My Christmas Decor

Welcome to my home! I'm a little late posting my decor, but with six kiddos, I had bigger fires to tend to! Mainly, holiday shopping! Anyway, I still wanted to share my little side of the fence, so here goes.....

This is my entryway table. Since it's the first thing you see when you step in, I tried to make it pretty!



This is my little Nativity scene that I bought several years ago from a little girl at church. She had a flyer from school that had all sorts of items and this was only $7, but so cute I couldn't resist!



Here's our tree in all her glory!



Since hubby turned the dining room into his office, I added my village on top of his desk! We made the tree fit, but it's not centered so you can't see it from outside. Something might have to change next year!



Welcome to my kitchen!



The printed tablecloth belonged to my mother and is actually too short for my table, but I had to use it, so I put it on top of a plain red one.



This year I changed out a couple of pieces to have a different tablescape. I moved my birdhouse from this corner to the other counter, and brought in my sleigh filled with gorgeous gold ornaments.



I love my little Christmas tree cookie jar! I found this at Wal-Mart on clearance for $2.00!!! I didn't know where I was going to put it at the time, but for that price I knew it would go somewhere! LOL



Every year I try to use one of my favorite dish towels that belonged to my mother. I hung it on the oven door, but warned everybody that it's for decoration only! The gold thread in it is hideously scratchy, so it's just hanging there to look cute!



Here are more Christmas towels that I got at Dollar General last year. I actually had to iron them when I took them out of storage. They're a pain, but pretty!



Here's all of our stockings!



TV decor (shoulda got closer)



I love my skating gingerbread couple!



My pretty angel I got as a gift several years ago



Hall bath



Yes, almost every room has a tree!



Noel!



Frosty is a reed diffuser!



I even included the laundry room!



This is my newest tree that my neighbor gave me. She was going to toss it and I told her I would gladly take it off her hands. I bought a bow and used some ornaments I already had, plus a few newbies from WalMart. Ain't it divine?



I used the leftover poinsettias on our Master Bath tree



See my little snowman flameless candle? I got him from Dollar General for $3 a couple of years ago



I added a cute snowmen rug to the kids bath



Christmas bear is kinda lonely. I'll have to add something with him next year!



A little stairway decor



Gameroom decor (not much because the kiddos play up there)



Well, that ends my tour! Hope you had a fabulous Christmas day! Be Blessed!

Merry Christmas!!!

Hope everyone has a fabulously blessed Christmas! Be Blessed!

Fabulous Feminine Friday!

Hello all! Hope your Thanksgiving was fabulous! Ours was a lot of fun. We spent it in San Antonio with friends. I now know the true meaning of "big family" fun! Along with our eight, my girlfriend invited her brother and his 7 kids and her sister and her 8 kids!!! Yes, the house was packed for two nights and there was a waiting list for the bathroom, but we had fun despite the chaos!

It's been so long since I've posted due to computer issues, but I couldn't keep staying away even though it's not fixed yet. Just praying it stays on long enough for me to post this! LOL

Deondra and I were in Nordstrom yesterday and had fun trying on dresses. I thought I'd post two of the ones we tried on, because they were so feminine.





Don't forget to check out Valencia's Feminine Friday post over at Buildeth Her House!

Feminine Friday

Welcome to another Feminine Friday hosted by Valencia over at Buildeth Her House. This week I'm showing a sundress that has a little story behind it. I recently attended a funeral in San Antonio, and I forgot the dress that I was wearing to the funeral. When I decided I would go to the store to get one (hubby so graciously gave me the go ahead), I discovered that I also forgot the skirt that went to the top I was going to wear on the drive home! Needless to say, it was a quickly planned last minute trip! I stayed with my bestie, Theresa and family, and I asked her if she had a sundress that I could wear to the store. She brought me a couple she thought would fit and I chose one. Well, after eating a grand breakfast that she cooked, I discovered I didn't have a whole lot of shopping time. The funeral was at 11:00 am on the other side of town and the stores didn't open until 10! Deondra suggested that I wear the dress that I had on and ask Theresa if I could borrow a little black jacket. She said no problem and quickly brought me two choices (she shops like me!). I picked one and wore the outfit to the funeral. It was sooooo cute on me, that she told me to keep it, because I looked wonderful in it! So now I have a new dress, thank the Lord!!!



Be Blessed!!!

Feminine Friday

I'm joining in Valencia's post on Feminine Friday over at Buildeth Her House. This is a comfy sundress that I bought at Cato's about a month ago. I covered it with a little black vest I found at Macy's. I thought I'd get a little more wear out of it before the weather gets cooler. Check out the other ladies on Valencia's blog. I love Feminine Friday! Be Blessed!

I'm a Year Older!!!

Today I was blessed to see birthday number 45!!! Thank you Lord! My sweet daughter and hubby arranged a surprise party at Olive Garden Restaurant, which included family and friends! I was so surprised and thrilled! I had a wonderful day! I feel so blessed!

I Know, I Know, it's Been A While!

I know it's been a while, but I'm back!!! Sorry, just been extremely busy with the kiddos starting school and I'm getting over an icky sinus infection too. But I just thought I'd share some random goodies with you.

A couple of recipes that recently went over really well with my family were Taco Salad and Banana Pudding. I'm talking rave reviews and licking the bowl, and such! I thought I'd share them because they are cheap and easy to make. First, the Taco Salad recipe. It's sooooo simple, and basically I made it up after eating some in Houston and nobody (supposedly) could remember the recipe. My recipe is:

1 bag of Baked Doritos
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. of cooked ground turkey with taco seasoning added (follow back of package directions)
1 bag of shredded lettuce
2 tomatoes, diced
shredded cheese of your choice (I used the Kraft mexican blend)
Layer the bottom of a 9X13 pan with Doritos, then put the ground turkey on top. Then, I followed with layers of lettuce, tomato and cheese. This was the end result:



Everybody loved it and I even had one that wanted leftovers for lunch! The only reason there were leftovers, was Deondra had to work and got free food at work! You can add your own toppings such as taco sauce, salsa or sour cream.

The other recipe I wanted to share is the easiest banana pudding ever! All you need is:

1 can of Eagle Brand milk
8oz pkg of cream cheese, softened
3 cups of milk
1 large box of instant vanilla pudding
1 large tub of cool whip
1 box of vanilla wafers
3 or 4 bananas
In a large bowl, whip cream cheese and Eagle Brand milk until smooth. Add milk and pudding. Stir or beat. Add cool whip and beat.
In a bowl of your choice, put a layer of cookies, a layer of bananas and a layer of pudding. Repeat, ending with last layer of cookies.
I didn't think about it until afterwards, but if you have cookies that aren't completely round to go on top (if you're into presentation), crush them and sprinkle them around the round ones. My mom used to do that. This is how mine turned out:



Trust me when I say, it went fast! LOL

I'll try my best to post more often. Even when I don't, I'm still checking on everybody else! Be Blessed!

Feminine Friday

Welcome to another Feminine Friday! I'm posting another church outfit today. The dress is actually pale pink and white (looks white in the pic) and the shoes match. I love to dress up for church and I've been blessed to find many bargains on cute dresses and suits. Check out the other participants over at Buildeth Her House.

I'm Back on Feminine Friday!!!

Hello everybody! I'm back from vacation!!! We had a blast and pics will follow. I wanted to start back by posting on Feminine Friday! Since I'm just getting back (a couple of days ago), I decided to just post a picture that I already had of one of my church suits.

Check out Valencia's blog at http://buildethherhousewithlove.blogspot.com for more Feminine Friday posts.

Have a blessed day!

Vacation Time

Hello everybody! I'm enjoying a much needed vacation with the family here in the great state of Kentucky! I won't be posting again until we come back, because I have very limited computer access and will be spending a lot of time with the family. I'll be back on the 22nd, so have a blessed week and a half and I'll chat later! Luv y'all!

Be blessed!

A Blessed Independence Day!

Happy 4th to everybody! It's just a blessing to live in a country where we are free to worship an awesome God! We spent our day at church and enjoyed an awesome service. Later this evening I took the kids to see the fireworks. I hope everybody had a joyous day!


Watching fireworks from the trunk!

Feminine Friday

Welcome to another Feminine Friday post. I goofed last week and forgot to link to Valencia's post, so nobody saw my post. So if you see this week's post, you can check out last week's too! lol This week I'm posting pics of a church outfit I wore a couple of Sundays ago.



Be Blessed!

Completing Him Challenge - Week 3

Although I'm a few days late, I'm still within week 3 of the Completing Him Challenge. This week's challenge is to pray daily for our husbands.



I grew up in a church where prayer is as natural as eating three meals a day, but sometimes I have dropped the ball in this area. When we moved to Fort Worth four years ago, my life drastically changed. I suddenly had to adapt to a new home, new city and a new way of life. I fell into a deep depression after so many things weren't working out, even though I was praying. My besties "back home" had kinda kicked me to the curb because they didn't know how to deal with me moving away. They've since come around a bit more, but not the way things used to be. I still haven't made many friends here, I guess because they already have enough friends and my lifestyle is so differnt (church and six kiddos) from most that I come across. I have family here, but I was never around them for more than a visiting weekend. Now I see how they really are, and I was just a tad taken aback (for lack of a better way to put it! lol). I found a job when we first moved here, but got laid off a year later due to the building closing. Then the whole reason for our move seemed to work against me too.....my husband's job. He travels a lot now and I'm left at home to hold down the fort and do the chauffeuring. Not to mention a bi-polar child who usually has meltdowns when dad is away. When hubby is in town, he's busy working long hours and then comes home and falls asleep easily, mainly because of his medication. Then to top it all off, he's had health issues take over his life too. To be bluntly honest, our marriage has gone downhill in lightening speed. But, thank God, through Courtney, I see a light at the end of the tunnel with this marriage challenge. With all the entries, she may never see any of my posts, but I hope she knows how many marriages she is in the process of changing. I even copied and pasted the list and emailed it to my neighbor across the street. She struggles with marital issues because her husband has turned away from God. I hope that this challenge can help her as well.

The challenge this week has made me stop and look at all the things that I've been complaining about and set them aside to focus on my husband. It made me stop and think about all the challenges he is facing, since this move. I can only imagine what things go through his mind on a daily basis as the head of his household. I know it can't be easy, and it's my job to hold him up in prayer. Please pray for me that I can be the wife and help meet that God wants me to be. Please keep our marriage in your prayers (and my neighbor's too)! Love to you all!

Feminine Friday

Hello to all! I'm a little late posting my Feminine Friday post (it's actually Saturday), but better late than never! Also, a big thank you to Valencia for extending the post throughout the weekend!



I actually wore this outfit on Friday night to our Women's Fellowship at church. The top has a matching zebra print skirt, but to me it looks like way too much zebra at one time! lol Later I'll do another post with the skirt and a different top.