Our Christmas Card Reveal (look away if you don't want me to spoil the surprise!)

I just had to go ahead and reveal our Christmas card. I know I said I wouldn't but I couldn't wait!

Shutterfly gave us 50 free 5x7 stationary cards, just by promoting them! And, before you think I promoted them just to get the free cards ... think again! I found the coolest card that was perfect for what we were wanting to portray as a family this year!

Not only did I get the perfect Christmas card (for free), but I also decided to order my yearly photo calendars from there this year (they are 30% off right now, so hurry) and I got a couple of other fun gifts, as well, all at great prices!  The shipping was free (use code SHIP30) and I will have the products within the next week. Everything I ordered was exactly what I wanted at a great price. Getting the free cards was just icing.

Thank you, Shutterfly, for the opportunity to promote your products. I am so excited about the things I ordered!! And I am proud to introduce the outside of our Christmas cards. The inside is even cooler!

Most Wonderful Story Christmas 5x7 folded card

Make a statement with custom Christmas cards at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Rick Rocks ~ Another Grateful Edition

We have a phrase in our family .. "whoa down", as in "you need to whoa down a bit" or "he whoa'd me down when I was freaking out."

Rick has the ability to do that for me. I have mentioned in lots and lots of a few posts that I don't like to be told what to do. I'm pretty sure I'm 'all that', that I have all the wisest answers. Hmmmmm ..... no.

I am a control freak of the greatest proportions, especially when it comes to my kids. I do all things with order and structure, and expect {too often} for everyone else to do the same. As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that workin' for ya?"

I have a teenager (well, actually a couple of them). But the teenager I'm talking about is 16 years old, as of yesterday. And, how-did-this-happen?, she has a life of her own now! And it consists of friends, and boyfriends, and conflicts and other things. And, I'd love nothing more than to micro-manage all of that for her.

But, then I remember how, even as a teenager (especially as a teenager), I didn't like to be told what to do. And I always hated that I wasn't trusted. And I knew I wasn't trusted.

Rick's upbringing was the complete opposite. He had virtually no supervision and no rules. He was completely trusted. (Thankfully he was very responsible and a great kid who didn't fall into any real trouble.)

So, this past weekend when I was upset about a way that Kyndal was handling a situation, I wanted to get all in her business and voice my opinion(s) and take care of things for her. And it was stressing me out. And I was up several times in the night thinking about it. And it's really been bumming me out that she is so content spending so much time away from us. So, I was a little panicked and needed to do something ... now!

And then Rick "whoa'd me down". We had a great talk about typical teenage behavior, and what a great kid Kyndal is, and how she needs to be free to make some of her own mistakes while the stakes are still low in her life, and how as a teenager I hated to be untrusted and micro-managed and how I am allowing her to grow and mature by just staying out of some things and how she needs to learn how to navigate some of her relationships on her own.

It was hard, but I took his advice.

And then after the weekend was over, and she was home talking to us, it became clear that she had made some pretty great decisions all on her own. And then when she was really upset about another situation with a family member, I was so glad that I hadn't frustrated her all weekend with my management of her life. Because, it was me she came to, to talk and cry and ask for advice.

Without Rick that probably would have ended up being a completely different situation. He balances me so well and helps take away my panic and helps me to see the bigger picture.

I am so grateful to have him!

HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY KYNDAL!!!

Go here to see a post about our girl. She is 16 years old today. What a great day of celebration!

We love you, Kyndal!

Rediscovering Christmas Bible Challenge

My friend Shannon at Welcome to our Wonderland has put out a great challenge that I am planning to accept. It's not a hard one and it goes along with my desire to put the spirit back into Christmas.

The Rediscovering Christmas Bible Challenge asks each of us to read one chapter of the Book of Luke each day starting December 1st. There are 24 chapters in the Book, so it takes you right up to Christmas Eve.

I'm in, Shannon. Will any of you join us? Go to Shannon's blog to find out more.

Please continue to be in prayer for my friend Vee and her children Faith, Caleb and unborn Carter. In her words, she is "suffocating with pain" and is "terrified of figuring out life without [Jeremy]." Those are two specific things you can pray about for her.

My heart just breaks every time I think of her.

Nicole's Daybook

Outside my window... It is a sunny, beautiful day, but it's pretty chilly!

I am thinking... about the 1950's woman versus the Proverbs 31 woman versus the woman of the 21st century. Someone needs to write a book about it.

I am thankful ... that I have a life partner who balances me so well. This weekend he was able to 'whoa me down' about an issue so that I didn't make things worse. Turns out his advice was the best ever and things turned out so good without my intervention. That was a confidence booster for someone and a victory for me as a parent.

I am wearing... black and red track pants, a red long-sleeved t-shirt, a white zip up hoodie and tennis shoes.

I am planning... an old-fashioned Christmas.

I am creating... the final items for the Fall Craft party that is at school next Monday and Tuesday, some photo Christmas gifts  and the finishing touches to our Christmas card.

I am going... to get some hot green tea in minute to perk me up before our afternoon school lessons.

I am reading... A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. Gotta read the rest of what I am going to read tonight because it has to go back to the library tomorrow. I'll definitely have to check it out again. Too many nuggets of information for one reading.

I am hoping... that Rick gets that big break.

On my mind... is Kyndal's birthday. In two days I will have a 16 year old daughter. Weird.

From the learning rooms... We are so busy all the time, but loving it! Trying to add in some Thanksgiving lessons for Brynne. Eli is close to doing 100 addition problems in 4 minutes with no mistakes. He loves doing that! Dawson is finishing up his unit on Ancient Greece and we are moving on to Ancient Rome after Thanksgiving. Kyndal just keeps working at inching up that Geometry grade!

Noticing that ... it might actually be greater to just give someone trust than to require that they earn it.

From the kitchen... Dawson! He's cooking tonight!

Around the house... Are leaves, leaves, everywhere leaves.

One of my favorite things... sitting on the couch, with whoever will sit with me.

A few plans for the rest of the week... Crazy, busy week! Kyndal has physical therapy a couple of afternoons. Brynne has homeschool library tomorrow. Kyndal's 16th birthday is on Thursday! Friday morning we have coop (which I am helping lead .. MORE crafts!). Then that afternoon is our Kindergarten/1st Grade Fall Craft Party work day (we have to make pumpkin scented playdough for 150 kids.) On Saturday I am heading to Tulsa to do some Christmas shopping at An Affair of the Heart. Then on Sunday I will need to get the whole house cleaned and laundry done, since I won't have time to do any of it this week.

From my picture journal.

At the Oklahoma Aquarium playset at the airport waiting for daddy to get back from his way-too-long business trip to Aruba!

Lots of women Daybook. See what they have to say at The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Menu Plan Monday

The reason we had an easy couple of weeks in the kitchen was because Rick was on a business trip. When he is here I like to make sure I make a good meal to thank him for working so hard all day for his family. I also like to make sure he has something to take in his lunch the next day, and a lot of our kid-meals don't reheat well. So, while he was gone we just ate whatever we wanted.

Now we are back to normal, so real meal planning resumes this week ...

"Mexican" Monday ~ Grilled burritos

"Taste of Home Cookbook" Tuesday ~ Dawson's Greek Menu (we decided to wait until Rick got home to enjoy it with us.)

"Whatever You Want" Wednesday ~ Fend for Yourself

"The Favorites" Thursday ~ Chicken and dumplings

"Freezer" Friday ~ Chili times 2, and hot dogs

"Sandwich" Saturday ~ BBQ pork sandwiches

"So Easy" Sunday ~ Crock pot lasagna

Have a great week! And check out other menu ideas at The Organizing Junkie.

My Goals for a Busy, Busy Week!

Yeah, I've done it again! I've scheduled a week that no normal person can pull off. This week I have two afternoon work days for the Fall Craft Party that is at school the following week. I have Brynne's homeschool library day. Kyndal's 16th birthday is Thursday. She will have physical therapy three afternoons. Then I allowed myself to help run another craft party at coop on Friday morning. All of this needs to be done on top of school for Dawson and Brynne.

How will I make it? With lots of planning and preparation and by taking one day at a time.

To help myself out, I have done/plan to do these things:

1.  Get all of my weekly housecleaning and laundry done on Sunday.
2.  Get all of our homeschooling lessons copied (if necessary) and put in workboxes so they at our fingertips.
3.  Get up every morning this week and go for a run.
4.  Refer to the Meal Calendar each morning and get out anything that needs thawed out for the night.
5.  Have meals ready by 5:30 p.m., kitchen cleaned up by 6:00 p.m., and all baths done by 7:00 p.m.
6.  Get all bedtime necessaries done by 7:00 p.m.
7.  Prepare the night before for the next morning.
8.  Vowing to not take it out on my family when I get overwhelmed because I have totally overdone it!

Doing these things will make my week go much more smoothly.

And, I have Saturday to look forward to: A friend and I are heading to An Affair of the Heart for some shopping.

Check Out the Shutterfly Photo Card Options

Simplicity ... Old Fashioned ... Family

These are the words that describe how I have been feeling about the Holidays this year. I've posted about it a couple of times already and will be posting a lot more about it in the weeks to come.

In the past I have gone to great lengths, with great stress, to get a good family picture for our yearly Christmas card. I've had a vision in mind that I wanted to recreate ... at all costs!

This year, I just wanted a simple photo of the kids to show how much they have grown up this past year. Last weekend we took some great photos. I got the perfect simple and earthy shot.

So when I went looking for a photo Christmas card to use, I was immediately drawn to the selection at Shutterfly.com! They had so many cards to choose from, and I found the  perfect  card that reflected my mood this year.

You can go here to see their selection of Holiday cards or you can go here to see their selection of Christmas cards. Whatever you are looking for, you can find it in one of these two places ... guaranteed!

Not only do they have an amazing selection of Holiday and Christmas cards, they also have many other photo gift options. Every year I make a photo calendar for family members. I am designing my calendar on Shutterfly right now! Go here to see their many options.

And while browsing the site I found the greatest photo gift for one of my teenagers. He will love it!

If you are a blogger, you can get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… Sign up at http://bit.ly/sfly2010.


I'd love to show you the card I chose to use this year, but I don't want to ruin the surprise ... sorry!

Rick Rocks ~ Grateful Edition

Rick has been on a business trip for the past two weeks and just got back yesterday! He has never been gone for that long. The longest he has been gone at once was a week. So, it was quite an adjustment for us to be without him. He even missed Halloween, which was hard on the kids!

And after hearing that my sweet friend Vee's husband was killed in a tragic accident on Tuesday, I am especially grateful that he is home safe and sound!

Here are some other reasons I am grateful for Rick this week ...

1.  He actually preferred this

to this

2.  He got home yesterday morning and spent three hours of his afternoon sitting at Wal-Mart getting me new tires for my Suburban.

3.  He swung his daughter on the swings and went to his little boy's Veteran's Day program.

4.  He got up this morning and resumed his "job" of making the bed.

5.  He'll be home all weekend to spend time with us.

I am grateful to have a husband who likes to be with his family and who takes such good care of us!

I'm so glad you're home, babe!

** I am also linking up at I'm grateful for ... at Domestic Princess in Training this week.