Joy Leanne

I am linking up over at RagstoStitches for my first every coffee date . I tried to vlog but with the new lap top I have no idea how to do that. So a regular old blog post will have to do.  If we were having coffee today I would tell you that I am having tea and not coffee because I am spoiled and really only like Starbucks or other fancy over priced coffee. But I love me some Hot Cinnamon Sunset Tea. If we were having coffee today I would tell you how I have been waiting for WEEKS for this book to hit the shelves of my local Barnes and Noble and that now that it has I can't seem to bring myself to purchase it because I have a hard time buying stuff for myself. This is why I have a cart full of business books in my Crafter's Choice shopping cart that I could purchase for just $30.00 but won't.   I would tell you about the note books at Barnes and Nobles I have been eye for months but won't buy for again the same reasons.   I would tell you about the thread I did by for

Last week I pulled Bear out of school and loaded her and Maddie up in the van with my in-laws and we headed to Gatlinburg, Tn. I grew up going to Branson Missouri so it feels so much like "home" to me I love it. Downside is the drive. It's not THAT far but 5-6 hours with preschool age kids can feel like forever. So, I packed them goodie bags. I thought I would share what I packed for them in case any one is look for ideas. Sorry for the bag photos they are camera pics at 4:00 am! For starters I took them to Barnes and Noble with me so they could pick out their own book ect. Once we bought the books we took them home and I let them look at them but not actually play with them (They are activity books). By the time the trip came around they were super excited to use the books. Of course I couldn't leave without a couple goodies for myself. Even big girls like sticker books and this doll house sticker book is such a fun way to be creative without any real work. The book

So I spent all Monday coking. Well most of the day. I started about 11:30 and finished about 8:30. A long day in the kitchen but worth it knowing there are so many meals frozen and ready to heat and serve during the craziness that will be October. Yesterday was spent Bible study and then camped out in the office working on two custom dollies and two ready to ship dollies. :) I'll be posting more about what I cooked and sewed later this week but first I want to talk about my first ever LoveClub box!! If you haven't heard about LoveClub yet you can check them out on their website , facebook , or twitter . I signed up awhile ago and got moved off the waiting list this month. It came in the mail while I was out of town and was a lovely little surprise in waiting when I got home. So here is what the package looked like when it came in the mail. So happy. I actually loved the box so much I re-used it for my fall swap give away partner! HI!! Hope you enjoy it! Group Shot. :) I was so

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of helping out with a baby shower for a friend in our Sunday School Class. As excited as I was to do this I forgot to write it down and, despite a number of conversations about it, I forgot I was decorating until the hostess texted me the day before to see if I need anything. So there I was standing in line at AC Moore trying to come up with baby shower decorations that would be pretty, yet functional. (I had forgotten a baby gift as well and was hoping to kill two birds.) My first thought was to do initials in embroidery hoops. But I decided quickly I wanted to decorate the entire space where the shower would be held, and really who needs a dozen embroidery hoops with their kid's initial in them? My next thought was hanging onesies on clothes lines and decorating them with cute appliques. However, I had just read proverbs 31 and had been thinking a lot about living intentionally. About not wasting, and praying over our children and about a dozen

I have shared a few times on this blog about the very cool local magazine I am writing for. You can find the magazine blog over here . Today is the first time my stuff has appear on the blog. The article I write for the magazine is called Vintage Diaries and is a bi-monthly interview with an older women in the community. I spend some time with her and then attempt to share at least part of her story with our readers. Today on the blog I shared some of the tools my family use for keep track of our own stories. You can read the full article here . I thought I would also share here a few of my favorite story keeping tools. Enjoy!   Christmas Journal   Gratitude Journal Travel/Vacation Journal   Hope this inspired you to find a way to keep track of your own stories. Would love to hear what you all do to make sure you remember the little things! Comment bellow and who knows.... you may just win a prize. ;-D Today I am linking up with:  Whatever You Want Wednesday over at Pretty Free Things

So many random thoughts rolling around in my head today. It is normally the day when I post my weekly five, but I'm just not sure that's the right thing today. It was a fitful/fretful week. The long weekend and two mild cases of the flu left me feeling a little shaky and uneven. I've been feeling weary, and fatigued this week and, more often than not, have let my emotions and anger get the better of me and blown up or allowed myself to get worked up over the silliest of things. Not even sure why I am sharing this, except perhaps as a reminder that I am not alone and as a method of accountability. In hopes that next week I can come back and you all will ask, and I will report to you that I did better this week. That I yelled less and prayer more. That I stopped the crazy train before it left the station and reminded myself of what really matters. In Sunday school today our teacher challenged us with this "What's at stake?" Oh, how much better would my life be i

  I’m standing in the grocery store at 9 pm on a Monday night with both kids and my husband rushing around buying stuff for my Bear’s lunch for pre-school the next day.  I have crackers and peanut butter and bread at home, but I feel guilty not sending a “healthy” lunch so I buy grapes as well. Then again feeling guilty about all the plastic bags on a whim I buy two (plastic) sandwich holders, one for sandwich one for fruit.  We are out of juice bags and they are so expensive. There are cheaper ones, but they aren’t 100% juice and I worry that I’ll be labeled a “bad mom” for sending my kid with an overly processed drink, so I’ll send money for milk instead.  Only problem is I can’t find the paper with the information on buying milk and so as my husband puts my pre-schoolers to bed at 9:35 on a school night I am tearing apart the house looking for papers I can’t find and end up missing out on time with my husband. As I drift off to sleep that night I wonder if maybe I shouldn’t have mad

So if you are part of the DIY scene at all you have probably heard of Pick Your Plum. Just in case you have never heard of it before Pick Your Plum is a craft supplies discount site. Monday-Friday they feature a different craft item. It is usually supplies, though some times it may be a finished piece like a necklace or scarf, but something that can still be embellished. Some of my favorite things I have received from there are washi tape and fold over elastic. About six months ago I signed up to be an affiliate with Pick Your Plum . That means that if you buy after cliking on the link on my side bar I get credit. It also means I get some inside scoops. One of which I thought I would share with you all today.They didn't sure all the details but they did say there is going to be more than one item offered tomorrow Thursday, September 6th!! And they said that there will be a few other surprises. So if you are new to Pick Your Plum or an old friend be sure to stop by the site tomorr

1) The office is mostly done. Just need to move the futon in, take down the paint along the ceiling and put on some finishing touches. But all in all it is done and usable and I am loving it as is Maddie. It's currently her favorite room. As I type this she is walking runaway across the room singing what I think is supposed to be "Ta-da" but is coming out "tana". 2) The first full week of school went great. Bear cried when I picked her up on Monday because she wanted to stay like the rest of the kids. Thursday I let her stay and realized while it may be fine once a week we are not ready for full day all the time yet. She took a nap at nap time and Mrs. Roberts said she had a hard time waking her up. You could tell and she was crabby for me the rest of the day. Goose is going to my friends house two days a week. Leave it to me to find some one else to home school my kid. Angie enjoys having the set schedule, Maddie enjoys doing flash cards, and I enjoy having a f