You can tell how hard a Man works by his pants

That's right.... By washing a pair of my husbands pants I began to think of how much work he had done just yesterday. There's some grease on there, some dirt, some oil, and yes some cow poop. He knelt, he stood, he crawled under a few cars and doctored a calf. He did all of this to care for his family! I am so thankful for my Mr. fix it. Not only does he fix things at work he also fixes things at home for our girls as well as me. We super blessed by the man that fills these pants!

Through a Childs eyes

I love watching my children interact with one another as well as others that we do not know. As I was recently watching my oldest daughter I came to a realization that she does not judge where someone has been, what they do, there background, faith, or appearance. She is just living in the moment and being as kind as she can be.

Well as her mommy that makes me smile because we have been raising her to be this way, so we must be doing something right. But as an adult I wonder when and how do we lose that kindness? If only as an adult I would remember to love without judging. In Matthew 7:1 - 2 it says "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you". WOW! As a child of God I need to learn from this.

In a relationship that I personally have had difficulty with because this person is so different than I am in many ways, I've been thinking of this verse "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Matthew 7:3

Through my child I have had the privilege to learn a lesson!

Sabrina

My photos....

Here is a collection of some of my favorite photos that I've taken throughout this past year...

Happy Autumn!

Fall is here! With Autumn comes many of my favorite things, mums starting to bloom, leaves changing colors and falling, pumpkin pie in the oven, horses coats begin to thicken up, a new wardrobe (well new for the season), warm little pj's for my girls and one of my all time favorites MOPs! Its something I look forward to so much! MOPs provides me with an hour and half twice a month where my kiddos are safe, playing with friends, in a well managed environment while I get to drink the best coffee under the sun, eat yummy snacks, and have encouragement and connections with Moms just like me. Did I say its one of my favorites?!

So when each session of Mops begins in the fall we all get to look forward to the creative activities. Here are a few that our positioned around my house right now! Its fun to see these precious pretty things that I have made ever so carefully placed in my home in a fun reminder that I am a mom and I do need to enjoy this season of my life. I hope that in years to come when my kids are no longer in that Mops stage I can look back and appreciate this chapter in my life. In Ecclesiastes 3:1 it says "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven" I'm so enjoying this season in my life!

Isn't this frame gorgeous! And to think I made it. It looks like something that would be bought at a fancy boutique. We simply spray painted our frame of choice, hot glued the glass marbles around the edge, and glued on the embellishment.

This project was so fun! It was made a couple seasons ago but I love it. A simple wreath, decorated to your choice. Its so fun to see how creative each mom is.

A very practical craft, this bulletin board gets a lot of use in my home. You can buy these pre-cut pieces of cork at most local hardware stores. Then we simply decorated with a bit of ribbon.

To this "season" in my life I'm so thankful!

Transition for Lily

Our oldest daughter has now become a "school er". She now rides the bus, sits with new friends, brings home really neat pictures and school papers. Has recess, a routine, school lunch.. All of these very fun yet very new things for our house.

And our middle daughter is having a hard transition (as am I!!). Lily was born with a play mate! Shes never had to play alone, color alone, ride her bike alone. Shes always had Mandy by her side. And as the mommy I've Loved and relied on that bond between the girls. Now I'm finding that Lily is lonely! Her little sister just doest cut it with her baby toys and two naps a day.

This is what happened when Lily had some alone time this week to color.... Lets just say Markers are at bay right now, ha.
Lily upset that Mommy wanted to take her picture....

Lily covering her face so mommy cant see what shes done....

Lily's leg art....

What a transition this has been and we're only two weeks in!

Becoming a Leader

"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal." ~Vince Lombardi

We all have the ability to be a Leader! If your a Mom your a Leader for your children, if your a coach your a Leader of your Team, if your a horsemen your the Leader of your horse, if your a small business owner your a Leader of your business, if your a Pastor of a Church your a Leader of your congregation. No matter what you do from day to day we all have the ability to be a Leader! And if your not a leader here are 5 keys to help transform you into becoming a Leader.

5 Keys to Leadership (found Here)

1. A Leader Plans - Good leaders plan, analyze, and adapt. This means being proactive rather than reactive. A dream board is an excellent way to point out your plans weather they may be building your business or planning for a dance recital.

2. A Leader has a Vision - Vision = direction, and without direction or a plan there is no point to all of your planning. This in many cases would be your "WHY".

3. A Leader Shares her Vision - This will straighten your determination to reach your "WHY" if you share with others as to what your vision or goals might be. An example might be that mom who is the leader of a local Mops group looking to build the size of their group or may be a SheEO of her own home biz looking to help others prosper. Share your Vision!

4. A Leader takes Charge - As a Leader you are the one who makes the decisions of your "Team" so it is in your hands to make those visions a reality.

5. A Leader Leads by Example - Leadership is defined upon action! Think about that.... we all want our kids to be Leaders, right? Why, well so they will step up and do the "right" things. And by performing those actions that's what makes a Leader. Well the same goes for being a Leader in life. Others need someone to look at as an example.

Becoming a Leader takes consistent effort, commitment, and activities to develop those Leadership qualities. Just like Leading a baby to walk, you make those baby steps along the way.

Follow me back Tuesday

It's Follow Me Back Tuesday! How it Works:

1. Follow the 5 Hosts (you'll find them on http://www.littleyayas.com). Follow each of them and leave a comment.

2. Create a blog post about FMBT.

3. Follow as many blogs as you like. Leave a comment and they will follow you back.

4. When you receive a link from a follower, return the favor.

Simple as that and it's a lot of fun! Happy Tuesday everyone!!!!

Remodeling

We moved into our Home almost a year ago, the upstairs was totally finished but the downstairs was an empty brand new basement.

I have a cousin who is an interior designer who drew up plans for our dream basement, including three bedrooms, a storage room, bathroom and a nice sized family room.

But time is something we don't have a ton of. My husband is able to
do almost all of the work himself (I'm sure it would be much easier
he had someone that was a better helper than I am) which makes it a total blessing on the cost end of things.

We (Chris while I watched:) framed the room, wired the outlets, and overhead light, put up drywall, puttied, painted and put the carpet down. And by Sunday night we we're done!

It was a huge task in my opinion. Now to finish the rest of the basement.


Here is the first wall drywalled... Now if your a professional you might be saying "you did it all wrong"... But for an impatient wife I think it looks amazing!

The girls we're so impressed with what Daddy was doing! And so excited to sleep in their new rooms.

We found a great deal on the carpet! The room is 12x13, found the
exact size of carpet and it was 30% off. I was thrilled.

It always amazes me what my husband can accomplish. And for years to come we'll be able to look back and say look at what we did. Very neat!

This last picture is of the girls rolling around in the "new" room.
Our two older girls are sharing this room right now. We're in the
process of getting the other one framed and so on. But it works out
well. The girls aren't afraid, they have the company of one another.

First day of School

My little girl had her first day of school! I cant believe how the time has flown by. It seems just like yesterday I brought her home from the hospital. Mandy get's to ride the school bus and I think that might be one of the highlights of the day.

Heres a pict. of our girls outside of the school. The neat thing is my Mom went to school here.

Mandy at her table!