2012 New Year Blogging Party

These three amazing blogging ladies, {Casey, Danielle, and Alycia} came up with a fabulous idea to pair up bloggers in hopes of growing this awesome blogging community of ours!  

Let me tell you this was so-much-fun!!  I met this way talented blogger named Stephanie 

from 

Stephanie Leann.  

This girl has got some cute boots, take some UH-ma-ZING pics and is totally sweet!  

We swapped more than a few emails back and forth learning things about each other like our stress relievers, home towns, favorite authors, and what got us started blogging. 

 It's amazing how two people can lead such different lifestyles yet blogging can bring us together...how cool is that?!   

I am so so glad that his blog party brought Stephanie into my life, and so grateful for this amazing ladies for putting this together!  

Stephanie and I will definitely be keeping in touch in the near future :)  

The second part to this oh-so-cool blog party was to pick out a small gift $10-$15 and send it to your new found bloggy friend!  

Well let me tell you Stephanie could not have picked a MORE awesome gift {pics below}...

and I hope she liked hers as well.  

Guest Post: Mary of Lily White

Today we have a very special happening on the blog. I have been very excited as this has been in the works for a little while now :) It is my very first guest post from an incredibly sweet woman, Mary. Mary is actually the one who inspired me to get back into blogging so I thought it was only right to have her be my first (of hopefully many) guest posters. Let's all give her a big warm welcome and take it away Mary!!

Hi, friends! I am so excited Erica asked me to write this guest post! She is the absolute sweetest and I love reading her blog!

I have been a Christian since I was 7 years old. There was an invitation in Vacation Bible School to accept Jesus as your Savior and I did. Growing up in a Christian household and attending church since birth has allowed me to become immersed in the Word for my entire life. At the age of 13 I was baptized and recommitted my life to being a follower of God. I went to Sunday School, Wednesday night service and youth group every week. I attended camps, retreats, and conferences. I was in small groups, Bible studies and participated in local mission work. The Word of God was constantly being poured into me in every single stage of my life. However, despite my upbringing, I still managed to fail and to stray away from my beliefs. I fell in ways I never would have anticipated, spiritually, emotionally and physically. I compromised my values that were instilled in me since a young age and I became lost, distant, and far from God.


When I was 16 years old I decided that it was time for me to date. Yes, that's right, I decided. My parents never really had rules (at least that I was aware of) about when I was or wasn't allowed to start dating, and at this very wise and mature age I felt I was ready. I guess most of these feelings were the result of falling for "that boy who plays drums." He was the guy every girl wanted. He looked at me in a way that my young, innocent and girlish ways couldn't resist. I fell for him hard and fast. He treated me like a queen, spoiling me with presents and dates weekly. Blowing off his friends to spend time with me, in which I followed suit. Calling me at night and talking for hours after spending a whole day together. Telling me that he has fallen in love with me in which I responded that yes, I had fallen in love with him too. He wasn't a Christian, but I was convinced that that wouldn't affect me, that I would be a good influence on him and change him for the better. Ever heard of missionary dating? It was my mission to get him saved. To make him into the boy that I wanted him to be. However, it didn't work. Instead, he turned me into the girl he wanted me to be. Throughout those two years I lost friends, fell far away from God and made him my number one priority. I chose everything over him, including my morals and beliefs. Consequently, I ended up giving him pieces of my heart that weren't his to have and in the end was left broken, feeling inadequate, unsalvageable, and anything but loved.


Looking back, I still have mixed feelings about this relationship. I am a full believer in God working through every situation of my life for a reason and a purpose. I still don't know, and am sure I never will, the reason that God placed this particular boy in my life. Maybe I did have an impact on him and wasn't aware of it? Maybe God needed to break me in some of the most fragile ways in order for me to turn back to him. Maybe there was no other reason but to be able to look back on a time in my life when I was away from Him in order to recognize how lost I am without him. Despite all the bad, I can see many positive things that came out of this season of my life. Things that have made me who I am today. Lessons that I learned and took into my next relationships. Memories of my teenage years that will forever remain with me. Yet, I still regret the relationship. It lead me to fall, to abandon God, my faith and everything that my life had been so firmly built upon. Not only did I fail my Heavenly Father but I also failed my parents and my friends, leading to even more brokenness and hurt.


My failure and inadequacy didn't end with this season. It's still occurring each and every day. I will constantly fail promises that I make to myself, to others around me, to my Savior. I will never be without sin in my life and sometimes that is a hard concept to swallow. It is exhausting to fail over and over again. To try my best just to come up short. Yet I know that in all things, God is with me. There are seasons in our lives where we may fall away from God, abandon him and everything we have held onto, yet he is still faithful. Always with us, never leaving or forsaking us. I didn't deserve his love for me during that time and I will forever be undeserving of his love. However, I will still praise his name. No matter what heartache and brokenness I may face in the future, his unconditional, unwavering and endless love will always prove to be enough.

Thanks so much Mary for taking the time out of your busy schedule to do this for me and my readers! Congrats to you and Jed again on your engagement!

Our Weekend in Instagrams

Enjoy some pics from our weekend! Stay tuned tomorrow as I may or may not have my first guest poster!! I hope your weekend was great friends!

This Friday

I've been a little MIA this week.  Definitely did not hit my 3-4 posts that I wanted too :(  This has been a crazy week at work and home so I'm sorry!  I promise to come back next week stronger and less preoccupied-hopefully.  There will even be a {guest post} next week...my first one!!  How awesome?!  It feels great to spread these little wings of mine.  And my birthday is next week too... woot woot!!  So for now  I hope your week was a good one, and enjoy the upcoming weekend :)
******************************************************************************

What does this Friday mean to me?

A rainy morning at the bus stop with Angel.

Pay day- cha ching!

A trip to Bounce-U with the boys tonight for their reward of being very well behaved this week!

Catching up on some much needed reading {hopefully}.

A coffee date this weekend with my closest gals!

A visit from my husband's long time friend.

Church on Sunday.

Folding a mountain of laundry-BOO!

A much needed break from the office atmosphere.

A few days closer to our Baltimore trip next week.

Only 6 days till my birthday!! Eeek 27!!!

And now my friends enjoy a b-e-a-utiful picture from Torola!

30 minutes

It's time.
30 minutes is what I'm committing to each day.
In the morning, at night after the kids have gone to sleep, on my lunch break, or stuck in traffic.
Last night was my first night and it felt absolutely AMAZING!
30 minutes with Him and the Word.
I BELIEVE this is what I need right now.
Each day. Keep me on track won't you?

SHINE

There's this girl, Ashley.

She's got an amazingly abundant love for helping others.

A servants heart and a ministry mind set...what a lovely combination.

Plus an amazing eye for all things vintage.

Early last year she started The Shine Project to help inner city teens afford their college tuition.

Head over and check her out-you won't be disappointed!

Too big. Too fast.

Ayden is our middle son.  He's just about 3 1/2 now and always has been and I'm sure always will be our peanut.  I'm writing this post because I want to remember this exact moment in time.
Ayden is growing and changing right before our eyes.
I feel like in the past 2 weeks Ayden has grown exponentially.
I have a tendancy to "baby" him.  Maybe it's his size, maybe it's because I nursed him for the entire first year of his life, maybe because he loves extra cuddles in my arms , or because I don't want him to have the dreaded middle child syndrome :) either way he has a very special spot in my heart.
Ayden was very small when he was born and also spent the first 18 hours in the NICU because I had gestational Diabetes when I was pregnant with him.  He was immediately taken from us when he was born so we didn't find out his height & weight until a little after we had him.
I remember there was a nurse outside of our delivery room and all I heard her say was  "6lbs 4oz and 18 inches."  I thought to myself....is that my baby?  I didn't even know they came that tiny!
Babies usually wear a size up from however old they are.
For example if they are 3 months they usually are wearing 3-6 or 6-9 month clothing.
At 3 months Ayden was still in newborn clothing.  He's always been a size behind his age (if not two sizes!)
These past few weeks Ayden has really seemed to sprout up out of nowhere.  His pants are shorter, his shirt sleeves a little higher up on his arms, and he is able to reach more things.  He's also becoming more independent.  Angel-our oldest- was always very independent from about age 18 months and up, and he was potty trained by his 2nd birthday!
To say that Ayden has been our most dependent child thus far would be an understatement.
Over the past few weeks Ayden has successfully mastered using the bathroom ENTIRELY by himself  (being a mom to 3 small children this is a HUGE help).  He has mastered opening the bathroom door, turning on the light, pulling down his pants, using the bathroom, pulling his pants back up, washing his hands AND drying them, turning the light back off and he even remembers to shut the door so Aaron cannot get in there.
Ayden can also brush his teeth completely on his own (I of course always check to make sure he did a good job), dress himself ENTIRELY, put on his own jacket, shoes, and hat as well!
I am dumbfounded!  This feels likes its just happening so fast-in the blink of an eye!  It felt like it was a snowball effect, like once the reigns were loosened, he was set free and become his own little big guy.
This is very bittersweet.

I am a proud momma that he has become more independent in doing things for himself, but I must admit a tiny part of me is sad that my little peanut doesn't need momma as much anymore.

Skin Vs. Spirit

Skin makes us want to yell at the car that just cut us off.
Spirit makes us want to stop, take a deep breath and realize maybe the other driver has their own stuff going on.
Skin makes us want to raise our voice when our child does something out of line.
Spirit makes us kneel down in front of our child and explain to them right from wrong.
Skin wants us to be overwhelmed by laundry, cooking, cleaning and trying to juggle our daily activities.
Spirit wants us to stop and look around at the chaos in our lives and be thankful that we have a life at all.
Skin wants us to envy our neighbors new car.
Spirit wants us to rejoice in our neighbors happiness.
Skin wants to us to say "it's not fair" when something doesn't go as we hoped or planned.
Spirit wants us to remember He is our driver on our path.
Skin wants us to cry "why me" when something bad happens in our lives.
Spirit wants us to know He has got us, that He always has a plan for us.
Skin wants us to be greedy.
Spirit wants us to have open hands.
Skin is so very easily tempted by the devil and all the materialistic items he can fill our voids with.
Spirit reminds us that our time here should not be filled by earthly objects as we cannot take them with us when we leave here.

Courage

I just finished watching The Help.

 I read the book a few months back but seeing the story unfold before my eyes rehashed all of the feelings I had when I read the book. 

Wow. Emotions and a big old box of Kleenex!

 The line that stuck out most to me was when Skeeters mom says

 "sometimes courage skips a generation."

 This really hit home for me. 

 This blog post is about to get real-to start believing in myself I have to tell who I am

 and where I came from.

 My grandmother had a huge hand in raising me and she was a very courageous woman.

 I never remember her having a cold, taking a sick day, not even a Tylenol-ever. 

She never once complained.

 She raised 4 of her own girls, took in countless number of kids from the neighborhood when they needed it, and took me when I was just 3 weeks old. 

 She was never bitter.

 She was never hateful, always loving. 

 I don't have one memory of her ever yelling at me-ever! 

 She was always there for me, always a constant in my life. 

 This woman showed me more courage than I ever knew possible. 

Now it's up to me. 

 It's up to me to stand up and be the courageous woman she knew I had the potential to be. 

 If I could live to be half the woman she was I would be grateful. 

 Every day is a new day to be courageous.

 I need to start believing in those nudges I feel, that little voice in the back of my mind telling me I can I am worth it, I need to start acting on that fire I can feel burning inside of my heart. 

Today I stop planning & talking, and start doing! 

Join me won't you?

Surrender

I've been thinking about this word for a while now.

Surrender

So much so that I even wrote down some thoughts about it with a pen on an actual piece of paper! 

Then today at work while listening to one of my favorite Pandora stations {Hillsong radio} a song came on that said

 "in a moment of glorious surrender, you are with me" 

I thought this is a sign! 

 I'm believing in and listening to His signs.  

Believe being the word that I chose for 2012.  

Surrender

Surrender to some may mean giving up, throwing in the towel, or being so fed up that you are just done!

To others (and me) it means giving up who you used to be and running toward the person you want to become.

It's about letting go of everything in your past and starting fresh.

This is not easy. It is hard work!

But like so many other process's it is worth it in the end.  

Surrender means handing it.all.over. to Him.

Surrender can be glorious!

Realizing we can't do it all but He can.

Realizing we are not made to be ridden with stress, anxiety, panic.

He is there to carry all of that for us.

We have to submit.

We need to surrender to him and give it all to him.

He is there to comfort us. 

He is there to carry our burdens and make our everyday lives easier.

Sometimes when you've tried every other option the only one left is to surrender- and that is NOT a bad thing!

This doesn't mean that you have give up.

This simply means that you are opening that door....or perhaps cracking that window and letting 

Him into your life. 

Letting him in to heal, to take care of, to console, to make better.

Surrendering is a great thing.

Have you surrendered?

Kisses from Katie

Raw.

Emotional.

Selfless.  To the core.

Relying completely on Him.

Living life with complete open hands. open heart. open mind.

Brave.

Determined.

Beautiful.

These are just a few of the words that come to mind after having just finished Kisses from Katie.

Emotionally and spiritually this is one of the hardest books I have read...ever.

There is a genuineness that Katie has toward others. An unmeasured amount of love she has to give to others.

Take one look, one glimpse at Katie's blog and you will realize the sheer selflessness she has.
You too will feel the same sense of urgency to help an innocent child that she did.

The amount of love she shows to strangers, innocent children because she feels we are all God's children.  

Every single one of us.

The child without clean clothes covered in dirt

The child left orphaned who hasn't eaten in days

The child who's house is a cardboard box he shares with his 6 siblings and elderly grandmother

The child who is infected with scabies, and is HIV positive

While we are all worried about what is happening on the newest episode of our favorite tv show, or what dress we are going to wear out Friday night there is suffering going on all around the world.

We can make a difference. 

We take for granted our everyday gifts of living in a first world country.

Electricity, clean and warm running water, knowing where our next meal is coming from, medical treatment, etc.

What if it was your 2 year old little girl who was aimlessly wandering around with a distended stomach because her insides are so consumed with worms and weighed just 10 pounds.

What if your 4 year old was walking around naked begging for money or food to feed his family?

What if you were the mother whose only resort was to give your child home made alcohol every night so they wouldn't be reminded of the hunger pains while they slept in piles of maggots?

These are the everyday condition these children live with.

Instead we worry about earthly objects: tv, cell phones, clothes, hair, makeup, having a bigger house, gathering more and more materialistic items so that we have them to show off to whoever is watching. "we cling so tightly to what we have because we are afraid of what would happen if we didn't have these things anymore."

Did you notice that I called them earthly objects?

That's because you can't take your million dollar house with you when you're gone.

You can't take your brand new sports car, or Louie Vuitton Purse, or Milano Blaniks when you leave this place.

Not everyone lives this way-focused on material items like we do. We all need to realize this.

I'm guilty of this. 

 I need to realize this.  

I'll be the first one to stand up and say it too.  

One of the most profound things Katie says in this book that really sticks out to me is....

"This world is not overpopulated."  

If we all came together and made a genuine effort then there wouldn't be so many starving, alone, disease infected children in this world.  

Don't think that you have to help everybody at once because that can be an overwhelming thought. 

All you have to help is one person at a time.

That is making a difference.  

One person at a time.

Now, I am not saying sell your home, your car, all of your clothes, possessions, empty your bank account and move out on the street.  

But what I am saying is...

What if we all lived a simpler life...so others could have more?

Or what if instead of saving that extra $50 for a "rainy day" what if we gave it away to somebody who really really needed it? 

What if we put the money we paid for our cable bill towards sponsoring a child in a third world country?

Would you be able to go without that fancy new dress to donate money to a local charity?

Would you be willing to become a one car family in order to make sure an entire family of 6 children had enough money for food, clothes, school, and medical treatment for the rest of their lives?

Open hands. Open heart. Open minds.

What are you willing to do without to make a difference in the life of one person?

Our weekend in Instagrams

This Friday

What does this Friday mean to me?

Mom's Night Out ministry at our church and a much need break from my kids {yay for youth group/free babysitting} while I enjoy worship and crafting with fellow momma's

Payday- and NOT the candy bar :)

Jeans day in the office

The beginning of the weekend

Not seeing my husband until we wake up on Sunday :(

Scary movies {Friday the 13th}...yeah right I'm such a chicken

Setting goals for the weekend such as: cleaning the bathrooms, doing laundry, organizing something, etc.

none of which ever get accomplished

Later bedtimes for the older boys & major snuggle sessions

Eagerly planning a craft for my little kiddies in Sunday School this week

A trip to Target for our oldest who has earned a new game with good behavior...I hope I didn't just jinx that one

Cooking up some tasty crock pot recipe's

What does this Friday mean to you?



Pic taken on my way home from work the other night!

A Good Day

Let me preface this post by saying that I'm not a fan of boasting and usually do not write things like this ( I am actually very uncomfortable talking about myself and my material possessions and feeling like I am boasting in any way) but yesterday was a good day and I know it was because of Him.  Because of that I thought I would share my good day with you!

**********************************

It started when I picked up the tab for the car behind me in the coffee house drive-thru thanks to Ashley.  The feeling I got after doing this was completely exhilarating and I can only hope that the person behind me (I have no idea who they were) passed along that kindness to another stranger.

I have had a heavy heart regarding a ministry I am involved with at our church-not even sure that I wanted to keep pursuing it- and after weeks of prayer He finally answered me yesterday with great, great news!

The night before I went to a cash for gold party of a co-workers and turned in some old jewelry that had been collecting dust and walked a way with a nice chunk of money-which is very.much.needed!  I was so thankful to my friend and co-worker for inviting me. I also ended up booking my own party too!

We're switching over to a new database at work and yesterday I sat through 4 hours of offsite training- and it felt good to know everybody else was just as lost as I was :)

I got a haircut-at.the.salon.  Enough said!

I made my very first batch of my dad's homemade meatball's and cooked them all day today in the crock pot so we will have a yummy dinner when I get home from work tonight!  There's a homey-ness (not a real word, I know I made it up!) feeling that comes over you when you are in the kitchen cooking recipes for your own family that your parents used to cook for you.

I have started reading Kisses from Katie and this book has been such an eye opener.  In two words: its phenomenal and moving.  Because of this book that I at times have struggled to get through because it is emotionally exhausting and physically could not see as a result of the tears welling up in my eyes I have felt so inspired to have less so others can have more, and hope to soon have a talk with my husband to move forward with some of my ideas.  I'll keep you posted on that one!

With three kids, a full time job, and a husband who works the complete opposite shift as I do days like this are few and far between so I have to take them while I can get them!  Yesterday was a good day because of Him.

BELIEVE

A few months back while visiting our local library I stumbled up a Christian Author, Debbie Macomber. 

 The very first book I read that she wrote was One Simple Act.
Now I say the.very.first. because I have not been able to stop reading her books ever since that one!

She tells us that we need to act on those little nudges we all have from God.
You know the firemen you see raising money in the freezing winter while doing a coin drop-buy him a coffee.
The lady you see walking in the rain to the bus stop-offer to give her a ride.
The lady who is counting her pennies at the check out with the stressed out look in her eyes as though she is calculating every item being rung up at the grocery store-if you can, pay for her groceries.
You get the point!   

Debbie also explains in this book that she chooses a word a year to live that year of her life by.  

I thought this was such a great and simple idea that this is the first year I am doing it.
And I am going to really stick by it-feel free to hold me accountable! 

 My word for 2012 is:

BELIEVE

Believe in myself...try something new.

Believe in others...start trusting others (this is HUGE for me)

Believe that I can make a difference...just one person at a time

Believe in Him...spend more quality time with Him.

Believe in this world...that not everyone is out to hurt one another.  Give everyone a chance.

Believe that I have power...to do great, powerful, life changing things.
Believe that my kids are only 5,3, and 1...and will not march to the drum like army ants and obey me (and that's okay).
Believe that I matter...to believe in myself more, to gain confidence.

So that friends is my word for the year...Believe.
Whats yours?
  

A Beautiful Offering

So there's this uh-mazing blogger that I discovered a few months back and her name is Casey. 

 She holds some of the very same beautiful beliefs we have, and has two of the cutest kids!
Her and her husband have decided to hand it all over to Him, to put all of their trust in Him...
...and so far it has worked out!
He is good!
There have been hard times-but they have simply made her stronger and more thankful for what she already has.
We could all learn a lesson or two from this incredible woman.
Plus she has one of the most adorable senses of fashion-like EVER!
She's someone I have started to look up to in this blogging community :)
A while back she mentioned this life changing book she read called A Beautiful Offering. 

  After hearing her talk about it more and more I decided I had to get my own copy and see for myself. 

 WOW!

 That's all I can say.

 The amount of knowledge and thirst for Jesus this book left me with will forever be immeasurable. 

 The way Angela Thomas breaks down some of the most crucial passages in the bible and the way she tells us we need to start living our lives as a.beautiful.offering to Him is truly inspiring!
This book will leave you feeling refreshed!
It makes you feel like you can do well by Him,
and that he knows we are all trying our hardest! 

 It feels as though she is sitting right across from you at a table in a cafe drinking a chai latte and explaining life :)
There are no judgements.
This is no feeling of inadequacy.
We all have a clean slate.
She admits she hasn't led the most Godly life and that He doesn't expect you to either because if you read this post He knows we're not perfect. 

 After reading this book I felt like I was able to breathe a high sigh of relief. 

 And take another deep breathe to start my beautiful offering to Him. 

 This will definitely be a once a year read and my newest go to birthday gift! 

 Thanks again Casey for bringing this wonderful book into my life!

Our weekend in Instagrams

Perfection

Ever since I can remember I have been a perfectionist. 

 An over achiever if you will. 

 I thought everything had to be the best, and I always had to be on point. 

 Boy was I wrong! 

 A few years ago when I decided I wanted to really start developing my Christianity I realized that living my life according to the way Jesus wants me to isn't always easy. 

 In fact most days it's a battle. 

 Sure some days are easier than others but some days I feel like I can't reach perfection, and that is very frustrating! 

 It feels unattainable...and then it hit me. 

 That's okay.

 As much as He wants us to live a perfect life because He is perfect He also knows that we are human and that we sin.
 Isn't that great news?
 He realizes that while we can try our darn hardest day in and day out we will never reach perfection because we are not Him.
 Sure some days are easier and we feel better when we try use the heck out of our little hearts to live a pure and right Christian life but the good news is He will love you even when you fail. 
In fact he expects you to fail.
 Some days it can be exhausting to try to fulfill His every want and expectation to live perfectly.
 The good news is He knows we are not perfect.
 All He expects us to do is give our best effort and to try to make the right decisions.
 I've learned sometimes it's more about the path you take when you don't succeed rather than the path you do. 
Every failure brings us closer to Him because when we feel inadequate we bring those feelings to Him.
 When we feel like we are at the end of our rope and we don't have anymore steam we go to Him.
 When we are consumed with fear or don't know what decision to make we go to Him.
 And He is always there for us. 
He's like the 24 hour mini mart down the street that always serves coffee.
 His light is always on, he's always got a warm cup of coffee and his arms are always open and ready to catch us!
 Isn't it great having a savior?

P.S. We had our first snow here in Jersey and the boys are super excited!!

Salt & Light

What could these two possibly have to do with one another you ask
What do salt & light have in common?

The common denominator is...

JESUS.

Jesus tells us to be the salt and the light.

Salt can be cleansing, and leaves you thirsty for more-just like Jesus.

Light is hopeful, promising, and radiates- like Him.

Think about it...

~SALT~

I can remember being a young girl in the summer on the beach with a freshly skinned knee and nothing stung more than going into the salt water.

But in just a few short days and before you knew it-that scrape was all healed up and clean-thanks to 

the salt water! 

Perhaps we had apprehensions of stepping in to the ocean water because we knew it was going to sting our cut...

 just as we may have apprehensions about bringing ourselves to Jesus if we have not been following in His footsteps, 

or if it has been a long time since we have been close to him.

It was painful stepping into the saltwater 

but it was a process 

and in the end....

our cut was cleansed and healed.

Jesus is our salt water.

He cleanses us and heals us-no matter how long it's been or how far we have strayed.

It might not be an easy process (emotionally or physically) but we get through it and in the end are even closer to Him.

He wants us to be his disciples and make others thirsty for Him too. 

He wants us to leave others quenching for more of Him!

He wants to use us to make others eager about Him.

To intrigue them...make them passionate.  

To make others want to get to know more about Him, praise him, and delight in him!

~LIGHT~

Which leads to my second part: light.

Jesus wants us to be the shining lights in the dark where there is no other light.

He wants us to go into the deepest, darkest, wettest, moldiest places,

the coldest darkest caverns, (okay not literally!)

but you get my point!

He wants us to radiate our light from Him onto others.

To show them that there is a an everlasting life.

That there is more to a days work than bringing home the bacon.

That we have opportunity after opportunity in front of us to share Him, to spread Him among our peers.

There are countless opportunities to bring light to those around us and we should 

take in every opportunity.

  

Purpose

Since making the decision to really dive into this whole blogging world {feet first, hands in the air, and not a care in the world}community a few months ago I have been asking myself what is my purpose? 

What is my goal in blogging?

What do I want myself and others to get from stopping by this little space?  

After A LOT of thought here's what I came up with:

I want to make an impact in the lives of others. 

I want to make a difference in someone's life.

I want to let others know that they are not alone in fighting the battles they are fighting.

I want to be an outlet for busy, over scheduled mommas, a place of peace for them-to laugh and delight and see that others are going through the same struggles as they are.

I want Him to use to me touch, impact, and leave an impression in the lives of others. 

I want to inspire others.

I want to make people believe-in themselves, in others, in Him, in this blogging community-just life in general.

And to be honest I am so glad I have finally decided how I want to use this space.  I feel like I have opened a new window in my life and the fresh air is freely blowing through-it's amazing!  2012 you are going to be a fantastic year!  I'm determined to make the best of this blog, see the best in people, and see the glass as 1/2 full!

Everything should always have a purpose in this life and I'm glad to have finally figured this one out-so far!

I'm committing to learning as much about HTML as I can in 2012 {tips and hints are always welcome}.

I'm committing to at least 3-4 blog posts a week in 2012.

I'm committing to opening up more to you guys-somethings will still stay private, but I would love to step out of my comfort zone in 2012. 

I'm committing to following through on my saying of open hands. open hearts. open minds in 2012.

This all starts right now.  

It's been a long time coming and I hope you stick around for this journey because I promise some pretty amazing things are coming your way!!