The Season of peace love and joy

Quiet Christmas this year. The season is full of joy and good tidings to all. Just sensed a real peace this Christmas season. Family gatherings, friends and laughter. Just thankful for all the blessings as I look toward a new year :)

Peppermint chocolate delight

                            Peppermint chocolate delight

3 cubes of chocolate bark                 Crushed up peppermint candy

Graham cracker squares.                   Chopped pecans

Melt 3 cubes of chocolate in microwave. Dip graham cracker squares in chocolate. Set on wax paper. Sprinkle peppermint and pecans.

                                              Yum!!!

Living in the Moment

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This is it. We get this one big beautiful messy life. Clarity and uncertainty woven together. Living in the moment is difficult but it's gotta be done. I can't wait for everything to be perfect and happen when I want it to. I must live for today and take the next day as it comes. In the end it will be this tapestry of beauty, woven in all the joys and difficulties in one big quilt. I want to say I lived it well even through the challenging and and uncertain times. The legacy I will leave is "how" I lived my life. I can only hope to live it with grace and peace and strength. 

Ice cream

Ever notice how when you start a nasty habit you just can't stop. You say I'm in control. I'm gonna have that ice cream in my fridge for that "once in a while" craving. But you cave. It calls your name every night. You reach into your freezer, pull out the scooper and pile a few scoops into your bowl. Then, if that's not bad enough, you reach for the chocolate syrup. Your done. You've lost all control. I must say that after it's all said and done remorse sets in. Because no matter how good it made you feel while you were eating it, it doesn't feel good in the morning when you step on the scale. 

Living victoriously

I love this quote. God created us to live with victory above our circumstances. I have been guilty of this, living under defeat and unworthiness. But I was created for so much more. God has lead me through, Step by step, on solid ground and I must say it feels good. To know that I was created for a reason gives me peace and the courage to keep moving forward.  Though life rarely goes according to plan doesn't mean I can't live it with passion and purpose. Plan B is more often life's sweet victory.

Change is good :)

Life is constantly changing . When I think about how many turns my life has taken in the last year in a half I am amazed. What will the future hold?  As much as I sometimes wish I new it's just exciting to see what wonderful things are in store. This past Monday I got my license:) it official. I'm just on the brink of welcoming a child into my home. Change is good. 

Reasons I Love New York

New York is my happy place. A year ago my counselor asked me to close my eyes and go to my Happy place. This is It. Right here. In New York, wind in my face the sound of the water with the New York skyline at my back.

My favorite places being the statue of liberty and all that she represents.

The hustle and bustle of the night lights at Times Square. The excitement to just walk around and take in the ambiance. It's like no other place on earth.

The magnificent Bethesda fountain. A feast for your eyes.

My favorite person in the world to share it with. My sister :)

 The color of a real Autumn. The crisp air, the way the leaves crunch beneath my feet.

 

The entertainment while sitting on a bench in the middle of Central Park. Just brings peace into my soul!

Brooklyn bridge

Sister bonding while passing the Brooklyn bridge :)

The Amazing New York architecture 

 And nothing like subway transportation (which we probly spent 1/3 of our time using to get around.)

Enjoyable for a trip but was glad to get back to my car when I got home.

Beautiful skyline.

No one better to share it with. We had a fabulous time in in a fabulous place! Sister trip 2014. The beginning of a tradition.

Gifts

Gifts. They come in many forms. A word of encouragement, a smile, a hug, letting someone in the lane, a prayer, making someone laugh. Give a gift today. Brighten someone's day :)

Friday favorite

Turn your ordinary into extraordinary. Decorate your life with a ltiile fun. A little goes a long way. Throw off the weeks worries, Savor the moments and laugh till your belly hurts :)Happy Friday!

Live with purpose

I was put on this earth to serve God. with my Whole Life. When I get off track there is such emptiness. When I live my life for God it compels me to fill the world with his love. I am driven to find people on this path whom are struggling. And shine the light of God down upon them. There is hope, there is meaning, there is life, I want to say. Don't give up no matter what your circumstances are. God created us with a purpose. Find out who your are and become that person. Live that life. 

Daring Adventure

Being an active participant in life takes risk. I can choose to sit on the sidelines and watch my life go by as my circumstances take me through or I can choose to get in the game, take some risks and falls and get back up. The satisfaction of pressing through the trials as opposed to giving up and sitting it out is phenomenal. I don't want to be a spectator I want to be in the game able to say I gave it my all. The triumphs are so sweet.

I am at the end of the foster process. I jumped through all the hoops, climbed the mountain of paperwork and passed the fine tooth comb of my personal character. In two weeks I will be a licensed foster home.

Just the tip of the iceberg. Now I actually begin being a foster parent. I am prepared for the second quarter of the adventure. So blow the whistle and sound the trumpets ... Let the game begin.

Friday Favorite

Thank you God!!! Sweet rain. It's as if the sky and earth are celebrating. 

I just want to throw a party!

Don't wait for an occasion for celebration, each day is reason enough:)

Changing Course

Sometimes we choose to change our course and other times our circumstances change our course for us. Over the years I had lost myself, my love of life and my joy. I found the courage I needed to change my  course and headed into the direction of the light. Trusting God to lead me.

The past year and half brought many challenges along the way, but I am happy to share that I now live a life I can be proud of.

I laugh now. My heart is fuller. I appreciate the common. Find joy in simple things and revel in the extraordinary moments life has to offer. Changing course gave me my life back.

Friday favorites

Don't you just love Fridays?!?! Most days I wake up slowly and have to shove myself out of my bed to start my day. But Fridays are always happy days because this means the weekend is just around the corner. I woke up with joy today :)

Happy friday

Hello

Rough week full of disappointments and frustration. Did feel like I was falling off the deep end. But after some quiet inner positive self talk, and much prayer I am hopeful once again. I have been working diligently towards my dreams for some time now. My feathers did get ruffled with some bumps in the road. But I am so grateful for where I am now in my life. With each goal I reach, I know I am not alone, I am blessed. I trust I am on the right path and choose to move in this life with a grateful attitude and an open heart.

Whimsical Week-end Project

My cousin and I decided to make terrariums this weekend. Just a fun and creative way to spend our day:)

First we went out and bought the supplies we would need. Hobby lobby had the moss and rocks. Lowes had the plants.

Finding the perfect containers, I already had. Washing them before I started.

Layered small rocks at the bottom for drainage when you water the plants.

Layered an inch of dirt and then water with spray bottle. Spray the bottom of moss and place arrange it.

Arranged the plants, planting the roots into the dirt. I added big rocks in one corner.

We were so proud of of how they turned out! Beautiful :)

 

A perfect day of creativity.

Try

I can't say that everything I've tried has succeeded but I can say I tried.And this gives me a sense of fulfillment. I've fallen flat on my face before, but I get up and try something new. Never stop dreaming or taking new paths. Life is too short to wonder what if. 

Truth and beauty

Just happy to be on this path. Discovering that all along it is the simple things in life that  truly make me happy.

On Solid Ground

Back on solid ground. 

A soul at peace is worth more then all the riches of the world.

Thank You God.

Back and rested

Cozumel, Mexico

A week of bliss. I had a wonderful trip. People always talked about how great cruises were. I never knew! They are the best, most restful, enjoyable vacations ever. We were a group of 15 women. It was crazy fun. I needed that.

Health and Life

Once again on the HCG diet. 6 pounds lighter in 12 days. What I learn every time I do this diet is discipline. It's not so bad eating healthy but it gets hard to keep on track when the world offers pasta, bread,cakes and cookies. I must stay focused. I feel better when I eat good. So why do I stray off the path?

 It parallels to life. Anything good is worth working for. Relationships, jobs, life goals. Keep focused and stay close to the path, even if you stray for a while. Failure is just a rehearsal for success.

The Dance

The dance is something we all do through out our lives. Sometimes we step purposefully and other times we stumble. Graceful at times and other times clumsy. Sometimes in our lives we might feel as if we are floating through life full of joy, dancing on the clouds. and other times our feet are heavy laden and we don't feel we are moving at all. We might just need to sway through it, till we feel the beat of the music down deep, compelling us to move. If you fall its important to get up. Stay in the dance of life. Don't allow a life situation to stop the music in your heart. Keep dancing. Don't ever give up.

A Better day

We all carry things from our past into the future. As I hand these issues over to God he does two things. 1. He heals the wounds from the inside out.

2. He turns the experience into something good and useful for my future. 

I choose to take the good from the past, live fully in the present and trust God as he moves me into my future.

Happy life

Sometimes I let circumstances and people bring me down. But I have to choose to keep climbing up. Its my life, I make the choices for how I want to live it. I want to help others in life along thier journey but not at the cost of drowning. I choose to swim upstream. I will live my happy life. I deserve happy.

Fortune cookie quote

Everytime I used to eat chinese food someone once told me "Ok, what ever your fortune says is true". Well sometimes it was true and other times it did not make sense. I picked up some chinese food last week on a dreary day. Took it back to the office. After i was done, I had to read my fortune. Its just fun. It encouraged my heart and brightened my day. I do look forward to making a difference in a childs life as I continue steps to foster a child :)

Courageous heart

There are days I don't feel I am getting any closer to my goals. But I continue to dance to the rythym of my hopes and dreams. I keep the faith alive. Small things inspire me daily that push me along my way. I have this intuition that all will fall into place. Living with courage in my heart. Holding onto truth, and trusting the path I travel on.

Texas Rodeo Carnival

I took Nhi (foreign exchange student from Vietnam) to have Texas experience at the rodeo on sunday. She noticed the lovely animal smell as we entered the gate. We watched the poor sweet cows get roped by the cowboys, a cow get milked up close, an exciting dogshow, saw real owls,( creepy!)eagles and bats up close and watched baby pigs race to the finish line. She ate her first turkey leg and of course found many treasures to purchase to rememer the event. We ended the day walking through the rodeo carnival. What a nice day. An Texas experience she will never forget :)