in North Carolina. It was so much fun to play with the kids and get to catch up with family. It was a short visit, but we are looking forward to seeing them down here soon!

Here are some of our Christmas Eve (on Sunday for us!) memories...

On Sunday night we opened our traditional one gift. It is always a new pair of pajamas! Then, we jumped in the car headed to Starbucks for hot chocolate and went to look at lights.

Little did we know that Jay had a surprise for us all! We were looking at lights and then he pulled past this AMAZING house that was simply bursting with lights! Then he parked and we all got out and went to look around. This house has tons of lights to walk through, a huge nativity with a speaker telling the story of Jesus' birth, a special house to visit Santa, a bonfire, cider, and more! But, we were in our pajamas...all of us! But, even though there were gobs of people there...no one seemed to notice or care. It's Christmas! So, here Jay and the girls are walking down the street in PJ's to the house!

This is just one of the areas at the house! There were at least 6 different areas to see. One had all blowup characters, another had those retro plastic people and characters, then there was the reindeer area that you see here. It was simply the coolest! And about 15 minutes from our house.

Here the girls stand and listen to the story of Jesus' birth out of Luke. This was such a great nativity.

You would think that would be enough...a full acre of lights...but then you go in the house! This is the entire city that they have constructed in the front room! It had a train that ran through the whole city, Santa on a working little helicopter, a hot air balloon, twinkle stars, snow, mountains, etc. It was awesome!

This is Mrs. Santa (owner of the house). She and her husband (Santa) open their home every year after Thanksgiving and they have hundreds of people come through. What a neat thing...and I mean you can go in every room of their house! They have an angel room, a retro Christmas character room, a nativity room, the train room, and then cookies and cider in the kitchen. WOW!

Anli and Virginia warm up by the bonfire...it was cold!

The last stop was Santa's house...yes he has his own house outside that you can go and sit on his lap. He even has Christmas movies playing while you wait...they have thought of everything! We want to submit their house to "What's with that Christmas House" on HGTV!

Well, this is some of the fun we had on our Christmas Eve night. We had a wonderful surprise by Jay and it was wonderful! There is so much more to post about Christmas...we'll have to do it a day at a time!

Happy New Year!

Well, we are back! We have had a wonderful Christmas and we are looking forward to an amazing new year in 2008. I know I haven't been blogging the past few days (OK, lots of days!) but with Jay home I haven't wanted to be away blogging when we could be hanging out together as a family!

We had an awesome Christmas and we did something different this time. On Sunday, our pastor challenged us to do something this Christmas to focus on Christ instead of the gifts, food, parties, and craziness! So, on at lunch, Jay and I came up with an idea that really was a hit. We decided to make our gift exchanging day on Christmas Eve. We would get up on Christmas Eve and open gifts and play with our new gifts for the day...and then go to the Christmas Eve service. We came home from that service and made a birthday cake for Jesus, decorated the house with streamers, put out plates and napkins, and even made cards for Jesus! Then, when we woke up on Christmas Day...we spent the whole morning celebrating the birth of Jesus with the final candle of Advent, the story of Jesus' birth in Luke, and a special "gift" for the new year to Jesus. It was a great tradition that we look forward to keeping from now on.

I know that December 25th is not actually the birthday of Jesus, but it is a time that we wanted to reclaim for focus on God's glory! We wanted to take some big steps this year towards changing our focus this season...and every day of our lives. I told you God was doing an overhaul on our lives!

It doesn't stop there! It was so sweet to spend time with my Father this morning as we began a new year together. I know how much I have failed Him this year by choosing to serve myself, looking to other things to satisfy me, and much more.

I felt like Ezra (the book I am in)as I looked back over this year by saying,
"Seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, shall we break your commandments again?...Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this." 9:13-15

But, I am also grateful that the grace of God is rich towards me! I can stand in His presence loved, forgiven, and favored. What a gift through Jesus Christ! That is what Christmas is about for me. The gift of being able to stand before a holy God...accepted. Not because I deserve it...but because of grace. How precious Jesus has become to me this year.

As you begin this year, look at your heart. You and I have blown it! We have lied, gossiped, lusted, cheated, stolen, and much more. We can not stand before a perfect God in this condition. But, because of God's great love for us...He sent Jesus to pay the price of sin in our place.

I pray that you have accepted this gift. If not, make this your very first act today in 2008. For those who have already accepted this gift, let's devote our every moment to bringing the focus onto God. Let's commit to embrace Jesus Christ and allow God to make us more like Him through the good times and the hard times.

I will be posting this week about all the wonderful times we have had this Christmas season. But, this first post of the new year should focus each of us onto the amazing grace of a holy God. Let's not let today pass without time deep in His Word and in passionate prayer. Thank Him for the hope you have both for a place secured in heaven...and an abundant life here on earth.

I can't wait to see what God is up to in 2008!