Camping? Me? no way... =)

     So its finally Friday!! YAY! And this weekend should be especially interesting because we are leaving this afternoon to go on a church camping trip to Cane Creek! I am pretty excited but I say it should be interesting because anyone who knows me knows Im not to much of the outdoorsy type.. unless Im at the beach then I could spend the whole day outside =)) I know most people dont "like" bugs, but im a little bit extreme when it comes to that!  If anyone knows the correct phobia for bugs or insects.. please let me know!
Nick and I are sharing a camp site and tent with my mom, dad, and my brother. Oh and lets not forget Jaq =D It should be a fun time of fellowship and being adventuress with our church family. What else could you ask for when it come to your church? We are very blessed to have such lovely people to call "church family"
We have been attending Church With A Purpose for about a year and half now and I can honestly say that in 22 years of being in church, this is the first church where I actually take what  the Pastor says on Sundays and get something out it.. the first church where I have let the Spirit of the Lord really use my gifts and be free. In the time we have been there my brother has met, courted, and is now engaged to his future wife, I have seen the Lord do things in my husbands life that every wifey should have the priviledge to see, and feel so accepted and encouraged from people I barely knew it was just overwelming =) So taking this camping trip with them is just going to be fabulous!!! We will be posting pictures over the weekend =)

bargains..

 So I went back to Target today because my mom was nice enough to let me do a few things around the house to earn some spending money. Ive pretty much decided your never to old to do that =) I had $25 to spend and I was determined to get the most for my money. The first area I went to was the Clearance section! Also my favorite =) Heres a couple of the items I found ...

                        These adorable babydoll shoes were 75% off!! I paid $3.24 .. (I got 2 pair =)

                       These High heels were also 75% off.. I paid $4. 50 for them.. arent the cute?!?

                            This shirt was about $20 a few months ago.. got it today for $9.98 =)

                                          Heres an upclose of the middle section.. I could not pass up the deal!!

I also got a medium length black rope neck dress. And yes although its sleeveless, you can always wear any color sweater to dress it up even more and keep warm! I paid $4.98 for that!!! Im telling you, you can find so many good deals in the clearance. For all 5 items I purchased today my total was $28!
  
Heres a few fashion tips I have picked up for myself (If you think their weird or just not good, then dont use them =) )
1. For thicker women like myself, look in the maternity section! Even if your done having babies or havent had any yet.. maternity clothes fit more comfortable on thicker shapes because they arent so fitted! adding a belt right under your bust line makes it look totally "not maternity". (and if your one who hasnt had babies yet but you plan on it... youll already have some maternity clothes!! ;)
2. Buy a few different of the wider belts.. different colors and you can wear them with the same shirt (long or short) with different pants and its a whole new outfit =)
3. Do not compare yourself to other women you may see or know who may have the shape you "think" you should have! Your beautiful and you should think of yourself as such =)

Next time your in a store... head to the clearance section! <3

Thought I would share some pics of Me and Tone~tone..

Heres Mom and I on my wedding day =) oh she was so fabulous on that special day

 Love this one.. my mom was so happy and excited on my wedding day.. she didnt cry! HA then tears came about 2 months later.. =))))

Target Troubles...and Tone~tone to the Rescue

    So I absolutely love Target! Their $1 section always has the most fabulous little things! They also have quite a bit in their cleareance.. I had not been in a while just with work and not really wanting to spend extra $$ but everyone knows sometimes there are deals you just cant pass up! So to avoid spending anything extra I have just passed right on by for a couple months! So this morning after I dropped Mia (the little girl I nanny) off at preschool, I decided I was going to go in and just glance around. Well to my surprise all these cute shirts, purses, wallets, shoes, and home decor I had been waiting on to go on sale months ago is on sale NOW! ... =/  So I said to myself, "so now that my hubby is out of work, and we are saving every flippin penny,(and I do mean every flippin penny lol) you decide to go on sale!?" ... So feeling a little discouraged I texted my mom, who I text about 25 times a day and see her at least 4 or 5 times a week, and told her my dilema! And as usual she encouraged me and made a funny (a joke =) and told me if I would help her do some cleaning and organizing, she would pay me and I could go back and get a few of the little things I wanted! ( and to be honest I felt like I was 8 years old again and was earning an allowance but then I pushed that thought away and said hey if this is another way the Lord is going to provide Ill take it =) We call my mom Tone~tone because for one her name is Toni, and two there use to be the sweetest lady who came into the ER where my mom works. Her name was Joyce and she called my mom Tone~tone <3 Joyce has passed away but the nickname.. it stuck!
 My Mom and Dad are pretty much amazing and sometimes I offer to help clean or do whatever she needs because they've been so fabulous. But in our family, You dont worry about if someone has paid you back or not, it all evens out somewhere.  All of it has made me wonder where Id be if I had grown up with a not so positive way of dealing with things.. definitely not where I am now! My Tone~tone is one of my best friends and throughout my childhood she and my dad demonstrated to Myself, My brother Thomas and sister Morgan unconditonal love. No matter what we did, we may have gotten in trouble, but they never put us down or discouraged us. They sacrificed and went without so that we were happy and had what we wanted or needed! I have so many wonderful memories from my childhood sometimes I can literally smell a memory.. (I know thats weird but its true) So once again.. its Tone~tone to the rescue =D

     When I woke up this morning, I realized how blessed I am. Ive always known in my heart how blessed I am but Ive been trying to think about the small things lately. Friday when we got the news that Nick had lost his job, the thing that hit me was how unfair it was. And then I remembered life isnt always fair =) As Christians, I believe the Lord puts us in situations that may not be ideal to teach us to depend on Him. I began to pray on my way home and immediately the Lord began to make me aware of how much Nick and I really do have. Which is a lot more than a lot of others have. We all have so much more than we think or realize. Our society is always telling us we need to have this or that when honestly we all need to learn to be satisfied with what we do have! Its the little things.... When we were feeling a little discouraged Saturday evening we were sitting at the kitchen table doing some stuff on the computer. And Jaq (pronounced Jack) our Italian Doxie.. yes his mother was an Italian Greyhound and his father was a dachshund (didnt make sense to me at first either lol) got a wild hair and just started practically doing flips off the couch and we could not help but laugh out loud. In that moment Jaq brought a smile to our face.... Im sure he would put one on yours too =) Hes about 4 months old now 


                                                   Heres baby Jaq =) about 6 weeks old

                                          and heres big boy Jaq .... not so innocent anymore ;)

   Dont get me wrong... there are some days I wonder what I was thinking when I brought him home. hehe ;) But its nights like this past saturday that I remember =))

Never Thought Id be a "Blogger"

   You know its funny how the Lord changes your heart over the years. As a child, when it came to reading, writing, etc.. I wasnt ever very enthusiastic about any one of them. That was more of my lovely sisters interest. Although I did them and usually did pretty well, it was never a desire of mine. But in my more "mature" years =) the Lord has given me a love for it and it even brings back some fabulous memories from my childhood! 
  Thats what I love about my Jesus. He puts desires in your heart that you never thought would be there. Recently my husband Nicholas (or My Nicki as I love to call him) have been experiencing some tough times in life but thru it all we have grown as couple and learned many things. In the two and a half years we have been married, we have experienced  family struggles, job losses, financial stress, etc. Im pretty sure just about every couple does in there first couple of years of marriage. =) We have witnessed first hand how satan tries to come in and get you down. Key word "tries."
But thru all of it, we have had support on every level possible. Spiritually being the most important! Had it not been for a family that loved us, a church family that loved us, and most of all a God who loves us and whose love NEVER fails, Im not sure where we would be right now.
   I strongly believe the Lord is trying to teach Nick and I to rely on Him for everything. Hes more than enough. I use to sing a song called "On Time God"
He's an ontime God, Yes He is
He May not come when you want Him
But He'll be there right on time
He's an ontime God, Yes he is

Sometimes its hard to believe that when time is running down and bills are due. But the Bible says in Psalms 37:25 "I was young, now I am old Yet I have never seen the rightoues forsaken or their children beggins bread."
He is always Faithful. <3