Family

Cutest Dad Gift Ever {Cuteness Overload}

June 17, 2013 by Jennifer 1 Comment

Father’s Day was yesterday but that doesn’t mean we cannot celebrate the special Dads in our lives all year long.

We have been extra blessed this year with our grandson, Jackson. He melts all of our hearts so much with his personality and adorable smile. My stepdaughter came up with a great idea for Father’s Day but as I was thinking, this would be a great gift for any time of the year. Dad can sport this cute image on his desk, or use it in his car as a magnet, or even put on his dresser.

She did it so simple by using cardboard and drawing the letters by freehand. You only have to do one “D” and then do the letter A. Paint the letters with the color you choose. You have a gift that will always be cherished.

As we were taking pictures, I was able to do a little photo shoot with this sweet boy. Prepare yourself for the cuteness overload.

I think you can see why we are so proud of this baby boy right? 🙂

Parents Be Involved With Your Child’s Social Media Outlets

May 29, 2013 by Jennifer 1 Comment

We need to wake up and smell the roses… parents!

Kids all around the world are joining in social media outlets. I do not have a problem with this if the parents are involved with their child’s account. My oldest daughter has an instagram account. It is very alarming at the pictures that show up on her friend’s accounts. I check her account daily and she cannot accept friend requests unless she runs them by me. Also, she cannot follow other friends unless she asks me. If I see a picture come across her instragram account that does not look appropriate, she has to block that friend.

I have noticed some kids that are setting up multiple accounts and asking for followers. These are people that they have never met before and personally do not know. Parents need to realize that bad things can happen in social media if we do not keep all our bases covered with our children. Be present in your child’s daily life and all that they do in the online world. It is our responsibility to keep our child safe from harm.

Obviously, I am a social media geek. There is no denying on my part and of course the social media geek title is going to trickle down to my girls. It is already happening as mentioned above with my oldest daughter setting up an instragram account. The thing is, we need to teach social media responsibility or things can go negative very quickly.

1. Check your child’s accounts multiple times a day.

2. Ensure you know all passwords at all times.

3. Check all text messages and cell phone calls. Our provider, Verizon Wireless, allows this with special account management for families.

4. Set ground rules to where you have to approve of your child’s followers and requests.

5. Have open conversations with your child everyday so you know what is going on in their world.

It frightens me that some of my close friends are allowing their child to be in the social media world with no rules or limitations. It is time to wake up and realize what your child is doing in the technology world and be alarmed. Be prepared!

I have lost half of my brain cells…

May 23, 2013 by Jennifer 4 Comments

I am here to clean the air and say that half of my brain cells are gone. Admission sets you free right?

I can no longer pretend that I remember everything. Point in check with this morning’s conversation:

Madisyn: Mom, you can’t remember. Where is your phone?
Me: Why?
Madisyn: Because, I am going to set reminders on your phone.
Me: haha!!!

My child has spilled it to the world that her mom cannot remember anything. Honestly, I am not sure where my memory went but it is not here. Once I had my girls, my memory just got lost. Someone can tell me something and then 10 minutes later if I didn’t write it down, I am scratching my head trying to remember what they said?

Exams at school, the information will stay in my brain… but everyday life situations, I cannot remember anything. I use to lose my glasses all the time when I would take them off at night but now I have resolved that problem. The glasses go under my pillow every single night.

Maybe the gray hairs popping up on my head are destroying my memory further since my youngest L let it be known about my gray hairs.

Lyndsee: Mom let’s play I spy.
Me: Ok, sure! I spy something gray.
Lyndsee: Your hair.
Me: What?!

I love my girls. They will keep me in line for sure.

Living life to the fullest….I’m back!

May 13, 2013 by Jennifer 2 Comments

Wow! I had to take a much needed break from the blog in order to keep my sanity in the last two weeks. I was in the midst of final exams. Pretty stoked about being finished with school. It has been a long journey. I do want to go on and get a higher degree but will take some time off before taking that next leap. Five classes were on my plate this past semester, and I really thought I would be fine with shoving five all in one semester… crazy mistake. It all paid off though when grades were finalized with 3 A’s and 2 B’s. Sweet!

During the midst of the final exam craziness, my talented M was preparing for her first school theatre production. She was a seagull in the Little Mermaid. To say I was proud of her would probably be an understatement. She really had the audience laughing and exceeded everyone’s expectations as usual. I received an email from her play director yesterday with this:

“…Thank you for allowing M to perform with us. She has a future on stage.” My smile could be seen for miles. She makes us proud each and everyday.

As preparing for the production was not enough, M and I decided to run our first 5K together. She just amazes me. She pushed forward so much during the race and never wanted to give up even once. It was told to me by her though, that she wasn’t exactly looking forward to the next one. Too cute. We did have fun together though and I will not schedule the next one during the time she is putting on a huge production.

Time didn’t slow down this past weekend at all as my family spoiled and helped me celebrate a wonderful birthday/mother’s day weekend. I kept telling myself that I am very blessed. Family means so much to me and it is not the material things that I even look for, it is just spending quality time with my family. We had a cook-out yesterday and we are all looking forward to more over the Summer.

The weekend was topped off with some fro-yo!

Living life to the fullest…. Life is good!

Monday Motivation – Enjoying the spirit at The Cove

April 22, 2013 by Jennifer 2 Comments

It is an amazing feeling when the Holy Spirit surrounds you and gives you chills from top to bottom. Oh how I love Jesus!

We had the honor of visiting the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove last Sunday for their monthly “Evening at The Cove.” We were guests of The Cove and the following is a recap of our time.

Once you arrive at The Cove and walk into the lobby. You will feel the beautiful presence of the Lord.

Each month a special concert guest arrives at The Cove for a spiritual-filled evening concert. This month, grammy award winner Matthew West, was the special guest. In the weeks prior, the girls would talk about attending their first real concert. They have had the opportunity of seeing smaller-scale or catching glimpse of concerts but this was their first real concert. I couldn’t have been happier with Matthew West having this honor. The girls have been singing his songs for a long while now, and to see him in person was just mesmerizing to them.

Before the concert, we went on a little tour of The Cove. This is a spiritual retreat that I recommend you visiting with your church’s bible study, with your husband or with best friends. You are able to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and really get connected with the Lord on a personal level. Believe me, we all need this ever so often. It helps with growing our relationship with Christ and like the title, you really get to enjoy his spirit.

There is a prayer room with a prayer bench as portrayed above. Heaven on earth. Praying and overlooking the beautiful mountains. Oh the joy just fills my heart.

After our tour, we made our way into the dining room. The meal was delicious and there were plenty of gluten-free options. Win-win for the entire family.

Delicious food and we had time to head out onto the deck over-looking the Western North Carolina Mountains with our friends. Some people may say it was coincidence that we were at The Cove the same time as our Best Friends, but I say it was a total God thing. I had called Malise and said, I heard you were going to The Cove on April 14th? She said yes… I said we are too! God knew we needed our families together and we like to think he made this happen for us. God is so good.

It was so refreshing to talk and catch-up with our friends and enjoy God’s country. It is just so peaceful and time could have stood still.

It was time for the moment we had been waiting for – Matthew West! We all had smiles and just couldn’t wait to head in and praise God’s name. During the concert, I was moved to tears. To sit and watch our kids praising God and singing the songs word for word… my heart melted. We are raising our kids in this mixed-up world but yet they know who to follow in this world/life – God!

M mentioned to me that this was better than church service. She really was moved so much during the concert and I know God was dealing with her heart. At one time, she was brought to tears. This was a genuine-filled wholesome good time for the entire family.

Matthew West had us laughing, crying and praising all in one night. He is that good.

After the concert, Matthew greeted and talked with each and every guest. He also gave everyone the chance to take a photograph and give his autograph. You do not see many artists take the time with each family, but Matthew West did and I hear all the guests at The Evening at The Cove take this special time after each concert.

As you can see, this is a spirit-filled evening that you will enjoy so much. Check out The Cove website for future concerts. You will not be disappointed and I know you will leave The Cove feeling so uplifted!

Family

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