I hope this blog post finds you toasty, warm & snuggled up by the fire {or as my little redneck child would say "the far"}.😉
Today is Thursday, January 4th and it is the first day of 2018 that we have Wi-Fi here at the house! Like most of the country, we have had bitter, biting arctic weather here for the past several days. Bitter and biting to the point that yesterday it was 31 degrees & we all agreed that we were having a major heat wave!! Insanity!!
I was planning to post a review about 2017, but didn't get around to it this year.
I did, however do a #bestnine2017 post on my Instagram.
This was easy to make. I just googled "best nine 2017" and it took me to a link where I put my Instagram user name in the box and hit enter. It took about 20 seconds and produced a nice collage of the top nine most liked pictures on my Instagram account for 2017.
You can make your own collage here: 2017 Best Nine Collage
Here's my "best nine" (which made a lovely wallpaper on my phone as well).
I do love Instagram!!
Well, the kids & I had to get out of the house yesterday after being cooped up since New Years Eve. We ran some errands, did a little shopping, ate a bite of chick-fila. It was nice to get out during that 31 degree heat wave! My thoughts in the past week have been exclusively about fleece lined leggings, fuzzy blankets, moisturizer for my alligator itchy, winter skin and what kind of soup I can fix next {today it's potato}.
Pretty exciting stuff, no?
I have to ask this though, was last month a blur for you?
I swear, I have never seen a December fly by so fast in all my life!!
It seems like every year, no matter how early I start preparing for Christmas it comes rolling down a steep hill like a bulging snowball and sucks me right in! I end up in a heap of chaos when that snowball hits a tree, looking around wide eyed wondering what on earth just happened! I need to join a support group for Christmas organization or something!
I think December might have been a blur for me because I was busy on the sidebar being in DENIAL.
{I have a PhD in Denial, I might add.}
{Professional caliber.}
I was really happy this summer when Owen decided to live at home and go to college here in town, Cumberland is a great school & I was thrilled to death that I was not going to have to face letting him fly out of the nest just yet!
But.
{the dreaded But...}
He was not happy there and long story short, he decided to transfer after the holidays.
So.
Today it is officially "after the holidays".
The car is loaded.
The bedroom is looking empty.
And the bridge of denial I've been standing on is starting to crumble beneath my feet.
But...
In true Scarlett O'Hara fashion...
I'm going to think about that tomorrow. 😉
In the meantime, I have been reading Angela Thomas' book, 52 Things Sons Need From Their Moms. I love her books, she speaks to my heart in every one that I have read! Last night while reading she said "your son needs a mom who will pray for the man he is becoming. A mom who asks others to pray for him. A mom who prays the powerful truth of scripture over him and for him".
And so I will.
If you have a moment, please pray for our sweet Owen as he heads off today taking the first real step towards leaving our family to become a man. ❤
I've handed it all over to God, He is in control.
Everything will work out exactly the way it is supposed to.
{but Lord, please make this child behave himself...amen}
Well, that's all I've got at the moment.
My fitbit is telling me I need to get up off my hiney & do some step action!
I guess I better head outside and check on the chickens and probably break the ice in the pool again so our pump doesn't blow up (I thought salt water was not supposed to freeze).
I'll be back to talk about some goals I've made for the year and some projects we have planned out here at Crazytowne Manor (I need to trademark that), some books I am reading, some shows I'm watching AND just some general rambling nonsense that no one but my mother is actually going to read. 😂
If you missed it, here's a link to Kim's first project of the year!
Her husband, Aaron
(Yes, you read that right. Her husband's name is Aaron. My husband's name is also Aaron. Generally we refer to mine as AP and hers as ALove. But I don't think either of us ever even call them by their actual names, so it's not confusing at all.)
Anyway, her husband Aaron has been on a marathon of woodworking projects in the past couple of years! He has built an awesome treehouse for their boys out in the backyard and now she has talked him into building a few things inside the house.
Their latest project is a functional (but simple) set of shelves for the most odd spot in their adorable house. I can't wait to visit them an see it in person!
Here's a link with an easy tutorial telling how they built them.
I'm jumping up!
Thanks so much for stopping by to visit, friends!
Stay warm & Happy New Year!
Mwah,
Mandy
