M&M and my Tornado issues....

M&M started this week!!!! Of course, it was on Tuesday and what happened on Tuesday??? A TORNADO watch.... I am deathly afraid of tornados ever since I was in the middle of one years ago in high school here in Lexington, SC..... I have prayed over this, I think I have even blogged about it ( tornados-and-me-go-way-back...) So, I did not go to the meeting, I was scared to leave my house, except to go and get my kids out of school. Crazy right??? I just had to have them home with me.... HOWEVER, God did work in me and kept me Calm. Way calmer than I ever am during such a time. I thank God so much for allowing me to trust in him and to stay calm!!!!


Well today I listened to the recording of M&M so I would know the verse. I sat outside on the the back deck this am and really enjoyed my time listening to Barb, absorbing God's word, and getting tips via Barb on how to Meditate and Memorize!!!!!

I loved the song she introduced with, I recall it from the few classes I made last year. It is such a good way to begin my time alone with GOD.

LORD I HAVE SHUT THE DOOR

Lord, I have shut the door, Speak now the word
Which in the din and throng Could not be heard;
Hushed now my inner heart, Whisper Thy will,
While I have come apart, While all is still.

Lord, I have shut the door, Here do I bow;
Speak, for my soul attent Turns to Thee now.
Rebuke Thou what is vain, Counsel my soul,
Thy holy will reveal, My will control.

In this blest quietness Clamorings cease;
Here in Thy presence dwells Infinite peace;
Yonder, the strife and cry, Yonder, the sin:
 Lord, I have shut the door, Thou art within!

Lord, I have shut the door, Strengthen my heart;
Yonder awaits the task at hand I share a part.
Only thro’ grace bestowed May I be true;
Here, while alone with Thee, My strength renew

Psalm 51- God Be Merciful to ME

This Sunday in worship we sang a song that we have sung many times before, and each time it really touches me.. I wanted to add it to my favorite Hymns/Songs series...

 Sometimes it takes a song to really speak to your heart. Hymns can just open up your heart and your ears like nothing else can at times. For me anyways.....

This one comes from the words of Psalm 51 : 1-15, the song is written my Christopher Miner 1997



God be merciful to me.... On thy grace I rest my plea. Plentous in compassion thou, Blot out My transgressions now. Wash me, Make me pure within... Cleanse O cleanse me from my sin.


My transgressions I confess, Grief and guilt my soul oppress; I have sinned against they greace, And provoked thee to they face. Wash me Make me pure within, Speechless, I they mercy trust.


I am evil, born in sin, Thou desirest truth within. Thou alone my Savior art, Teach they wisdom to my heart. Make me pure, they grace be stow, Wash me whiter than the snow.


Broken hymbled to the dust, By thy wrath and judgement just, Let my contrite heart rejoice, And in gladness hear they voice, From my sins O hide they face, Blot them out in boundless grace.


Gracious God my heart renew, Make my spirit right and true. Cast me not away from thee, Let they Spirit dwell in me, They salvations joy impart, Steadfast make my willing heart.


Sinners then shall learn from me, And return O God to thee. Savior all my guild remove, And my tongue shall sing They Love, Touch my silent lips O Lord, And my mouth shall praise accord.

Caroline's New Bed and Desk

Caroline's Daddy built her a new bed and desk over the weekend. It still needs painted of course but she was soooo excited we let her go ahead and set it up today and sleep in it like it is tonight. We will get the drawers added and paint it soon!!!! I am so impressed that he did all this in two days!!!! Its so great, better than the pics show!

The Bed

The Desk

This is how it looks all together....Its built in!!!!!

Boy was she so very excited! I cannot wait till its all painted and there are going to be bookshelves going up the wall to the left of the bed- to be built another day!!!! Boy was Daddy busy to get all done that he did! He worked so hard, and Caroline is just beyond thankful!!!!!

(this is the opposite wall from the bed)

 (this is on the wall when you first walk in...)

Of course, the room is not finished, nor is it organized yet, but I wanted to go ahead and post some pics. I am just so proud of my man!

Caroline Ruth turns 7

Strawberry Gluten Free Cake with Strawberry Icing

Caroline wanted everything strawberry for her birthday...
 So we started the day off with Homemade Gluten Free Strawberry Cream Scones and ended it with her Strawberry Cake!!! She picked pizza for dinner ( no strawberries on the pizza!)

Strawberry Buttercream Scones (GF)

Here she is getting a pretty necklace, and those are her flowers her Daddy gave her

These were the cupcake pops I took to her class for her classroom birthday Celelbration

PRESENTS TIME
This was a very AMERICAN DOLL birthday-- a new dollie, and tons of clothes for her, and a traveling case...Caroline had the flu, but she still had a great day! Thank you to everyone for all her great presents. She also got a jump rope, a helmet and pads for biking/scootering outside. Maggie and PapPap had fun helping her learn to jump rope as they swung it ( wish I had a pic of that!) Of course PopPop took all the pics mostly, so here are just a couple

All in all she had a great day, even though we could not have the party we had planned...we missed Mrs. Meredith and Josh and Mary Lila, Emily Grace,  the Brookers, and the Rogers Family! But having just Mimi,  PopPop, Pappap and Maggie was kinda special!

40 Bags in 40 Days

I am jumping on the 40 Bags in 40 Days BandWagon...

 Last year my fav Blogger to read, Clover Lane, did this thing for Lent where she cleaned and basically declutterd and organized her house- the goal for her was to fill at least 40 bags with eithet trash or donations withen the 40 days of Lent.

I remember reading it this time last year and thinking to myself, self that is a great idea, I should do that every spring at this time. Last year I was not in our house yet, so it wasn't really doable...but I remembered this year. And it looks like she is tackling it again this year.
So I am jumping on the bandwagon.
I have one bag of Trash and one bag of donation thus far....
I started in my kitchen.
Thus far I have tackled the pantry, the desk area, my main station, and also the entry foyer pantry and front closet.

I mostly reorganized pantry, threw out all the gluten products, reorganized meds and threw out all the out of date stuff...did some cleaning of the area. I went through my main station drawers and tidied up, and found lots to donate...

My Goals:
Kitchen- go through drawers, pantries, desks.
Master Bedroom
Master Closet
Master Bath
Hall Bath
Hall Closet
Caroline Room and Closet
Boys Room and Closet
Guest Room
Garage
Main Room ( tv hutch, icebox)

My main goal is decluttering, getting us more streamlined and down to keeping only the basics that we need in each area.
Organization is second on my list.
I would also really like to do a thourough clean of each room as I go.

FUN STUFF- but it needs to be done- now is as good a time as any, right???

Basketball Season 2011

Jackson has had such a blast doing Basketball this season. Its been his first ever time playing basketball and he has not only learned so much and improved immensly, but I don't think I ever so that wonderful SMILE leave his face!!!!! Gosh that warms my momma's heart, when they find something that makes them giddy, something that makes them excited, and smiley, and look forward to practicing and playing.

His Daddy put up a goal on the wall in our garage ( the only flat surface we have) and he has had a good time with that too!!!!!

Here are a few pics from the season!

This next one is my fav--- he is Jack Jack after all. As much as he loved it. He is not competitive, he was in it for the fun.... So here he is realizing PopPop has the camera!!!!

Paleo- Panu- Lots of New Wierd Words--

I have been spending a lot of time since this new year as started examining my nutrition.
What is good for you?
What is bad for you?
Is a low fat, high carb ratio the way to go?
If I just follow the food pyramid that the government put out?
What "they" say is healthy, the "right" way to eat seems to be ever changing....
So I set out to do some research.... and I have been reading, and reading, and doing more reading... My head has been spinning at all I have been learning!!!!! There are so many studies out there. So many WELL funded studies out there. Where does all this money come from to fund all these studies?? -thats another issue....
Anyways, I fell upon a life altering, life changing book called
GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES by Gary Taubes. WOW.
Its a tough read, Its VERY scientific, but the more I read the more I learned that there is so much I don't know. So much that I had to learn to give my family the best nutrition possible.
After this book I was led to Robb Wolf and Kurt Harris in my research, and I am very firmly a believer now that Glutens and Wheat are not meant to be consumed by humans. They wreck havoc on us. This is a big statement. I know. Thats the majority of our diet as we know it. I also learned so much about Fats and Cholesterol, and what each one of the components of them are and what they truely mean. They are not all bad. I have a lot to still learn, but a lot to share to if anyone is interested. Check out these guys sites. Especially Kurt Harris.
I have been radically revamping our nutrition here at home.
Out with the flour, white and wheat. WOW!!!-thats radical.
Out with the white sugar.
Out with all the processed stuff.

In with the coconut flour, coconut oil, almond flour...
Check out my Foodie Friday Blog for some of my new recipes.
 I made Gluten Free Pumpkin Pancakes that I think were the best pancakes I have EVER EVER made, hands down.-- I was shocked.