Cora's Birthday in Pictures

I'm so far behind in updating this blog but here is a little peek at Cora's 4th birthday party, way back in March.

She requested a "unicorn" party so we went with "Unicorns and Rainbows". We had all kinds of "rainbow" candy and foods such as skittles, starbusts, unicorn horn lollipops, m&m's, colorful veggies and fruits, bugles (unicorn horns), etc. At the end of the party, I put all the candy on a table and the kids each could scoop what they wanted into a bag as their party favor.

Here is Cora with her new unicorn. I found it on an Etsy site.

Family Picture Time...

Cake time....






Umm... yeah, I know. How awesome is that cake? Our good friend made it for us and it tastes even better than it looks, if that is even possible.

Good times, good times.

Happy 4th Birthday Cora Beth Richard!

Glorious Day

My new favorite song is Glorious Day performed by Casting Crowns (one of my favorite Christian groups). I believe it was written by Michael Bleecker and John Mark Hall. Truly these lyrics were inspired from God. They pretty much cover it ALL.


Read the lyrics. I believe they speak the truth. These are just beautiful, beautiful lyrics. If I were more technologically savvy, I would somehow attach a link or something to where you could actually hear the song, but I have no idea how to do that. But, really, I think you will enjoy reading the lyrics just as much as hearing the song. I just love what it says.



One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
And dwelt among men, my example is He.

The word became flesh
And the light shined among us
His glory revealed

And Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day he's coming
Oh, Glorious Day, oh, glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain
One day they nailed him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He

The hands that healed nations
Stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far way

Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He's coming
Oh, glorious day,oh, glorious day.

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He's ascended, my Lord evermore

Death could not hold him
The grave could not keep him
From rising again

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away

Rising, He justified freely forever
One day, He's coming
Oh, glorious day, oh, glorious day
Glorious day

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with his glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
my Saviour, Jesus is mine

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, he carried my sins all away

Rising, he justified freely forever
One day he's coming
Oh, glorious day,oh, glorious day
Glorious day, oh, glorious day


What more could I add to that? Nothing. It's a pretty awesome song. If you haven't heard it, try to find it or listen to The Fish. They play it a good bit. Very powerful song.

Jazzin' it up

Back in the beginning of February, I bit the bullet and joined an exercise class. I've been wanting to for awhile now but kept making excuses. So, one day before I could stop myself, I joined online.

I did this online because I knew that once I signed up and paid for something, by golly, I would do it. So, I did it. And, I hit the send button real quick so that I couldn't back out.

I am now a Jazzerciser. Not a very good one, but none the less, I jazzercise.

I had never been to a jazzercise class before so I didn't really know much about it. However, a friend of mine from high school recommended it and since she looks AWESOME, I thought - why not?

It's basically a mix of dance, exercise, toning, etc. Since I have been to other exercise classes, I assumed that I could do it. I had forgotten how long it had been since I attended an exercise class and well, I just don't have the same bounce in my step that I once did.

Since I am, shall I say - less than coordinated or graceful , I basically feel like a big buffoon out there shaking the junk in my trunk, but it's fun anyway. I have come to the conclusion that if everyone at the class is even remotely like me, they are concentrating just as hard on the instructor and what she is doing and what they are suppose to be doing, so truly they can not possibly notice what I am doing which is probably completely not what I'm suppose to be doing. Follow me?

My strategy is pretty simple. Stay in the middle to back row, watch the instructor while at the same time pick someone in front of you to watch, and when in doubt, just keep moving.

In fact, like Dory in the movie Nemo, who would chant "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming" when she had no idea which way to go, my new mantra shall be "Just keep moving, just keep moving" because really, isn't that the whole idea behind exercise anyway?

Full

We've been cleaning out lately. Cleaning out our pantries. Cleaning out our storage areas. Cleaning out our closets. Packing up things to give away, throw away, sell at consignment.

We've been cleaning out in order to give to some folks in need in another state.

All of this cleaning out has really gotten me to thinking.

Thinking about how truly blessed I am.

Thinking about how much we live in excess.

Thinking about how FULL our house is.

This is what has been on my mind: (even after we "cleaned" out)

1.Our fridge may not be FULL of what we want to eat, but it is FULL of food.
2. Our pantry may not be FULL of the the foods we want, but it is FULL of food to keep us fed.
3. Our closets may not be FULL of what we want to wear, but it is FULL of warm clothes for the winter and cool clothes for the summer.
4. Our coat closets are FULL of coats for every occasion - cool weather, really cold weather, rainy weather, "dressy" coats, casual coats.
5. Our closets may not be FULL of shoes that we love, but they are FULL of good shoes that will keep our feet warm and dry in any kind of weather.
6. Our toy boxes and playrooms may not be FULL of all the latest and greatest toys, but they are FULL of plenty of toys to play with.
7. Our house may not be FULL of everything that we would like to have, but it is FULL of everything (plus more) that we need.
8. Most importantly, my house is FULL of LOVE.

My heart is not always FULL of what it should be. Sometimes, it is FULL of a lot of junk (just like my house) that I need to get rid of. I want it to be FULL of love for God, for my family, for those in need, for the lost, for the sick, for the hungry, for the orphans, for everyone out there.

May you all feel FULL of LOVE this Valentine's day and every day! May we all remember how FULL our lives truly are!

Kindle - Obsession #4

For two years, I considered buying a kindle (an electronic reader). I hesitated because of the cost and the feeling that it was a waste of money considering that I could check out books from the library for free. The persistent problem that I have is that I seldom take the time to actually go to the library. I would find myself with some random, spare time that I could use reading if only I had a book. (I have always loved to read, but don't have all that much time to do it. When I did have the time, I didn't have a book that I wanted to read! A real dilemma!)

The other problem that I have is my obsessive nature when it comes to reading. When I would get a book or two or twenty from the library, I would read them non-stop until they were finished. Who needs sleep? Who needs to wash clothes? What dishes need to be washed?

After spending the last two Christmases (?) looking at and pondering the possibilities of purchasing a kindle, I finally did it. Before I could talk myself out of it once again, I hit the BUY NOW button. And, I haven't looked back since.

I seriously do love my Kindle. I have set limits for myself for how much I can spend for purchasing books. I also "purchase" as many free books as possible. I also look for really inexpensive ones as well. Since I am not usually "set" on a particular book, this works for me. Now I know some people are looking for a particular book and so the whole argument that "there are tons of free books out there" won't work for everyone.

I also am trying to only buy (with money, not free) books that I think I will want to read later as well. For me, those books are usually non-fiction Christian type books. These are also books that I can read awhile, set aside, and pick back up at any time. Or, re-read at another time. Which is why I like the Kindle. I can take all those books with me and can pick and choose when or which book or how much I want to read them without having to lug around a ton of books. For a relatively indecisive gal like me, that's a big plus.

A few of the books that I have actually spent money on include:
1. "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers. It is a christian fiction novel that I highly recommend.
2. " Radical: Taking back your Faith" by David Platt. I have just started it. I think it's going to be very thought provoking.
3. "Calm my Anxious Heart" by Linda Dillow. Another one that I really need to read.
4. "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. It comes highly recommended but I have only started to read it as well.

I've also downloaded quite a few freebies, too. Some I've already read, some I've just got ready for a rainy day. I've also got the KJV Bible, too. There are all kinds of versions of the Bible available...some are free, others may cost a few dollars. Most all of the classics are free as well. I would like to read some of those as well.

It is really super easy to use and so convenient. I've only had it for a little over a month, but I think I am going to really enjoy it!

And, I am doing much better at putting it down and only reading for short periods of time. I will confess I have had few late nights but with a little willpower, I think I will get better at that.

Searching Ebay- Obsession #3

Like Etsy, I mostly just look when I go on Ebay. I have lots of fun just searching for various items to see if I can find a good deal. I could totally see how addicting shopping on Ebay could be. That's why I try not to visit too often. It's really easy to get caught up in the "bidding war" and end up spending more than you had anticipated. That's why setting a limit for myself is a good thing. A very good thing. I've really only actually purchased a few things on ebay. They include:

1. Vera Bradley bags - I bought a couple of bags on ebay for presents for others. (ok, ok, one was for me!)

2. Baseball bat - We recently purchased a baseball bat for Tate. It is one of those ridiculously expensive ones but we did get a much better deal on it through ebay than at a retail store. Craig took care of this purchase for us. Tate had wanted one for around 2 years so that's what we bought him for his 8th birthday.

3. J.Crew wool coat - This is my most recent purchase. It also is the first "used" item that I have bought from Ebay. I was hesitant and nervous at first about purchasing it. I usually don't buy J. Crew clothes so I wasn't sure about the sizing. The pictures and description were great but I was still a little nervous about it possibly not being exactly as described. When I received it, I was very, very pleased. The measurements, pictures, and description were right on! It fit perfectly and looked brand new (she said she had only worn it once and from the looks of it, I believe her!)

(I can't believe I'm putting such an incredibly dorky picture but it's the only one I've got of myself in the coat. I'm willing to be the center of public ridicule for the purpose of this post.)

So far, my experiences with ebay have been really positive. I try to always check out the sellers' rating scores and I am fairly picky/choosy when buying so maybe that helps as well.

Regardless of whether or not you actually buy an item, it is lots of fun to just search for random stuff and see what kind of deals you can get. I think I enjoy the searching as much as the buying.

Who am I kidding? I really like the buying and especially the knock on the door when the UPS truck is dropping off my new purchase!