The New Year is upon us. How can this be? Seems like this year has flown by in the blink of an eye. It is a time of reflection for the year that is fastly coming to an end. It is also a time to consider what things that we hope the New Year will bring.

• 2014 Has been the best year of my life. It was a year that I finally got what my heart desired. If you know my husband and I, then you know of our long journey to have a child. The Good Lord Blessed us to have Raylan and we couldn't thank him enough.

• I have also been blessed to be a Stay At Home Mom. I don't know how long this opportunity will last but I will forever be grateful for this chance that I've had.
• I started this incredible journey called blogging in 2014. I have enjoyed it so much. I have met amazing friends and learned so much through blogging.

• That more people will come to know Jesus
• Attend Church More
• To be a better wife and mother
• Improve my Character
• That my dad's health will improve
• Spend more time with family and friends
• To grow as a blogger and see where this wonderful opportunity takes me
• Start my own cake decorating business from home (Cake Decorating is my passion)
• Be less of a Frumpy Mom ( I want to get dressed up more even when I'm at home. Being slouchy just makes me feel bad.)
• I say this every year but I really would like to lose some much needed weight

So with Christmas being over, something has just hit me hard. The realization that I have an almost 1 year old is very overwhelming. Where has the time gone?

Christmas is my most favorite time of the year, even more so now that I have Raylan. This is his very first Christmas so I am beyond excited. Christmas time has also been a fun time now that I am blogging. I have taken part in so many fun things for Christmas with blogging including the card swap with The Sequin Notebook. You certainly need to be following their blog. It's always so much fun to read.



I was paired with Jill from Doused in Pink. She blogs about fashion, fitness, food, DIY and decorating. You can find anything from budgeting to recipes on her blog as well. It's pretty awesome. You should definitely check it out. Here is the lovely card that she sent me.



The ladies hosting the card link-up sent me a card as well. It looks like they had so much fun doing their photo shoot for their card. I love it! They were so creative.


Here is our card for this year. I wanted to do a photo card since we have Raylan. He makes Christmas and all of the holidays so much fun.



I have enjoyed getting to know everyone through blogging and can't wait to see were blogging takes me. I look forward to meeting many more friends through blogging. Merry Christmas Everyone and God Bless You!

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” – Luke 2:10-12

I have been crafting away lately. I've slightly been obsessed with making my own things lately and some of those things have been Christmas Ornaments. I have made 3 Ornaments that I thought I would share with you. They are so easy and fun to make and they hold such a special meaning to my heart.

The 1st Ornament on the left is a Salt Dough Hand Print Ornament.


What you will need is:

• 1/2 Cup Salt
• 1/2 Cup Plain Flour
• 1/4 Cup Water (give or take) Knead until dough forms.  

This has been the longest week that I have ever seen. Not to mention, that I am worn out from Christmas shopping. I seriously do not want to shop or see another Walmart any time soon. Anyway let's get to my favorite highlights of the week.

1) I have went into baking and crafting overload this week. A lot of my gifts are baked and homemade crafts. This is my favorite part. I love making things.

2) I linked up with Caitlin @Coffee With Caitlin to do a Santa Cookie Platter. It was so much fun.


You can view the post here

3) Raylan had his first Christmas play last night. I'm so proud of my baby. He did so well. He was the cutest Donkey that I have ever seen.



Raylan and his friend Mason after the Christmas play. Mason was such an adorable little cow.


4) Raylan saw Santa for the first time last night. Santa was at church after the Christmas play. I expected Raylan to pull his beard but all he did was just pet on Santa.


5) Since I have a very mobile child, he is into everything. When he is crawling, he is headed to everything that he isn't supposed to be into. When he is in his walker, this is what happens....


He was overlooking the damage that he had done. Sigh. But since he has been crawling I have lost 4 pounds Yay!


Well that's a wrap for this week...I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend before Christmas. Try not to let all of the festivities wear you out. God bless you all!

I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth, The Diary Of A Real Housewife and Garay Treasures

Are you ready for Christmas? I'm almost ready. I still have a little shopping left to do and many projects that I need to get finished. I recently finished a project that I have been wanting to do for quite sometime. I have linked up with Caitlin @Coffee With Caitlin to bring you a project that we have been so excited about. It is a DIY Santa Cookie Platter. Every child wants to leave a plate of cookies for Santa and a letter to go with it so why not combine the two. Don't forget to head over to Caitlin's blog to see what she has made as well.

What you will need:

• A ceramic or glass plate (Purchased at The Dollar Tree)
• Metallic Sharpies

So how did I do this? I took the Sharpies of my color choice and start decorating. I wanted to put a Christmas theme to it of course, so I just started out with the saying "Cookies for Santa and Carrots for the Reindeer." I then added Merry Christmas and Ho Ho Ho because those are Santa's favorite sayings. I thought this looked good but I wanted to personalize it a little bit more so in the center of the plate, I added From Raylan and Ps...I've been a very good boy. Santa had to know it was from Raylan, Right?

Hard Candy- Remind us that Jesus is like a "Rock", strong and dependable.  Psalms 31:3

Peppermint Flavor- is like the gift of spices from the wise men.   Matthew 2:11

White Candy- Stands for Jesus as the holy, Sinless son of God.   1 John 1:7

Cane- Is like a staff used by Shepherds in caring for sheep. Jesus is our "Good Shepherd".

The letter J- is for the name of Jesus, our Savior.   Matthew 1:21

The Color Red- is for God's love that sent Jesus, and Jesus' love in giving his life for us on the cross.   John 3:16 and Revelation 1:5

The Stripes- Remind us of Jesus' suffering- His crown of thorns, the wounds in his hands and feet, and the cross on which he died for our sins.  John 19:1-30

It's that time of year again for all things Christmas. I have been crafting and working frantically to finish all of my Christmas decor. There are so many projects that I want to do but I simply do not have the time. Christmas is just right around the corner. I can't believe it is less than two weeks away. Anyway, I have had my eye on a Candy Cane Wreath for quite some time and finally decided to give it a try. My dad and I sat down and made this in less than an hour and I absolutely love it. It's too cute!


What you will need:

• Candy Canes ( I used the candy cane ornaments from the Dollar Tree it's much easier)
• Snowflake Ornaments (Also from the Dollar Tree)
• Mini Ornaments (Far right- Found at Walmart)
• Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
• Ribbon to hang wreath up

 

How to make it:
~Make several candy canes into the shape of a heart. Hot glue the centers of the heart together and the bottom of the heart together. Next, Glue the hearts back to back as shown above. Keep going until you have made a full circle and you can't fit anymore candy canes into the circle. Some may overlap but that's okay. Then, put a snowflake ornament in the center of your wreath. Last, put your mini ornaments all the way around the wreath and glue your ribbon on so that you can hang the wreath up.

Finished result....










What do you think? My dad is also crafty like me. I take it after him. We had so much fun making this wreath. I like the fact that it is different from your average wreath and it's super cheap and easy to make. Are you making any unique wreaths for Christmas?

Is it just me or has this week seemed to drag by. Everyone in my family has been sick including the hubby so I have had my hands full. Anyway let's get to it.

1) I have been working on several different projects for Christmas this week so be prepared for lots of Christmas blog posts.

2) Raylan is going to be in our church Christmas play next week. He got to wear his costume at play practice the other night. Isn't he the cutest Donkey that you have ever seen?


I can't wait to watch him next week. I just hope he cooperates :)


3) I signed up for Tis The Season Mug Swap with Caitlin@Coffee With Caitlin and Katie@Cup of Tea. I was partnered with Beth@Adventures With B. Here is what Beth sent me. I love it!

 I received an adorable mug along with a beautiful card and a Starbucks gift card. I was so excited! Thank you so much Beth!

4) Since Justin has to work most Saturdays this month, we won't have time to have our Family Christmas pictures made. However, Justin did buy me a camera and gave it to me as an early Christmas gift. So, I toyed around with it and did my best at our own family Christmas picture. It's not professional but I think I did okay.











5) I'm almost finished Christmas shopping! Hallelujah! Now for all of the dreadful wrapping to begin. That's the worst part for me lol

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend. Try to relax some amongst all of this getting ready for Christmas madness :)

I'm linking up with Lauren Elizabeth, The Diary Of A Real Housewife and Garay Treasures

Have you ever wondered why It's so easy to have faith when things are going good but when they start to go south it's not so easy? It's easy to trust God and thank God for his blessings when things are going our way. When things are going badly we begin to doubt. We wonder if God is ever going to come through for us. Here are some verses on faith that we need to heed to.

• Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.  Hebrews 11:1
• And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.  Luke 17:19
• And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.  Luke 7:50
• Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  James 1:3
• And Jesus answering said unto them, Have faith in God.  Mark 11:22
• But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?  James 2:20
• And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.  Luke 17:6 
•  Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.  Mark 9:23

TGIF! This has been such a long week. The hubby started second shift, so Raylan and I don't get to spend much time with him like before. That makes for a very long week. Raylan and I have also been under the weather but anyhow the show must go on. Let's rewind.

1) On Saturday, Justin and I went out to dinner and a movie. We watched Horrible Bosses 2. It was hilarious. I thought it was better than the first one.

2) On Sunday, Our good friend Tif from Bright On A Budget stopped by. It's always nice catching up with her. We don't get to see each other very often but when we do, there is plenty to talk about.

3) I received my first Christmas Ornaments from the #Christmas #OrnamentExchange that I held here on the blog. Thanks to all who participated. It was so much fun!!!




4) The hubby gave me an early Christmas present...I'm so in love with it!


Be prepared for many many pictures of Raylan


5) As of Today, Raylan is now crawling! My baby is growing up way too fast but I'm so proud of him.
  Click here to watch the video of him crawling :)


I'm linking up with The Lauren Elizabeth, The Diary of a Real Housewife and Garay Treasures

Hello Friday we meet again! Happy Black Friday Everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I sure did. Let's rewind.

1) Over the weekend I was a little busy baking a race car themed cake for a friend. I hope he enjoyed it because I worked hard on it.



2) Raylan and I finally was able to go to church on Sunday. Were he had been sick, we hadn't been able to attend for a while. It was good to be in the house of The Lord once again.


Raylan, my dad and I at our Sunday church service


My dad, Raylan and my brother at church

BTW Raylan is going to be in our church Christmas play. He is going to be one of the animals from the Nativity scene. I'm so excited to watch him. I really hope he cooperates.

3) I did a lot of baking for others this week but hey I made a good profit and was able to buy some Christmas presents with that money.

  

4) This was by far the best Thanksgiving that I have ever had. Having Raylan has made it the best. It was his first Thanksgiving. He enjoyed all of the good food as well as we did. We were stuffed. I love getting all of the family together and just spending quality time together not to mention, all of the great food.







Raylan really enjoyed the banana pudding :)

5) I scored some awesome Black Wednesday/Thursday/Friday deals. This year has by far been the best year for deals. I got the awesome iPhone 6 which is amazing. (Yes, it was one of my early Christmas presents lol) Appalachian Wireless had the iPhones half off with a new 2 year contract. Tiffany@Bright On A Budget and I did some shopping  last night. We shopped until we dropped lol. We didn't get home until 3am but my shopping is almost complete. It was worth it!