PSA: Bears on Patrol

Bears on Patrol is a non-profit set up to provide bears to patrol officer. These officers in turn pass them out to scared and hurting children when they are working difficult calls of domestic abuse, child welfare cases; etc. It is amazing how these children open up when there is a friendly object with them. I am so proud of my friends, Angie and Blake for tackling this project. I know about it first hand, because Bobby has patrolled for many years with a garbage bag of stuffed toys in his trunk.

They have received a request for 1,000 bears by the Philadephia police dept. This will come to $7,000 for the bears and cover shipping. Seems like a $7 a piece to comfort a young child is a bargain.

Please consider a donation. If not, read about what they have going on, pray for them and their endeavors, and more importantly....pray for the littlest victims. Their website is www.bearsonpatrol.org.

Hope you all have a blessed Sunday!
~MM

Attitude of Gratitude

While listening to a Dave Ramsey podcast (yes, I am still hung up on Dave to my daughter's displeasure!), I heard him say that Zig Zigler tells his readers to make a list of things that they are grateful first thing in the morning to get their heads focused on the positive. I started a few days ago, and have set myself an appt at work for the rest of the month of January to make a little list every morning. (My goal is for it to become habit, & I won't need a silly appt to remind me!)

Anyway, I fill up the whole side of my desk flip calendar page before I do anything else. I tell ya, all of the petty little things that I have no control over have lost their control over me! For all of the problems the US has, we still live in a blessed nation. It is a crying shame that we take it for granted and focus on little meaningless details that don't even have a place in the big picture.

I am so ashamed that I get bogged down and bummed out about junk. I have a secured eternity, my health, my family, my job, my church family, food on my table, a roof over my head, clothes on my back and I could go on and on and on and on..... There are people who are really hurting - lost loved ones, fighting health issues/addiction, battling loneliness; etc. It is a slap in their face for me to focus time and energy on my inconveniences when they are going thru so much bigger trials. So I am proclaiming it - I AM BLESSED in big things, and (even better) in the smalled things in my life.

Want to join me in my "attitude of gratitude" project? It will definitely change your perspective!

~MM

I scrapped!

Now that the holidays have wound down and the Girls' Room is squared away, I have found a little "me" time. Here are a few of the projects I have knocked out in the last week.

This is an advent calendar kit from Little Yellow Bicycle that I turned into a layout that has a picture and snippet about what was going on for all of the days leading up to Christmas. Everything used was included in the kit! It was super easy, and made me not feel so guilty about not doing a Daily December project.





This is a layout from one of our Christmas card photos. I love it because the look of distrust on Deuce's face is priceless! This is using American Craft's Christmas line from this year.



And this is using some new Creative Imaginations birthday paper. It is kind of wild and busy, but so is a 9 year old!


This one has some fun, tedious stuff in it. Stitching over the faux stitching in the paper, cut the title out and moved it to the top, and then random hand-cut circles to fill in the yellow at the top.



And here is a very quick and simple little card from the scraps:


~MM

Back with photos

Okay, so the first day was fun. But now I am over this winter weather. I spent all day yesterday working on my scrapbook room. Sadly, it has been a casualty of the holidays, and our re-do of J's room.

This is what it looks like: Girls' Room These are old photos, but it's back in this condition now after a day's worth of work. I cannot even show you the before from yesterday!

I did have time for some snow fun, and lord knows I have plenty of snow themed paper to scrap all of the photos!


A very powdery snowball



Snow Angels


Snow Ninja


The peeled-off layers

And today, Bobby went and got my nephew, Jacob. He brought the sleds, and they attempted to sled around the yard.




And we took them to a back road on the way home and let them sled on the ice.




I got out a couple of times today (thanks to the Bronco), but I really want to go to church tomorrow morning to see some new faces!

And a special "thank you" to the Northerners for indulging me, and not laughing about the "Blizzard of 2010" ;)

~MM

Stop the presses - Snow in GA

It's better than Christmas morning b/c it is more rare than St. Nick coming to visit. So all of you Northerners be patient w/ the Southern blogging friends with their photos of light dustings, and tall tales of trecherous trips out for "emergency" supplies. This is special for us - let us revel in it ;)

Be back later with more said photos!
~MM

Ringin' in the New Year's....redneck style

Seriously, I heard a great sermon tonight from Eccelesiates 11. Our preacher has done a series on Soloman from Eccelesiates entitled "Taking a Real Look at Life". Tonight's installment was "Don't Miss Out, and Don't Mess It Up!" Basically it was all about enjoying life and enjoying where you are planted.

Okay, so this is very hard for me. I want to deny my southern heritage when I see things like this. I want to be more cultured. But in another sense, it is just part of enjoying the life that God planted you in. God choose for me to grow up near Tallapoosa (formerly known as Possum Snout), GA. I can't tell you how many Friday and Saturday nights I spent with Mary Ellen Johnson cruising the main strip from the Tasty Treat to The Turnaround package store. Makes me think of the Tim McGraw song that says "I miss back when" or something like that (country music enthusiast I am definitely not!).

Anyway, Tallapoosa has embraced their identity and what God made them. Only in Tallapoosa would you be ringing in the new year w/ a stuffed dead possum in a make shift lighted cage hanging from a bright orange cord. And, there are toboggins to commemerate the event!

Possum Drop

I've heard rumors of this, but never went. Once I saw the pictures I felt like it was something that I have to add to my bucket list, and immediately began working on a posse to go with me next year. I was so sad when I found out that it is only every other year. So 2011 - Possum Drop or bust! Who's in?

~MM

2010...let the games begin!

Well, I was planning on posting a wrap-up of our busy holidays, but my computer has gotten yet another virus! All of my pictures are on that computer. I am using J's new netbook to post this. I didn't realize how my eye-sight is getting worse until I tried to use this small screen. And, we won't even talk about how fat my fingers are on this tiny keyboard!!!

So far 2010 has been fun. I did have to work for a couple of hours today, but I counteracted that with a little girl fun with a couple of great girlfriends at Sweet Memories today.

Tomorrow will be J's 3rd basketball game. She is so excited b/c the team they are playing is actually their size. This season has been "Facing the Giants" so far, as the kids they are playing against tower over them by at least a foot!

We are also in the process of re-doing J's room for her birthday. That was her request. The walls are painted, and the accessories are purchased. We have a little bit of trimming out to do, and then we need to put it all back together. Hoping to knock that out tomorrow, also.

On the weight loss front, I finished 2nd in the challenge by losing 19 pounds. I have lost another 4-5 over the last couple of weeks :) We are starting another challenge on the 9th. This one will run 9 weeks, and I am enlisting the help of a co-worker who is working on her personal trainer certification. I hope she doesn't kill me, but I really need to be pushed b/c I really want to hit the big 4-0 in style next year.

Take care,
~MM