The 12 Days of Christmas

I received an email about advent from Christianbook.com, a website that I get quite a few of my books. It was an excerpt from "A Family Advent: Keeping the Savior in the Season". I wanted to share this little fun fact with you b/c I thought it was really interesting.

"Did you ever wonder what in the world all the strange characters in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" have to do with Christmas? What's with all of the birds and leaping lords? It's actually more than a silly song—it's a secret code!

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their faith. In fact, being Catholic was a crime! So to preserve their teaching and doctrine, someone wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality, which the children could remember.

* A partridge in a pear tree represented Jesus Christ.
* Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
* Three French hens stood for faith, hope, and love.
* Four calling birds were the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
* Five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
* Six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
* Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophesying, serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership, and mercy; it also represents the seven sacraments: baptism, Eucharist (or Communion), reconciliation, confirmation, marriage, holy orders, and anointing of the sick.
* Eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
* Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
* The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
* Eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
* Twelve drummers drumming were symbolic of the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So "The Twelve Days of Christmas" isn't just a silly song after all!"

Oh Shutterfly, How I Love You!

Shutterfly has been my a part for the last 4 years. I just LOVE them! We have shared a wonderful long-term relationship. :) Not only do I store my pictures there without worrying they will be deleted after a certain amount of time, but I have also had AMAZING success with ordering prints, Christmas presents and photo albums!

I used to be an avid Scrapbooker...but I've given that up and blog instead. However that doesn't mean I don't want a photo album every now and then. I get one EVERY year for my girls trip that Michelle and I take. And this last year, Shutterfly helped me make the Wedding Album of my dreams!!!!!You can personalize ANY kind of card you want from Mother's Day to Anniversary to just sending your love:
One of my favorite all time gifts was the year I made a personalized calendar for my dad. It was full of pictures of our family and had every important family date labeled. It was super easy to make! Check it out here and get started!!!! What's better than a personalized Christmas present???But, what got me started on Shutterfly and is the reason I have been faithfully returning is their Holiday/Christmas cards. Its my go-to for the holidays and I'm excited to see what card will end up in the mailboxes of my family and friends!!!! :)

Will it be silly?Will it be fun?Will it be formal?
Will it be "snowy"?
How will I choose from all the amazing cards that represent the REAL REASON we celebrate Christmas?
I guarantee it will focus on Christ, how much we love our family and friends, and celebrating the beautiful Christmas season! And, of course, will include a photo (or two) from this last year. :)

Happy Card Hunting! What are you waiting for????

***My love for Shutterfly is true (you can tell the second you walk into my home), and they've enticed me even more by giving me 50 free holiday cards just for sharing with you my love!

You too can get in on the action!!!! If you are a blogger, click here!

Summer's Comin'

We decided to take our beautiful, long-haired German Shepherd, Lexis.....And give her a more summer hair-do!

Top 2 Tuesday....Celeb Styles!

This is my first time joining in on "Top 2 Tuesday" over at The UnDomestic Momma. However, this was a topic that I just couldn't pass up!!! I love fashion and I love celebs!!! :) My two are Carrie...and Carrie! Underwood and Bradshaw that is!

Carrie Underwood NEVER looks bad!

I don't know who her stylist is, but serious KUDOS to her!!!

She can go from Glam...

to Classy Casual....to stinkin' HOT!!!! I just love her look!!!!

And Carrie Bradshaw is so fun!

Yes, I know its Sarah Jessica Parker, but I'm a HUGE fan of "Carrie"! She wears stuff that I would never think of putting on and she always looks stinkin' cute!

My husband thinks she dresses weird, but I love her style!!!! I couldn't find the pictures I wanted, but here are some great ones!

Happy December!!!!

Today is December 1st! I am excited to be caught up to some degree on blogging. I am looking forward to celebrating Christmas and everything that goes with it!

But today, I am just posting my most favorite picture! It makes me laugh everytime I look at it! This is Finley...you all hear about her all the time...but she can now wear pig-tails, or as her mom calls them "Shrek-Tails" because she kinda looks like Shrek!!!! But its still Super Cute!

Another FRIDAY!!!!! :)

Well, its Friday! YAY! I am so thankful for weekends. I thought vacation was supposed to be restful. While Ken and I had the most amazing trip, I am still tired! I have so many pictures and will hopefully blog later this weekend. I also need to blog about my book reading too! Thats the other thing about vacation...When I leave, I REALLY LEAVE! I don't think about anything that I have left at home. I complete vacate my normal life!!! So, when I return, I feel VERY behind and it takes a few days to play catch-up. That is what I will be doing this weekend. We will see how successful it is though because one of my best friends, Emily, is coming to stay! I am so excited!!! I can't wait to shop and play and be lazy and just have good girl-time. Hope you all have a great weekend!

For more randomness...check out Andrea's blog!

Friday Randomness!

Joining in the fun at Under Grace and Over Coffee...Here is my complete fun, randomness for Friday!!!! I'm so HAPPY its Friday!!!! :)


#1 - We are getting crazy (but kinda typical) weather here this weekend. Its COLD and rainy outside right now....turning into snow this evening. Northwestern OK is supposed to get AT LEAST a foot of snow...probably more. The central area, including Stillwater, is supposed to get 4-6 inches...and Tulsa and eastern OK is looking at 2-4 inches. YUCK! I so hope this is our last go around with winter!!!! I'm still not getting my hopes too high....Easter weekend always seems to hold our last cold front.


#2 - Ken and I are heading to TX this weekend. YAY!!!!! I am so super excited! For one, we get to miss (hopefully) all this gross weather. But two, I am excited that he gets to meet more of my family...and that they get to meet him. We are heading to Dallas tonight and staying with my mom's sister and her family (Julie, Steve, Gracie, Hill, and Hannah if she's home from A&M for the weekend). Saturday, we will head to Houston to see my grandmother (my dad's mom). Her cancer isn't looking good. They are now saying that with chemo her life expectancy is only 8 months....without it, she is expected to live 4 months. I am thankful that she will at least get to meet Ken! I just pray we make it out of here before the weather gets too bad!


#3 - My last bit of randomness for the day....

What Girl Scout Cookie Are You?

I Am A Peanut Butter Sandwiches / Do-si-dos

You are easy going and naturally happy. You don't need a lot to make you smile. You genuinely care about people and are a great friend. You're always doing your best to make the world a better place. Even though there isn't an immature bone in your body, you still are like a big kid sometimes. Why make life complicated when the best parts are actually quite simple? You enjoy the small joys of life.

MARCH MADNESS!!!

March Madness is HERE!!! This is one of my favorite months of the year!!!! It might be my favorite "holiday" next to Christmas! :) We have one week left before Big 12 Tournament is upon us....and then, THE BIG DANCE is here!!!! If I could, I would take off every Thursday and Friday just to watch basketball ALL day (Michelle, I don't need you rubbing it in that you are a stay-at-home-mom...now I know the real reason...haha!)!!!! And, I am hoping my Cowboys are invited to the dance this year....and to really dream big???? That they would be the "Cinderella" team!!!

Outside of basketball, I start getting spring fever REALLY badly! In my head, it should be SPRING everyday!!!! This week I am spoiled b/c the weather is going to be in the 70's and 80's and I am so excited (Sorry Judith)! The one thing I dread is that last horrible, horrible freeze we seem to get every year around Easter. I am ready to bring out my spring clothes and be done with the heavy sweaters!!!! Can I get an "AMEN"?????

This month seems pretty quiet. I am sure I can find away to stay busy, but not really that much going on. I know Spring Break is coming quickly....but sadly to say, that doesn't affect me anymore...except for having a very quiet week at work. I am sad to report that Ken's grandmother will be having surgery next week, AND I think my grandmother will be having surgery in the coming weeks. I am praying daily that they go well and God brings them through this! I have a girl's night-sleep over planned at my house, a friend's wedding, and I'm singing at church at the end of the month. Ken had company in town this last week. It was so fun to meet one of his long-time best friends. We had a good time together....and its my hope that he might reside in Stillwater someday. :) Thats about it for this month as I look ahead at what is planned.

I am just still totally excited that its March Madness!!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!

Holiday Help...

Hello Fellow-Works-For-Me-Wednesday-Bloggers!

Ok...I found these two websites yesterday and they have already helped with the holiday shopping. I wanted to pass them along to all of you! They really are pretty fabulous!!!!

The first one gives coupon codes for websites. Yesterday I found one for Eddie Bauer that gives 30% off and free shipping!!! They have them for most every website you are shopping from. This can beat going to the mall if you can get free shipping AND a discount!!!
http://www.retailmenot.com/

The second one is really helpful too. When you find something you want to buy, go to this website and put in what the item is, the website you found it, and the price. It will give you a list of website you can go to and buy it CHEAPER. Then you can cross reference all the websites with the above website and see which one offers the best coupons....giving you the best deal!
http://www.beatmyprice.com/

Hope these work for all of you and help you save some money!

Oh, For the Love of BOWS!!!!

Here is little Finley about 1.5 days old. I called Michelle the day after Fin was born and heard her screaming! I was surprised b/c the whole time I was there the day she was born, she never made a sound! I asked what was wrong and Michelle said that Daddy had left and couldn't protect her from Mommy trying on all the bows and taking pictures! :)

Today I Didn't...

I'm not a mom yet, but ran across this on someone else's blog and I thought it was encouraging to all my mom friends (and to singles and married non-moms...as a reminder that our perfectionist areas need to not control us everyday)! You are all so very special! God designed you to be a mom to YOUR SPECIFIC children! No one is perfect and if we were, our children wouldn't need God, a Savior, and a relationship with Him. He alone is sufficient! Ravi Zacharias has said, "The primary purpose of a home is to reflect and to distribute the love of Christ. Anything that usurps that is idolatrous." We can't let the little things of life get in the way of doing ministry! That includes any area of our life that we don't give to the Lord...our perfection areas that we don't seem to want to let go of because no one else can do it like we can, right? ;)

TODAY I Didn't..

Today I didn't say the right things.

I didn't give enough hugs.

I didn't listen to all of their imaginary stories.

Today I hurried through what could have been very special moments, to achieve my binding agenda.

Today my prayers were too short and my lectures too long.

My smiles, I'm sure, didn't hide my fatigue.

Today I didn't heal any wounds; in fact, I'm sure I caused some.

Their tears fell and I felt too lifeless to wipe them away.

Today I felt completely defeated and totally inadequate for thisposition called mom.

But as I kneel in prayer to confess my failures, I am reminded:

I am not their hope.

I am not their total joy.

I am not their salvation.

JESUS CHRIST IS!

And they are His children even more than they are mine.

I am reminded:

He always listens,

always guides,

always touches,

and always loves perfectly.

I can rest now, Lord, remembering that I am not alone.