Joy, Thankfulness you name it I got it ♥

Our Sweet Grandson made his debut around 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning, weighing in @ 7lbs. 8 oz. We all anxiously awaited to see if he would be a blonde headed boy or red headed. Red it is! :) Krista delivered him by c-section and we were able to wait in her room which was NEXT DOOR to where they took Bentley during the first few minutes he was born. Oh MY .... He was not a happy boy! LOL You know, hearing your grandbaby for the very first time is just the most precious sound ever!! Here are the pics from this Blessed Day in which the Lord gave us this sweet baby boy to love and teach in the way he should go.


Bentley Daniel


soo precious


How I love this sweet boy already!




My DH.... aka PAPA ♥


Me...aka NONI ♥ holding back the tears! So amazed @ Gods blessings


Uncle Jantzen ♥


Aunt Jenna ♥



Rylee seeing her brother for the first time :) We asked her if she wanted to take him to her house? She said "no" LOLOL


The Happy Family ♥


My precious grandchildren....Rylee & Bentley



Thank you Lord for blessing us with this Healthy Baby Boy! Thank you for the plans you have for Bentley!

Thank all of you for your Love and Prayers!

Gettin Your Groove On

Yesterday the kids were out of school which is always a happy event around our house! My daughter and I went to have lunch with my Mom at one of our favorite restaurants and then shopped a little bit before we picked our my granddaughter Rylee for the night. I splurged and got an IC Mocha @ Panera .... this isn't exactly on my menu plan nor is it LOW in calories! Having missed my morning work out I told my daughter that I HAD to do something when we got home so that all those calories didn't pack on more weight!

One of the gifts I got for Christmas was a new WII game called Just Dance 2. Let me tell you guys...this game is SO.MUCH.FUN!
Jenna had some friends over and they joined in and of course Rylee had to dance too :) Not only did we have a blast but wow, did I get a work out!! I was sweating something awful LOL and we did it for a full hour before we even knew it! Time just flies by!

This is a game that you just mind find me doing on my own :)~

Do you have a WII, or a PS3 Move, or an Xbox Kinnect? What is your favorite game? Have you ever danced to this Game?? What were your thoughts ??

Have a blessed Tuesday my friends! Love you all!!

Mondays Musings

I have looked forward to this weekend for quite some time and we all know I am thrilled about the week ahead!! This past weekend was jam packed full of activity....

My Son had his cooking class. On the Menu:
Homemade pasta with Pesto Sauce
Polenta which was really good!

Wouldn't you know....I forgot my camera! :( I hate that! **sigh**


Saturday evening we had a game night with our friends. 16 years ago when Jenna was 2 she went to a Mothers Day out class. There were 6 little girls and all of us Moms got to know one another. As the years passed we were all in the same "care group" at our church. While some of us have changed churches and no longer attend with one another our friendship has remained. Why?
Because the Lord is at the heart of our friendships. There truly is a bond there that only God has given. I know that no matter what I could count on any of these friends ~ That is such a gift!!




We laughed and laughed while we played the game Loaded Questions:

LOADED QUESTIONS:


The object: Ask a question. Listen to all the answers and see if you can determine who gave which answer. Not as easy as it sounds! Some people might not be honest in their answering ....just to throw you off ;) Here is Kris hiding his answer from everyone! He was our Chef for the evening....He made Ribs and Pulled Pork that was absolutely TO.DIE.FOR!



STACEY


We all got together to celebrate Janet's birthday :) Happy Birthday Janet


Joe and Janet, Tammy & Stacey, and Brian and I....Not pictured: Connie & Kris ~ Our hosts for the evening


My Ornery Man....Love Him so much! Keeps us all in stitches for sure ♥



Sunday was Awesome @ Church.... Pastor Craig Groeschel started a new series: "I Quit!" Don't you just love it when the Lord weaves the same message no matter what it is you are doing? Remember I told you about the Winter Health Challenge? What is one of the KEY things Danny Cahill (Season 8 Biggest Loser Winner) spoke on? LOSE YOUR QUIT and Find your Why! Craig shared that we have to Quit making excuses when the Lord calls us to do something and to connect the Why spiritually to what God is calling you to do!!!

Today the kids are out of school and we get to have lunch with my Mom and then Pick up Rylee to spend the night. Only TWO MORE DAYS til my 2nd Grandbaby is here!! Can you hear me squealing ???? LOL I am sooo excited!

What about you? Did you have a good weekend? I pray you did! Love you all and may you have a Blessed Monday ♥

Spiritual Sundays

I just LOVE my Billy Graham Devotional and thought todays reading was Perfect for Spiritual Sundays. To join in or read other Spiritual Sunday posts go here Charlotte and Ginger host this and they are two of the most wonderful godly women! I love them and know you will too!



JOY
For the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10


What is joy?
Some of us think that joy is a state of perpetual happiness, a bubbling personality, a person who is always smiling and laughing. These can be expressions of joy, but true joy is something far deeper than that.
Joy is produced in our hearts when we know that God loves us, when we have a close relationship with HIM through reading HIS Word, praying, and desiring to honor HIM in all that we do, and by serving others.
Joy does not mean that we are never sad, that we never cry. Instead, joy is a quiet confidence, a state of peace in the heart of the believer. Sometimes it manifests itself in an impromptu song while riding alone in a car. Sometimes one is so overwhelmed by the love of God that tears of gratitude form in the eyes. At other times, it is a wonderful feeling of peace in the midst of war and turmoil.
Paul said, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed, we are perplexed, but not is despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9) Paul had joy. So did Jesus, even under the shadow of the cross.
Life happiness, joy cannot be pursued. It comes from within. It is a state of being. It does not depend on circumstances, but triumphs over circumstances. It produces a gentleness of spirit and a magnetic personality.
It is easy to tell who the joyful people are.
They are the ones whom others like to be around.

Our Father and our God, thank YOU for the Holy Spirit who lives in us. Thank YOU for the peace and joy HE brings us. YOU are the laughter of our Heart, O God. YOU are the joy and celebration of every day. You are the One who deserves to be praise. Thank YOU for the gift of Your Son, who makes our joy everlasting. Amen

TGIF ♥

I am an UGG Freak...gotta have em and I wear them pretty much every single day in the winter! It has been extremely cold this week. Down in the single digits!! BRRRR. I seriously don't know what I would do without them! I saw this on FB this past week and just had to laugh.(and share it with you all) This is definitely NOT a vaccine for me ;) nor is it one I would recommend for anyone! Just ask Lori Sabin....she knows that UGGS are the only way to go...right Lori!!

Hope you have a day filled with laughter and joy! Join Kim for more laughs.....Enjoy




Love you all

Offering Up Thanks

Thankful for.....

A trip that was cancelled due to weather and airline cancellations(3times) and a boss who said "Stay home, thankyou for your earnest attempt to get here!"

Having a Husband to hold and kiss when He should have been miles and miles away

A schedule change that now has given me time in the morning with my daughter ♥

YouVersion that supplies countless reading plans to read Gods Word on my Iphone, IPad or Computer

My Grandaughter asking me to sing "I Love you a Bushel and a peck"

Watching the deer each night just outside my back door graze on the corn that we put out for them

The big Snow Flakes that fall so peacefully

Fridays with my Mom ~ no matter what we do~ I am so blessed & so thankful for my Momma ♥

Time spent with long-time friends, playing games, laughing, fellowshipping and knowing there is a bond there that is God-given

A Winter Health Challenge that will help me physically and spiritually

The staff at my Physical Therapy: Amy whose smile and sweet heart welcomes me each time I walk through the door and Jamie who works me hard so that I will get to where I need to be in due time

and finally but most importantly....

The Love and Mercy bestowed upon me from the Lord for I am so undeserving

Winter Health Challenge

I am so blessed to live where I do. It is a small town that has grown considerably in the last 10 years but it still has the small town feel. We have excellent schools and the community is just amazing. My Husband has lived here since he was in Kindergarten! There was only 1 elementary when he was in school and now there are Eight Elementaries!! WOW Anyway...Focus Loren ;) Focus

I heard about this thing called the Winter health challenge and have decided to join in! We met last week for the first time! Our Family doesn't watch much TV but one show we do not miss is BIGGEST Loser Well, the speaker last Thursday evening was Season 8 winner Danny Cahill. He lives in a town about 15 minutes from us and was invited to be the guest speaker. Also on the Season 8 was Sean Algier. Sean works at the Church that is Hosting the Winter Health Challenge. So Sean and Danny have remained friends and let me tell ya, these two are funny!! Danny shared some great tips and was full of encouragement.

Some of the hi-lites that Danny shared were:

Lose your Quit! - what have you given up on? Why are you ok with quitting? Say good-bye to quitting and Press On!
Lose your Regrets! - Don't live your life regretting the past...learn from the mistakes and move on! Stop looking back!
Lose your Lies! - Do you believe the lies the enemy tells you? The Lies you tell yourself? The lies others tell you? STOP IT! Listen to what and who God says you are!
Find your Why!!- Why do you want to accomplish the goal you have set ?? When you find your "why" set it before you to remind yourself of the goal...your inspiration to continue on !!

I am really excited to do this Winter Challenge! My friend Stephanie from StephTmomof3 is my accountability partner! In doing the health challenge we are given opportunities to go work out at many of the gyms for FREE. I NEVER realized how many work out facilities we have but goodness gracious it is ALOT! I can't wait to see which one we like. My husband is doing this as well so I can't wait to go work out together! WOOHOO

WHO KNOWS.....Maybe I can look as good as Danny does once he lost all his weight? LOL

Mondays Musings

Well Winter has arrived and BOY is it COLD It started snowing around 2:30 and just flurried all afternoon yesterday. We didn't get any accumulation but there is more on the way today so we shall see :)


I put a roast and some potatoes and carrots in my crockpot today! Can you say YUM!! The wood is piled up and ready to make a warm fire in the fireplace this evening and Papa will be picking up our Rylee to come spend the night!! CANNOT WAIT ♥

Church was awesome! God is doing some UH MA ZING things @ LifeChurch.tv! I am sooo excited to watch it all come to fruition!

My Honey will be traveling for business this week....If you don't mind, can you say a prayer for safe travel please!! Thank you all so much!

Went to my grandsons baby shower this weekend! Now we just need for him to arrive :) NINE days and counting....NO, I am NOT excited at all ;) LOL

Here are just a few pics of the shower

Krista with Bentley's cake :)


My Mom, Krista, Rylee, and Jenna....Oh how I love them all soo much!


My Mom and Rylee watching it snow :)


My Mom making a bib for Baby Bentley...such a cute idea


Jenna and Rylee


My Beautiful Mom and my Sweet Rylee ♥


Some of his gifts waiting to be used!!



How was your weekend? Hope it was blessed!! Love you all xoxo

Spiritual Sundays ~ Revealing Truth

Charlotte and Ginger are two wonderful and godly women. They host Spiritual Sundays each and every week and if you would like to join in, I know you will be blessed by doing so.

I have heard it said a few times in my 44 years that when we are doing something we shouldn't, sometimes, we are blind to those actions and how it affects our lives, and the lives of those around us. Now, don't get me wrong, there are those times when we know EXACTLY what we are doing and continue anyways. But those times when we are Blinded and then the truth is revealed......WOW!! We are shocked at how in the world we had acted that way for so long and never knew it!

I have a VERY outgoing personality. VERY! Over this past year, I became just the opposite. I withdrew. I allowed some hurts and offenses to build and keep me in a place of isolation. As my husband put it....My Spirit was eroding. He was right. It was. There is no need in sharing the why's of the situation, but what I feel the Lord wants me to share is this:

There were times I would feel the Lords prompting but I didn't know what specifically to do. I didn't have a clear Word until one day recently, I was having a conversation with the Lord. I spoke to HIM saying "It seems as ......" As I began sharing my thoughts on my situation and I spoke those words, my Spirit resonated immediately. I knew I had gotten to the root of my issue. I began asking Jesus to help me as well as taking Spiritual authority over the situation. The spirit of isolation had to go. The spirit of resentment had to go. The Spirit of fear had to go. Not only did these need to go, but I had to ask the Lord to replace them with HIS Spirit of Forgiveness, Boldness, Peace and Love.

The Freedom that comes when the Lord moves on our behalf ~ The Joy is truly UNSPEAKABLE.

I know the enemy wanted nothing more than for me to stay in my place of isolation. It grieves me that I stayed there as long as i did. Oh, but for the grace of God. Truly, His mercies are new every day and HE washes my sins as far as the East is from the West! I am soo thankful that HE loves me enough NOT to leave me alone. To continue to speak, to nudge me until my ears were finally opened to the truth and my heart was receptive as well! Praise be to God!

What about you? Do you feel the Lord nudging you? Are you struggling with a situation? If so, SEEK HIM. WHOLEHEARTEDLY.
HE will show you. He will reveal the root and allow it to be exposed so that healing can come and restoration can too.


For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms Ephesians 6:12

1 Coritnthians 3:16-18
But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit


For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

TGIF ♥

I LOVE Fridays Don't you?? My Friend Kim hosts Friday Funnies and while I love Fridays they are always better if you can laugh!!

I asked my kids to help me with my Funny this week and Jenna chose this Lowe's Commercial !! Hope you enjoy it!



Happy Friday my Friends!