Huge Announcement and I Want to Hear From You

I have a huge announcement I will be starting She Reads Truth - This is the bible on Monday April 7th. I will add a page tab so that if you want to follow along or if you miss a day it will be easy for you to find. I will be journaling and linking shereadsthruth.com to my days. This does not mean that I will dedicate the entire blog to the She Reads Truth, I will still be posting about everyday issues, family, and my life. 

With that said I want to hear from you...what do you want to see and read about?You the readers are what a blog a success and I want to give you what you are looking for.

I love other things beside God, my family, my husband etc. 

Home Decor

Crafts

Sewing

Fashion (although I am not that fashion forward)

Vintage...Everything vintage

Kids / Parenting
Fitness / Health

Me - my life more personal, pictures, etc

Please shoot me a comment or an email with your ideas.

A Rainy Day and Play Dough

So it has been raining here for about 2 days and so my little Cloe has been board. So today we tried out making our own play dough. It was so much fun and pretty easy too.

Here is where I found the recipe kristanlynn.com or you can find it on my pinterest page under CLOE.

I didn't really take that many photos (kind of hard to take a bunch while having a three year old on a chair next to the stove).

We followed the recipe as directed with the following changes

We used a smaller pot which made it easier to stir and we added some glitter while it cooked.

Here are the directions from Kristan Lynn

Ingredients: 1 C Flour
1 C Water
1/4 C Salt
1 TBSP Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Cream of Tarter
Food Coloring (actual coloring or a kool-aid packet will do)
Sparkles (If you wanna be a fun mom!)
Sauce Pan and Wooden Spoon Little helping hands.

We ran out of salt so we are off to the store to get some more so we can make some more colors. ENJOY

Family Vacation At The Beach

We have been back from vacation for 2 weeks now and its taken all that time to get back into the groove. We came back and we were all sick with a cold, and of course Cloe got the worst of it. But we are all back to normal now and I can finally sit and reflect on our time away.

We rented a beach house in Bodega Bay, CA through Coastal Vistas check out the website to see where we stayed. The house was amazing (this is the third year we have rented with them and it is always perfect) exactly what a beach house should be, all whites with ocean themed touches. 

We shared the rental with my husband's cousin, his wife (my best friend) and their two kids. Its funny over the past 10 years of being BBF's this is the first vacation that we have gone on together. 

That first day we checked in unpacked and went straight to the beach. I so amazed the weather was unseasonably calm and warm, a great start to our trip!

We went to the beach every day, ate great food (LOL vacation is great for the soul and hard on the waistline), and really just enjoyed ourselves. Every night after all the littles were in bed the adults would hang out in the spa, relaxing and enjoying each others company. 

The whole time we were there I spent real quality time with my daughters and my husband. During the 5 days we were gone I had little moments with each one, cuddling Cloe on the beach in the sun, talking quietly with Shay, and enjoying alot of husband and wife time. I kept finding myself sending up prayers of thanks for the time and the ability to have these types of vacations with my family and friends. 

"Thank you so much for this time with my family, I am truly blessed! I will never forget these moments, my feelings during this time, how loved I am, and how much I love my family. Thank you for allowing me to be present and hopefully this can happen again and again. Thank you for allowing my husband and I to provide this for our daughters."

Random Thoughts Today

I am full of random thoughts today.

We had a great vacation, but Cloe, my husband and I came back sick (I will share more from our vacation in my next post). I am finally feeling normal today, but Cloe once again has that horrible cough from just a few weeks ago. When I am stuck in the house for 3 or more days with a sick little I find myself catching up on movies, yesterday while Cloe slept in my arms I watched The Impossible. What a movie!!!! I felt such fear, sadness, and inspiration. I wish that God would send me daily reminders to be thankful, to cherish each moment, and to remember that God has protected my family from tragedy.

That is my goal this year to remember that it could all be gone in the blink of an eye, to breath and release all those moments I cannot control, and to be thankful and happy!

Psalm 63

While browsing through Facebook or Instagram I came across Psalm 63. This passage really spoke to me and I just love the tone of it.

I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you, my whole body longs for you. Your unfailing love is better than life itself, O how I praise you! I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. You satisfy my more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of Joy!

What scriptures are your favorite, which passages speak to your heart and soul?

Vacation - Being Present and Staying Centered

My family and my best friends family are preparing to go on vacation next week to the coast. The beach is one of my favorite places to go. We try to rent a beach house every year for a week so that we can really soak in all that ocean air and get away from the stresses of everyday life. But we weren't able to go last year, so I have been craving a long vacation since 2011.

Every time we go I always tell myself that I should bring my bible study and a vacation journal and use them, but each year I leave them at home. I really want to try and make the commitment to follow through. In past years with so many people and kids in the house my OCD really kicks in and I end up feeling more stressed on the trip then I do at home. I think if I take 20 minutes each morning alone it might center me and help me remember that I have to let go and just enjoy my vacation and time with my family.

I have been wanting to start a bible journal (I have had the journal in my nightstand drawer for a couple weeks) maybe this will be the jump start that I need.

I can't wait to get my toes in the sand and take a walk to the tide pools. Stay tuned for pictures from our trip.

ragstostitches.com

Stacking Stones

During the 25th anniversary celebration at my church each family received a stone. We were told to place it somewhere where we could see it each day and be reminded that God is always there and will provide all the help we need. I love this living stone tradition and placed our families stone on my mantle with other nature items that we have collected as a family.

During the parting of the River Jordan God said to collect 12 stones from the middle of the sea and stack them on the other side so that when their children asked about them they could tell the story of God's greatness. There are many cultures that stack stones.

This is still a tradition among the people of Israel to stack stones. These stacked stones act as a reminder of something great that God has done. Often the children and grandchildren will come across these stacks and ask "what do these stones means?" and the adults can tell the story that goes with each stack. 

In some places in scripture, a stone is used to describe strength and resiliency in a person's character. How great would it be to look out into your yard or garden and see stones that represent not only the great things that God has provided you with, but also the strength that you have in hard times. 


I am going to try and get my family involved by making stacks in our garden. Maybe stacks or maybe we can add 1 stone and build a wall or walkway.