More Beautiful YOU

Each and every time I hear this song by Jonny Diaz on the radio

I pray that Madison and her friends will believe it with all of their hearts-

because they ARE beautiful.

Truly beautiful in God's eyes.




And so are YOU!

Does it Suck or Rock?

This website cracks me up.

It's called Does it Suck?

You simply type in a word, name, or phrase- and it will tell give you a score to tell

you if it SUCKS or if it ROCKS.

The closer the score is to 10, the better.

So of course, I had to type in my name.

Shannon= 9.7

(woo hoo- I rock!)

And my blog's name.

Sweet Blessings= ?

(so I guess my blog neither sucks nor rocks?)

And my husband's name, Tony= 9.3.

(of course he rocks!)

You can try all sorts of people and things- it's a hoot!

For those who are wondering, here's how it works according to the website:

When you enter a search term, sucks/rocks searches the web

for several positive and negative phrases using that term.

The score is the fraction of positive results to the sum of

positive and negative results, normalized to 10.
The negative phrases are: X sucks, X is lame, X is crap, I hate X.
The positive phrases are: X rocks, X is sweet, X is awesome, I love X.

Isn't that fun?

For those that think I have it all together- HA!

Here is what my closet looks like this morning:

Here is what my pantry looks like this morning:

As the result of a new job for next year, my classroom is full of boxes- both empty and half full.
I have to pack up my things to take home with me, the things to take to my new office(s), as well as the entire classroom that I am leaving- because it is also moving.
Packing + moving + a hurt back= :(

Although I DID amazingly avoid opening and scarfing down the large box of Godiva that a student gave me yesterday morning
(I ended up giving it to a sweet friend to give to his girlfriend with strict instructions NOT to tell her where it came from)
I did in fact eat all sorts of crap I should NOT have- not limited to but including:
Sour Patch kids, Cracker Jacks, trail mix, and a Bliss bar.
When my shorts don't fit this summer there will be no question as to why huh?

I have not visited the gym in WEEKS AND WEEKS due to my back and hip issues. They are killing me all the time and I am tired of hurting, tired of saying I am hurting, tired of pretending that I am NOT hurting. I PROMISE to go to the doctor next week. Cannot stand it anymore.

In the midst of all the insanity that the end of school always brings, I've spent entirely too much time watching and reading everything I can about Jon and Kate Plus 8. It was so bad that on Monday night after the premiere- I could not go to sleep for worrying about them and their poor kids. I even DREAMED about them. Insanity.

So there you have it.

I'm a mess.
A big stinkin' mess.

What about you?

Sweet Girl

A daughter is a day brightener and a heart warmer.

~Author Unknown~

Memorial Day

I have never been able to think of the day as one of mourning;

I have never quite been able to feel that half-masted flags were appropriate on Decoration Day. I have rather felt that the flag should be at the peak,

because those whose dying we commemorate rejoiced in seeing it where their valor placed it.

We honor them in a joyous, thankful, triumphant commemoration of what they did.

Benjamin Harrison

More Coke

A short video that makes you really think-

what's more important,

the gift

or

the giver?

YOU

Today...............

Monday Morning Question of the Day

If you told your friends everything about yourself,
including those things you are most ashamed or afraid of,
do you truly think they would like you less or more than they do now?

God's Chisel

When God has to chisel away at us-to get rid of the things in our lives that are not holy and pleasing to Him- it can be difficult and painful.

He does this to help us to become the person He wants us to be,

who He created us to be but it's hard and it hurts.

This video is a beautiful reminder that this process can be painful and scary

but we must trust Him- because He loves us more than we could ever know.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

James 1: 17

Links I Love

Tape Swell- decorative packing tape.

LOVE the damask one. What a fun idea!!!!

These adorable FREE printable lists from Blah, Blah, Blahg!

Download them here:

If I can only do one thing today............

Task List

Some PRECIOUS cake/cupcake sets from Meri, Meri.

So many cute ones- love the baby and princess sets the best! Aren't they cute?

The website Stamps where you can create stamps using your own photos!

What a great idea for baby announcements and wedding invitations.

So fun!

The precious website Virtual Softie.

Here is the websites description:

Its a virtual softie! You can move the outfits and accessories and dress her however you like, just scroll down, click, hold and drag the images up.

Such a sweet idea for little ones!

This last site is absolutely hysterical!

No picture to post for it....you'll have to go see it on your own-

but trust me- it's worth clicking the link!

The name says it all...........

Awkward Family Photos

I LOVE Swaps!

Sweet Becca recently hosted swap and I was so lucky that she was my swap partner!

She is a precious lady and a
FABULOUS
gift giver
and she absolutely spoiled me rotten!

Here is what was in my package:

1. A beautiful card

2. TONS of gummy type candy including Gummy Worms, Sour Patch Kids, Gummy Lifesavers! These were put in the package for me to share with Madison- how sweet was that?

3. A cookbook that I could not wait to get my hands on-

The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen
and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!
It's full of great recipes that I cannot wait to try- along with fun home and gift ideas!
(I wish Becca lived closer so that I could make something yummy from it to thank her!)

4. An adorable apron! I absolutely LOVE aprons- and have started a collection of them! Something about putting one on makes me feel so much more domesticated and happy when I cook. Becca asked that I take a pic of Tony wearing my super cute pink apron and luckily he was a good sport and even pretended to cook something for this picture. He's a hoot!

5. A precious little book called

Simplify Your Life:

100 Ways to Slow Down and Enjoy the Things that Really Matter
It's full of great tidbits of advice and ways to slow down and relax which is

definitely something I need to do more often.

Thank you Becca for such wonderful gifts- you are so thoughtful and I am so thankful!

Overcoming All Odds

When D.J. was an infant, doctors told his parents he would never walk. Now 30, D.J. walks with a cane, holds a master degree in Sports Marketing, lives independently, works as an entrepreneur and lets nothing stand in his way. He decided to walk every PGA Tour event.

This is his story.

(Grab a tissue. Or two. Or ten.)

What an amazing and inspirational story-

one of hope, tenacity, and endurance.

Monday Morning Question of the Day

If all of your best friends were willing to be ABSOLUTELY honest and tell you exactly what they liked most about you and EXACTLY what they liked least about you, would you want them to?

Mother's Day

I love being a mother.

I love being Madison's mother.

I prayed for years and years and years for a child and

was so blessed when God gave me Madison Blair.

I cried countless tears and went through

hundreds of procedures trying to get pregnant with her.

Looking back I am so very thankful for those years of sadness,

for the tons of shots and medicine,

thousands and thousands of dollars spent,

and trips to the doctor and fertility specialist.

Thankful because if I had gotten pregnant at any other time,

with any other procedure,

at any other moment-

I would not have my sweet girl-

my Maddie May.

And that I truly can not imagine.

She's a joy and a blessing every single day of her life.

(Even when she's complaining about doing chores.)

For this child I prayed, and the LORD has given

me my petition which I asked of Him.

I Samuel 1:27

Margarita Cake

I tried this recipe for a Mexican fiesta at school this week and it was GREAT! A wonderful, light dessert to eat at the end of a heavy Mexican food meal! The pretzel crust was wonderful to balance out the sweetness of the cake.

1 1/2 cups coarsely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1box white cake mix
1 1/4 cups bottled nonalcoholic margarita mix (at Kroger on the wine aisle)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated lime peel
3egg whites
1 container (8 oz) Cool Whip

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom of 13x9-inch pan. In medium bowl, mix pretzels, sugar and butter. Sprinkle evenly on bottom of pan; press down gently. In large bowl, beat cake mix, margarita mix, oil, 1 tablespoon lime peel and the egg whites with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour batter over pretzel mixture. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until light golden brown and top springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Frost with whipped topping; sprinkle with additional lime peel. Store covered in refrigerator.

Once Upon a Time............

Once upon a time there was an oldish girl.

An oldish girl with red hair.

(Hair that her sweet husband colored for her).

One day she was cranky and stressed and feeling VERY overwhelmed.

And she was talking to a co-worker in the office and she was rude and YELLED

(well, she raised her voice)

and then stormed off-

in front of several of her sweet co-workers.

(All left standing there with their mouths open because they had never seen her angry before).

And as she walked away she started regretting what she had done and said.

And then she felt bad.

VERY VERY VERY

bad.

And embarrassed.

And ashamed.

She consoled herself briefly by thinking....

"But I was justified because she.....................................

and I have had a bad day......................................

and because it's not fair...............................

Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah................"

But this verse kept going through her mind over and over and over again

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,

but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

And she felt terrible.

She felt awful.

She knew that she could just try to avoid those sweet friends

and not say anything and no one would probably ever say anything about it.

But she knew that wasn't what she was supposed to do.

She knew that wasn't what God called her to do.

So she put on her big girl panties

(those things are getting worn alot lately)

and she apologized.

And was so thankful for forgiveness.

The End.

Do Your Best

This is a story of a precious young man who lives by the motto

"Do your best and never give up!"

The Church Experiment

Last Sat. evening I was talking to my sweet friend Jen on Facebook and she told me about a blog that she thought I would like.

The blog is written by Steve Fuller and is called The Church Experiment.

The Church Experiment is his plan to visit 52 churches in 52 weeks in 2009. He visits a church on Sunday and then blogs about his experience.

Here's a quote from his blog about his plan:

I have a very limited view of church (through my experiences at the Vineyard and D'VINE) and God (because I am a skeptic), so I just want to make myself available, see what is out there, and then write about what happens. My goal is to attend a different church every week of 2009 (that is 52 churches), and write about the variety of experiences - good, bad, and ugly. I am planning to wear the exact same outfit every week (just to see how easily I am accepted based on appearance), and I will try my best to keep an open mind as I take part in the unique customs of that particular denomination and specific church.

I spent last Sat. night and early Sunday morning reading about his experiences. It was fascinating to read his observations and each entry truly made me think. He's visiting all types of churches- and for someone like myself who has only ever attended Baptist churches- it's been fascinating for me to read.

If you'd like to follow his journey- start HERE- and then follow the church links on the right side of the page.