The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside My Window... It is a misty gray morning. The fog is lifting slowly, it is just above the trees. The sun is being shy, but do see a ray or two trying to break through the clouds. Very chilly.

I am thinking... how I have missed my quiet time in the mornings.

I am thankful for... finally getting well. Have had a nasty cold, but finally feeling lots better.

From the kitchen... Coffee pot ON!!! Biscuits in the oven. Planning to have chalupas (it's like a flat taco) & maybe some Spanish rice this evening. It's better than any ol' Taco Bell!!

From the Learning Room… Jack London's "Call of the Wild".

I am wearing... My fuzzy aqua pjs, & socks. Very comfortable.

I am creating... Not one thing!! I did so much over the holidays, that I am in need of a break! ha!

I am going... to concentrate on living in the here and now. Take each day as it comes, and ENJOY life.

I am reading... for women FIRST magazine, that I picked up at the grocery store. Just a little light reading.

I am remembering… all of those in Haiti. My prayers are with them.

I am hoping... and praying for so many things on my heart right now. Family, Home, Health, etc...

I am hearing... My clock ticking on the piano, my little dogs clicking about. The birds are singing here and there. Very peaceful this morning.

I have noticed… that I feel better in the mornings!! That is something for me, because I am usually a "night owl".

Pondering these words… "Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from praises of men, but from doing something worthwhile." ~Sir Wilfred Grenfell

Around the house... Peace and Quiet

One of my favorite things... Devotional books. They are inspiring and thought provoking.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week: Haven't even thought about it. Just trying to get my life back in some kind of routine after being sick.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Outside it says winter is here, but in my heart I am so ready for spring!! There is nothing more lovely as a rose in full bloom.

(please excuse if photo is a bit "grainy")

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If you would like to participate in The Simple Woman's Daybook. Please visit with Peggy. http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ She is the creator of this wonderful way to journal your day!!

A New Year- A New Day...

Well it has been a minute or two since I have been able to really make time to blog. The Holidays kept me running, then by the time New Years came, I ended up with a horrible cold/flu. PTL it was not H1N1, but it has been a "doozy" all the same. Just now feeling better, but still do not quite have my voice back. My family at first thought it quite funny, but now aren't real thrilled with the thought of me not being able to talk to them. I can croak pretty good though! ha! Hopefully in days to come my voice will catch up with the rest of me, and I will be good as new.

I really wanted to start this year "right". Let it be all fresh and new. But like the saying goes, "Tell God yours plans, and hear Him laugh"! The first two weeks have been less than fresh!, but it has given me the time to really reflect on things. I decided NOT to make any resolutions this year. Of course there are things in my life I would like to do, change, aspire to, etc... Instead of making my annual list, I have chosen to keep those desires, hopes, goals, and dreams tucked close to my heart, and essentially give it to the Lord. The words- "Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 - has always been one of my favorite verses, but the last few weeks it has really been floating around in my head. The message of the verse has really made me do some "heart-thinking". To delight in the ONE who creates each new year, new month, new day. Every day can be a new beginning, full of new possibilities, etc... but before I put "the cart before the horse", and get caught up in the "to do" lists, on all the other stuff a day can bring, I really need to focus on who has given the "new day", which of course is the Lord God. To delight in HIM.... Those goals, dreams, etc... can still be achieved, but on God's schedule, not mine.

As I write this, my thoughts and prayers are on all who have been affected by the earthquake in Haiti. If there was ever a situation that would change ones life forever... this is it. The images that have played out on the T.V. screen are heartbreaking. I know it is so much worse in person.
It jolts the soul, wakes it up, and cries out to NEVER take one day for granted. I watched last evening as CNN showed a woman in the middle of a crowd with a bullhorn. She wasn't yelling and screaming about the situation she was in and was enduring. Instead she was singing to those around her as a way to keep their spirits full of hope. The scene was extremely touching. Her family, who had no idea if she was even alive had been desperately trying to get in touch with her. Her daughter who lives in the states, first heard this woman singing on the news and looked up and there she saw her beloved mother singing, loving, and comforting all that were hurting around her. PTL, she has now been in contact with her family, but is in no hurry to leave her country. She wants to stay and help. WOW.. what a lady!!!! This story among several others that have been told from this tragedy in Haiti, should truly make a person think about what is really important...... Like I expressed earlier, it has made me do a lot of "heart-thinking", & soul searching.
Please pray for Haiti, the people, the families, the injured, the loss loved ones.....

So as this New Year begins, it is my prayer that I not delight in the carnal things of life.... but in the ONE who gives Life. To cherish and love those gifts- my family, children, friends- and share much love and joy with one and all.

Monday's Thanksgiving Blessings

I thought I would share a few blessings in my life especially since this is Thanksgiving week.

1. An Awesome God ~ He loves with this amazing unconditional love, that I am learning more and more about each and everyday. He does give Peace that surpasses any understanding that I may have of it. Through difficult times and through the happiest times HE is there, Steadfast and Strong. I may fail a thousand times over, and God knows I have, but HE takes my weakness, my insecurities, and my many failures and forgives what needs forgiving, heals whatever hurts, & shows me His way to a victorious life. He bears all our burdens, makes our paths straight, provides for our deepest needs, and His Word proclaims His unquenchable love He has for us. To know the Lord, is the greatest blessing.


2. Peace- I have found that I need this more and more everyday. I cannot stand turmoil and confusion. I have had my share of it, and at times have probably caused some too. I am not perfect. It has become vital to me to have a peace in my spirit. It is a feeling and a knowing that I can't really describe in words, but will give it a try. There is a place in the Ozarks that is just serene. You look one way and you see the Ozark mountains(foothills) and you look another and you see the prettiest green valleys, It makes you take this big sigh as you take in all the beauty around you. It is PEACE. Another way to describe it, is looking at the heavens on a very starry night. I get very misty eyed and this calmness, this peace comes over me as I gaze at the millions of stars in a dark velvet sky. Another way I have experienced peace is when life throws those curve balls, and a hand is there to hold. It is like a silent message of not being alone, that everything will be okay... That is peace & a blessing.


3. Security~ It goes hand and hand with peace.. at least it does for me. When I have peace and security there is this sense of balance. As I watch the news and see all the stuff going on in this nation and around the world. I know not to take anything for granted... Security these days truly is a blessing. I think of those who are literally living in tents, or at shelters because their homes have been foreclosed, they have lost their jobs, etc.... Many are little children. It breaks my heart. I pray for these people, and know that could be you or me in that situation in one big swoop. The Lord has blessed my family, and I will NEVER take it for granted.


4. Time~ Yep, that is a blessing. 2009 is almost over, and there is so much I wish I had been able to do, to accomplish, etc... I realize I have wasted a lot of time! yikes! My husband often says as we are waiting in traffic, etc.... "It's only time." of course he is really trying to express patience. I however tend to get aggravated when he uses this little saying. To me, Time is more than minutes on a clock. It really is this gift, this blessing we have. We should try to really savor and make the most of every moment. I have not always done that, but realize it is a need in my life.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window...
Still somewhat dark, but can see little bits of light towards the east. It's rather nippy this morning too.
I am thinking...
of a conversation I had yesterday that didn't go to good. Wish that whole thing had not happened.
I am thankful for...
fuzzy socks and hot coffee!
From the learning rooms...
A week of being Thankful!
From the kitchen...
Hot coffee!! No dishes!!
I am wearing...
Red capris, Tan blouse, light velour jacket, & socks.
I am creating...
Lists, many lists to stay organize during the holidays.
I am going...
to hopefully put my tree up early this year, so I can enjoy the holidays.
I am reading...
at the moment.. nothing, but have my eye on a few Christmas novels.
I am hoping... for some peace and joy for the holidays.
I am hearing...
a puppy getting into something in the next room!!!
Around the house...
A sleeping kid-o, a naughty puppy!!, & purring kitties.
One of my favorite things...
Actually it is a favorite scent.. I love cinnamon. Especially cinnamon scented pinecones!
A few plans for the rest of the week:
Of course Thanksgiving is big on the list! Shopping on Friday. Getting decorations out, etc... and somewhere in there have some PEACE!
Here is picture for thought I am sharing...

Since I love the scent of cinnamon pinecones.. thought I would share a photo I took of a few pinecones at our local park. These were some very green cones that had fallen after a storm we had. I have always loved pinecones! I guess I should have put that as my favorite thing too. They remind me of the fall months, and of course the holidays. They make great fire starters for the fireplace, and love to use them for art projects. My kids & I have made many pinecone turkeys!! Ha! They look great in a window box or in a basket at Christmas, and I could go on and on!!

Hope everyone has a truly blessed week!!

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If you have enjoyed this daybook and would like to start one of your own, please pay Miss Peggy a visit. http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/ She is the creator of this unique journal and can give you all the details on how to get your own daybook started!!

Thoughts for the coming days....

My thoughts and feeling have been all over the place lately.. Trying desperately to get some organization in place for the holidays. Making my lists and checking them twice, etc....
I really need a stress free Christmas... but who am I kidding!! Ha! It is usually up to me to make sure everyone else has a good Christmas, while I slowly pull my hair out!! Oh the joys of being a wife and mother!! Ha-Ha! I do say all of that in jest, but really do need more "Peace on Earth goodwill to the Mama and wife!!!!"
I have sat here this morning in deep thought about the coming days.... & what I can do(with the Good Lord's help) to make the most of each single day in this holiday season. To find the joy, to find the peace... I wrote a poem about what I wished for a few months ago. I must have been in the same frame of mind then, as I am now, because the poem says what is really in my heart at this moment. So, I will re-post it. Maybe there are some of you feeling a bit like I am . May this little poem speak to your heart....

My Wish

My wish is for all to find joy in each day
A little beauty along the way.
It is there if we truly seek
For the good, for the blessings, for the unique...

On those days that feel dark and dreary,
May the Lord's Love shine on our way clearly.
It is Hope that we should always embrace.
To never give up, but always look to HIS grace.

I wish for a few giggles of laughter.
A smile from a kind soul.
A cup of overflowing friendship.
A peace, a wisdom, that constantly grows.

My wish is not so much for worldly material things.
But in the virtues of Life, is where my heart clings.
Seeking a little joy, a little love, a little laughter..
I believe is the key to a Happily Ever After!

Kelly Maria Ramsey
copyright(c) 2009

My prayer is that I truly embrace the TRUE Joy of this blessed season. May that be your prayers too!

Procrastination...

Yep, that is what I seem to be doing, procrastinating!!, and I HATE IT!!! I am suppose to be a very busy bee today, getting my home all spruced up and cleaned for the Halloween "shin-dig" I am to have next weekend, but I can't quite get myself away from this cluttered desk. Another thing I have delayed in doing, cleaning off my desk!! Ai-yi- yi-!!!! What is my deal today???

I feel the need to write, but not sure what to write about.......???
I have not taken any recent photos, I have not been on here in a gazillion days, and now I sit here typing aimlessly for really no apparent reason except to keep me from doing what I should be... CLEANING!!!

Okay, so I think I will make a few visits to some of my favorite blogs for some much needed INSPIRATION! & MOTIVATION!!!

May each and everyone of you have a beautiful blessed weekend.


Kelly Maria

Autumn Inspirations

I thought I would revisit an old blog entry fom last year... I believe it is worth sharing again... Click on the link to visit.http://belleamebeautifulsoul.blogspot.com/2008/10/inspiration.html

Mountain Dew Dumplings

Here is a wonderful recipe I just recently tried myself!! It is quick and easy...but most of all it is DELICIOUS!!! This will be a new family favorite in our home!!

Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings

2 (8count) cans of crescent rolls
3-4 tart apples (depending on the size of apple you may can get away w/using 2)
1 1/2 c. of sugar
1/2 c. butter (1 stick)
1 tsp. of cinnamon
1 (12 oz.) can of Mountain Dew

1. Spray or grease a 13x9 baking pan.
2. Peel & slice apples into 16 pieces.
3. Roll each apple slice in 1 section of crescent roll.
4. Placed rolled slices in pan in 2 rolls.
5. Melt butter, sugar, & cinnamon together.
6. Pour over apples crescents.
7. Pour can of Mountain Dew on top.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
9. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.

Please give this little recipe a try. Would be wonderful to serve during the holiday months.

The Simple Woman's Daybook (a day late)

Outside my window... Oh My it is dark outside. No stars, no moon. Suppose to have heavy rains today. So I am sure what I cannot see is lots of dark clouds.

I am thinking... that I have lots to do!!!

I am thankful for...PEACE, I find that it is essential in my life.

From the learning rooms... A visit with Huckleberry Finn!

From the kitchen... Maybe a soup or stew for supper. Not sure. Still very early

I am wearing... Navy blue sweats & blue gray T-shirt that has sunflowers on it.

I am creating... Not a lot at the moment.

I am going... to try and get well! Battling cold/sinuses for the last few days.

I am reading... Started reading Eyes on the Prize (Tales from Grace Chapel Inn)

I am hoping... to feel better!!

I am hearing... the news on TV. A train in the distance. Soft snores of my schnauzer.

Around the house... Kitty sleeping in front of computer monitor. Folded clothes in Living room waiting to be put up. A few dishes in the sink. House is still very still.

One of my favorite things... SOUP!! I Love almost any kind.. favorite is Potato.

A few plans for the rest of the week: TO GET WELL!! Going to cousin's home to decorate...

Here is picture for thought I am sharing..

Autumn Days are here. Find beauty in each and every one of them.

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If you would like to start a journal like The Simple Woman's Daybook. Please go by and visit with Peggy, who is the creator of this unique concept. She has all the information, guidelines, etc... http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Beauty & Blessings from a Butterfly

I have often written on how we can find blessings in the unexpected...but not only can we find blessings we can also find beauty, peace, & joy. This past week I was outside with my little dogs letting them run around, etc... and as I was walking in the yard, a butterfly caught my eye. Now, I have seen hundreds of butterflies. But at this particular moment I was feeling down, and this little orange monarch appeared to be fluttering all around me trying to get my attention. Or so it seemed. It finally softly landed in front of me on a patch of late blooming flowers. I watched in amazement at this colorful winged blessing that had went from frantically flying all around to becoming quite still as it took a drink of nectar from the flowers. What a beautiful sight to see! The handiwork of God right in front of me. But also what a life lesson to be learned from such a small creature. What lesson is that????

Do we not all go around fluttering here and there?... always busy, always having a gazillion things to do! We very rarely take a moment to see the beauty of God in our lives. His handiwork, His blessings. We often take for granted that we have a God that is always there. But how often do we really reach out to Him, to find solace, find peace, to find beauty in HIM? We get so caught up in the circumstances of life that we forget to slow down and take a moment to drink of that everlasting nectar that the Lord has for us. It is for our good to take rest in Him, to reach out to the Father and let Him fill us with His joy and peace. To really look at the beauty around us, to see that HE is there waiting to give us that hug, that drink of living water. Especially on those days when we have fluttered to the point of exhaustion from trying to be all things to all people What we really need to do is land in HIS arms and focus on being His child.

It is so easy to become depressed, sad, etc.. by circumstances this life, this world often throws our way. That was my case as I was walking in the yard. Who would of thought a little butterfly could lift my spirits and show me the ways of God, the beauty of His love! That all I needed to do was slow down, take a deep breath and let the Lord into every part of my life especially those areas that had me so down. I found a blessing in that little butterfly, but also found a beauty that touched the most inner parts of my heart. Thank You Lord for that sweet winged beauty!

Be Still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

"Something deep in all of us yearns for God's beauty, and we can find it no matter where we are." Sue Monk Kidd

Though oft' I feel discouraged, I know that God is there,
and even when I whisper,He hears my faintest prayer."
~Ken Brown

Beauty is God's handwriting- a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Look of Autumn....

Well here I am T-R-Y-I-N-G to make my way back to blogging!!!
I decided to give my blog a look of Autumn! I cant't believe Fall has snuck up on me like it has. Every year I think I am going to decorate early and really enjoy the season. I also say this about Christmas too. Ha!! But LIFE happens and before I know it the leaves are changing, and BAM!!! the Fall months are here!!

I love Autumn, it truly is my favorite season. It is also a bittersweet time for me too because this is also the time of year that my sweet little brother went to heaven in 1990. But as the years go by, I find that it is better to concentrate on the goodness of God and how He has blessed my family and I. There may be moments of of sadness, but I do my best to think of the good times, the sweet memories of me and my brother playing in the woods & four wheeling on cold rainy October days, etc....

So now that the blog is all decorated, maybe this will get me more motivated to get the house all ready for the Autumn months. I know many of you out in "blog-land" already have your homes decorated beautifully for the crisp colorful days ahead. I think I may have to go visiting to get a good dose of inspiration!!! (smile & wink)

Hope to be blogging and sharing more with everyone in days ahead!!!

Autumn Blessings to All!!

In HIS hands...

copyright(c)2009

"Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand.
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry, touch the spirit there.
~Frances Ridley Havergal

Let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you. 1Peter 5:7 TLB

I don't know about you, but at times I find myself fretful & full of worry, especially when it comes to my kids. I want to be "Miss Fix-It" , but some things just can't be fixed. Boy!!, does that get aggravating! Grrrrr! I find myself in prayer more these days than ever before. The Bible says we should always be in prayer... now I know why! To keep our sanity! Ha!

My sweet daughter is really having a rough time. Of course the Mama Lion in me wants to help her and protect her, even if she is 21. To me, she will always be my baby. But this situation is where I can't help. She doesn't want Mom and Dad to come in and save the day. So I am doing my best in "Letting Go", and letting her deal with her situation. I am having to place my child in the palm of the Lord's hand. One would think that would be easy to do. But I find myself along with the prayers, having to "Let Go" on a day to day basis. Just when I think I have, something else happens. It has at times become a grueling process. It is not that I don't trust the Lord to take care of my children... I completely trust HIM. I just find myself looking at my daughter's life, like looking in a window from the outside.

My husband's grandmother always said, "They step on your toes when they are little, but step on your heart when they are grown." The first time I heard that, I really did not understand what this wise woman was saying. Infact I did not really like what she said, I thought it sounded cruel. But now I do understand. We give our kids our complete devotion. We do our best to teach, love, & nourish them. Then one day they do leave the nest, sometimes sooner than we want them too. Though we as parents are so proud of them, it hurts our hearts to see them go out into this vast world so soon. Wasn't it just "yesterday" when my sweet child was just learning to walk & talk, then learning to ride a bike, or playing T-ball & soccer? Wasn't she learning how to drive, and then going on her first date? I blinked and she was grown. I blinked again and she was gone- out on her own. Time has flown sooo fast. My life and my heart has not quite caught up with present day.

I still see her as my little girl. I guess I always will. I believe that is a mother's prerogative! But do realize she is grown and have to let her live her life. I want to run to my daughter's rescue, but that is not what she wants. She has to make her own decisions, make her own mistakes, make her own way in this world....

So what is a mother to do?.... TRUST IN THE LORD! So therefore I am.

Beautiful Blessings~