H-O-M-E {sweet} home

I've got a lot of catchin' up to do so you can either bear with me or skip this post (I'll understand!)...

*The girls and I headed to Arkansas on Nov. 7 for a trip across the state with lots of friends and family to see and some minor business to handle.

*First, we stopped in at my parent's house for a few days.  I had so much fun decorating my their house for Christmas.  I also got to spend some time with a very close friend.

*Next, it was off to Conway for some time with Graham's family.  It's been almost a year since we were in Conway and I love it there.  Not only did I go to college there, but I've got so many close family and friends that live there.  Thankfully, I was able to have some much needed "girl-time"with two of my closest friends.  

*Meanwhile, Graham packed up and headed on his annual mission trip to Nicaragua.  

*Last Thursday, I headed to Fort Smith to check on my house and handle a few items of business.  I dreaded that particular trip like the plague.  I haven't wanted to go in my house for a number of reasons....so...instead...I hung out with two of my best friends and bypassed my visit to my house.  I had a great time catching up, but the trip to my house was inevitable.

*Thursday night, I went to visit my sis-n-law in Springdale.  We enjoyed the night visiting and she was so kind to make the trip back to Fort Smith with me on Friday.  We went to the house, I saw that everything was in order and there was nothing of importance for me to handle, I had lunch with another great friend, and we headed back to Conway.

*Friday night, I went to see Breaking Dawn! *like*

*Graham made it home safe from Nicaragua.

*The girls and I made the long trip from Conway to Jacksonville on Saturday.

As we headed into Texas, AG said, "Mom, are we back in our land yet?"  It really felt like we were coming HOME...that was a neat feeling.  Home is definitely where your heart is!

*The girls and I were so excited to see Graham.  He had a wonderful trip in Nicaragua and brought the girls some adorable dresses.

*I'll end my long, listy post with some cute pics of my girls in their Nicaraguan attire.

Sneak Peek

Other than the outside of our house, I am pretty much finished decorating for Christmas!  

Here is a sneak peek of some of the decorations...more to come later.

Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago, we had professional photos taken of our family.  Here are some of my favorites:

Thanks, Confetti Photography, for capturing these great shots of our family!

It's a Journey

About four years ago, I started looking more critically at our diet and what we consume on a daily basis.  Although little changes were made at the time, the seed was planted and I began to make minor tweeks in the grocery list and my daily food choices.  As the years have gone by, I have gotten more and more conscious about food....it can be pretty overwhelming, though!!

A few nights ago, I went to a breadmaking class.  Sounds easy enough, right?  No!  Instead, we learned about flour (the things that happen to manufacture it), salt and sugar (what the real stuff should look like), grains, etc. This class was VERY informative.  Not only do I need my own grain mill for making fresh whole grain flour, I also need a new mixer for kneeding my dough! (These items are very pricey so I will just have to deal for now.)

Along the lines of healthy living, I thought I would share some items that we have grown to love.  Of course, these things are all in addition to fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, smaller meat servings, no soft drinks, lots of water, etc...

****Barley Life Xtra:  The girls and I have a couple of tablespoons a day in our water or juice.  Although I'm not a huge fan of the taste, it does give me so much energy and the girls love their "green juice" concoction.

****Agave Nectar:  Great sweetener for cooking and enjoying. I like it in my coffee!

****Teeccino:  Tastes just like coffee without the caffeine or the acidity. I love it!!!!

****I think I see a juicer in my near future.  The girls drink a cup of Odwalla Superfood everyday for more fruits and vegetables mixed with the Barley Life and water.  We all love it!

Anywho...these are just a few of the many things we have changed in our diet.  I'm certainly not where I would like to be, but we try to get our foods as close to the whole food as possible.  I try not to get too wigged out about it just yet...that's the goal, though.  

Also, we try to stay active.  In my opinion, there is nothing like a good run.  I hope I can always run, it's my "me" time about four times a week and I am just a better person after a few miles....in more ways than one!

eleven.eleven.eleven.

Enough said.