So Wonderfully Complex

Those who know me personally (or if you have read the ABOUT ME) know that I LOVE all things Disney! One of my favorite things to do at the Disney Parks is to go to the Animation Academy and learn to draw a Disney character! It is such a great way to experience Disney and you also get to keep your drawing as a fun souvenir.

As we are about to start another week of sheltering in place this picture came up on my memories.

We were at Walt Disney World 6 years ago. It was my sons very first trip and oh how I wish we could be there today!

We personally didn’t have an upcoming trip planned there (I know several that did) but the fact that knowing Disney is closed makes me sad. However, I so appreciate them putting others before themselves. Making the decision to do so I am sure was hard, and I know was heartbreaking for many that had special trips planned.

This definitely doesn’t make up for a canceled trip but I wanted to share something fun we did today!

We, as a family, learned to draw Sven!

Who doesn’t love Sven?!? Even if Frozen or Frozen 2 is not a favorite or yours like it is in our house most people love Sven!

In this video a Disney Animator will guide you through sketching Sven.

It was so fun and felt like we were at the Animation Academy! (well except for the fact we were still just home!) We all enjoyed it though and sometimes it is hard to find something we all enjoy having a teenager and a Kindergartener!

So grab your family, some paper and a pencil and have fun!

You can use just plain copy paper and a regular pencil or you can go fancy and get a sketch pad and graphite pencils! Last week I got the kids their own sketch pad and some sketching pencils and they have loved drawing things. I bought them so they could do art, but I also think this will be a great thing to keep and look back on the drawings they did during this Covid-19 Quarantine.

Click HERE for the sketch pad and HERE for the pencils!

Here are our drawings from today!

I hope you will also join the fun and do this! If you do, I would love to see your finished product! Have fun drawing!

“We’re going on a bear hunt, we’re going to catch a big one! What a beautiful day! We’re not scared!”

This morning my son and I started our 2nd day of home remote learning by going on a bear hunt! Yes, that’s right! We went on a bear hunt…in Texas!

Let me just say, there are some amazing people in my neighborhood! One mom suggested we have a little fun with the kids and do this neighborhood bear hunt. All the neighbors on our Facebook page were asked to put a Teddy Bear in their window so the kids could get out and “hunt” for them! So many of our neighbors participated!

One neighbor shared a print out she found for the kids to keep tally of the number and color of bears we saw. It also had a place to make a graph after the hunt to see what color was seen the most/least and how many bears each house had. (I don’t know who created this document so I don’t want to share it on my page not having permission or I would. It’s something you could easily make though and turn it into a fun learning project too!)

How much better could this be for moms and kids that are going a little stir crazy inside!

• 1. It got us outside and it happened to be a gorgeous day! (And we did not have to go through tall grass, rivers, mud, forests, snowstorms or caves!)
• 2. It was math! Oh how I love nice neat graphs and my little math lover does too!
• 3. It was fun exercise and a nice change to just a typical walk around the neighborhood!

I have read the book, Going on a Bear Hunt, many times over the years! It was a favorite of my daughters and also became a favorite of my sons too! It was this book that this idea was based on.

If you have not seen the book or have not heard of it you can find it HERE!

If your neighborhood has a Facebook page or something similar and if yall have not done the bear hunt activity yet I would highly recommend it! I know the idea is circulating around quickly! I am not sure who came up with this idea and if I find out I will come and update here because I would love to give them credit! I am thankful the idea was created and has been shared! So, join the fun and keep sharing! Let’s keep making happy memories during this hard time!

Enjoy your Bear Hunt! Hope you catch a big one!!

Hello! Happy first Wednesday of November and happy What are you reading Wednesday day! If you are like me, I really do not know what happened to October and can’t believe we are already into the first week of November!

The book I currently finished that I want to share with you today is The Storm Inside by Sheila Walsh. The book is not a new release and is actually a few years old. Sheila has even written a couple of more books since this one that have now been added to my “want to read” list!

So why did I start this book?

Well, I am just going to tell it like it is…. “My name is Angie and I like to buy books and never read them.” Yes, I am that person. I get all excited about a book, buy it, and it just sits, collects dust and then ends up with the mountain of other books I have collected. That is what happened with this book.

I heard her speak about this book.

In 2014 Sheila was one of the speakers at the Women of Faith conference. I had heard her at another conference before and loved everything about her; her story and the message she shared. She really spoke to me this night as well and it was then that I bought this book. It made it to my home, and I remember reading the first chapter, and then….life. As you may remember I mentioned in THIS post I wasn’t a huge reader before either.

About a month ago the book resurfaced and the theme hit home even more.

I was trying to tackle the mess of a space that is lovingly named my closet and found this book. The title alone grabbed my attention for the second time. (The Storm Inside: Trade the Chaos of How You Feel for the Truth of Who You Are) This time I did not put it up. Just the opposite happened, I couldn’t put it down.

One thing I love about Sheila is that she speaks real but also raw truth. She is encouraging but also real. So many self help and motivational books these days just want to tell others what they want to hear.

She acknowledges how hard life this side of heaven is. She knows the storms of this life and has had some very hard experiences herself.

She also knows how good God is!

She knows how important she is to Him and she uses this book to show others that they are too, even when they are in the middle of a storm in their life that equals a category 5 hurricane.

Just to give you a little insight to the book, here are the titles of the chapters:

1. When a Tsunami Hits the Heart (From Heartbreak to Strength)
2. A Long, Dark Winter (From Disappointment to Hope)
3. Navigating Treacherous Waters (From Unforgiveness to Freedom)
4. Covered by Christ (From Shame to Love)
5. A Silent Storm (From Regret to Rest)
6. Thunder and Lightning (From Fear to Joy)
7. Battered to Beautiful (From Insecurity to Confidence)
8. A New Dawn Breaks (From Insignificance to Courage)
9. Standing on the Rock (From Despair to Faith)
10. On a Clear Day We Can See Home (From Rage to Restoration)

One thing I loved about this book is that at the end of each chapter she had a section called Standing Through Your Storm.

In this section she would include ideas on how to apply what you just read. Ideas on how to help you. I like this because sometimes I can read something and be all “yes, Amen, I need that, I need to do that, etc” but then I don’t know how to get there or what to do. Or I am so overwhelmed that I just feel stuck. Sheila helps you at the end of each chapter! It is also a resource you can easily go back to especially if a couple of the chapters spoke to you more than others.

Whether you are currently enjoying sunshine and not in any storm, are in a slight mist, a steady rain, or a thunderstorm where you can’t even see what is in front of you, I think you would be encouraged and blessed by this book and by Sheila’s words.

The Storm Inside can be found in any local bookstore and can also be found HERE. For some reason the paperback is even 5 cents more than the hardback, so unless you just like paperback better I would definitely get the hardback! If you like audio books and like to listen in the car you can also get it off of Audible HERE.

So, that is what I have been reading! I am trying to decide what I will read next. I would love to hear what you are currently reading!

For those who know me well, I have never been much of a reader. I am kind of embarrassed to even admit that, but I am also all about being open and transparent here! However, the past three years I have come to like, and really appreciate, reading. With fiction books I would still rather just watch the movie if that is an option, but I love non-fiction books. Especially books that help strengthen my faith or give me encouragement.

I also love books that I can learn from or that show me other ways of life and books about history and about others lives and things they have gone though and experienced. I guess that is the Empath in me coming out. I also just truly feel like I am at a point where I want to soak in knowledge especially since chemo and forced menopause before I was 40 did a number on my brain, and I still struggle so much with that.

Welcome to the bi monthly “What are you Reading Wednesday”!

I wanted to do a “what are you reading” post every other Wednesday and share what I am reading and my thoughts on it and hoping others will share what they are reading too. After I thought about it some more I decided to start with just once a month. I reminded myself that I do have a teenager, a Kindergarten boy with more energy that I think one child could possibly have, on top of multiple doctor appoints each week and the energy level of a sloth most days so I was being a little bit too eager thinking I could read and blog about two books each month! My goal is to work up to that!

This months What are you Reading is Fervent: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer by Priscilla Shirer. I LOVE Priscilla Shirer. Did I mention I LOVE Priscilla Shirer?!? If you don’t know who she is you may know of her dad, Tony Evans. Once you hear her you know she is her daddy’s daughter! She is real, she is open, she is bold, she is blunt and she isn’t afraid to speak truth! One thing that I see others starting to lack these days. She however does all of this with love. You can just feel her love and her passion in all she does!

You also may recognize her from the movie, War Room (which this book was inspired from) or the latest movie she is in, Overcomer. I would highly recommend both of them! But we are talking about books here, not movies…I will get back to books!

“Fervent is a hands-on, knees-down, never-give-up action guide to practical, purposeful praying.”

This is on the back on the book and I could not agree more! In the book, Priscilla identifies 10 areas where Satan seems to direct his hits the hardest to us as women. These 10 areas are our:

• Passion
• Focus
• Identity
• Family
• Confidence
• Calling
• Purity
• Rest and Contentment
• Heart
• Relationships

I don’t know about you, but I know I have been hit many times in all of these areas and some much more than others. There is a chapter on each area and she gives strategies on how to pray and go to war against the enemy who so wants to destroy you. She walks you through setting up your own strategy and the book also includes prayer cards in the back that you can use to write out your specific prayers and post them in your own “War Room.”

This is my second time reading Fervent

The first time was probably 2 1/2 years ago. It is a book I would recommend reading multiple times, and I am sure in a couple of years I will read it again. It also is a book that should be used always as a resource. It is a book that should be written in, pages marked and even almost falling apart! She even says in the introduction that we should think of this book as “industrial-grade survival gear!”

If you truly want to increase your prayer life and have some help and guidance as you “go to war”, I would highly recommend this book. Just yesterday I was sitting at Chick fil a working and I had this book out. This lady came up and said, “that is truly the very best book I have ever read.” We talked a little and she was with a friend who had not heard of it and right then she pulled out her phone and ordered it off Amazon because the two of us were sharing how it has helped and blessed us. So if you don’t want to just take it from me, take it from the other sweet lady from Chick fil A!

Fervent can be found in any local bookstore and can also be found HERE. If you like audio books and like to listen in the car you can also get it off of Audible HERE. I would highly suggest though getting the hard copy for a reference too!

So now my question to you, is what are you reading this Wednesday? I would love to hear any suggestions you may have!

Oh the teen years!  I will come right out and say it…”My name is Angie.  I have a teen daughter and I think she wants to be VSCO girl!” 

What is a VSCO girl you ask? 

Last week I had the privilege of educating my sister on what a VSCO girl is and realized some still may not know this term! If you don’t know this term you probably fall into one of two categories.

1. You don’t have a teenager
2. You don’t have a teenager

Yep…couldn’t really think of a second category! If you have a teenager and you don’t know what this is consider yourself escaped from this current trend this time!  I can’t promise you will escape the next one though! So back to the question…

What is a VSCO girl? 

The term actually came from the VSCO photo editing app.  Some people would describe these girls as preppy but laid back.  They have also been described as “trendy but basic.” There is a list of certain things and brands that they are into.  Some of these include….

1. The Hydroflask with stickers stuck all over
2. Scrunchies (and lots of them!)
3. Friendship Bracelets
4. Birkenstocks (or in our case knock off birkenstocks – I don’t even spend $100+ on my shoes!)
5. Vans
6. Oversized t-shirts
7. Polaroid camera
8. Kanken backpacks
9. Choker necklaces especially shell chokers
10. Carmex (yes that lip balm stuff in the round yellow container!)

Those of you, lets say 35 and older, and those of you that parented kids that would now be in that 35-50 year age group…. does this list sound familiar to you!?! 

Honestly when I heard about it I thought they were describing being a teen in the late 80s and 90s!!  I also wish that I would have saved some of those said items. (Well not the carmex…that would just be gross!)  Not only would she have a wardrobe full of VSCO items they would be vintage VSCO!  I wonder if that is even a thing!  Now, if tomorrow she comes home asking for a pair of Z. Cavaricci’s or Girbaud jeans I will really know we have just done full circle!

All of this to say, if this is the worst of my troubles right now with what she is into I honestly don’t have many complaints.  There are so many more things out there that could be so much worse. 

Being a teen is hard. 

Trying to fit in is hard. 

Middle School is especially hard. 

I really think most people have wiped those memories from their brain or they would have more empathy for those going through it and for the parents going through it if they remembered how it was.  You couldn’t pay me to go back to middle school and sometimes wish I could just rescue my daughter from having to go through it too.  I can’t though and once I start thinking about it more, I know deep down that wouldn’t be the best thing to do. 

So, if it means I continue to hear about the new fads and styles and have my amazon “wish list” full of these items that is what I will do. I will cherish this time and be thankful that no, we can’t get everything on this list but we are able to get a few of the things.

I will make myself aware of what is out there instead of putting a paper bag over my head wishing the crazy and hype would just go away. 

I will embrace these moments because like the infant and toddler years they also go so fast and possibly even faster. 

I will pray and will keep on praying. 

I will encourage and keep on encouraging. 

I will mess up and will continue to mess up.

In the end, though, I hope she always knows I am her biggest fan.  I hope that when she is 40 she will remember this fad and the items she had just like I remember my Z. Cavaricci black pants and Gibaud jeans!