The Adventures of a Twin Mama

Book Review: Princess Monroe and Her Happily Ever After

2018-09-14T11:53:00.002-07:00

illustrator Glynise Martin

How many of you have ever read a fairy tale and wished that it had a different ending? Maybe one that didn't involve the princess being swept off her feet by some unrealistic, ideal of a Prince, or one where she actually does something productive to save herself?

Guess what? I have the perfect book for you! I did receive an advance free copy in exchange for an honest review of the book. I honestly loved it! The illustrations are adorable and the storyline is wonderful!

This is wonderful book about Princess Monroe who is more than just a princess. She is a smart, independent girl with many different interests. While her Queen Mom has a more traditional idea of finding her a prince, Monroe wants to explore, learn and play. As the princess continues speak her truth, without a prince beside her, her mom accepts her daughter's wishes. In this story,the princess saves herself.

Here is just a bit more about the book:

Full Title: Princess Monroe and Her Happily Ever After

Author: Jody Smith

Illustrator: Glynise Martin

Synopsis

Princess Monroe is more than JUST a princess. While she likes “princessing,” she finds it a bit boring. Monroe is more interested in learning, playing and building stuff. She has dreams of traveling to Paris, rescuing puppies and becoming a scientist. In her spare time she likes to rock climb, dance and garden.

Quite frankly, the only issue for Monroe is there are only 24 hours in a day! What she knows for sure is she can’t possibly find what makes her happy while she’s taking care of a prince. So instead of being saved by Prince Charming like every other fairytale, Monroe is going to save herself first.

I found this book so refreshing compared to all the books out there that are full of the sterotypical princess story of the princess falling in love and finding "true" love. Today's world needs more about how the real world is and I feel that Princess Monroe gives us that. She shows us that there is so much to be explored and done in life and that it's not all about settling down with a "prince charming", but it's about adventure and fun and how you can do that without hurting those you love. Her mother accepted that her daughter didn't want to fit into that stero-typical princess type, and she rolled with it. So I think it would be good for every mom to read this book as well as every princess!

*You can find the book here: https://amzn.to/2p9dT1M

Connect with the Author Jody:

Website http://www.princessmonroe.com

Instagram http://instagram.com/jodyvalleesmitth

Facebook http://facebook.com/jodyvalleesmith

Courageous Girl group https://www.facebook.com/courageousgirlcommunity

*Disclaimer: this is an affiliate link and I will receive a small commission for purchases made through this link. Purchases help to support the site and keep my blog up and running.

School Has Begun

2018-08-31T17:05:00.003-07:00

So, as most of you know I decided to keep the girls home from preschool this year and do it myself. It has been quite the adventure so far and it's fun. I had a call with Headstart and when big E overheard she said "But, mommy I wanted you to teach me!" So, what is a mother to do with that? Well, I had already made up my mind what I was going to do and that was to keep my girls home their last year and teach them myself.

I have an Associate of Arts Degree in Early Childhood so I'm perfectly suited for teaching preschool and I'm loving doing it! Our first week we did an All about me theme.
*This post may contain affiliate links, I receive a small commission when purchases are made at no cost to you.

I had them draw/color their favorite outfits. Here is little E with her Elsa dress! She wore that dress out and has been begging me for another. We'll have to see what "Santa" might bring her this year for Christmas.

Big E drew her version of her Anna dress! She loves that dress. It's been mended many, many times, but she still wears it. Maybe "Santa" will bring a new one for her for Christmas this year.

This is Little E on our first day of school at her desk. I was able to borrow desks that were not being used from the Academy where my husband teaches and they work wonderfully for the girls and they love them!

Here are both girls posing for their first day of school photo behind their desks. They were so excited to start school. Grandma made them special school outfits to wear 5 different ones. A cherry one, sunflower one, Shopkins one, Hello Kitty one, and a Watermelon one. I believe some others may be in the works with some material that I had on hand. They love their school outfits as do I. My mother is an excellent seamstress and does such beautiful work. These outfits take her about 45 minutes to whip up. If any of you would be interested in ordering she does take orders. You can contact me and I'll put you in contact with her.

This is Big E posing on the first day of school! She's super excited to get started!

At the end of our first week we did self portrait paintings and the girls had an absolute blast with that. They had been asking all week when we were going to paint. We actually got to paint during our library day, which was a surprise, but then they also got to do this at the end of our school day. Above is Big E and below is Little E.

Here are both girls with their self portraits they were so involved in their projects I had a hard time getting them to pose for these pictures.

Here I was able to get some in action shots. We started studying the letter Ii this past week so we made little books with the Letter "I" and made books that went along with the short vowel sound for I. This coming week we'll do the Long vowel sound.

Here they are doing their math sheet. We were focusing on the number 5 this past week. They can count really good up to 10 and sometimes even beyond that. They sometimes do tend to add in extras that are not there, but we're working on it.

I've created a read aloud list of Letter I books from the Letter of the Week book list which you can find here and you can find my Youtube Read Aloud List here.

A most awesome potty training product!

2018-08-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.pottymd.com?aff=5

Photo credit: PottyMD.com

As a mom you'll understand the ups and downs of potty training! Well with twins it's doubly different. You would think it would be easier since they have a sibling to help and encourage them, but nope! Big E was pretty easy to potty train and did very well and has done very well. She freaks out if she wets the bed or has an accident. However, Little E has been a different story. She's such a busy little critter that I think she just gets involved and forgets it's time to go.

A few months ago I had the opportunity to get a kit from PottyMD for potty training. And I jumped on it! It has been awesome and has helped Little E tremendously!

Little E loves her Potty Monkey! (It makes different sounds too and has different settings on the battery box, you just have to try out different settings)

The kit comes with this adorable fluffy monkey who talks and says he has to go potty and asks if you have to go too! There is also a potty that makes the flushing sound when the button is pushed. Let's just say that for awhile that monkey went everywhere with Little E and it made Big E a bit jealous!

One of the things that we were struggling with was bed wetting and guess what?? Little E has been bed wet free for several weeks now! Our kit came with the Wet Stop 3 Alarm that you hook up to them at night. One end kind of looks like a phone jack but has a highly sensitive sensor on it that picks up any dampness including if they pull up undies too quickly after going potty. The other part the box will vibrate and set off an alarm when it senses wetness. It did the trick. Although it seemed to scare the girls and I think that also helped to cure the night time wetting because Little E finally decided that she didn't want to have to wear the alarm at night so she started making herself get up to go potty. So now, no more wearing the alarm and no more waking mommy up because she wet the bed. Yipee! I'm so thankful for having found this amazing program. I highly recommend it. It took us a couple of months for it to take effect but it worked!
Click here to purchase or view on their website!

*Please note, I did receive the whole kit for free in exchange for this review. However, the opinions stated here are my own and are true.

A 4 Year Old's Summer

2018-08-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

I keep forgetting I have this family blog to be updating. But, maybe I'll post more here than on social media coming up.

This summer seems to have flown by and now it's the weekend before school begins. Hubby goes back to work full time on Monday and I will be teaching the little's at home this year. We are still at Carolina Christian Academy however, I am not teaching at the academy this year. Hubby is teaching US History and Life Science as well as supervising in the ACE learning center for Junior and Senior High school. He's excited to get back into the swing of things and the girls are delighted to be starting preschool with mommy!

This is our preschool corner. It's part of mommy's room!

These are bulletin boards I did for Hubby's classroom since he's teaching Life Science and US History this year. I so enjoy doing creative things like this. I found the ideas on Pinterest, but added my own twist. (You can follow me here!)

The academy does offer a K4 program for 4 year olds, but the girls just weren't ready to go this year. In fact, not that we base our decisions on their opinions because come on they're 4, but I did ask them if they wanted to go to school or stay home with mommy and they chose mommy. So I get the pleasure of teaching them this year and I'm excited and a little nervous about it. We'll use the K4 Abeka program as well as Letter of the Week and other curriculum as we go. We're starting out with an "All about Me" theme in which I'm hoping to teach them about writing their names.

Little E loved this twirly thing and climbing all over!

Mommy got to enjoy some time at the park with the munchkins this week while Daddy had staff in-service. We enjoyed seeing the fish in the pond, playing on the playground and even meeting new friends. They love being outside and it's amazing what it has done for their growth. Of course the heat makes it difficult as it was around 90 degrees this day, so we ended up grabbing some chicken nuggets and ice cream after our park adventures. :)

Little E is definitely a mama's girl and loves to snuggle with me any chance she gets. She cozied right up for this picture. Even though she is a lot more on the go, she does have her moments when she just wants cuddles and snuggles.

After crossing this bridge Little E said she didn't like bridges anymore. She's not much for heights or things she can see through and walk across. (which neither is mommy.)

Big E was all about climbing and swinging and hanging on the monkey bars this day. And she did awesome! Of course mommy helped, because it's a scary thing swinging on those monkey bars. They do it often here at home on the playground, but need help. Big E's favorite color is pink and Little E's favorite is blue except she keeps switching and liking pink too, so who knows! LOL

Marketing 101.1 Webinar

2018-01-19T14:28:00.001-08:00

I share a bit about my story and how I got started working from home, and a little about life with my twins and working from home on the webinar here. Check it out!

Working At home Ideal For Many Reasons

2018-01-18T10:20:00.001-08:00

Just some reasons why I work from home. Working from home may not suit every parent or mother out there. And I don't consider myself a full time work-at-home-mom because I do have a part-time out of the house job with teaching.

It takes a lot of work and planning to pull this off and I get a lot of mommy guilt, but my girls love imitating me and it's wonderful to be there for them for the important things and when they're sick I don't have to worry about calling off. And I don't worry about working weekends!

New Year, New Goals, New Ideas

2018-01-02T19:56:00.001-08:00

I know that it has been nearly 2 years since I have updated this blog, but a lot has happened since that time and I've recently had some time to think and re-evaluate where I am in life. I will be picking the blog back up and hopefully beginning to publish again on a regular basis on the topic of family development.

I was recently named 1 of 5 women chosen to be torchbearers for the Born to Lead Campaign for 2018 and my topic is Family Development. I encourage you to join the campaign if you are a women in a place of leadership you can go to http://www.borntolead2018.com for more information and to sign up, just state that I sent you.

Something else huge that has happened in our family's life in the past year is that we moved from the state of Ohio to the state of North Carolina to teach in a Christian Day School. My husband earned his bachelor's degree in History in August of 2016 and had been substitute teaching in Ohio, and we both decided after praying and searching our hearts that it was time to make some changes in our family's lives. So, we took on the huge move of 6+ hours and a HUGE box truck to move all our belongings to North Carolina.

It seemed like we had so much stuff still to pack on moving day even it was crazy! Stuff is still being found that was packed randomly. Big moves are rough. We even sorted through our storage unit and got rid of most of what was in it, donating it to a local thrift store.

We were welcomed to the area with a food pounding
and love offering from two of the churches
involved with the school where we teach.

If you have never moved, then you're missing out of the chaos and fun that it is. I found so many great ideas on Pinterest to try to help organize our move. We ended up literally moving in less than a month from an area where we had lived for more than 7 years of our married lives. You can see my Pinterest board here and follow it for moving ideas. We have moved several times in our married lives, but this move has been the biggest.

Just more of the chaos of moving!

First day of work at my new job! I am the
technology teacher for grades 1-11 as well as
the yearbook advisor/teacher for grades 10-11.

Our home decorated for fall a little early. Unfortunately the
mums didn't make it till the end of October.

The girls were so excited to start doing preschool this year
with mommy as their teacher. They have learned to write the
letter "I" and have started learning the letter "U" that's about
as far as we have gotten. But Elayna can trace all the numbers,
draw a heart, draw a pretty good smiley face, and Elyssa, is
drawing hearts, circles and counting pretty good too.

The girls love to dress up as princesses. These dresses have
seen better days and are about to head out the door. They were
Halloween costumes from a previous year and have been put to
good use, but they've been mended many, many times.

The girls thoroughly enjoyed playing Owlette at
a friends' house on Thanksgiving. Mommy was
able to catch this look between them and just
thought it way too adorable.

We celebrated Thanksgiving as a family on Black Friday, with
Daddy doing most of the cooking. He had been doing quite a
bit of that, but it's a new year and mommy has other plans.

The girls got to be in their very first parade for
our church here to advertise our big Christmas
program called "Journey to Bethlehem" We
ministered to 6,444 people this year over the
course of 4 nights. It is a live drive thru nativity,
and the largest in the state of NC.

Mommy and Daddy even got in on the Parade and the acting in Journeyto Bethlehem.

The Journey

2016-02-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been so long since I updated this blog, I figured its about time. I guess you could say that I've been quite busy! Last I blogged on here the girls were still infants now, they're 2 years old and growing up so fast.

This is Elyssa, she is our fashionista and loves dressing up in all different clothes. I think at one time she had 4 different outfits on at the same time. :) That was quite the day.

There is momma enjoying her girlies, they love taking pictures with mom. This was last fall. Elayna is in the blue and Elyssa is in the red.

In the fall we took the girls to a local pumpkin patch and they had lots of fun with that. Here Elyssa is in the blue flowered shirt and Elayna is in the gray tee shirt.

And there is the whole family! :) We had a lot of fun that day.

Elyssa perched on a pumpkin.

Elayna smiling away and perched on a pumpkin. Although this kid never stays in one spot for very long, she's very active and on the go, unless she's sick.

And this was quite the chore, getting them to put both of their heads through that hole.

And now just last Sunday they turned 2! We had their birthday party the week before as that was when Grandma could come. And it was Strawberry Shortcake themed.

They love this wall hanging and shhhh...it's still up! LOL

Diaries of the King's Daughter-Dressing like Royalty

2014-06-25T07:47:00.000-07:00

I recently found this quote online:

"My Princess....Dress like Royalty

I've called you to be royalty, My princess.

You don't have to conform to the wardrobes of this world to feel good about yourself.

Remember, what you wear initially defines what people think about you.

I want your wardrobe to honor Me.

You don't need to dress to get attention--I can make you more beautiful than any fashion designer because I specialize in internal and eternal makeovers.

Your favor and beauty will radiate because you are a reflection of Me.

Keep in mind that those who design clothes to expose your body do not love your soul like I do.

My love, let your wardrobe reveal My Spirit--not your flesh. So robe yourself today like the Royalty you are.

Love, Your King and Your Eternal Beauty"

(credits: http://hisprincess.com/dress-like-royalty/)

This post is probably going to get me in trouble, but it's something that I feel God has laid on my heart to share. I am not going to apologize for something that I feel God is asking me write and voice. I am not aiming this post at any one, its just something I feel needs to be reiterated.

I have been reading this book recently called The Girl in the Dress you can purchase it below.

I love the fact that this book is written from a woman's point of view but very scriptural. God created beauty for a reason. However, God also intended for us to be clothed in his holiness and in order to do that we must also be clothed in our outward appearance. In the very beginning of this book it gives an illustration of a girl who wants to wear an immodest outfit and thinks that it really doesn't matter because, after all God looks at the heart. Here is a quote from the book: "Katelyn looked Jackie in the eye. “You’re right,” she said. “God does see your heart, but no one else will—especially the guys at youth service tonight.” (1) How true this is, we humans can not see someone's heart or their intentions, we look at the outside, so if the outside doesn't match the inside no one else can see that. I get that people sometimes think all the blame is on the woman, but I am saying it can work the same way with guys. When a guy is wearing an extra skin tight shirt to show off his muscular body or even skin tight jeans, it can provoke thoughts that are impure in a woman. If we are all brothers and sisters in Christ then shouldn't we be doing our best to help our brothers and sisters make the goal, and shouldn't we then help protect our brothers and sisters. I also get that some folks have said that "boys will be boys" and that "they will think what they're going to think anyhow, regardless of how I dress", but that being said, we need to make sure that we are not inviting those thoughts or temptations, we need to make sure that how we are dressed doesn't provoke that kind of immoral thinking. The Bible says in

Matthew 5:28 "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh

on a woman to lust after her hath

committed adultery with her already in his heart.

This can work the same way with a woman so I'm not just targeting the woman's dress here.

It's also not just about a lack of clothing, but sometimes you can be wearing something that covers you, but it's way too tight and accentuates every detail of your body. As unmarried young ladies and young men, you need to be making sure that you are saving yourself entirely for the one that God has for you and as married ladies and men, you need to make sure that you are staying faithful to your spouse in keeping yourself only unto them as the marriage vows state. If you're covering yourself, but wearing skin tight clothing, in essence you're not really covering anything. This goes for both ladies and guys! Marriage is made so much sweeter if the things intended for the eyes of your spouse are kept for only them and not the eyes of the whole world. I don't mean that you should wear baggy, frumpy looking clothing, I believe that you can dress tastefully and still not be wearing the latest tight "fashionable" clothing. I don't believe that God wants us to dress as sloppy as possible in the baggiest clothing, but I believe that He wants us to be neat in our appearance and that it should reflect His holiness and His image, since after all we were made in His image.
The next time you put on an outfit, or even are trying on a new one in the store, pay attention to the thoughts that cross your mind. If they don't reflect something that is wholesome, you should probably not wear/buy it. If the thought that comes across your mind is "Wow, I look sexy in this" then it's probably not a good choice for wearing in public. I think those clothing choices should be reserved for your spouse's eyes only. Like I said I also don't believe that God wants us to look frumpy and baggy. Tasteful dressing should direct the eyes to our countenance, not our body. We want our countenances to shine for Jesus, and be careful of the stumbling blocks we may put in another's way.

I welcome your comments, just please be courteous and kind.

I'm linking up with:

Whole Hearted Home

(1)Wagner, Lori (2011-11-07). The Girl in the Dress (Kindle Locations 91-92). Ladies Ministries UPCI. Kindle Edition.

Diaries of the King's Daughter- (Heart Warming Wednesday)

2014-06-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

This is a little different Heart Warming Wednesday post (and it could quite possibly become a series) , but I thought it might help someone so I'm going to go ahead with it. I have made a commitment to reading my Bible complete through by the end of this year (December 2014). I have felt guilty for never reading my Bible completely through in my life. I've come pretty close but never actually done it. So I'm determined to do it this year. However, I realized that the normal 3 chapters a day through the week and 5 chapters on Sunday won't allow me to finish the Bible by the end of December, so I'm reading 5 chapters a day and sometimes 6 in order to make it. But I've found that some of the books are somewhat depressing, like Lamentations and now I've started into Jeremiah, but I've also found that I can add to my devotions and that helps some.

A Bible study book that I have been going through is called "Adventurous Prayer" (you can purchase it here).

I believe that prayer is essential to the Christian life, otherwise how else would we communicate our hearts to God. As I think about taking an adventure in prayer, I think of the simple fact that after all I am a daughter of the King of Kings and that makes me a princess. I have been thinking on this subject and about the requests that I make to my Father each day. I believe that we should come boldly before His throne, just like he has told us to in His word. God says in "Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Do we oftentimes come timidly to His throne instead of boldly as He has said we can? I think that too often the reason why we don't see some answers to our prayers is that we aren't bold enough in our prayers. After all if we are truly the King's sons and daughters, then why are we so afraid to make our requests known to Him? I'm aiming the finger at myself here too. I know that I haven't made my requests always known, they've been there in my heart, but I've been too afraid to actually voice them. I know that God can read our thoughts but He also likes when we speak up and tell Him our request.

I have gone through times of dryness and feeling like my prayers went about 2 inches about my head and stopped, ( I think we've all been there) but lately I've been really trying to pour my heart out to God, because I have realized that He is my Father and that when my earthly father was alive, I could go to him and ask his opinion on something or ask him for advice, but I wasn't really doing the same with my heavenly Father. As a princess I can come boldly before God as my Father and make my requests known. There are family and friends that I am praying for that God will work in their lives and save them, or help them, or give them strength, or just generally be a comfort to them, and I know that because God is my Father I can trust Him with any need I have. God cares about His children and cares what is going on in their lives and wants to help, if we'll just let him.

So are YOU taking advantage of being a Son or Daughter of the King of Kings? Are you taking advantage of being a Prince or Princess? Why don't you trust God with your needs and even wants!

I'm linking to:
Whole Hearted Home

What is the Lord calling you to do?

2014-06-03T19:11:00.002-07:00

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying,

This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand,

and when ye turn to the left."

Isaiah 30:21

You might think it's strange that I've started this blog post with a scripture instead of words leading up to it, but I felt that the scripture leading into what I was planning to say was more appropriate.

I've felt for probably 3 years that I was to start a ladies Bible study, but I've always felt very inadequate to do it. Three years ago, I was going through a deep dark depression and I got onto using Bible study books for my devotions and one that I used that was called "A Woman after God's Heart" (you can purchase it here) God really began to use it to speak to me about how I could become a woman after His own heart. He began to impress on my mind and heart the thought of starting a ladies Bible study, even though I have never done something like that before in my life. I'm used to doing children's church and talking to children about the Bible, not so much adults. It just seems that I keep coming back to that and remembering where I was when that was impressed on my heart. So after these past 3 years, I've finally decided that I would take the leap of faith and put the feelers out there to start a ladies Bible study in my home one night a week.

I do not claim to have all the answers, I'm still searching for answers myself. But I do want to be faithful to where God is leading me. I want to do His will. So, hopefully in next few weeks I'm going to be preparing my mind and heart and home to welcome some ladies into it and study God's word together. I would appreciate prayer for this venture that the Lord would bless it and use it for His glory. It's not about me and what I have felt that God wants me to do, it's about learning about God and what He wants for each of our lives. I don't in any way want to draw attention to myself as anyone great, all that needs to point to Christ.

So what is God asking you to do today? Is there something that you've been putting off? Is there something that God has been asking you to do? Maybe you don't feel qualified (neither do I), the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." So if you're willing to do what He's asked you to, He will give you the strength to complete the task ahead of you. Don't wait like I have, take the leap of faith and make the move that God is asking you to. It will be worth it all in the end!

Dedicated to the Lord for His service

2014-05-27T06:33:00.003-07:00

I have thought of Hannah many times in the past year during my pregnancy and the birth of my beautiful twin girls. The specific references is "For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27 In our case it should say "For these children we prayed!" :) Anyways I believe my girls are truly a gift of God. We had struggled through tears and disappointments for 2 years, and had given up on the thought that we would ever have children of our own. In fact last spring I had called about starting the foster care classes and we were thinking we would adopt (which let me stop here and say there is nothing at all wrong with, there are lots of children out there who need good homes with a good mom and dad who will teach them right from wrong and love them unconditionally, I don't want that to come off as a bad thing at all.) However, I guess God had other plans, it didn't work out for us to do the classes right then and we waited. In July of last year, I was with my mother helping her after she had injured her back pretty badly and kept getting the signal that I was possibly pregnant, so on July 4th I got a test from Dollar Tree (I was in PA at my grandparents, away from my hubby at the time) and I took it fully expecting a negative like all the times before, BUT.... this time it was positive and I began to shake and was nervous and palms were sweaty! At the time we didn't have good phone service at our house and really no way to contact each other unless we were out in town where we had cell service. But I tried anyhow and got a hold of my sis-in-law who was staying here while I was away and finally got ahold of Bud to tell him he WAS GOING TO BE A DADDY!!!!
My pregnancy started out kind of rough, I had a lot of pain on one side and thought that maybe I was having a tubal and when I got back home, we went to the hospital to get checked as that is a very serious situation. Well they did an ultrasound and found ~~one~~ TWO sacs!!!! The ultrasound tech said that sometimes one disappears over time and so we knew that was a possibility. Well that was at about 5 1/2-6 weeks along. at 8-10 weeks I was still having some problems so I was able to get hurried into an OB doctor who did the ultrasound and definitely found TWO babies and TWO heartbeats and what looked like a 3rd baby who gained angel wings before we got to meet her (I say her because she would have been an identical twin to my daughter Elayna). So we have at least one baby awaiting our arrival in Heaven.
During the early days of my pregnancy I felt like God gave me the promise that He was going to take care of everything. I am a worrier and worried and prayed and one day I felt like He just said "I've got this!" (not in those exact words, but something similar)
Then came Valentine's day, I was 36 1/2 weeks along and planned on having another 2 weeks till the girls were born, but the doc called and said it was time, they HAD to come out that day, as I had some severe problems with Pre-eclampsia. So off we went to have the babies. I don't think I'll ever forget that day!
Since then I have looked into their crib at them and tears have welled up in my eyes, just thinking of the incredible gifts we were given and the incredibly, huge job it is of raising a child, especially in this day and time. But I've also been praying that God will save my girls early on. And that brings me to Mother's Day 2014.
On Mother's Day of this year we decided we were going to dedicate our girls. So we planned it all out, mom made their beautiful white dresses trimmed with lavender and teal and we had Pastor Grabill dedicate them. So why is dedication so important? I believe it's important because it is our commitment to teaching our children right from wrong and committing to pray for them and raising them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. It's like Hannah said in the very next verse: "Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord..." 1 Samuel 1:28 God blessed us with these beautiful daughters and I feel it is my duty as a mother and a Christian to let God know that I am giving them back to Him and that it is my full intention and duty to raise them to serve Him. Dedication isn't simply something nice to do, it's the taking of a vow before God that you are going to do everything you can humanly speaking to make sure that your children are brought up to serve God!

Standing up front during the girls dedication with my mom.

Bro. Grabill leading th dedication.

Dedicating Elayna.

Dedicating Elyssa.

Our little family after service! :)

Mama and her girlies.

What are your feelings on dedications? I'd love to hear them!

The Paths that we take

2014-05-26T19:08:00.001-07:00

This evening as I was scrolling through my facebook newsfeed I came across a friends post that really got me to thinking. There was a picture posted with this saying on it that came from www.faith.com

"Sometimes the bad things that happen in our lives put us

directly on the path to the best things that will ever happen to us."

After thinking a bit on that and writing this post:

How true this is. I've heard my husband Bud Kuhn say several times that if some of the awful things that have happened in his life (like losing his parents at a young age) hadn't happened, there's no telling where he would be today. In fact our paths may have never crossed and we may not have ever been able to share the love we have for each other and the love we share for our daughters. I know in my own life that if things hadn't happened the way they did especially with my gun accident, I doubt I would be where I am today. At that point in my life I was not a Christian, but I believe that God used that accident to shake me awake and make me realize just how fragile life is and how quickly things can change from one minute/second to the next. I'm also not saying that I've stayed on the right path since that time in my life. I don't believe I really got things settled that I was going to go with God until I was at least 19 and I struggled even after that. But I am determined, 10 years later, that I am still going through and that my path will be the one that God determines and He will be the one that guides me and holds my hand through the foggy times and the dark times and those thick forests that sometimes line the pathway of life.
Those are the things that are important to think about in your life. I would challenge each of my friends to look at the things that they've come through in their lives and mental make a path to see where it has put them today. I believe that God uses both circumstances and humans to alter the paths that we take and it's important to put/keep the right people in our lives that will put each of us on a path that would draw us closer to Him. I also do not believe that just because we've made bad choices or taken the wrong path that God just lets us go, there are constant turn offs or turn arounds that He uses to try to get us back on the right road and one that will offer us so much more happiness.

I just have to say that the paths that we choose in life do have an impact on not only us but those around us. If I had never become a Christian I would probably have never met my husband and definitely wouldn't be in ministry today and if his parents wouldn't have passed away and him go through what he did, he wouldn't have ever turned to God from the path that he was on. So today there might not be the Kuhn family that there is, yes there may have been a Kuhn family somewhere, but that family probably wouldn't not be in the ministry and trying their best to serve God. It's really amazing to me what God has to use to reach through to our dense heads sometimes. It took me losing a part of my finger, when I could quite possibly have even lost my life, in order to get me to think about where I would have ended up if I had died from that gun accident. Some might think something like that is very insignificant compared to what could have happened to me, but to a 15 year old girl, it was a very eye opening, scary experience.

Welcome Elyssa Kay and Elayna Fay to the Kuhn Family

2014-02-25T08:58:00.000-08:00

The Kuhn family welcomed 2 sweet baby girls on Valentine's Day! On Monday of that week at my doctor's appointment I tested positive for several of the signs of pre-eclampsia and on Friday my doctor called with the rest of the results and said we need to get the babies out TODAY!!! That scared me to death and I shook like a leaf! But they were born safely via emergency c-section.

This was me just before we walked out the door to the hospital. When the Doc called I didn't even have anything packed for me and didn't have everything in the girls diaper bag and nothing was ready at home. LOL We were expecting another 2 weeks yet to prepare.

The girls in their cribs

Mommy feeding Elayna, just still supplementing along with breastfeeding.

Elyssa Kay all snug as a bug in a rug.

They love being in the same crib and usually get more fussy if they're not.

Elayna Fay (above)

Elyssa Kay (below)

Proud new Daddy and Momma with their girlies.

All snuggled up. Elayna on the left and Elyssa on the right.

This was Tuesday night after 5 days in the hospital we were finally discharged. I had some complication set in on Monday that kept us there another day. My hemoglobin dropped down to 7 and usually if it's below 12 they do blood transfusions and my doc was considering it, but was able to get it to come up to 7.7 with Iron supplements by the next morning. I was and still am pretty weak, I get tired out quite quickly. Plus the girls were a bit jaundiced so they were being watched, they didn't have to go under the billi lights or anything but they did have to get their blood checked.

Proud Grandma! She stayed with us in the hospital all 5 days as well and helped so much!! She's still here helping at home, with cleaning and feeding and changing and even taking us to doctor's appointments and such. Daddy had to go back to class this week so he's not been able to take us places we needed to go, plus we're having a problem with the car seats fitting in our car. I hope that problem can be resolved quickly as I don't know what we will do if not.

All ready to go home, we swim in our big car seats and sleepers! LOL

Our new family ready to leave the hospital.

Elyssa Kay on the left and Elayna Fay on the right.

Elyssa was born at 2:12 pm on 2/14/14 and weighed 5.9 lbs and was 17 3/4" long.

Elayna was born at 2:13pm on 2/14/14 and weighed 4.9 lbs and was 17 1/2" long.

Sharing secrets and plots already! LOL :)

We are totally in love with our girls and couldn't be prouder to be their mommy and daddy! Yes it's lots and lots of work but it's all worth it!

A day in the life of a Gestational Diabetic

2014-01-20T18:50:00.003-08:00

Well I haven't been in the blogging world much over the past several months, I guess I've just become so busy with doctor's appointments and then school assignments and getting ready for these twins to come. But I realized that I haven't updated the blog to tell what the twins will be.... they are going to be sweet little girls! (Well we think they'll be sweet, they are quite the very active pair beating up on mommy's insides and making her very uncomfortable.)

The week of Christmas I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and it was really a suprise as when they did the initial testing my fasting number that morning was 67 and the ending number was 126 so I thought I passed with flying colors, however, my two middle numbers, for it was the 3 hour glucose test were too high so that labeled me as a gestational diabetic. I really struggled with that diagnoses and was quite grumpy as I had just made a batch of sugar cookies that weekend and it was the week of Christmas and I planned to make sweet potato pie for our Christmas meal. But once I got through those first couple weeks, I've been doing some better. I met with my doctor today, and he was extremely happy with my sugar readings, to me they've all been really low, but evidently just watching my diet is working for now. However due to this diagnoses, I am now required to be at the hospital twice a week for NSTs on the babies which are Non-Stress Tests where they hook me up to monitors that monitor their heartbeats and check to make sure that when they get active their heartbeats go up and they are not under any stress and it also monitors me for contractions. So far I've had two of these tests and both times the babies have done very well, so that is very encouraging, plus it's soothing to me to go in twice a week and be able to hear their movements and know that they're okay. I plan to somewhat stick with my diet even after our girls are born to try and help me lose some weight and maybe possibly keep the likelihood of me developing Type 2 diabetes down. For those of who are wondering what a gestational diabetic mom goes through here's a peek at my day and week:
Monday, January 20, 2014
7:30 AM Woke up starving of course!

8:00 AM Time for my morning finger prick to check my fasting blood sugar level- O GOOD it was 87 perfect it was under the 95 that the doctor wants it to be!

8:15-8:30 AM prepare breakfast of 2 scrambled eggs, 1 Turkey Sausage Patty, and Cream of Wheat with Cocoa Powder, 3 packets of Stevia (sweetner), and a little vanilla extract and tiny bit of milk, and decaf hot tea (as my blood pressure has been up and down so I'm trying to keep that low)

8:30 AM- Finally get to eat breakfast after waking an hour ago starving! :)

10:30 AM- Uh Oh time for another finger prick to check my sugar level. O Lovely it's 87 it didn't change with my breakfast and it's under the 125 that the doctor wants it at! :) But I'm hungry again so I grab some peanuts and sometimes a cheesestick and try to hold out till lunch time.

11:30 AM- Time to fix my lunch: Today I had 6 meatballs with 2 slices of pepper jack cheese, a heap of broccoli with ranch dressing to dip it in and a pretty good size orange along with a cup of hot orange and spice tea.

12:30PM-- It's off to the doctor's office for my weekly visit.

1:45 PM--- It's time for my after lunch finger prick and my sugar level is 71!! WHOA I don't think I had enough carbs for my lunch.

2:30PM-- It's off to the hospital for my Non-Stress Test and the only thing they allow me while doing this test is ice chips, but I'm grateful for those because I'm very thirsty!

5:30PM-- Hubby fixed skyline chili for supper and I had snacked shortly before on one slice of Whole Wheat bread with a tiny bit of peanut butter on it and a cup of hot chocolate made with Stevia and a tiny bit of vanilla extract and a dash of milk.

7:30PM --- Blood Sugar check, great it's 85! Today I've managed to keep all my numbers under what the doctor wanted them to be. Later hubby gives me a bite of his cream filled donut (which is my favorite of course!)

9:30PM (usually 8:30PM but running a little later tonight)-- It's time for my bed time snack of Plain Greek Yogurt with 2 packets of Stevia in it. That has to hold me till I get up in the morning and fix my breakfast!

My diet is controlled by the amount of Carbs and Protein I eat not necessarily the sugar although I have cut out regular sugar and have been sweetening everything with Stevia.

For breakfast I'm allowed 30grams of Carbohydrates (no fruit); and 21 grams of Protein
For snacks I'm allowed 15-20grams of Carbohydrates and 14grams of Protein
For Lunch and Dinner I'm allowed 45-50 grams of Carbohydrates and 21 Grams of Protein

I'm not allowed fruits in the morning because that's when insulin resistance is at it's highest. But I love having fresh fruit with my lunch and even sometimes an afternoon snack.

I may start sharing some recipes and meals on here that are good for Gestational Diabetes as I know for some it's a real struggle. For me it has been a struggle with my diet and cravings because with carrying twins I can hardly move around anymore so the exercise part is extremely difficult for me to do.

Anyways I only have another 5 or so weeks to go before our girlies are born via c section. We're very excited but very nervous at the same time!

Serene Sundays #3

2013-10-19T11:18:00.002-07:00

I realize that I've been out of the blogging world all summer long and it's time to get back at it. So here is another Serene Sunday Post.

With the Thanksgiving Season upon us, I would like to start a weekly praise session on Serene Sundays here on the blog. I have been reading through the Psalms in my devotions and they are a great inspiration for praise, so I'll be using those quite frequently!

This weeks praise session comes from

"Yet the Lord will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life."

Psalm 42:8

I know that this does not directly say to praise the Lord, but I can't find a reason from this verse NOT to praise the Lord. He has been my song in the night many times. It seems that darkness brings with it scary images and sometimes scary thoughts, but I've found that singing songs in the night dispells that darkness. I've lain awake for a long time in the night singing, of course in my head so that I don't wake my husband, songs about Jesus and about the precious blood that covers me. It is such a comfort to me to know that in those dark times God is always right there listening.

And this verse also talks about the daytime and how that God gives his lovingkindness during the daytime as well. Since finding out that we are expecting and expecting twins at that, there have been lots of anxious doctor appointments and times during the daytime when I've been uptight about the outcome of something that I have little control over, but God has always been right there. He's been both loving and kind to me during this time in my life as well as my husband's life. We both are looking forward to raising our twin girls to serve him and know him in a personal way.

These are just a few of the praises to God this Sunday, one is for his lovingkindness during the day (and in the nightime too) and another is for the songs in the night that he gives.

I know several friends who have been going through some very dark times in their lives and feeling like things are almost hopeless, but I'm so glad that even in the midst of the storms of life we have an anchor and a song and that we need not dispair and lose hope, because the One we believe in controls the waves and the wind and HE walks on water!

I'm linking to:
Welcome Back on Spiritual Sundays: http://bloggerspirit.blogspot.com/2013/10/welcome-back.html

Playing Summer Catch Up

2013-09-14T10:22:00.002-07:00

Well I know it's been quite awhile since I have updated my blog, it's been a super busy, crazy summer here! Over the summer we got to visit with family and enjoy fun times together! In June we had the youth camp in Nelsonville that we attend every year, and it was good as always! June started off kind of crazy for us though as I ended up in the ER where they found I had a blood clot in my right leg, it wasn't in my deep vein system so it's not really anything to worry about currently unless it moves. But I was down with that for a little while, because of the fear that it could move, but then I got moving again.
In July my mom had an incident with her back that I ended up going to take care of her for 12 days and during that time, I found out that we were expecting! :) After returning home and getting a confirmation and ultrasound at the hospital and finding that I had high blood pressure I was back on bed rest for several weeks, till my blood pressure got under control. Then on August 7 we found out we were not having ~~one~~ but TWO babies! Yes, you read right it's TWINS!!!

They are not identical so that's why I say not in the same pod. They are due on March 8, 2014. We get an ultrasound at every appointment because of the fact that it's twins and they want to make sure they're checking on both babies, so that makes things fun as we get to see them quite often. I have been on and off bed rest for the whole time and am currently 15 weeks along. We don't know what the little ones will be yet, but we're hoping for a boy and a girl! :) We hope to possibly find out this week at my appointment! :) Twins run pretty heavily in my husband's side of the family and they're sprinkled throughout my family as well. However the doctor thinks that it was actually triplets and one baby didn't develop all the way, and you can see the outline of that 3rd baby in one of the ultrasound pictures, but it's gone now. So we'll get to meet it when we get to heaven. We are quite excited about our growing family and a little nervous as well. (well I am, hubby isn't so much, he's taking it all in stride aside from a little stress with the complications I've had so far.)

Anyhow I thought I would catch everyone up on our Summer. We started back to school the last week of August, I'm still taking a full load and hopefully won't have problems finishing this semester as I'm hoping to change my major to specialized studies and finish my bachelor's and then I can substitute teach at least.

Serene Sundays #2

2013-01-12T19:00:00.000-08:00

Today I would like to share something from my morning devotions on Saturday of this week. Something from the Bible study Book "Captivated by God" (you can click that title to see where you can purchase a copy of the book for yourself.)

I enjoy doing Bible Study Books for my devotions because it helps me to really focus on my studying of God's word and directs my thinking more than just sitting down to read a chapter of the Bible (which I have done in the past, nothing wrong with that, each person is different), I find that if I just read my mind likes to wander off to my to do list so I'm reading but not comprehending what I'm reading. I started through this book for the second time the other day and so far I'm gleaning things that I didn't remember were there the last time. It's neat how when you read your Bible once and then go back and reread it again at another time, how you gain something different from it each time.

Today's Study was on trials and things we go through and how they prove Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose." (KJV) One of the questions in the book was this: "Can you see through present or past trials and recognize that all things are working together for your good? Share a particular time of testing that you can say God has worked together for good in your life. Explain how." (Captivated by God 2010, pg. 15 Gospel Light, Ventura, California, USA) I thought about that question and then began to write in my journal about a dark time that happened in my life about 2 years ago, I really didn't know how I was going to make it or if I would. I went through a terrible depression, that I just couldn't seem to get through, I went to a couple counseling sessions but that only seemed to make it worse so I quit going. I had some awful things go through my head during that time and felt so tormented that at times I wondered where God was in all of it. However today looking back I realize that God was using those experiences to draw me closer to him. If any of you have ever dealt with depression you know how hopeless, alone, and desolate you feel. One night sitting at the dinner table, I had made a new recipe and all I could do was sit at the table and cry, I don't even know why I was I crying I just couldn't help it, I felt terribly sad. After dinner that night I went and got out my Bible and my study materials and I studied and studied my Bible for at this time that's the only things that was getting me through my days was time with God. During that dark time, I learned the power of the blood and the power of prayer and how I should never underestimate those things. Jesus was with me though at times I felt alone, Jesus was with me.

During this time I was desperate for any kind of solace that I could find, I pulled out a CD that a friend had given me for Christmas a couple years before this and I played it. It was a CD of a family that I knew and had grown up knowing them. One of the songs on the CD was called "I'm not Alone" I sat and wept when the words of that song hit me, then I began praying and praising God. It seemed for that period of time that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
However the depression continued on for awhile longer. But I began to see that the scripture in Ephesians 6:12 that says "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." really had meaning (not that I hadn't thought this before.). I was wrestling with something bigger than myself but not bigger than God. I began to turn my darkness, my depression, my battle over to God and began to watch Him do the fighting. I realized that up until that point I had been trying things on my own to get relief, but it seemed once I started going to God sometimes several times a day reminding Him (not that He needed reminding) that this was HIS battle now not mine, the darkness seemed to start to brighten.
There are days still when it seems dark and like I'm fighting for all I'm worth, but I've learned that Jesus is my peace and that when I truly abandon myself to Him and turn my struggles, my battles, my darkness over to Him, He'll turn weeping into joy. For weeping may endure for the night but Joy is coming in the morning.
I think in answer to that question for today was that yes, I believe that God was working all things for my good, because during that time I learned what pleading the blood, and fighting on my knees was about, I realized that God is bigger than any mountain that I'll ever face! I learned that I'm never alone Jesus is always with me, and though I might be weak and I see only one set of footprints, Jesus is carrying me through!

The author to this is unknown but the poem was taken from here.

So maybe that wasn't the story you were looking for today, but I felt like I should share it with you. If you're going through a depression or a bad spot or darkness in your life maybe it'll help you to remember that the battle is not yours it's God's!

Do you have a devotional post you write for Sundays? Feel free to link up below!

Giveaway Announcement

2013-01-10T09:01:00.000-08:00

I'm announcing a GIVEAWAY! As some of you know I started doing some crafting back in the fall and it's grown, I now have a Etsy Store, a Facebook page, and NOW a GIVEAWAY! I started the giveaway to gain likes on my Facebook page and get some traffic to my Etsy store. What better way to have a little fun and make your home a bit more festive than to like our Facebook page and get some really neat and pretty decor for your home. This GIVEAWAY lasts until January 31, 2013

You have 3 ways to gain entries,

1. By liking our Facebook page (no money involved)

2. By following me on twitter (no money involved)

3. By going to my Etsy store and making a purchase (there's sale items there!)

So what are you waiting for! :)

The winner will be chosen on February 1, 2013 and they will receive a set of handpainted pillar candle holders in a design of their choice. What's not to love!

Here's the link for the contest: http://bit.ly/10a5pHy (it's mobile compatible as well!)

Pillar Candle Holders

These are some close up shots of the Christmasy set. These could be made any color they don't have to be just for Christmas. And I can add a different design.

This is the pumpkin design.

The tone on tone Design (once again these can be done in any colors)

Close up shots of the tone on tone design.
I accept special orders for weddings or special events as well.

Go on over and get entered in the contest and like our page as well! I'm excited about some new things that are coming to the store soon, so liking our Facebook page will keep you informed!

Good luck in the contest! :)

Heart Warming Wednesdays

2013-01-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

Are any of you longing for spring and the warmth and sunshine it brings? As I was trying to think of what to post for Heart Warming Wednesdays this week, I decided to post about things you can do to make it cheery in your home to wait out the dark dreary days of winter till Spring comes you know that Spring is only.....

Ah.... can't wait to see my bulbs pop up this year! I plan to keep adding when we do our landscaping in the spring. Just after we moved in to our new place the landlord had a drive made around the back of the house which is much safer than pulling directly out on the road from the garages because they sit just over a hill. So in the spring I plan to line the drive with a mixture of weeping cherry trees and dog woods along with a split rail fence. I think it will just look beautiful when done! I can't wait!

But in the mean time while I pour over seed catalogs I have coming in the mail and dream of my spring and summer gardens I decided I would share with you some ways to cheer your home and make it feel a bit more like spring.

1. Treat yourself to a fresh bouquet of flowers...Flowers seem to cheer a spot up especially if they're bright! I know a lot of us shop at Walmart and they have some really pretty bright colored bouquets over in the produce area. You should really check them out, they're usually inexpensive. I don't think it needs to be a special occasion to treat yourself to flowers!

(These flowers were from when we lived in the tiny trailer, but they give you the idea)

2. Grow some spring bulbs indoors.... I know that with spring still a little over 2 months away it's easy to get spring fever early especially when the weather is mild and sometimes warm and sunny. Here in Ohio it's not always as sunny as I would like it to be, but who's to say we can't plant a little sunshine in our homes. I found in December that a little pot of mini daffodils my mom had bought me last year was sprouting so I moved it indoors and have been watering it and sitting it where it will get sunshine! I can't wait to see the blooms!

So there are 2 ways this week of how you can bring a little spring cheer to your home!

So what ways do you use to cheer your home after the decor of the holidays has been packed away for another year? I'd love to see them, be sure to link up below and share ways to make your home Heart Warming!

Serene Sundays

2013-01-05T19:00:00.000-08:00

I've decided to start a new tradition on my blog this year and it's called Serene Sundays, basically I just wanted to be able to post a small devotional thought for Sundays. So I hope you enjoy it and please leave a comment if it helped you in some way.

This weeks thought: As the Deer Panteth for the Water
Scripture Verse: Psalm 42:1: As the hart (deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. (KJV)
As I read that the thought came to me, "Does my soul really pant after God and how can I be more aggressive in my seeking after God?" I long that in this new year 2013 that I will show that in my life that I am truly panting after God, I am truly desiring to be more like Him. Some ways that we can pattern our lives after Christ in 2013 are:

Being Kind to others whether they deserve it or not. Jesus was kind even to those who were cruelly beating His back and nailing him to the cross. He cried out to His heavenly Father and said "Father forgive them..." he didn't curse those causing him great pain, he didn't glare at them, he didn't even fight, he willing laid down his life for us and cried Father forgive them for they know not what they do. I don't mean that we have to be doormats for others to walk all over but heap hot coals on those who do you wrong by giving back kindness in return. In Proverbs 25:21-22 it says "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirtsy, give him water to drink: For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee." In doing this lets not have a greedy heart thinking all the while that God will reward us anyways but lets do this truly from a heart filled with the Love of Jesus.
Showing the right attitude when things don't go our way. This strikes me between the eyes because I know that I don't always show the proper Christlike attitude when things are going wrong. My prayer is this year that God will help me with that and draw me ever nearer to Him so that when things do come up I'll yield to Him and let Him handle the situation through me. James 1:2-4 says this: "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations: (Various trials) Know this, that the trying (testing) of your faith worketh (produces) patience. But let patience have her perfect work, thatye may be perfect and entire(complete), wanting (lacking) nothing." Have you ever had your patience tried? Maybe your child asked one too many questions or dumped something on the floor for the seeminly millionth time that day, or maybe (as in my case) your dog is pacing and driving you nuts or barking at something that isn't there, or has made another mess, (My dog is like my child at this point in life.) or maybe it's your spouse, they've left their dirty socks or dirty clothes on the floor again or haven't taken their dishes to the sink and you are about to explode with words you know you'll regret later, why don't you stop and breathe a prayer to God for patience. I know in the heat of the moment you don't always think that way but I would like to challenge each of you to let Patience work, train your brain to turn to prayer when things start frustrating you. God sees all these things and he knows they frustrate you but what He may be trying to teach you is more patience. Lord help me in the coming year to have more patience to turn to you in times when I can't seem to get a grip.

Enjoy your Sunday! ~Abby

Festive Fun Fridays

2013-01-04T00:00:00.000-08:00

Today is Festive Fun Friday and hopefully will be every week! If you would like to be a guest featured on my blog please comment or send me an email! I'm looking for posts that have to do with seasonal decor ideas, seasonal meal ideas (would also get posted to my Creative Adventures with Food blog), Holiday celebration Ideas.

This week I'm posting about Christmas this past year 2012, I didn't get to do a post in December it got a bit too busy for me so here it is now!

This is our Christmas Tree in the Living room 2012. (I had 6 trees up this year and still do! :)

We celebrated our Christmas stretched out this year. We opened 1 gift on the 23rd, then 3-4 gifts on the 24 and the rest spread out on the 25th.

This was the tree in the Dinning Room, I may keep this tree up all year and decorate it for different holidays like Valentine's, Saint Patrick's Day (which is also Hubby's b-day), Easter, and so on.

This was one of my favorite spots in the house because I just thought that it turned out so beautifully! I found the idea for the stairs on Pinterest (I love that site!) Below is a photo with just the lights to light it up.

This was my china cupboard decorated for Christmas. I wanted to put lights through that pine but it never got done. But I still thought it turned out pretty. All the pine you see I picked up at yard sales and things the year that I got married since we had a Christmas Wedding.

My dinning room table, I was getting ready for our Christmas dinner I think. This was our German year, we've chosen to do different countries each year and celebrate Christmas that way. So we had pork roast and sauerkraut and mashed potatoes and a veggie.

I love the nativity set which was a bridal shower gift, it has scripture relating to Christ's birth on each of the figurines. It always has a special place in my home at Christmas. The past couple Christmases it's been on my piano but I did that a bit different this year and liked it better here since it got seen more!

This was the snow we got Last weekend. I thought it was so pretty all over the trees and such. I wanted to get outside with my camera but didn't make it out there. These pics are from the windows and doors of our home.

This is in our backyard. The deer come up here in the evenings. I throw old apples out there for them to feed on so I think they like that. I'd like to get a salt block for them to put out there so we can get some pics of them.

This is looking through the living room front door through the wreath to across the road, thought it turned out neat so thought I would share it with you.

This is the barn across the road thought it was a neat picture. I love being in the country!

Well Hope you enjoyed this Festive Fun Friday and the pictures. Let me know what you're doing fun this Friday. We plan to have game nights starting this Friday every Friday or Every other Friday. So one of these Friday's I may make my post about that!

I'm linking up to the following Blogs: http://bernideensteatimeblog.blogspot.com/

http://asortafairytalewithyou.blogspot.com/2013/01/flashback-friday.html

Heart Warming Wednesdays

2013-01-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

Today is Heart Warming Wednesdays at the Kuhn household that means I'm going to share an event that Happened 4 years ago, Our wedding! I think that's heartwarming enough! LOL :) Plus this comes just after our 4 year wedding anniversary of course.

Almost 5 years ago now Bud asked Abby to marry him on Valentine's Day of 2008 and there started a journey which has led us to today!

Bud in the groom's dressing room, getting ready to get married.

Abby getting ready for pictures before the ceremony. (I woke with a migraine that morning and it held on till after the wedding So if my eyes look tired it's a mixture of being tired (I was up till midnight helping decorate the reception hall.) and having a bad headache.

Abby and her bridesmaids and flower girl. From Left to right Kim K (sister in law to be), Alicia R. (Sister-in-law) Andrea H. (Best friend Matron of Honor), Of course Abby, Joanna R.(cousin) Jenny K. (sister in law to be) and Ava (Neice)

Jonathan H. (Bible Bearer) and Ava (Neice, Flower girl/Mini Bride) I though they were so cute! Ava was holding Jon's hand here. Later she told her mom that she got married that day! LOL :) She was 3 years old then.

The Handsome Groom.

This was during the song "I loved her first" Scott Heskett did an awesome job. Dad was teary eyed, I kept my eyes on my groom to keep from crying. (Little did I know that 3 years later I would lose my daddy! :( )

During the ceremony!

Another shot during the ceremony. I thought this shot was unique because it was between the candles.

Lighting the Unity Candle. ( I kind of wish that I had done a bit more decorating to that table but hey it wasn't the end of the world I did the most decorating at the Reception which was perfectly fine because I thought it was all very pretty!)

This couple (the people standing) Scott and Susie Heskett (she just passed away from cancer in November 2012) has been an inspiration to us. They sang several songs at our wedding.

First Kiss! Wahoo!

Getting Rice (the special kind) Thrown! Surrounded by friend and family!

Two special Preachers Steve Heskett (He's the one who first introduced us!) And Rev. Stanley Grabill Abby's pastor for several years and still the pastor of the Salem Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist church.

The whole Bridal Party Left to Right Kim, Jen, Joanna, Alicia, Andrea, the Bride and Groom, Wayne , Patrick, Keith, Kevin, Mark and the flower girl and Bible bearer.

Bride (I like this with the piano in the background.)

Kissing at the reception.

The cake. My friend Shanesta made it for us. I thought is was very beautiful!

The picture area at the reception. My Aunt Becky did most of the work in this area and I thought it turned out so pretty. My Uncle Roger made the sleigh for the gifts. You can just barely see it.

I regret that I lost our camera the following year and it had all our pictures from our honeymoon on it so I don't have any of those to post. We went to Gettysburg, PA after spending a few days at a house in Salem that a couple had let us use (no one knew we were there.). It was fun but very cold!

So there is my post for Heart Warming Wednesday!

Do you have a Heartwarming Wednesday post you would like to share? Link Up below! Look for this linky party every Wednesday and link up!

A blast from the Past......A look toward the Future.

2013-01-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

Here's goes with my blast from the past year:

January 2012: January 3, 2012 will forever be etched in my mind. The day began with a start from the shocking phone call that my dad who was 59 had died after a head on collision in a snow storm and suffered a heart attack on the way to the hospital afterwards caused by high blood pressure due to the accident. He was buried in a beautiful cemetery in Rittman, OH called the National Cemetery it was created for Military Veterans. Dad was an Airforce vetran. They said in the summer the place was gorgeous and so carefully manicured. (I wasn't able to make it up there to see it.)

This was Dad's casket draped with the flag that was presented to my mom at the funeral and again at the cemetery where we had a brief service. I think those days were the hardest I've ever been through!

Here are some pics of my family taken at the dinner after Dad's funeral service.

From Left to Right Back to Front: Keith, Grandpa Ritchey, Paislee, Kevin, Bud, (Back Row)
Alicia, Mom, Abby (Middle row) Ava, Grandma Ritchey(Front)

Back to Front Left to Right: Bud, Kevin, Ron (Dad's brother) Keith, Abby, Mom holding Paislee, Donna (Ron's wife) holding Ava, and Alicia.

February 2012: This month would've marked Dad's 60th Birthday but he got to spend it in Heaven. This marked 4 years since Bud and I were engaged. I honestly don't remember a whole lot about this month everything was still somewhat of a blur and just putting one foot in front of the other.

March 2012: This month Bud turned 29 so this year is the big 30 and I'm hoping to have a big party for him! And spring started happening which was great!

April 2012: I started into my last quarter at Hocking College, Bud still had one more to go. And we also helped Bud's Aunt Sharon celebrate her wedding this month. We welcomed into the family Mike. It was lots of fun! Also in April we started filling in at a church just outside Amesville, OH since they were without a pastor.

May 2012: We celebrated Abby's 27th Birthday. And we began preparations for our graduation from Hocking College. Also my brother announced he would be getting married in July so I would add my 4th sister-in-law! :) We also joined Phi-Theta Kappa in May (it's a national Honor society). Below are some photos from that. Also we got our first peek at our new home!! :)

June 2012: WE GRADUATED!!! With Honors! Below is a pic of our family minus the cat! LOL :)

July 2012: We moved into our new home and the very next week we welcomed Jennifer into our family at Kevin and Jennifer's wedding in South Carolina. It was bittersweet without Daddy there to join in the festivities! Plus we were able to go to the beach at Hunting Island State Park.

August 2012: Was pretty uneventful so not much to report there.

September 2012: We helped different ones celebrate birthdays such as Mamaw's 75th birthday and Jenny's 30th Birthday. And we became Bobcats as we started our journey at Ohio University in Lancaster Ohio. We also became the full time pastor at Lathrop Mission Church in Amesville, OH on September 2, 2012. This is new for us as we've never served in a full time pastorate position before just youth pastor and assistant pastor, but God is leading and directing us and we hope this year we'll get the chance to broaden the ministry and get out in the community and invite people to church!

October 2012: We were priveleged to attend a Romney/Ryan Ralley in Lancaster, OH and even got to shake hands but didn't get pics with them.

(This was Romney and Ryan coming on stage!)

November 2012: We celebrated Thanksgiving with Bud's family here in Logan, OH.

December 2012: We completed our first semester at Ohio University and we got to go to North Carolina to celebrate Christmas with both of my brothers and their families! It was so much fun! We got to go to some of my old haunts from my time living there like Fort Macon and the New River Pottery and the Mall and even down town New Bern!

Now it's on to 2013 and the adventures that await us there. (I was trying to post this on New Year's Eve and my internet went down so here it is finally, I'll apologize now the amount of blogs that will be posted in the next couple days as it is my plan to keep up with my blogging better in 2013.)

Thanksgiving in the Kuhn Household

2012-11-22T07:42:00.001-08:00

I'm thinking back over this past year at the many things to be thankful for, yes it was the first year without my dad, but God blessed us the whole year through, with many answered prayers. So it's with thankfulness brimming in my heart that I write today.
There have been so many changes in our lives this year, at this time last year we were living in a tiny trailer that was literally just falling apart around us and the landlord wouldn't do anything about it. We were constantly barraged with cussing drunk neighbors to the point that I had to close the windows so I could get a bit of peace. Half of the electric didn't work in the trailer and it leaked we would wake up to rain splashing in our faces. Then come March/April of this year, a professor at Hocking College where we were attending and I was taking piano lessons from, brought up that he had a farm house he was looking to rent out (the current renter was moving), and said it was in the country in the town that we wanted to move to. So that began the excitement and up and downs of when we would get to move. We dreamed and dreamed about what we would do with our new 4 bedroom home, and we started packing! The renter finally moved out the end of April and they began renovations (due to the fact that she had really trashed the place), took out all the carpeting and polished the beautiful wood floors to a shine that when I stepped into the house for the first time I said "Wow, I love it!" replaced windows in the front of the house with brand new ones, painted everywhere, updated plumbing and electric, mowed and trimmed up around it. Then came June, we graduated from Hocking and started moving within 2 weeks. We were so excited to get into our new place. We were officially the tenants come July and now have been for 5 happy months! We love it and it has restored a sense of peace about our lives, not having to listen to drunk, stoned, crazy neighbors is a plus. I have things now that I had dreamed about like my dining room set and a nice guest room and big kitchen with walk-in pantry. A big yard which we plan to put a fence in so the dog can run eventually. And I'm planning for a large vegetable garden come next spring/summer.

So that was some of the blessings of this past year. Another was how God helped us through the big loss of my daddy. I have felt God helping us and at times carrying us through. It was a sudden shock to wake up to that phone call on January 3, 2012 that my Daddy was no longer with us. My mom has known God so close this year (not that she hasn't before), in that God has worked miracles out for her to stay in the home we 3 children were raised in and the home that she and daddy spent most of their married life in. I have sat at the piano and played songs about heaven and looked at the family picture I have from our wedding that he is in and thought of him sitting round the throne and that he's not in any pain anymore and praising God. Sure it still is difficult to go through and any of you who have lost loved ones know that the first year is always the hardest. When my husband told me (he's lost both parents) in the beginning that time would heal I looked at him through my tears and said "I don't understand how!". It's been almost a year and still keenly feel the loss of my dad, although the ache has lessened some, I still feel it. And especially around the holidays, he loved these family times and especially if the grandchildren were around. In short, I'm thankful for God's guidance through our grief this past year, none of us have given up in dispair, we know that we've got more to go to heaven for than we did last year!

Another thing to be thankful for was I gained another sister in law this year, Jennifer, my youngest brother Kevin's wife and they are going to give me my 3rd little niece/nephew (we're not sure yet which) in the spring.

There are so many other little things that I could praise God for on this day of Thanksgiving but these are two of the biggest ways, that I'm thanking God this holiday. I'm so thankful for my family both biological and in-laws, my home, my life, my hope in the future, my salvation, and for God.