January Recap

I figure that if I at least do a recap of each month I will cover most of the main events for the year and thus, hopefully, be slightly more successful than last year at keeping up with this thing. 

Here is January for you...Wait!...January is already coming to a close?  How did that happen so fast?  Didn't we just celebrate Christmas.  Yikes! 

Daddy went out of town for a week at the beginning of the month.  I snagged a gingerbread candy train from the Christmas clearance...like 75% off.  Works for me.  Mr. P was super excited to put it together.  AND super excited to eat it too.  I did all the icing (he told me where to put it) and he placed all the candy.  It was a nice time just he and I together (Miss A was napping).  I need to make more of an effort to find times like this with him.  He is growing up waaaaaay to fast.

We got an extra day off this month for MLK Day.  Mr. P and I whipped up a batch of these DELICIOUS brownies.  He loves to help me in the kitchen!

Look how proud he is of his brownies.  He did most of the work himself.

YUMMY!  (Good thing these were BOGO this week!)

 We have been taking lots of bike rides now that everyone has a bike and Miss A has a bike seat on my bike.  I love his little imagination.  He has his backpack on and inside is a notebook and pen for taking notes.  We have been reading The Magic Tree House books and the main character Jack takes notes in a notebook.

This little stinker turned 10 Months.  How did that happen?  She is so happy, and into EVERYTHING!!  Tries to keep up with her big brother all the time.  She has started taking her first steps just a few days ago.  YIKES!  I am already working on her 1st birthday party so stay tuned for updates on that.

  

Another weekend enjoying the beautiful weather.  Gigi gave Miss A. the 4 wheeler but she is a little small for it yet.  Big Brother is happy to oblige with a few rides.  She loved it and he is always so proud to do big brother things!

New balance beam from Nana and Poppy for Christmas.

Playing Batman on his new trapeze bar.  

And then there is this guy.  He has been working a TON recently.  He fell asleep while he was playing his banjo.  He must have been tired.  I love him so much!  

That's pretty much our January in a recap.  Stay tuned for my update on my 2014 Challenges.  Bring on February!!

3 Challanges for the New Year

 

Everyone loves a good challenge!  For me, one thing I have learned over the years is that the more I feel challenged, the better I respond to getting something done.  Go figure!  This year, to go along with my word of the year, INTENTIONAL, I have taken on three challenges.

 
In LOVE, In FAITH, and In FINANCE!  Want to join me in the challenges?  Check out the links below.
 
IN LOVE:
 
The Dating Divas have this AWESOME 31 Day Love Challenge this year.  It's actually 365 days because they plan to release a new calendar each month.  Hubby and I have decided to do our best to do most of the challenges each month. Most of them are very practical and don't require any prep work. 
 
If you want to participate in the LOVE Challenge click on the picture below.




IN FAITH:
 
Ok...I will admit...I am not good at reading the bible.  I know I should be.  I have a lot of questions that would probably be better answered if I read the bible more, and I know I would better understand God's plan for my life.  Knowing that, I figured a challenge would help kick start me to reading the bible.  And...well....I am also a Go Big or Go Home kind of girl so I picked a challenge that will have me reading the whole bible in a year.  Yep...that's the challenge.
 
This site has several different types of reading plans.  They also have some radio broadcasts and 30 challenges.  I am still poking around the site and I am finding great things.  Click the picture to join me in the challenge.  I am doing the One Year Reading Plan by Genre.



IN FINANCES:
 
This challenge has been all over Pinterest and Facebook.  It's the 52 Week Savings Challenge.  Lot's of people have posted tracking charts or you could make your own.  I found mine at A Spectacled Owl.  She has two kinds.  One where you start on day one with $1 and progress from there.  The other where you start in reverse.  And they have a cute little owl on them.  We chose the one where you start with $1.  Hopefully, this will help us save for something special at the end of the year!
 
Want to join the Challenge.  Click on the picture below.

 

And there you have it.  My three challenges for 2014.  There are tons of other challenges out there, but I thought more than three might be going a little challenge crazy.  :)  The point is to find something that works for you and then challenge your self to meet it.  I like having a plan on how I am going to achieve that, so these challenges work for me.  I will give update on and off during the year to try and hold myself accountable.
 
HOW WILL YOU CHALLENGE YOURSELF THIS YEAR???
 

Word of the Year 2014

My 2014 word of the year is INTENTIONAL. 

Intention - an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result.

I want to be INTENTIONAL about my faith. Setting aside more time for prayer and bible study and listening for God's plan in my life and for my family.

I want to be INTENTIONAL about my marriage.  Making it a point to let the hubby know how much he means to me.  Not just with a passing comment but through specific times set aside for just us.

I want to be INTENTIONAL about what I eat and what I feed my family.  You can't eat perfectly all the time, but I want to make an intentional choice about when that will be.

Finally, I want to be INTENTIONAL with my time.  Make each moment count.  Live life to the fullest.  My babies are growing up WAY to fast and I want to enjoy every moment.

Do you have a word for 2014?

So Long 2013...

WOW!  It's been almost 6 months since I posted to this blog.  YIKES!!  I started this blog to track our adventures as a family and as a creative outlet.  My first post was the beginning of last year.  I was almost 8 months pregnant with Miss A.  and I didn't want to forget anything we did.  So I made it through about April with posting, and then our computer died, and then life picked up pace and then I took on more and more projects and our family was involved in more and more things.  Oh yeah, and Miss A didn't like to sleep through the night.  (It's super hard to be creative when you have not had a full nights sleep in over a year...UGH!)  And so the blog sort of went by the wayside.  Oh well, it has been sitting here waiting for me to come back.  If at first you don't succeed, try, try, again.  So that's exactly what I am going to do.  Try again!  New year, new try. 

So here is a quick recap of 2013.

January
     ~ Started Munchkamoo Times Two
     ~ Was 8 Months pregnant with Miss A.
     ~ My wonderful sisters in law threw me a super cute baby shower.



February -
     ~ Celebrated Valentines Day
     ~ Prepared for Miss A's arrival
     ~ Took on Wednesday nights in our Children's Ministry



March
     ~ Miss A is born
     ~  Celebrated my 31st birthday
     ~  Had Miss A. baptized
     ~ Gigi and Papa visited to help with Miss A.


April
     ~ Celebrated Easter
     ~ Took our Annual Extended Family Camping Trip to Disney World




May
     ~ Went to a local music fest.
     ~ Picked blueberries
     ~ Celebrated the start of my summer vacation
     ~ Celebrated 5 years of marriage

June
     ~  Traveled to Virginia for Gigi and Papa's 30th Anniversary Vow Renewal
     ~ Visited with Uncle Brian and Aunt Kim in North Carolina
     ~ Visited Aunt Carrie and Uncle Chad in Georgia
     ~ Enjoyed our Summer!!!!

July
     ~ Celebrated 4th of July
     ~ Had impromptu cook outs at the park
     ~ Mr. P took swimming lessons
     ~ Planned and directed our churches VBS
     ~ Celebrated Mr. P's 4th birthday
     ~ Celebrated the upcoming wedding of Brian and Kim with a Bachelorette Party and Bridal Shower all in one weekend! 
     ~ Went zip lining for the Bachelorette party - bucket list check off!

August
     ~ Started back up the school year
     ~ Took over Children's Church on Sundays
     ~ Mr. P started VPK and Miss A started daycare

September
     ~ Celebrated the Wedding of Brian and Kim!!!!!

October
     ~ Went to lots of fall festivals
     ~  Celebrated Halloween with a little ghost and a little dinosaur
     ~ Lots of church activities

November
     ~ Celebrated AJ's 29th birthday
     ~ Gigi and Papa came to visit for Thanksgiving
     ~ Hosted my first Thanksgiving

December
     ~ Celebrated Advent
     ~ Decorated for Christmas
     ~ Had our Annual North Pole Breakfast
     ~ Visited Ft. Cooper Night of Lights
     ~ Visited the Wildlife Park Night of Lights with Uncle Brian and Aunt Kim
     ~ Celebrated the birth of our Savior
     ~ Santa Claus came

Wow!!! Now you know why it is hard to find time to blog about it all.  And this is just the BIG stuff!!!

We already have some great things planned for this year and some huge milestones.

Miss A. will turn one, Mr. P will turn 5, and Daddy will turn the big 3-0.  Mr. P will start Kindergarten in the fall, and I am taking an even greater role in children's ministry.  Along with some other major events I'm not ready to post about yet....so stay tuned and wish me luck on keeping up with the blog on try number two.