Have you ever met or know of someone who just has a joy about them?   They enjoy life, enjoy others,  making  you want to be around them hoping that some of whatever they have rubs off on ya.  I have a few people I could name, how about you?

I have found that in my crazy life, I don’t do much celebrating.  I just make sure the lists are done and checked off.  Then I collapse into bed exhausted.  I get up the next day and do the “lists” all over again.  Not fun and no way to live.  That is what life and it’s curve balls has done to me.  I am not complaining or looking for empathy, just being honest.  Life is tough and sometimes how we thought things were going to go..well they don’t.    So I have decided that while I am pursuing simplicity, I want to celebrate life.  I want to celebrate those I love, celebrate who I am in Jesus and just have some simple fun.  Life is too short and too stinking busy.  So let’s share what we can celebrate and how.  Who do you want to celebrate?  What do you want to celebrate?  Who would you like to celebrate and how are you going to celebrate?  Let’s be fun, simple and enjoy life.  Let’s catch us some joy and laughter!  Here are some ideas I have come up with.  Now we  know we celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, births of babies, graduations, weddings and baptisms so let’s think outside of the box! 

**when our kids figure out potty training…hallelujah!

** the graduation from kindergarten to first grade..that is a big one..all day school. 

** the first day of school and the last day of school.  (fix a special breakfast or dinner)

** promotions at work

** driver’s license

** passing quizzes and tests

** teachers/mentors

** neighbors

** our first date anniversary with our spouse..(hopefully you can remember)

** weight loss

** achieving a goal

** reunions

** memorizing scriptures

** your child learning to ride a two wheeler

** your child learning how to swing themselves

Okay so share some you have thought of.  What do you do to celebrate?  We can make a cake, go for ice cream, make a celebration banner,go to a  favorite restaurant, have a picnic, go to a specialty cupcake store, have a special plate that is used that night for dinner or dessert, make a homemade card, take a picture, start a celebration journal that you leave sitting out so others can see what your family celebrates.  

It will be fun learning how we all celebrate life and our families/friends.  I know that I need to have my memory jolted and I am sure we will come away with tons of  ideas and ways to not just do our “lists” but to live and do it with a burst of pizazz!

Hey out there, long time no blogging!  Things here have been utterly crazy!  We had end of school activities and than summer is upon us. 

track and field day

Phoebe was the first base gal..

 My dad was in town for a visit and it poured rain on Saturday so we had Mario Kart Wii battles.   It was hysterical watching my dad trying to get the hang of the control. 

He finally figured it out and the battle was on!  They had a blast and it was a good way to spend a rainy day.  The visit was terrific…great food, great conversation and the girls getting to spend time with Papaw W. and Gramma W.  They headed out on Sunday to go back to Georgia and we headed to Louisville.  My mother in law turned “65″ this weekend and she had a birthday party.  We had beautiful weather and tons of food.  What’s a party with no food??  We had BBQ, buffalo chicken dip, salad, deviled eggs, potato salad, fruit, slaw and to finish it off…CAKE.  Now this was not just a cake, it was carrot cake and I mean it was good!  Rich, creamy, and the edges were dredged in toasted almonds.  Check it out..

 Do you see where Phoebe is sitting..yep that’s my girl.  She doesn’t miss a thing.  Nana cut her that huge yellow balloon for her piece! 

 The kids played in the sprinkler and we sat under the shade tree.

Natalie enjoyed being outside.  The warm weather is so good for her.  I just wish we could get rid of these dang ear infections.  It seems like we get rid of one and within weeks she gets another.  UGH!

So we are in the midst of summer.  I love it.  No schedules, relaxing, eating dinner late, sitting outside, visiting with family and friends, summer fare food, flip flops, pools, sunscreen, tank tops, fresh fruit…the list goes on and on.  What have you been up to or what do you have planned?  Do you have any goals that you are working on this summer or do things get placed on the back burner for these 3 months? 

Have a blessed week!

Hey friends, it has been a whirlwind weekend.  My sister, Faith, and her family came in town.  It was so fun having them here and being able to spend some time with Emma my niece.  Emma is 2.5 yrs. old.  That is such a fun age, so curious and eager to learn.  It also helps that she is an absolute ham.  She makes up her own songs.  Hysterical!  We had a nice visit.  We don’t get to see Faith, John and Emma much, they live in Florida, so we cherish the time we get with them! 

I have some sad news to report.  A larger bird has eaten the beautiful eggs that I blogged about in my last post.  I was so upset when I pulled the curtains back to check on them and saw an empty nest.  Elliott went down to see if they had fallen onto the ground, but they hadn’t.  So the only thing we can conclude is that a bigger predator ate them.  The mama bird was extremely confused.  She would fly to the nest and fly away.  My heart broke for her. 

With summer staring us right in the eyes, I want to make some “good” changes with my eating.  I am reading “The Eat-Clean Diet” by Tosca Reno. Here is the link on the back of the book.  It is really insightful and makes total sense.  What changes do you need to make to fuel your body like it should be?  I have to drink more water.  Okay, so here is a debate.  I love iced tea.  I even drink decaf.  The only caffeine I consume is in my morning coffee.  So, is the iced tea considered water?  I mean it is basically flavored water. 

Here are a few pictures of this past weekend!  I hope wherever you are, you are experiencing abundant blessings from Jesus!  He is our hope, love and security!  I praise him for what he has done for me. 

Phoebe and Emma

Phoebe, Natalie, Emma

Natalie

Today I’d like to welcome Jill and Mark Savage. Jill and Mark’s newest book Living with Less so your Family has More just released and I’ve invited them to share a little bit about this great resource!

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

We have been married for 27 years…17 of them happily. After finding ourselves in a marriage counselor’s office around year 8 or so, we realized that we really didn’t know how to be married. We worked hard to turn things around and now we like to share that hope with other couples.

We have five children ranging from 13 to 25. Our oldest three are married. Anne (25) and her husband, Matt, live in Zion, IL, and are expecting our first grandchild in April. (We are very excited!) Evan (22) and his wife, Julie, have been married a year and a half and they live just a few miles from us. Erica (19) married her husband Kendall last September. They live in Augusta, GA, and wherever else the Army takes them.

We have two teenagers still at home. Kolya just turned 16. He’s learning to drive and we’ve nearly worn a hole in the carpet on the floor in the passenger seat trying to find that non-existent brake pedal. Kolya is the newest member of the Savage family. We adopted him at the age of nine from Russia.

Austin is 13 and in the 8th grade. He wants us to make sure and tell the world that this “living with less” life is a real bummer because he’s the ONLY kid in 8th grade who doesn’t have a cell phone.

Tell us about your newest book Living With Less So Your Family Has More?

The world screams the message that bigger is always better, but we have found that is not often true. When it comes to raising a family, less materially can actually result in more relationally. Children don’t need the best houses, the best lessons, the best cars, or the best clothes. What they really need is the best home life and the best family relationships we can give them.

Why did you want to write this book?

We didn’t start out with the “less is more” mindset. We started as a double income family wanting to have the “best” of everything. Then Mark decided to pursue ministry. We went from the “high life” to the “frugal life” very quickly as we moved to another state for him to go to Bible College full-time.

That experience introduced us to the concept that less is more. We definitely had less money, but we had more time. We had less stress and more peace. We had less activities and more fun.

Since that experience, we’ve continued to live primarily on one income for the past twenty years. We’ve had to battle cultural peer pressure and make different decisions for our family than many other families in our neighborhood have made. But we’ve never felt that we were materially depriving ourselves or our kids…instead we’ve focused on what we’ve actually been able to provide for them emotionally and relationally.

What do you hope your readers will gain from this book?

We hope the reader is encouraged to evaluate how they are living their life, spending their money, and thinking about family matters. Our goal is to introduce families to the “less is more” concept and then equip them with the attitudes and actions to actually make that happen.

For families that are already committed to less is more, we hope to bolster their resolve and help them stay focused on the long-term goal of providing relationally for their kids.

In today’s economy, there are many families being forced to live with less. We want to help them see the opportunity they have with this unexpected downsizing they’ve been forced to do.

And for those who have just been a little discontent with their life and saying things like, “I’m tired of the rat race of life,” or “Is there more to life than drive-thru meals for dinner?” we hope to help them see other choices they have and how they can lead their family in a different direction.

What unique elements will the reader find in Living With Less So Your Family Has More?

For couples who want to read the book together, we’ve included discussion questions at the end of every chapter. This helps move the readers to discussion and eventually actions. Even a single parent can use the discussion questions for personal evaluation.

Readers will find this book a practical guide to changing your attitude and your actions to live a successful “less is more” life. They’ll find our writing style to be a warm, casual, honest discussion where we not only share our victories but our mistakes along the way. We are an average couple living successfully on an average income who want to help others to see the possibilities before them.

This is a Hearts at Home book. What is Hearts at Home?

Hearts at Home is an organization that encourages, educates, and equips women in the profession of motherhood. Hearts at Home encourages moms through annual conferences, our extensive website (www.hearts-at-home.org), a free electronic newsletter, a radio program, and an entire line of books designed to meet the needs of moms all over the world!

Any closing thoughts?

It’s healthy for parents to occasionally pause and evaluate their vision for their family and the choices they are making. We hope this resource will help them do that together and that it will lead them to live a life of little regret.

Thank you to Mark and Jill!  I have had the privilege of meeting Jill and she  has a  passion for women in all stages of life to know Jesus.  Check out her blog. 

Have a blessed weekend,

Hi friends,

We are well into the new year, 2010, can you believe it.  Where did the decade go?  I follow a few blogs and Kelly over at Kelly’s Korner is doing this fun Show Us How You Live topic.  This months topic is New Year Resolutions or what I like to call “goals”.  So let’s share!  You can click on the link above to get to Kelly’s blog. 

Five goals for 2010:

1.  Regular date nights with my hubby.  We have let this go and life get’s ahead of us.  You can get so wrapped up in the day to day stuff and before you know it another month, year or decade is gone. 

2.  Develop a quiet time.  This is an ongoing goal of mine.  I really want to cut out time to fellowship, praise and dig into God’s word.  I want to grow patience allowing God to stretch me in adventures that I believe he has for me.  I desire to follow God’s lead in my life, doing his will, being a faithful follower.  Be and have kindness and gentleness reside in my heart so I can model to my daughters what it means to have compassion towards others and teach Phoebe self control.

3.  Work out three times a week.  I am a mom of young children and I don’t want to place un-necessary pressure on myself.  As long as I am eating healthy and getting in my 3 workouts I am good with that. 

4.  I want to read more.  I love to read.  I don’t get the chance often but I want to start a book club or something.  This allows me to slow down and take some time to myself.  Plus it helps your kids.  When they see you reading you can tell them to go and get a book.  Reading is food for your brain!

5.  I want to discover me.  This is the biggest one for me.  Jesus made me like he wanted me and I have lived in bondage thinking I don’t measure up.  This is such a lie and I want to break free.  I want to see what I like and what I enjoy and be the true me.  I believe many gals have these chains because let’s be real..we all want others to like us and think we are special.  The one that I want to impress by being who he created me to be is Christ.  There is something in each of us that only we possess and we need to discover it, unlock it and use it so that we can work for God’s kingdom. 

6.  Okay I said to list five but I have another one.  I want to be a better mom.  I want to take the time out of my busy life to truly disciple my children.  Who else will do it and who else would I want to do it?  Once again it boils down to being disciplined with TIME.  Making sure we are not allowing BUSYto get us. You know the acronym for BUSY is: being under Satan’s yoke.  The evil one keeps us busy so we can’t develop our quiet time, spend time with our husband,  deepening our marriage, disciple our children according to God’s truth and not of this world, build friendships and on and on.  He likes to isolate us or keep us running all the time and than her has our minds for a playground and boy does he have fun!  Be aware of his schemes.  Be on the lookout! 

So there is my list for 2010.  What do you have on your’s?

 Wow, can you believe we are closing a decade.  I am so excited about starting a new year and a new decade.  New, new, new!!  I have some new adventures I am praying about.  What do you have that is new coming in 2010?  I am so excited to be moving into our new home in a few months.  We have waited so long for this home and it is such a blessing from God.  It will able us to care for Natalie easier.  We are truly blessed!!   I will also be teaching a lesson for our women’s bible study.  I have to admit, I am scared to death.  I just keep praying that God takes “me” completely out and fills “me” with Christ.   Those are just a few…so what is “new” with you? 

I want to wish you and your family a safe and refreshing New Year.  I have added a new page called Tips and downloads.  There is a great download that has 20 questions to reflect on from 2009.  It is really good!!  Check it out and let me know what you think.  I hope to add more tips and downloads in the future.  If you have something you want to share send it my way! 

Once again,  Happy New Year!!  May God bless you and your family abundantly in 2010!!

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

We save money so we can get that one special gift.  We go to tons of  stores searching for that one special gift.   We can’t find that one special gift.  UGH!  The stores are packed with people all looking for that one special gift.  This time of year we get into a mood that we should have all year long.  Giving special, thoughtful, loving gifts.  It doesn’t have to come from a store.  It could be a card, a meal, helping someone who is under the weather clean up their home.  Swapping childcare with a mom whose hubby is gone alot.  A cup of coffee with a new mom who is lonely and needs a friend. 

I am going to pose a question that I hope you really ponder on for a while.  You know why don’t you go get you something to drink, coffee, tea, water, a soft drink, and I will wait for ya…go on..get a snack if you need one.  Okay..so here is the question.  What gift are you going to give Jesus this Christmas?  I will give you a minute.  (the Jeopardy tune is playing in my mind..is it in yours?)  Will it be, more time with Him, reading your bible daily, a better prayer life, serving others more, getting involved in church, forgiveness,  repenting from sin in your life.  Think about this, Christ came to earth as a baby when he could have come as a KING, what he is.  God sent his son, humbly to live as we do, to serve us and to in the end give the ultimate gift..salvation through death on the cross.  I really want to pray about what I am going to give to Jesus and I am going to write it in my bible so I can remind myself of it. 

In the hustle and bustle of Christmas we make our list of who we need to buy gifts for:  husband, kids, parents, extended family, friends, teachers, etc.  Do we ever place Jesus on that list?  I want to make it tradition that when I sit down to write out my list for gifts, Jesus is at the top. 

I pray that you and your family have a wonderful Christmas filled with love, laughter, joy, peace, and health.  May the true meaning of Christmas flood your heart and  home.  Many blessings to you and your family this Christmas and in 2010.

Can you believe we are not even through Halloween and stores are all decked out for Christmas.  Yes, I typed Christmas.  I believe in Christmas and that is what  I am standing firm on.  December 25 is a day to celebrate Christ’s birth.  I think of the holiday season as the whole month of December but the 25th is His birthday, Christmas.   No political correctness here! 

I thought it would be fun to share how we celebrate the Christmas season.  How do you keep it stress free (can we do that)?  What cookies do you make? What is your favorite Christmas song?  Do you have a favorite memory of a toy or game?   These are some things I am going to be blogging about in the coming weeks.  First,  I want to share some tips I have collected over the years.  I attend the  Hearts at Home conferences and have heard fantastic speakers.  Karen Ehman is so much fun, practical and humorous.  She has several books out.  She has a class about  having a Blessed not Stressed holiday.  Here is what she suggests:

S:  Don’t seek to have the perfect Christmas season.  Have a memorable one.  Don’t worry if your home is perfect, the food is perfect or you are holding to tradition.  This will cause stress!

T:  Try not to do it all.  You don’t have to do all the Christmas traditions in one year.  If you have many spread them out.  Pick the ones that will work for you and your family in this season of life.

R:  Don’t REPEAT mistakes of the past.  Figure out what stresses you out and avoid it.  If it is baking cookies from scratch, don’t.  Make some that are semi-homemade.  If it is getting all your shopping done in one weekend, spread out your time.  Enjoy life!  We only get one!

E:  Evaluate your Christmas season by not comparing yourself to others.  Look  God in your own celebration.  All families are different.  Take the ideas from your friends and family and pick ones that work for you.  Don’t feel guilty about this.  Your family is it’s own unique identity!

S:  Set no agenda according to your kids.  The Christmas season doesn’t revolve around them.  The holidays are to expose them to those who are less fortunate.  Take this opportunity to plant some seeds of compassion, kindness, and giving. 

S:  Start off the season with a plan.  Without a plan you will fail.  Your holidays will go by in a blurr and you will be stressed out!  Plan out your holiday budget!!  This is so important.  Don’t allow your family to become stressed out due to overspending.  It is so easy to do!   Sit down with your calender and plan out shopping days, a few nights to write out Christmas cards while watching a fun Christmas movie, plan your menu and start picking things up here and there at the store (this will help your budget), plan a weekend to put up your Christmas tree and lights.   Plan fun time, go see Christmas lights, go to a local church for a Christmas play, have fun in the snow, bake cookies, read the Christmas story (Luke 2). 

These tips and ideas have helped me through the years to have a less stressed Christmas.  I tended to think that I had to be doing everything that my friends families where doing.  It left me so overwhelmed.  I went to this class with Karen Ehman and a light bulb went off.  I was free from all the “have to’s”  My Christmas’ are so much more enjoyable now.  

Next we will talk about how to bless…I hope you join me!!  I truly believe we can learn from one another.

Hey friends,

It has been a long time since I posted.  Things here in the Cross house have been crazy.  Elliott had to have some more tests on his shoulder.  He had surgery on it in April and it is still giving him problems.  They finally gave him cortisone shots and he is back in physical therapy. 

We went on our Disney Vacation.  It was great and so much fun.  I tell ya, Disney has thought of everything to make your vacation so enjoyable.  Here is a rundown.  We arrived on Sunday afternoon.  We stayed at The Wilderness Lodge.  Now, let me just say that this place is huge.  It is like being in a Colorado mountain resort.  It is beautiful.  The staff is so friendly and the accommodations are wonderful.  We got settled into our rooms and wandered around the hotel.  When we purchased our vacation we also did the Disney dinning plan.  I highly recommend it.  We ate dinner and went out to the beach (the hotel is nestled around a lagoon)  to see the lighted boat parade that they do every evening.  It was fun. 

On Monday we were up bright and early and went to Magic Kingdom.  The shuttle boat over was accessible and it was fun seeing the girls on a boat.  We spent 12 hours at Magic Kingdom on Monday.  We rode rides, many of them Natalie could stay in her wheelchair.  Like I said, Disney has thought of everything.  They treat kids with special needs like royalty.  We ate great food and stayed for the evening parade.  You should have seen Phoebe by the time we left.  She was sound asleep in the stroller.  Natalie was all smiles.

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