With All that We've Been Given.....

 Well hello there!!

How was your CHRISTmas?

Ours was splendid!!

I hope you were able to reflect and think about the true meaning of CHRISTmas

this year,

And Praise God for sending CHRIST. 

It is the reason we celebrate.

I LOVED that CHRISTmas was on Sunday this year.

I was SO excited to get to spend CHRISTmas morning surrounded by our church family

and feeling the Spirit move in such a special way as we had Communion.

God is GREAT!!! 

And GREATLY TO BE PRAISED!!!!!

We've been given SO much through the birth of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.

So.much.

On Sunday at our church we had the President of the Trinity Bible Institute (I think that's right)

do a dramatization.

He was the Innkeeper.

It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

He told "his" side of the story.

In the end of the story, he knew who he'd turned away that night in Bethelehem,

and instead of running away, he ran to the One who could save Him.

It was a beautiful story of grace and love.

And this man did an amazing job of portraying what the Innkeeper might have been like.

Single dramatizations amaze me.

No one to converse with.

No one to help you if you lose your place.

Just you and the audience.

Amazing.

Oh Yes, with all that we've been given.....

LET'S PRAISE HIM.

*****

Well, I don't have all our pictures down loaded yet,

but I do have a few from Baby Girl's CHRISTmas.

We had hers on Monday evening,

because she is at her mom's in Kansas City right now.

Here she is with my sweet Dak.....

It is so nice having my babes home for the holidays.

I love these two so!!! 

 And speaking of Dak, we've got to spend some much needed quality time together.

I've missed him so!!

They go back to their dorms on January 15th,

and classes resume on the 17th.

I will miss them when they go back, but we have a few more weeks to savor this time.

They are so dear to me.

And here is Baby Girl and I.

I love her so!!

Well there are big changes a foot in the Winslow household.

This being one of them.....

See this coffee cup in my hand,

well no more =(

Apparently it is aiding in all the swelling issues I have,

so it must go.

Bye-bye and good riddens,

sweet hazelnut nectar.....

I shall miss you.....  =) 

 And speaking of changes.....

See our, well my, sad face?

Sir Cuteness doens't even want to talk about it.....

Apparently I am eating ALL wrong for my blood type.

So I am back to the land of omnivores.

I had Salmon last night.

Beautiful, Alaskan Salmon.

Wow it had been awhile =)

Apparanetly if you are type O then meat is your friend.

Who knew?

Oh let me rephrase, Organic grass-fed meat is your friend.

So I am really hoping that this will help my swelling and pain issues. 

That would rock our world, right now!!  =)

 How cute is this little guy?

So sweet.....

 Baby Girl.....

We are at Lola's for breakfast!!

We love Lola's!!!

But this girl will not be eating out very much at all now. 

I am very committed to really doing this thing right.

I need this swelling to leave my body.

So here we go.....

I love you all so ~~

24

So last January, I signed up for SSMT 2011

(Seista Scripture Memory Team)

Beth Moore and the girls over at LPM,

invited us to memorize Scripture with them,

at the rate of two a month,

on the 1st and 15th.

So I KNEW that this was for me.

I did this in 2009, but I didn't finish strong at all.

I was not happy about that.

But this year, I knew that God would have me try again.

Anytime you can hide His Word in your heart,

is a good thing.

So I started January 1st,

and here it is December 18th,

and I'm so happy to say,

I now have 24 verses memorized and hidden in my heart.

Memorizing Scripture has changed me.

I say my verses every night after we go to bed and our nestled in for the night.

Generally, I have said my verses listening to my husband

breathe sweetly next to me,

and often our Sir Cuteness has lent his sweet breath to my Scripture memorization as well.

It has been life changing for me.

I have had a tough year.

Not gonna cover it over with smiley faces and fancy words here.

It.has.been.tough.

And as we come to the end of 2011,

and as I keep saying my memory verses every night,

I see God's hand in it all.

And I am so grateful.

SO.GRATEFUL.

He has led me and guided me,

and for all my mistakes and failures,

He has loved me.

And loves me still.

It is truly AMAZING!!!

So what I would like to do is type all 24 verses from memory.

To the Praise and Glory of His Name!!!!!

1st:

Psalm 27:13-14

"I am still confident of this,

I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD,

be strong and take heart,

and wait for the LORD."

2nd:

Psalm 46:10

"Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the earth."

3rd:

Isaiah 26:3

"Thou wilt keep Him in perfect peace

whose mind is stayed on Thee,

because He trusteth in Thee."

4th:

II Corinthians 7:10

"Godly sorrow brings repentence that leads to salvation

and leaves no regret,

but wordly sorrow brings death."

5th:

Ephesians 1:4-5

"For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world

to be holy and blameless in His sight.

In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ,

in accordance with His pleasure and will."

6th:

Jeremiah 32:17

"Ahh Sovereign LORD,

You made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and out-stretched arm.

Nothing is too hard for You."

7th:

Psalm 112:7

"He will have no fear of bad news,

his heart is steadfast,

trusting in the LORD."

8th:

Jonah 2:8

"Those who cling to worthless idols

forfeit the grace that could be theirs."

9th:

Philippians 4:13

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

10th:

Matthew 5:14

"You are the light of the world.

A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

11th:

Psalm 57:7

"My heart is steadfast O God,

my heart is steadfast.

I will sing and make melody."

12th:

Ephesians 1:7-8

"In Him, we have redemption,

the forgiveness of sins,

in accordance to the riches of God's grace that He lavished on us

with all wisdom and understanding."

13th:

Hebrews 7:25

"Consequently, He is able to save to the uttermost

those who draw near to God through Him,

since He always lives to make intercession for them."

14th:

John 6:44

"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them.

And I will raise him up on the last day."

15th:

Exodus 14:14

"My LORD will fight for you.

You need only to be still."

16th:

Colossians 1:17

"He is before all things and in Him all things hold together."

17th:

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and courageous.

Do not be frightened;

Do not be dismayed.

For the LORD you God is with you wherever you go."

18th:

Psalm 37:5-6

"Commit you way to the LORD.

Trust in Him and He will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn;

the justice of your cause like the noon day sun."

19th:

I Peter 1:3-4

"In this you greatly rejoice,

though now for a little while,

you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

These have come, so that your faith,

of greater worth than gold,

which perishes though refined by fire,

may be proved genuine and may result in praise , glory and honor,

when Jesus Christ is revealed."

20th:

Ephesians 3:16

"I pray that out of His glorious riches,

He may strengthen you with power,

through His Spirit,

in your inner being."

21th:

I Peter 3:3-4

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment,

such as braided hair,

and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.

Instead,

it should be that of your inner self,

the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet Spirit,

which is of great worth in God's sight."

22th:

Ephesians 1:17

"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Glorious Father,

may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,

so that you may know Him better."

23th:

Philippians 4:4

"Rejoice in the LORD always,

I will say it again Rejoice.

Let your gentleness be evident to all,

the LORD is near."

24th:

I Peter 4:8-9

"Above all, love one another deeply,

because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Offer hospitatilty to everyone without grumbling."

*****

Okay, so there are my 24 verses, and I have to tell you that all of those were from memory EXCEPT for the last one.  I am still memorizing this one, so I had to look it up.  I didn't quite have it all right.

So what about 2012?

Well, I will be memorizing Scripture, two a month, just like this year.

I can't imagine not doing it now.

It has enhanced and enriched my life so much.

I love y'all so much ~~ 

This is CHRISTmas ~~ Nativity & Sir Cuteness

Yesterday was our CHRISTmas program at church.

I LOVE my church!!!

Yesterday, was such a different CHRISTmas program.

Generally it is such a HUGE production.

It's ALWAYS terrific.....

but yesterday it was stripped down and mostly acoustic.

I LOVE acoustic especially when it comes to CHRISTmas music.

It turns my heart toward home.....every.time.

They sang a version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" that was just beautiful.

It was mostly accapella and then for just a few bars in the bridge music came in and then

back to acoustic.

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!

Here is the stage when we got to our seats before it started.

The back ground kept changing.....

Really cool.....

 Legg's and I before it started.....

I love this girl so!!!

 Spunk and Lovely after church.....lunch at Lola's.

Oh yes!

 Legg's and P,B & J.....

(Her Boyfriend =)

It was such a beautiful day !!!

*****

Then today Sir Cuteness and I made a Nativity Scene out of Graham Crackers and Spice Drops.

Have.you.ever.?

 Sir Cuteness just LOVES IT!!!

He had SO much fun!!

He keeps moving the wisemen's gifts around.

Cracks.me.up.

 Speaking of cuteness.....

How ornery does he look here?

 Sweeteness.

I love y'all ~~ have a Super Blessed Day ~~

In All My Life.....

I have never met anyone like My Mr. Winslow!!!

Y'all I must tell you.....

He is it for me!!

The man that makes my heart go pitter patter.....

And the man who turns 48 today!!!

I wish I could do a post all about the wonderfulness of this man,

but alas, it would be an encyclopedia.....

I truly mean that.

He is so good to me.....

And he loves me like NO OTHER!!!

He leads our family well!!!

He helps me to grow in my walk with Jesus every.single.day.

And when he prays with me, time stands still.

Still.

I am crazy sometimes.....

I hurt a lot.....

Therefore, he hurts a lot,

because that is what you do when you love like this.....

If they hurt, you hurt.....

He has that deep well of love,

not shallow.....

He has the capacity to talk me down from any ledge =)

and love me through every trial.....

He is the best.....

Yep, all that and a bag of chips this man.

So I just thought I'd share a few pics of my man.....

He is SO great!!

Sometimes I just can't believe he is mine.

I'm telling you, he is THAT great!!!



Well, hello there sweet thang!!! 



We have been through a lot together and we stand strong, united, and in love.

Always.

He is mine and I am his and we'd have it NO other way!!!

Thank you Mr. Winslow for being the love of my life for all my life.

I've never known anything like you babe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

*****

Have a Beautiful and Blessed Day ~~

~~ Hello December & Merry Swap ~~

Well hello sweet December ~~

I have not posted in several days and I've really missed it. 

So let's get to some fun things that have been happening around our little corner of blog world =)

*****

Sir Cuteness LOVES to lay on his tummy on our bed watching Caillou on the iPad.

Isn't he adorable?

 I participated in the CHRISTmas swap over at The Home Spun Heart, again this season.

I LOVE doing this!!

It gives me opportunity to meet someone new and Blessing them with little goodies.....

I LOVE THAT!!!

So here is my goodies from Crystal in WA.....

What a fun and thoughtful Swap Buddy.

This was our second time to be buddied up, and I LOVED getting to do something fun for her again.

She is just so sweet!!

So here are the goodies in my box.....

 Look at this beautiful candle wood box.....

It's Cardinals.....

Hello Cardinal Nation.....

Home of the 2011 World Series Champions.....

and they said we couldn't do it....

Love this.....

 This is a jingle bell door hanger and Sir Cuteness LOVES it!!!

And this was my favorite part right here.....

 Handwritten recipe cards of homemade, delicious recipes from her personal collection.

I.love.that.

And handwritten..... did I mention that?  =)

And Sir Cuteness's favorite part.....

Homemade cookies.

They were SO good,

and they are now gone!!!



She also sent me a homemade pack of Friendship Soup.

Can't wait to try this.....

And here is Sir Cuteness holding the pack of pinecones she sent me from WA.

Love that too.

I love pine cones.

Thank you so much Crystal for your thoughtfulness.

My box was just perfect.

*****

I also participated in the Ornament Exchange over at Faith's blog.

And my partner for this was Heather from MS,

and man is she fun!!!

I have SO enjoyed getting to know her and her sweet heart.

She posted pics of the ornaments I sent her on her blog and they are just so sweet on her

CHRISTmas tree, I thought I'd share them with you,

since I didn't take any pictures before I sent them to her.

These ornaments were SO much fun to make.

Sir Cuteness helped me with this one.

We got the idea off of Pinterest.....

Love.Pinterest.

enough said.....

You take a clear CHRISTmas ornament and add epsom salt for snow,

Add a sticker if you'd like and ribbon to the top and.....

Voila!!

And then I picked up a $1 birdhouse at Michaels,

covered it with scrapbook paper, embellishements, added some windows and "snow",

tied a pretty ribbon to the top and evergreen to the base and.....

Voila!!

Thank you Heather for being such a fun swap partner.

It's been a hoot getting to know you!!

*****

So yes, we are having a very busy CHRISTmas season,

but it is so much fun!!!

Having a 3 year olds excitement in the house is just contagious and beautiful!!

There are SO many sweet things I'm documenting with the camera in my heart.

*****

Have a Blessed and Beautiful Day ~~

The Twelve Tags of CHRISTmas ~~ Day 1

On the first day of CHRISTmas

my true love gave to me......

 A NOEL tag for you to see!!  =)

*****

So I am participating in Tim Holtz 12 Tags of CHRISTmas over at his blog right.....

here.

I have never participated before.

In fact, didn't even know about it until this year,

so I am happy to be doing it this year.

Although, I can already tell that my tags will not be ANYTHING LIKE his,

because I don't have an embossing/die cut machine.

But that is a great thing about this,

because he wants you to use what you have and can make something

COMPLETELY different from his if you want to,

and a lot of others are doing that too.

So without further ado.....

My tag.....

 I am hoping that these next 12 days will offer LOTS of ideas and creativity up in here.

I have A LOT of projects to get done before CHRISTmas!!!

I really like the way it turned out.

Now I will show you T!m's tag.

Yes, I know.....

MUCH BETTER THAN MINE!!

But that is okay.

I m such a work in progress.....

In my creative life and in all my life.

And if you want to view what other's have done with T!m's tag, go check out his site.

There is a linky.

*****

So, how is your CHRISTmas season going so far?

Mine?

Well, pretty good.

Busy.

Really looking forward to getting my tree up.

Someday before CHRISTmas hopefully =)

Oh, and today is SSMT #23!!!

Can you believe it?

I am so looking forward to finishing out strong.

So now I need to pick my verse.

*****

I love you all so!!

 ~~

 Have a SUPER BLESSED DAY!!!