Project 365 - A Little ShakeUp

For the last several months I have done a little thing called "Picture Perfect Monday". It was a weekly glance - through pictures - into our lives. And I have loved it ... almost as much as my mommy has. (HI MOMMY!!!)

However, I am now gonna shake it up a bit. Ya see Sara, over at Make Music From Your Heart To The Lord, has started a project. And, y'all, it is such a cool idea, I could not resist getting involved. She has even started a whole new blog - A Year In My Life - to celebrate!!!

So, without further adieu ...

Welcome To Project 365!!!

Here is the plan: You take one picture for each day of the year (now, you can take more than one, but you have to choose just one as your official shot of the day!), and then each Sunday, you post your week in pics. I am soooooooo excited for this I cannot even tell ya!

And, here is our first week!!!

January 1: Now, truth be told, I did not learn of this little diddy until Jan. 2ND, so ... well, I cheated a little. This is actually from the last week of Dec. However, since Hattie has had this costume on every single day since, I guess it'll work!

Now, to some of you, this may seem like a little girl celebrating Halloween a little late. BUT, to me this is a miracle. I have tried for 3 years to get this child into a costume. THIS costume in particular. But, she has been afraid of it. And when I say "afraid", I mean running in fear, screaming at the top of her lungs and hiding and crying for a very long time.

So, yeah, the fact that she wore it - miracle. The fact that she wears it every day - annoying, but a miracle none the less!

January 2: Hattie got this little number from her big brother Kissy for Christmas. And she loves it! It has letter and number challenges - as well as a few others that we have not tried yet. On Friday (the 2ND), we discovered these games. Homegirl sat there for 45 minutes playing these games ... with no help from anyone.


For those of you who may be new here - Hattie has some "issues" and sitting for any length of time on a structured activity is sooooo not her thing. But she loved it, and has continuously gone back to the game several times a day!


This would be ANOTHER miracle for our girl! Have I mentioned that I LOVE THIS KID!!!



January 3: This was the final day of taking down the Christmas decor. This pic shows my trusty new vaccuum (which I WON - nothing better than FREE!!!), as well as a stack of toys needing to find a home and, way up on that shelf behind the vac, the centerpiece that Sweet Jane won at the ladies banquet and promptly gifted to me. It is very Christmasy, but I'm thinking of leaving that one out!

Here is a closer shot of it ... what do ya think?
(try to ignore the "junk" behind it ... this was taken during the set up process!!!)

And there ya have it - the first week of 2009 here in B manor. And, amazingly, there are no pics of Miss Sophie in here. That is because she is cutting some teeth - molars - and is not her happy-go-lucky self.

And, trust me, you do not want to see her like that!

She is making a comeback though, so come back next week for more!

Happy New Year ... 'cause I am Timely Like That!

Yeah, I know ... I am late. Because I am nothing if not a world class procrastinator.

But, as I always say (and hope people believe me), better late than never! So, I am saying it now ...

Happy New Year!!!

Truth be told, 2008 had it's ups and downs for us here in B manor. The ups were plastered here in all their splendor for you all (or, as Frannie would say - y'all) to celebrate with us. And many of the downs were here as well - 'cause #1 - misery loves company and #2 - I sometimes just need some cheering up! Y'all were pretty good at that last year. Thanks!

However, there was one down that I have not shared in it's ugly entirety with all of my bloggy friends. And, honestly, I have been on a yo-yo string in regards to knowing whether or not I should share it. I have been really wrestling with how honest to be, 'cause I do not want this blog to become a bummer. I want this little corner of my world to be a Glorification of the One who sets me Free.

That being said, I have come to a little decision. I am gonna lay it all on the line. Not today however, because I have to put some thought into the way I lay it all out for ya. But, in our prayers regarding this situation, our biggest request is that God is glorified. Not just in the "wow, look what He did for us" end result, but in the "look at what He is doing/seeing us through/helping us to survive/etc... every day along the way" getting there process. I know that He will not let us fall and I want the world to see Him carry us. I want you to see Him set us free!!!

When Paula was diagnosed with the cancer that eventually took her life, she said that if she had to go through it, then she wanted God to "use the tar out of it". I thought that was the bravest thing I had ever heard of. And she became one of my truest heroes in that battle. Now, I KNOW that this is nothing like cancer - Thank You Lord!!! - but I still want God to use us in this situation. Use us to His glory.

So, in the next day or two I will be posting a not so pretty post about what is happening here - no one is sick (Thank You SIR!!!), we have simply fallen victim - as so many others have - to a BAD economic picture. Details to come.

So, seeing as how I have given up on New Year's resolutions (it is January 2nd, so they would be broken by now anyway!!!), I have joined with some of my Siestas and my PBFF Beth Moore in dedicating myself to a little Scripture memorization. If you want to play along you can join us HERE. And, true to form, I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew. Rather than picking a verse or two, I picked a Psalm - an ENTIRE PSALM. Now, it IS only six verses, but still...

I chose these verses because I want to spend my life Praising Him - even if the situation seems bleak. I want to praise Him with my life. Every moment of every day of my life. So ...

Praise the Lord. Praise God in His Sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty Heavens.

Praise Him for His acts of power; Praise Him for His surpassing greatness.

Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet, Praise Him with the harp and the lyre.

Praise Him with the tambourine and dancing, Praise Him with the strings and flute.

Praise Him with the clash of cymbals, Praise Him with (loud)resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath Praise the Lord. PRAISE THE LORD!

Psalm 150

And, with that, I will bid you adieu for the day! Please take at least one moment in this day to Praise Him ... the rocks are doing it, won't you join them?!

God Bless!!!!