my new topic to post about...hopefully

So i've been thinking long and hard about what to post about because I feel that i should blog with a purpose, not just posting randomly. I felt that i should blog about my life and how it's changing as a grow with God, but i'm not really growing in my faith. I go to church, but that's it. i barely read my Bible (i can give you a million excuses why i don't...) I do pray but I don't feel that I'm doing it well or right. It's half hearted before I go to bed and most of the time I fall asleep.

So our church is starting a 21 day fast to help grow spiritually individually and as a church. I wasn't in the service so I didn't catch the whole reason....(i have a million excuses why I wasnt there...actually I was probably in the nursery). So I've just kind of felt lost lately and I think this fast will really help bring me closer to God. I'm excited to read the Bible and learn more about the fast. Mitchel and I decided to participate in the Daniel fast where we only fruits and veggies. I learned we can eat nuts and brown rice, so that helps with menu items. Tomorrow after work we are going shopping at Wholefoods for some organic fruits and veggies and somethings. I was totally lost on how I was to go about eating only these things and eating heathly at the same time. So i googled Daniel Fast and I found a blog

http://danielfast.wordpress.com/daniel-fast-food-list/

It's pretty interesting and alot of help along with some other websites that I can't remember at the moment.

So on the ride home I prayed about the fast and what other things I could do this year as well, because this fast is only 21 days. I believe that God wants us (me and Mitchel at least) to participate in the fast for long to really challenge ourselves. And to also live more frugally this year. To shop more at thrift store and buy used when we can. I really think this will help us save money and be able to give more to the church and also give more to others who may need it. I really think this is going to challenge us this year, and I pray it will bring us closer together as husband and wife.

I was also thinking of the 7 deadly sins and which ones apply to me. So here's a possibly funny take on my sinning....maybe


1 Extravagance-i have prime rib tastes on a hamburger budget
2 Lust-did you see the picture of the cowboy fabric on my facebook...
3 Gluttony-yes i've lost the baby weight, but it's finding me again...thank you chocolate
4 Greed-i drive past the lottery sign everyday...
5 Acedia-i don't know what this is...and i don't want to look it up...see number 7
6 Despair-yeah, things arent really that bad-YES THEY ARE...MY LIFE SUCKS!!!
7 Sloth- I am sooo lazy...that's all, i'm too lazy to think of an example
8 Wrath-I really have a hot temper. it's not funny. i get mad really mad really fast
9 Envy-i wish i had the cloth diapers Trenna has. I wish I was cool like Beki. I wish I could be a stay at home mom like them
10 (Excessive) Pride- I love my baby, he can talk and walk and dance and everything that your baby can't...
11 Vainglory-I can be pretty vain, I love my new hair cut. it's makes me look really good

ok that's it. I obviously have alot to work on. I really do struggle with all of these (as do alot of people). And I'm finally in a place where I can get down to business and get my life together.
I'm going to try to blog about it as much as I can but I'm not going to bore anyone with it. It's exciting to me and I hope it can inspire others too.

So to all 5 of my followers tell your friends about my super cool new blog!

This is really long...I hope you read it all!

following directions...

...not for me. I can't follow directions. It's too hard. I can't do it. Seriously, I really tried...hard. The purse is a total bust. And I wasted really pretty vintage fabric. I think I can salvage some of it to make a blanket or something. It's really better if I just make up the pattern as I go along. My bags turn out so much better that way. I made a whole diaper bag with a divider inside all by myself. I forgot to put the handles on...and it's still handless...but aleast I made it. It would totally be functional if I put handles on it though. I will probably never be good enough to sell them in a craft fair, but I can make them for friends and family. Or maybe I need to find easie patterns. I remember my friend T had a pattern for a purse and it was super easy. I need to find those.

That's it. No pictures of my beatiful disaster of a purse. When I make the real one I'll post.

BTW I still haven't come up with a super cool blog theme for next year. I guess it'll just be boring me. I will try to post more next year. It's been a year since I started this blog and like 17 of these blogs have been in the last month I think.
Thank you to my 5 followers for reading!

Christmas Eve/Morning

I shot this super cute video of Brighton waving bye to Santa while we watched The Polar Express. This has become a tradition of ours. Then we read The Night Before Christmas while we drank hot apple cider, a tradition from the Woodward side of the family that i strictly enforce. We finally went to bed at about 10:30. That's all I'm going to post for now because this video takes forever to upload. Merry Christmas all!

after bath time

It's after bath time because I didn't think 'bath time' pictures would be appropriate. I didn't want the nudity police after me.

So usually Brighton chucks his towel after bath time because he hates it! But today he wanted his towel back after he was dry. So I gave it to him and he paraded around the house in it like a cape. It made me feel good because I bought that towel for him. I guess I think everything I buy for him is specail because so much was given to my by wonderful friends. It was just so cute to watch him wrap himself up in is towel that mommy bought for him.

And I decided to put his super cute dr. suess diaper on him tonight. He wouldn't stay still enough to take good pictures, but I got a few. I love that diaper. I just wish I'd gotten a medium because the large is a little big.

So here are some pictures of after bath time, actually they are up top because I don't know why

cloth diapers

So i'm really glad I made the decision to use cloth diapers! Even though I don't use them all the time, they have really saved us this year. Like everyone we've had some money issues and sometimes we haven't been able to buy disposable diapers (I wouldn't at all if my daycare would have done cloth). But just know that I have something to put on his but besides a towel is a life saver. Now if I'd just get my butt in gear and make some cloth wipes I wouldn't have to use paper towels when we run out of wipes!! Plus if i had cloth wipes I wouldn't have to throw away the yucky poopy wipes and get poop on my hands. Anyway. I love my cloth diapers. I don't think Brighton cares either way except when he's trying to get away and still have to get the cover on. that's why i hope to get a couple more all in ones. I know he'll be out of diapers soon, but some day we'll have another one...

Christmas Party

There is supposed to be a video. if there's not...i'm sorry but it's really cute. I'll get it up on facebook.

We went to my office Christmas party tonight. It was great fun! It was just for the Urology department. We had a potluck dinner, which I forgot to bring food to and a white elephant gift exchange. I brought a two tear serving dish that was probably a wedding gift to for my inlaws, but Dennis said I could have it. And I walked away with a neat photo frame (that I probably should have taken a picture of).

Anyway. We ate and exchanged gifts and then....Santa came for the kids! It was a big suprise! Now, most kids are afraid of Santa at this age, but not Brighton. He loooves Santa. When my mother in law took him to the mall to see Santa, he cried when she had to move him so the other kids could have a turn. And he loved Santa tonight. He was in like every picture because he stood right by Santa the whole time. Although he did suck on the candy cane the whole time he was in Santa's lap...oh well. It was still really cute and special. Then we played Battle of the Sexes. It was great. It's also nice to have a phone that has the internet, that connects to google...otherwise I wouldn't have known whick ESPN guy was famous for saying BOOYA....Stuart Scott BTW. So it was a really fun night and I'm glad I went. Mitchel andI are notorious for skipping out of social events.

So if my video ever gets done uploading (if you are reading this, it did) I will post this blog and go to sleep.

That white elephant thing was fun. Maybe I'll post a give away on my blog and find stuff around my house to give you and then you can exchange it for something better on someone elses blog...it might work. I know my friend Beki has some cool stuff!

blogging

So i'm new to blogging for the most part. I blogged once and a while on myspace (deleted that) and i started this blog last year and i'm just now starting to post on it. I must say that I do love blogging and want to do more with it. I look at other blogs that have give aways and they do product reviews and all kinds of stuff. I have a great friend Annie who has helped me tramendously with getting my blog started and i learn more each day. I hope my blogs will get more interesting in the next few months.

I watched Julie and Julia a few nights ago and was kind of inspired (probably alot of people were) and I want to do something similar. Do something and blog about it, but i don't know what to do! my dad bought me 365 days of cookies a few years ago, but i don't think i want to bake. I don't want that temptation! I'm trying to loose weight! I want to incorperate Brighton if I can. Maybe i could do some crafts with him and just post about it. He needs to be more crafty i think.
I enjoy making purses but it takes me along time to make them sometimes. Although i did make one in 45 minutes one time, but it was really basic and i didn't use a pattern or anything. I want to make more unique looking ones because the one i make is pretty basic. I guess i could just make a pattern up my self. But then there's the problem of Brighton. He wants to help and be in the middle of my work and i use sharp pins and rotary cutter! hmm...I have two weeks till the new year so I'll have to do somethinking.
Ok 4 followers! give me some ideas

book reviewer

i'm officially a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson publishing! wooo hooo!!! I ordered my first book today and I can't wait to get it.

I actually saw the button on mamadweeb's blog and followed it and signed up myself.

that's all...

my friends blog

here's me and mitchel on our second anneversary. We were at Sky's the rotating restuarant on top of the Hyatt hotell in Kansas City

i have a cool friend called Annie and she has a cool blog at http://www.mamadweeb.com/
you should check it out because she's giving away a candle that helps your skin stay soft...that's right...a candle...that helps your SKIN stay soft....check it out. she also writes about other cool stuff too that i'm totally jealous of.

Ugh...I have lost my voice. And actually it's been like 2 weeks already! I'm done with it. I have to answer phones all day long and it's not helping matters. I passed my sickness along to my dad and my father in law. Brighton and Mitchel have been spared for now. So that's all i have towrite for now. Sorry its not to interesting right now. I hope this weekend will be fun. We are going to Inter Faith Ministries to serve lunch to some really interesting people. Last month there was this older man in an electric chair and he kept picking up Brighton. I was kind of nervous at first because the man was kind of shaking as he picked him up, but Brighton loved him! He played with the man's keys around his neck and pointed to his ears and mouth. It was so great to watch and i think Brighton brightened up the man's day a bit.
Honestly I am a little afraid of homeless people, but everyone we met was super nice and fun to talk with and get to know. Brighton won't be going with us this time, but I'm still looking forward to going and serving.

We are also hopefully going out to look at christmas lights too. It may be too cold though. And then on Sunday we are going to Mitchel's company christmas party.

parade

Hmmm...i don't remember santa hats in the movie











Today Brighton and I went to the Christmas parade in the Delano District in Wichita. It was really really cold and he was asleep for the first part of it.




We had to park a million miles away which would have been fine if it wasn't so stinkin cold! Even the river was frozen

Safer brand is Building an Organic Community!

Safer brand is Building an Organic Community!

ok still trying to figure out pictures

here's a picture of crazy little B at the pumpkin patch

Little B needed a hug...and i'm totally rocking a purple coat!

Thanks Annie for helping me with my blog!

Hopefully this posts the way i want it

trying to figure out pictures and stuff

ok i'm going to try to figure out how to post pictures better so here is a random picture

so i guess i can't figure out how to post pictures under the text.

i will have to ask

checking something?

had to post this

an anodyne makes you feel good...had to post this.

today

today my boss let me have the afternoon off and i loved it! i slept and had a relaxing time. I left the little man at daycare. I've been feeling under the weather lately. I have a super sore throat with almost no voice and i've worked all week answering phone. not fun.
This weekend should be great though. Tomorrow we are going to the Christmas parade downtown and possibly another picture with Santa!

santa

This week Brighton visited Santa twice!

Last friday night (the day after thanksgiving) we all went to the Illuminations at Botanica Gardens and we stopped by to see Santa. The line wasn't too long so i figured it would be ok for him and not feel rushed. The helper lady gave him a candy cane and I sat him on Santa's lap, but Brighton was more interested in the candy cane that looking at the camera or Santa so here's the picture from that...actually it posted above the text ok....

Then my mother in law took little B to see Santa at the mall. I asked her to. I was kinda worried that he'd be scared because he had no candy cane to distract him, but Kendall said he did really well. He walked right up to Santa and started "talking" to him and then was sad when Kendall took him away so the next kid could go. Aww...poor little B man...lol so I will post the picture from the mall too, but who knows where it will post to.