Food 4 Thought Friday

Breakfast
Are you a morning or night person?
I'm a night person. I like to stay up late even if I know the morning is going to be tough. Once the children are in bed and I am on my own, I am able to get much more accomplished.

Lunch
What do you do when you are feeling lonely?
When I am feeling lonely, I sing, play music, or hop on the computer. Lonely times don't come often in my house.

Dinner
What made you smile today?
After basketball practice, my daughter said she "was actually sweating". I wonder what she thought she was supposed to be doing?!

Midnight Snack
What did you do today that made you feel guilty?
I didn't bike or run today, even though I told myself I would.

Recipe for the Week
(instead of your recipe for life, what is it just for this week?)
2 parts patience
3 parts love
1 part perseverance
1 part leadership

More food for thought is at Beacon of Hope!

Friday Fill-ins (107)

1. Enough with the BAILOUTS!.

2. THE FUN SIDE OF ME WARRING WITH THE STRUCTURE SIDE OF ME causes me to be conflicted.

3. I've been craving LIME.

4. THE FUNNY THINGS THAT CHILDREN LEARN ABOUT LIVE make me laugh.

5. I wish I could go to MY SISTER AND HER SWEET BABY next week.

6. SHELVES AND STORAGE BEDS have been on my mind lately.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to A LITTLE wii FIT, tomorrow my plans include REDEEMING MY GYMBOREE BUCKS and Sunday, I want to HANG PICTURES!

Check out more fill-ins here!

Beautiful Artwork

I received my print from David Bowman in today's mail. It is just as beautiful in person. Although I love all of them, for the first one in my home, I chose "Innocence" because I love that the Savior is laughing and smiling at the child. It reminds me that we need to be close to Him in all areas of our lives. When we are upset or having a tough time, it's easy to remember to turn to the Lord in prayer, but developing that close relationship with Him and sharing our joys, as well as our sorrows, will make us happier.

The only problem now is that I have to decide which one I will buy next. You can check them out at his website!

Beautiful Artwork by Artist David Bowman

I got this info from Beacon of Hope
I wanted to share these beautiful pictures and what the artist has to say about each one of them! David Bowman: has had a passion for art ever since he could pick up a pencil. He loves creating images of the Savior that inspire and uplift. Along with his Christian fine art, David has also written and illustrated a series of scripture storybooks for children titled "Who's Your Hero". Check out his website at http://bowman-art.com/indexFineart.htm to see more of his precious art.

"Innocence" ↑The Savior tells us we need to become as little children to inherit the kingdom of God. I've often wondered what it is about little children Jesus loves most, and I think its their innocence. They are clean slates, seeing the world and others through untarnished eyes. Their hearts are pure, without the baggage of cynicism and self-doubt. In this piece, I've tried to imagine how a child would act upon meeting the Master for the first time. Without reservation or inhibition, I think he would simply want to play with Him. He would be at complete ease, allowing his pure little heart to soak in the love and laughter of His pure, infinite heart. Its no wonder Christ delights in these little ones and sets them up to be our examples.

"Security" ↑One of the greatest human needs is a sense of security. In all aspects of life, we naturally gravitate towards anything that makes us feel safe. In this piece, I wanted to convey a sense of complete peace and calm like only the Savior can provide. It's a security that allows us to rest assured, without fear or worry, when we put ourselves trustingly in His arms. Little children have that inherent kind of trust in their parents, so it's fitting that the man and girl who modeled for "Security" are actually father and daughter. They generated the exact feel I was looking for.

"My Child" ↑This piece conveys an intimate, up-close-and-personal feeling of the Savior's love. Notice how all the lines draw your attention and point towards Jesus' face in the center. I chose the name "My Child" because the only thing that could compare (even remotely) to Christ's compassion for us is the love of a parent for his/her child. This image is also intended to put things in perspective. Above all, we are God's children first. He allows us the privelege of experiencing parenthood for ourselves and we are entrusted to be the mothers and fathers of His.

Friday Fill-Ins (105)

1. The world is BEAUTIFUL.
2. DON'T EAT THE BACON, IT'S FOR THE SALAD was the last thing I said.
3. I wonder IF I'LL EVER FEEL SETTLED.
4. THERE IS PEACE at the end of all things.
5. There's something to be said for ALONE TIME.
6. IN THE COMPANY OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS is where I want to be.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to MOVIES AND GAMES, tomorrow my plans include CLEANING OUT AND CLEANING UP and Sunday, I want to PUT AWAY THE TREE.

More Fill-In Participants...here!

Ruby Tuesday: My First!

Check out all things "Ruby" Click the ruby slippers to find them all!

Before the ornaments all get put away for the next 11 months, a festive foto!

We'll miss these shiny guys throughout the year. We have actually acquired so many ornaments now, that we only put up 3 of these larger sized balls. Too many other things!

Friday Fill-ins (104)

1. I must lose 10 pounds before I die.
2. You can't stop dust particles from flying around in the sun...the more you swish them, the more they fly.
3. I wish I never had to buy garbage bags again. (talk about throwing away money!)
4. My family has helped me change my life.
5. I know the song "A Whole New World" (Aladdin) by heart.
6. If I weren't so afraid, I would go bungee jumping.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to "Dark Knight" on BluRay, tomorrow my plans include after Christmas markdowns and Sunday, I want to blog (not very ambitious, but definitely doable)!

More fill-ins here!

Collections

In elementary school, I had the best sticker collection. I had big stickers, little stickers, dentist stickers, school stickers, shiny stickers, used stickers, new stickers, animal stickers, sky stickers, and even smelly stickers. I even talked my mom into buying me an album for them. I traded stickers with friends and we perused our collections together.
After a while, I stopped collecting them and the following year when I looked through the collection, it was clearly a bunch of junk. I remember how I felt about the stickers, but that same proud feeling was no longer there. Even the most expensive stickers were easy to give up. I played school with my siblings and neighborhood friends and got rid of all the stickers as I "graded" their papers. Of course, I didn't charge them for them, so the money invested in the collection was solely for my immediate enjoyment. I understand that.
With just a general knowledge of supply and demand, we know that an item is only worth what people are willing to pay for it. So, the well known saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure," can also go the other way. "One man's treasure is another man's trash."
Here's where collections come into play. When someone has collected an item, no one else is ever going to have the same sentiments about that item as the collector has. So, if you've collected souvenirs from all of your travels, those have value to you. The souvenir serves as a memory of the fun and excitement of that vacation. When you try to give that collection away, nobody will treasure it the way that you did.
A couple of years ago, my neighbor had a garage sale. One of things that they were trying to sell for an outrageous price was a collection of books. Of course they had priceless memories of each of them, but as the day went on, no one was willing to pay the price on the sticker. The collector refused to either break up the collection or come down on the price. Although they were desperate for the space and money made from the collection, they refused to meet the customers' requests and ended up keeping their collection. I say, it was better that way.
No one will care for your collection the way that you will*, so each collection is something personal. And it should stay that way. (*This most often applies to strangers, maybe friends. If you have a collection that your family loves with you, they would probably love a chance to own it.)
Just my opinion. What's yours?

I Have An Opinion, Therefore I Am

It's okay to have a different opinion than your neighbor, your best friend, your spouse, your sister, your brother. Everybody likes different things and that's okay!

If your opinion is different one day than it is the next that's fine too!

Your opinion is just as important as someone else's, so feel free to speak up. Listen to others as well and enjoy the diversity.