Bye Bye 2011

As I sit today thinking about all the new things coming in with the new year, I thought maybe I should look back  and reflect on the past year.  First off this is the first time I have ever accomplished a resolution... NO SPEEDING TICKETS!! All year long :)) I am so Proud of myself!! This wasn't the only things happening for the past year...

1. This time last year I was in Mexico Beach bringing in the New Year. Lounging around and walking the beach :))

     2.  In March Mike and I went on our first cruise ever to Cozumel and Talica, Mexico to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary.

 3. In April my best friend found out after 8 years of trying she was pregnant!!

    And my Gorgeous Mom turned 50!!

    4. In June my cousin Tana got married.

    5. In July we were blessed enough to be able to take our family on another vacation!

    Where and When Isaac learned to swim with no armies. 

    6. In August my husband became a born again believer. Praise the Lord!!

    7. In October my baby girl turned 13. WOW!!! 

    And we lost our beloved Kayla. 

    8. We just recently had an Awesome Christmas!!

I would say we have had one blessed year. Praise God

     

Skillet Taco Dinner

I know I usually put my recipes up on Mondays for "Monday Munchies" but we had this one last night and it was GREAT!! I found it on a website while searching for easy dinner recipes. I don't know the website but here is the recipe.

Skillet Taco Diner

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
• 1 package taco seasoning
• 2 1/4 cups of water
• 1 1/2 cups of wagon wheel pasta
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans
• 1 medium tomato chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh chives

Directions:

1. In 12 inch skillet, brown meat , drain
2. Stir in seasoning mix, water, uncooked pasta, corn, beans, and tomato. Heat to boiling and stir.
3. Reduce heat to med-low. Cover, and cook 10-15 min. Stirring occasionally, until pasta is is desired doneness and most of liquid has been absorbed.
4. Stir in sour cream. Remove from heat. Sprinkle w/ cheese and chives
5. Serve w/ tortilla cheese.

We served it over chips like nachos. We all LOVED it. Hope you enjoy :))

Bible Time!!

A few months ago my husband was met faced to face with God during some battling times. Ever since then his Faith is AMAZING!! Something I've been praying for since the loss of his Mom. He is constantly in the Bible, so much that I have to say ("Ok Mikey I need you to take out the trash now") Our whole house hold has changed. Everyone is feeling the peace through out the house. Tiffani and Marisa are reading their Bibles. Isaac is sleeping and carrying his Bible around the house. He's asking questions about Jesus dying on the cross for him, and is Jesus in his heart. There are some AMAZING things going on in my household and IM LOVING IT!!! I just pray that many more can find this Peace and Joy that we've all come to LOVE. Of course that is through Jesus Christ... Wow what a sweet name that is...

Since then we have decided to have a family bible study every Friday night... Here are some pics of our snacks from the first one we had!! Our menu consist of Oreo truffle balls, white chocolate pretzels, and ham and brie sandwiches!! It was Oh so Yummy!!

This is the oreo truffle filling. 1 pkg of oreos with cream filling scraped off mixed with 1 pkg of cream cheese. Then of course dipped in chocolate. I would do white chocolate next time I make these. They were a little rich with chocolate on chocolate :)

Then of course we made them pretty with some white chocolate drizzle.

Our ham and brie sandwiches are one of our favorites. All they are is honey ham, brie cheese, and apricot or pear preserves on Italian bread. Ohhh makes me want some just thinking of it...

We are all taking turns coming up with topics. Mainly focusing on topics that will help our girls face peer pressure through scripture. It's always good to have that firm foundation to stand on. Plus you will NOT believe the confidence they have knowing they have a whole book (The Bible of course) to help them with their decisions for life!! I strongly urge you to stay in the word. If you get in the word you will only crave more. They say we are more like the ones we hang with the most, so spend some time with Jesus and we will be more like him every day!! Wow What a World this could be if we all spent 10 - 15 minutes a day in it!!

Jones Baby Shower

We had Amy's baby shower this past Saturday and it was a success!! Here's a few snap shots from the big day!

One of our craft nights assembling 86 invites.

We couldn't have a baby shower without a few puff balls, diaper cake, and cupcakes.

All the ladies who made this day SO special for Mommy to be. 

Can NOT wait to meet Baby William :))

One of those days

Sometimes we just need to stop and enjoy each other a little. So my love bug and I are having a lazy rainy Monday together. 

Happy Monday!!

It's December!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. All the houses with lights, frost on the ground, and Christmas music everywhere we go. Isaac is extremely ready for Christmas especially when it started in July for him.

We had a ton of fun taking these on the beach. It was HOT July outside and other tourists watching us. Isaac has asked ever since "Is Christmas almost here"?

Now I'm excited for him cause he knows now It is almost here. 

Merry CHRISTmas to everyone and a Happy New Year!!

Just to brag a little more

I'm so excited about these two being Preggers that I wanted to put up a few more pics. 

Also because I personally took and edited these photos and very happy with how they tuned out. This is only my second time doing photos for family, so I feel they were a success!! 

God is AMAZING!!

Five years ago God placed an amazing lady (Amy Jones) in my life that I now call one of my BEST FRIENDS. We worked together at Summit Eye Associates. We started hanging out and soon our hubbies were just as good as friends as her and I. We worked together, ate dinners together and even went to Church together.  Needless to say we were together just about everyday. 

Amy and Keith were married a little over 8 years now and right away started trying to have a baby. After several months of trying they went to Dr after Dr to see why they weren't getting pregnant. The Doctors came to the diagnosis that Amy nor Keith were able to get pregnant on there own, so they turned to In Vitro Fertilization. After two rounds of this process and still no luck they decided to give it a break and enjoy each other for a few years then try again later. Well... An opportunity fell in there lap where a friend of a friend was looking to put her baby up for adoption and immediately Amy and Keith came to there mind. Everyone was getting so excited and planning on Baby Summer, to find out 4 weeks before she was due the biological mother  decided to keep the baby. Everyone was hurt mainly for Keith and Amy!!! How could God punish them even more, especially after all they had been through... Well God had a different and even more AMAZING plan for them. Come to find out when Amy and Keith found out the adoption had fallen through, Amy herself was four weeks pregnant on her own. No Doctor's help, no medicines, Nothing!!! It was a miraculous work of GOD's hands. She is now 31 weeks and Baby and Mommy are as healthy than anyone could ask or pray for. 

Keith and Amy I can NOT wait for William Michael Jones to arrive. I will strive to be the BEST aunt I could ever be!!! I love you guys XOXO Congratulations!!!

It's official...

She's a teenager!!! 13 Years old... & she's beautiful!!

She finally got her ipod touch...

All her silly friends came to help celebrate this milestone. Bonfire and a little spookiness...

I love them all... Thanks for helping make this an Awesome time for Tiffani...

The Girls Room

As you know Pre-teens can surely destroy a room in about 5 minutes. Well my girls room was horrible... They had duct tape, stickers, and their names on walls, dressers, beds, carpet, etc... They also decided to hang posters on the wall with not tacs,or tape, no good old fashion GLUE yes I said GLUE... Needless to say their room was an ugly sight to see. I despised going in there. So with Tiff's 13th Birthday coming up (In 9 days) I thought why not go ahead re-do it since she will be a teenager. 

First I had to sand just about the WHOLE room since we had glue everywhere.

Then we went from Lime Green to Aqua Blue...

Next came the chalk board stripe.

Then my girls and hubby came together and decided they needed a wave in there with it being Roxy/ surfer theme...

 Last part will be surf boards and new flooring. The girls have designed there surf boards out on paper now Mikey has to put it on the wall... 

I cant Believe it!!!

   Well Fall is almost here, which means we need some Fall clothes. As I was getting ready for church one Wednesday night I quickly realized I didn't have anything that fit. So I went shopping, a little nervous and anxious, but EXCITED too! I had no clue as to what size I was going to be in blue jeans. Well I am so Happy to announce I bought size 8. YES... 8. I can't believe it myself. I was a little skeptical cause they were from Gap. So I thought I will wait and see what size I will need at another store. Well I got a size 8 there too. WHAT?!?! I was beside my self. I haven't been that size since before I had Tiffani (which was 16) My weight as of now is 147 lbs. I started at 181 lbs. My Goal is 135 lbs. Almost there but knowing I'm a size 8 has caused me to be a little lazy. My journey is about to start back up though. I would LOVE to be at my goal weight before Thanksgiving. I'll keep you updated. Thanks to all the encouraging words along the way. It makes my heart happy knowing I could inspire someone.

Cowboy Isaac

We recently decided to re-do Isaac's bedroom into cowboy theme. Isaac now calls his self "Cowboy Isaac". He LOVES his room. So I got him dressed and took some pictures to hang in there. This is what I have so far...

I have some more to work on but wanted to post some now. I can't wait to get them framed and hung in his room.

Happy Fall Y'all

Fall is just around the corner and I'm loving it. This is my favorite time of the year. I love every thing about the fall. Colors, Decor, Bonfires, Sweatshirts, kids talking about Halloween costumes, Tiff's bday, Smell in the air and even the Weather. I enjoy sitting under my patio with a fire in the fire-pit and hang with my besties. (pics of them to come in next fall blog) 

Here are a few things that make our home feel fallish....

A few little paper pumpkin lanterns I made the other day when I was feeling yucky...

Thought they would look good against my chalk board wall in the kitchen. 

 Had to bring out the fall wreath until Halloween cause then I will bring out my wreath with pumpkins 

 Since I've put these out, Isaac asks me every morning if it's fall yet. So I made him a chain he can take a link off every day until fall. He counts how many links are left and he tells us how many days til fall. He Loves it and does not forget to take a link off. 

As of this morning we have 7 days til fall. One more week and Fall Begins!!!